Behind Closed Doors


Natalie R. Collins - 2007
    Melissa was the only one who knew what had really happened to Jannie beyond the sacred walls of the Mormon Temple the night that changed her life forever…. UNTIL HER BEST FRIEND VANISHED WITHOUT A TRACE.Now Melissa has gone missing, just days after entrusting Jannie with a mysterious box that someone would kill to possess. And someone has--leaving in their murderous wake an innocent victim and a trail of blood that leads to the heart of Jannie's hidden burden. Desperate to protect her secret, and to find out what has happened to Melissa, Jannie trusts no one. Not the stranger whose piercing green eyes have already seen too much, nor the family and friends whose familiar fold may be shielding a cold-blooded killer who is lurking BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.

The Candle Room


Daniel K. Gentile - 2016
    His first client was a transient who just learned that he was the sole beneficiary of his estranged brother’s multi-million dollar estate. His brother was brutally murdered and the alleged killer was on trial in what appeared to be an open and shut case. Zach observed the riveting courtroom drama as the case unfolded and in the process, discovered a dark, deadly secret left by the murder victim. He soon learned that he was way over his head in his new practice and that his first case could cost him not only his career but his life.

Butler's Justice (Monroe T. Lovett Legal Thriller Series Book 1)


Perry Perrett
    There’s only one problem; no one seems to know who Monroe Lovett is, and to make matters worse, he hasn’t had a single client. His sole hope is that just one person will hire him.That hope is answered when in walks Ashley Butler. Monroe is so glad to see her, happy to have a someone in need of his service that he jumps at the opportunity to represent her. Little does he realize, Ashley’s case will pit him against forces wanting his client convicted. Her case will open the closest to the Butler family’s secrets.Ashley Butler’s problems started when adultery and accusations led to a single rash act that ended in murder. In a matter of seconds, an argument climaxed with Julie, Marcus Butler Jr.'s mistress, dead.The Lane County Sheriff’s Department receives a tip of hearing what sounded like gunshots coming from inside the Butler home. Minutes later, deputies arrived to find Julie's body lying on the bedroom floor. The ill-tempered Detective Carson investigates the crime scene and upon leaving gets a tip that Ashley is the killer. The detective attains an arrest warrant and puts out an all-points bulletin for the arrest of Ashley Butler.Ashley hears from a friend that deputies are looking for her. Knowing her husband’s family, she seeks the help of the only person she believes she can trust, Lane County's newest defense attorney, Monroe T. Lovett. Knowing that her husband’s father, Marcus Sr., holds power over most of Lane County, she's not even sure Monroe can help her. But he's her only hope.Speaking with Monroe in his office, Ashley explains that she is about to be arrested for murdering her husband's girlfriend. After she tells him of her predicament, and with only a few details, Monroe, in desperate need of a client, agrees to take her case. Soon, he learns Ashley isn't just any client, and he will have to fight to save her life.To make matters worse, Monroe will face Lane County’s District Attorney Robert Breaux. Breaux. Monroe will discover that Robert Breaux is a self-serving, egotistical district attorney, who is interested in one thing—winning. Justice is not Breaux's goal. Convictions translate into votes and those votes to lead to him gaining more political clout.Monroe soon finds himself in over his head. A godsend in the person of Herman (Herm) Edwards, a retired New Orleans detective and a native of Peregrine offers to help Monroe. Monroe is skeptical, knowing that Edwards is from the area. In need of help, Monroe, with the urging of his wife, Debbie, decides to hire Herm. But he still unsure of Herm’s allegiances. Trust issues arise between them as suspicions of a possible corrupt sheriff's department is trying to impede Ashley’s case.As Monroe’s case begins to unravel, Monroe is forced to seek a different approach to prove Ashley's innocence. This new tactic lands him right in the middle of the Butler family secret, a secret that even Ashley does not know about. No one in Lane County knows the truth the Butlers have been hiding for years, and Monroe is ready to rip the door off the closet. To stop him, Marcus Butler Sr., the family patriarch, will do whatever he must to keep the closet locked.To stop Monroe, Marcus Butler Sr. forms some new alliances to ensure his secrets stay buried. His new ties include a man named Félix Roche, a man who has many aliases and a sinister reputation with more than one agenda.Only the truth can free Ashley, but finding the truth will mean revealing her past, a past she would just as soon forget. However, Monroe encourages her, convincing her this is the only avenue to freedom. Monroe’s plan? Go after the patriarch, Marcus Butler Sr., and expose the man and the Butler family secrets. It is the only way Butler's justice will prevail.

Swordpoint: The WWII Collection


Max Hennessy - 1980
    Famous for its ancient hilltop monastery, Monte Cassino achieved a new and grimmer renown in the Second World War when it became a German bastion against the Allied advance through Italy.Even in February 1944, when the abbey buildings had been reduced to rubble by aerial bombardment, the mountain itself continued to command the adjoining river valleys and to block the road to Rome.Cassino had to be taken. Frontal assault had proved a costly failure, but now the highly ambitious Brigadier Heathfield had devised a plan for an outflanking operation. Total victory, or total defeat, could hinge on this single mission. A stirring and powerful thriller concerning the final years of the Second World War, perfect for fans of Alistair MacLean, David McDine and Jack Higgins.

The Spider Shepherd Collection 5-7: Dead Men, Live Fire, Rough Justice


Stephen Leather - 2013
    Dead MenFormer SAS trooper turned undercover cop Dan Spider Shepherd knows there are no easy solutions in the war against terrorism. But when a killer starts to target pardoned IRA terrorists, Shepherd has to put his life on the line to protect his former enemies; and as a Muslim assassin closes in on his prey, Shepherd realises that the only way to save lives is to become a killer himself. Live FireDan 'Spider' Shepherd is infiltrating a tightly-knit team of bank robbers, when a group of home-grown Islamic fundamentalist fanatics embark on a campaign of terror the like of which Britain has never seen. Car bombs and beheadings are only the prelude of what they have planned. And Shepherd is the only man who can stop them. Rough JusticeVillains across London are being beaten, crippled and killed by vigilante cops. Crime rates are falling, but the powers that be want Dan 'Spider' Shepherd to bring the wave of rough justice to an end. Shepherd has always known that there are grey areas in the fight against crime, and that sometimes justice gets lost in the process. But when his own family is brought into the firing line, Shepherd has some hard decisions of his own to make.

The Delphi Chronicle, Bundle Book 2 & 3 - The Tortoise and the Hare, and Phoenix Rising


Russell Blake - 2011
    This bundle of book 2 & 3 continues the saga of NY private eye Michael Derrigan, as he comes into possession of a manuscript that will change the world order if its secrets are aired. Clandestine factions of the U.S. government will do anything to keep the story buried, & a trail of butchery follows Derrigan as he races for his life in a chase that takes him from New York, to Mexico, to Havana. A roller-coaster ride of a thriller, The Delphi Chronicle's unflinching & often disturbing twists and turns question the nature of reality & of the integrity of our governments in a post-modern world of lies, deceit & betrayal.+++Questions & Answers with bestselling author Russell Blake.Question: The Delphi Chronicle posits a troubling & plausible conspiracy. Where did you get the idea?Russell Blake: The idea stemmed from the title. I was originally going to call the trilogy The Pegasus File, & I'd conceptualized a cool cover, so I Googled it to confirm there weren't any other books with that name. The original conspiracy was much tamer than what I wound up with. I had the idea of a literary agent getting a manuscript detailing a shocking scheme, but I hadn't defined what it was, exactly. From that search came this conspiracy, & I have to admit I considered toning it down a lot, because it scared even me. So readers? This is fiction, OK? And U.S. government? No need to send a wet team after me. We all understand it's fictional. As in, an invention, not real. That's my official position. Readers can decide how plausible theinvention is for themselves. Some will hate it, as it portrays the U.S. government in a negative light. Can't please everyone.Q: Why write it as a trilogy?RB: It would have been a long single volume if I'd tried to squeeze it all into one book. Given the success I saw with the Zero Sum trilogy, I wanted to do another one, & this was just naturally written in three volumes, although I think most will get the first one, & then buy the specially-priced bundle of Books 2 & 3 if they're interested in following the story to its thrilling conclusion (wink wink).Q: How do your novels compare to the work of your peers?RB: I think they're faster paced than most. I try to catapult readers through a series of twists & turns at such aggressive velocity they're left gasping by the end. And I dislike books where I can see the ending coming a third of the way through. Just hate that. I try to write racing, intelligent thrillers that don't pander & aren't formulaic. All have gotten raves, so I'm fooling at least some of the people most of the time...Q: Part of Delphi unfolds in Mexico. Any particular reason?RB: I live in Mexico. Have for almost a decade. Modern Mexico is very different than as portrayed by the U.S. media. Many parts are indistinguishable from medium sized cities in the U.S. Strip malls, high rises, melting-pot racial integration, etc. It's not cactus & sombreros. One of the things I find fascinating is how different it is than what my expectations were when I moved here, & I try to impart that. Most novels set in modern Mexico I've read are caricatures of the truth. Mission bells, white-garbed peasants, stereotypical characters. I try to imbue my fiction with reality, not a Hollywood portrayal based on a snapshot from the 1950s. I think readers will find that distinction interesting.

The Odd Fellows Society


C.G. Barrett - 2015
    First, historian Jasper Willoughs, his closest friend, didn’t toss himself off a dormitory roof. Second, a Georgetown University secret society—a running joke on campus—has blood on its hands. Torres’s pursuit of the truth embroils him in a bizarre and thrilling scavenger hunt. The clues, scratched out on parchment by the mysterious Odd Fellows Society, lead Santi to risk everything he holds sacred: his job, his life, even the woman he secretly loves. As for his relationship with his God? Well, that’s complicated. A hold-your-breath thriller that explores our national obsession with race, The Odd Fellows Society will have you looking at the U.S. capital—and its monuments’ secrets—in a whole different shade of black and white.

It Was You


Jade Lee Wright - 2018
    Everything I did, I did for her..."When Regan Pen discovers that her long-term boyfriend has been cheating on her with over eight women, she packs her bags and leaves the sunny island in Spain that she had called home for a year. She returns to South Africa where she is given the chance to start over in life. Reassemble herself. Now is her time to be selfish. Find a new career, get a home of her own. Become whoever she wants to be... but when her best friend, Peyton, is brutally murdered, Regan is forced to put her life on hold to take responsibility for her friends thirteen year old daughter, Harley. As the police battle to solve the murder of Peyton and her unborn child, Regan becomes convinced that her Godchild is not the sweet, innocent little girl everyone seems to think she is. Could Harley have been so consumed by her jealousy and fear of not being the epicenter of her mothers universe that it lead to murder? If so, is Regan safe in her own home?

Mary Russell Collection: The Beekeeper's Apprentice / The Language of Bees / Locked Rooms / The Game


Laurie R. King - 2011
    

The Art of the Matter


Frederick Forsyth - 2001
    

Kill Day


Andrew Raymond - 2021
    When a routine operation ends in murder, Grant is tasked with capturing the assassin: rogue MI6 officer Henry Marlow.But as Grant leads the hunt, Marlow’s renegade mission escalates, targeting anyone who could expose his secrets. If Grant wants to stop him, he must uncover a shadowy plot that links a Saudi prince, a corrupt Interpol detective, and an infamous black ops programme.With the very future of MI6 at stake, Grant must confront Marlow in a terrifying endgame – after which nothing will be the same again.The epic journey starts here.

The Bourne Identity. Volume 2 (Jason Bourne, #1.2)


Robert Ludlum - 1980
    

The Failsafe Query


Michael Jenkins - 2018
     Sean Richardson, a disgraced former intelligence agent, is tasked to lead a team to search for Alfie Chapman, an Intelligence officer on the cusp of exposing thousands of secrets to the media. This includes a long lost list of Russian moles embedded since the Cold War, one of whom remains a public favourite in the British parliamentary system. The action moves with absorbing pace and intrigue across Central Asia and Europe as the puzzle begins to unfold through a deep hidden legacy. Tense, fast paced, and insightful, The Failsafe Query twists and turns to a satisfyingly dramatic finale.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished


E. James Harrison - 2021
    Air Force pararescue jumper Garrett Shepherd saved a stranger's life. Now that man, Edwin Sprague, is dead-and he's left Garrett millions of dollars as thanks. But there's a catch: Edwin has a task for Garrett to complete that will double his money-if he survives. Edwin wants revenge from beyond the grave, and he wants Garrett to get it for him. Garrett agrees to give the bizarre challenge one week of his time, but he's quickly pulled into a dangerous world of scandal, bribery, and secrets some would kill to keep hidden. He has attracted the attention of some very powerful people-people who have destroyed their enemies before and will not hesitate to do so again. With the help of a Navajo policeman and a beautiful lawyer, Garrett's investigation leads him deep into the Navajo reservation-but uncovering the information he's hunting for proves to be a deadly quest.

The Cuban Affair


Nelson DeMille - 2017
    At age thirty-five he’s living in Key West, owner of a forty-two-foot charter fishing boat, The Maine. Mac served five years in the Army as an infantry officer with two tours in Afghanistan. He returned with the Silver Star, two Purple Hearts, scars that don’t tan, and a boat with a big bank loan. Truth be told, Mac’s finances are more than a little shaky.One day, Mac is sitting in the famous Green Parrot Bar in Key West, contemplating his life, and waiting for Carlos, a hotshot Miami lawyer heavily involved with anti-Castro groups. Carlos wants to hire Mac and The Maine for a ten-day fishing tournament to Cuba at the standard rate, but Mac suspects there is more to this and turns it down. The price then goes up to two million dollars, and Mac agrees to hear the deal, and meet Carlos’s clients—a beautiful Cuban-American woman named Sara Ortega, and a mysterious older Cuban exile, Eduardo Valazquez.What Mac learns is that there is sixty million American dollars hidden in Cuba by Sara’s grandfather when he fled Castro’s revolution. With the “Cuban Thaw” underway between Havana and Washington, Carlos, Eduardo, and Sara know it’s only a matter of time before someone finds the stash—by accident or on purpose. And Mac knows if he accepts this job, he’ll walk away rich…or not at all.Brilliantly written, with his signature humor, fascinating authenticity from his research trip to Cuba, and heart-pounding pace, Nelson DeMille is a true master of the genre.