Book picks similar to
Dead Beat by Micheal Maxwell


mystery
legal-murder-mystery-cases
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crime-and-thrillers

Deadlines & Dryads


Rebecca Chastain - 2017
     Dryads are a reclusive, passive species—or they used to be. Overnight, the peaceful woodland creatures have turned violent, attacking travelers with crude weapons and whipping the trees of their grove into a ferocious frenzy. When rumors of the dryads’ bizarre behavior reaches journalist Kylie Grayson, she pounces on the story, determined to unearth the reason behind the dryads’ hostile transformation. Accompanied by Quinn, her young gargoyle friend, Kylie plunges into the heart of the malevolent grove. But nothing she’s learned prepares her for the terrifying conflict she uncovers... USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Chastain returns to the beloved world of the Gargoyle Guardian Chronicles for a brand-new spellbinding adventure of elemental magic and courageous gargoyles. If you love action-packed stories filled with mythical creatures, brave heroines, and adorable sidekicks, you’ll love Deadlines & Dryads.

Bonfire Bodies: The Shocking Story of Serial Killer Dennis Nilsen


Robert Brown - 2019
    Many of these young men went under the radar socially which enabled Nilsen's shocking killing spree to go undetected for years. This true crime book lifts the lid on his sinister story.From his early upbringing in Scotland, through to his final act as a free man, this story weaves its way through the darker recess of a disturbed man’s psyche and his compulsion to murder.This book delves into the details of the killings and what triggered Nilsen to commit them. From his reliance on alcohol and his loneliness, to the extraordinary reasons behind why he bathed the dead bodies and kept them in his apartment for extended periods of time.Caution: The material in this publication has a strong adult theme and is intended for an adult audience. Reader discretion is advised.

Sage it Out


Shereen Vedam - 2021
    Sage Tanton is her BFF with a psychic sense for trouble.Protective of her family and friends, Rose is confident she can handle any situation without Sage's supernatural intervention. But then the unthinkable happens. Rose's action triggers one of Sage's visions about a child in danger. And once again, her life is turned upside down. Getting the police involved throws Rose an unexpected romantic curveball. So, she does what she does best - jumps in feet first and finds herself out of the proverbial herbal teapot and into the flames. Liar, liar, pants on fire, Detective Nathan Bryant knows that gorgeous woman he just met is not only deceitful but could be entirely insane. Now he can’t stop lusting after her. Can a determined police detective help Rose achieve her long sought-after redemption or will they both retreat behind their yellow tape and lose out on love? Trust is a gift either has yet to give.

Killer Bait


Martina Dalton - 2019
     Much to the chagrin of her brother, Zen, a homicide detective, Clarity throws caution to the wind and jumps into the investigation with both feet. Zen’s ultra-handsome detective partner, Hunter, encourages Clarity to learn self-defense—especially since she’s getting closer to discovering who the killer is. Using her social media sleuthing skills, she sets out to bait the murderer. Is she clever enough to entrap the killer? Or will she end up as the catch of the day?

Margot Durand Cozy Mystery Boxed Set: Books 1 - 12


Danielle Collins - 2018
     Twelve Culinary Cozy Mysteries from #1 Best Selling author Danielle Collins Margot Durand runs a French Bakery in the charming town of North Bank, Virginia. She thought it was a charming town of friendly folks, but murders soon reveal a darker side of crime and corruption. Margot must get involved to protect her friends and family, and to keep a dozen killers from getting away. This collection of cozy mysteries includes all twelve books in the Margot Durand Cozy Mystery series. If you like cozy mysteries with interesting characters and unexpected turns, the Margot Durand Cozy Mystery series is for you. Buy the Margot Durand Cozy Mystery Boxed Set and start solving your next mystery (or 12) today! Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited Included Books Each book in the series is a stand-alone story, but your enjoyment of each story will be increased if you read them all. Be sure to check them all out. Croissants and Corruption - When Margot's troublesome niece comes for a summer visit, she knows she is going to have her hands full. After an unexpected murder, the girl is labeled as the prime suspect and Margot is forced to fight for her niece's freedom. Desserts and Deception - When a man is murdered in the craft store run by her friend, Margot does everything she can to catch the killer and protect her friend. In the process, she uncovers a story of lies and deception. Pastries and Pilfering - When Margot attempts to take a vacation on a cruise ship, mystery follows. What starts as a small time case of robbery, quickly turns into murder. Muffins and Murder - After a conversation over breakfast muffins turns to an old treasure hunt, she gets pulled into a tale of deceptions and double-crosses. When a dead body turns up, Margot must unravel a plot that began decades ago. Vacations and Violence - Margot is excited about leaving her bakery behind for a weekend vacation at the Blue Ridge Mountain Resort. When a dead body is found on a mountain trail, it seems there will be no vacation from violence. Margot must be at her sleuthing best if she is going to bring this killer to justice and protect her friend…and herself. Boating and Bodies - Life is going well for Margot and she takes time to go on a romantic boat ride with Adam. But when the son of a wealthy mogul washes up on shore to ruin the date, Margot is forced into another murder mystery. Murder in Maine - A dangerous crime syndicate, an FBI sting, and an undercover agent with mixed loyalties. Just another case for baker-turned-detective, Margot Durand. Bakeries and Bodies – A local baking competition. One of the “friendly” competitors winds up dead. Who said Christmas in a small town was going to be relaxing? A Deadly Engagement – A long lost child, a barely-kept secret, and an unidentified body make for a deadly engagement. A Killer Cover Up – Margot is busy preparing for her new life, but she soon learns there is no escaping treachery and deception. After a body is found along her running trail, the death of an old friend gets a new focus.

Sunset in the Mists - The Dark Draws the Curtain (The Evynsford Chronicles #1)


Julianne T. Grey - 2018
    First the dead ship rolled into the dock, then fog swallowed the community and then the disappearances occurred. One child vanished from her bed before sunrise. Then twin brothers did not return from their chores. As the cries for the local watchmen to do something – anything – grew, so did the number of abducted children. By the time the local watchmen called to Preston for professional constables, there were more children missing than accounted for in the panicked township. When Inspector Arthur Eldermann arrives in the mist-choked community, not a single child under the age of thirteen but older than three remains, and there are no witnesses, no bodies and no clues as to why. The Inspector, a lapsed clergyman of cold demeanor and sneering wit, has his work cut out for him among the surly and insular townsfolk. His one ray of hope lies in Miss Regina Hollferd, governess of the rural schoolhouse, whose dedication and knowledge may hold the key to the disappearance of so many of her students. Her zeal and diligence begin to touch something in Inspector Eldermann long left to the dark, and he finds himself enthralled and repelled in equal measure by the soft-spoken yet potent woman. He will need all the help he can get, as things are moving in the mists around Evynsford, and the great wheels of a dark, terrible engine have already been set in motion. Can daring, wit and rekindled faith find the stolen children and perhaps even forestall the shadow looming ever closer?

Twins of Prey


W.C. Hoffman - 2014
    Trained in the arts of the woodsman, they became the ultimate hunting, fishing, surviving and killing forces that Uncle had designed them to be.However, Uncle knew he was leaving this world and that the twins would be okay with the world. What Uncle could have never known was if the world would be okay with the twins.When changing lives is not an option, the twins must begin to take lives. Enjoy this fast paced, thrilling outdoors adventure novel as the Twins battle against the society that wants to end their woodland way of life.Twins of Prey is W.C. Hoffman's first novel in the Twins of Prey series.

The Girl Who Ran Away


Tikiri Herath - 2017
    A forced goodbye. A treacherous plot. She was only 12……when she stopped trusting.The day she loses her parents to a fiery car crash, Asha’s life is thrown into chaos.She has no choice but to join an extended family, she never knew existed. Then, one day, when a strange man visits, she realizes nothing is what it seems in her new home. In a world where girls are a commodity, evil can wear many faces and can be even your own kin. Can she outwit those coming after her?She’ll need all her guile to escape her fate in time. But Asha’s a ferocious fighter who’ll never back down.This is an edge-of-your-seat, gritty tale of crime and deceit that will take you on a mad dash from the heart of Tanzania to a seaside village in India, to a ritzy North American city where evil can hide in the most unexpected of places. Like Lisbeth Salander? You’ll love Asha from the Red Heeled Rebels. Get it now. The Girl Who Ran Away is the first novel of The Red Heeled Rebels international thriller series. Formerly titled Betrayed / Disowned. If you like gripping tales with flawed but gutsy heroines, vigilante action in exotic locales and twists that leave you at the edge of your seat, you’ll love these books by multiple award-winning Canadian novelist, Tikiri Herath.

Coming Home


Laurèn Lee - 2020
    . . Former police officer Elle Dahlia is a magnet for death. Still grieving the murder of her fiance, Dahlia travels home to attend the funeral for her stepmother. Haunted by the ghosts of her past, she finds herself staring at the bottom of the bottle.When a young woman is brutally murdered in her home, Dahlia discovers the victim was a young girl she watched over for many years. On a desperate path to avenge the girl’s death, she opens her own, unofficial investigation into the crime. Surrounded by secrets, Dahlia must connect the dots and find the murderer before he finds her.Heart wrenching and suspenseful, Coming Home is a journey into one woman’s soul as she hunts for truth, justice, and the man with evil rooted in his soul.

Crime Chowder


Hillary Avis - 2018
    So when her real estate developer boyfriend offers her a sweet catering gig, she jumps at the chance to cook for his gala and rub elbows with the town’s elite. The problem? That fancy gala is only happening because her best friend’s home was burned down by an arsonist. And the more Bethany learns about her boyfriend’s planned development, the more she suspects that he might have had something to do with it.Determined to uncover the arsonist’s identity, Bethany cooks her way through the gala, listening to the secrets, lies, and gossip swirling around Hosanna Street. But when someone close to her is killed during the party—and the murder weapon is found in her pot of clam chowder—Bethany finds herself in more than a little hot water.---------------------------------------If you like smart culinary mysteries with quirky characters and quaint seaside towns, you’ll love the Death du Jour series that follows Bethany Bradstreet as she builds her career and solves crimes with the help of her friends. Crime Chowder is the first book in the Death du Jour series. This book has clean language and mild suspense with no cliffhangers. It contains depictions of an LGBT relationship.P.S. – There’s a dog in it.

The Tracie Tanner Collection: Three Complete Thriller Novels


Allan Leverone - 2016
     PARALLAX VIEW, originally published in 2013: It's spring 1987, and CIA clandestine operations agent Tracie Tanner is tasked with what should be a relatively simple mission: deliver a secret communique from Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to U.S. President Ronald Reagan. After smuggling the document out of East Germany, Tracie believes she is in the clear. She's wrong. A shadowy cabal is work, people who will stop at nothing to prevent the explosive information contained in the letter from reaching the White House. Soon, Tanner is knee-deep in airplane crashes and murder, paired up with a young Maine air traffic controller and on the run for their lives, unsure who she can trust at CIA, but committed to completing her mission, no matter the cost... ALL ENEMIES, originally published in 2014: It's the early fall of 1987, and when United States Secretary of State J. Robert Humphries is kidnapped out of his Washington, D.C. home at gunpoint, all evidence points directly to the Soviet Union as the responsible party. Still recovering from her injuries suffered earlier in the summer, covert ops specialist Tracie Tanner is tasked by CIA Director Aaron Stallings to follow the evidence and recover Humphries safely from the Soviets. There's only one problem - Tanner's not convinced the Soviets are involved. Soon, she's ruffling feathers, risking her career, and once again running for her life, betting everything on a hunch that might just get her and Humphries killed and result in the start of World War Three… THE HITLER DECEPTION, originally published in 2015: It's November 1987, and the disappearance of an elderly West German man results in CIA Director Aaron Stallings dispatching Tracie Tanner to the scene. Working with the assistance of a CIA operative she's not sure she can trust, Tracie faces her toughest assignment yet - pick up the trail of the mysterious Amber Room key, utterly unique and critical to unlocking the mystery of a missing cache of treasure worth an unimaginable sum. Meanwhile, lurking in the background is a man long-believed to have taken his own life in the dying days of World War II, but who may, in fact, be very much alive. Adolph Hitler. And he's waiting to resume his rightful place atop the Thousand Year Reich. Readers of the Tracie Tanner thriller series have come to expect international intrigue and a lightning-fast plot. THE HITLER DECEPTION delivers, raising the bar with treasure, treachery, and a Tracie Tanner pushed to the very limit of her abilities and endurance. ---------- Suspense, thrills, twists, and a surprisingly human - and fallible - hero make THE TRACIE TANNER COLLECTION a must-have for any thriller fan. You'll find yourself compulsively turning the nearly one thousand action-packed pages deep into the night... ---------- Praise for the Tracie Tanner novels: "Allan Leverone's PARALLAX VIEW is a sure-footed, masterful thriller with a breakneck pace that never lets up. Faced with the deepest act of betrayal in U.S. history, CIA agent Tracie Tanner must call on every tool she has---and her every last reserve to see the mission through." -- J. Carson Black, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE SHOP and HARD RETURN "PARALLAX VIEW...is a powerhouse full-throttle spy thriller...It is a taut and thoughtful journey back to the dying days of the Cold War...it will keep you up, and on the edge of your chair, long into the night.

Death in Nostalgia City


Mark S. Bacon - 2014
    Nostalgia City is the ultimate resort for anyone who wants to visit the past. A meticulous recreation of an entire small town from the early 1970s, it’s complete with period cars, music, clothes, shops, restaurants, hotels—the works. The relaxed theme-park atmosphere is just what Lyle needs—until rides are sabotaged and tourists killed. Then park founder, billionaire “Max” Maxwell, drafts Lyle into investigating—unofficially. As the violence escalates and employees get rattled, Lyle gets help. Kate Sorensen, the park’s PR director—and former college basketball player—becomes another incognito investigator. Except that she’s six-foot-two-and-a-half-inches tall and drop-dead gorgeous. So much for incognito. Together, Lyle and Kate unravel a conspiracy of corporate greed and murder.

Tea for Three


Melissa Crosby - 2020
    Three cups of tea. Three new beginnings.Sarah Gardner's husband went to sleep one night in November and never woke up. At forty-years-old, the new widow is left to care for their three children, all of whom are under the age of five.Twenty-five-year-old Filipina, Kate Morgan, thought she had met the man of her dreams during what was a perfect summer vacation. Now married to the handsome American who had swept her off her feet, and over 8000 miles away from home, Kate soon realizes that her mother was right: vacations end and people change.Louise Delaney couldn’t ask for anything more. At fifty-nine, she had enjoyed almost four decades of blissful marriage to Warren—may his soul rest in peace. But Louise’s seemingly perfect world is upended when she gets a visit from a sixteen-year-old who says she is Warren’s daughter.Three exceptional women—each of whose hearts are broken into a million pieces—come together in this extraordinary tale of life, love, and true friendship.Read other books by Melissa Crosby:Willow Oaks Sweet Romance Series• Book 1: Love Me True ♥ Amy and Sam• Book 2: Love Me Maybe ♥ Charlotte and Ben• Book 3: Love Me Again ♥ Jenna and Dave• Book 4: Love Me Always ♥ Mallory and Ethan• Book 5: Love Me Timeless ♥ Mick and Carly

Broken Realms


D.W. Moneypenny - 2014
    That's about to change.After a jetliner plunges into the Columbia River near Portland, Oregon, everyone survives. So why do crash investigators have a hangar full of bodies, one for each passenger except Mara? Before the plane goes down, she glimpses a new reality, one with scales and snouts, fangs and gills. She sees a boy running down the aisle carrying a ball of blue light, chased by a girl who could be her clone. By trying to help, she unwittingly unleashes dozens of creatures on an unsuspecting world and sparks a series of events that threatens her life, her family and everything she believes. To save them, she has to embrace a power she cannot comprehend.

Murder for Neptune's Trident


Victoria L.K. Williams - 2013
    Who knew there could be so much going on in this little southern town, where your neighbors watched your back and "Mom & Pop" businesses populated Main Street? FBI Consultant, Aiden Tory, is brought in to solve the murder and Megan joins forces with him to figure out just what has been going on along the Florida shores of this tropical paradise. Could there be the hint of romance in the tropic air?