Books like 'Lying in Wait'
Readers who enjoyed Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery psychological horror thriller europe british-isles ireland crime suspense
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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... -
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... -
Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsMarin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They're admired in their community and are a loving family—until their world falls apart the day their son Sebastian is taken.A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak... -
Sul lato selvaggio by Tiffany McDaniel
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSix women—mothers, daughters, sisters—gone missing. Inspired by the unsolved murders of the Chillicothe Six, this harrowing novel tells the story of two sisters, both of whom could be the next victims, from the internationally best-selling author of Betty."Capture[s] what goes horribly wrong when women don’t fit a customary victim profile.. -
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The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsA page-turning debut of suspense about a young couple desperate to have a child of their own—and the unsettling consequences of getting what they always wanted.Christopher and Hannah are a happily married surgeon and nurse with picture-perfect lives. All that’s missing is a child... -
Wall of Silence by Tracy Buchanan
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsHer children have a deadly secret. Can she uncover it before the police do?Melissa Byatt’s life in Forest Grove seems as perfect as can be: a doting husband, three loving children and a beautiful house in a close-knit community. But appearances can be deceiving... -
Playing Nice by J.P. Delaney
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsWhat if you found out that your family isn't yours at all? How far would you go to protect them? A gripping new psychological thriller from the bestselling author of The Girl Before. . . .Pete Riley answers the door one morning and lets in a parent's worst nightmare... -
What Lies Between Us by John Marrs
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThey say every house has its secrets, and the house that Maggie and Nina have shared for so long is no different. Except that these secrets are not buried in the past.Every other night, Maggie and Nina have dinner together. When they are finished, Nina helps Maggie back to her room in the attic, and into the heavy chain that keeps her there... -
The Push by Ashley Audrain
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsA tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family–and a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for–and everything she feared.Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had... -
Trespassing by Brandi Reeds
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn a novel of mounting psychological suspense, a young mother follows a dangerous path to find her missing husband.Veronica Cavanaugh’s grasp on the world is slipping. Her latest round of fertility treatments not only failed but left her on edge and unbalanced. And her three-year-old daughter, Elizabella, has a new imaginary friend, who seems much more devilish than playful...Categorized as:
crime domestic-drama drama family literary-fiction suspense thriller action-adventure -
His & Hers by Alice Feeney
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThere are two sides to every story: yours and mine, ours and theirs, His & Hers. Which means someone is always lying. When a woman is murdered in Blackdown, a quintessentially British village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation... -
Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsThink you know the person you married? Think again…Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can’t recognize friends or family, or even his own wife... -
You're Family Now by Jack Stainton
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratings⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘ EPIC!! EPIC!! EPIC!! This book had EVERYTHING I love in a book!! ' Goodreads ReviewerHe only had to do one thing. Love her family…Matt Walker was a chancer; he’d spent his entire profession chasing the next job. His personal life took on a similar mantra; a succession of one-night stands and brief relationships. Life was slowly drifting him by... -
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... -
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You Let Me In by Lucy Clarke
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsSpine-tingling, chilling, and utterly compulsive, YOU LET ME IN is the stunning new novel from Richard & Judy Book Club author, Lucy Clarke Nothing has felt right since Elle rented out her house . . . I’M IN YOUR HOUSE There’s a new coldness. A shift in the atmosphere. The prickling feeling that someone is watching her every move from the shadows... -
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... -
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... -
Dear Child: A Novel by Romy Hausmann
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA woman held captive finally escapes—but can she ever really get away?Gone Girl meets Room in this page-turning, #1 internationally bestselling thriller from one of Germany’s hottest new talentsA windowless shack in the woods. A dash to safety. But when a woman finally escapes her captor, the end of the story is only the beginning of her nightmare.She says her name is Lena... -
The Good Samaritan by John Marrs
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsShe’s a friendly voice on the phone. But can you trust her?The people who call End of the Line need hope. They need reassurance that life is worth living. But some are unlucky enough to get through to Laura. Laura doesn’t want them to hope. She wants them to die.Laura hasn’t had it easy: she’s survived sickness and a difficult marriage only to find herself heading for forty, unsettled and angry... -
I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsWhen Ella Longfield overhears two attractive young men flirting with teenage girls on a train, she thinks nothing of it—until she realises they are fresh out of prison and her maternal instinct is put on high alert. But just as she’s decided to call for help, something stops her. The next day, she wakes up to the news that one of the girls—beautiful, green-eyed Anna Ballard—has disappeared... -
Silent Child by Sarah A. Denzil
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsIn the summer of 2006, Emma Price watched helplessly as her six-year-old son's red coat was fished out of the River Ouse. It was the tragic story of the year - a little boy, Aiden, wandered away from school during a terrible flood, fell into the river, and drowned. His body was never recovered. Ten years later, Emma has finally rediscovered the joy in life... -
The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 58 ratingsThe Lottery, one of the most terrifying stories written in this century, created a sensation when it was first published in The New Yorker. "Power and haunting," and "nights of unrest" were typical reader responses. This collection, the only one to appear during Shirley Jackson's lifetime, unites "The Lottery:" with twenty-four equally unusual stories... -
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 Woods by Harlan Coben
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsTwenty years ago at summer camp, Paul Copeland's sister died in the woods, the alleged victim of a serial killer. Her body was never found. Now, Paul is the prosecutor for Essex County, New Jersey, immersed in one of the biggest cases of his career-a case that will change everything he believes about the past...and the truth... -
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Here To Stay by Mark Edwards
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA beautiful home. A loving wife. And in-laws to die for.Gemma Robinson comes into Elliot’s life like a whirlwind, and they marry and settle into his home. When she asks him if her parents can come to stay for a couple of weeks, he is keen to oblige – he just doesn’t quite know what he’s signing up for... -
Sleep Tight by Rachel Abbott
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsHow far would you go to hold on to the people you love?When Olivia Brookes calls the police to report that her husband and children are missing, she believes she will never see them again. She has reason to fear the worst; this isn’t the first tragedy that Olivia has experienced... -
Magpie Lane by Lucy Atkins
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen the eight-year-old daughter of an Oxford College Master vanishes in the middle of the night, police turn to the Scottish nanny, Dee, for answers... -
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... -
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe New York Times bestselling Queen of Twists returns…with a family reunion that leads to murder.After years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in Nana’s crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. Finally back together one last time, when the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours... -
No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsFourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge woke one morning to discover that her entire family, mother, father, brother had vanished. No note, no trace, no return. Ever. Now, twenty-five years later, she'll learn the devastating truthSometimes better not to know. . . Cynthia is happily married with a young daughter, a new family. But the story of her old family isn't over... -
The Girl Before by Rena Olsen
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn this powerful psychological suspense debut, when a woman’s life is shattered, she is faced with a devastating question: What if everything she thought was normal and good and true . . . wasn’t? Clara Lawson is torn from her life in an instant. Without warning, her home is invaded by armed men, and she finds herself separated from her beloved husband and daughters... -
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 Butcher by Jennifer Hillier
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA rash of grisly serial murders plagued Seattle until the infamous "Beacon Hill Butcher" was finally hunted down and killed by police chief Edward Shank in 1985. Now, some thirty years later, Shank, retired and widowed, is giving up his large rambling Victorian house to his grandson Matt, whom he helped raise... -
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 Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA reunion leads to tragedy, and the unravelling of dark family secrets . . .It is the summer of 2021 and Nell has come home at her family's insistence to celebrate an anniversary. Her father, Sir Frank Churcher, is regarded as a cult figure by many. Fifty years ago he wrote The Golden Bones... -
Watching You by Lisa Jewell
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsYou’re back home after four years working abroad, new husband in tow.You’re keen to find a place of your own. But for now you’re crashing in your big brother’s spare room.That’s when you meet the man next door.He’s the head teacher at the local school. Twice your age. Extraordinarily attractive. You find yourself watching him.All the time... -
Silent Victim by Caroline Mitchell
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsEmma’s darkest secrets are buried in the past. But the truth can’t stay hidden for long.Emma is a loving wife, a devoted mother…and an involuntary killer. For years she’s been hiding the dead body of the teacher who seduced her as a teen.It’s a secret that might have stayed buried if only her life had been less perfect... -
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... -
In the Blood by Lisa Unger
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA Best Book of the Year -- Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee, Silver Falchion Award Winner, Suspense Magazine Best Books, Sun-Sentinel Best Mystery Novels, CBC Morning Show Top Pick, Indie Next Pick and Amazon Best Book of the Month. Liar, liar, pants on fire . . . College senior Lana Granger has told so many lies about her past that the truth seems like a distant, cloudy nightmare... -
You're Next by Gregg Hurwitz, Scott Brick
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsMike Wingate, abandoned by his father at four and raised in foster care, is finally living the life he always dreamed of — he’s happily married with a precocious 8-year-old daughter, and his construction company is about to finish a “green” housing development that will secure a solid future for them all... -
Just Married by Kiersten Modglin
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen my husband found this perfect little cabin in the woods for our honeymoon, I couldn’t wait to get away. Just us in the middle of the forest, waking up every day in the trees, ending each night in the hot tub under the stars. But now I’m not sure that I know my husband at all…I just wish we’d gone to the police when someone left a note on the doormat saying: She’s dead, you’re next... -
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? by Henry Farrell
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe literary classic that inspired the iconic film - the story of two sisters and the hell they made their home.Once an acclaimed child star of vaudeville, Baby Jane Hudson performed for adoring crowds before a move to Hollywood thrust her sister, Blanche, into the spotlight... -
The Doll House by Phoebe Morgan
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsYou never know who’s watching…Corinne’s life might look perfect on the outside, but after three failed IVF attempts it’s her last chance to have a baby. And when she finds a tiny part of a doll house outside her flat, it feels as if it’s a sign.But as more pieces begin to turn up, Corinne realises that they are far too familiar... -
Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsA young lawyer's outwardly perfect life spirals out of control as she takes on her first murder case in this dark and twisty debut thriller for readers of Paula Hawkins, A.J. Finn, or Shari Lapena.Alison has it all. A doting husband, adorable daughter, and a career on the rise--she's just been given her first murder case to defend. But all is never as it seems... Just one more night... -
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A Simple Plan by Scott Smith
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsTwo brothers and their friend stumble upon the wreckage of a plane–the pilot is dead and his duffle bag contains four million dollars in cash. In order to hide, keep, and share the fortune, these ordinary men all agree to a simple plan... -
Baby dear by Linda Huber
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCaro and Jeff Horne seem to have it all until they learn that Jeff is infertile. Caro married Jeff because her biggest wish was to be a mother, and he had the means to give their children a better life than she’d had. Jeff, who is besotted with Caro, is terrified he will lose her now they can’t have a baby.Across town, Sharon is eight months pregnant and unsure if she really wants to be a mother... -
The Ploughmen by Kim Zupan
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA young sheriff and a hardened killer form an uneasy and complicated bond in this mesmerizing first novel set on the plains of Montana.Steeped in a lonesome Montana landscape as unyielding and raw as it is beautiful, Kim Zupan's The Ploughmen is a new classic in the literature of the American West... -
The Death of Us by Abigail Dean
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBringing together the slow-burn simmer of psychological suspense and the propulsive drive of crime thrillers, The Death of Us is the story of a marriage turned inside out by a violent encounter that sets fire to the hairline faults that were there from the start.Late on a summer’s evening when they are thirty years old, husband and wife Edward and Isabel’s home is invaded by a serial killer... -
The Magpies by Mark Edwards, Elliot Hill
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWhen Jamie and Kirsty move into their first home together, they are full of optimism. The future, in which they plan to get married and start a family, is bright. The other residents of their building seem friendly too, including the Newtons, a married couple who welcome them to the building with open arms.But then strange things start to happen. Dead rats are left on their doorstep... -
Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFor fans of Lianne Moriarty, Paula Hawkins, and Tana French, an arresting debut novel of psychological suspense: a young journalist struggles to keep the demons of her alcoholism at bay as she finds her purpose again in tackling the mystery of a shocking headline-making crime, still unsolved after fifteen years.Amy Stevenson was the biggest news story of 1995...
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