Top 20 Books Like My Dark Vanessa Updated 04 /2024

Maggie's Going Nowhere by Rose Hartley

Life for Maggie Cotton is a complete mess.

Within 24 hours of her boyfriend's decision to break off their relationship, she had been disinherited by her mother and kicked out of her three-year degree program. Before she received the letter informing her that she owed the government $70,000 in back taxes, no less.

But is that really a reason to mature?

For Maggie, it's not enough to just have an old van to live in. She must also prove to her mother that she can make it without a safety net, keep up with her loyal best friend Jen without having to worry about her marrying some jerk, and win over her attractive coworker Rueben. In spite of being a self-described "workaholic," she's capable of moving mountains with the right amount of motivation—just don't ask her to move the caravan.

All The Rage (DI Adam Fawley, #4) by Cara Hunter

In the outskirts of Oxford, a distressed and dazed teen girl is discovered. Her tale is one of terror. In what sounds like an assault, she was kidnapped from the street, put in a plastic bag, and driven to an isolated location. In spite of this, she is refusing to file a police report.

DI It's difficult for Fawley to do anything without the girl's cooperation. Is there something she's trying to keep a secret about? And why does Fawley have the distinct impression that he's seen something similar before?

Adam has no choice but to face up to his past when another girl goes missing. The victim may never return if he does not do what he has been ordered to do.

I Dare You by Sam Carrington

INNOCENT GAME This is a DISTURBING crime. A SECRETIVE COLLEGE COMMUNITY.

It was Mapledon, New Jersey, in 1989

A game of dares was being played by two young girls outside. Only one of them made it back to her house.

'Creepy' Bill Cawley dragged her friend into his truck and vanished, according to the 10-year-old witness.

Cawley was sentenced to prison for murder despite the absence of a body. Clear and conclusive evidence points to a convicted criminal.

Once again, the residents of the village could rest easy.

Now…

In the wake of a distressing phone call, Anna is forced to confront her nightmares and her time in Mapledon.

Someone lied thirty years ago. Thirty years ago, the man convicted of the crime wasn't the only one who was responsible.

For the first time since his release he's looking for revenge. Who will he start with first?

Devotion by Madeline Stevens

A gripping debut novel about a woman who develops an unhealthy romantic relationship with the Upper East Side mother who hires her as a nanny and falls in love with her as a result.

When Ella is unable to pay her rent, she spends her money on bodega coffee and seduces strangers who might buy her dinner. Lonnie and James, a wealthy Upper East Side couple, unexpectedly save her from bankruptcy by hiring her as a nanny and welcoming her into their world. With the arrival of a new baby, Ella's days are now spent either at home with the baby or on lavish family vacations. They're both twenty-six, but Lonnie has more advantages than Ella, including a supportive husband and son, a well-developed artistic talent, and inherited wealth.

Lonnie has a girlish affection for Ella, and he disregards the normal boundaries of friendship and marriage in their relationship. Elsewhere, Ella begins to sift through Lonnie's belongings in the belief that there must be a secret behind Lonnie's seemingly carefree existence. Over time, Ella's resentment builds, but she's also feeling an overwhelming pull toward him. The cravings for Lonnie's lifestyle, attention, and lovers will soon have her so submerged that she may never be able to escape them.

When mismatched power collides with blinding desire and incinerates our understanding of femininity and sexuality, Devotion is a masterful debut novel.

Like, Follow, Kill by Carissa Ann Lynch

After Camilla Brown's husband was killed in an accident, she shuts herself away from the rest of the world. Her only real connections are with people she meets online, where everyone seems to have it all together.

Camilla is free to follow anyone she chooses in private. Camilla, on the other hand, is a huge fan.

In particular, her high school classmate Valerie Hutchens. Camilla can't get enough of Valerie's Instagram posts, which feature her infectious happiness and a frighteningly attractive face. After noticing something odd in Valerie's posts, Camilla notices something else: a man's face peeking out of her window.

After that, Valerie vanishes...

Grace Is Gone by Emily Elgar

From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of If You Knew Her, comes this gripping tale of suspense about a close-knit English community that is rocked by a mother's murder and the disappearance of her daughter.

The most cherished family in a small town.

A shocking, senseless crime—and the dark secret at its core.

Meg Nichols and her daughter Grace are well-known in Ashford, Cornwall. Grace, despite her many illnesses, adores her mother Meg, and Meg has been selflessly caring for Grace for years. When Meg is found brutally bludgeoned in her bed and her daughter is missing, the community is rocked. When Meg's abusive, unstable ex-boyfriend first tried to kidnap Grace, she lived in fear that he would do it again. After all, it looks like her apprehensions weren't unfounded.

As a local journalist, Jon Katrin is well aware of the dangers of getting sucked back into this story. In the aftermath of the article he wrote about Meg and Grace, he split up with his wife and the community. He may be able to make amends for his past mistakes if he can assist in the search for Grace. Cara, the Nichols' next-door neighbor who is struggling with her own feelings of guilt over not being a better friend to Grace, ends up becoming an unexpected ally. Jon and Cara, on the other hand, unearth anomalies that lead to more and more questions as they search for Grace.

Multiple perspectives and diary entries reveal a tragedy more twisted than anyone could have ever imagined about Grace's death...

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