-
Keep You Close
Karen Cleveland
Stephanie Maddox has her dream job as an FBI agent, but she regrets that, as a single mother, her work takes her away from her teenage son, Zachary. Still, she hopes he knows how much he means to her. But Stephanie is not prepared when, one day, she finds a gun in her son’s room. Where did he get it? As things quickly begin to spiral out of control, Stephanie wonders if someone from her past wants to get back at her—by using her son against her.
-
The Rumor
Lesley Kara
What would you do if you found out someone convicted of a brutal murder when they were a child was now living in your community under an assumed name? Would you risk everything to uncover their identity and keep your child safe? That’s just what Joanna asks after she hears a rumor that a killer is living in their midst. As she begins to suspect everyone around her, Joanna’s husband and son may pay the price for her obsession.
-
A Good Enough Mother
Bev Thomas
Ruth Hartland manages to hide her grief and sadness when she’s with her patients. After all, she needs to maintain a calm and reassuring demeanor as a psychotherapist. Privately, though, she mourns her adult son, who disappeared a few years ago. But when a new patient walks into her door, one who looks exactly like her missing boy, Ruth starts down a dark and dangerous path from which there might be no return.
-
Her Daughter's Mother
Daniela Petrova
Lara Stone knows she isn’t supposed to meet her egg donor, without whom her precious child would not be possible. But she can’t help be curious about Katya, a student at Columbia University who is the biological mother of her child. On an impulse, Lara begins to follow her, and they soon strike up a friendship. But when Katya goes missing, Lara’s curiosity gets the better of her and she becomes determined to find out what happened to her friend—even if it means she becomes the prime suspect.
-
Our House
Louise Candlish
Fiona Lawson and her husband Bram have a unique arrangement: They are separated, but their young boys stay in their family home. Fiona and her husband alternate who lives with them in the house. But when she shows up to their home one morning, a family she doesn’t know is moving into it, and her boys are nowhere to be seen. Where is her husband, and what happened to Fiona’s children?
-
Stolen Things
R. H. Herron
Laurie Ahmadi has had many unique experiences in her years as a 911 dispatcher, but she never expected her worst fear to be realized: Her teenage daughter, Jojo, calling the emergency line for help, unsure of where she is or how she got there. As the facts emerge, and Jojo thankfully makes it home safely, it soon becomes clear that there’s a lot more to the story than anyone realizes, and Laurie and Jojo must uncover the truth before someone else gets hurt.
-
Hideaway
Nicole Lundrigan
From the outside, Gloria Janes appears to be a perfect wife and mother. But only her family knows how ruthlessly controlling she is. Unable to handle Gloria’s compulsions any longer, her husband Telly decides to leave—and her son Rowan bears the brunt of Gloria’s need to control everything. But when Rowan runs away, Gloria must balance the need to appear concerned and loving on the outside while trying to figure out a way to manipulate her son to come home for good.
-
The Boy
Tami Hoag
When Genevieve Gauthier’s seven-year-old son is murdered, it’s the most gruesome crime scene Detective Nick Fourcade has ever seen. But the crime itself—and the grieving mother—are an enigma. Why would an intruder leave Genevieve alive and well? She appears to be mourning the loss of her son, but was she somehow involved in this brutal case? And if not, could Genevieve be the next victim?
Psychological thrillers about moms, often referred to as “domestic suspense” or “domestic thrillers,” have become increasingly popular over the last few years. There’s a good reason for that: These books take what many of us consider the most ordinary setting, the place we call home, and upend it entirely with murder, kidnapping, ruthless obsession, and more.
These popular thrillers showcase the extent mothers will go to in order to protect their children, but in some cases also reveal the harm that can be done. Each of these stories will keep you up late into the night as you breathlessly race toward the last page.
Featured image: @DaveTheo via Twenty20