Concrete Pearl


Vincent Zandri - 2011
    She's also had to rebuild her family business from the bottom up thanks to bad luck and bad fines. So it's easy to see why OSHA, breathing down her neck on her latest job at Albany's PS 20, has the contractor on edge. She's used to putting out fires, but this is about to be a full-on explosion--three hundred students at risk for exposure to deadly asbestos--and the asbestos removal contractor, Jimmy Farrell, is nowhere to be found. The clues--Jimmy's cleared-out office, his impounded car, his "gone fishing" story to his wife--point to something more troubling, possibly foul play. Armed with a framing hammer in lieu of a gun, Spike must sleuth her way through a world of deception, greed, and murder if she's going to nail a killer.

The Fear Trials


Lindsay Cummings - 2014
    This is a prequel to The Murder Complex, by Lindsay Cummings, and it is set in a blood-soaked world where the murder rate is higher than the birth rate. For fans of Moira Young's Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.Meadow Woodson's father calls it The Fear Trials, and it is a rite of passage in their family. Meadow is up against her brother Koi. The Fear Trials will both harden her and make her brave. If Meadow wins, she will get a weapon of her own and the right to leave the Woodsons' houseboat without her father or mother at her side. Set in the violent, complex, and mysterious world of The Murder Complex, and introducing Meadow Woodson—a teenage girl trained to survive no matter what the cost—and her family, who are together for the last time on their houseboat in the Florida Everglades.

The Electric Church


Jeff Somers - 2007
    The Church preaches that life is too brief to contemplate the mysteries of the universe: eternity is required. In order to achieve this, the converted become Monks -- cyborgs with human brains, enhanced robotic bodies, and virtually unlimited life spans. Enter Avery Cates, a dangerous criminal known as the best killer-for-hire around. The authorities have a special mission in mind for Cates: assassinate Dennis Squalor. But for Cates, the assignment will be the most dangerous job he's ever undertaken -- and it may well be his last.

Leviathan Wakes


James S.A. Corey - 2011
    When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, the Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for—and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to the Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations—and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.

Married with Zombies


Jesse Petersen - 2010
    But now they're on the verge of divorce and going to couples' counseling. On a routine trip to their counselor, they notice a few odd things -- the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counselor, Dr. Kelly, is ripping out her previous client's throat.Meet the Zombies.Now, Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. But, just because there are zombies, doesn't mean your other problems go away. If the zombies don't eat their brains, they might just kill each other.

Southern Bound


Stuart Jaffe - 2012
    One in which a simple research job can turn deadly.

Key Lime Blues


Mike Jastrzebski - 2010
    For Wes Darling it was guns, lies, and dead bodies. The Darling Detective Agency was founded in 1876 by Aaron ‘Dusty’ Darling. Now Wes’s chain smoking, stressed out mother is grooming Wes to take over. How does he handle his mother’s demands? He heads to Key West, moves onto a sailboat, and takes a job tending bar at a little joint called Dirty Alvin’s. Life is carefree until his mother’s lover, a man who mentored Wes for years, is murdered on a Key West Beach. Reluctantly, Wes is drawn into a spinning web of murder, sex and deceit. First there are his mother’s pleas for help. Throw in a six-foot-tall red-headed stripper, a retired mobster who acts like it’s the 1940’s, a pair of dim-witted hit men, a phobic psychic named Elvis, a small fortune in stolen diamonds, and what do you have? Mayhem in Key West.

The Fireraisers


Malcolm Archibald - 2019
    After the mill of businessman Matthew Beaumont burns to the ground, Detective Sergeant George Watters is sent to investigate.Soon, George discovers that this is not the first property that has been targeted. When a man is found dead in the hold of a trade ship, George discovers a shocking connection between Beaumont and foreign powers threatening the very country.George tries to get to the bottom of the mystery, but clues are few and far between. What connects the enigmatic Beaumont to the murder and strange events taking place in the Dundee shipyard?

Motion To Kill


Joel Goldman - 2002
    Will Lou be the next victim? Find out in Motion to Kill.

The Last Drive: A Golfing Mystery


Rex Stout - 2013
    Featuring death on the links, this tale is full of golfing, red herrings, and a detective determined to run down the villain. A great read for Rex Stout and Nero Wolfe fans alike! Originally published as a 6-part serial in Golfers Magazine (July to December, 1916).

Ocean of Storms


Christopher Mari - 2016
    Then a catastrophic explosion on the moon cleaves a vast gash in the lunar surface, and the massive electromagnetic pulse it unleashes obliterates Earth's electrical infrastructure. To plumb the depths of the newly created lunar fissure and excavate the source of the power surge, the feuding nations are forced to cooperate on a high-risk mission to return mankind to the moon.Now, a diverse, highly skilled ensemble of astronauts--and a pair of maverick archaeologists plucked from the Peruvian jungle--will brave conspiracy on Earth and disaster in space to make a shocking discovery.Ocean of Storms is an epic adventure that spans space and time as its heroes race to fulfill an ancient mission that may change the course of humanity's future.

Slithers


W.W. Mortensen - 2017
     On a remote country road, heading out to a weekend party, Tobe West and his friends pick up two hitchhikers. It seems like the right thing to do. No-one could have predicted the freak car accident that is about to change their lives. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, Tobe and the others are faced with a landscape suddenly unfamiliar, in a universe that has come loose from its moorings. Strange things slither in the woods, and spectral lights hover just off the road. A petrol station, shining brightly in a world otherwise dark and frightening, promises safe haven, but Tobe learns the biggest threat lies within the very people he’s trying to protect. As reality breaks down and dangers multiply, Tobe must uncover the hidden agenda of one of the survivors... and keep the others safe from something lurking in the darkness. Something that is hunting them all. If they are to survive the night, Tobe must face the horrifying truth—that nothing is as it seems, and that they are all part of a larger plan, part of someone else's unfinished business...

Headland


Ged Gillmore - 2017
     Murdoch’s doing just fine, thanks for not asking. He’s dealing drugs for a crime syndicate in Sydney and saving for a house by the sea. But what does he think life is, a fairy tale? As the syndicate puts pressure on him to fill the shoes of his murdered boss, Murdoch is cornered by an equally formidable foe: the Australian Tax Office demanding an explanation for his sizeable cash income. Murdoch spins a beautiful lie, telling tax inspector, Hannah Simms, he’s a private detective. When Simms asks him to investigate the mystery of her niece's disappearance, Murdoch grabs what he thinks is a golden opportunity to outrun the syndicate. But his arrival in the missing girl's small coastal home town causes an unexpected stir and the reluctant PI soon realises his troubles are only just beginning. HEADLAND is crime fiction at its best, a small town murder mystery to keep you guessing until the very end. ** THIS IS NOT THE AUSTRALIA YOU’VE SEEN ADVERTISED ** HEADLAND is the first book in the Bill Murdoch Mystery series. Set in Sydney, and small town Australia, this series will appeal to fans of Mick Herron, Peter Temple, Barry Maitland, Ragnar Jonasson, Erik Hamre, Jane Harper, Garry Disher, Mari Hannah, Dave Warner, Jock Serong, Pete Brassett, and Iain Rankin's Rebus novels. Tense and taut. Smart and sharply-observed. This is a cracking new addition to the Aussie crime genre. Bad-boy-turned-local-hero, Bill Murdoch, is back to solve more murder mysteries in the sequels CLASS ACT, and BASE NATURE. Out now!

Embryo


J.A. Schneider - 2012
    It came suddenly, a rushing whoosh of something that made her gag, and when she reached to wipe her mouth, her hand came away smeared with blood." So begins this thriller about a young intern, Jill Raney, determined to investigate tragedies and terror at a famous fertility and genetic engineering hospital. When two pregnant women die and a fetus is delivered with severe chromosomal abnormalities, Jill's superiors - including handsome, smitten-with-her resident David Levine - insist there's no common link. But her suspicions deepen with the grotesque murder near the hospital of another pregnant woman - her belly drained of amniotic fluid. And when a woman miscarries in the hospital and then disappears, Jill frantically searches for her - following a terrifying path that seems to link all the victims: Is someone playing with life...and the structures of human life itself? An unforgettable tale of suspense with a shocking denouement, Embryo takes you deep into the mind of malignant genius..    .    .    .    .    .    .The heart-stopping ending of Embryo creates a new crisis in its sequel, Embryo 2: Crosshairs

Blood Ties


Lori G. Armstrong - 2005
    Lack of public interest in finding his murderer, or the killer of several other transient Native American men, has left Julie with a bone-deep cynicism she counters with tequila, cigarettes, and dangerous men. The one bright spot in her mundane life is the time she spends working part-time as a PI with her childhood friend, Kevin Wells. When the body of a sixteen-year old white girl is discovered in nearby Rapid Creek, Julie believes this victim will receive the attention others were denied. Then she learns Kevin has been hired, mysteriously, to find out where the murdered girl spent her last few days. Julie finds herself drawn into the case against her better judgment, and discovers not only the ugly reality of the young girl’s tragic life and brutal death, but ties to her and Kevin’s past that she is increasingly reluctant to revisit. On the surface the situation is eerily familiar. But the parallels end when Julie realizes some family secrets are best kept buried deep. Especially those serious enough to kill for.