Books like 'One True Thing'

Readers who enjoyed One True Thing by Anna Quindlen also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

contemporary  mystery  family  drama  literary-fiction  realistic  grief  medical  sad  female-mc 

  • Finding Billie Romano by Jean Grainger

    Finding Billie Romano by Jean Grainger

    Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    USA Today bestselling author wants to take you to Ireland for a story that will leave you wanting more long after you turn the last page... Twenty-five year old Billie Romano is struggling. She is grieving the death of her beloved dad and nothing in her life is going right...
  • Where Butterflies Wander by Suzanne Redfearn

    Where Butterflies Wander by Suzanne Redfearn

    Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    From the bestselling author of In an Instant comes the moving story of a family grappling with grief and a woman with the power to help them through it—or stand in their way.After a tragic accident claims the life of one of her children, Marie Egide is desperate to carve out a fresh start for her family...
  • And the Angels Sing by Fern Michaels

    And the Angels Sing by Fern Michaels

    Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    The Sisterhood: a group of women from all walks of life bound by friendship and years of adventure. Armed with vast resources, top-notch expertise, and a loyal network of allies around the globe, the Sisterhood will not rest until every wrong is made right.Throughout the years, the ladies of the Sisterhood have delivered their own style of vigilante justice to those who most deserve it...
  • Blue Ink by Tess Thompson

    Blue Ink by Tess Thompson

    Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Charlotte Wilde gives her heart to the wrong men. The last one left with her life savings and their nubile neighbor. Her first published cozy mystery is a flop. Her literary agent’s about to dump her. She has a serious case of writer’s block. And she’s dead broke. Which is how she finds herself in rural Idaho looking after her former boss's elderly mother-in-law. While Mrs...
  • Saturdays at Sweeney's by Ashley Farley

    Saturdays at Sweeney's by Ashley Farley

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Members of the Sweeney family, young and old, chart their courses for the future in this final installment of the bestselling Sweeney Sisters Series. When the seafood business Lovie Sweeney established sixty years ago is destroyed by fire, she finds herself at the center of an arson investigation...
    Categorized as:
    epic  family  female-mc  friendship  adult  book  contemporary  fiction
  • An Unfinished Story: A Novel by Boo Walker

    An Unfinished Story: A Novel by Boo Walker

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    A grieving widow and a disenchanted writer form an unexpected bond in a novel about second chances and finding the courage to let go of the past. It’s been three years since Claire Kite lost her husband, David, an aspiring novelist, in a tragic car accident. Claire finally finds the courage to move on; then she discovers among the remnants of her shattered world her husband’s last manuscript...
  • The Lilac Bouquet by Carolyn Brown

    The Lilac Bouquet by Carolyn Brown

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Come hell or high water, Emmy Jo Massey will have a wedding. After three generations of Massey women with children out of wedlock, she wants the whole town of Hickory, Texas, to witness the legitimacy of her union with Logan Grady. But dream weddings aren’t cheap...
    Categorized as:
    drama  family  female-mc  friendship  realistic  adult  audiobook  book
  • Fresh Water for Flowers: A Novel by Valérie Perrin

    Fresh Water for Flowers: A Novel by Valérie Perrin

    Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    Violette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. Casual mourners, regular visitors, and sundry colleagues—gravediggers, groundskeepers, and a priest—visit her to warm themselves in her lodge, where laughter, companionship, and occasional tears mix with the coffee she offers them. Her life is lived to the rhythms of their funny, moving confidences...
  • Death Leaves a Shadow: A Marlowe Black Mystery by Gabriel F.W. Koch

    Death Leaves a Shadow: A Marlowe Black Mystery by Gabriel F.W. Koch

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Then comes the brutal announcement that his pregnant fianc�e has committed suicide. Marlowe simply cannot accept the official verdict, and as anguish and rage replace the love he once felt, he is driven by a madness that forces him to question his own integrity while he hunts an elusive killer."Koch is an author who has his priorities in order...
    Categorized as:
    drama  epic  contemporary  fiction  hard-boiled  mystery
  • Murder on the Naval Base by Behcet Kaya

    Murder on the Naval Base by Behcet Kaya

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Murder on the Naval Base begins with a blurry account of a cold-blooded shooting of a couple, singled out while having dinner at an Officer's Club. The prime suspect is apprehended hours later while apparently attempting to flee the state...
    Categorized as:
    drama  epic  contemporary  fiction  mystery
  • Drawing Close: The Fourth Novel in the Rosemont Series by Barbara Hinske

    Drawing Close: The Fourth Novel in the Rosemont Series by Barbara Hinske

    Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    How much would you sacrifice to save the life of a child? In the fourth novel of best-selling author Barbara Hinske’s beloved Rosemont series, Maggie Martin faces her biggest challenges when her future at Rosemont and the life of someone dear to her are at stake. Fighting to eradicate the corruption in Westbury has left Mayor Maggie Martin drained...
  • Night Road by Kristin Hannah

    Night Road by Kristin Hannah

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 41 ratings
    Jude Farraday is a happily married, stay-at-home mom who puts everyone’s needs above her own. Her twins, Mia and Zach, are bright and happy teenagers. When Lexi Baill enters their lives, no one is more supportive than Jude. A former foster child with a dark past, Lexi quickly becomes Mia’s best friend. Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable...
  • Tooth for Tooth by J.K. Franko

    Tooth for Tooth by J.K. Franko

    Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    What would YOU do?What would you do if you got away with murder? Would you stop there? Could you?Susie and Roy thought that they committed the perfect crime.Their planning was meticulous. Their execution was flawless. But, there is always a loose end, isn’t there? Always a singing bone.Now, while enemies multiply and suspicions abound, their perfect world begins to crumble...
    Categorized as:
    drama  epic  contemporary  fiction  mystery  suspense
  • The Sacred Well Murders by Susan Rowland

    The Sacred Well Murders by Susan Rowland

    Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    A simple job turns deadly when Mary Wandwalker, novice detective, is hired to chaperone a young American, Rhiannon, to the Oxford University Summer School on the ancient Celts. Worried by a rhetoric of blood sacrifice, Mary and her operatives, Caroline, and Anna, attend a sacrifice at a sacred well. They discover that those who fail to individuate their gods become possessed by them...
    Categorized as:
    drama  epic  fiction  contemporary  mystery
  • The Patron by Tess Thompson

    The Patron by Tess Thompson

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    She’s afraid to take risks. He’s an incurable daredevil. When tragedy throws them together, will it spark a lasting devotion?Crystal Whalen isn’t sure why she should go on. Two years after her husband’s death on a ski trip, she’s devastated when a fire destroys her quiet Colorado mountain home...
  • Invisible Girl by Jill Childs

    Invisible Girl by Jill Childs

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    A heartbreaking story of family secrets from the USA Today bestselling author of Gracie’s Secret. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult and Diane Chamberlain.I know you. I know you in a way you can’t even imagine. I have been searching for you in the years since you wrote that letter – the letter that told me you were looking for me too...
  • Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah

    Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah

    Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars
    · 39 ratings
    Dr. Julia Cates was one of the country's preeminent child psychiatrists until a shocking tragedy ruined her career. Retreating to her small western Washington hometown, Julia meets an extraordinary six-year-old girl who has inexplicably emerged from the deep woods nearby—a child locked in a world of unimaginable fear and isolation...
  • Set Up: Second Chance Series Book 4: Second Chance Series by Kelly Collins

    Set Up: Second Chance Series Book 4: Second Chance Series by Kelly Collins

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    She’s a thief whose victim was her own self. He’s a man who plays it safe. After spending the past three years in prison for grand larceny, Natalie Diamond is finally free. But living at the Second Chance Ranch won’t be easy. There’s no spa, no housekeeper, no help. Natalie isn’t paddocks—she’s Prada. She isn’t manure—she’s Marchesa...
  • The Loft by Bette Lee Crosby

    The Loft by Bette Lee Crosby

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    50 YEARS OF MEMORIES ARE HIDDEN IN THE WALLS OF THE LOFT... Annie only needs to find one... the one that will save Oliver's life. On the day of their wedding, Annie saw nothing but happiness ahead, but when an accident calls her back to Memory House, her world is changed forever...
  • Neighbors: A Novel by Danielle Steel

    Neighbors: A Novel by Danielle Steel

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In Danielle Steel’s gripping new novel, a reclusive woman opens up her home to her neighbors in the wake of a devastating earthquake, setting off events that reveal secrets, break relationships apart, and bring strangers together to forge powerful new bonds.Meredith White was one of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces...
    Categorized as:
    drama  epic  family  female-mc  friendship  adult  audiobook  book
  • Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer

    Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer

    Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    The 2:00 a.m. call is the first time Lexie Vidler has heard her sister’s voice in years. Annie is a drug addict, a thief, a liar—and in trouble, again. Lexie has always bailed Annie out, given her money, a place to sleep, sent her to every kind of rehab. But this time, she’s not just strung out—she’s pregnant and in premature labor...
  • Vegas Heat by Fern Michaels

    Vegas Heat by Fern Michaels

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    With A Simple Twist Of Fate, Fortunes Rise And Fall. . .Vegas Heat is the story of the Thornton dynasty. . .of Fanny Thornton, who takes over Babylon, the family's magnificent Las Vegas casino, when her ex-husband Ash falls desperately ill. . .of Fanny's twin sons, Sage and Birch, one content in his conventional life, while the other's search for happiness leads to tragedy--and renewed hope. .
    Categorized as:
    drama  epic  family  female-mc  adult  audiobook  book  contemporary
  • Recipes for Melissa: The heartbreaking story of a mother's goodbye to her daughter by Teresa Driscoll

    Recipes for Melissa: The heartbreaking story of a mother's goodbye to her daughter by Teresa Driscoll

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Is it ever too late for the gift of goodbye? As I write now, you are eight years old – asleep in the bed next door in princess pyjamas, with a fairy costume discarded on the floor.Twenty-Five. The age I had you. The age our story began. And the age, I hope, that will see you truly ready for the things that I need to say to you… Melissa Dance was eight years old when her mother died...
  • The Coach Trip by Izzy Bromley

    The Coach Trip by Izzy Bromley

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    In this heartwarming story of hope and second chances, Emma and Mel are about to discover that sometimes life is about the journey, not the destination…Classic forgetful Emma—she’s done it again, this time accidentally ruining a Valentine’s Day surprise for her best friend Mel. Desperate to make up for it, she promises Mel a birthday trip to Edinburgh—a girls’ weekend to end all girls’ weekends...
  • The Heart of the Garden by Victoria Connelly

    The Heart of the Garden by Victoria Connelly

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Morton Hall, with its beautiful, ruined grounds and its reclusive mistress, Emilia Morton, is full of mysteries. For freelance editor Anne Marie, the wild garden has become a serene and secret refuge from her loveless marriage. The only other regular visitor is Cape, the hall’s part-time gardener, who is forbidden to tend to anything except the magnificent maze or to meet his enigmatic employer...
  • What I Remember Most by Cathy Lamb

    What I Remember Most by Cathy Lamb

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    In a new novel rich in grace, warmth, and courage, acclaimed author Cathy Lamb tells of one woman's journey of reinvention in the wake of deep betrayal.Grenadine Scotch Wild has only vague memories of the parents she last saw when she was six years old. But she's never forgotten their final, panicked words to her, urging Grenadine to run...
  • A Lowcountry Wedding by Mary Alice Monroe

    A Lowcountry Wedding by Mary Alice Monroe

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Wedding season has arrived in New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe’s next novel in the “distinct, complex, and endearing” ( Charleston Magazine ) Lowcountry Summer series, set against the romantic, charming Charleston Lowcountry. Nothing could be more enchanting than a summer wedding—or two!—in Charleston’s fabled lowcountry...
    Categorized as:
    drama  family  female-mc  friendship  realistic  adult  audiobook  book
  • One Minute Later: A Novel by Susan Lewis

    One Minute Later: A Novel by Susan Lewis

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    International bestselling author Susan Lewis’ riveting, unforgettable novel of a woman whose life changes in an instant and the handsome young man with whom she shares a secret history—perfect for readers of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain, and Susan Wiggs.  How well do you know the people you love? For one young woman returning to the past, the answer could be heart-shattering..
  • Sweet Tomorrows by Debbie Macomber

    Sweet Tomorrows by Debbie Macomber

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    The much-anticipated conclusion to Debbie Macomber’s beloved Rose Harbor series, set in the picturesque town of Cedar Cove, Sweet Tomorrows is a vibrant and poignant novel of letting go of fear, following your heart, and embracing the future—come what may. Nine months ago, Mark Taylor abruptly left Cedar Cove on a perilous mission to right a wrong from his past...
    Categorized as:
    drama  epic  family  female-mc  friendship  realistic  adult  audiobook
  • Where The Story Starts by Imogen Clark

    Where The Story Starts by Imogen Clark

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    A strange encounter. An unlikely friendship. But will it survive when they both know the truth?As single mother Leah struggles to get her children ready one morning, the doorbell rings. Standing on the doorstep of their terraced house in Whitley Bay is a well-dressed stranger, Clio, who feels an emotional tie to the house that she can’t explain...
  • Postcards from a Stranger by Imogen Clark

    Postcards from a Stranger by Imogen Clark

    Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    What if everything you thought you knew about your life turned out to be a lie? A dark secret nestles at the heart of Cara's family but it is only when her dominating father becomes ill with Alzheimer's that the lies begin to unravel. When Cara stumbles across a box of old postcards, she is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her past...
  • Friends with Secrets by Christine Gunderson

    Friends with Secrets by Christine Gunderson

    Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    In a funny and suspenseful debut, Christine Gunderson explores the myth of the perfect mother, the bonds of female friendship, and the haunting impact of secrets.What you see isn’t always what you get.Take Ainsley. The gorgeous mother of two lives a picture-perfect life with her husband, Ben—aspiring politician and heir to a candy fortune—in suburban Washington, DC...
  • Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

    Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

    Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
    · 30 ratings
    If you knew your future, would you try to fight fate? Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed. Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die...
  • Message Not Found by Dante Medema

    Message Not Found by Dante Medema

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    An emotionally complex portrayal of secrets, loss, and grief from Dante Medema, Indies Introduce author of the Indie Next Pick title The Truth Project.Bailey and Vanessa shared everything: laughter, secrets, and packets of Pop Rocks to ward off bad days. But that all changed the night Vanessa left Bailey’s, headed for home, and ended up swerving off a cliff nowhere near her house...
  • Lies a River Deep by Vera Jane Cook

    Lies a River Deep by Vera Jane Cook

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    In the summer of 1962, at a high school graduation party, Bessie Day Hardy is brutally raped. Fifty years later, the consequences of that horrific night will transition into unforeseen events that will shatter her serene and uncomplicated life...
    Categorized as:
    drama  epic  contemporary  fiction  historical  mystery
  • The Hidden Life by Adina Senft

    The Hidden Life by Adina Senft

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Emma Stolzfus has never been courted or kissed, and now that she's 30, it has become her place as the unmarried daughter to look after her elderly mother. But in the dark hours when her mother is asleep, Emma writes letters and essays to Amish periodicals, short stories, and even a novel she's been working on for the last five years...
  • What They Don't Know by Nicole Maggi

    What They Don't Know by Nicole Maggi

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Three secrets. One decision. A friendship that will change everything.Mellie has always been the reliable friend, the good student, the doting daughter. But when an unspeakable act leads her to withdraw from everyone she loves, she is faced with a life-altering choice―a choice she must face alone.Lise stands up―and speaks out―for what she believes in...
  • The Garden House: A Novel by Marcia Willett

    The Garden House: A Novel by Marcia Willett

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Marcia Willett's The Garden House is a charming and heartwarming novel about family, yearning, and long-buried secrets …Fresh out of university and right on the precipice of adulthood, El is trying her best to figure out what it is she really wants from life. This is complicated by the fact that she is also dealing with the loss of her father, Martin...
    Categorized as:
    drama  family  female-mc  friendship  grief  21st-century  adult  book
  • The Marriage Mender by Linda Green

    The Marriage Mender by Linda Green

    Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    The only relationship she can't save is her own . . .Alison is a marriage counsellor. Her job is to help couples who fear they have reached the end of the line. But the trouble with spending your time sorting out other people's problems is that you tend to take your eye off your own. Even when her husband's ex Lydia arrives on the doorstep demanding to see her son, Alison thinks she can handle it...
  • A Borrowed Path by Imogen Clark

    A Borrowed Path by Imogen Clark

    Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Home is where the heartache is.Eve has always had a tricky relationship with her mother, Agatha, and returning to Fox House, the family home, hasn’t made it any easier. When Eve’s daughter, Lyra, and granddaughter, Skye, unexpectedly turn up, it becomes clear that four generations of women under one roof is a recipe for trouble. Not least because Lyra clearly needs help but refuses to say why...
  • Home for Winter by Rebecca Boxall

    Home for Winter by Rebecca Boxall

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Serena Meadows and her twin sister, Luna, are identical in appearance—but the similarity ends there. Luna always had a mean streak and, as a teenager, her selfishness culminated in an almighty betrayal from which Serena thought she’d never recover.Years later the twins are reunited by tragedy and Luna is a changed woman...
  • When I Was Invisible by Dorothy Koomson

    When I Was Invisible by Dorothy Koomson

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    'Do you ever wonder if you've lived the life you were meant to?' I ask her. She sighs, and dips her head. 'Even if I do, what difference will it make?' In 1988, two eight-year-old girls with almost identical names and the same love of ballet meet for the first time. They seem destined to be best friends forever and to become professional dancers...
  • The Choice I Made by Cynthia Ellingsen

    The Choice I Made by Cynthia Ellingsen

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    One day you will understand that the heart is only as fragile as the choices we make. I tell you this now – we all make surprising decisions for love. Ones that can tear our heart out and leave us begging for answers. The most painful choice I’ve ever made, my dearest, was to say goodbye to you...
  • Her Mother's Shadow by Diane Chamberlain

    Her Mother's Shadow by Diane Chamberlain

    Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Annie A loving mother and wife, Annie O'Neill was the heart of the small community of Kiss River. But her generous nature hid a darker side that remained secret for years after her tragic death. Lacey When Lacey O'Neill finally learns the shattering truth about the mother she's spent a decade emulating, the foundation of her life begins to crumble...
  • The Summer That Made Us by Robyn Carr

    The Summer That Made Us by Robyn Carr

    Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    OVERALL MATTE Mothers and daughters, sisters and cousins--they lived for summers at the lake house until a tragic accident changed everything. The Summer That Made Us is an unforgettable story about a family learning to accept the past, to forgive and to love each other again. That was then..
  • The Passing Storm by Christine Nolfi

    The Passing Storm by Christine Nolfi

    Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    A gripping, openhearted novel about family, reconciliation, and bringing closure to the secrets of the past.Early into the tempestuous decade of her thirties, Rae Langdon struggles to work through a grief she never anticipated. With her father, Connor, she tends to their Ohio farm, a forty-acre spread that itself has enjoyed better days...
  • 8 Sandpiper Way by Debbie Macomber

    8 Sandpiper Way by Debbie Macomber

    Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    8 SANDPIPER WAYCEDAR COVE, WASHINGTONDEAR READER:I have something to confide in you. I think my husband, Dave, might be having an affair. I found an earring in his pocket, and it's not mine. I'm also worried because some jewelry was recently stolen from an old woman --- and Dave used to visit her a lot.You see, he's a pastor. And a good man...
  • The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse

    The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse

    Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    What would you do if you learned that the life you lived was a lie? Nina McCarrick lives the perfect life, until her husband, Finn, is killed in a car accident and everything Nina thought she could rely on unravels.Alone, bereft and faced with a mountain of debt, Nina quickly loses her life of luxury and she begins to question whether she ever really knew the man she married...
  • Call the Canaries Home by Laura Barrow

    Call the Canaries Home by Laura Barrow

    Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Three estranged sisters reconnect in their Louisiana hometown to face an unresolved past in a heartfelt novel about family, grief, secrets, and forgiveness.Savannah was four years old when her twin sister, Georgia, went missing from their small Louisiana town, fracturing their family...
  • Seaside Sunrise by Nellie Brooks

    Seaside Sunrise by Nellie Brooks

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    It's summer in Maine, and the sun shines on old friends, new neighbors, and secrets by the sea as mothers and daughters start over in Bay Harbor.Amelie gets a surprise visitor from the past and finally has a chance at uncovering an old mystery that changed her life. Depending on what she finds, she might have to share a secret of her own..
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