Books like 'The Long Way Back'
Readers who enjoyed The Long Way Back by Nicole Baart also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary psychological family suspense coming-of-age thriller season-summer literary-fiction
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One Moment by Linda Green
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFinn and Kaz are about to meet for the first time. Ten-year-old Finn, a quirky, sensitive boy who talks a lot and only eats at cafes with a 5-star hygiene rating, is having a tough time at school and home. Outspoken Kaz, 59, who has an acerbic sense of humour and a heart of gold, is working at the café when Finn and his mum come in... -
Uncovering Love by J.J. Sorel
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTo escape an abusive ex, Scarlet Black takes on a new identity and accepts a role masquerading as an admin assistant. She moves to a secluded mansion in a small English coastal village working for the reclusive billionaire, Daniel Love, whose wife has disappeared under mysterious circumstances... -
Of Foster Homes and Flies by Chad Lutzke, Alberto Plumed
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA neglected 12-year-old boy does nothing to report the death of his mother in order to compete in a spelling bee. A tragic coming-of-age tale of horror and drama in the setting of a hot New Orleans summer. "Original, touching coming of age." ~Jack Ketchum, author of THE GIRL NEXT DOOR "With OF FOSTER HOMES & FLIES, Lutzke is firing on all cylinders. It's a lean mean emotional machine... -
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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... -
The Aftermath by Gail Schimmel
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThree women: a mother, a daughter, a friend. Can they save each other from the past?It’s been twenty-six years since the accident, but Helen still lives on autopilot, going through the motions of work and motherhood. Her one wish is for her daughter Julia to settle down with her own family—so Helen can let go... -
Water by John Boyne
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe first thing Vanessa Carvin does when she arrives on the island is change her name. To the locals, she is Willow Hale, a solitary outsider escaping Dublin to live a hermetic existence in a small cottage, not a notorious woman on the run from her past.But scandals follow like hunting dogs. And she has some questions of her own to answer...Categorized as:
literary-fiction thriller fiction contemporary domestic-drama psychological book adult -
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.. -
The Ex Wives by Jenna Kernan
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTwo ex-wives. Two missing girls. Will yours be next?Pulling a batch of my husband’s favourite golden oatmeal cookies from the oven, I smile to hear my daughter Phoebe playing in the treehouse outside. I was once so close to losing everything, but since I married handsome Jackson, I have a perfect life. Jackson might tell me what to wear, but he just likes to buy me nice things... -
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... -
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... -
Let the Light Shine by Nick Alexander, Penelope Rawlins
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom Nick Alexander, the number one best-selling author of The Photographer's Wife and The Other Son.Penny and Victoria are about as different as two siblings can be, one with a smart London lifestyle, the other struggling to make ends meet. But they are joined by more than blood, and their shared tragic past is affecting the present more than they realise... -
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... -
The It Girl by Ruth Ware
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsThe #1 New York Times bestselling author of One by One returns with an unputdownable mystery following a woman on the search for answers a decade after her friend’s murder. April Coutts-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford. Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit... -
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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 Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe bestselling author of The Party returns with a deliciously twisted story of friendship, retribution, and betrayal about a homeless woman fleeing a dangerous past—and the wealthy society wife she saves from drowning, who pulls her into a dark web of secrets and lies... -
Hunger for Life by Andy Marr
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOn the day of his graduation, James says goodbye to the future and moves back to his parents’ house in Myreton, the sleepy village of his childhood. He’s not happy, but the thought of continuing his life anywhere else seems unthinkable while his sister, Emma, continues to suffer with the illness that’s plagued her since she was a child...Categorized as:
family coming-of-age literary-fiction romance fiction contemporary mental-illness psychological -
All That Is Mine I Carry with Me by William Landay
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsA mother vanished. A father presumed guilty. There is no proof. There are no witnesses. For the children, there is only doubt. From the New York Times bestselling author of Defending Jacob. . . .One afternoon in November 1975, ten-year-old Miranda Larkin comes home from school to find her house eerily quiet. Her mother is missing. Nothing else is out of place. There is no sign of struggle... -
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
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 Forgetting by Hannah Beckerman
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of If Only I Could Tell You comes the story of two women determined to uncover the truth. But how can you trust the present if you can't remember the past?“Left me gasping. Brilliant.” —Alex Michaelides“Has one of the best story twists I have ever read…superb writing.” —Ruth Jones“Resonates long after you turn the final page... -
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... -
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 Perfect Getaway by Kiersten Modglin
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIt was the trip of a lifetime…until someone ended up dead. When four couples receive invitations to try out a luxury island resort, they are excited for a week of relaxation and reconnecting.For some, it’s the honeymoon they never had the chance to take.For others, it’s a last-ditch attempt to save their crumbling marriage... -
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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... -
The Marriage Betrayal by Shalini Boland
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratings‘Daddy has been lying.’ Faye Townsend has planned the perfect summer trip for her family. But returning to the small seaside town her husband grew up in does not go to plan, the rain pours and the long days become stifling. And then the unthinkable happens… Her husband Jake and her six-year-old son Dylan go for an early morning walk along the beautiful, windswept clifftops. They don’t come back... -
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... -
The Engagement by Samantha Hayes
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsYou thought you had escaped him. Until he proposed to your daughter.‘There’s someone I want you to meet,’ Belle says, as a man draws up to her side. He’s tall with dark hair and stubble on his square jaw. He’s dressed in expensive-looking clothes – tan trousers and a fitted navy shirt... -
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... -
The Perfect Family Man by M.M. DeLuca
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFive years ago, my little boy went missing. Now my husband’s vanished, too.I wish I could say that the tragedy of little Jack disappearing brought me and Nate closer together. But my husband is more distant from me now than he’s ever been. Perhaps that’s why I don’t ask him exactly where he’s going when he sets off on another business trip... -
Closet Full of Bones by A.J. Aalto
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEver since they were children, Gillian Hearth has been her sister Frankie’s guardian, her sounding board, and her best friend. Together, the Hearth sisters quietly bury their secrets and form a formidable team during any crisis. Purchasing the old Blymhill house with the hopes of turning it into an artists’ retreat, the sisters are finally living their dream... -
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... -
My Sister and Other Liars by Ruth Dugdall
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSam is seventeen, starving herself and longing for oblivion. Her sister, Jena, is mentally scarred and desperate to remember. Between them, they share secrets too terrible to recall. Eighteen months earlier, Sam was still full of hope: hope that she could piece together Jena's fragmented memory after the vicious attack that changed their family forever... -
Circle of Doubt by Tracy Buchanan
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsShe thought she was the perfect mother—until the new neighbours moved in.Emma and Dele’s dreams came true nine years ago when they adopted their daughter, Isla. It felt like fate, like they were meant to find each other, and now they’re living the life they always wanted... -
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The Family Trap by Lorna Dounaeva
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsPrudence welcomed Zoe into her home. Now she’s fighting to survive.Two simple words shatter Prudence Ahern’s world - “I’m pregnant.”Her son Nathan is only eighteen when his new girlfriend Zoe drops that little bombshell. Prudence feels she has to support her son and asks Zoe to move in with them.Right from the start, Prudence knows something isn’t right...Categorized as:
suspense thriller family literary-fiction psychological fiction contemporary children -
The Life She Wants by J.M. Hewitt
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsPaula wants to save her marriage, and she hopes a romantic cruise vacation will help. But the more she learns about the mysterious Anna, a new woman Paula and her husband meet on the ship, the more Paula realizes that Anna wants to destroy it. But why?Paula worries that her marriage to Tommy is barely hanging on, so when he suggests a getaway for the two of them, she's thrilled...Categorized as:
suspense thriller literary-fiction family psychological fiction womens-fiction female-mc -
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... -
Not My Mother by Miranda Smith
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhat if the person you trust most in the world is lying to you?I’d heard of the Baby Caroline case, of course. When a baby is snatched from her mother’s arms, the whole country knows about it. I knew about the parents left lying by the swimming pool, the open window in the nursery. But I never dreamed it had anything to do with me.Today, my beautiful daughter turned one...Categorized as:
suspense thriller literary-fiction audiobook psychological fiction contemporary female-mc -
The Woman in Our House by Andrew Hart
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhat happens when you open your home to the perfect stranger?Anna Klein is ready to return to work as a literary agent for the first time since having children. She and her husband, Josh, decide to hire a live-in nanny with some trepidation, but all their misgivings disappear as soon as they meet Oaklynn Durst. She has stellar references, a calm disposition, and a natural way with children... -
The Waiting Room by Emily Bleeker
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of When I’m Gone and Working Fire comes a gripping novel about a mother, her missing daughter, and the dark secrets that engulf them.Ever since her husband’s death collided with the birth of her daughter, postpartum depression has taken hold of Veronica Shelton. She can’t sleep, can’t work, and can’t bear to touch her beautiful baby girl... -
The Curfew by T.M. Logan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsYour son said he was home. WHY DID HE LIE? It's time to preorder the brand new up-all-night thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Richard and Judy pick The Holiday, now a major TV Drama.I should have known something was wrong. I should have sensed it. Felt it in the air, like the build-up of pressure before a thunderstorm, that heavy, loaded calm... -
After She Left by Claire Amarti
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAbigail Gibson is gone. The morning after Christmas Day, she walks out of her home in the leafy suburbs of Westchester, New York, leaving behind a strange note on the kitchen table… and her ten-year-old son, Sam.When her sister Gillian gets the call, she can barely believe it...Categorized as:
family suspense thriller literary-fiction fiction contemporary psychological female-mc -
The Mother-in-Law by Kiersten Modglin
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThere’s something strange about Loren’s new mother-in-law…When Loren meets Jack, she’s sure he’s the man she’s been waiting for—a perfect husband and a father for her young daughter. Shortly after their wedding, their plans to start a life together are put on hold when the couple receives word that Jack’s father has died... -
What It Seems by Emily Bleeker
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA page-turning novel of suspense about the perfect family, and the perfect lies, by the bestselling author of When I’m Gone and The Waiting Room.Adopted by her controlling foster mother at the age of eight, twenty-year-old Tara has seen little of the outside world. Lonely, punished for the slightest offense, her only distraction comes from watching the Feely family’s online videos... -
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We Used To Live Here by Daniel Hurst
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsEvery house has secrets. But not all of them stay buried forever...When the Burgess family move into their 'forever' home, it seems like they are set for many happy years together at their new address. Steph and Grant, along with their children, Charlie and Amelia, settle into their new surroundings quickly... -
The First Wife's Secret by Claire Amarti
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDinah Spencer is back in her childhood home for one stressful weekend. It’s the twenty-five-year anniversary of her father’s marriage to her stepmother...Categorized as:
family thriller literary-fiction coming-of-age fiction contemporary psychological romantic-love -
Valentina by S.E. Lynes
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen Glasgow journalist Shona McGilvery moves with her partner Mikey and their baby to an idyllic cottage in rural Scotland, they believe that all that lies ahead of them is happiness.But with Mikey working offshore, the frightening isolation of the Aberdeenshire countryside begins to drive her insane...That is, until she is rescued by a new friendship with the enchanting Valentina... -
The Girl in the Woods by Lorna Dounaeva
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsShe finally had the family she had always wanted, so why did she feel as though someone had stepped on her grave?Suzannah and Noel are desperate for a child so when they get the chance to adopt a young girl called Orchid, they jump at the chance. They have been warned that it will take time for Orchid to settle into their family, but the problems they encounter seem out of the ordinary... -
The Lying Wife by Kathryn Croft
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBe careful what you wish for…Callie has known sadness, and sometimes doubted she would ever have the life she wanted. When she meets James, also no stranger to grief, it seems as though her luck has changed. She becomes his wife, and in the process a stepmother to his two sons. Callie has finally got what she always imagined for herself.But things don’t go to plan for Callie... -
20 Minutes On The Tube by Daniel Hurst
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe first book in the bestselling 20 Minute Series... "Original and addictive, I read it in a day!" 20 Minutes. 20 People. 20 different reasons to be underground... Louise didn't plan on stealing until she realised she could get away with it. Anke gave her husband a second chance but now she wants revenge. Valentin has an urge to kill and is using his commute to find his first victim...Categorized as:
suspense thriller literary-fiction fiction contemporary 21st-century personal-growth psychological
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