Books like 'The Playground'
Readers who enjoyed The Playground by Jane Shemilt also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary psychological thriller suspense drama dark crime family friendship tragedy
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![Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent]()
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... -
![Martin Swans Diary: Black Water Crossing by Kyle Keyes]()
Martin Swans Diary: Black Water Crossing by Kyle Keyes
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMartin Swan was not a terrorist, nor a truck driver. He only replied to the want-ad because the wording linked Florida with Washington DC and wanted someone who could speak Arabic. The year was 2008. Jobs were scarce, gas prices high. The back page ad called for a big rig driver with a clean record, who could be at Black Water Crossing the day before Halloween... -
![The Surrogate's Gift by L.G. Davis]()
The Surrogate's Gift by L.G. Davis
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHer one good deed is about to turn into her worst nightmare.Becoming a surrogate for Marcia and Travis Thorpe is Grace’s chance to overcome her inner demons.Nothing can go wrong. Her life depends on it.Determined to focus on the pregnancy, she drops everything and accepts the Thorpes’ offer to move in with them until the baby is born. A simple decision. One big mistake... -
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![Truth and Lies by Caroline Mitchell]()
Truth and Lies by Caroline Mitchell
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsMeet Amy Winter: Detective Inspector, daughter of a serial killer.DI Amy Winter is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her highly respected police officer father. But when a letter arrives from the prison cell of Lillian Grimes, one half of a notorious husband-and-wife serial-killer team, it contains a revelation that will tear her life apart... -
![All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham, Karissa Vacker]()
All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham, Karissa Vacker
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA totally gripping thriller about a desperate mother with a troubled past.One year ago, Isabelle Drake's life changed forever: her toddler son, Mason, was taken out of his crib in the middle of the night while she and her husband were asleep in the next room. With little evidence and few leads for the police to chase, the case quickly went cold... -
![I Looked Away by Jane Corry]()
I Looked Away by Jane Corry
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsYOU MADE A MISTAKE. BUT THEY'RE SAYING IT'S MURDER.From the Sunday Times bestselling author of My Husband's Wife, comes a beautifully written psycholgocial thriller for fans of Lisa Jewell and Clare Mackintosh.Every Monday, 49-year-old Ellie looks after her grandson Josh. She loves him more than anyone else in the world. The only thing that can mar her happiness is her husband's affair... -
![Eye for Eye by J.K. Franko]()
Eye for Eye by J.K. Franko
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhat would YOU do if someone hurt the one you love?Roy and Susie are the perfect couple, an ideal family living a fairy-tale life... until their teenage daughter is senselessly killed.Just as they’re managing to put that tragic loss behind them, a complete stranger approaches Roy in a bar with a drunken proposal—he invokes their daughter’s memory to ask Roy to kill a man... -
![The Stepchild by Nicole Trope]()
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... -
![My Wife's Secrets by Wendy Owens]()
My Wife's Secrets by Wendy Owens
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEveryone has secrets. When my wife went to prison for the murder of my mistress, I realized just how dangerous some secrets could be.She’s now my ex-wife and is getting released based on new evidence. I don’t want to worry, but even if she didn’t kill my mistress, which I’m not convinced of, there’s no doubt she’s unstable.I have a family to protect now... -
![Identity by Nora Roberts]()
Identity by Nora Roberts
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA new thriller about one man's ice-cold malice, and one woman's fight to reclaim her life.Former Army brat Morgan Albright has finally planted roots in a friendly neighborhood near Baltimore. Her friend and roommate Nina helps her make the mortgage payments, as does Morgan's job as a bartender... -
![What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan]()
What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom the #1 internationally bestselling author of The Murder Rule comes an emotional novel of suspense about two families pitted against each other—one seeking justice in the disappearance of their daughter, the other desperate to clear their son’s name.Nina and Simon are the perfect couple. Young, fun and deeply in love... -
![What She Saw by Wendy Clarke]()
What She Saw by Wendy Clarke
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsShe lied to her daughter to save her family. Everyone knows Leona would do anything for her daughter Beth: she moved to Church Langdon to send Beth to the best school, worked hard to build a successful business to support them and found them the perfect little cottage to call home. Leona and Beth hike together, shop together, share their hopes and fears with one another... -
![The Brighton Mermaid by Dorothy Koomson]()
The Brighton Mermaid by Dorothy Koomson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBrighton Beach, 1993Teenagers Nell and Jude find the body of a young woman and when no one comes to claim her, she becomes known as the Brighton Mermaid. Nell is still struggling to move on when, three weeks later, Jude disappears.Twenty-five years on, Nell is forced to quit her job to find out who the Brighton Mermaid really was - and what happened to her best friend that summer... -
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![Last Seen by Lucy Clarke]()
Last Seen by Lucy Clarke
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsIn a small seaside community, there’s always somebody watching… Twisty, pacy, and superbly plotted, Last Seen is the perfect psychological page-turner for fans of Clare Mackintosh and Sabine Durrant. Seven years ago, two boys went missing at sea – and only one was brought to shore. The Sandbank, a remote stretch of coast dotted with beach huts, was scarred forever... -
![The Boy in the Photo by Nicole Trope]()
The Boy in the Photo by Nicole Trope
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsShe becomes aware of the silence at the other end of the line. A prickling sensation crawls up her arms, her heart rate speeds up. ‘Found who?’ she asks, slowly, carefully, deliberately. ‘They found Daniel.’ Six years ago Megan waits at the school gates for her six-year-old son, Daniel. As children come and go, the playground emptying, panic bubbles inside her. Daniel is nowhere to be found... -
![Good as Dead by Susan Walter]()
Good as Dead by Susan Walter
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIt all starts with a promise from a stranger: We’ll take care of everything.Holly Kendrick’s husband is dead. Holly saw it all. In one violent moment, a hit-and-run accident turns Holly’s life upside down. Then a fixer for the high-powered guilty party approaches Holly with an offer she is in no position to refuse... -
![Nowhere to Hide by Keri Beevis]()
Nowhere to Hide by Keri Beevis
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsDuncan Stone is one of the country's most eligible and handsome bachelors, and he wants to take me, Callie Parker, on a date. At first I am surprised and flattered, the envy of my friends. Then when our whirlwind romance escalates and he asks me to move in with him, it's like a dream come true. But as I get to really know my new boyfriend, my fairytale turns into a nightmare... -
![The Night She Vanished by Wendy Dranfield]()
The Night She Vanished by Wendy Dranfield
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMy parents seem to be the perfect couple. But no one knows what I know... Everyone in the small Midwestern town of Henderson looks up to my perfect parents. With dependable jobs as a midwife and the town sheriff, they help this close-knit community feel safe. But the locals didn't grow up in my parents' house. They don't know what I know. And they wouldn't believe me if I told them.. -
![The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins]()
The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge mountains... -
![Glen Affric by Karine Giébel]()
Glen Affric by Karine Giébel
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBestselling French author of psychological suspense Karine Giebel makes her American debut with this dark and haunting novel about the unbreakable bond between two brothers, both treated unfairly by the world—for fans of Karin Slaughter and Stieg Larsson.“I’m so stupid. I barely have a brain at all... -
![The Silence Between Breaths by Cath Staincliffe]()
The Silence Between Breaths by Cath Staincliffe
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsEight people, one deadly secret.Passengers boarding the 10.35 train from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston are bound for work, assignations, reunions, holidays or new starts, with no idea that their journey is about to be brutally curtailed... -
![Deserve To Die by Miranda Rijks]()
Deserve To Die by Miranda Rijks
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDom and Stacey have the perfect life. Until they meet Tamara. Brilliant, beautiful, she hides a horrifying secret. One that may destroy them all.Happily married with two wonderful children, Dom and Stacey are living the dream. He runs a successful design agency, she is finding fame as an author of children’s books.Everything is perfect... -
![The Thorn Girl by Laura Elliot]()
The Thorn Girl by Laura Elliot
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA swallow flutters its wings into a dimly lit attic as Adele Foyle stumbles across the secret diary of the mother she has never met, and a shocking account of a crime committed over twenty-five years ago... -
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![The Night Away by Jess Ryder]()
The Night Away by Jess Ryder
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTheir baby was supposed to be mine…No relationship is perfect. But since the birth of baby Mabel, seven months ago, Amber and George have been in desperate need of a night away. Mabel is all that Amber has ever wanted but she can’t deny that sometimes she struggles to cope. George has booked them into a luxury hotel and Amber’s sister is babysitting... -
![The Stepdaughter by Georgina Cross]()
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... -
![My Name Is by Angela Marsons]()
My Name Is by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsKit Mason is a brittle ex-prostitue trying to outrun a past of abuse and cruelty. Frances Thornton is a lawyer from a privileged background shrouded in secrets. Alcohol could be their destruction. My Name Is follows the unlikely friendship between two very different women fighting their addiction to alcohol... -
![My Sister's Husband by Nicola Marsh]()
My Sister's Husband by Nicola Marsh
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe sunroom at the back of the house is just as I remember. I can’t taste homemade lemonade or smell oatmeal cookies without thinking of home, of the beautiful cliffs of Martino Bay, and I feel welcomed. But all thoughts of a happy family reunion are destroyed the moment I see him… He’s as handsome as I remember: broad shoulders, piercing blue eyes, hair the colour of burnt toffee... -
![My Husband's Secret by Kiersten Modglin]()
My Husband's Secret by Kiersten Modglin
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMy husband liked his secrets. On the day of his funeral, I found out just how much. As it turns out, there were three of us. Three women he loved. Three secrets he had to keep. But Lucas wasn’t the only one with secrets. The three of us have a few of our own, and we’d do anything to keep them. If you look close enough, we each had a motive. We all had an opportunity... -
![After I've Gone by Linda Green]()
After I've Gone by Linda Green
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA gripping new thriller from the #1 bestselling author of While My Eyes Were Closed. On a wet Monday in January, Jess Mount receives the devastating news that she hasn't got long left to live. She doesn't hear it from a doctor, though... -
![The Perfect Mother by Caroline Mitchell]()
The Perfect Mother by Caroline Mitchell
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsShe thought they wanted her baby. But they won’t stop there. Roz is young, penniless and pregnant. All she wants is to be the perfect mother to her child, but the more she thinks about her own chaotic upbringing, the more certain she is that the best life for her baby is as far away as possible from her hometown in Ireland... -
![Then She Vanishes by Claire Douglas]()
Then She Vanishes by Claire Douglas
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThat summer, the three girls had the world at their feet. Now, one is missing.On a summer's night in 1994, 16-year-old Flora Powell vanished from her sleepy seaside town. She left no trace - only heartache for her mother and her sister, Heather. And one is a murderer. Twenty-five years later, Heather walks into a stranger's house... -
![The Girl She Wanted by K.L. Slater]()
The Girl She Wanted by K.L. Slater
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhat if my sister is unstable and everyone can see it but me? What was she really doing standing over Florence’s cot in the middle of the night?Alexa has always looked up to her older sister Carrie. Carrie lives in Alexa’s family home, and adores her one-year-old niece Florence. Alexa doesn’t know how they would cope without her... -
![Til Death Do Us Part by Daniel Hurst]()
Til Death Do Us Part by Daniel Hurst
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMegan thinks that she has the perfect husband and the perfect life. Craig works so that she doesn't have to, leaving her free to relax all day in their beautiful and secluded country home.But when she starts to long for friends and purpose again, Megan applies for a job in London, much to her husband's disappointment. She thinks that he is upset because she is unhappy. But she has no idea... -
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![The Ex-Wife by Jess Ryder]()
The Ex-Wife by Jess Ryder
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsYou’ve got everything she wants …Newly married Natasha has the perfect house, a loving husband and a beautiful little girl called Emily. She’d have it all if it wasn’t for Jen, her husband’s ex-wife who just won’t leave them alone …Then Natasha returns home one day to find her husband and Emily gone without trace... -
![The Last Thing She Told Me by Linda Green]()
The Last Thing She Told Me by Linda Green
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsEven the deepest buried secrets can find their way to the surface...Moments before she dies, Nicola's grandmother Betty whispers to her that there are babies at the bottom of the garden.Nicola's mother claims she was talking nonsense. However, when Nicola's daughter finds a bone while playing in Betty's garden, it's clear that something sinister has taken place... -
![Found by Erin Kinsley]()
Found by Erin Kinsley
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen 11 year old Evan vanishes without trace, his parents are plunged into their worst nightmare.Especially as the police, under massive pressure, have no answers. But months later Evan is unexpectedly found, frightened and refusing to speak. His loving family realise life will never be the same again.DI Naylor knows that unless those who took Evan are caught, other children are in danger... -
![Secrets by D.L. Maddox]()
Secrets by D.L. Maddox
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJane Ashcroft walks dogs under a false name, trying to stay quiet, unnoticed, untouchable.But in every new town, something pulls her in. A wealthy family with secrets. A romance that isn’t what it seems. A client who might be a killer... -
![It's One of Us by J.T. Ellison]()
It's One of Us by J.T. Ellison
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"A heart-stoppingly tense thriller about the price of secrets and the layers behind every marriage." —Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman In Cabin 10Everybody lies. Even the ones you think you know best of all . . . Olivia Bender designs exquisite home interiors that satisfy the most demanding clients... -
![A Lovely Lie by Jaime Lynn Hendricks]()
A Lovely Lie by Jaime Lynn Hendricks
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIs it better to believe a lovely lie or know the horrible truth?1999: The night of their senior picnic, Scarlett Russo and her best friend Pepper were involved in a car accident that left two of their classmates dead. Afterward, they lied to the police, protecting each other from the consequences... -
![The Narrator by K.L. Slater]()
The Narrator by K.L. Slater
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhat if the chance of a perfect life… put your daughter in grave danger?Being a single mother is tough, but I’d do anything for my little girl Scarlet. I’d given up on my career as a voice actor when the call came, but suddenly I was the new narrator for a secret book from bestselling author Philippa Roberts, who has been missing for eight months. It was a lifeline for me and my daughter... -
![Things We Never Say by Caitlin Weaver]()
Things We Never Say by Caitlin Weaver
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThree mothers. Three secrets. One devastating scandal.Anna has always been the quiet one, the soft-spoken mother who kept her head down and her secrets close. But when she's thrown together with Maggie and Rhea on a PTA project, they begin to bond over wine and gossip, and slowly share the truths behind their picture-perfect lives... -
![One Little Mistake by Emma Curtis]()
One Little Mistake by Emma Curtis
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsVicky Seagrave is blessed: three beautiful children, a successful, doting husband, great friends and a job she loves. She should be perfectly happy. When she risks everything she holds dear on a whim, there's only person she trusts enough to turn to. But Vicky is about to learn that one mistake is all it takes; that if you're careless with those you love, you don't deserve to keep them . . -
![Don't Blink by L.G. Davis]()
Don't Blink by L.G. Davis
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratings*This book was previously published under the titles The Girl in the Rain and The Girl in the Storm.* Two years ago, Paige Wilson watched helplessly as her brother Ryan was shot, right on her doorstep. He survived the attack, but never fully recovered from the trauma. Stuck in a wheelchair, Ryan refuses to accept the life of a paraplegic... -
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![Closer Than You Know by Brad Parks]()
Closer Than You Know by Brad Parks
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBrad Parks delivers another riveting, emotionally powerful stand-alone domestic suspense thriller perfect for fans of The Couple Next Door and What She Knew.Disaster, Melanie Barrick was once told, is always closer than you know.It was a lesson she learned the hard way growing up in the constant upheaval of foster care... -
![My Little Girl by Shalini Boland]()
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... -
![Dear Mother by Angela Marsons]()
Dear Mother by Angela Marsons
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA story about three sisters brought together by the death of their cruel and abusive mother. Alex, the youngest, is a bitter, unforgiving woman who refuses to face the events of her childhood. She hides in a bottle and destroys any chance of happiness that comes her way. Her life is spiralling dangerously out of control but she doesn't have the strength to stop it... -
![The Halo Effect by Anne D. LeClaire]()
The Halo Effect by Anne D. LeClaire
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn this tour de force, a father, shaken by tragedy, tries to avenge his daughter’s murder—and restore his family’s shattered life. It was supposed to be a typical October evening for renowned portrait artist Will Light... -
![The New Wife by Sue Watson]()
The New Wife by Sue Watson
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsYou can never truly know what goes on behind closed doors…My darling son, Sam, is marrying his childhood sweetheart and I couldn’t be prouder of the man he’s grown into. Walking out on his abusive father all those years ago was the best thing I ever did. And today he stands, tall and handsome, saying ‘I do’ to my dream daughter-in-law... -
![You're Family Now by Jack Stainton]()
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...
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