Here are 79 books that A Guilty Secret fans have personally recommended if you like
A Guilty Secret.
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I have been fascinated with peopleās minds since probably my second psychology class in college. It was when I heard a professor say that all creatives were crazy. I argued that one with her. You donāt have to be creative to be crazy; trust me on this, I was right. Yes, many gifted people are borderline, and there really are savants in this world, but I truly believe they are rare. So, I have studied and been up close and personal with people who have psychological issues. Iāve also met some fascinating people who have managed to become successful. Others, not so much.
This book didnāt start out in the usual way. That in itself grabbed my attention. Itās a thriller, so I expect the first paragraph at least to pull me in. It didnāt grab me the way most do; it slowly sucked me in until I found myself not wanting to put it down.
The two main characters seemed to be at odds. One wanting to help and one refusing to speak. I donāt understand not trying to find answers that keep me silent. It must be the curiosity that kept me reading. Because the woman could speak. At least she could at one time. Either it was something traumatic, or it was just plain stubbornness. Or was I missing the entire point? Always an option.Ā
"An unforgettableāand Hollywood-boundānew thriller... A mix of Hitchcockian suspense, Agatha Christie plotting, and Greek tragedy." āEntertainment Weekly
The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a womanās act of violence against her husbandāand of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.
Alicia Berensonās life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of Londonās most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him fiveā¦
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to runā¦
As a psychologist who writes psychological suspense I love reading similar books where other writers bring their knowledge of psychology to their craft. Aside from writing, I enjoy cryptic puzzles, and I find that reading crime and suspense novels exercises similar lateral thinking as I try to identify the red herrings and work out the twist. And donāt we all love it when we get it right? But if youāre like me, you get an even bigger buzz when youāve been fooled by a clever misdirection or plot twist. And gosh, are they fun to write!
This book features a child psychologist who is our unreliable narrator, and we are straight into her life with no introduction. We are in her head from the outset, witness to all her internal dialogue, her drunken episodes, and the minutiae of her claustrophobic lifestyle; her only entertainment spying on her neighbors as she nowĀ lives apart from her husband and child for unknown reasons.
The narrowness of her agoraphobic life is well depicted, and I was keen to discover what events had led her from a successful career and happy family to this depressed and depressing way of life.
Soon to be a major motion picture produced by 20th Century Fox, starring Amy Adams, Gary Oldman and Julianne Moore
'Astounding. Thrilling. Amazing' Gillian Flynn
'One of those rare books that really is unputdownable' Stephen King
'Twisted to the power of max' Val McDermid
'A dark, twisty confection' Ruth Ware
What did she see?
It's been ten long months since Anna Fox last left her home. Ten months during which she has haunted the rooms of her old New York house like a ghost, lost in her memories, tooā¦
As a psychologist who writes psychological suspense I love reading similar books where other writers bring their knowledge of psychology to their craft. Aside from writing, I enjoy cryptic puzzles, and I find that reading crime and suspense novels exercises similar lateral thinking as I try to identify the red herrings and work out the twist. And donāt we all love it when we get it right? But if youāre like me, you get an even bigger buzz when youāve been fooled by a clever misdirection or plot twist. And gosh, are they fun to write!
The opening of the book hooked me as it was written from the perspective of a psychotherapist and was very true to life. However, there were other sections written from the therapistās perspective which seemed a bit āoffā. This puzzled me as the author clearly understood the therapeutic relationship. But eventually, it became clear why these excerpts bore little relationship to my own training and the behavior of the psychotherapists I know! You will have to read the book to find out.
This novel has creepy elements as the couple begin to feel watched in their new home, a frightening situation that is easy to imagine. The tension ratchets up when the protagonist discovers that the previous owner ā a therapist called Nina ā had been murdered there. And her husband had known all along but not told her.
The multimillion-copy New York Times bestselling author B.A. Paris returns to her heartland of gripping psychological suspense in The Therapistāa powerful tale of a house that holds a shocking secret.
When Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything theyāve dreamed of. But appearances can be deceptiveā¦
As Alice is getting to know her neighbours, she discovers a devastating secret about her new home, and begins to feel a strong connection with Nina, the therapist who lived there before.
Alice becomes obsessed with trying to piece togetherā¦
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother hadā¦
As a psychologist who writes psychological suspense I love reading similar books where other writers bring their knowledge of psychology to their craft. Aside from writing, I enjoy cryptic puzzles, and I find that reading crime and suspense novels exercises similar lateral thinking as I try to identify the red herrings and work out the twist. And donāt we all love it when we get it right? But if youāre like me, you get an even bigger buzz when youāve been fooled by a clever misdirection or plot twist. And gosh, are they fun to write!
The author was previously a clinical psychologist, and her knowledge is brought to the fore in this novel of a professional grieving for her missing child. The protagonist and mother of the title is a psychotherapist working in a trauma therapy unit where she struggles to keep boundaries between her private emotions and her work with her clients.
As a psychologist myself, I liked the realistic portrayal of her personal/professional struggles and the dynamic of client/therapist relationships and boundaries. A true glimpse behind the scenes.
The most dangerous lies are the ones we tell ourselves...
'Excellent . . . A gripping debut.' Sunday Times 'Taut, absorbing and psychologically astute.' Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train
Dr Ruth Hartland is the director of a highly respected trauma therapy unit. She is confident, capable and excellent at her job. But she is finding it hard to maintain.
Increasingly preoccupied by her son Tom's disappearance, Ruth is shaken when a new patient arrives at the unit - a young man who looks shockingly like him.
As a therapist, she knows exactly what she should do.ā¦
My family moved around a lot when I was younger, which may explain why Iām fascinated by the experience of being an outsider. To me, itās not a bad thing; being on the outside can sometimes help a person to see things more clearly, to think more critically and creatively. The year I spent living in a country where English wasnāt the main language was one of the most stimulating periods of my life, because I was so attuned to all the tiny details that other people took for granted. Plus, as teenagers, everyone feels like theyāre on the outside looking in ā which is probably why all of my books have contained some coming-of-age element.
Iām just realising now that some of my favourite books were accidental finds ā I think that this one turned up at a sidewalk sale. The author is a psychologist who uses the life stories of twenty women to illustrate her theory that girls are their most powerful, authentic selves up to the age of about twelve; that after that, their sense of personhood comes under attack from a whole range of sources, so that much of adulthood is spent trying to piece that pre-teen girl and her distinct sense of self back together. Itās extremely convincing and something Iāve found really interesting to discuss with my now tween-age daughter.
Using the life stories of twenty women, psychologist Emily Hancock has identified a turning point in a women's life when a girl crystallizes a distinct and vital sense of self, which she then loses in the process of growing up, and tries to regain as an adult. A breakthrough book, this will change the way society views girls and women.
In my freshman year at the University of Missouri-Columbia I started out as a journalism major. I joined Sigma Kappa where I met my āsisterā Anne who worked at KBIA. I worked with her the rest of that year. Back home in Ellenville, NY, I convinced the station manager to hire me. I was the very first female radio announcer and engineer to work at the station. When my best friend was killed in a tragic accident, I needed to heal my loss by using the only method I knew would help; writing. Combining my experiences and passion for radio I wrote Red Wine for Breakfast to honor her memory.
Nathaniel Brandenās account of his relationship with Rand is honest and deeply emotional. For a psychologist who writes mainly on the theme of self-esteem, this book is a bit of a departure from his usual works, but for any fan of Rand and her volatile relationship with a man nearly half her age, it is well worth the read.
Previous Praise for Nathaniel Branden"Relentlessly revealing...the myth of Ayn Rand gives way to a full-sized portrait in contrasting colors, appealing and appalling, potent and paradoxical...it takes a special kind of nerve to write such a book." - Norman Cousins, author of Head First and The Healing HeartAyn Rand's Atlas Shrugged is one of the most influential books of the twentieth century-its popular impact ranked second only to the Bible in a major poll. Millions know Rand as one of this century's great thinkers, writers, and philosophers, yet much about the private Ayn Rand remains shrouded in mystery.Who was Ayn Rand?Myā¦
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man sheā¦
I am an anthropologist with a background in evolutionary biology, primate behavior, and cross-cultural approaches to parenting. I taught āThe Anthropology of Parentingā for 20 years at Cornell University. The book grew from interviews with anthropologists, pediatricians, and child development experts taking a different stance about parents and babiesāthat we should look at how babies are designed by evolution and how cultures then interfere with those expectations. My book shows there is no perfect way to raise a child but there are styles in other cultures we can borrow to make our babies, and ourselves, more at ease.
If you want to know the real story about āattachment theoryā this is the book. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist Blum, itās the tale of psychologist Harry Harlow and his experiments with rhesus monkeys and how that changed parenting in America. Fabulous read.
In the early twentieth century, affection between parents and their children was discouraged,psychologists thought it would create needy kids, and doctors thought it would spread infectious disease. It took a revolution in psychology to overturn these beliefs and prove that touch ensures emotional and intellectual health. In Love at Goon Park, Pulitzer Prize winner Deborah Blum charts this profound cultural shift by tracing the story of Harry Harlow,the man who studied neglect and its life-altering consequences on primates in his lab. The biography of both a man and an idea, Love at Goon Park ultimately invites us to examine ourselvesā¦
I have read thrillers for as long as I can remember reading adult novels. I can chart my life of reading from Robert Parker to David Baldacci to Jeffery Deaver and todayās luminaries such as Sarah Pekkanen, Mary Kubica, and all the authors listed below. While I love a good beach or airport read, the novels that stick with youāthat make you want to clear your schedule because you need to sit and think about what youāve just readāare my favorites.
The one thing I appreciate above all else in a novel is emotional gravitas. That feeling transcends time and place; the only thing that matters is what happens to the character(s) you care about. You feel your heart beating, and when you finally put the book down, all you can say is āwow.ā
Stacy Willinghamās debutĀ lingers long in the memory after the book is read. Her talent at describing setting is any writerās dream, and her characters snuck into my heart and made me care deeply, all the way to the pulse-pounding conclusion. It is the best thriller I have read in the past half-decade, only challenged by her subsequent novels.
She thought the murders had stopped. She was wrong.
'A smart, edge-of-your-seat story with plot twists you'll never see coming' Karin Slaughter
'Spectacular' Daily Mail
'Tense, twisty and threatening, A Flicker in the Dark will make you abandon your box sets' Val McDermid
The instant New York Times bestseller, soon to be a major TV series, developed by Emma Stone
Chloe Davis' father is a serial killer. He was convicted and jailed when she was twelve but the bodies of the girls were never found, seemingly lost in the surrounding Louisiana swamps. The case became notorious and Chloe's family wasā¦
Telescopes, microscopes, computer modelingāthese exist because some things are easier to study when you change their shape. Thatās how we learned about planets, germs, and the economy. Enlarging, shrinking, and filling in details lets us examine and understand. I think literature can do the same thing with ideas. Asking āwhat if?ā lets us probe things we canāt with our gadgets. Concepts. Hypotheticals. A story that pulls a big idea like taffy? That is a treat. Iāve got five in this dish.
What if we could detect psychopaths? Like many of Sawyerās novels (and there are a bunch I couldāve selected for this list), there is a question and then a lightning strike of answers. Not a single bolt, but many, branching off, colliding, bleaching the night. There is plenty of scientific realism hereāa personal must for Sawyerāresulting in a far-reaching yet intimate story.
The title is not āNight of the Psychopathsā because the bookās many forks take us deeper into the nature of the human mind and the quantum arena we all play in, whether we know it or not. Oh, and it is still fun, adventuresome, and easier to read than I may have made it sound with all that deep, introspective stuff.
With such compelling and provocative novels as Red Planet Blues, FlashForward and The WWW Trilogy, Robert J. Sawyer has proven himself to be āa writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolationā (New York Times). Now, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author explores the thin line between good and evil that every human being is capable of crossingā¦
Experimental psychologist Jim Marchuk has developed a flawless technique for identifying the previously undetected psychopaths lurking everywhere in society. But while being cross-examined about his breakthrough in court, Jim is shocked to discover that he has lost his memories of six monthsā¦
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the worldās most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the bookā¦
Iāve read romance since I was teenager, and Iāve written all my professional life, first in journalism, then public relations, finally as an author. Being a sci-fi romance author is my dream job! There is nothing on this planet Iād rather do. I love the freedom and creativity of science fiction romance. There are new worlds to explore and fascinating characters to meet. The best books of any genre are those with ālegs.ā Years after reading them, you stillremember the story. My goal is to send my readers on an unforgettable emotional journey to an exciting new world filled with characters they canāt help but fall in love with.
I loved Ghost Planet for its fascinating premise delivered with a zinger.
Colonists of a newly discovered planet are being stalked by doppelgƤngers of dead people they once knew. Psychologist Elizabeth Cole goes to the planet for a job and immediately bonds with her supervisor, the creator of the Ghost Protocol, which forbids acknowledging or interacting with the ghosts (in an attempt to get rid of them).
And then Elizabeth discovers she, too, is a ghost, having died on arrival to the planet when her ship crashed.Ā Itās been seven years since I read this book, and the plot has stayed with me.
Psychologist Elizabeth Cole prepared for the worst when she accepted a job on a newly discovered world--a world where every colonist is tethered to an alien who manifests in the form of a dead loved one. But she never expected she'd struggle with the requirement to shun these "ghosts."Ā She never expected to be so attracted to the charming Irishman assigned as her supervisor. And she certainly never expected to discover she died in a transport crash en route to the planet.Ā Reincarnated as a ghost, Elizabeth is symbiotically linked to her supervisor, Murphy--creator of the Ghost Protocol, which forbidsā¦
