Read A-Likes January 2022
Do you ever finish reading a book and wonder what to try next?
Try these suggestions for popular titles.
Try these suggestions for popular titles.
Our Read-A-Like Suggestions This Month Are For:
Aimee & David Thurlo, Lisa Scottoline, Kay Hooper, Susan Wittig Albert
Aimee & David Thurlo, Lisa Scottoline, Kay Hooper, Susan Wittig Albert

Changing Women
By Aimee & David Thurlo
Change surrounds Navajo Police Special Investigator Ella Clah. The father of her child seems ready to be more of a father, though it will alter the rhythm of all their lives and may hurt his political career. Ella's mother, Rose, has rediscovered her passion for politics and struggles to guide her people on the best way to walk in beauty.
The Dineh seem to be ready to bring casino gambling to the Rez, despite the risk that the character of the Navajo Nation will be forever altered. Speaking eloquently against the proposal, Rose becomes a national celebrity.
Ella has no time to think about how these changes will affect her and her two-year-old daughter. The Navajo Police Force is combating an increasingly violent wave of vandalism, always two steps behind despite their best efforts.
Events come to a head with the terrorist takeover of a coal mine and power plant on the Reservation. Ella must keep the terrorists from blowing up the power plant-but how can she focus on being a cop when her daughter is missing?
By Aimee & David Thurlo
Change surrounds Navajo Police Special Investigator Ella Clah. The father of her child seems ready to be more of a father, though it will alter the rhythm of all their lives and may hurt his political career. Ella's mother, Rose, has rediscovered her passion for politics and struggles to guide her people on the best way to walk in beauty.
The Dineh seem to be ready to bring casino gambling to the Rez, despite the risk that the character of the Navajo Nation will be forever altered. Speaking eloquently against the proposal, Rose becomes a national celebrity.
Ella has no time to think about how these changes will affect her and her two-year-old daughter. The Navajo Police Force is combating an increasingly violent wave of vandalism, always two steps behind despite their best efforts.
Events come to a head with the terrorist takeover of a coal mine and power plant on the Reservation. Ella must keep the terrorists from blowing up the power plant-but how can she focus on being a cop when her daughter is missing?
![]() The Kraken Project
By Doulas Preston NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is designing a probe which will be dropped into the Kraken Mare, one of the methane seas of Titan. There, it will embark on a journey of exploration. As the probe is being tested at Goddard, things go awry, and an explosion kills seven scientists. The AI program in the probe, a powerful, self-modifying AI called "Dorothy," flees into the Internet. Series character Wyman Ford is tapped by the president's science advisor to track down the software with the help of Dorothy's creator, Melissa Shepherd. As the two of them trace Dorothy in her wanderings in cyberspace, they realize Dorothy's horrific experiences in the wasteland of the Internet have changed her--utterly. But for the better ... or worse? |
![]() Angel Killer
By Andrew Mayne FBI agent Jessica Blackwood believes she has successfully left her complicated life as a gifted magician behind her, until a killer with seemingly supernatural powers puts her talents to the ultimate test. A mysterious hacker, who identifies himself only as "Warlock," brings down the FBI's website and posts a code in its place. It hides the GPS coordinates of a Michigan cemetery, where a dead girl is discovered rising from the ground, as if she tried to crawl out of her own grave. Born into a dynasty of illusionists, Jessica Blackwood is destined to become its next star--until she turns her back on her troubled family, and her legacy, to begin a new life in law enforcement. But FBI consultant Dr. Jeffrey Ailes's discovery of an old copy of Magician Magazine will turn Jessica's carefully constructed world upside down. |
![]() The Stranger Diaries
By Elly Griffiths Clare Cassidy is no stranger to murder. A high school English teacher specializing in the Gothic writer R.M. Holland, she teaches a course on it every year. But when one of Clare's colleagues and closest friends is found dead, with a line from R.M. Holland's most famous story, "The Stranger," left by her body, Clare is horrified to see her life collide with the storylines of her favorite literature. To make matters worse, the police suspect the killer is someone Clare knows. Unsure whom to trust, she turns to her closest confidant, her diary, the only outlet she has for her darkest suspicions and fears about the case. Then one day she notices something odd. Writing that isn't hers, left on the page of an old diary : Hallo Clare. You don't know me. Clare becomes more certain than ever: "The Stranger" has come to terrifying life. |

One Perfect Lie
By Lisa Scottoline
One Perfect Lie is an emotional thriller and a suburban crime story that will keep you guessing until you turn the very last page. On the surface, it tells the tale of the struggling single mother of a high-school pitcher, a shy kid so athletically talented that he's being recruited for a full-ride scholarship to a Division I college, with a future in major-league baseball. But the mother fears that she's losing her grip on her son because he's being lured down a darker path by one of his teammates, a secretly disturbed young man from an affluent family, whose excellent grades and fun-loving manner conceal his violent criminal plans. Add a handsome stranger who comes to town and infiltrates the high school, posing as a teacher but with a hidden agenda all his own. The mix becomes combustible when a beloved faculty member turns up dead as a suicide, in circumstances equally consistent with murder.
By Lisa Scottoline
One Perfect Lie is an emotional thriller and a suburban crime story that will keep you guessing until you turn the very last page. On the surface, it tells the tale of the struggling single mother of a high-school pitcher, a shy kid so athletically talented that he's being recruited for a full-ride scholarship to a Division I college, with a future in major-league baseball. But the mother fears that she's losing her grip on her son because he's being lured down a darker path by one of his teammates, a secretly disturbed young man from an affluent family, whose excellent grades and fun-loving manner conceal his violent criminal plans. Add a handsome stranger who comes to town and infiltrates the high school, posing as a teacher but with a hidden agenda all his own. The mix becomes combustible when a beloved faculty member turns up dead as a suicide, in circumstances equally consistent with murder.
![]() The Broken Road
By Richard Paul Evans Chicago celebrity Charles James can't shake the nightmare that wakes him each night. He sees himself walking down a long, broken highway, the sides of which are lit in flames. Where is he going? Why is he walking? What is the wailing he hears around him? By day, he wonders why he's so haunted and unhappy when he has all he ever wanted - fame, fans, and fortune and the lavish lifestyle it affords him. Coming from a childhood of poverty and pain, Charles finally has the life he's dreamed of. But now, at the pinnacle of his career, he's started to wonder if he wanted the wrong things. His wealth has come legally but questionably, from the power of his personality and his ability to seduce people out of their hard-earned money. When he learns that one of his customers has committed suicide because of financial ruin, Charles is shaken. The cracks in his façade widen, spurring him to question everything: his choices, his relationships, his future, and the type of man he's become. Then a twist of fate changes everything. Charles is granted something remarkable: a second chance. The question is, what will he do with it? |
![]() August Moon
By Jess Lourey Furious after being stood up by local hottie Johnny Leeson, Mira decides to abandon Battle Lake, Minnesota, where the women are churchgoers, the men like to hunt, and the body count is above average. But when a cheerleader bites the dust, Mira is called back to the town that has done her wrong. She begins investigating the New Millennium Bible Camp, a disturbing place with a Stepford Wives-meets-Hee-Haw vibe. She wants desperately to ditch Battle Lake, but before she does, Mira is hell-bent on confronting her own demons to catch a killer. August Moon is the fourth book in an ongoing romcom mystery series featuring Mira James, an urban woman with rural Minnesota roots. The books can be read in any order; each novel stands alone. |
![]() Meant to be yours
By Susan Mallery In Happily Inc, love means never having to say "I do"... Wedding coordinator Renee Grothen isn't meant for marriage. Those who can, do. Those who can't, plan. But she never could have planned on gorgeous, talented thriller writer Jasper Dembenski proposing -- a fling, that is. Fun without a future. And the attraction between them is too strong for Renee to resist. Now she can have her no-wedding cake... and eat it, too. After years in the military, Jasper is convinced he's too damaged for relationships. So a flirtation -- and more -- with fiery, determined Renee is way too good to pass up... until his flame becomes his muse. Renee is an expert at averting every crisis. But is she finally ready to leap into the one thing that can never be controlled: love? |

Wait for Dark
By Kay Hooper
In Clarity, North Carolina, the residents have fallen victim to an unfortunate series of events. Seemingly random accidents have taken the lives of several citizens in the small mountain town. But these deadly coincidences are anything but. Something is on the hunt in Clarity, and the only clue as to what is a cryptic note given to the victims 24 hours before they meet their ends: "Wait for dark." Sheriff Mal Gordon knows how to handle his town, but he has no idea how to handle this. Hollis Templeton and her team from the Special Crimes Unit, including her partner and lover, telepath Reese DeMarco, are called in to investigate. But while the SCU has prepared them for the unknown, the incredible evil stalking Clarity shakes the team to its core when one of their own is targeted. Now Hollis, the "cat with nine lives" finds herself facing death again. And this time, not even her partner can protect her.
By Kay Hooper
In Clarity, North Carolina, the residents have fallen victim to an unfortunate series of events. Seemingly random accidents have taken the lives of several citizens in the small mountain town. But these deadly coincidences are anything but. Something is on the hunt in Clarity, and the only clue as to what is a cryptic note given to the victims 24 hours before they meet their ends: "Wait for dark." Sheriff Mal Gordon knows how to handle his town, but he has no idea how to handle this. Hollis Templeton and her team from the Special Crimes Unit, including her partner and lover, telepath Reese DeMarco, are called in to investigate. But while the SCU has prepared them for the unknown, the incredible evil stalking Clarity shakes the team to its core when one of their own is targeted. Now Hollis, the "cat with nine lives" finds herself facing death again. And this time, not even her partner can protect her.
![]() A Dangerous Game
By Heather Graham Wrapping up a normal day at the office, criminal psychologist Kieran Finnegan is accosted by a desperate woman who shoves an infant into her arms and then flees, only to be murdered minutes later on a busy Manhattan street. Who was the woman? Where did the baby come from? Kieran can't stop thinking about the child and the victim, so her boyfriend, Craig Frasier, does what any good special agent boyfriend would do--he gets the FBI involved. And asks Kieran to keep out of it. But the Finnegans have a knack for getting into trouble, and Kieran won't sit idle when a lead surfaces through her family's pub. Investigating on her own, she uncovers a dangerous group that plays fast and loose with human lives and will stop at nothing to keep their secrets--and they plan to silence Kieran before she can expose their deadly enterprise. |
![]() Liar, Liar
By Lisa Jackson IF YOU TELL A LIE Twenty years ago, ex-beauty queen Didi Storm worked the Vegas strip as a celebrity impersonator. Now, in death, she’s finally getting the publicity she always craved. To the police, it looks like suicide, or a stunt gone wrong. Her estranged daughter, Remmi, knows the answer isn’t so simple. Though dressed in Didi’s clothes and wig, the broken body on the sidewalk isn’t Didi... THERE’S NO DOUBT Remmi was fifteen when she last saw her mother. En route to meet her crush, Noah Scott, Remmi secretly witnessed Didi handing over one of her newborn twins to a strange man. Then Didi disappeared, as did Remmi’s other half-sibling. Remmi pleaded with the authorities to find them, with no success. Yet she’s always sensed that someone is watching her... YOU WILL DIE Noah, now running his own PI firm, resurfaces in Remmi’s life, determined to find out what happened that long-ago night. As they dig deeper, the truth about Remmi’s family begins to emerge—a story of greed and twisted lies that someone will kill again and again to keep hidden... |
![]() The Ultimatum
By Karen Robards Thief. Manipulator. Con artist. Call it what you will--Bianca St. Ives is the best in the business. Growing up, Bianca St. Ives knew she was different from all her friends. Instead of playing hopscotch or combing her dolls' hair, she studied martial arts with sensei masters and dismantled explosives with special-ops retirees. Her father prepped her well to carry on the family business. Now a striking beauty with fierce skills, the prodigy has surpassed the master. She's known as the Guardian. Running a multinational firm with her father, she makes a living swindling con men out of money they stole--and she's damn good at it. She does things on her own terms. But her latest gig had a little hiccup--if you count two hundred million dollars and top secret government documents going missing as little. Her father also died on the mission. The thing is, the US government doesn't believe he's really dead. |

Bittersweet
By Susan Wittig Albert
It's Thanksgiving in Pecan Springs, and China is planning to visit her mother, Leatha, and her mother's husband, Sam, who are enthusiastically embarking on a new enterprise turning their former game ranch into a vacation retreat for birders. She's also looking forward to catching up with her friend, game warden Mackenzie "Mack" Chambers, who was recently transferred to the area. But Leatha calls with bad news: Sam has had a heart attack. How will Leatha manage if Sam can't carry his share? She does have a helper, Sue Ellen Krause. But China discovers that Sue Ellen, who is in the process of leaving her marriage to the assistant foreman at a large trophy game ranch, is in some serious trouble. Before Sue Ellen can tell China the full story, her car veers off a deserted road and she is killed. Meanwhile, when a local veterinarian is shot in what appears to be a burglary at his clinic, Mack Chambers believes his murder could be related to fawns stolen from a nearby ranch. As Mack follows the trail, China begins to wonder if Sue Ellen's death may not have been an accident, and if there's a connection to the stolen animals. But their search for the truth may put their own lives in danger
By Susan Wittig Albert
It's Thanksgiving in Pecan Springs, and China is planning to visit her mother, Leatha, and her mother's husband, Sam, who are enthusiastically embarking on a new enterprise turning their former game ranch into a vacation retreat for birders. She's also looking forward to catching up with her friend, game warden Mackenzie "Mack" Chambers, who was recently transferred to the area. But Leatha calls with bad news: Sam has had a heart attack. How will Leatha manage if Sam can't carry his share? She does have a helper, Sue Ellen Krause. But China discovers that Sue Ellen, who is in the process of leaving her marriage to the assistant foreman at a large trophy game ranch, is in some serious trouble. Before Sue Ellen can tell China the full story, her car veers off a deserted road and she is killed. Meanwhile, when a local veterinarian is shot in what appears to be a burglary at his clinic, Mack Chambers believes his murder could be related to fawns stolen from a nearby ranch. As Mack follows the trail, China begins to wonder if Sue Ellen's death may not have been an accident, and if there's a connection to the stolen animals. But their search for the truth may put their own lives in danger
![]() Gone Gull
By Donna Andrews Meg Langslow is spending the summer at the Biscuit Mountain Craft Center, helping her grandmother Cordelia run the studios. But someone is committing acts of vandalism, threatening to ruin the newly-opened center's reputation. Is it the work of a rival center? Have the developers who want to build a resort atop Biscuit Mountain found a new tactic to pressure Cordelia into selling? Or is the real target Meg's grandfather, who points out that any number of environmentally irresponsible people and organizations could have it in for him? While Meg is trying to track down the vandal, her grandfather is more interested in locating a rare gull. Their missions collide when a body is found in one of the classrooms. Can Meg identify the vandal and the murderer in time to save the center's name--while helping her grandfather track down and rescue his beloved gulls? |
![]() Turkey Trot Murder
By Leslie Meier The last surviving flowers on Lucy Stone’s porch have fallen victim to the first frost of the season. On the bright side, Thanksgiving, and the annual Turkey Trot 5K, are coming up in Tinker’s Cove, Maine—though sadly, Lucy’s four kids won’t be home today. But the holiday turns tragic when Lucy finds beautiful Alison Franklin dead in Blueberry Pond. No one knows much about Alison, except that she was the daughter of ultrawealthy investor Ed Franklin, whose new wife is around Alison’s age. With heroin use increasing in town, police blame an accidental overdose, while her father casts vague accusations rooted in prejudice. But Lucy can’t understand what terrible forces could lead a privileged woman to ruin… As a state of unrest descends on Tinker’s Cove, Lucy is thrown into a full-scale investigation. Now, Lucy must beat the killer to the finish line—or she can forget about stuffing and cranberry sauce… |
![]() The Buzzard Table
By Margaret Maron Judge Deborah Knott and her husband, Sheriff's Deputy Dwight Bryant, are back home in Colleton County amid family and old friends. But the winter winds have blown in several new faces as well. Lt. Sigrid Harald and her mother, Anne, a well-known photographer, are down from New York to visit Mrs. Lattimore, Anne's dying mother. When the group gathers for dinner at Mrs. Lattimore's Victorian home, they meet the enigmatic Martin Crawford, an ornithologist researching a book on Southern vultures. He's also Mrs. Lattimore's long-lost nephew. With her health in decline, Mrs. Lattimore wants to make amends with her family-a desire Deborah can understand, as she, too, works to strengthen her relationship with her young stepson, Cal. Anne is charmed by her mysterious cousin, but she cannot shake the feeling that there is something familiar about Martin . . . something he doesn't want her or anyone else to discover. |