Books like 'Merciless'
Readers who enjoyed Merciless by Kristal Stittle also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
horror psychological literary-fiction suspense female-mc thriller
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Aberration by Lisa Regan
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFBI analyst Kassidy Bishop is assigned to the “For You” killer’s task force after a series of sadistic murders bearing the same signature arise in different parts of the country.The homicides are both calculated and savage, occurring in different states, but bearing the same signature: the words “for you” scribbled at each crime scene... -
Where the Wild Roses Grow by Willow Rose
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Queen of scream novels does it again! - It's laced with a terrifying nail-biting tension and characters that make your skin crawl. With her blankly staring eyes seeming to gaze into the sky, he put a red rose between her teeth and then gently pushed her into the water. She slowly sank into the slow, flowing river... -
You Can Run by Willow Rose
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIt's not the kind of thing you'd expect to happen on an ordinary Saturday morning. Her kids are arguing and her husband is still sleeping. Lisa is tired and wonders why her husband keeps working late...Categorized as:
female-mc literary-fiction suspense thriller action-adventure adult amateur-sleuth book -
Once Lost by Blake Pierce
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsStill reeling from her former partner Lucy’s death and from her partner Bill’s PTSD, FBI Special Agent Riley Paige does her best to try to keep herself stable and to patch together her family life. She has to decide what to about April’s boyfriend, recovering from his abusive father, and about Blaine, who is ready for their relationship to move ahead... -
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Per Addestrarti by Chiara Cilli
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCredevo di sapere chi fossi. Cosa fossi.Credevo di non avere più scampo, che la mia resistenza fosse ormai giunta al termine.Poi ho sentito la sua voce pronunciare il mio nome.Poi i suoi occhi hanno risposto al richiamo dei miei.Non ha paura di me. Si avvicina. Mi parla. Mi tocca come se le appartenessi. È folle.Lui è l’unica chance che ho per restare viva. Devo far sì che gli importi di me... -
The Complete Gillian Flynn: Gone Girl, Dark Places, Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"Gillian Flynn is the real deal, a sharp, acerbic, and compelling storyteller with a knack for the macabre." —Stephen KingThis exclusive ebook collection brings together the three novels from bestselling author Gillian Flynn. A #1 New York Times bestseller, Gone Girl is an unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong... -
The Cutting Place by Jane Casey
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsRumours…Everyone’s heard the rumours about elite gentlemen’s clubs, where the champagne flows freely, the parties are outrageous…and what goes on behind closed doors is darker than you could possibly imagine.Scandals…Paige Hargreaves was a young journalist working on a story about a club for the most privileged men in London. She was on the brink of exposing a shocking scandal... -
One By One by Freida McFadden
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsOne by one, they will get what they deserve...A night spent sleeping on dirt and leaves is not how Claire Matchett expected to spend her vacation.She thought this would be a break from the stresses of work and raising her young children. A chance to repair her damaged marriage. A week of hiking and hot tubs with two other couple friends. It sounded like heaven... -
Missed Connections by Alexandria Clarke
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHow far would you go for revenge? Veronica Bauer isn’t above homicide. Twelve years after a ruthless attack killed her mother and put her father in prison, she embarks on a mission to bring the real culprits to justice. As bodies start to drop, Detective Sheila Arden is assigned to the gruesome case, but she soon discovers that the truth is more complicated than she thought... -
Once Cold by Blake Pierce
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThere is one cold case that has plagued Special Agent Riley Paige for her entire career, dwelling at the corners of her consciousness, forcing her to return to it again and again. The only case she has never solved, she has finally put it out of her mind. Until she gets a call from the murdered victim’s mother... -
Once Stalked by Blake Pierce
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen two soldiers are found dead on a huge military base in California, apparently killed by gunshot, military investigators are stumped. Who is killing its soldiers, inside the secure confines of its own base?And why?The FBI is called in, and Riley Paige is summoned to take the lead... -
Last Breath by Mary Stone
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWelcome to the deadliest show on Earth...When the Ruby Red Spectacle Circus rolls into town, chaos and death follow in its wake. At first, the accidents seem coincidental, but as the body count rises, it becomes clear that a killer is lurking within the big top’s shadows.Smoke and mirrors concealing love and hate... -
Deep Dark Secrets by Keri Beevis
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe darkest minds hide the deepest secrets… Lizzie Kent wasn't supposed to babysit the night she was murdered. She was covering for her best friend, Nell. Nell has lived with the guilt ever since. Eighteen years later Nell returns to the area, desperate to escape a bad relationship after inheriting her aunt's rundown guesthouse... -
The Haunting of Daisy Dawkins Boxset: A Riveting Paranormal Mystery by Alexandria Clarke
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCoyote IslandA dark secret, a secluded island, and nowhere to run.When author Daisy Dawkins hits a wall of writer’s block, she seeks out a retreat at the infamous Coyote Island, home of the reclusive publishing guru Greg Bregoli. Upon her arrival at Bregoli Estate, strange things begin happening to Daisy, but none of the other writers seem to notice the estate’s odder qualities...Categorized as:
female-mc literary-fiction suspense action-adventure adult amateur-sleuth book fiction -
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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...Categorized as:
female-mc literary-fiction suspense thriller action-adventure adult book contemporary -
Mary Mills Mystery Series: books 1-3 by Willow Rose
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLibrarian note: An alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here. Readers love this series - More than 1000 five-star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. The first three books in the engrossing series on sale a limited time. ˃˃˃ WHAT HURTS THE MOST, BOOK 1: You will never guess the ending! Am I pretty? Imagine being asked that question standing face to face with a killer...Categorized as:
female-mc suspense literary-fiction paranormal mystery fiction anthologies psychological -
Love, Mom by Iliana Xander
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsA best-selling author. A mother. A murderer…Mackenzie Casper is a brilliant student. But she is best known for her mother, a best-selling author whose dark, twisted thrillers have a dedicated worldwide fanbase... -
The Perfect Death by Stacy Claflin
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSuicide or the perfect cover-up?Kenzi Brannon loves the single life in California. She hasn't looked back since the day she walked away from her painful past.Everything comes crashing down when Kenzi gets a call about her estranged sister's suicide. If that news isn't shocking enough, she also learns that she is now guardian to Ember, a niece she doesn’t even know...Categorized as:
suspense thriller female-mc literary-fiction fiction contemporary psychological crime -
ΔΙΠΛΗ ΤΑΥΤΟΤΗΤΑ by Danielle Girard
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe acclaimed author of Chasing Darkness, Savage Art, and Ruthless Game is back with a thrilling new novel... When computer programmer Cody O'Brien's son is kidnapped in broad daylight, Cody's greatest fear is knowing the true motive behind it... A former FBI agent with a new identity, Cody knows that old secrets-and vendettas-die hard...Categorized as:
female-mc literary-fiction suspense thriller action-adventure adult amateur-sleuth book -
Stranger in the Woods by Anni Taylor
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPhotographer Isla Wilson is thrilled she’s landed her dream job, but the clients who hired her are getting stranger by the day. It sounded so perfect - a month‘s assignment at the misty, sprawling Scottish Highlands property of brilliant architect Alban McGregor, and his wife, Jessica. But deep in the woods, there is a chilling playhouse... -
What Hurts the Most by Willow Rose
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsASIN B018A097LO moved to the most recent edition hereYou will never guess the ending!Am I pretty? Imagine being asked that question standing face to face with a killer. What would you answer? While her life is going from bad to worse, journalist Mary Mills receives a phone call from her father telling her that her brother has been arrested for murder...Categorized as:
female-mc literary-fiction suspense thriller action-adventure adult amateur-sleuth audiobook -
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... -
Emma Frost Mystery Series: Vol 4-6 by Willow Rose
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsASIN moved from less recent editionCROSS YOU HEART AND HOPE TO DIE:We all know that high school reunions can be a daunting and sometimes horrifying experience. Well, for Emma Frost that is exactly what it becomes when she is invited to meet with all of her old classmates at a desolated hotel in the most Northern part of Denmark...Categorized as:
female-mc literary-fiction suspense action-adventure adult anthologies contemporary cozy -
Beneath These Walls by Shade Owens
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSix months ago, my husband tried to kill me.Now, my sons and I are living in an old Victorian house passed down to me by my uncle. The house may be big, but the town is small... it's safe, which is something I haven't felt in a very long time. And best of all, it's very far away from my ex.As soon as we move in, however, I discover that this house has an eerie reputation... -
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Emma Frost Mystery Series: Vol 1-3 by Willow Rose
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratings3 Bone-chilling tales from a Bestselling Author. Sold more than 200.000 copies ˃˃˃ ITSY BITSY SPIDER (Emma Frost #1): Emma Frost inherits a house on Fanoe Island when her grandmother dies. She decides to move there with her family, much to her teenage daughter's regret...Categorized as:
female-mc literary-fiction suspense action-adventure adult anthologies fiction hard-boiled -
Widow Town by Joe Hart
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn the future there is no such thing as a serial killer.A breakthrough research project has detected an active gene present in all known psychopaths and developed a vaccine to make it completely dormant. People are inoculated at birth. Society has rejoiced the extinction of the sociopathic mind. There hasn’t been a serial killing in America in over forty years... -
Easy as One Two Three by Willow Rose
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsASIN moved from less recent editionMads and Signe are very young when they get married. They are ready to take on the world, starting with their honeymoon to Egypt. Two years later, Mads is in a coma, and Signe has vanished from the face of the earth.Meanwhile, Emma Frost is looking for her daughter whom the police believe is guilty of the hit and run that left Mads Schou brain dead... -
Grave Games by Skylar Finn
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAn FBI profiler on leave. A detective haunted by their shared past.After a serial killer who hunts men ravages her college town, psychology student Dominique St. Clair becomes an FBI profiler. Twelve years later, she returns to the town to confront her dark past when the Black Widow Killer resurfaces to terrorize the peaceful seaside community...Categorized as:
suspense thriller literary-fiction female-mc fiction serial-killers psychological law-enforcement -
The Laughing Dead by Jess Lourey
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTwo murder investigations, decades apart, threaten to expose a cold case agent’s darkest secrets in a pulse-pounding thriller by the Edgar Award–nominated author of The Taken Ones.The bodies of three teenage girls are found in central Minnesota—each with her mouth fixed in a ghoulish grin, smiling at a deadly joke no one can hear... -
Sleep Tight by Anne Frasier
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWAKE UP, LITTLE DARLING. DO YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?He's looking for the perfect woman. Someone who won't disappoint him, like so many have before. Someone who'll love him ... someone who won't have to die for her mistakes.GIVE UP, LITTLE DARLING....FBI agent Mary Cantrell has been called to Minneapolis to hunt down a killer... -
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... -
Never Lie by Freida McFadden
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsNewlyweds Tricia and Ethan are searching for the house of their dreams.But when they visit the remote manor that once belonged to Dr. Adrienne Hale, a renowned psychiatrist who vanished without a trace four years earlier, a violent winter storm traps them at the estate… with no chance of escape until the blizzard comes to an end...Categorized as:
suspense thriller literary-fiction female-mc mystery fiction audiobook psychological -
The Reaper's Game by Layton Green
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIs it murder from beyond the grave . . . or the final ruse of a twisted serial killer?Three years ago, a deranged murderer dubbed the Halloween Killer butchered half a dozen people in New Orleans. He was caught and sentenced to die. Just before his execution, the Halloween Killer vowed to take revenge on the district attorney who put him behind bars... -
The Mother Of All Things by Gabriel Blake
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDARK BEGINNINGS, BRUTAL ENDINGSA traumatic event and the break-up of her marriage returns Elaine to her childhood home where she embarks on renovating the run-down farmhouse as she reconnects with her mother and entertains her two children over the summer holidays... -
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She Won't Leave by James Caine
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsShe has taken over my life.Everything was perfect until tragedy brought my mother-in-law, Delores Sterling, to my front door with extra baggage at her side. After the sudden death of her husband, she asked if she could live with us temporarily.I knew that living with my mother-in-law wouldn’t be easy. She’s made it obvious ever since I married her only son, that I’m not worthy of him... -
Mine by L.M. Kaplin
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsChandler Henricks hates his life. Socially awkward and a near shut-in, Chandler spends his time caring for his ailing mother and watching the neighbors from his window.His favorite person to watch is his next-door neighbor Samantha. Young and beautiful, she would be the woman of any man’s dreams. Chandler knows he will make Samantha happy, if she just gave him a chance... -
Psychosis by Tony Marturano
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“Police, what is your emergency?” “They’re in the house and they’re going to kill me…” “My name is Marco and I am flawed. I know that. And I was fine with it until it cost me my family. Now, I’ll do anything to get them back – even see a therapist. Which is a joke, because I am a therapist. At least I was before I was fired... -
Three Strikes by Kate Kessler
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThree Strikes is the new novel in a thriller series where a criminal psychologist uses her own dark past to help law enforcement catch dangerous killers.Thanksgiving is approaching, and Audrey Harte has a lot to be thankful for -- her mother has recovered from surgery, her relationship with Jake is solid, her father is relatively sober, and her career is evolving in an exciting direction... -
No One Can Hear You Scream by A.B. Whelan
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA ruthlessly addicting and terrifyingly twisted story of a family stuck on a secluded mountain at the mercy of an obsessed fan of the woman.It started as a vacation of a lifetime.Jennifer Parker is a successful YouTube influencer living in a beautiful home outside Los Angeles with her three children... -
Peek A Boo, I See You by Willow Rose
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsASIN moved from less recent editionThe body of a woman found in front of Nordby City Hall has a message for Emma Frost carved into the skin. Behind this ruthless murder stands a ghostly figure that likes to play childish games. Soon, this killer brings a reign of terror to the small Danish Island and especially to the life of Emma Frost... -
Black for Remembrance by Carlene Thompson
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsCaroline Webb knows what it means to lose the person you love most. Twenty years ago, her five-year-old daughter, Hayley, was the light of her life, her treasure, her angle. Then came the terrible day when Hayley was kidnapped from her favorite swing. More than a month passed before her burned, lifeless body was found. All that remained was the silence of Caroline's heartache--and her guilt.. -
This is Where We Talk Things Out by Caitlin Marceau
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThis Is Where We Talk Things Out by Caitlin Marceau, author of Palimpsest: A Collection of Contemporary Horror, follows the gut-wrenching journey of Miller and her estranged mother, Sylvie, who have always had a tense relationship. After Miller's father dies, she agrees to a girls' vacation away from the city to reconnect with the only family she has left... -
The Girls They Stole by J.H. Leigh
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe deal seems easy. Follow the rules. Keep your mouth shut. The payoff? Enough money to change your life forever. But is it too good to be true? Nicole, Dylan, Jilly and Tana need to take the deal. All for different, equally desperate reasons. But the deal comes at a price. Once they step into Madame Moirai’s depraved world it's too late... -
Five, Six... Grab Your Crucifix by Willow Rose
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsASIN moved from less recent edition hereThe Priest is a man with a mission from God. He is to help those possessed by evil to finally become free from their stronghold. He has expelled demons for years and had great success.But there is one demon he never managed to cast out. And that demon has now come back to get him... -
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It Began With a Lie by Michele Pariza Wacek
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWINNER OF A 2018 PRG REVIEWERS' CHOICE AWARDA fresh start. That was what Becca hoped the move from New York to Redemption, Wisconsin would be for her troubled family. A way to get her crumbling marriage back on track, and to bond with her difficult 16-year-old stepdaughter... -
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... -
Dear Vicky by Octavia Grant
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDelusional /dəˈlo͞oZH(ə)nəl/ (adjective) - characterized by or holding false beliefs or judgments about external reality that are held despite incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, typically as a symptom of a mental conditionGrocery store bag boy, Andrew, hates his job. No career growth, rude customers, and the forced customer appreciation greeting have taken a toll on his mental stability... -
The Only Child by Miranda Rijks
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOne little boy. One little lie. Where will it end?Chantal and Stuart are a golden couple. She’s a high-flying divorce lawyer dealing with the biggest case of her career, and he’s the darling of daytime television, on the cusp of A list celebrity. Their seventeen-year old son Alex is a passionate environmentalist, the apple of his mother’s eye.And it’s all built on a lie.A lie told by Chantal...Categorized as:
thriller literary-fiction suspense female-mc fiction psychological family female-author -
Miss Polly had a Dolly by Willow Rose
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA bone-chilling tale from the Queen of Scream Not for the faint-hearted Miss Polly had a dolly. A beautiful daughter that she called her Baby Doll. Every day she dressed her in dresses and brushed her hair before they went outside to show off to the neighbors... -
Either Side of Midnight by Tori de Clare
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWHAT IF THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE TURNED INTO YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE? When nineteen-year-old Naomi Stone is snatched from her husband at knifepoint on the night of their wedding and taken to a deserted cemetery, she knows her life is finished. Drugged and disorientated, she loses consciousness as she lies in an open grave with a gun to her head...Categorized as:
female-mc literary-fiction suspense thriller action-adventure adult book contemporary
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