Category Archives: Mystery & Thriller

Ashes of You by Catherine Cowles

Five years ago, I nearly lost everything. But there was a glimmer of hope on that darkest night. There was him—a stranger I could never forget. Now, I’m finally getting the fresh start I’ve longed for. But when I show up to interview for a nanny position in the small mountain town, the single dad has startlingly familiar blue eyes. Eyes that have haunted my dreams for the past five years. Lawson Hartley is everything I know I can’t have. Older, handsome, and my boss. Not to mention the shadows in his eyes that tell me he has demons, too. Still, he seems to understand me better than anyone I’ve ever met. So gentle and careful of my… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual assault & harassment
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder & panic attacks (on-page)
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Kidnapping, captivity & torture (on-page & recounted)

All the Missing Pieces by Catherine Cowles

Ridley Sawyer knows what it’s like to miss someone, to feel like a piece of her vanished—because it happened to her the night her twin sister disappeared. Now, Ridley channels that loss into hope, traveling the country covering cold cases for her true crime podcast. She might not have found justice for her sister but that doesn’t stop her from finding it for others. Until Sheriff Colter Brooks gets in her way. Colt knows what it’s like to have reporters descend on his town in the wake of a tragedy, and he’s not about to let a fiery podcaster stir up trouble. It doesn’t matter that her… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual assault mentioned (secondary character)
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder & flashbacks
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Kidnapping & disappearance of a sibling

Whispers of You by Catherine Cowles

One night—a single bullet—cost me everything. My body, broken beyond repair. The boy I’d thought was my forever. The life I’d always dreamt of. Now, Holt’s back. And he’s no longer a boy, but a man with shadows in his eyes and demons haunting him. He says he’s here to make things right. To get back a little bit of all we’ve lost. And he doesn’t show any signs of leaving the small town that has been my refuge. As stolen moments turn to days, Holt’s around every corner. With his burning stare and lingering touches. Before long, my walls come crashing down and I’m just hoping that… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Gun violence
  • Kidnapping

One Little Sigh by Shannon Hollinger

When Chief Maggie Riley sees the body of the small boy still dressed in pyjamas in Beaverhead Lake, her heart breaks. Little Patrick Warner went missing last night. Despite immediately calling the entire town of Coyote Cove into action, Maggie’s desperate search failed. Even worse, it’s clear it was Patrick took his last breath long before he entered the water. Maggie is devastated—Patrick reminds her so much of her beautiful younger brother, gone for so long. Visiting the tiny, rumpled bed where Patrick’s teddy bear still lies, and where Patrick was last seen by his mother Jenny, Maggie’s grief turns to rage. She is determined to bring who…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Kidnapping of a sibling recounted

Nothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass

When Shelby Dawson survives a harrowing attack that should have left her dead, she tries to move past it—for herself, and for her family. Fifteen months later, with the help of her best friend, Mackenzie, she finally feels safe again in the snowy Minnesota town she calls home. But when an anonymous note appears on her windshield bearing the same threats her attacker made, Shelby realizes that her nightmare has only just begun. As new evidence surfaces, and a group of well-meaning senior citizens accidentally makes the case go viral online, the situation quickly goes from bad to worse…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Gambling addiction mentioned
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Gun violence
  • Kidnapping

Do You Remember? by Freida McFadden

Tess Strebel can’t recognize her own face. She can’t recognize her home. Her bedroom is unfamiliar. And she can’t remember the handsome stranger lying next to her in bed. A stranger who claims he’s her husband. Tess reads a letter in her own handwriting, composed during a rare lucid day, explaining her life as it now exists: She was in a terrible car accident one year ago. Every morning, she wakes up unable to remember most of the last decade. Including her own wedding. Tess has no choice but to accept her new life and hope her memory will return. After all, why should she doubt the letter she wrote to herself? Or the kind… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity
  • Cancer & medical treatment (injections)
  • Hospitalisation recounted
  • Confinement

The Ex by Freida McFadden

Cassie thinks she has met the perfect man. Joel is sweet, handsome, romantic, and best of all, he’s crazy about Cassie. She thinks she’s found the guy she’ll spend the rest of her life with. Have children with. Grow old with. Yes, she knows about his perfect ex-girlfriend, Francesca. The beautiful, brilliant chef, beloved by all his friends. But she thinks Francesca is out of the picture. She thinks Francesca is gone for good. Think again, Cassie.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Suicide
  • Alcohol consumption & drugging
  • Pregnancy
  • Murder
  • Stalking

The Surrogate Mother by Freida McFadden

Abby wants a baby more than anything. But after years of failed infertility treatments and adoptions that have fallen through, it seems like motherhood is not in her future. That is, until her personal assistant Monica makes a generous offer that will make all of Abby’s dreams come true. Or all of her nightmares. Because it turns out Monica isn’t who she says she is. The woman now carrying Abby’s child has dark, twisted secrets. And she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity
  • Drug use & drugging
  • Infertility
  • Blood depiction & surgery

Want to Know a Secret? by Freida McFadden

YouTube baking sensation April Masterson knows the secret to the perfect gooey brownies. Or how to make key lime squares that will melt in your mouth. But if you keep watching her offline, you may find out some other secrets about April. Secrets she’d rather you didn’t know. Like where did her son go when he snuck out of the house? What was she doing with the local soccer coach behind fogged windows? And what’s buried in her backyard? Everyone has secrets. Some are worse than others. April’s secrets are enough to destroy her. I’ll make sure of that..

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption & drug use
  • Physical injury (broken bone)
  • Murder
  • Stalking

The Wife Upstairs by Freida McFadden

Victoria Barnett has it all. A great career. A handsome and loving husband. A beautiful home in the suburbs and a plan to fill it with children. Life is perfect—or so it seems. Then she’s in a terrible accident… and everything falls apart. Now Victoria is unable to walk. She can’t feed or dress herself. She can’t even speak. She is confined to the top floor of her house with twenty-four-hour care. Sylvia Robinson is hired by Victoria’s husband to help care for her. But it turns out Victoria isn’t as impaired as Sylvia was led to believe. There’s a story Victoria desperately wants to tell… if only she could get out the words. Then…. Read more,

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Emotional abuse & gaslighting
  • Abusive relationship
  • Infidelity
  • Murder
  • Stalking