Book picks similar to
Mafia Summer: A Novel by E. Duke Vincent
historical-fiction
fiction
crime
novels
The Girl in Cabin 13
A.J. Rivers - 2019
Even though her own childhood has been plagued by deaths and disappearances.Her mother’s death, her father’s disappearance, and her boyfriend’s disappearance. The only cases that she hasn’t solved.Her obsession with finding out the truth behind her past was what led her to join the FBI.Now, she must face what may be her biggest case. In Cabin 13 there lies an uneasy feeling. The feeling of her movements being watched.When a knock on her door revealed a body on her porch and her name written on a piece of paper in the dead man’s hand. Suddenly her worlds collide.With the past still haunting her, Emma must fight past her own demons to stop the body count from rising.The woods have secrets. And this idyllic town has dark and murderous ones.Either she reveals them or risk them claiming her too.In Feathered Nest, nothing is what it seems.The Girl in Cabin 13 is about to find out that the dead may have secrets of their own.The Girl in Cabin 13 is the first book in the Emma Griffin Mystery series, it can be read as a standalone.
Little Deaths
Emma Flint - 2017
and Cindy, have gone missing. Later that day, Cindy's body is found in a derelict lot a half mile from her home, strangled. Ten days later, Frankie Jr.'s decomposing body is found. Immediately, all fingers point to Ruth. As police investigate the murders, the detritus of Ruth's life is exposed. Seen through the eyes of the cops, the empty bourbon bottles and provocative clothing which litter her apartment, the piles of letters from countless men and Ruth's little black book of phone numbers, make her a drunk, a loose woman - and therefore a bad mother. The lead detective, a strict Catholic who believes women belong in the home, leaps to the obvious conclusion: facing divorce and a custody battle, Malone took her children's lives. Pete Wonicke is a rookie tabloid reporter who finagles an assignment to cover the murders. Determined to make his name in the paper, he begins digging into the case. Pete's interest in the story develops into an obsession with Ruth, and he comes to believe there's something more to the woman whom prosecutors, the press, and the public have painted as a promiscuous femme fatale. Did Ruth Malone violently kill her own children, is she a victim of circumstance - or is there something more sinister at play?
American Rust
Philipp Meyer - 2009
From local bars to train yards to prison, it's the story of two young men, bound to the town by family, responsibility, inertia, and the beauty around them, who dream of a future beyond the factories and abandoned homes.Left alone to care for his aging father after his mother commits suicide and his sister escapes to Yale, Isaac English longs for a life beyond his hometown. When he finally sets out to leave for good, accompanied by his temperamental best friend, they are caught up in a terrible act of violence that changes their lives forever.Evoking John Steinbeck’s novels of restless lives during the Great Depression, American Rust delves into the contemporary American heartland at a moment of profound unrest and uncertainty about the future. It's a dark but lucid vision, a moving novel about the bleak realities that battle our desire for transcendence and the power of love and friendship to redeem us.
The Witness
Nora Roberts - 2012
The events that followed changed her life forever. Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security systems -- and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. But Abigail's reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something -- and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed.With a quirky, unforgettable heroine and a pulse-pounding plotline, Nora Roberts presents a riveting new read that cements her place as today's most reliably entertaining thriller -- and will leave people hungering for more.
Shaking the Tree (The Man with Three Names)
Michael Donohue - 2011
Out of prison, but still on parole, the only thing he wants is to keep his head down, go to work and maybe grab a cold beer at the end of his shift. He doesn't even care that the program stuck him in Essex - a nice, but nowhere small town. With his head already full of bloody and painful memories, he'd like it just fine if his past and future stayed nice and quiet.Too bad the present just got really messy.A body in a tree. A missing briefcase. A Russian hit man. A DEA agent bent on revenge. A corrupt mayor. Not to mention a sheriff with dangerous ambition. A meth lab in the woods. And some pissed off bikers. Things are suddenly very interesting in sleepy Essex county. Bodies are turning up. Secrets are coming out. Questions are being asked. Fingers are being pointed. It's not good being the new guy in a small town.
Mint
S.R. Wilsher - 2021
It’s the summer of 1976, and after nine years in prison, James Minter is home to bury his mother.A history of depression and a series of personal issues has seen her death ruled as suicide.His refusal to accept that conclusion means he must confront his violent stepfather, deal with the gangster who wants his mother’s shop and, of course, face the family of the boy he killed.But will his search for the truth in the claustrophobic atmosphere of a small seaside town, and the unpicking of the peculiar relationship his mother had with the Stonemason next door, put his own life in danger?
Tobacco Sticks
William Hazelgrove - 1995
Old loyalties and familiar ties are abandoned as their sleepy community lashes out with hate when Burke Hartwell, Sr. chooses to defend a black maid who is accused of stealing a priceless heirloom from the man who wants to remain the U.S. Senator from Virginia. As his world fills with confusing strife, 13-year-old Lee Hartwell struggles to avoid the perils of first love, break the silence between his family and the brother they refuse to understand, and make his way in a time of unrelenting change. Through it all, his father counsels and confides, easing the path of maturity with a strength of conviction that takes a lifetime to learn.
Leaving Blythe River
Catherine Ryan Hyde - 2016
Not only is he small, scrawny, and skittish but he’s barely speaking to the man after a traumatic betrayal. Yet when his father vanishes from their remote cabin and rangers abandon the rescue mission, suddenly it’s up to Ethan to keep looking. Angry or not, he’s his father’s only hope.With the help of three locals—a fearless seventy-year-old widow, a pack guide, and a former actor with limited outdoor skills—he heads into the wild. The days that follow transform Ethan’s world. Hail, punishing sun, swollen rapids, and exhausting pain leave him wondering if he’s been fooled yet again: Is his father out here at all? As the situation grows increasingly dire, Ethan realizes this quest has become about more than finding his dad.From the bestselling author of Pay It Forward comes a story of nature revealing human nature—the trickiest terrain. Navigating an unforgiving landscape, Ethan searches himself for the ability to forgive his father—if he finds him alive.
Abide With Me
Ian Ayris - 2012
Eight year old John watches his beloved West Ham win the cup, whilst at the same time, Kenny tumbles out the front door of the house opposite, blood all over his face.Fourteen years later, both boys' childhoods ripped apart in the broken streets of London's East End, John and Kenny find themselves frontin up local gangster, Ronnie Swordfish.John's got a lifetime of hurt to put right - for him and for Kenny.But with John layin on the ground half unconscious and Ronnie with a sword to Kenny's head, whatever way you look at it, it don't look good . . .ABIDE WITH ME is the story of two boys forced to walk blind into the darkness of their shattered lives . . .. . . and their struggle to emerge as men.
Bean Counter
T.A. Clark - 2016
When the head of Nick Rohmer’s Miami accounting firm is found dead after a suspicious accident, Nick finds his quiet, comfortable, boring life slipping out of his control. With most of the firm’s management either on vacation, sick, or dead, Nick is thrust into the unfamiliar position of actually having some responsibility. The weight does not sit easily on his shoulders. He’s relieved when the instructions from the Chicago head office are – don’t do anything until we get there. This he can do. He tries to stick to his ‘do nothing’ instructions even as the firm’s largest client threatens to jump ship. But Nick’s plan of inaction is short-lived when he is convinced to try to save the business. He secures an invitation to dinner on the private island of the mega-wealthy, and highly dysfunctional, Keene family. Things quickly go from bad to disastrous when another dead body shows up, and Nick finds he's the prime suspect. As he gets sucked into the mystery, Nick’s focus quickly changes from trying to save the business to trying to save his skin.
Heart Collector
Jacques Vandroux - 2013
But when a mutilated corpse is discovered in an old baptistery, she’s faced with some difficult questions: Who left a young woman’s body in a high-security museum in the middle of the night? And where is the victim’s heart?Barka has no leads, until several days later when unassuming computer technician Julien Lombard comes forward, claiming to have had a premonition of the woman’s abduction and murder. The ensuing investigation turns up nothing, however, and Julien is just as skeptical about his intel as the police are. But, after another woman goes missing, Barka decides to take a chance and trust in Julien’s gift. Does Julien hold the key to preventing another gruesome crime? Working together, can they find the murderer before he steals another heart?
The Incredible Life Of Jonathan Doe
Carol Coffey - 2013
Brendan spends his days happily labouring on building sites and his evenings drinking alone in bars and hooking up with a constant stream of one-night stands. Following a second DUI, Brendan’s peaceful and predictable life ends abruptly and he is forced to go to live in the town of Dover, New Jersey, with his overbearing uncle. There he forms an unlikely friendship with his meek, downtrodden cousin Eileen. Forced into completing his community service, he meets Jonathan Doe, an intriguing man living in a local homeless shelter whose amazing stories of a happy childhood in the Appalachian Mountains captivate him. Within weeks of his arrival in Dover, Brendan loses himself in the strange man’s incredible stories. Fascinated by the fact that Jonathan Doe can no longer remember exactly where he is from, Brendan becomes obsessed with helping his new friend find his way back to the kind of home he himself has always dreamed of. But is Jonathan’s past real or are his memories the product of a deeply troubled mind? The closer Brendan gets to the truth, the more he realises that all is not what it seems with Jonathan Doe.
Everything Is Lies
Helen Callaghan - 2018
At least that is what she's always believed.Everyone has secretsUntil the day she arrives at her childhood home to find a house ringing with silence. Her mother is hanging from a tree. Her father is lying in a pool of his own blood, near to death.Especially those closest to you The police are convinced it is an attempted murder-suicide. But Sophia is sure that the woman who brought her up isn't a killer. As her father is too ill to talk it is up to Sophia to clear her mother's name. And to do this she needs to delve deep into her family's past - a past full of dark secrets she never suspected were there . . .What if your parents had been lying to you since the day you were born?
Follow You Home
Mark Edwards - 2015
To find their way back to civilisation, they must hike along the tracks through a forest…a haunting journey that ends in unimaginable terror.Back in London, Daniel and Laura vow never to talk about what they saw that night. But as they try to fit back into their old lives, it becomes clear that their nightmare is just beginning…Follow You Home is a chilling tale of secrets, lies and deadly consequences from the author of #1 bestsellers The Magpies and Because She Loves Me.
Shadow Kill
David Caris - 2021
Betrayed by his employer and left for dead, Kovac decides to lie low in Tokyo.His plan? Revenge...But when a young woman asks him to protect her from the yakuza, Kovac feels duty-bound to help. She’s a victim of abuse, and long experience tells him if he doesn’t step in tonight she’ll be a corpse before dawn.As Kovac works to uncover the truth of his last job, he finds himself drawn into a conspiracy which goes well beyond the yakuza to a new and terrifying multinational cartel. One that will stop at nothing to control the global drug trade.The kingpins are certain they’ve covered all bases. They're well-funded and utterly ruthless. But they’ve failed to account for one man – John Kovac.SHADOW KILL is the first in a fast-paced, unflinching thriller series that won't in any way shortchange you on action. Perfect for fans of Lee Child, Mark Greaney and Mark Dawson.