Family Mystery Fiction

Merritt Coletto and her husband, Luca, have the life they dreamed of: a coastal home, a promising future, and a growing family. That dream ends with a late-night knock on the door. Weak, broken, and emaciated, it’s Luca’s first wife, Lydia. Missing for ten years, presumed dead, and very much alive, she has quite a story. Racked with guilt over the beautiful life they’ve built, Merritt and Luca agree to help get Lydia back on her feet - it’s the least they can do. But the more enmeshed Lydia becomes in Merritt’s family, the more questions Merritt has.

In his three novellas, In Short Measures, Strong Conspirators, and Sally Forth, Michael Ruhlman delves deeply into the nuanced complexity of romantic and sexual love - and the inevitable evolution of the heart over the span of years and decades. Each novella asks questions about the nature of love in terms of loyalty and fidelity - what are one's obligations toward one's spouse, one's family, and one's heart?

Christopher and Hannah are a happily married surgeon and nurse with picture-perfect lives. All that’s missing is a child. When Janie, an abandoned six-year-old, turns up at their hospital, Christopher forms an instant connection with her, and he convinces Hannah they should take her home as their own.

Miss this book at your own expense! When a mysterious broken down van shows up in front of the Hartwell’s apartment building in Washington DC, they have no idea that a vicious crime inside would steer them on an emotional, violent, heart wrenching journey that would damage their family forever. And then there’s Amina Hartwell, a selfish, sneaky and irresponsible teenager who when forced away from her friends, and carted off to another city, acts out in ways that rock her world. Her antics cause more problems than a little for Pam, her emotionally overworked mother who is struggling to ...

Mia, the irreverent, hyperanalytical twenty-year-old daughter, has an explanation for everything—which is why she isn’t initially concerned when her father and younger brother Eugene don’t return from a walk in a nearby park. They must have lost their phone. Or stopped for an errand somewhere. But by the time Mia’s brother runs through the front door bloody and alone, it becomes clear that the father in this tight-knit family is missing and the only witness is Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome and cannot speak.

A wealthy family with DARK secrets. A SHOCKING reveal that you guaranteed won't see coming... Avery Collins is an attorney with the tender heart of a warrior for the wrongfully accused, for one simple reason. She was once wrongfully accused, and spent 7 years in prison for a murder she didn't commit. Now sworn to protect the indigent accused, she's persuaded to represent Esme Guitierrez, an El Salvadoran refugee who is accused of killing 21-year-old Aria Whitmore. Aria was the daughter of the prominent billionaire hotelier Jacob Whitmore, and was also an aspiring concert pianist and music ...

Five years ago Susannah Harper's son, Joel, went missing without trace. Bereft of her son and then of her husband, Susannah has rebuilt her life around helping others. But then, on the last night of Hull Fair, a fortune-teller makes an eerie prediction. She tells her that this Christmas Eve, Joel will finally come back to her. As her carefully constructed life begins to unravel, Susannah is forced to confront the buried truths of her family's past.

A much needed vacation. An unexpected romance between two strangers. A small town filled with whispering secrets. Inspired by old childhood memories and searching for a new direction in life, Yvonne embarks on a long-awaited vacation to the breathtaking town of Diamond Cove. The local murder mystery theatre was the life of the town—but she soon arrives to discover it in disarray and the whole cove swamped in rumors. As she falls in love with the cozy atmosphere, Yvonne decides to reunite an old passion by opening a jewelry shop next door to the theater. Lance, the owner of the theater, is...

The Hangman's Blind spins the tale of a Southern family mired in secrets, deception and succession. When Archie McClure bought Belle Oak, nobody wanted it. Now, everyone wants it. He turned Belle Oak into five thousand acres of the finest rice ground in Arkansas and the best duck woods in the country. But Belle Oak is in trouble. Archie's grandsons, Little George, J.D., and Trip own McClure Tug and Tow, a once thriving, now failing, barge company on the Mississippi. Trip’s brothers want to sell Belle Oak to save the barge company, but he won't hear of it. All he cares about is hunting in ...

In the early hours of a summer morning, a young woman steps into the path of an oncoming bus. A tragic accident? Or suicide? At the center of this puzzle is Adrian Wolfe, a successful architect and grief-stricken widower, who, a year after his third wife's death, begins to investigate the cause. As Adrian looks back on their brief but seemingly happy marriage, disturbing secrets begin to surface. The divorces from his two previous wives had been amicable, or so it seemed; his children, all five of them, were resilient as ever, or so he thought.

In this fascinating tale set in 1919, the Thomas family leaves New Orleans for Chicago as part of the Great Migration, seeking equality denied in the South. They are confident and optimistic. But hope is extinguished when they are met by 6,000 National Guard troops deployed to quell an earlier race riot. Linda and Ben prepare their nephew Trey to lead the family through the treacherous landscape of a big city plagued by segregation, police violence, and corruption. Is he ready? They devise a risky plan to challenge real estate covenants banning Blacks from buying homes in white ...

This Cabin Comes With A Lot Of Secrets… Trapped in a miserable dead-end job and fighting traffic every day to get back to her crummy apartment, Jenny is desperate to catch a break. But when she receives a surprise call, she’s shocked to discover that her wealthy uncle is dead—and that he left her a beautiful cabin in the mountains of Virginia. This is her golden ticket to escape. But Jenny soon learns that her newfound fortune comes with a lot of strings attached. Faced with suspicious small-town locals—and a greedy land developer who has his eyes on her new property—Jenny must ...

On a hot summer day, Joanna Mason's family slowly wanders home along a country lane. A moment later, Joanna's life is changed forever....On a dark night 30 years later, ex-detective Jackson Brodie finds himself on a train that is both crowded and late. Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly hears a shocking sound.

Dying is simple. Coming back is when things get interesting. Ivy Wells never wanted to die. When she does, she thinks it's all over. It isn't. When the 30 year old mother of two wakes up as a 12 year old, she has to navigate her life all over again. And she remembers everything, including the serial killer who is terrorizing her small town. Over several lifetimes, Ivy battles to save herself, her friends, and even her own children from the vicious killer. Follow Ivy Wells in a desperate race through time as she tries to outwit the person that is killing her over and over. What would you do ...

The double murder of a married couple in a small Washington town draws FBI forensic linguist Raisa Susanto into an investigation that mirrors a decades-old crime. Twenty-five years ago—to the day—Alex Parker murdered his parents, then took his own life, leaving behind a note admitting everything. Raisa, paired with forensic psychologist Callum Kilkenny, uses her skills to read between the lines. Especially now that paranoid postings on a conspiracy thread suggest that Alex was a victim himself.

It’s the holiday season and Harriet Reed, a novelist on the brink of literary stardom, is newly engaged to Edward Holbeck, the heir of an extremely powerful family. And even though Edward has long tried to sever ties with them, news of the couple’s upcoming marital bliss has the Holbecks inching back into their lives with one invite after another.

Old sins cast long shadows. Overcoming years of hardship, Hungarian immigrant George Bodnár established a comfortable life for his family in America’s Gilded Age. When a unique opportunity opens for Lizzy, his remarkably talented daughter, George hopes it will lift her—and the entire family—further up the social ladder. Lizzy becomes a student at the best boarding school for girls in New York. She carries the world before her, gaining access to the opulent ballrooms and sumptuous parlors of the wealthy. Caught up in her studies and social life, Lizzy has no idea that they are leading...

Ross Poldark returns to Cornwall from war, looking forward to a joyful homecoming with his family and his beloved Elizabeth. But instead, he discovers that his father has died, his home is overrun by livestock and drunken servants, and Elizabeth, having believed Ross dead, is now engaged to his cousin. Ross must start over, building a completely new path for his life, one that takes him in exciting and unexpected directions....

For the Engstrom family, the adventure of living in a ghost town with a huge mansion, saloon, jail cell, and its very own mystery is bittersweet as they struggle with inspiring determination to carry on after a tragic loss. This includes: Home to the Valley Treasures Found Valley Secrets Home to the Valley Julie Engstrom knows that her family needs something different…a different place, different people, different everything as they all struggle to deal with the loss that has changed their lives forever. The last thing she expected was a huge and unexpected windfall to make it possible. ...

Something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remain, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, Malorie has long dreamed of fleeing to a place where her family might be safe. But the journey ahead will be terrifying: 20 miles downriver in a rowboat blindfolded with nothing to rely on but Malorie's wits and the children's trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them....