Element of Secrecy


Heather Slawecki - 2020
    The setting is picturesque with old farmhouses, dirt roads, covered bridges, streams. It's also rich with Native and early American history. What sets it apart is a big secret. Jenny O’Rourke has been haunted by blurred memories of the town's dark secrets for over twenty years. Brick walls and tight lips have kept her from understanding why she was torn from her home and family in the middle of the night. And why her brother’s murder was brushed under the rug. To find the answers, she has to elude two powerful forces standing in her way ... an estranged but lurking father and the watchful eyes of the Witness Protection Program. She's about to break the only rule they have in common: Never go home. Jenny finds an opportunity, giving her access to everything she thought she ever wanted to know. What she discovers changes everything and leaves a small town in need of some major damage control.

The Aroostine Higgins Series Box Set #1-2


Melissa F. Miller - 2020
    

The Krewe


Seth Pevey - 2018
     Felix is heartbroken, mystified, and above all else: deeply suspicious. His gut screams foul play. The black sheep of a wealthy, respected family in New Orleans, Felix knows his gut is untested, naïve, addled by drugs and self-doubt. Who will believe him? Should he even trust himself? As the Mardi Gras season descends on the city, Felix will have to find a way. His purpose is, for once, very clear: to find out who, or what, caused his big brother to die in such heinous circumstances, no matter what it takes. But there are shadowy forces at work. As he gets in over his head, he’ll need the help of a garrulous police detective, the family’s ancient butler, and a massive pork fortune, all in order to fight his way to the bottom of things. Will he live up to the family name and avenge his brother? Find out in part one of a hard-boiled detective series set in the Big Easy.

Johnny Revenge


Remington Kane - 2019
    Jude claims he's innocent, even as the evidence against him keeps piling up.FBI Special Agent Erica Novac focuses on Jude even as she finds herself wanting to believe in his innocence. Is Jude Rowland a devious murderer playing a game only he knows the rules to, or is there an unseen hand framing Jude in an attempt to seek vengeance?This is Book One in The Revenge Series

Lethal Dose


Robert McCracken - 2016
    Terry Lawler had exposed the secrets of powerful people and apparently got his comeuppance.But when DI Tara Grogan digs further, she makes a startling discovery. Within the victim’s home are details about dozens of missing women. Details that might only be known to the last person who saw them.Just what was his connection to these disappearances in Belfast and Liverpool? Has Grogan stumbled upon evidence of a serial killer who someone else has got to first?In which case, exactly who is Grogan hunting for? And does she really want to find them?

The Complete Jake Samson Mystery Series Vol 1-6: With Bonus Book--Torch Song: A Dystopian Thriller!


Shelley Singer - 2016
    An assortment of Berkeley kooks and interesting plot twists keep things hopping till the very end.FREE DRAWJake’s buddy and quasi-boss calls in a favor when his nephew is accused of murder. It's up to Jake and Rosie to find the real killer, and they've got a number of suspects: the victim's fellow executives at a questionable correspondence school, his divided and bitter family, and his quirky Marin County neighbors--a truly odd assortment of California woods dwellers.FULL HOUSEAn ark in the middle of suburban Oakland is interesting but not strange by California standards. Even one built by peaceful cultists preparing for the coming flood. Until sometime private eye Jake Samson is hired to find Noah, their leader, who has disappeared with a lovely devotee and a quarter million in cash. The cult suspects foul play, but the police aren’t convinced.SPIT IN THE OCEANThe North Coast Sperm Bank in tiny Wheeler, California has been knocked over, and the perp’s tossed its assets in the ocean, leaving a religious-nut note of explanation. Just a prank, says Wheeler law enforcement. But the bank hires Jake Samson and his ever-sharp Watson, Rosie Vicente to find out who made the unauthorized withdrawal. As a storm brutalizes Wheeler, a bank employee slips in the mud and falls to her death.SUICIDE KINGJake's never been a big fan of politics, but Rosie invites him to a posh California fundraiser for an energetic gubernatorial candidate of the liberal underdog Vivo party, and Jake can't resist. It's all fun and political games until the candidate’s aide finds her boss in her backyard, hanging naked from an acacia tree. The police rule the death a suicide, but Jake and the aide suspect foul play, and she hires Jake to find the culprit. He finds campaign shenanigans, affairs, a possible German mafia connection, and more danger than our hero could possibly have imagined.ROYAL FLUSHLaid-back, unlicensed PI Jake Samson is understandably nervous about infiltrating a local Marin County neo-Nazi group called the Aryan Command.

The Lt. Kate Gazzara Series: Books 4-6


Blair Howard - 2020
    Kate Gazzara. If you love whodunits, police procedurals, realism, fast-paced nonstop action, strong women detectives, it's time you met Kate Gazzara, a dedicated female detective in a world dominated by men.Kate's addictive - You can't read just one.

The Hour of Her Death


Rebecca Rane - 2020
    But the horrific crime has gone unsolved for thirty years when a mysterious stranger begs a true crime podcaster to investigate.Kendra Dillon hosts The Cold Trail Podcast. She’s made it her mission to uncover new clues in old mysteries. She’s shocked that this brutal display of evil against an innocent nun has gone unchecked for decades. No suspects. No arrests. No justice.With police and church officials refusing to reopen the investigation, Kendra believes someone’s hiding a vile conspiracy. But right as Kendra gets close to the disturbing truth, another shocking crime derails her investigation. The Cold Trail may be leading Kendra straight into the path of a serial killer. With every podcast episode, Kendra gets closer to waking an evil that’s been lying in wait.And Kendra isn’t alone. A stalker is following her every move, ready to ensnare her in his own twisted fantasy.Can Kendra catch the culprit and serve up justice before she’s silenced forever?The Hour Of Her Death is the first book in the suspenseful Kendra Dillon Cold Case Thriller series. If you like engaging female sleuths, unexpected twists, and cold case crime podcasts, then you’ll love Rebecca Rane’s pulse-pounding tale.Enter the world of a true crime podcaster on the hunt for a serial killer!

Dr. Vigilante (Dr. Vigilante, #1)


Alberto Hazan - 2013
    He spends his days treating patients at the St. Jude’s Hospital ER and his nights going after the psychopaths who wrong them: the child molesters, wife beaters, and rapists. But when the fiery, beautiful new social worker discovers his secret identity and their love affair takes off, Robert is forced to face some hard questions:Do the ends justify the means?After years of hunting down psychopaths, is Robert turning into one himself?An action thriller with strong, distinct characters, filled with suspense and surprise, Dr. Vigilante is also a love story unfolding amid the turmoil and drama of a busy ER.

Nichelle Clarke Crime Thriller Series, Books 1-3: Box Set: Front Page Fatality / Buried Leads / Small Town Spin


LynDee Walker - 2018
    She assumes it will be routine, a scene like many other accidents she's covered. She's wrong.The accident gives Nichelle a chance glimpse of an ongoing conspiracy. But proveable facts are fleeting. And as Nichelle digs deeper into the case, people and evidence begin to disappear. Someone is one step ahead of her, desperate to cover their tracks. A master criminal with a deadly secret, who will stop at nothing to keep the truth hidden...But as she draws closer to unraveling the mystery of two dead cops, Nichelle realizes she's become the next target. Can she survive this murderous game of cat and mouse long enough to solve the mystery? Or will Nichelle fall prey to a killer?_________________________Book 2: Buried LeadsWhen an Armani-clad body turns up in a shallow forest grave, Nichelle Clarke is the first reporter on the scene. She soon discovers the victim is a tobacco lobbyist with powerful connections.Local politicians are pushing for a quick arrest. Nichelle thinks they seem nervous. Even more so after a second victim is found dead. Nichelle's search for the killer soon uncovers a jaw-dropping trail of malfeasance and debauchery that stretches all the way to Washington, D.C. It's the kind of story that can make a crime reporter's career.But the power players at the center of this conspiracy have everything to lose, and as Nichelle's quest for the truth nears its end, she lands squarely in the crosshairs of the killer. Can her wits alone can get her out alive, or will these secrets stay buried for good?_________________________Book 3: Small Town SpinT.J. had the world in the palm of his hand. He was handsome. Popular in school. Smart. A stellar athlete. The son of superstar pro quarterback Tony Okerson, he seemed destined to follow in his father's footsteps to a career of gridiron glory.That bright, shining dream ends when T.J.'s lifeless body is found on a rocky shoreline near his family's Chesapeake Bay home.But as Nichelle begins to explore the facts surrounding the death, she discovers some shocking details. Something doesn't fit. And while the local sheriff wants to stamp the case a drug overdose and move on, Nichelle becomes convinced that foul play may have been involved.To the townsfolk, Nichelle is an outsider, putting her nose where it doesn't belong. But in her experience, that's exactly where the most damning secrets are kept. And the further she follows the evidence trail, the more Nichelle realizes that this sleepy coastal village is anything but innocent...

The DI Skelgill Series Books 5-7: compelling British crime mysteries


Bruce Beckham - 2020
    

Marc Kadella Mystery Series Vol 3-6


Dennis Carstens - 2017
    But before she can even be charged she’s been tried and convicted by the media, at the center of which is Melinda Pace, a cynical, mostly-functioning alcoholic Minneapolis television personality with a “legal news” show called The Court Reporter. Not even in the alternative universe of television news could she be described as a reporter, since she makes no attempt at or pretense of presenting the truth, or even the facts. She does do a great job of producing through-the-roof ratings and whipping the public into a frenzy—with tragic consequences.Book 4 – CERTAIN JUSTICE A PSYCHOPATH'S BACK ON THE STREETS--AND HE'S OUT FOR REVENGE… Marc was torn about his work for Howie Traynor—his first homicide case—but even he was relieved when Howie was put away for forty years… Until, a decade later, his case is re-opened. Seems the former tech in the BCA lab was falsifying DNA evidence to collude with cops in putting away suspected violent criminals. And now not only Howie, but a handful of wrongfully-accused felons, are back out on the streets.Marc and his longtime buddy PI Tony Caravelli don’t buy Howie’s come-to-Jesus act. And when an appeals judge with ties to the overturned cases winds up crucified in his own front yard, they’re convinced a dangerous killer has been wrongfully exonerated.Book 5 – PERSONAL JUSTICE FIRST SHE KILLS HER HUSBANDS, THEN SHE DESTROYS THEIR FAMILIES… Mackenzie Sutherland is shrouded in black at her most recent late husband’s funeral. Mackenzie’s not-so despondent face might tell more observant onlookers she’s not exactly your typical grieving widow—but then, no one can see through her veil. This is by design. Alluring and dangerously attractive, she’s been down this road before.Three times, in fact. In Dennis Carstens’ FIFTH hard-boiled legal thriller, we meet the classic black widow. All of Mackenzie’s late husbands were millionaires. Each died suddenly and quite mysteriously of massive heart attacks (in spite of no history of heart trouble). And each left their children with nothing—and their young, beautiful bride (of about a year or so) with millions.Book 6 – DELAYED JUSTICE FRAUD LEADS TO MURDER. AND THIS TIME, IT’S PERSONAL... Maddy Rivers has her reservations about her new relationship with Rob Judd. Sure, he’s a handsome and brilliant investment analyst in a wildly successful securities management firm. But he’s constantly distracted. It seems something about the firm’s not quite right—or so he finally lets on to Maddy.

Jammed


Deany Ray - 2016
    Right: negative - Healthy diet: cookies and all things sweet At age twenty-nine, Charlie Cooper’s life is not exactly a hit. Working as a precinct secretary at the Boston Police answering phones, making appointments and writing up crime reports means she might not be on the fast track to her ultimate dream job. And her living situation? She is the proud inhabitant of the most minuscule “master suite” she can afford to pay, where she can brush her teeth, get her clothes out of the dresser drawer and turn on the hallway light without getting out of bed. But when a job opportunity arises, she’s ready to take the bull by the horns and prove she is more than just a fast typist. Sure, she has to bite the bullet by returning to her hometown and living with her wacky family, but this is only the cover for her real assignment: finding clues involving a real big drug case. What starts out to be just harmless snooping turns into a pile of dead bodies, slashed tires and threatening notes. But Charlie is determined to solve the case and catch the killer before he catches her. Throw in two fearless waitresses and a hot fry cook who is not what he seems and you’ve got the perfect mix of a fast-paced and exciting mystery.

With Wanton Disregard


Gwen Banta - 2018
     Tim is at a crossroads in his life when he meets Lauren: the beautiful wife of a prominent Long Beach physician who has been brutally murdered. In spite of the mounting evidence against Lauren, Tim fights to prove that she is not involved. But when Lauren suddenly goes into hiding, more savage murders occur in the exclusive Long Beach enclave of Belmont Shore. As Mulrooney pieces together the evidence proving that the murders are connected to the Connolly case, he makes a startling discovery about the next intended victim, and must risk his reputation, his shield, and his life to solve the case - and stay alive.

Bad Karma


Douglas Clegg - 1997
    You will never escape me.” She’s the most dangerous inmate in the hospital for the criminally insane...and she just broke out. When Trey Campbell takes his family to Catalina Island, his escaped patient leaves a trail of bodies behind as she hunts for her one true love – from a previous life.