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8 Thrillers Set in Neighborhoods Hiding Dark Secrets

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The neighborhoods in these novels look nice: friendly, peaceful, even luxurious. But the gated walls and stylish homes are are hiding life-destroying secrets. What happens when the secrets get out?

The Neighbors

The Neighbors

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If you lived here It's one of the most exclusive addresses in town--a luxury development with pristine lawns and steep price tags. But there are unforgiving people living in the Villages, who know your secrets and have plenty of their own . . . secrets that no one lives to tell. . . You'd be dead by now. Mackenzie Laughlin has reluctantly moved to the Villages as bodyguard to Daley Carrera, who claims someone is pranking her and her husband. Mac expects a simple case of petty squabbles between new and longtime residents. Instead, she hears rumors of squalid affairs and sinister disappearances that tie in to a missing persons investigation led by her partner, Jesse James Taft. Welcome to the neighborhood . . . Behind every door and every smile, there are grudges that run deep and dangerous. Mac and Taft are being marked as targets, but why? Figuring out who to trust is the key to uncovering a killer who has no qualms about killing again. The neighbors are watching. And if getting into the Villages was difficult, getting out alive may be impossible . . .

Greenwich Park

Greenwich Park

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“A twisty, fast-paced” (The Sunday Times, London) debut thriller, as electrifying as the #1 New York Times bestseller The Girl on the Train, about impending motherhood, unreliable friendship, and the high price of keeping secrets.In this “gloriously tangled game of cat and mouse that kept the twists coming until the very last moment” (Ruth Ware, #1 New York Times bestselling author), Helen’s idyllic life—handsome architect husband, gorgeous Victorian house, and cherished baby on the way—begins to change the day she attends her first prenatal class. There, she meets Rachel, an unpredictable single mother-to-be who doesn’t seem very maternal: she smokes, drinks, and professes little interest in parenthood. Still, Helen is drawn to her. Maybe Rachel just needs a friend. And to be honest, Helen’s a bit lonely herself. At least Rachel is fun to be with. She makes Helen laugh, invites her confidences, and distracts her from her fears. But her increasingly erratic behavior is unsettling. And Helen’s not the only one who’s noticed. Her friends and family begin to suspect that her strange new friend may be linked to their shared history in unexpected ways. When Rachel threatens to expose a past crime that could destroy all of their lives, it becomes clear that there are more than a few secrets laying beneath the broad-leaved trees and warm lamplight of Greenwich Park.

Cul-de-sac

Cul-de-sac

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A shooting lays bare the secrets harbored by five families in a sleepy suburban cul-de-sac in this riveting psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of All the Wrong Places.“Cul-de-sac proves once again that Joy Fielding is an ingenious master of domestic suspense.”—Samantha M. Bailey, USA Today and #1 national bestselling author of Woman on the EdgeSomeone on this quiet, unassuming cul-de-sac will be shot dead in the middle of a sultry July night.Will it be Maggie, the perfectionist wife, or Craig, the husband who can’t quite live up to her expectations? They’ve packed up their two children and fled their life in California, hoping for a fresh start in Florida, only to find the demons of the past hovering on their doorstep.Maybe it will be Nick, a highly respected oncologist, or his wife, Dani, a successful dentist, both with well-kept secrets of their own.Or perhaps the victim will be Julia, an elderly widow, whose troubled grandson has recently moved in with her, introducing unsavory habits and even more unsavory acquaintances into her formerly quiet existence.Then there’s Olivia and her husband, Sean. Having lost his job at a prestigious advertising agency, Sean is depressed, resentful of his working wife, and drinking heavily. He is also prone to increasingly violent fantasies.And what of the newlyweds, Aiden and Heidi, whose marriage is already on the rocks, due to Aiden’s reluctance to stand up to his intrusive mother? Matters aren’t helped when Heidi befriends Julia’s grandson, setting the stage for a major blowup.A diverse group of neighbors, to be sure. Yet all harbor secrets. All bear scars. And all have access to guns.Not all will survive the night.

Such a Quiet Place

Such a Quiet Place

Books

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last House Guest—a Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection—comes a riveting, “suspenseful” (BookPage, starred review) novel about a mysterious murder in an idyllic and close-knit neighborhood.Welcome to Hollow’s Edge, where you can find secrets, scandal, and a suspected killer—all on one street. Hollow’s Edge use to be a quiet place. A private and idyllic neighborhood where neighbors dropped in on neighbors, celebrated graduation and holiday parties together, and looked out for one another. But then came the murder of Brandon and Fiona Truett. A year and a half later, Hollow’s Edge is simmering. The residents are trapped, unable to sell their homes, confronted daily by the empty Truett house, and suffocated by their trial testimonies that implicated one of their own. Ruby Fletcher. And now, Ruby’s back. With her conviction overturned, Ruby waltzes right back to Hollow’s Edge, and into the home she shared with Harper Nash. Harper, five years older, has always treated Ruby like a wayward younger sister. But now she’s terrified. What possible good could come of Ruby returning to the scene of the crime? And how can she possibly turn her away, when she knows Ruby has nowhere to go? Within days, suspicion spreads like a virus across Hollow’s Edge. It’s increasingly clear that not everyone told the truth about the night of the Truetts’ murders. And when Harper begins receiving threatening notes, she realizes she has to uncover the truth before someone else becomes the killer’s next victim. Pulsating with suspense and with Megan Miranda’s trademark shocking twists, Such a Quiet Place is Megan Miranda’s best novel yet—a “powerful, paranoid thriller” (Booklist, starred review) that will keep you turning the pages late into the night.

Local Woman Missing

Local Woman Missing

Books

New York Times Bestseller"Dark and twisty, with white-knuckle tension and jaw-dropping surprises." —Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Home Before DarkIn this smart and chilling thriller, master of suspense Mary Kubica takes domestic secrets to a whole new level, showing that some people will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.People don't just disappear without a trace…Shelby Tebow is the first to go missing. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanish just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen, striking fear into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an elusive search that yields more questions than answers, the case eventually goes cold.Now, eleven years later, Delilah shockingly returns. Everyone wants to know what happened to her, but no one is prepared for what they'll find…Look for these other riveting thrillers by Mary Kubica:The Good GirlPretty BabyDon't You CryEvery Last LieWhen the Lights Go OutThe Other Mrs.

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