Books like 'People Like Us'
Readers who enjoyed People Like Us by Dana Mele also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery psychological thriller lgbtq boarding-school wlw dark-academia realistic suspense
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Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSally Diamond cannot understand why what she did was so strange. She was only doing what her father told her to do, to put him out with the rubbish when he died.Now Sally is the centre of attention, not only from the hungry media and worried police, but also a sinister voice from a past she has no memory of... -
Fifty-Fifty by Steve Cavanagh
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsAlexandra Avellino has just found her father's mutilated body, and needs the police right away. She believes her sister killed him, and that she is still in the house with a knife. Sofia Avellino has just found her father's mutilated body and needs the police right away. She believes her sister, Alexandra did it, and that she is still in the house, locked in the bathroom... -
12 by Nolon King, David Wright
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhat Would You Do With the Last 12 Hours of Your Life?At 6 p.m. on a Wednesday in October, a gunman will enter Goldman’s Diner and commit one of the worst massacres the small coastal town of Palm Isles, Florida has ever seen.Twelve hours twelve lives are on borrowed time, unaware that death is coming, or that their paths will collide in one tragic moment... -
The Stepchild by Nicole Trope
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThree-year-old Millie Everleigh disappears on a crisp winter’s day, and nothing is as it seems…It’s the phone call every mother dreads.I’m climbing into the car after a trip to the grocery store. As the engine starts, my phone rings. It’s my stepdaughter, Shelby, who is babysitting my three-year-old little girl Millie.‘I only went upstairs for a second,’ she says through her sobs. ‘She’s gone... -
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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... -
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... -
Juste une ombre by Karine Giébel
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCloé Beauchamp est une jeune femme à qui tout semble réussir; belle, brillante, sur le point d'être nommée à la tête d'une prestigieuse agence de publicité... Et amoureuse, depuis peu, d'un homme charmant. Elle cache à la perfection ses failles et les horreurs qui ont jalonné son passé. Mais lentement, sa vie va se transformer en cauchemar... -
The Stepdaughter by Georgina Cross
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIt’s a normal afternoon when I walk out the patio doors of our kitchen to check on Mia, my stepdaughter, who is swimming in our backyard pool. But she’s gone. My heart stops when I see the back gate is open, her pink, fluffy towel lying folded on a chair. I was just feet away... -
This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFive went in. Four came out.No one knows what happened that morning at River Point. Five boys went hunting. Four came back. The boys won’t say who fired the shot that killed their friend; the evidence shows it could have been any one of them... -
Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsMary B. Addison killed a baby.Allegedly. She didn’t say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: A white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it? She wouldn’t say...Categorized as:
bullying coming-of-age crime dark high-school realistic suspense unreliable-narrator -
Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas, Abby McDonald
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIt's Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off on a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations... -
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 29 ratings10 hours, 22 minutes Six friends. One college reunion. One unsolved murder.Ten years after graduation, Jessica Miller has been invited back to her university for a reunion and she is obsessed with dazzling everyone with her beauty and success. This time when they see her, it has to be perfect because she is perfect... -
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... -
I, Claudia by Mary McCoy
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA 2019 Michael L. Printz Honor Book Disaffected teen historian Claudia McCarthy never expected to be in charge of Imperial Day Academy, but by accident, design, or scheme, she is pulled into the tumultuous and high-profile world of the Senate and Honor Council. Suddenly, Claudia is wielding power over her fellow students that she never expected to have and isn't sure she wants...Categorized as:
bullying coming-of-age friendship high-school realistic suspense unreliable-narrator thriller -
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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... -
A Narrow Door by Joanne Harris
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAn electrifying tale of psychological suspense and revenge at an elite boarding school where secrets run deep."A dark world of emotional complexity and betrayal, where twist follows twist and nothing is what it seems."—Alex Michaelides, bestselling author of The Silent Patient"Exhilarating. Addictive. Fierce... -
My Little Girl by Shalini Boland
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratings‘I’m sorry. Your daughter is missing…’Claire Nolan receives a panicked phone call, telling her that her seven-year-old daughter Beatrice has gone missing on a trip to the local fair.It’s every mother’s worst nightmare. And it’s happening to her... -
Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terrill
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA young, street-savvy runaway looking for a place to call home realizes he might have conned his way into the wrong family in this fast-paced and thrilling novel from award-winning author Cristin Terrill.When ten-year-old Daniel Tate went missing from one of California's most elite communities, he left no trace. He simply vanished... -
The Promise by Teresa Driscoll
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe chilling new psychological thriller from the #1 bestselling author of I Am Watching You. It was their darkest secret. Three schoolgirls made a promise – to take the horrible truth of what they did to the grave.Thirty years later, Beth and Sally have tried to put the trauma behind them... -
Three Mothers by Hannah Beckerman, Kristin Atherton
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Forgetting : a tense, character-driven suspense with a final twist that will make you gaspA heartbroken motherWhen seventeen-year-old Isla Richardson is killed in a hit-and-run incident, a community’s lives are thrown into disarray. For Isla’s mum, Abby, it is her second devastating bereavement, having lost her husband five years ago... -
The Suicide House by Charlie Donlea
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA chilling murder in a prestigious prep school is at the heart of this riveting new novel from acclaimed author Charlie Donlea, featuring forensic reconstructionist Rory Moore and her psychologist partner, Lane Phillips. Inside the walls of Indiana's elite Westmont Preparatory High School, expectations run high and rules are strictly enforced... -
Home Truths by Charity Norman
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLivia Denby is on trial for attempted murder. The jury have reached a verdict. Two years earlier, Livia was a probation officer in Yorkshire, her husband Scott a teacher. Their children, Heidi and Noah, round out a happy family until the day Scott's brother dies. Grief and guilt leave Scott seeking answers, a search which takes him into the world of conspiracy theories... -
Rape Girl by Alina Klein
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsValerie always wanted to be the smart girl. The pretty girl. The popular girl.But not the rape girl.That’s who she is now. Rape Girl. Because everyone seems to think they know the truth about what happened with Adam that day, and they don’t think Valerie’s telling it.Before, she had a best friend, a crush, and a close-knit family... -
The Ninth Session by Deborah Serani
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller that brings a unique mix of Psychotherapy, American Sign Language and Coda Culture. Just when you think you have it figured out, think again! Dr. Alicia Reese takes on a new patient. Lucas Ferro suffers with crippling anxiety, and as sessions progress, he begins to share the reasons why he's struggling... -
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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... -
One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus, Карен М. Макманус
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsCome on, Bayview, you know you've missed this.A ton of copycat gossip apps have popped up since Simon died, but in the year since the Bayview four were cleared of his shocking death, no one's been able to fill the gossip void quite like he could. The problem is no one has the facts.Until now. This time it's not an app, though—it's a game. Truth or Dare.Phoebe's the first target... -
The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky, Голди Молдавски
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNew girl Rachel Chavez is eager to make a fresh start at Manchester Prep. But as one of the few scholarship kids, Rachel struggles to fit in, and when she gets caught up in a prank gone awry, she ends up with more enemies than friends... -
Chameleon by Ellen Hopkins
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFocuses on a teen who has to come to terms with the fact that her ex-military father abducted her when she was a very small child; though she thought her mother had abandoned her, she had been searching for her the whole time... -
Three Sisters by O.J. Mullen, Owen Mullen
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOne chance meeting. A night that changes everything.The Kennedy sisters, Molly, Alex and Sam, have a Christmas tradition – a night out, just the three of them, sisters together.Lewis Stone can’t face the work Christmas party, but as he’s one of the bosses, he has to put in an appearance. He leaves as soon as he can politely get away, ready for the holidays to begin... -
The Liar's Daughter by Megan Cooley Peterson
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsPiper was raised in a cult. She just doesn't know it. Seventeen-year-old Piper knows that Father is a Prophet. Infallible. The chosen one.She would do anything for Father. That's why she takes care of all her little sisters. That's why she runs end-of-the-world drills. That's why she never asks questions. Because Father knows best.Until the day he doesn't...Categorized as:
coming-of-age crime dark high-school realistic suspense unreliable-narrator thriller -
Last One to Lie by J.M. Winchester
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMoving to a new city was supposed to be a fresh start for her family. Now it’s a nightmare. Her little girl was supposed to be at day care when Kelsey arrived to pick her up. But they have no record of her daughter ever being there. And to make matters worse, her husband is missing too—he won’t pick up his phone, and the school he supposedly works at says he never accepted their job offer... -
R.I.P. Eliza Hart by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen Eliza Hart, the most popular girl at Ventana Ranch boarding school, is found dead on the cliffs outside her dormitory, Ellie Sokoloff is determined to figure out what happened to her. After all, Eliza was Ellie’s childhood best friend...Categorized as:
boarding-school friendship high-school realistic suspense contemporary death fiction -
Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsEcho Ridge is small-town America. Ellery's never been there, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.The town is picture-perfect, but it's hiding secrets... -
Night by Night by Jack Jordan
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratings'Wow, it grabs you in the gut from the first few pages and doesn't let go!' Jo Spain, author of The Confession_________________________If you're reading this, I'm dead.Rejected by her family and plagued by insomnia, Rose Shaw is on the brink. But one dark evening she collides with a man running through the streets, who quickly vanishes... -
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Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsA gripping thriller about three young girlfriends, a dark obsession and a chilling crime that shakes up a quiet Iowa town, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence .For twelve-year-old Cora Landry and her friends Violet and Jordyn, it was supposed to be an ordinary sleepover--movies and Ouija and talking about boys... -
The Secrets You Hide by Kate Helm
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsn her eyes, no-one is innocent...A knock-out read for fans of Clare Mackintosh, Anatomy of a Scandal and Apple Tree Yard.Georgia Sage has a gift: she can see evil in people. As a courtroom artist she uses her skills to help condemn those who commit terrible crimes. After all, her own brutal past means she knows innocence is even rarer than justice... -
Forget Me by K.A. Harrington
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAn edge-of-your seat psychological thriller with a romantic twist On the three-month anniversary of her boyfriend Flynn’s death, Morgan uploads her only photo of him to FriendShare to get some closure—but she’s shocked when the facial recognition software suggests she tag him as "Evan Murphy... -
The Shadow Year by Hannah Richell
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOn a sultry summer’s day in 1980, five friends stumble upon an abandoned lakeside cottage hidden deep in the English countryside. For Kat and her friends, it offers an escape; a chance to drop out for a while, with lazy summer days by the lake and intimate winter evenings around the fire... -
The Fake Wife by Sharon J. Bolton
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOlive Anderson is dining alone at a hotel when a glamourous stranger joins her table, pretending to be her wife. What starts as a thrilling game quickly turns into something dangerous. But as much as the fake wife has her secrets, Olive just might have more . . -
Fox by Joyce Carol Oates
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA spellbinding novel of literary and psychological suspense about the dark secrets that surface after the shocking disappearance of a charismatic, mercurial teacher at an elite boarding school—by the legendary author 'who is surely on any shortlist of America’s greatest living writers' (New York Times Magazine)'Eerie, shocking, provoking, and beautifully written, Fox is yet further proof Oates... -
When I Was You by Minka Kent
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsA stolen identity leads a woman down a dark and desperate path in a gripping novel of psychological suspense by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Minka Kent.After barely surviving a brutal attack, Brienne Dougray rarely leaves her house. Suffering from debilitating headaches and memory loss, she can rely only on her compassionate new tenant, Dr... -
Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsAudere, agere, auferre. To dare, to strive, to conquer. For generations, privileged young men have attended St. Oswald's Grammar School for Boys, groomed for success by the likes of Roy Straitley, the eccentric Classics teacher who has been a fixture there for more than thirty years. But this year the wind of unwelcome change is blowing... -
Heart-Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThey say I'm evil. The police. The newspapers. The girls from school who sigh on the six o'clock news and say they always knew there was something not quite right about me. And everyone believes it. Including you. But you don't know. You don't know who I used to be. Who I could have been... -
Little Monsters by Kara Thomas
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsKacey is the new girl in Broken Falls. When she moved in with her father, she stepped into a brand-new life. A life with a stepbrother, a stepmother, and strangest of all, an adoring younger half sister.Kacey’s new life is eerily charming compared with the wild highs and lows of the old one she lived with her volatile mother... -
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Penpal by Dathan Auerbach
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsPenpal began as a series of short and interconnected stories posted on an online horror forum... -
All These Beautiful Strangers by Elizabeth Klehfoth
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn the last day of summer, Grace Fairchild, the beautiful young wife of real estate mogul Allister Calloway, vanished from the family’s lake house without a trace, leaving behind her seven-year old daughter, Charlie, and a slew of unanswered questions.Years later, seventeen-year-old Charlie still struggles with the dark legacy of her family name and the mystery surrounding her mother...Categorized as:
boarding-school coming-of-age crime dark dark-academia friendship high-school realistic -
Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee by Mary G. Thompson
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA bittersweet homecoming holds dark secrets in this heart-wrenching story of loss, love, and survival for readers of Room. When sixteen-year-old Amy returns home, she can’t tell her family what’s happened to her. She can’t tell them where she’s been since she and her best friend, her cousin Dee, were kidnapped six years ago—who stole them from their families or what’s become of Dee... -
Follow Me Down by Tanya Byrne
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe sensationally good Tanya Byrne returns with her new novel - a dark, compulsive tale of obsession and betrayal When sixteen-year-old Adamma Okomma, a Nigerian diplomat's daughter, arrives at exclusive Crofton College in Wiltshire, she is immediately drawn to beautiful, tempestuous, unpredictable Scarlett Chiltern. Adamma and Scarlett become inseparable - until they fall for the same guy...Categorized as:
boarding-school coming-of-age dark dark-academia friendship high-school realistic book -
A Density of Souls by Christopher Rice
Rated: 3.85 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA gripping and hauntingly atmospheric debut novel from Anne Rice's son. In the brooding milieu of New Orleans, four friends are about to recognise the fragile boundaries between loyalty and betrayal. Once inseparable, Meredith, Brandon, Stephen and Greg enter high school only to learn that their friendship cannot withstand the envy and rage of adolescence... -
The Nightwalker by Sebastian Fitzek
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsAs a young man, Leon Nader suffered from insomnia. As a sleepwalker, he even turned to violence during his nocturnal excursions and had psychiatric treatment for his condition. Eventually, he was convinced he had been cured—but one day, years later, Leon's wife disappears from their apartment under mysterious circumstances...
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