“The reason why a person lies is almost always more interesting than the lie itself.”
Rock Paper Scissors is a 2021 mystery thriller book by Alice Feeney. Nominated for Best Mystery & Thriller in the Goodreads Choice Awards, the story centres on married couple Adam and Amelia Wright. Their relationship has been souring for a number of years, and they book a weekend away to Scotland hoping that it might be the break they need. Adam has lived with face blindness for his whole life, not being able to recognise friends, family or even his own life. Every anniversary, the couple exchange traditional gifts and every year Amelia writes her husband a letter that he’s never been allowed to read. Until now. If you loved Alice Feeney’s work and you’re looking for more dark domestic psychological thrillers, join us at What We Reading for the best books like Rock Paper Scissors!
His & Hers – Alice Feeney
Where better place to start in a list of books like Rock Paper Scissors than with another one of Alice Feeney’s best thrillers, His & Hers. Published a year prior to Amelia and Adam’s trip to Blackwater Chapel, the story follows Anna Andrews, a newsreader. When a woman is murdered in a quaint British village called Blackdown, Anna is hesitant to cover the case.
Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement. Then he finds himself one of the prime suspects in his own murder investigation. Someone isn’t telling the truth, and some secrets are worth killing to keep hidden. Delivered with Feeney’s trademark twists and suspense, His & Hers is sure to be a hit with any fans of Rock Paper Scissors.
On A Quiet Street – Seraphina Nova Glass
Few people wouldn’t want to live in Brighton Hills. An exclusive community on the Oregon coast, it is the perfect blend of luxury and natural beauty. It’s the sort of place where neighbours watch out for one another. Albeit, sometimes a bit too closely. Cora thinks her husband, Finn, is cheating – she just needs to catch him in the act. Which is where Paige, a still-grieving mother, comes in.
Grief makes people do reckless things. Like spying on the locals, searching for proof that your son’s death was no accident and agreeing to Cora’s plan of revealing what sort of man Finn really is. But, whilst Cora and Paige work on their plan, new mother Georgia is beginning to act more and more strangely every day. What secrets could this apparently lovely young mother be hiding? Seraphina Nova Glass shows that, beyond the open floor plans and marble counters, Brighton Hills is full of secrets in her thriller, On a Quiet Street.
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The Guest List – Lucy Foley
Lucy Foley is one of the best authors similar to Alice Feeney if you’re looking for a similar domestic thriller ride. In her 2020 mystery, The Guest List, readers are whisked to a luxurious wedding celebration on a remote island off the Irish coast. The happy couple are Jules, an ambitious magazine publisher, and Will, a charming and handsome rising television star. Whilst the phone service might be patchy and the waves around them rough, every other luxurious detail has been meticulously planned and will be expertly executed.
But, as the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, lingering resentments and petty jealousies begin to surface. The groomsmen begin their drinking games from their student days, the bridesmaid intentionally ruins her dress and the bride’s oldest male friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast. And then someone winds up dead. Reminiscent of a classic Agatha Christie novel, The Guest List is remote, twisty and suspenseful throughout.
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The Overnight Guest – Heather Gudenkauf
Snowstorm? Eerie isolated house? Unexpected visitor? It should come as no surprise to see Heather Gudenkauf’s The Overnight Guest in our list of books similar to Rock Paper Scissors! True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn’t mind being snowed in at the farmhouse she has retreated to finish her new book. In fact, it would be the perfect environment. If it weren’t for the fact that decades earlier, in this very house, two people were murdered in cold blood.
As the storm outside worsens, Wylie finds herself trapped inside the house and haunted by her own secrets as well as those hiding within its walls. Then she discovers a small child in the snow outside. After bringing the child inside for warmth, it soon becomes clear that the farmhouse isn’t as isolated as she first thought, and someone is outside willing to do anything to find them.
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The Good Sister – Sally Hepworth
Fern Castle works in her local library. She has dinner with her twin sister, Rose, three times a week. She avoids crowds, bright lights and loud noises as much as she can help it. Fern has a life that she has carefully constructed, and disrupting it can be dangerous.
When Rose discovers that she is unable to have children, Fern sees her chance to repay her sister for everything she has done for her. Fern can have a baby for her. All she needs to do is find herself a father. In Sally Hepworth’s richly-told and shocking story of the lies that bind two sisters, Fern’s mission shakes the foundations of the life she has painstakingly built for herself and stirs up a number of harrowing secrets from the past.
The Couple Next Door – Shari Lapena
Another one of the best domestic thriller books like Rock Paper Scissors, The Couple Next Door is undoubtedly one of Shari Lapena’s most gripping stories. Anne and Marco Conti attend a dinner party at their next door neighbour’s house one evening, leaving their six-month-old daughter, Cora, at home. They take the baby monitor with them but, when they return home, they find their baby missing.
As the investigation into Cora’s disappearance gets underway, secrets and lies about this seemingly perfect couple are brought to light, revealing that both Anne and Marco have reasons to look suspicious. Fast-paced, twisty and full of suspense, The Couple Next Door is the perfect Shari Lapena book for any fan of Alice Feeney.
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The Wife Upstairs – Rachel Hawkins
Like Rock Paper Scissors, Rachel Hawkins’ The Wife Upstairs centres on the drama between a husband, wife and ex-wife. Jane is new to the gated community at Thornfield Estates – the sort of neighbourhood where no one will notice her help herself to her client’s jewellery or even think to ask if ‘Jane’ is even her real name. But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester, recently widowed and easily the Estates’ most mysterious resident.
Eddie’s wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident along with her best friend. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in the rich, brooding and handsome Eddie, and he offers her the sort of protection she has always wanted. Yet, as the pair begin to fall for each other, she becomes increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea. Can she win his heart before her past – or his – catches up to her?
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
