Watty's 2021 Shortlist Selection Kennedy Abrams is everything anyone would ever want to be at Clemson University: smart, funny, gorgeous, and friends with everyone. Rebecca Eaves is quieter, less social, and just trying to scrape by with her 16 credit hours and working 38 hours a week at the local grocery store. Together, the two make Drew Parley: a social media influencer using Kennedy as her face and Rebecca as her manager. As far as Drew's followers are concerned, Kennedy Abrams and Rebecca Eaves don't exist. But fame and the need to keep their true identities secret start to take their toll, and what started as a fun experiment turns into something dangerous--something that both girls are willing to risk their lives and freedom for. After a fateful night hundreds of miles from their home, both girls realize they have a lot more riding on this secret account than they realized...and there are people who are ready to use the account to expose the terrible things they've done.

[Book 1 to the Lake Bellinor Duology] [UNEDITED] It can't be controlled. And it can't be ignored. Those were the two most important things Tyler Loftman came to understand the more he discovered about his strange ability; an ability that allows him to see into a dead person's past with just one touch. Nothing more, nothing less. So, when a nameless young woman is found drifting down the middle of the lake, Tyler realizes he just might have a chance to put his ability to the test, and figure out whether it is a gift or a curse. But he soon realizes that won't be easy. All of the locals in the small town of Lake Bellinor know how to keep a secret; and when push comes to shove, the blame game begins.

When sixteen-year-old Hannah Sheraton is arrested for the murder of her stepgrandfather, a California Supreme Court justice, her distraught mother turns to once infamous defense attorney, Josie Bates. Now a small town lawyer in Hermosa Beach, Josie wants nothing to do with the case since the gruesome evidence points to Hannah's guilt. When the girl is charged as an adult, Josie can't turn her back...

What if it came to the starkest of all choices: kill, or else suffer the loss of a loved one? Readers' comments: 'simply the best', 'one of the best books I've read', 'loved it', 'amazing', 'great reading', 'stumped me to the very end' and others Plot: When a pregnant doctor is brutally murdered in her own kitchen, the husband claims to have some weeks earlier received an anonymous and darkly menacing letter. For the small town of Ravensby, it's just the start of a living nightmare - one in which nobody is spared from the murderous cross hairs, and which will drive Detective Inspector Kubič to the edge of his own sanity... Genre: suspense/thriller Status: completed Length: 70,000 words (approx. 275 standard novel pages) Target readership: Though aimed primarily at adults, the novel features several teenage characters and so may also appeal to a younger audience Extract: "Warn you sir, not a pretty sight in there." Kubič took a deep, preparatory breath, his footsteps slow and leaden as he moved towards the kitchen door. Not for the first time over the years, he found himself wishing he'd chosen an entirely different sort of career. Paper-pushing, something out of doors. Anything at all. He'd always been reasonable enough at woodwork back at school, he recalled. Why hadn't he done that, he thought? Become a cabinet maker or some damn thing. A reluctant hand pushed open the door... "Oh dear Christ." The words escaped his mouth forcefully, involuntarily, like blood gushing from an open wound

[COMPLETED] When down on her luck, Abby Redding lands a position as the personal assistant for wealthy businessman Alex Carter, her first assignment is to fix up his new cabin in a remote town. Things don't go as planned when an unsolved murder and a haunted cabin leave Abby Redding fighting for her life. Is her handsome boss hiding secrets? Or is there something more sinister afoot?

With a brutal, faceless killer walking freely on the streets of Freetown, everyone's instinct is to run and hide. Seventeen-year-old Cassidy Meyer's instincts however, immediately urge her to run toward the direction of danger in an attempt to unmask the killer's identity, thereby satisfying her life-long obsession for crime-solving. Her obsession with the case starts to create a wedge between her and her loved ones, and it starts to put everyone's life in danger. The only way to salvage her friendship and save everyone's life is to finish what she started; to find the killer before he can claim another life. #8 in Mystery/Thriller. (Highest ranking so far.)

While being chased by her abusive boyfriend, Lyla turns the tables, shoving him into the path of an oncoming car. But rather than calling the police, she and her friend, Jack bury the body deep in the woods. Instead of finishing her senior year in peace, Lyla is horrified to discover that her dead ex has returned for revenge. This genre-bending supernatural thriller weaves elements of murder mystery, romance, high school drama, humor, and, of course, a terrifying ghost story. (Excerpt from "Her Terrifying Love") Jack's chest heaved. "You said he was dead." Lyla inched closer and whispered, "He had no pulse!" "Maybe he was just stunned." "We carried him all that way," she said. "He wasn't breathing." "But maybe he woke up after we left him down there." "Woke up?! His neck was broken." Jack hung his head. He couldn't make sense of this. "I know how this is gonna sound, but..." He choked on his words. "When I went to pick up my car from the body shop yesterday, he was standing across the street. Watching me." "Who was?!" "Keenan. I swear to God." "No way," she asserted. "That's crazy talk. He's dead." "It was him." Jack nodded. "He had a frickin' giant tattoo on his neck." A shiver flashed down Lyla's spine. Jack confirmed what she'd been dreading. He'd been seeing the ghost, too. If you enjoyed "Her Terrifying Love," check out the sequel, "Dirty Secrets." https://www.wattpad.com/822348938-dirty-secrets-prologue

When men vanish around the city, a young, paraplegic detective takes it upon herself to uncover the truth and soon realizes the culprit might be a lot closer to home than she imagined. **** Barbara Gordon thought her career as a promising young detective ended after she was left crippled in a tragic accident. But when men start disappearing around the city, Barbara is given one more opportunity to fulfill her dream. Convinced her dad's new fiancee is not who she seems, Barbara begins her own investigation and discovers she might be responsible for the recent string of disappearances. But a darker truth lies just below the surface. If this once would-be detective wants to solve the case, then she must accept the help of some even more mysterious--and possibly dangerous--allies. [Wattpad Editors' Picks AUGUST 2021] [Wattys 2021 and 2022 Shortlist] (Cover by @lantea-)

This is the sequel to Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board, the first book in the Weeping Willow High School series.

Women are turning up dead in the rural outskirts of Virginia, killed in grotesque ways, and when the FBI is called in, they are stumped. A serial killer is out there, his frequency increasing, and they know there is only one agent good enough to crack this case: Special Agent Riley Paige. Riley is on paid leave herself, recovering from her encounter with her last serial killer, and, fragile as she is, the FBI is reluctant to tap her brilliant mind. Yet Riley, needing to battle her own demons, comes on board, and her hunt leads her through the disturbing subculture of doll collectors, into the homes of broken families, and into the darkest canals of the killer's mind. As Riley peels back the layers, she realizes she is up against a killer more twisted than she could have imagined. In a frantic race against time, she finds herself pushed to her limit, her job on the line, her own family in danger, and her fragile psyche collapsing. Yet once Riley Paige takes on a case, she will not quit. It obsesses her, leading her to the darkest corners of her own mind, blurring the lines between hunter and hunted. After a series of unexpected twists, her instincts lead her to a shocking climax that even Riley could not have imagined. A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE GONE marks the debut of a riveting new series-and a beloved new character-that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #2 in the Riley Paige series is now available.