Books like 'Second Life'
Readers who enjoyed Second Life by S.J. Watson & Susan Lyons also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery psychological horror supernatural thriller suspense crime family drama
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Different Seasons by Stephen King
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsFrom the Magical Pen of Stephen King, Four Mesmerizing Novellas…“Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption”An unjustly imprisoned convict seeks a strange and startling revenge…the basis for the Best Picture Academy Award nominee The Shawshank Redemption... -
![The Shining by Stephen King, Campbell Scott]()
The Shining by Stephen King, Campbell Scott
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 89 ratingsFirst published in 1977, The Shining quickly became a benchmark in the literary career of Stephen King. This tale of a troubled man hired to care for a remote mountain resort over the winter, his loyal wife, and their uniquely gifted son slowly but steadily unfolds as secrets from the Overlook Hotel's past are revealed, and the hotel itself attempts to claim the very souls of the Torrance family... -
![Set This House in Order by Matt Ruff]()
Set This House in Order by Matt Ruff
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAndy Gage was born in 1965 and murdered not long after by his stepfather. . . . It was no ordinary murder. Though the torture and abuse that killed him were real, Andy Gage's death wasn't. Only his soul actually died, and when it died, it broke in pieces. Then the pieces became souls in their own right, coinheritors of Andy Gage's life. . . -
![The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell]()
The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 36 ratings2017: 19 year old Tallulah is going out on a date, leaving her baby with her mother, Kim.Kim watches her daughter leave and, as late evening turns into night, which turns into early morning, she waits for her return. And waits.The next morning, Kim phones Tallulah's friends who tell her that Tallulah was last seen heading to a party at a house in the nearby woods called Dark Place... -
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![Changeling by Matt Wesolowski]()
Changeling by Matt Wesolowski
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsOn Christmas Eve in 1988, seven-year-old Alfie Marsden vanished in the Wentshire Forest Pass, when a burst tyre forced his father, Sorrel, to stop the car. Leaving the car to summon the emergency services, Sorrel returned to find his son gone. No trace of the child, nor his remains, have ever been found. Alfie Marsden was declared officially dead in 1995... -
![The Taking of Peggy Martin by Karen Glista]()
The Taking of Peggy Martin by Karen Glista
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe setting is East Texas, where Peggy, a young nurse, works at an institution for the criminally insane. After her husband Danny is mysteriously killed in a car accident, she convinces herself that it was murder… and she knows the murderer by name… Jasper Johnson... -
![The Secrets of the Shadows by Helen Phifer]()
The Secrets of the Shadows by Helen Phifer
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSophie was afraid of the man in the shadows. He terrified her, but he would always disappear when someone else came. But one day in June 1984, she didn't escape. He took her. When a young woman is found draped over a gravestone in a chilling murder, police officer Annie Graham experiences a familiar sense of dread... -
![Home Before Dark by Riley Sager]()
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 74 ratingsIn the latest thriller from New York Times bestseller Riley Sager, a woman returns to the house made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound—and dangerous—secrets hidden within its walls?What was it like? Living in that house.Maggie Holt is used to such questions... -
![Het witte pad by John Connolly]()
Het witte pad by John Connolly
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsHailed as "one of the best" (Toronto Sun) writers of contemporary suspense fiction, international bestselling author John Connolly returns with an electrifying novel featuring his acclaimed private detective, Charlie Parker. In South Carolina, a young black man faces the death penalty for the rape and murder of Marianne Larousse, daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the state... -
![The Mercy of Snakes by Dean Koontz]()
The Mercy of Snakes by Dean Koontz
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA series of suspicious deaths in a retirement home draws Nameless into the confidence of a terrified former resident—and into the dark heart of a shocking conspiracy. In part five of the Nameless series, it’s time to hunt.Oakshore Park is Michigan’s most exclusive assisted-living community. Presided over by two killer angels of mercy, it’s also the go-to facility in assisted dying... -
![John Saul: Hellfire, The Unwanted, Sleepwalk by John Saul]()
John Saul: Hellfire, The Unwanted, Sleepwalk by John Saul
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author John Saul is a master at writing psychological terror, with fifteen novels on the bestseller lists. This first-ever hardcover edition of three of his most popular books features Hellfire, The Unwanted and Sleepwalk. All three stories explore supernatural mysteries of suspense and horror.Appearences are definitely deceiving in John Saul's world... -
![Stranger Still by Michaelbrent Collings]()
Stranger Still by Michaelbrent Collings
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsYour sins are Legion… and now you belong to him.Legion is a teacher. An avenging angel. A murderer. A madman. Born in the blood of a dying mother, raised in the underground lair of an insane father, he travels the world looking for those who keep secrets and sins. He finds those who have fallen short, and teaches them the lessons they need to leave their mistakes behind... -
![Dearest by Jacquie Walters]()
Dearest by Jacquie Walters
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA new mom in need of help opens her door to her long-estranged mother—only to invite something much darker inside—in this "fast-paced and frightening debut" (Rachel Harrison) about the long shadows cast by family secrets, perfect for readers of Grady Hendrix or Ashley Audrain. Flora is a new mom enamored of her baby girl, Iris, even if she arrived a few weeks early... -
![Come with Me by Ronald Malfi]()
Come with Me by Ronald Malfi
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA masterful, heart-palpitating novel of small-town horror and psychological dread from a Bram Stoker nominee.Aaron Decker's life changes one December morning when his wife Allison is killed. Haunted by her absence--and her ghost--Aaron goes through her belongings, where he finds a receipt for a motel room in another part of the country... -
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![Legacies by F. Paul Wilson]()
Legacies by F. Paul Wilson
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsDesperate to rid herself of a house she recently inherited, Alicia Clayton attempts to destroy it, but all the people she employs are suddenly found murdered, when Repairman Jack enters the scene and the mystery of the house begins to unfold... -
![The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donlea]()
The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donlea
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsCharlie Donlea, one of the most original new voices in suspense, returns with a haunting novel, laden with twists and high tension, about two abducted girls one who returns, one who doesn t and the forensics expert searching for answers. Nicole Cutty and Megan McDonald are both high school seniors in the small town of Emerson Bay, North Carolina... -
![Photographing the Dead by Dean Koontz]()
Photographing the Dead by Dean Koontz
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA self-styled artist is getting away with murder in Death Valley. If all goes well, so will Nameless. In part two of the Nameless series, the relentless avenger is haunted by nightmares of the past and visions of what’s to come.Palmer Oxenwald’s hunting ground is the Mojave wasteland. His victims are random tourists and hikers. His trophies are cherished photographs of the damage he’s done... -
![Blue Labyrinth by Douglas Preston]()
Blue Labyrinth by Douglas Preston
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsSpecial Agent Pendergast-one of the most original, compelling characters in all of contemporary fiction-returns in Preston and Child's new exhilarating novel Blue Labyrinth.A long-buried family secret has come back to haunt Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast...It begins with murder. One of Pendergast's most implacable, most feared enemies is found on his doorstep, dead... -
![My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon]()
My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA spine-tingling psychological thriller about a woman who, after taking in her dying, alcoholic mother, begins to suspect demonic possession is haunting her family.Alison has never been a fan of Christmas. But with it right around the corner and her husband busily decorating their cozy Vermont home, she has no choice but to face it. Then she gets the call... -
![Evil Eye by Madhuri Shekar, Harsh Nayyar]()
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... -
![Later by Stephen King]()
Later by Stephen King
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsSOMETIMES GROWING UP MEANS FACING YOUR DEMONS The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn... -
![Angel Eyes: The Haunting of January House by A.N. Willis]()
Angel Eyes: The Haunting of January House by A.N. Willis
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEveryone in Ashton, Colorado, knows that January House is haunted. Tucked away on an isolated hillside, the place has seen grisly murders and unsolved disappearances. An artists’ commune took up residence there in the 1970s, creating a controversy that still divides the town. Now, a reclusive painter has died in the crumbling house. The police say it’s natural causes... -
![The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James]()
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 66 ratingsThe secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel... -
![The Whisper Man by Alex North]()
The Whisper Man by Alex North
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsIn this dark, suspenseful thriller, Alex North weaves a multi-generational tale of a father and son caught in the crosshairs of an investigation to catch a serial killer preying on a small town.After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town: Featherbank.But Featherbank has a dark past... -
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![The Intruders by Louise Jensen]()
The Intruders by Louise Jensen
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIt should be the perfect a manor house available rent free in exchange for a bit of housesitting. But when Cass and James dig deeper, they find the place has been abandoned since a robbery left almost all the inhabitants dead almost thirty years ago. But they’ve got to save for a deposit somehow, so they move in, and things quickly take a strange turn... -
![Pressure by Jeff Strand]()
Pressure by Jeff Strand
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAlex stared at the red pocketknife shown to him by his daughter. A pocketknife owned by somebody he hadn't seen in years …CHILDRENThey met first in boarding school at age twelve. Alex Fletcher, shy and scared. Darren Rust, always furiously scribbling away in a private journal... -
![Crossroads by Laurel Hightower]()
Crossroads by Laurel Hightower
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHow far would you go to bring back someone you love? When Chris's son dies in a tragic car crash, her world is devastated. The walls of grief close in on Chris's life until, one day, a small cut on her finger changes everything. A drop of blood falls from Chris's hand onto her son's roadside memorial and, later that night, Chris thinks she sees his ghost outside her window... -
![The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane by Laird Koenig]()
The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane by Laird Koenig
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAlone in the darkened house, with only fire's glow and thirteen flickering candles for illumination, silent except for the mounting chords of a Liszt concerto, Rynn was preparing a solemn celebration. Until a knock at the door shattered sanctuary.Rynn is the little girl who lives in the house at the end of the lane with her father-or so she says... -
![Dark Corners by Liz Schulte]()
Dark Corners by Liz Schulte
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsElla Reynolds knew from the first moment she walked into the old house someone or something was watching her. Waiting. Her husband's violent murder sent her spiraling into a world of grief and isolation, but Ella isn't alone. Who or what is responsible for her husband's death is still with her. Darkness has engulfed the past year of Ella's life... -
![Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz]()
Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsIn the dazzling new thriller from the master of dark suspense, the hand of fate reaches out to touch an ordinary man with greatness. So long as he is ready. So long as he is, above all, afraid.Jimmy Tock comes into the world on the very night his grandfather leaves it... -
![In Her Shadow by Mark Edwards]()
In Her Shadow by Mark Edwards
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIsabel’s life seemed perfect. Successful business, beautiful house, adoring husband. And then she was dead.For four years Jessica has never doubted that her sister Isabel’s death was an accident. But when Jessica’s young daughter seems to know long-forgotten details about her aunt’s past, Jessica can’t shake the feeling that there’s a more sinister truth behind the tragedy... -
![Phantoms by Dean Koontz]()
Phantoms by Dean Koontz
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsThey found the town silent, apparently abandoned. Then they found the first body, strangely swollen and still warm. One hundred fifty were dead, 350 missing. But the terror had only begun in the tiny mountain town of Snowfield, California.At first they thought it was the work of a maniac. Or terrorists. Or toxic contamination. Or a bizarre new disease.But then they found the truth... -
![Duma Key by Stephen King]()
Duma Key by Stephen King
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsWhen Edgar Freemantle moves to the remote island of Duma Key to escape his past, he doesn't expect to find much there.But Duma has been waiting for him, and something in the view from his window urges him to discover a talent he never knew he had.Edgar Freemantle begins to paint. And as he paints, the island's secrets begin to stir... -
![Blood Harvest by Sharon J. Bolton]()
Blood Harvest by Sharon J. Bolton
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsShe's been watching us for a while now...Now you see herGillian is haunted by the disappearance of her little girl two years ago. A devastating fire burned down their home, but she remains convinced her daughter survived.Now you don'tTen-year-old Tom lives by a neglected church... -
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![Alex by Adam J. Nicolai]()
Alex by Adam J. Nicolai
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Kindle Bestseller, Now Available On All Platforms"A tormented father must decide whether he's seeing the ghost of his dead son or visions brought on by psychosis in this thriller . . . featuring a riveting protagonist haunted by his own guilt." - Kirkus Reviews (Recommended Review)An empty house. A bereaved father. Alone with his loss, Ian Colmes has driven away everyone he loves... -
![Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra]()
Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 9 ratings***Note that many reviews contain spoilers***A razor-sharp thriller about a mother forced to the breaking point when her life and the lives of her children are threatened by an intruderHome alone with her young children during a blizzard, a mother tucks her son back into bed in the middle of the night. She hears a noise—old houses are always making some kind of noise... -
![Hydra by Matt Wesolowski]()
Hydra by Matt Wesolowski
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsElusive online investigative journalist Scott King investigates the case of Arla Macleod, who bludgeoned her family to death, in another episode of the chilling, award-winning Six Stories series... -
![Viskningar i mörkret by Amanda Stevens]()
Viskningar i mörkret by Amanda Stevens
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWork is a welcome refuge for New Orleans homicide detective Evangeline Theroux. Feeling suffocated by her new baby, in whose eyes she sees only her dead husband, she throws herself into a high-profile murder case. Reclusive writer Lena Saunders offers Evangeline a provocative theory about the crime: it is the work of a lunatic vigilante... -
![Sundial by Catriona Ward]()
Sundial by Catriona Ward
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsAll Rob ever wanted was a normal life.Nothing like her childhood, growing up in the lonely, wild Mojave Desert on her family's ranch, Sundial. Surrounded by dogs, coyotes, and research assistants.For a while, it seemed like Rob got her wish: A husband, two daughters, the white picket fence, and margaritas with the neighbors... -
![The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld]()
The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsA haunting, atmospheric, and deeply suspenseful novel from the acclaimed author of The Enchanted about an investigator who must use her unique insights to find a missing little girl... -
![Skeletal by Katherine Hayton]()
Skeletal by Katherine Hayton
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThree months before she died Daina Harrow faced a bully at school.Six weeks before she died Daina Harrow suffered an assault in the park.One week before she died Daina Harrow stole a secret people had killed to hide. That was ten years ago. Ten long years.Now, her bones have been found on a building site. A coroner's inquest has been reopened. A parade of witnesses is about to start... -
![Lay Me to Rest by E.A. Clark]()
Lay Me to Rest by E.A. Clark
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSome secrets never stay buried for long…Devastated by the death of her husband, Annie Philips is shocked to discover she is pregnant with his unborn child. Hoping for a fresh start, she travels to a remote stone cottage in Anglesey, amidst the white-capped mountains of North Wales.She settles in quickly, helped by her mysterious new neighbour, Peter... -
![Follow You Home by Mark Edwards]()
Follow You Home by Mark Edwards
Rated: 3.91 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsIt was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, a final adventure before settling down.After a perfect start, Daniel and Laura’s travels end abruptly when they are thrown off a night train in the middle of nowhere. To find their way back to civilisation, they must hike along the tracks through a forest…a haunting journey that ends in unimaginable terror... -
![Naoko by Keigo Higashino]()
Naoko by Keigo Higashino
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNaoko, a major bestseller and film in Japan, is a poignant and wily take on gender relations from a master of the detective story. Expertly and seamlessly interweaving the real and the unreal, Naoko involves a regular guy whose world is rocked when his wife dies in a bus accident. His young daughter survives, but seems to be inhabited by her mother’s personality... -
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![The Dogs by Allan Stratton]()
The Dogs by Allan Stratton
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOut of the corner of my eye, I catch something moving by the barn.When I look, it disappears. Wait. There it is again, at the cornfield. Some movement, some thing. Mom and I have been on the run for years. Every time he catches up with us, we move to a new place and start over.But this place is different.This place is full of secrets. And they won't leave me alone... -
![The Bad Place by Dean Koontz]()
The Bad Place by Dean Koontz
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsFrank Pollard is afraid to fall asleep. Every morning when he awakes, he discovers something strange--like blood on his hands--a bizarre mystery that tortures his soul. Two investigators have been hired to follow the haunted man. But only one person--a young man with Down's Syndrome--can imagine where their journeys might end. That terrible place from which no one ever returns... -
![Be Buried in the Rain by Barbara Michaels]()
Be Buried in the Rain by Barbara Michaels
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThere are terrible secrets from generations past buried at Maidenwood. Medical student Julie Newcomb has returned to her family's decaying plantation—the site of so many painful childhood memories—to tend to her tyrannical grandmother, felled by a stroke... -
![The Music of the Deep by Elizabeth Hall]()
The Music of the Deep by Elizabeth Hall
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFleeing an abusive marriage and tormented by her past, Alexandra Turner finds solace in a small coastal town on Puget Sound and a job with a local marine biologist studying orcas.After befriending a group of locals, Alex learns that she has moved to a place that has a reputation of being the “most haunted town in Washington... -
![Dark Rivers of the Heart by Dean Koontz]()
Dark Rivers of the Heart by Dean Koontz
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsDo you dare step through the red door? Spencer Grant had no idea what drew him to the bar with the red door. He thought he would just sit down, have a slow beer or two, and talk to a stranger. He couldn't know that it would lead to a narrow escape from a bungalow targeted by a SWAT team. Or that it would leave him a wanted man. Now he is on the run from mysterious and ruthless men... -
![Perfect Circle by Sean Stewart]()
Perfect Circle by Sean Stewart
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWilliam ""Dead"" Kennedy has problems. He's haunted by family, by dead people with unfinished business, and by those perfect pop songs that you can't get out of your head. He's a 32-year-old Texan still in love with his ex-wife. He just lost his job at Pet-Co for eating cat food. His air-conditioning is broken, there's no good music on the radio, and he's been dreaming about ghost roads...
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