Books like 'She's Too Pretty to Burn'
Readers who enjoyed She's Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery horror psychological thriller lgbtq wlw retellings crime suspense
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An Evil Mind by Chris Carter
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsA freak accident in rural Wyoming leads the Sheriff's Department to arrest a man for a possible double homicide, but further investigations suggest a much more horrifying discovery - a serial killer who has been kidnapping, torturing and mutilating victims all over the United States for at least twenty-five years... -
Hunting Evil by Chris Carter
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 20 ratings'Every story one day comes to an end.' As roommates, they met for the first time in college. Two of the brightest minds ever to graduate from Stamford Psychology University. As adversaries, they met again in Quantico, Virginia. Robert Hunter had become the head of the LAPD’s Ultra Violent Crimes Unit... -
One Among Us by Paige Dearth
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA kidnapped girl is forced into human sex trafficking Eleven- year-old Maggie Clarke is abducted from her loving family and thrust into the indescribably horrific and largely unknown underworld of human sex trafficking. In captivity, Maggie's life turns into a nightmare most children couldn't imagine... -
Such a Good Girl by Willow Rose
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFBI-profiler Eva Rae Thomas faces a devious plan in bestselling author Willow Rose’s blood-rushing thriller of murder and revenge.A girl falls from the penthouse floor of an apartment in Washington, D.C.Media Mogul Richard Wanton owns the apartment and is seen standing on the balcony when the girl falls... -
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Written in Blood by Chris Carter
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsDon't miss GENESIS, the latest must-read serial killer thriller from master of the genre, Chris Carter. Available to order now. ‘Wonderful storytelling, with a superbly drawn killer, it underlines exactly how good Carter has become’ Daily MailTHE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER A serial killer who will stop at nothing… The Killer His most valuable possession has been stolen... -
The Moonlight Child by Karen McQuestion
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsA gripping and emotional novel that will leave you wondering about the neighbors next door...On a cold January night, Sharon Lemke heads outside to see a lunar eclipse when she notices something odd at the house behind her backyard. Through her neighbor's kitchen window, she sees what appears to be a little girl washing dishes late at night... -
The Face of Death by Cody McFadyen
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn Shadow Man, Cody McFadyen took the suspense thriller where other writers have feared to tread. He introduced readers to a heroine every bit as dark and edgy as the serial killers she hunts: Special Agent Smoky Barrett. Now, in his latest novel, McFadyen brings Agent Barrett back to track down a killer who breaks all the rules... -
Missed Connections by Alexandria Clarke
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHow far would you go for revenge? Veronica Bauer isn’t above homicide. Twelve years after a ruthless attack killed her mother and put her father in prison, she embarks on a mission to bring the real culprits to justice. As bodies start to drop, Detective Sheila Arden is assigned to the gruesome case, but she soon discovers that the truth is more complicated than she thought... -
A Killer's Mind by Mike Omer
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsA chilling thriller of serial murder and dark secrets that will leave you wondering, is the past really in the past?Three Chicago women have been found strangled, embalmed, and posed as if still alive. Doubting the findings of the local PD’s profiler, The FBI calls on forensic psychologist Zoe Bentley to investigate... -
A Dark Mind by T.R. Ragan, Kate Rudd
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA serial killer is terrorizing Sacramento, preying on happily married couples and unleashing unspeakable cruelties upon his victims. The ordeal rekindles disturbing memories for private investigator Lizzy Gardner, who barely escaped a serial killer clutches only years ago... -
Shadow Man by Cody McFadyen
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsFBI agent Smoky Barrett is no stranger to the darker recesses of the human mind. But nothing could have prepared her for the day she had to watch her husband and daughter die at the hands of a serial killer. She bears the scars, mental and physical. Most people would run - from work, from life, from everything associated with the pain of a shattered existence... -
Requiem & Reverie by Keri Lake
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom USA Today Bestselling author Keri Lake comes an intense and gritty romantic thriller that'll have you turning the pages well past your bedtime. It takes a killer to catch a killer. And no one understands the motives of ruthless murderer, The Sandman, quite like Rhett Voss. Having spent his childhood in the shadows of the deranged lunatic, he’s become an expert on the topic... -
The Pretty Dead Girls by Skylar Finn
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen two young girls go missing from a small Georgia town, the crime remains unsolved for nearly thirty years.When Savannah moves home to the small town of Humble, Georgia, she has no intention of getting involved in a kidnapping investigation. But when her older brother Mac becomes the main suspect, Savannah launches a secret investigation in order to clear her brother’s name... -
Frozen Statues by L.E. Fraser
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA gripping psychological thriller with shocking twistsIn the bitter cold of a Canadian winter, seven university freshmen vanish without a trace. Soon afterwards, police discover a ghastly crime scene—the victim is frozen solid and his eyes are missing, replaced with black stones. A week later, they find a second frozen statue at an identical crime scene... -
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Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWe don’t pick and choose what to be afraid of. Our fears pick us.Tash Carmody has been traumatised since childhood, when she witnessed her gruesome imaginary friend Sparrow lure young Mallory Fisher away from a carnival. At the time nobody believed Tash, and she has since come to accept that Sparrow wasn’t real. Now fifteen and mute, Mallory’s never spoken about the week she went missing... -
Stranger in the Woods by Anni Taylor
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPhotographer Isla Wilson is thrilled she’s landed her dream job, but the clients who hired her are getting stranger by the day. It sounded so perfect - a month‘s assignment at the misty, sprawling Scottish Highlands property of brilliant architect Alban McGregor, and his wife, Jessica. But deep in the woods, there is a chilling playhouse... -
I Will Make You Pay by Teresa Driscoll
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsEvery Wednesday, like clockwork, the terror returns. It seems like an ordinary Wednesday, until the phone rings. A mysterious caller with a chilling threat. Journalist Alice Henderson hangs up, ready to dismiss it as a hoax against the newspaper. But the next Wednesday, the stalker makes another move—and it becomes clear that this is all about Alice... -
The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFeminist psychological horror about the making of a female serial killer from a Korean-American perspective.Ji-won’s life tumbles into disarray in the wake of her appa’s extramarital affair and subsequent departure. Her mother, distraught. Her younger sister, hurt and confused. Her college freshman grades, failing. Her dreams, horrifying… yet enticing... -
Wicked Little Words by Stevie J. Cole, B.T. Urruela
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEdwin Allen Mercer I want them all to read my words. And they do. Every last blood-stained sentence, they've read and praised me for. They love the gore and violence, the realness. And I get a sense of power with it all because I know a secret: the victims in my books—they’re real and have all died on my table. And maybe that’s why the last book had such awful reviews... -
Sleep Tight by Anne Frasier
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWAKE UP, LITTLE DARLING. DO YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?He's looking for the perfect woman. Someone who won't disappoint him, like so many have before. Someone who'll love him ... someone who won't have to die for her mistakes.GIVE UP, LITTLE DARLING....FBI agent Mary Cantrell has been called to Minneapolis to hunt down a killer... -
Never Lie by Freida McFadden
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsNewlyweds Tricia and Ethan are searching for the house of their dreams.But when they visit the remote manor that once belonged to Dr. Adrienne Hale, a renowned psychiatrist who vanished without a trace four years earlier, a violent winter storm traps them at the estate… with no chance of escape until the blizzard comes to an end... -
Digital Velocity by Reily Garrett, Rylan Killian
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe deadliest weapons are the ones we never see. Keyboard prodigy, Lexi Donovan has risen from teenage orphan of the streets to complete independence with little help along the way. When a friend is threatened, Lexi’s anonymous message sends police into a firefight, leading to a wounded cop... -
One Fear by Belle Brooks
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“My one fear is now my reality.” He didn’t offer his name when he fulfilled his need to include me as a player in his game. I’m number thirteen. Just a number given to the bitches who wronged him. I was blindsided. Stolen from my life. In his devilled eyes, I have a debt to pay…he wants my final breath to see us even... -
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA sensational new novel from the best-selling author of Less Than Zero and Imperial Bedrooms that tracks a group of privileged Los Angeles high school friends as a serial killer strikes across the city... -
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Three Strikes by Kate Kessler
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThree Strikes is the new novel in a thriller series where a criminal psychologist uses her own dark past to help law enforcement catch dangerous killers.Thanksgiving is approaching, and Audrey Harte has a lot to be thankful for -- her mother has recovered from surgery, her relationship with Jake is solid, her father is relatively sober, and her career is evolving in an exciting direction... -
The Pale White by Chad Lutzke
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAfter being held against their will in a house used for trafficking, three girls plan their escape.Alex: A hardened goth-punk who’s convinced she’s a vampire with a penchant for blood.Stacia: A seventeen-year-old raised by an alcoholic mother, her fellow captives the only family she’s ever truly had.Kammie: The youngest of the three—a mute who finds solace in a houseplant... -
Black for Remembrance by Carlene Thompson
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsCaroline Webb knows what it means to lose the person you love most. Twenty years ago, her five-year-old daughter, Hayley, was the light of her life, her treasure, her angle. Then came the terrible day when Hayley was kidnapped from her favorite swing. More than a month passed before her burned, lifeless body was found. All that remained was the silence of Caroline's heartache--and her guilt.. -
Closet Full of Bones by A.J. Aalto
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEver since they were children, Gillian Hearth has been her sister Frankie’s guardian, her sounding board, and her best friend. Together, the Hearth sisters quietly bury their secrets and form a formidable team during any crisis. Purchasing the old Blymhill house with the hopes of turning it into an artists’ retreat, the sisters are finally living their dream... -
All the Pretty Faces by Rita Herron
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsJosie DuKane is on shaky ground. Having narrowly escaped the notorious Bride Killer, she penned a tell-all memoir that dug up a town’s dark past. Now the book is being made into a movie, and Josie must visit the very place that will trigger an avalanche of unwanted memories—Graveyard Falls... -
The Girls He Adored by Jonathan Nasaw
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFor ten years, the charmingly disheveled veteran FBI Special Agent E.L. Pender has been investigating the apparently random disappearances of a dozen women across the country. The only detail the cases have in common is the strawberry blond color of the victims' hair, and the presence of a mystery man with whom they were last seen... -
Either Side of Midnight by Tori de Clare
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWHAT IF THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE TURNED INTO YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE? When nineteen-year-old Naomi Stone is snatched from her husband at knifepoint on the night of their wedding and taken to a deserted cemetery, she knows her life is finished. Drugged and disorientated, she loses consciousness as she lies in an open grave with a gun to her head... -
Evil Eye by Madhuri Shekar, Harsh Nayyar
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPallavi is an aspiring writer living in California. Her mother, Usha, is thousands of miles away in Delhi - and obsessed with finding her daughter a husband... -
My Perfect Daughter by Sarah A. Denzil
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMost mothers hope their little girl turns out like their dad, but not Zoe. She hopes the apple falls far from the tree.Zoe didn't meet her daughter the way most mothers do. She finds five-year-old Maddie alone and dirty on a countryside road. Frightened for Maddie's safety, she picks her up and takes her back to her father, not knowing what she's about to step into... -
Because She Loves Me by Mark Edwards
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA gripping tale of jealousy, obsession, and murder, from the #1 bestselling author of The Magpies . When Andrew Sumner meets beautiful, edgy Charlie, he is certain his run of bad luck has finally come to an end. But as the two of them embark on an intense affair, Andrew wonders if his grasp on reality is slipping. Items go missing in his apartment. Somebody appears to be following him... -
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People Like Them by Minka Kent
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNobody’s perfect—although one beautiful couple certainly comes close. Discover the cracks beneath the polished surface in this unsettling short story from bestselling author Minka Kent.Veronica and Ryan Hartley are the envy of Auburn Drive. When the exclusive neighborhood hosts its annual progressive dinner party, the couple’s perfection is on display... -
The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsTwo sisters raised in fear are about to find out why in a chilling novel of psychological suspense from the author of The Thinnest Air.Ignorant of civilization and cautioned against its evils, nineteen-year-old Wren and her two sisters, Sage and Evie, were raised in off-the-grid isolation in a primitive cabin in upstate New York... -
The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratings"So that was all it took," I thought. "That was all it took for me to feel like I had all the power in the world. One morning, one moment, one yellow-haired boy. It wasn't so much after all."Meet Chrissie... Chrissie is eight and she has a secret: she has just killed a boy. The feeling made her belly fizz like soda pop... -
Clean by Alia Trabucco Zerán, Sophie Hughes
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsINTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER!From a global star and International Booker Prize finalist, a razor-sharp, unforgettable novel about a maid who’s seen too much and a family at a breaking pointA young girl has died and the family’s maid is being interrogated. She must tell the whole story before arriving at the girl’s death... -
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsThe Turn of the Key meets Parasite in this eerily haunting debut and Reddit hit—soon to be a Netflix original movie starring Blake Lively—about two homeowners whose lives are turned upside down when the house’s previous residents unexpectedly visit... -
Ward D by Freida McFadden
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsMedical student Amy Brenner is spending the night on a locked psychiatric ward.Amy has been dreading her evening working on Ward D, the hospital’s inpatient mental health unit. There are very specific reasons why she never wanted to do this required overnight rotation. Reasons nobody can ever find out... -
Nobody Knows You're Here by Bryn Greenwood
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA desperate woman fights to escape captivity in this gripping thriller from the New York Times -bestselling author of All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. Beatrice is about to lose everything when a kind stranger offers her a cup of coffee and a job. It seems like a promise of a better life . . . until she wakes up under lock and key in an isolated mansion in the woods... -
The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThe Plot meets Please Join Us in this psychological suspense debut about a young author at an exclusive writer’s retreat that descends into a nightmare.Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo... -
Penance by Kanae Minato
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA chilling Japanese psychological thriller and Edgar Award finalist about four women, forever connected by one horrible day in their childhood -- fifteen years later, someone wants to make sure they never forget. When they were girls, Sae, Maki, Akiko and Yuko were tricked into leaving their friend Emily with a mysterious stranger... -
Problem Child by Victoria Helen Stone
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsShe’s cold, calculating, and can deceive with a smile. Jane Doe is back in the Amazon Charts bestselling series - and this time she's met her match.After a brutal childhood, Jane Doe has been permanently wired to look after herself and only herself. Now, looking next to normal, Jane has a lover and a job. But she hasn't lost her edge. It sharpens when she hears from her estranged family... -
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The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsGhostwriter Olivia Dumont has spent her entire professional life hiding the fact that she is the only child of legendary horror author Vincent Taylor, famous not only for his novels but for being the prime suspect in the brutal slaying of his siblings... -
Smilin' Sam's Corn Maze by Stephanie Perry Scissom
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen her seven-year-old daughter Lizzy disappeared into a corn maze on Halloween night in 1984, Catherine Bryant didn’t think she’d survive the loss.For nearly forty years, Catherine has struggled with her grief and guilt, so when her doctor delivers a fatal diagnosis, it’s almost a relief.But something is happening to Catherine... -
Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEighteen months and eleven lost bidding wars into house-hunting in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, 37-year-old publicist Margo Miyake gets a tip about the perfect house, in the perfect neighborhood, slated to come up for sale in one month... -
Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"Top of the line thriller writing...You better call in sick, because you're not going anywhere until you finish reading it. Oh, and you might want to lock the door, too. Just to be safe." --#1 bestselling author Jeffery Deaver Fans of Chelsea Cain and Lisa Gardner will devour this edgy thriller about the gruesome secrets hidden beneath a small-town amusement park... -
Her Final Breath by J.S. Donovan
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsJ.S Donovan brings you the complete collection of the highly-rated "The Chosen" and "Secret Memories" Series.The ChosenA violent murder stirs a small Midwestern town. An unseen evil acts according to its own will. A woman with a mysterious gift risks it all to learn the truth...Categorized as:
crime literary-fiction female-mc suspense thriller horror psychological law-enforcement -
The Kill Club by Wendy Heard
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJazz will stop at nothing to save her brother.Their foster mother, Carol, has always been fanatical, but with Jazz grown up and out of the house, Carol takes a dangerous turn that threatens thirteen-year-old Joaquin’s life. Over and over, child services fails to intervene, and Joaquin is running out of time.Then Jazz gets a blocked call from someone offering a solution...
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