Books like 'Drowning Instinct'

Readers who enjoyed Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

contemporary  dark romance  suspense  forbidden love  mystery  tortured heroine  high-school

  • Lie To Her by Melinda Leigh

    Lie To Her by Melinda Leigh

    Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 2 of 5
    Behind closed doors [?] · 40 ratings
    Lies from the heart lead to a dangerously intimate case for Sheriff Bree Taggert in #1 Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh’s novel of revenge and fatal deceptions.When a digital marketer is found murdered in his backyard—hands bound and face smothered by plastic wrap—Sheriff Bree Taggert and criminal investigator Matt Flynn respond to the call...
  • Can't Go Back by Debra Webb

    Can't Go Back by Debra Webb

    Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars
    · 30 ratings
    The past and the present collide in the final installment of USA Today bestselling author Debra Webb’s Devlin & Falco series, threatening everything these two detectives care about.Birmingham detectives Kerri Devlin and Luke Falco arrive at the scene of a double homicide to discover that nothing makes sense...
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  • Heartbreak Bay by Rachel Caine

    Heartbreak Bay by Rachel Caine

    Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars
    · 29 ratings
    They’re hunting a killer so silent, so invisible, that his unspeakable crimes are the only proof he exists.A car submerged in a remote pond. The bodies of two girls strapped into their seats. The mystery of their mother, vanished without a trace, leads Gwen Proctor and Kezia Claremont into dangerous territory...
  • Little Girl Vanished by Denise Grover Swank

    Little Girl Vanished by Denise Grover Swank

    Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars
    · 19 ratings
    Disgraced, ex-detective Harper Adams is perfectly content wallowing at rock bottom. She’s lost her job, house, and reputation, and it only gets worse when she’s forced to move back home to Jackson Creek, Arkansas, the one place she swore she’d never return. But everything changes when she gets chilling news...
  • Killman Creek by Rachel Caine

    Killman Creek by Rachel Caine

    Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars
    · 59 ratings
    Every time Gwen closed her eyes, she saw him in her nightmares. Now her eyes are open, and he’s not going away.Gwen Proctor won the battle to save her kids from her ex-husband, serial killer Melvin Royal, and his league of psychotic accomplices. But the war isn’t over. Not since Melvin broke out of prison. Not since she received a chilling text…You’re not safe anywhere now...
  • The Dark Bones by Loreth Anne White

    The Dark Bones by Loreth Anne White

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 27 ratings
    She’s come back to solve the mystery of her father’s death and confront her own dark past. When Detective Rebecca North left her rural hometown, she vowed never to return. Her father’s apparent suicide has changed that. The official report is that retired cop Noah North shot himself, knocked over a lantern, and set his isolated cabin ablaze. But Rebecca cannot believe he killed himself...
  • Beneath Dark Waters by Karen Rose

    Beneath Dark Waters by Karen Rose

    Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars
    · 23 ratings
    Deadly secrets lie beneath the murky waters of the Louisiana bayou in this pulse-pounding new romantic suspense novel from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Rose. There's no safe place for a child to hide when danger comes from every direction. Public prosecutor J.P...
    Categorized as:
    mystery  suspense  contemporary  dark
  • The Good Lie by A.R. Torre

    The Good Lie by A.R. Torre

    Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars
    · 46 ratings
    Six teens murdered. A suspect behind bars. A desperate father. In a case this shadowy, the truth is easy to hide.Six teenagers dead. Finally, the killer behind bars. But are the games just beginning?Psychiatrist Dr. Gwen Moore is an expert on killers...
  • Extreme Risk by Jane Blythe

    Extreme Risk by Jane Blythe

    Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars
    · 15 ratings
    Can she accept an offer of help from a patient she’s attracted to?Dr. Piper Hamilton is used to keeping on the fringes. She knows what it's like to be responsible for the death of someone you love and she'd do anything to protect herself from feeling that pain again...
  • Unbreakable by Cari Hunter

    Unbreakable by Cari Hunter

    Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    Dr. Grace Kendal never stands a chance. The injured woman comes out of nowhere, bleeding heavily and holding a gun. Compelled to help her, Grace is dragged into Elin Breckenridge’s nightmare. Their fight to survive will take them across the country and to the limits of their endurance...
    Categorized as:
    mystery  suspense  f-f  contemporary  dark  queer  length-medium
  • Murder Girl by Lisa Renee Jones

    Murder Girl by Lisa Renee Jones

    Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones returns with the second book in her electrifying series featuring Lilah Love, an FBI profiler who doesn’t fight her dark side—she embraces it. It’s Lilah Love’s job to inhabit a killer’s mind. The unapologetically tough FBI profiler is very comfortable there. But her latest case is making her head spin...
  • The Demon by Stella Andrews

    The Demon by Stella Andrews

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    They call me The Demon for a reason and Eliza Ortega is about to find out why.A runaway mafia princess who stumbled from one nightmare to an even bigger one.She has something I want and I intend on collecting.I will stop at nothing to deliver my promise and if there are casualties I will consider it a good day at the office.My hobby is testing limits...
  • Never Look Back by Mary Burton

    Never Look Back by Mary Burton

    Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars
    · 38 ratings
    Expect the unexpected in this gritty, tense, and page-turning mystery from New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton.After multiple women go missing, Agent Melina Shepard of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation makes the impulsive decision to go undercover as a prostitute...
  • Six Degrees of Separation by Taylor V. Donovan

    Six Degrees of Separation by Taylor V. Donovan

    Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    *WARNING FROM THE AUTHOR: By Degrees is an ensemble serial with continuing story lines. Six Degrees of Separation is the second installment, and it must be read after Six Degrees of Lust. Thanks. In the sequel to Six Degrees of Lust, F.B.I. team leader Samuel Shaughnessy and bar manager Machlan O’Bannon are exploring a new phase in their non-relationship...
  • Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter

    Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 64 ratings
    A small Georgia town erupts in panic when a young college professor is found brutally mutilated in the local diner. But it's only when town pediatrician and coroner Sara Linton does the autopsy that the full extent of the killer's twisted work becomes clear...
  • A Dark Mind by T.R. Ragan

    A Dark Mind by T.R. Ragan

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 36 ratings
    A serial killer is terrorizing Sacramento, preying on happily married couples and unleashing unspeakable cruelties upon his victims. The ordeal rekindles disturbing memories for private investigator Lizzy Gardner, who barely escaped a serial killer clutches only years ago...
  • Find Her by Lisa Gardner

    Find Her by Lisa Gardner

    Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars
    · 53 ratings
    * This is an updated cover of this Kindle edition. *Lisa Gardner's runaway New York Times bestseller—a fast-paced thrill ride featuring Detective D. D. Warren.Seven years ago, carefree college student Flora Dane was kidnapped while on spring break. For 472 days, Flora learned just how much one person can endure...
  • Layered Lies by Kaylie Hunter

    Layered Lies by Kaylie Hunter

    Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    Two years after her son was abducted, Kelsey Harrison rebuilds a new life for herself. She opens a store, makes new friends, and settles into a peaceful existence. At least, that’s what she hopes the world believes.Behind closed doors, Kelsey hunts her enemies, living a life of lies. She hasn’t forgotten, hasn’t forgiven. She searches for answers still...
  • The Last Party by A.R. Torre

    The Last Party by A.R. Torre

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 30 ratings
    A loving mother. A notorious murderer. They both have reasons to hide their secrets in a novel of escalating shock and suspense by New York Times bestselling author A. R. Torre.Perla Wultz lives with her husband, Grant, and their precious daughter, Sophie, in a gated Pasadena community. Affluent, sociable, and accomplished, Perla plays the part of loving wife and mother to perfection...
  • Texas Bodyguard: Chance by Janie Crouch

    Texas Bodyguard: Chance by Janie Crouch

    Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    She has secrets she prefers to keep hidden.Too bad he’s so good at getting to the truth.When a violent attack puts Maci Ford in the hospital, security expert Chance Patterson learns that she’s carrying his baby. Even though she ended their relationship, he’s determined to do whatever it takes to protect her and their child...
  • Last Resort by Janie Crouch

    Last Resort by Janie Crouch

    Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    From USA TODAY Bestselling Author Janie Crouch. Previously published as Texas ChanceShe has secrets she prefers to keep hidden.Too bad he’s so good at getting to the truth.When a violent attack puts Maci Ford in the hospital, security expert Chance Patterson learns that she’s carrying his baby...
    Categorized as:
    mystery  suspense  dark  pregnancy  contemporary  military
  • Wicked and Bare by Shayla Black

    Wicked and Bare by Shayla Black

    Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Join Matt and Madison for the conclusion of their Wicked Lovers: Soldiers For Hire love story. Coming July 18, 2023!**Wicked and Bare is part of the Wicked Lovers: Soldiers for Hire romantic suspense series. Stories in this series are told in a duet of two full-length novels. Each duet can be read as a standalone...
  • Unfortunately Francine by Joan Vassar

    Unfortunately Francine by Joan Vassar

    Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Georgia, 1995–A gentle push from her sister causes Francine Adams to agree to one date with the handsome, Jalal Dorsey. When his ex-girlfriend makes an appearance, a perfect evening takes a turn for the worse. Blinded by humiliation and desperate to put distance between herself and the drama, Francine flees the upscale eatery...
  • The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith

    The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 45 ratings
    The latest installment in the highly acclaimed, internationally bestselling Strike series finds Cormoran and Robin ensnared in another winding, wicked case.When frantic, dishevelled Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott doesn't know quite what to make of the situation...
    Categorized as:
    mystery  suspense  contemporary  death  dark  length-epic
  • Duty by Bethany-Kris

    Duty by Bethany-Kris

    Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    They say heavy is the head that wears the crown … Andino Marcello’s world is turned upside down when he becomes the next heir apparent to the Marcello empire. He was comfortable in his place as a Capo, but comfort is for the weak in the world of mafioso. The boss’s seat is waiting...
  • A Reckless Note by Lisa Renee Jones

    A Reckless Note by Lisa Renee Jones

    Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars
    · 21 ratings
    “I can chase you, and I can catch you, but there is nothing I can do to make you mine.” ― Morrissey It all started with a note, just a simple note hand written by a woman I didn't know, never even met. But in that note is perhaps every answer to every question I've ever had in my life. And because of that note, I travel thousands of miles. I look for her, but find him...
  • The Fearless One by Lori Foster

    The Fearless One by Lori Foster

    Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    “Count on Lori Foster for sexy, edgy romance.” —Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling authorHe had it all planned…until she showed up. Jedidiah Stephens came to the Colorado Rockies for one to uncover the truth behind the fire that killed her family. She’s been chasing down clues, and everything has led her to an isolated campground...
  • Tangled up in Hate by Charlotte Byrd

    Tangled up in Hate by Charlotte Byrd

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    Epic love requires an epic sacrifice… A long time ago, I borrowed money from a very powerful family. I paid my debt, but they have come for more. They want everything that I have built and they will hurt her if I refuse. Harley doesn’t understand why I have to break her heart. She hates me, but at least she’s okay…for now...
  • Tease Me: A Stark International Novel by J. Kenner

    Tease Me: A Stark International Novel by J. Kenner

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J. Kenner comes a new story in her Stark International series…Entertainment reporter Jamie Archer knew it would be hard when her husband, Stark Security Chief Ryan Hunter, was called away for a long-term project in London. The distance is difficult to endure, but Jamie trusts the deep and passionate love that has always burned between them...
  • Wishing Well by Lily White

    Wishing Well by Lily White

    Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    The perfect timing of a fairy tale is tied to its tragedy… Journalist, Meadow Graham, is invited to interview death row inmate, Vincent Mercier. Given three days to hear his sordid confession, Meadow seeks to learn why a wealthy hotel owner killed four people, including her twin sister...
    Categorized as:
    suspense  mystery  dark  contemporary  bdsm  length-medium
  • I'm Watching You by Karen Rose

    I'm Watching You by Karen Rose

    Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 3 of 5
    Open door [?] · 43 ratings
    I Know Their Crimes. Star prosecutor Kristen Mayhew has a dangerous secret admirer. He seems to know her every thought, her every move. He sends her letters. And he kills the criminals she herself is powerless to stop. I Hunt Down the Guilty...
  • Guarded from Sabotage by Gia Cobie, Operation Alpha

    Guarded from Sabotage by Gia Cobie, Operation Alpha

    Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    I never imagined my life could fall apart so quickly.It all started when my credit card was stolen.I chalked it up to bad luck. A minor annoyance. Until more things started happening—fraudulent loans taken out in my name, my bank accounts drained, and I was even accused of a crime I couldn’t possibly have committed.And it became terrifyingly clear this wasn’t just bad luck. This was intentional...
  • Reaper by Rachel Leigh

    Reaper by Rachel Leigh

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    They call me the reaper.Saying I have no soul. A heart that’s charred black. I tell them it’s true,because it is. I’ve been hiding in the shadows.Stealing secrets, destroying the lives of those who deserve it. But there’s one story to be told before this book closes. My story. Don’t be fooled, it’s not a fairytale. I’m no prince.And I certainly don’t want a princess...
  • The Saint by Kimberly Kincaid

    The Saint by Kimberly Kincaid

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    His partner’s most trusted informant is his only hope…and his only weakness.When Detective Liam Hollister is assigned to an assault-turned-murder, he brings his signature three “C”s: control, calm, and composure. The “C” he wasn’t counting on? His partner’s informant, Carmen Desoto, who’s not only the key to unlocking his case...
  • Gabby's Protector by Janie Crouch, Regan Black

    Gabby's Protector by Janie Crouch, Regan Black

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    After a heart-shattering tragedy, Tony Marino bottled up his emotions and gave more than twenty hard years to the SEAL teams. Now, he’s enjoying a later in life career in paradise in the Ellington Cove special security office.The best part? Working with their research expert, Gabby Ladd...
  • Shadow Man by Cody McFadyen

    Shadow Man by Cody McFadyen

    Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars
    · 32 ratings
    Once, Special Agent Smoky Barrett hunted serial killers for the FBI. She was one of the best–until a madman terrorized her family, killed her husband and daughter, and left her face scarred and her soul brutalized. Turning the tables on the killer, Smoky shot him dead–but her life was shattered forever. Now Smoky dreams about picking up her weapon again...
    Categorized as:
    suspense  mystery  contemporary  rape  dark  length-long
  • A Cry in the Dark by Jessica R. Patch

    A Cry in the Dark by Jessica R. Patch

    Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Deep in the Kentucky hills, three women have been found brutalized and murdered.But the folks in Night Holler have their own ways and their own laws.And they’re not talking…Led to an isolated Appalachian Mountain town by a trail of disturbing murders, FBI special agent Violet Rainwater’s determined to catch a serial killer with a twisted agenda...
  • False Hope by Meli Raine

    False Hope by Meli Raine

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 19 ratings
    She thinks she’s fooled me. But I’ve known all along.Almost.Lily is hiding something, a secret so big, she came out of a year-long coma and her first instinct was to lie.Who does that? Someone who is afraid. No—not afraid.Terrified. And it’s my job to take that fear away.My partner and I have spent countless man-hours hunting down the cold-blooded killer who did this to her...
  • Worth of Waste by Bethany-Kris

    Worth of Waste by Bethany-Kris

    Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    DeLuca Duet, Part Two The Chicago Mob is the same as it has always been—violent, greedy, and excessive. The Outfit families have turned their backs when they were needed the most one too many times, but Dino DeLuca didn’t expect anything different. His whole life has been lived for the Outfit—for his family. He has a whole new set of reasons to live and fight now...
  • Glass Heart Savage by Lindsey Iler

    Glass Heart Savage by Lindsey Iler

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 17 ratings
    𝘏𝘈𝘝𝘖𝘊. 𝘋𝘌𝘊𝘌𝘐𝘛. 𝘗𝘙𝘐𝘝𝘐𝘓𝘌𝘎𝘌.The elite come to play on the campus of Glass Heart Academy.𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐫My sister was their everything. I’m their nothing.They waited three hundred and sixty-five days after her disappearance to acknowledge I’m alive.Their wicked games should scare me.Except they don’t know I’m not much different than her...
  • Angel of Mercy by Cara Malone

    Angel of Mercy by Cara Malone

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    “Angel of mercy. It was the stuff of legend, and nightmares. The caregiver who was supposed to heal and protect, who chose instead to kill.”In her very first case with the FCPD homicide division, Tate Macawi is investigating a death at one of Fox County’s most upscale nursing homes...
    Categorized as:
    mystery  suspense  f-f  queer  dark  contemporary  length-short
  • Wrath by Gwyn McNamee

    Wrath by Gwyn McNamee

    Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars
    · 7 ratings
    All I see is red.Blood.Pain.Rage.It consumes me.The moment he took her, wrath invaded my soul.I only have one purpose. End him and take back what’s mine. Love isn’t always clean, and wrath is the deadliest sin...
  • Giovanni: The Valentinetti Crime Family by Rebecca Joyce

    Giovanni: The Valentinetti Crime Family by Rebecca Joyce

    Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    My name is Giovanni Valentinetti.I am the head of the Valentinetti Family.I rule my family, my city, and all that I see with an iron fist.My word is law, and no one tells me what to do.War is coming, and I will do anything to protect my family.Wanting an alliance with the Golden Skulls, I don’t pass up the opportunity when one arises...
  • Pleasure & Prey: vol. 1 by A.J. Merlin

    Pleasure & Prey: vol. 1 by A.J. Merlin

    Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    DepravedThere’s nothing out there.That’s what I keep telling myself while I walk back from a campfire to my isolated cabin.BrutalNothing bad happens at summer camp.That’s what my fellow camp counselors have convinced me of when the nights around the lake get a little eerie.ViciousOne, two, he’s coming for you...
  • Miss Me Not by Tiffany King

    Miss Me Not by Tiffany King

    Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    Miss Me Not is a beautiful story of self-discovery, forgiveness, caring, and love. Madison Hanson's past demons have given her a shadow of an existence with little hope. With the sudden tragic death of a fellow student, Madison questions her own life choices, and is now forced to evaluate everything she thought she believed in...
  • The Arrangement by Kiersten Modglin

    The Arrangement by Kiersten Modglin

    Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars
    · 47 ratings
    Ainsley Greenburg is a fixer. It’s what she prides herself on. So, when she realizes her marriage is at its breaking point, she makes a decision to repair it, no matter the cost. Approaching her husband to propose the arrangement is supposed to be the hard part, but Peter agrees to the salacious plan almost immediately.The rules are simple:They will each date someone new once a week...
  • Wicked Little Words by Stevie J. Cole

    Wicked Little Words by Stevie J. Cole

    Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars
    · 15 ratings
    Edwin Allen Mercer I want them all to read my words. And they do. Every last blood-stained sentence, they've read and praised me for. They love the gore and violence, the realness. And I get a sense of power with it all because I know a secret: the victims in my books—they’re real and have all died on my table. And maybe that’s why the last book had such awful reviews...
  • Buried Deception by Amanda McKinney

    Buried Deception by Amanda McKinney

    Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    In the pulse-racing first installment of the On the Edge series, a criminal psychologist teams up with a former marine on a deadly wildland mission. Not even their hearts can stay out of harm’s way.In the swamps of East Texas, alligators aren’t the only danger lurking in the shadows...
  • If You Know Her by Shiloh Walker

    If You Know Her by Shiloh Walker

    Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars
    · 28 ratings
    A SHADOW IN THE WINDOW   Nia Hollister doesn’t scare easily. She’s returned to Ash, Kentucky, with a vengeance—and with a mission: find the killer who brutally ended her cousin’s life. What she didn’t count on was trembling with desire every time she sees Law Reilly. If any man can help her escape the nightmares for a while, it’s him...
  • Finding Claire Fletcher by Lisa Regan

    Finding Claire Fletcher by Lisa Regan

    Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    Newly divorced and with his career in jeopardy, Detective Connor Parks takes solace in the arms of a beautiful woman he meets at a bar. The next morning, Claire Fletcher is gone, leaving nothing behind but an address and a decade-old mystery...
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