Books like 'Painted Lady'
Readers who enjoyed Painted Lady by Piper Davenport also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary dark romance mystery horror
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Can't Go Back by Debra Webb
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe 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... -
Bitter Falls by Rachel Caine
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsShe’s investigating a cold case no one else could—by going places no one else would dare.In spite of a harrowing past still haunting her, Gwen Proctor is trying to move forward. Until a new assignment gives her purpose: the cold-case disappearance of a young man in Tennessee. Three years missing, no clues. Just Ruth Landry, a tortured mother in limbo... -
Killman Creek by Rachel Caine
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 59 ratingsEvery 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... -
Beneath Dark Waters by Karen Rose
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsDeadly 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... -
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Extreme Risk by Jane Blythe
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsCan 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... -
Never Look Back by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsExpect 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... -
Calamity by Elizabeth N. Harris
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAn abused child sought a home and discovered one in Rage MC. He was accepted, welcomed and finally found his place. He protected the old ladies, embraced Rages’ values and became their perfect prospect. Until the day he saw her. The Rage Princess nobody dared date. The moment he touched her, he knew she was his one. But they were too young, and he hadn’t earned his way. So he bided his time... -
A Dark Mind by T.R. Ragan
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsA 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... -
Layered Lies by Kaylie Hunter
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsTwo 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... -
In These Words, Volume 2 by Kichiku Neko, Guilt Pleasure
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAsano Katsuya realizes the meaning of his nightmare as everything came around full circle. Finally, Katsuya learned who Shinohara Kenji was and the meaning of his presence in his memories. With some answers surfacing, more questions also were pulled up with it. In These Words rewinds and replays the past that begun it all... -
The Last Party by A.R. Torre
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA 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
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsShe 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
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom 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... -
The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsThe 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... -
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The Direction of the Wind by Mansi Shah
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsA heartfelt story that spans continents and generations, about a young woman who searches for answers about a mother she barely remembers.Sophie Shah was six when she learned her mother, Nita, had died. For twenty-two years, she shouldered the burden of that loss. But when her father passes away, Sophie discovers a cache of hidden letters revealing a shattering truth: her mother didn’t die... -
In These Words, Volume 3 by Kichiku Neko, Guilt Pleasure
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsShinohara Kenji implemented Asano Katsuya's plan to draw out the serial killer who'd been plagueing the police for years. The net was cast. However, Asano was unexpectedly ensnared in it. For six days, as Shinohara searched for him frantically - the doctor was forced to endure the pain of extreme love and hate for the killer. Then on the seventh day - everything crashed down in a devastating end... -
Wishing Well by Lily White
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe 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... -
I'm Watching You by Karen Rose
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... -
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino, William Weaver
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 48 ratingsIf on a Winter's Night a Traveler is a marvel of ingenuity, an experimental text that looks longingly back to the great age of narration--"when time no longer seemed stopped and did not yet seem to have exploded... -
Gabby's Protector by Janie Crouch, Regan Black
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAfter 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... -
Undone by Cat Clarke
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsJem Halliday is in love with her gay best friend. Not exactly ideal, but she's learning to live with it. Then the unspeakable happens. Kai is outed online ... and he kills himself. Jem knows nothing she can say or do will bring him back. But she wants to know who was responsible. And she wants to take them down. A searing story of love, revenge and betrayal from a bestselling author... -
Shadow Man by Cody McFadyen
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsOnce, 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... -
False Hope by Meli Raine
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsShe 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... -
How It Ends by Laura Wiess
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFollowing her stunning and critically acclaimed novels Such a Pretty Girl and Leftovers , Laura Wiess crafts a riveting and emotionally powerful tale of beauty, destruction...and love. Seventeen-year-old Hanna has been in love with Seth for as long as she can remember, but now that she and Seth are in an actual relationship, love isn’t all it’s cracked up to be... -
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Wrath by Gwyn McNamee
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsAll 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... -
Pleasure & Prey: vol. 1 by A.J. Merlin
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsDepravedThere’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... -
Wicked Little Words by Stevie J. Cole
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsEdwin 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... -
Finding Claire Fletcher by Lisa Regan
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsNewly 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... -
Have You Seen Her? by Karen Rose
Special Agent Steven Thatcher has a lot on his hands. Not only is there a serial killer on the loose, stalking area high schools, but Steven's teenage son Brad is suddenly acting up and failing in school. His schoolteacher, Jenna Marshall, is also worried about Brad... -
A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 51 ratingsAn apparent student suicide has brought medical examiner Sara Linton to the local college campus, along with her ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver. But a horribly mutilated corpse yields up few answers... -
The Survivors Club by Lisa Gardner
One of today's most electrifying suspense novelists, "New York Times" bestselling author Lisa Gardner returns with a shattering thriller that dares to play on our deepest vulnerabilities. In this masterful new novel, the killer may very well be the one you sympathize with the most.... THE FIRST RULE IS NEVER BLAME THE VICTIM. They survived what no woman should ever have to endure... -
HAVOC by Ker Dukey
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMy brother once told me, it’s not murder if your hand is forced.But he doesn’t know the secrets I keep.I wasn’t always like this. Angry. Rebellious. A killer.The world I was born into made me this way, pushed me to become what I am. Killers aren’t born,they're made.And do you want to know one of my secrets?I like it.The kill. The violence. The vengeance.It excites me. Empowers me. Feeds me... -
Killing Stalking: Deluxe Edition Vol. 2 by Koogi
ON THE HUNTWhile investigating a vehicle collision, Officer Yang Seungbae discovers dashcam footage that plays into his suspicions about Oh Sangwoo... -
The Wrong Drive: A Suspenseful Holiday Romance by Annie Wild
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsWelcome to a holiday from hell. Emersyn All I want is a secluded getaway.Instead, I get a wrong turn, a fortnight blizzard, and...A malevolent, enticing, and unstable stranger. Merry Christmas to me.Here's to unwrapping his insanity...And trying not to lose mine.TurnerI come here when I lose my grip.I come here so I can wreak havoc alone.Instead, I get an unplanned and unwanted gift... -
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The Devils' Cradle by Darcy Daniel
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsOn Australia’s island state, more than one species of Tasmanian Devil exists... Beneath the surface of Nina Holt’s perfect marriage lurks a life of terror inflicted upon her by her politically powerful husband Michael and his brother Greg, a sadistic detective. For over a decade they have managed to keep Nina imprisoned, using her to satisfy their every whim... -
Cherished by Iris Sweetwater, Elizabeth Knox
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDuncanShe was supposed to just be a job; a means to an end, but I can't help but be attracted to her...Willow Kim Adame. I was assigned to protect her—“with any means necessary”—and, at first, it seemed like a simple enough job. But she tries to disobey me at ever step, seems outright intent on making not only my job but my life as difficult as possible... -
A Perfect Lie by Lisa Renee Jones
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsSecrets. Lies. A man. There's always a man. And there's always a truth to be told. I'm Hailey Anne Monroe. I’m twenty-eight years old. An artist, who found her muse on the canvas because I wasn’t allowed to have friends or even keep a journal... -
After the Dark by Cynthia Eden
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Eden's gripping new series, a disgraced FBI profiler must save her reputation by stopping a sadistic killer she knows all too well. Former FBI agent Samantha Dark was one of the most respected profilers in the bureau, an expert on the twisted minds and dark hearts of the most depraved criminals... -
The Confession by Penny Reid
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom the creator of the Knitting in the City series, Penny Reid — Please enjoy this exclusive piece called, “The Confession.” “I’ve always written short stories. I must have hundreds of them, little ideas that knock around in my brain and won’t let me sleep. This short story was written over ten years ago and the idea came to me while I was (dun dun DUUUN!!!) in confession... -
Serial, Volume Three by Lily White, Jaden Wilkes
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWith Donovan closing in, his feelings growing for Ronnie, and the sudden realization where their paths crossed before, Jude's composure might be cracking... -
The Way We Burn: A Standalone Romance...With A Twist by M. Leighton
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsIrresistible attraction. Unimaginable danger. I knew from the moment Noah Williamson walked into the diner that he was haunted—deeply haunted—but I couldn’t resist the lure of him. He was gorgeous and fascinating and mysterious, and like a delicate moth to a brilliant blue flame, I was drawn to him. Drawn to his fire... -
Hunted by Jaycee Clark
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsRomantic Suspense author Jaycee Clark takes her writing to the next level with this dark Romantic Thriller. Sins can be buried, but they’re never forgotten . . . Morgan Gaelord has lived with the knowledge of her past and the fear of her secret for years. No one knows the truth behind her nightmares in the hellish Czech Republic underground, and they never will... -
Wake to Dream by Lily White
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAlice Beaumont is running out of time…Plagued by sleep disorders since her childhood, Alice had grown accustomed to the nightly dreams that terrorized her. She woke up in strange places. She was paralyzed by fear and hallucinations. She screamed each night at unseen specters and evil faces.When her sister, Delilah, goes missing, Alice’s dreams take on new meaning... -
Illicit Obsession by Julia Sykes
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMy enemies tried to take her from me. They won’t live long enough to regret it.I’ll do anything to keep Evelyn, and nothing will separate us: not my enemies, and not her stubborn will.I’ll kill any man who threatens her.I’ll keep her so drunk on pleasure that she’ll be addicted to my touch.She says she wants to go back home to America, but her home is with me now... -
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The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden
She's looking for the perfect man. He's looking for the perfect victim.Sydney Shaw, like every single woman in New York, has terrible luck with dating. She’s seen it all: men who lie in their dating profile, men who stick her with the dinner bill, and worst of all, men who can't shut up about their mothers. But finally, she hits the jackpot.Her new boyfriend is utterly perfect... -
No Tomorrow by Luke Jennings
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 38 ratings"If you want us to remain silent - if you want to retain your freedom, your job, and your reputation - you need to tell us everything, and I mean everything. . ." We last saw Eve and Villanelle in a spy vs. spy race around the world, crossing powerful criminal organizations and dangerous governments, each trying to come out on top. But they aren't finished yet... -
Because She Loves Me by Mark Edwards
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsA gripping tale of jealousy, obsession, and murder, from the #1 bestselling author of The Magpies . When Andrew Sumner meets beautiful, edgy Charlie, he is certain his run of bad luck has finally come to an end. But as the two of them embark on an intense affair, Andrew wonders if his grasp on reality is slipping. Items go missing in his apartment. Somebody appears to be following him... -
In a Dark Wood by Josh Lanyon
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn a dark, dark wood there was a dark, dark house...Camping in the Jersey Pine Barrens may literally turn out to be a first date from hell for travel writer Tim and the cute cop who persuades him to revisit a past that Tim has done his best to forget... -
Hot-Blooded by Kendall Grey
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen an accident claims her mother’s life, Keahilani Alana must take charge of her family or risk losing what little they have. With an underage brother to care for and no education, she has few options... -
Either Side of Midnight by Tori de Clare
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWHAT IF THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE TURNED INTO YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE? When nineteen-year-old Naomi Stone is snatched from her husband at knifepoint on the night of their wedding and taken to a deserted cemetery, she knows her life is finished. Drugged and disorientated, she loses consciousness as she lies in an open grave with a gun to her head...
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