Domestic Psychological Suspense

As Kiki Reed heads out to a party at a friend’s house in the Connecticut countryside, she’s more than a little nervous. Her ex-fiancé Jamie, a great guy who just wasn’t “the one,” will be attending, and she hasn’t seen him since she broke his heart a few months earlier. But when they come face to face, their exchange is brief and pleasant, which is a huge relief.

The people in Frankie Morgan’s life say she’s angry. Emotionally stunted. Combative. But really, who can blame her? It’s hard being nice when your clients are insufferable, your next-door neighbor is a miserable woman and the cowardly driver who killed your mother is still out living it up somewhere. Somehow, though, she finds herself at her very first anger-management group session—drinking terrible coffee and learning all about how “forgiveness is a process.” One that starts with a list.

Sienna Scott grew up in the dark shadow of her mother’s paranoid delusions. Now, she's returned home to confront her past and the unsolved murder that altered the course of her life. In her mother’s shuttered house, an old fear that has haunted Sienna for years rears its ugly head - that it was she who had been the killer’s target that night. And now, with it, a new fear - that the killer not only intended to remedy his past mistake - he’s already begun. But are these fears any different from the ones that torment her mother?

Hickory Hills is the perfect place to raise a family. Everyone knows everyone. Sometimes, that’s a bad thing. The morning after the Halloween party, the word spreads from house to house, each resident gasping at the news, each mother holding their child tighter. Shelby has gone missing. My daughter should be distraught, but she’s claiming they weren’t even friends anymore. When I go to talk to her, I hear her giggling on the phone with Shelby’s boyfriend. And then I find her Halloween costume, stuffed into a bag in her closet, covered in blood.

Alex knows her daughter would never wander off in a strange place. So when her three-year-old vanishes from an idyllic beach wedding, Alex immediately believes the worst. The hunt for Lottie quickly becomes a worldwide search, but it’s not long before suspicion falls on her mother. Why wasn’t she watching Lottie? Alex knows she’s not perfect, but she loves her child. And with all eyes on her, Alex fears they’ll never uncover the truth unless she takes matters into her own hands. Who took Lottie Martini? And will she ever come home?

As I walk into the pine-scented air of my seaside childhood home, gripping my husband Neil’s hand tight, I have a brief moment of hope. Maybe this Christmas will be different — for once my family might get on fueled by mulled wine and festive cheer. But the sound of happy carols are replaced by my older sister Christy’s over-loud laugh and slurred words. Rebecca, my younger sister, stalks out of the room as soon as I enter, as though I’m the Grinch here to steal Christmas. And their husbands, brash and arrogant, slap Neil’s back in a way that promises torment rather than welcome.

When homicide detective Gabe Quinn returns to the Los Angeles streets after the senseless murder of his wife Hope, he thinks he's fought off all the demons that life can throw his way. But his first case back may prove to be his last. A repeat killer is in town. A killer who is on a personal mission to bring Gabe to his knees, luring him into a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Jonathan Caine is a true master of the universe - a currency wizard with a trophy wife, a penthouse condo with a view of the Statue of Liberty, and the desire for more - when his world comes crashing down, spiraling him into a relentless fall from grace. Devastated, Jonathan returns to his hometown to care for his ailing father and attend his 25th high school reunion, where he becomes reacquainted with former prom queen Jacqueline Williams. Back in the day, Jackie didn't even know Jonathan existed.

Vanessa Sawyer knows all about pain. She’s felt it every day since marrying the boy who fathered her baby in high school. All he’s meant are broken bones, broken heart and broken dreams. But he also brought her the love of her life. When her son, Wren, was born, her baby boy was her salvation. Vanessa watches Wren grow and become a young man she can be proud of. Until one night everything changes, including Wren. One night that her son refuses to speak of. Now, Vanessa can’t rest, not until she uncovers the secret that her son has been hiding from her.

Blake's dead. They say his wife killed him. If so...which one? Polygamist Blake Nelson built a homestead on a hidden stretch of land - a raw paradise in the wilds of Utah - where he lived with his three wives: Rachel, the first wife, obedient and doting to a fault, with a past she'd prefer to keep quiet. Tina, the rebel wife, everything Rachel isn't, straight from rehab and the Vegas strip. And Emily, the young wife, naïve and scared, estranged from her Catholic family. The only thing that they had in common was Blake. Until all three are accused of his murder.

After a brutal childhood, Jane Doe has been permanently wired to look after herself and only herself. Now, looking next to normal, Jane has a lover and a job. But she hasn’t lost her edge. It sharpens when she hears from her estranged family. Jane’s deeply troubled 16-year-old niece, Kayla, has vanished, and no one seems to care. Neither does Jane. Until she sees a picture of Kayla and recognizes herself in the young girl’s eyes. It’s the empty stare of a sociopath.

Aspiring author Graye Templeton will do anything to escape the horrific childhood crime that haunts her. After a life lived in shadows, she’s accepted a new job as protégé to Laura West, influential book blogger and wife of an acclaimed novelist. Laura’s connections could make Graye’s publishing dreams a reality. But there’s more to Laura than meets the eye. Behind the veneer of a charmed life, Laura’s marriage is collapsing. Her once-lauded husband is descending into alcoholism and ruin and bringing Laura nearer to the edge.

Becca has always known something is off about that room. The one at the top of the stairs. The one CB stayed in. Yes, a terrible tragedy occurred within those walls, but there is more to it than that. She had heard rumors about it, as well. Rumors about something happening to anyone who stays there for long periods of time. For over a year now, she had dismissed them as exactly that—rumors. But now, Mia is the one living in it. And Becca doesn't like the changes she is seeing in her… at all.

Elizabeth is Joe’s foster mother, but she loves him like her own. The five-year-old, who adores superheroes and watching the birds outside, is the child she has dreamed of. As she looks into the garden, where he was playing just moments ago, her heart feels like it has been ripped from her chest. She was meant to save Joe from his birth mother who almost harmed his chances at life. The woman who has been trying to desperately get him back. She was meant to protect Joe from her husband. The man who, right now, lies to the police, saying he was making breakfast when Joe disappeared.

Teacher, mother, wife, and all-around good citizen Ellen is juggling nonstop commitments, from raising a teen and two toddlers to job-hunting to finally renovating her dream home, the Meadowhouse. Amidst the chaos, an ominous note arrives in the mail, declaring: People have to learn there are consequences, Ellen. And I’m going to teach you that lesson. Right under your nose. Why would someone send her this? Ellen has no clue. She’s no angel—a white lie here, an occasional sharp tongue there—but nothing to incur the wrath of an anonymous enemy. She’d never intentionally hurt anyone.

Annie never much believed in love. That is, until meeting Mark. After crossing paths on morning commutes, they connect at a group counseling session for trauma survivors. Each recognizes something in the other, though both hide their own troubled pasts. It’s a whirlwind romance that propels Annie through their courtship, all the way to her wedding day—a day she couldn’t have predicted for herself once upon a time yet now feels surer about than anything in her life.

The fire crackles gently in the grate as my partner Finn fills my glass with red wine. Looking into his sparkling blue eyes, I feel a tug on my heart. Finn is my boss, and no one can know how hard we’ve fallen for each other. We thought this lighthouse keeper’s cottage on the wild Irish coast would be the perfect secret getaway. Then there’s a knock at the door…

My husband, Marcus, and I used to be so in love. But now, after ten years together, we barely talk. I've seen so many of our friends marriages end in divorce, and I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to stop that from happening to us. And then I meet Erin. She tells me all about her perfect marriage to Kieran, and I'm shocked when she reveals the secret to their marital bliss they have an open marriage. My heart starts to race as I consider it for me and Marcus. Could we really do this?

Freya loves her new home on a quiet suburban street. And her beautiful neighbor, Emily, is everything she’s ever wanted in a best friend. Finally, she has somebody to share her secrets with over a glass of wine. But as Freya watches her new friend setting the table for dinner one evening, she sees something shocking that makes her think that Emily’s life might not be as perfect as it seems. Days later, Emily and her daughter vanish.

When a woman disappears with her two children, one husband will do anything to find them—even confront the secrets of his own past—in D.J. Palmer's My Wife Is Missing, a twisty thriller from the author of The New Husband.