Books like 'Burn After Reading'
Readers who enjoyed Burn After Reading by Catherine Ryan Howard also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery psychological crime suspense thriller
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Graves on the Fens by Joy Ellis
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt arrives in the morning. An old-fashioned airmail envelope addressed to Detective Nikki Galena. Inside, on a single sheet of blue airmail paper, are three words:You failed me.The second airmail envelope arrives at Nikki’s home address. The same message. Only this time, it’s followed by four names: Alexandra Cornfield, Ruth Baker, Bethany Lyons, Leanne Delaney.Four missing women... -
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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... -
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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Kill for Me Kill for You by Steve Cavanagh
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsShe will kill your worst enemy.All you have to do is kill hers. One dark evening in New York City, two strangers meet by chance. Over drinks, Amanda and Wendy realise they have so much in common. They both feel alone. They both drink alone. And they both desperately want revenge against the two men who destroyed their families. Together, they have the perfect plan... -
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... -
Der Insasse by Sebastian Fitzek
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsVor einem Jahr verschwand der kleine Max Berghoff.Nur der Täter weiß, was mit ihm geschah.Doch der sitzt im Hochsicherheitstrakt der Psychiatrie und schweigt.Max' Vater bleibt nur ein Weg, um endlich Gewissheit zu haben: Er muss selbst zum Insassen werden.Der InsasseUm die Wahrheit zu finden, muss er seinen Verstand verlieren... -
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 Little Brother by Diane Saxon
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTwo siblings, both missing for 20 years turn up within one day of each other. One dead. One alive.It was an ordinary school day, the day I lost my little brother.One moment he was on the roundabout and then was gone. Gone. Missing.They all blamed me. I was in charge. Even though I was only ten years old.They sent me away. The hurt, the shame, the questions. The not knowing.I tried to move on... -
Hysteria by L.J. Ross
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFROM THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE DCI RYAN MYSTERIES In a beautiful world, murder is always ugly… Recently returned from his last case in Ireland, elite forensic psychologist and criminal profiler Dr Alexander Gregory receives a call from the French police that he can’t ignore... -
None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsFrom the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her “superb pacing, twisted characters, and captivating prose” ( BuzzFeed ), Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast... -
Death is in the Details by Heather Sunseri
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA woman haunted by her past. A killer who won't let her forget.Faith Day's condition curses her to recall her mother’s fiery murder like it was yesterday. And when the forensic photographer’s convicted stepbrother is somehow cleared 12 years later and released from prison, Faith wonders if he'll put an end to her tortured memories... -
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... -
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.. -
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Only The Good Die Young : And I'm Not A Saint by Akash Verma
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSometimes when you're desperate to leave the past behind, the past is eager to catch up!Anuradha leaves Gurgaon when Dhruv chooses his family over her. She thinks that chapter of her life hasended, and starts afresh in Mumbai. But strangely, it seems her past is trying to catch up. Dhruv suddenlycomes back into her life... -
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... -
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... -
Juste une ombre by Karine Giébel
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCloé Beauchamp est une jeune femme à qui tout semble réussir; belle, brillante, sur le point d'être nommée à la tête d'une prestigieuse agence de publicité... Et amoureuse, depuis peu, d'un homme charmant. Elle cache à la perfection ses failles et les horreurs qui ont jalonné son passé. Mais lentement, sa vie va se transformer en cauchemar... -
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... -
Parting Shot by Linwood Barclay
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA gripping thriller packed with scandal in a small town, from the master of the twist you never saw coming - international bestseller, Linwood Barclay.When a young girl from Promise Falls is killed by a drunk driver, the community wants answers.It doesn't matter that the accused is a kid himself: all they see is that he took a life and got an easy sentence... -
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... -
Buried by Jeffery Deaver
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn old-school reporter discovers that the search for the truth is still full of surprises in a twisty short thriller from bestselling master of suspense Jeffery Deaver.After a long run as a respected journalist, Edward “Fitz” Fitzhugh is on his way out when he stumbles across the story of a lifetime. The Gravedigger is a serial kidnapper who taunts the police with riddles... -
Playdate by Alex Dahl
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt was meant to be your daughter's first sleepover. Now it's an abduction.Lucia Blix went home from school for a playdate with her new friend Josie. Later that evening, Lucia's mother Elisa dropped her overnight things round and kissed her little girl goodnight.That was the last time she saw her daughter.The next morning, when Lucia's dad arrived to pick her up, the house was empty... -
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... -
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Dark Corners by Megan Goldin
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTerence Bailey is about to be released from prison for breaking and entering, though investigators have long suspected him in the murders of six women. As his freedom approaches, Bailey gets a surprise visit from Maddison Logan, a hot, young influencer with a huge social media following. Hours later, Maddison disappears, and police suspect she’s been kidnapped—or worse... -
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... -
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.. -
Speak No Evil by Tanya Anne Crosby
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIf you love a gripping Southern suspense, USA Today bestselling SPEAK NO EVIL is for you. Lifting the veil of secrecy on a grand Southern family in decline. New York Times bestselling author Tanya Anne Crosby explores the lives of Caroline, Augusta, and Savannah Aldridge, three sisters who share a dark past and an uncertain future.. -
Stimmen by Ursula Poznanski
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEr hatte die Zeichen gesehen. Er sah sie seit Jahren schon, und hatte immer wieder versucht, die Menschen zu warnen, doch nie wollte jemand ihm glauben.Sie hatten ein Opfer dargebracht. Auf keinen Fall durften sie ihn hören. Sie wissen, wer du bist.Menschen, die wirr vor sich hinmurmeln... -
The Islanders by Caroline Mitchell
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsShe thinks the island will keep her safe—she is wrong.Traumatised by the death of a child in her care, top London paediatrician Claire seeks refuge on remote Selkie Island in the wilds of the Irish Sea with her husband Daniel and their baby daughter Kitty... -
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... -
The Dark Room by Lisa Gray, Michael Orenstein
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAll’s fair in love and revenge in this taut thriller from bestselling author Lisa Gray. Ex–crime reporter Leonard Blaylock spends his days on an unusual hobby, developing strangers’ forgotten and discarded rolls of film. He loves the small mysteries the photographs reveal to him. Then Leonard finds something no one would ever expect, or want, to see captured on film―the murder of a young woman... -
All the Lies by Nicola Sanders
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsShe thought he was the perfect husband. Now she’s running for her life.On the surface, Amy and Jason have the perfect marriage, but Amy is trapped in a nightmare with a controlling, violent husband. Then on a short cruise without Jason, Amy befriends Liz, a young woman travelling alone on her way to meet her birth mother for the first time. Liz looks so much like Amy that they could be sisters... -
Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsQuinn Alexander has committed an unthinkable crime.To avoid spending her life in prison, Quinn makes a run for it. She leaves behind her home, her job, and her family. She grabs her passport and heads for the northern border before the police can discover what she’s done.But when an unexpected snowstorm forces her off the road, Quinn must take refuge at the broken-down, isolated Baxter Motel... -
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The Accident by Natalie Barelli
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIf only she'd said no... Katherine knew she’d had too many drinks, but they were only going a short distance. And as Eve pointed out, it was late, there was no traffic anyway... Now, Katherine would do anything to turn back the clock. If anyone ever found out about the accident, it would ruin Katherine’s life... -
Or Else by Joe Hart
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA secret love becomes a fatal affair in a twisting novel of suspense by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Joe Hart.When novelist Andy Drake returns to his hometown to care for his ailing father, a reconnection with his childhood friend Rachel escalates into a secret love affair... -
Over Her Dead Body by Susan Walter
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAn inheritance that comes with a warning.Ashley Brooks’s life isn’t working out as planned. After years of struggling to make it in Hollywood, she’s still waiting for her big break. When fate leads her to the doorstep of legendary casting director Louisa Lake George, Ashley thinks her luck is about to change: the prickly old pro knows about a role she’s perfect for... -
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... -
To Die For by Lisa Gray
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom bestselling author Lisa Gray comes a thrilling tale of a cutthroat contest for the ultimate house-selling commission… one million dollars. In the elite world of luxury real estate, it is often kill or be killed, something agent Andi Hart knows all too well—and after recent events, she’s ready to set her own rules... -
The Woman Who Lied by Claire Douglas
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsEmilia Ward is just an ordinary mum living happily in suburban London with her husband and two children - a teenager from her first marriage, a little boy from her second. She also happens to be the bestselling author of the Miranda Moody detective novels... -
Widow Falls by Kiersten Modglin
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe last girl went missing…Someone doesn’t want her to be found.When Sloane takes a job at the infamous whitewater rafting camp, Widow Falls, she quickly learns that the camp has a reputation for more than just summer fun.People go missing at Widow Falls.The guide she’s replacing was just one of many... -
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... -
Don't Forget Me by Rea Frey
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen a body is presumed to be her missing husband’s, a woman must unravel the secrets of her own past to clear her name, find the truth, and put her conscience to rest once and for all.All Ruby wanted was a fresh start. But after an early retirement and a relocation to a tight-knit community with her husband, Tom, and her daughter, Lily, her new beginning takes a turn... -
I Made a Mistake by Jane Corry
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIT STARTED WITH A KISS... AND ENDED WITH MURDER. The darkly addictive new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of I Looked Away, Blood Sisters and My Husband's Wife. --------------------------------------------------------In Poppy Page's mind, there are two types of women in this world: those who are faithful to their husbands, and those who are not... -
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SHOCKING PINK by Erica Spindler
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThey were only watchingThe mysterious lovers the three girls spied on were engaged in a deadly sexual game no one else was supposed to know about. Especially not Andie and her friends, whose curiosity had deepened into a dangerous obsession….Now, fifteen years later, someone is watching Andie. Someone who won't let her forget the unsolved murder of "Mrs. X" or the disappearance of "Mr. X... -
The Girl Who Came Back by Susan Lewis
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFor readers of Diane Chamberlain and Heather Gudenkauf comes a gripping novel of suspense about a mother determined to avenge her daughter’s murder—no matter the cost to her husband, to her family, and to herself. When Jules Bright hears a knock on the door, the last person she expects to find is a detective bringing her the news she’s feared for the last three years... -
The Women by S.E. Lynes
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe night she moves in with Peter, she’s so happy, so exhilarated, so in love. Later, she will remember a much smaller feeling, a tiny one percent in her gut. And she will remember pushing that feeling aside…Samantha Frayn doesn’t know why Peter Bridges picks her – a nobody with bitten fingernails and a troubled childhood behind her – but she falls quickly... -
THE RISING TIDE by Sam Lloyd
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPerfect for fans of Jane Harper, the beautifully written, evocative and pulse-pounding new novel from Sam Lloyd. A family pushed to its limits, set against the backdrop of the most unforgiving of landscapes. The news doesn''t strike cleanly, like a guillotine''s blade. Nothing so merciful. This news is a slovenly traveller, dragging its feet, gradually revealing its horrors... -
Before Her Eyes by Jack Jordan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsShe can't see the killer But the killer can see her...Naomi Hannah has been blind since birth. Struggling with living in the small, claustrophobic town of Balkerne Heights, Naomi contemplates ending her life. But before she can, Naomi stumbles across the body of a young woman who has been brutally murdered. She senses someone else there at the scene - watching her... -
Blood Ties by Samantha Hayes
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsBLOOD the breathtaking emotional thriller by Sam Hayes January 1992. A baby girl is left alone for a moment. Long enough for a mother to dash into a shop. Long enough for a child to be taken. Thirteen years later, solicitor Robert Knight's stepdaughter wins a place at a prestigious London school for the gifted. The only puzzle is his wife Erin's reaction...
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