Psychological Mystery Thriller Suspense

Adopted at birth, for years Lu has secretly dreamt of finding her birth mother, but childhood bullying has left her with a lack of confidence. When a tragic accident changes her life forever, it sets her on a mission to get in contact with her birth mother and find out the reasons behind her adoption. When she tracks down her mother in Cornwall, there is an emotional reunion, and the pair begin to form a relationship. But is everything as wonderful as it appears, or has Lu walked into a nightmare?

Harley Mason, you may love her or hate her, but never underestimate her. As the Masons settle down to a more normal life following the death of three family members, a shocking discovery of a schoolgirl found dead in nearby woods starts the finger pointing once again. Lewis Sanders, the detective on the case, struggles to believe that a teenage girl is capable of such a horrific crime. Yet the discovery of a second body could put Harley Mason in the frame.

There are two sides to every story: yours and mine, ours and theirs, his and hers. Which means someone is always lying. When a woman is murdered in Blackdown, a quintessentially British village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation. Someone isn’t telling the truth, and some secrets are worth killing to keep.

Eve wanted nothing more than to be a mother. She and her husband, Aidan, planned to have a family, but with each devastating miscarriage her hopes dwindled. When she eventually gave birth to her daughter, Kayla, it should have been the happiest time of her life. Instead, it was a waking nightmare for Eve and one she was desperate to escape. Now, Eve has left all that behind. She pretends that she never had a child and keeps her secrets close. But someone knows the truth. They know that Eve told a lie, and the clock is ticking before her shocking decision is revealed.

Maya has returned to Princeton for her college reunion—it’s been a decade since she graduated, and she is looking forward to seeing old faces and reminiscing about her time there. This visit is special because Maya will also be attending the graduation of her little sister, Naomi. But what should have been a dream weekend becomes Maya’s worst nightmare when she receives the news that Naomi is dead. The police are calling it an accident, but Maya suspects that there is more to the story than they are letting on.

Everyone in Hemingway Grove, Illinois, knows David and Marcie Bowers. David owns the local pub. Marcie is a former big-city lawyer who practices family law. When David jumps into Cotton River to save a drowning stranger, he’s celebrated as a hero. His muscled physique, shaved head, and piercing blue eyes are broadcast on every news outlet. For most people, newfound fame is a lifeline. For David Bowers, it’s a death sentence. For Marcie Bowers, it’s a test.

When he was 12 years old, Adam Ryan went playing in the woods one day with his two best friends. He never saw them again. Their bodies were never found, and Adam himself was discovered with his back pressed against an oak tree and his shoes filled with blood. He had no memory of what had happened. Twenty years on, Rob Ryan - the child who came back - is a detective in the Dublin police force. He's changed his name. No one knows about his past.

When a coma patient starts to have contractions and gives birth to a baby boy, the child's arrival triggers an investigation into serious sexual assault. Detectives McQuillan and Blalock are handed the case, while the internal hospital team collects data to help with the investigation. When Dr. Angela Crawford, who helped deliver the baby, learns that the child will be put in foster care, she and her husband agree to take the little boy in.

My twin brother is the person I’m closest to. But now he frightens me. We both have the same white-blond hair and clear blue eyes. All our lives people have stared at us. So we had to be there for each other. Bryce tried to protect me from our dad. But when he died, I thought I was finally safe. After the funeral, Bryce takes me aside: “Since Dad’s passing . . . well, it’s been going on for a few years now. I’ve been keeping a huge secret from you.”

Lee Gulliver never thought she’d find herself living on the streets—no one ever does—but when her restaurant fails, and she falls deeper into debt, she leaves her old life behind with nothing but her clothes and her Toyota Corolla. In Seattle, she parks in a secluded spot by the beach to lay low and plan her next move—until early one morning, she sees a sobbing woman throw herself into the ocean. Lee hauls the woman back to the surface, but instead of appreciation, she is met with fury.

Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he’s teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what’s left of his self-respect; he hasn’t written—let alone published—anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn’t need Jake’s help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then...he hears the plot.

Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up – to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? – he’s not there.

The perfect neighborhood can be the perfect place to hide… Who wouldn’t want to live in Brighton Hills? This exclusive community on the Oregon coast is the perfect mix of luxury and natural beauty. Stunning houses nestle beneath mighty Douglas firs, and lush backyards roll down to the lakefront. It’s the kind of place where neighbors look out for one another. Sometimes a little too closely…

Victoria Barnett has it all: a great career as a nurse practitioner, 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 24-hour care.

The victims are all found face-down in the murky waters of the creek that runs through Cherokee Pointe, Tennessee. They are naked, except for the black satin ribbon tied around their necks. And each murdered woman shares a single characteristic... they are all redheads... Socialite Reve Sorrell has come to Cherokee Pointe seeking answers about her family history and her shocking connection to wrong-side-of-the-tracks Jazzy Talbot. With their stunning good looks and shining red hair, the two are mirror images of each other—twins abandoned at birth and raised in very different worlds.

Yeong-hye and her husband are ordinary people. He is an office worker with moderate ambitions and mild manners; she is an uninspired but dutiful wife. The acceptable flatline of their marriage is interrupted when Yeong-hye, seeking a more 'plantlike' existence, decides to become a vegetarian, prompted by grotesque recurring nightmares. In South Korea, where vegetarianism is almost unheard of and societal mores are strictly obeyed, Yeong-hye's decision is a shocking act of subversion.

Mariana Andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered in Cambridge. Mariana, who was once herself a student at the university, quickly suspects that behind the idyllic beauty of the spires and turrets, and beneath the ancient traditions, lies something sinister. And she becomes convinced that, despite his alibi, Edward Fosca is guilty of the murder. But why would the professor target one of his students?

When Veronica Lewis wakes up in a Nevada hospital, the doctors tell her that she was badly injured in a car accident. She claims to be a college student at New York University, but a quick call to the admissions department reveals that she graduated years ago. Vonny has no memory of the past decade and no idea what she was doing in Nevada. The situation intensifies when a pair of detectives shows up at the hospital. They inform Vonny that her husband, John, was recently found dead. The detectives reveal that he was murdered in an alleyway and want to begin questioning her immediately.

Twin sisters Cassie and Lenora are inseparable. Ever since that night, they’ve been on their own, and that’s how they like it. As the sole permanent residents of Cabin Two, their refuge on an isolated Tennessee campground, the twins manage to stay away from prying eyes, probing questions, and true-crime junkies. The peace and quiet is almost enough to make them forget what happened all those years ago. Almost. Until a teenage girl camping at the neighboring cabin goes missing, and the memories come rushing back.

In nine short stories, seven of which have never previously been available in print, and one brand-new, never-before-seen Sherlock Holmes mystery - available together for the first time - Laurie R. King blends her long-running brand of crime fiction with historical treats and narrative sleight of hand.