Best of
Psychological-Thriller

2012

The Holland Family Saga Part One: They Don't Mind Dying


Clever Black - 2012
    To everyone else — welcome to New Orleans — to be more specific — welcome to the Ninth Ward. They Don’t Mind Dying is an intense psychological thriller that chronicles in explicit detail, the inner workings of an inner city drug organization from its violent rise to power on through to its ultimate demise. Forced out of his home and onto the streets by his aunt at the age of fifteen, Ben Holland meets two youths, Manny and Oscar, who would change his life forever when they introduce him to a life of crime. They Don’t Mind Dying tells the story of Ben Holland and how he and his friends rose to the top of the drug game and the violent lifestyle the gang’s members had become accustomed to. When events within the organization begin to unravel the gang’s solidarity, however, no amount of money in their possession, nor the police on the crew’s payroll, could stop the wheels of retribution from rolling in their direction. Ben Holland and his crew fight to remain atop the city’s drug trade, but the price of success is starting to exceed the effort; retirement is looking more and more appealing. Can Ben Holland and his crew stay alive long enough to exit the game? Or will fate have a say so in matters? They Don’t Mind Dying is the first installment in The Holland Family Saga, a saga that will chronicle the Holland Family’s history along with the people who would shape their lives over many years. Starting with They Don’t Mind Dying, the creed in which Ben Holland and his cohorts live by throughout their violent reign, and traversing forward, the saga will reveal over time, the Holland Family’s struggles, injustices and inner demons as their lives come full circle and many secrets are revealed. The Holland Family Saga is more than fiction…It is real life in print.

Jazz Baby


Beem Weeks - 2012
    Taken in by an aunt bent on ridding herself of this unexpected burden, "Baby" Teegarten plots her escape using the only means at her disposal: a voice that makes church ladies cry and angels take notice. "I'm gonna sing jazz up to New York City," she brags to anybody who'll listen. 'Cept that Big Apple--well, it's an awful long way from that dry patch of earth she used to call home. So when the smoky stages of New Orleans speakeasies give a whistle, offering all kinda shortcuts, Emily soon learns it's the whorehouses and drug joints promising to tickle more than just a young girl's fancy that can dim a spotlight . . . and knowing the wrong people can snuff it out. Jazz Baby just wants to sing--not fight to stay alive.

The Book of James


Ellen J. Green - 2012
    To her shock, she learns that Nick’s mother, Cora, is not dead as he always claimed—rather, she is living as a recluse in the family’s gloomy nineteenth-century mansion. Desperate to understand why her husband lied to her for so many years, Mackenzie accepts Cora’s invitation to stay as her guest.As the women come together in the same house, their stories entwine, each driven by an agenda. Cora clings to her memories and will do anything to protect her family’s secrets, while Mackenzie struggles to uncover a terrible truth long denied. But as she brings to light the darkness in her husband’s past, is Mackenzie putting her own future at risk? Revised edition: This edition of The Book of James includes editorial revisions.

One Last Lie


Rob Kaufman - 2012
    But on the inside, a demon rages, determined to get anyone and anything she wants. And now with her biological clock ticking, she seduces her old friend Philip, and his partner Jonathan, into having a child with her through artificial insemination.From the moment the parenting agreement is signed, Angela’s mask of deceit slips away and she leads the fathers-to-be on a relentless, agonizing journey filled with lies, anguish and finally tragedy that forever changes the lives of everyone involved.Five star reviewers rave that One Last Lie is a gripping thriller of fiction, a novel of pure suspense from which they are unable to pull themselves away. Like Annie Wilkes from Misery and Alex Forrest from Fatal Attraction, Angela drags innocent lives into her web of insanity – a place from which readers have confessed is hard to escape, even weeks after turning the final page.

A Secret to the Grave


Jane Blythe - 2012
    Detective Parker Bell has just returned to work after a shooting when he and his partner land the case of a young woman abducted by a man who has left a list of clues pointing to nine other women he plans to kill.Throughout the course of the investigation Parker meets Tessa Micah, a potential victim and the most interesting, stubborn, infuriating woman he has ever met. When Tessa refuses to shed any light on why she is in the sights of a serial killer it's up to Parker to find the madman before he can bring his plan to fruition, leaving ten dead women in his wake. ↝ Trigger warning - themes of sexual assault ↜

Nemesis


Monique D. Mensah - 2012
    As she stands over her mother's dead body, Amara finally realizes who Nemesis is and why she's out for revenge.

Secret Sky


J.P. McLean - 2012
    An incredible gift. A terrible price to pay.Emelynn Taylor's gift didn't come wrapped in pretty paper and tied with a bow, nor can it ever be returned. Now, it’s taken over her life. It strikes without warning, strips her of gravity and sends her airborne, unchecked.Haunted by terrifying flights she can’t control, Emelynn vows to take command of her dangerous gift. She returns to the seaside cottage where it all began. Here, she discovers an underground society whose members share her hidden ability, and a man who sends her heart soaring.But the deeper Emelynn gets pulled into this secret society, the more she questions their motives. Are they using the gift for good or for evil? Unravelling the truth will plunge Emelynn into a fight for her freedom—and her life.The first book in The Gift Legacy series, Secret Sky is a thriller that skirts the edges of reality in a world within our own. Buckle up and escape the ordinary: take flight with Emelynn Taylor.(Secret Sky was previously published as The Gift: Awakening)

The Fixer


T.E. Woods - 2012
    E. Woods delivers a fast-paced thriller—the first in an electrifying new series—peopled with sharp, intriguing characters and more twists and turns than a corkscrew. Never a doubt. Never a mistake. Always for justice. Never for revenge. She’s the person you hire when you need something fixed—permanently. With a strict set of criteria, she evaluates every request and chooses only a few. No more than one job per country, per year. She will only step in if it’s clear that justice will not be served any other way. Her jobs are completed with skill and precision, and never result in inquiry or police investigation. The Fixer is invisible—and quite deadly. . . . In the office of a clinical psychologist in Olympia, Washington, a beautiful young woman is in terrible emotional pain. She puts up walls, tells lies, and seems to speak in riddles, but the doctor is determined to help her heal, despite the fact that she claims to have hurt many people. As their sessions escalate, the psychologist feels compelled to reach out to the police . . . but it might be too late. In Seattle, a detective gets a call from his son. A dedicated journalist, he wants his father’s expertise as he looks into a suspicious death. Together they follow the trail of leads toward a stone-cold hired killer—only to find that death has been closer than either could have imagined.

Divisive


John Tucker - 2012
    Carolyn, the matriarch, is a hard-drinking single mother with no desires to be a 'sitcom mommy." Elizabeth, her seventeen-year-old daughter, is a Goth dressing, snarky teenager who lives to protect her baby sister and to find love. Precocious Emily, twelve, is the peacemaker of the family saddled with issues of her own. Enter Dennis Rask, a charming rogue who insinuates himself into their family and brings them together as a self-appointed messiah - becoming loved by Carolyn, idolized by Emily, and accepted with reservations by a suspicious Elizabeth. Little do the Connors know, Rask has united three families before them, with every unit destroying themselves from within by his hellish machinations. Rask views the Connors as a hobby - a game - which has left no survivors in the past. Divisive starts the reader off at the end of their story. Detective Frank Bostick attempts to unravel the reasons behind a tragic event in the Connors house, resulting in a 'supposed' death, a 'questionable' overdose, and a brutally 'perceived' attack of Rask by one of the members. Switching back between the past, and the present, Divisive ensnares the reader in a thriller that goes back several years in the life of Dennis Rask until ending in a grim battle for the soul of the one he has hand-picked to be his 'Queen."

Blood Related


William Cook - 2012
    Headless corpses, their bodies mutilated and posed, have been turning up all over the industrial district near the docks. Young female prostitutes had been the killer's victims of choice, but now other districts are reporting the gruesome discovery of decapitated bodies. It seems the killer has expanded his territory as more 'nice girls' feel the wrath of his terrible rage.Meet the Cunninghams... A family bound by evil and the blood they have spilled. The large lodging-house they live in and operate on Artaud Avenue reeks of death, and the sins that remain trapped beneath the floorboards.Ray Truman's search for a killer leads him to the Cunningham's house of horrors. What he finds there will ultimately lead him to regret ever meeting Caleb Cunningham and the deviant family that spawned him. The hunter becomes the hunted, as Truman digs deeper into the abyss that is the horrifying mind of the most dangerous psychopath he has ever met.

Mr. Glamour


Richard Godwin - 2012
    Chief Inspector Jackson Flare and his partner Inspector Mandy Steele investigate a series of bizarre killings targeting the wealthy and glamorous. The killer in Mr. Glamour knows all about design and what brands mean to his victims. As The police try to catch a predator who has climbed into their heads, they find themselves up against a wall of secrecy. The investigation drives Flare and Steel—who are themselves harbouring secrets—to acts of darkness. And the killer is watching everyone, from the rich businessmen to their beautiful wives. Who is Mr. Glamour? This novel will keep you guessing until the unforeseeable end.

Beautiful Monster


Jared S. Anderson - 2012
    When she awakens, naked and chained in Sterling’s basement, his deviant plans for her become clear. Brenna must choose between playing along with his savage game, or risking her life to escape.

Lost Shadows


Julie Elizabeth Powell - 2012
    Pamela is haunted by the patient who was murdered by her father. Barbara and Mike have mysterious secrets. Harry seeks solace at the bottom of a glass. And why is Mildred so afraid? While Helen’s mind gathers dust, Lizzie mourns the loss of her, and her husband. Both Penny and Jane are frantic to find their daughters, if in different ways. Rick wonders what to do about his family. And who is William?Most are strangers, all are haunted by darkness – does this unite them, or is it something they must do that will free them?Will they find what is lost?