Recommendations based on "The Secret Child A gripping novel of family secrets"

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “mercilessly entertaining” (Vanity Fair) instant classic “about the nature of identity and the terrible secrets that can survive and thrive in even the most intimate relationships” (Lev Grossman, Time “One of the Best Books of the Decade”)ONE OF TIME'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME, ONE OF CNN'S MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOKS OF THE DECADE, AND ONE OF ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY'S BEST BOOKS OF THE DECADEONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Janet Maslin, The New York Times, People, Entertainment Weekly, O: The Oprah Magazine, Slate, Kansas City Star, USA Today, Christian Science MonitorOn a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: San Francisco Chronicle, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Chicago Tribune, HuffPost, Newsday

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY’S BREAKOUT AUTHOR TO WATCH IN 2020“Brilliant and stunning . . . an absolute must read.” – GILLIAN FLYNN“A well-constructed package of dynamite.” – STEPHEN KINGA most anticipated book by The New York Times • USA Today • Entertainment Weekly • Marie Claire • Elle • Harper's Bazaar • Bustle • Newsweek • New York Post • Esquire • Real Simple • The Sunday Times • The GuardianONE OF THE MOST BUZZED ABOUT DEBUTS IN YEARSAN INTERNATIONAL SENSATION SOLD IN 24 TERRITORIES AND COUNTINGExploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed?Alternating between Vanessa’s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself.Includes a bonus conversation with Kate Elizabeth Russell, Grace Gummer, and Jessica Williams (editor of My Dark Vanessa).

Both of them loved him. One of them killed him . . .Louise has had to watch her husband, Andrew, start a new family in the four years since he left her. The ‘other woman’ is now his wife – but Louise isn’t ready to let Caz enjoy the life that was once hers, or to let go of the man she still loves.As Louise starts to dig into Caz’s past, the two women’s pretence of civility starts to slip. But in trying to undermine each other, they discover more about the man they both married.And when Andrew is murdered at a family party, both women are found standing over the body.It’s always the wife. But which one?

The next thrilling mystery from Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Girls and the Will Trent Series. Welcome to North Falls--a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think. Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites. For Officer Emmy Clifton, it's personal. She turned away when her best friend's daughter needed help--and now she must bring her home. But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did. Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?

It started with Monday. But it doesn't end with Sunday.Read Sunday Silence, the new novel in the series that LOUISE PENNY calls "fabulous, unsettling, and riveting" — and brace yourself for the breathtaking series finale in summer 2018.Lover of London, gifted psychologist, frequent police consultant — Frieda Klein is many things. And now she's a person of interest in a murder case. A body has been discovered in the most unlikely and horrifying of places: beneath the floorboards of Frieda's house.The corpse is only months old, but the chief suspect appears to have died more than seven years ago. Except as Frieda knows all too well, he's alive and well and living in secret. And it seems he's inspired a copycat...As the days pass and the body count rises, Frieda finds herself caught in a fatal tug-of-war between two killers: one who won't let her go, and another who can't let her live.Crackling with suspense, packed with emotion, Sunday Silence is a psychological thriller perfect for fans of Elizabeth George and Paula Hawkins.

***Don't miss SOMEONE IN THE WATER, Sarah Clarke's gripping new summer thriller, available now*** 'A fast-paced, twisty story ... A thrilling read' Catherine Cooper, bestselling author of The Chalet From the outside, it seems Grace has it all. Only she knows about the cracks in her picture-perfect life... and the huge secret behind them. After all, who can she trust? Her brother Josh is thousands of miles away, and he and Grace have never been close - he was always their parents' favourite. Her best friend Coco walked away from her years ago, their friendship irreparably fractured by the choices they've made. And her husband Marcus seems like a different man lately. Grace can't shake the feeling that he's hiding something. But when her seven-year-old daughter makes a troubling accusation, Grace must choose between protecting her child and protecting her secret... before she loses everything. A totally addictive suspense novel from the bestselling author of A Mother Never Lies, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Shalini Boland. 'Every Little Secret had me in a complete vice. A brilliantly crafted suspense thriller which poses a dark dilemma - who can you trust?' L V Matthews, author of The Twins Readers are raving about Every Little Secret! 'WOW! WOW! WOW! AMAZING, PHENOMENAL, LOVED IT!' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I devoured every page of Every Little Secret. It's gripping, thrilling and impossible to put down.' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Shocking! Totally didn't see the twists coming, especially the explosive ending...Great and gripping thriller.' NetGalley reviewer,⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This gripping story of love, trust and betrayal is the ultimate page-turner.' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'A fast paced read that had me in that "just one more chapter" loop until I'd finished it. I don't think I breathed for the entire last few chapters.' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I genuinely loved this novel . . . Through all the plot twists I was engrossed, hooked onto every word.' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From New York Times bestselling author Terri Blackstock comes a heart-pounding story of betrayal, family secrets, and the deadly cost of deception. Perfect for fans of Colleen Coble and Lynette Eason. When Juliet Cole's husband of fifteen years is murdered before her eyes, she thinks it was a random shooting. Devastated and traumatized, she answers hours of questioning, then returns home to break the tragic news to her sons. But a threatening voicemail escalates this from a random shooting to a planned, deliberate attack. Juliet realizes that she and her children are in danger too--unless she meets the killers' demands. But as she and her sisters untangle the clues, her husband's dark secrets come to light. The more she learns, the more her life is dismantled. Was her husband an innocent victim or a hardened criminal? Twist-filled and emotionally charged, Distortion will keep you reading long into the night. Don't miss this gripping story of faith, family, and the fight for truth--because in Terri Blackstock's books, nothing is ever as it seems. Part of the Moonlighters Series (Truth Stained Lies, Distortion, Twisted Innocence) where three sisters balance everyday life with the hidden world of private investigation.

The New York Times bestselling author of Elevator Pitch and master of psychological suspense returns with a riveting thriller in which the possible heirs of a dying tech millionaire are mysteriously being eliminated, one by one. “Find You First starts with a bang and ends with an even bigger one. . . . It’s the best book of his career.”  — Stephen King Tech millionaire Miles Cookson has more money than he can ever spend, and everything he could dream of—except time. He has recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and there is a fifty percent chance that it can be passed on to the next generation. For Miles, this means taking a long hard look at his past . . . Two decades ago, a young, struggling Miles was a sperm donor. Somewhere out there, he has kids—nine of them. And they might be about to inherit both the good and the bad from him—maybe his fortune, or maybe something much worse. As Miles begins to search for the children he’s never known, aspiring film documentarian Chloe Swanson embarks on a quest to find her biological father, armed with the knowledge that twenty-two years ago, her mother used a New York sperm bank to become pregnant. When Miles and Chloe eventually connect, their excitement at finding each other is overshadowed by a series of mysterious and terrifying events. One by one, Miles’s other potential heirs are vanishing—every trace of them wiped, like they never existed at all. Who is the vicious killer—another heir methodically erasing rivals? Or is something even more sinister going on? It’s a deadly race against time . . .

’Cleverly crafted, twisty, gripping and suspenseful’ B. A. Paris Only the killer holds the key. . . A Sunday Times Book of the Summer IT WAS THE CRIME THAT SHOCKED A NATION. The Flowers were the perfect family. Until the day fifteen-year-old Joseph shot dead his parents and baby brother whilst his younger sister Eve hid. The family home became known as ‘The Red House’, the place where the walls were covered in blood. THEY THOUGHT THEY HAD THE KILLER. No one knows why Joseph murdered his family: the following day he crashed his car and has been in a coma for two decades. Eve’s always known he did it; she saw the crime, after all. WHAT IF THEY WERE WRONG? Now an adult, Eve is forced to re-examine her memories when disturbing new evidence about the case comes to light. Rumour has it that Joseph created a hidden level in his game that night, which might hold the key. But if Joseph didn’t do it, then the killer’s still out there – and they’re coming back for the girl who escaped. . . ’A masterclass in pace and intrigue. Tense, immersive, clever, surprising and unique’Andrea Mara, author of No One Saw a Thing ‘I wanted to immediately start reading again to check the very clever clues... A clever and engaging mystery with a resolution that will completely blow you away’Susi Holliday, author of The Hike ’You won’t know where you’re going until the last page. A genuinely delicious mystery’Christina Dalcher, author of Vox *** Readers are LOVING The Red House: ‘Definitely a contender for any year’s book of the year’ ‘An emotional rollercoaster of a ride. . .I could not put it down’ ‘Wow. Just wow’ ‘Carefully crafted plot and well-drawn characters made this an intelligent thriller that had me hooked’ ‘A brilliant thriller from the first page until the last’

What if someone wanted your family dead?--------'I was hooked from beginning to end' Claire Douglas'Confirms her place in the front rank of British crime writers' Sunday TimesIt's one of the most disturbing cases DI Fawley has ever worked.The Christmas holidays, and two children have just been pulled from the wreckage of their burning home in North Oxford. The toddler is dead, and his brother is soon fighting for his life. Why were they left in the house alone? Where is their mother, and why is their father not answering his phone?Then new evidence is discovered, and DI Fawley's worst nightmare comes true.Because this fire wasn't an accident. It was murder.And the killer is still out there...Sunday Times best 100 novels since 1945Sunday Times Best Crime Fiction of 2019The third twisty, up-all-night thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling Cara Hunter. For fans of Shari Lapena, Claire Douglas and Lisa Jewell.--------Authors can't get enough of Cara Hunter'Gripping' Ian Rankin, The Dark Remains'Your next riveting, twisty read!' Shari Lapena, Not A Happy Family'The new queen of the cliffhanger' John Marrs, The Vacation'Cancel everything. You're not going anywhere until you finish this' Emily Koch, If I Die Before I Wake'The new DI Fawley novel is the best yet - and that's saying something!' Simon Lelic, The House'My heart was in my mouth' Sarah J. Naughton, Tattle Tale'A cracking detective novel that pulsates with authenticity' Michelle Francis, The GirlfriendAnd readers are loving this series, too'All hail the new queen of all things crime' Penny, Netgalley'Mind-bending brilliance' Kath, Netgalley'Packed full of twists' Gary, Netgalley'Definitely for fans of Lisa Gardner, Karin Slaughter and the like' Fiona, Netgalley'Captivating: full of mystery, tension, moral dilemma . . . outstanding' Peter, Netgalley'This series just gets better and better' Tina, Netgalley