No one does gossip like a small town. Nellie Castle is more than ready to leave Shadow Creek, Oklahoma, and its ever-churning rumor mill far behind. She'll finally escape her overprotective father and friend-turned-enemy Sophia McCracken. All she wants to do is get into her dream school and become an investigative journalist - finish the journey her mother started and never got to finish. And maybe while she's at it, take down CreekTalk, the self-regenerating gossip app that won't seem to die. But life has different plans. First, CreekTalk releases a rumor targeting Sophia that has everyone wondering if Nellie's behind it. Then, Sophia goes missing. On the one hand, it's the story of a lifetime for an aspiring journalist and one that is sure to get her into Mizzou. On the other hand, Nellie discovers that Sophia was uncovering things that someone is desperate to keep hidden. So desperate... that they would kill. Genre: Mystery/Thriller Demographic: Young Adult Content Warnings in the Author's Note

Ambys 2024 Top Picks for Mystery/Thriller Since homecoming night senior year, Aisling Turner has lived in a hell of her mother's creation. For five years, she's been trapped in Florida, wondering why she can't remember anything about the night her best friend disappeared. Cut off from the only family who ever loved her and all she's ever known. It took five years, but she finally escaped and returned to the small town of Davies, Oklahoma. Everything and nothing is the same. But she's determined to make peace with her guilt. To say goodbye to Grams. To start over in the only place she's ever felt at home. If the town will let her, that is. Years later, most people still think she murdered her friend in the woods that night. Even Aisling isn't so sure she's completely innocent. Apparently, one of those "concerned citizens" believes Aisling knows more than she claims. They set off a chain reaction that puts Aisling on a path with Brett, her old high school crush, and his best friend, Deputy Leo, to discover what actually happened that night. Aisling isn't completely sure she wants to know. But like the drive to come home, the desire to know the truth is too strong. Even if it destroys her. Genre: Mystery/Thriller Demographic: New Adult Content Warning: This story does contain some difficult topics, namely child abuse (mentioned - never shown), attempted assault, being drugged, and, of course, murder. There is also some sexual content (aka one sex scene). The chapters with the sex scene and attempted assault are marked at the top of the chapter.

[Wattys 2023 Shortlist] Nora Wright is no longer the person she used to be. Once an up-and-coming crime reporter, she now sticks to fluff pieces that are safe. That don't trigger the crippling anxiety she was left with after a traumatic experience three years prior. However, Nora's world is turned upside down when she discovers a photograph from the 1920s of a woman who looks like her twin in none other than Whitehall Mansion - an iconic landmark in New York City known just as much for its infamous past as its grand architecture. Nora embarks on a mission to solve the nearly 100-year-old mystery surrounding the woman, aided by the city's golden boy - Nick Whitehall, the current head of the rich, powerful family that built and owns the mansion - and ghostly visions of the past that leave her questioning her sanity. Along the way, she starts to uncover more than she bargained for as Nick becomes increasingly more invested in her search within the mansion's walls. What secrets does Whitehall Mansion hold? And what lengths will the Whitehall family go to in order to keep them hidden?

[Wattys 2021 Shortlist] Something evil is lurking on the campus of Carleton State. And despite being a student reporter, Daisy is determined to find out who it is and get justice. It's what she does, after all. Doesn't hurt that it all helps her build towards her future career as a serious journalist. However, this time she finds herself in over her head and must rely on the help of someone she least expects - reserved, yet popular football player Tyler. Something that her best friend Zack from her hometown doesn't understand. But what starts out as a partnership grows complicated with feelings, friends and pasts getting in the way. And all the while, a killer is still on the loose and only growing bolder. Daisy convinces herself that it's just a story and she's merely an observer. But slowly, she finds herself drawn into something that turns out much bigger, and much more personal, than she originally thought. Despite all of her friends' warnings to, for once, stay out of trouble. It seems trouble follows Daisy and this is certainly no different. "Something Wicked" is available to purchase on Amazon Kindle and in Kindle Unlimited. You can finish reading the rest of the book there. Warning - There are mature scenes involving strong language, alcohol, sex and mentions of alcohol and drug abuse and violence. There is also an attempted SA scene, but it's been marked.

Nadia swore she would never be like her mother - running from a past that is as dense as the fog that rolls into the strange village of Fisher's Bay. And yet, here she is. In a town that she's never heard of, clearing out the house of a grandmother she never knew. Running from the biggest screw-up of her life that has left her without a career, her journalistic reputation in shambles. And yet, there's something in the town hidden on the coastline of the Pacific Northwest that draws her in, even though she is followed by stares and whispers, all revolving around her grandmother. Perhaps it's the sense of mystery that shrouds Fisher's Bay, or the secrets about her family that she hopes to uncover, like just why her mother left all those years ago, cutting both of them off from a seemingly loving family. Or maybe it's the handsome, yet standoffish mayor Remy Hutchinson who conjures up wants and dreams in Nadia that she had never considered. But when local fishermen start showing up dead, the town turns on her, thinking she's responsible. Nadia wants to believe she's innocent, but she isn't sure of who she is anymore, experiencing odd blackouts and dreams, often waking up in her bed covered in sand and dirt. She wants to run, but can't bring herself to do so. She wants to know all the secrets that Fisher's Bay holds. The question is: Is she ready for it? Book 1 in the Fisher's Bay Series Content Warning: There are mentions of substance abuse, child neglect, and mental health issues. Some violence (though not much in this one - mostly mentions of it). Oh, and some steamy scenes.

They say if you steal something from the grave of Bloody Louisa, she'll come after you, hatchet in hand, and cut you down before anyone can hear you holler... Crawford Holler, Arkansas, is full of dark legends and secrets, though none more popular than that of its founder's daughter, Bloody Louisa Crawford. The tale of vengeance has been passed down for generations, though no one is sure just how much of it is true. Much like the handful of "accidental" deaths that somehow seem to benefit the Van Brunt family, owners of the large resort that is the lifeblood of the small Ozark towns. But not that of Clara, a fresh graduate of Crawford Holler High, 10 years ago. An accident, they say. Isabel Crane knows that while an accident it may be, it was put in motion by others. For 10 years, Isabel has self-exiled in Florida, unable to live with the oath her best friends made her take that night to keep the circumstances of Clara's death a secret. Especially as the girl in question decided to latch onto Isabel, haunting her. But now she's back in the Holler, living in her grandmother's house and trying to keep her wild garden alive, all the while hoping to convince her former best friends to do the right thing and tell the authorities what they know. Oh, and then there's the matter of her almost-boyfriend from high school, Kit, who seems very interested in starting things up again. But then, people involved in that tragic night start turning up dead in ways that would make Bloody Louisa proud. And only Isabel and those involved know what's going on. Who will be next? And can they be stopped? Or is Bloody Louisa really back for more revenge?