Book picks similar to
Necessary Evil by David A. Van Meter


horror
david-a-van-meter
dark
thriller-mystery

The Bell Chime


Mona Kabbani - 2020
    On that poster is a photograph of a frighteningly familiar face.It’s her.Only, she’s never seen this photo before and something about its grin scares her. How its eyes seem to follow her no matter where she finds herself in the room.Over a series of strange events to follow—events that will make her question whether her sanity is still there or fleeting—she must discover:What is real and what is the nightmare?The Bell Chime is the disturbing, psychological novella debut from Mona Kabbani. Slated for publication on September 2nd, 2020, the Full Corn Moon.

Red Dragon


Thomas Harris - 1981
    Graham is the greatest profiler the FBI ever had, but the physical and mental scars of capturing Hannibal Lecter have caused Graham to go into early retirement. Now, Graham must turn to Lecter for help.

The Ghost Tree


Christina Henry - 2020
    After all, the year before her father's body was found with his heart missing, and since then everyone has moved on. Even her best friend, Miranda, has become more interested in boys than in spending time at the old ghost tree, the way they used to when they were kids.So when Lauren has a vision of a monster dragging the remains of the girls through the woods, she knows she can't just do nothing. Not like the rest of her town. But as she draws closer to answers, she realizes that the foundation of her seemingly normal town might be rotten at the center. And that if nobody else stands for the missing, she will.

The Boatman's Daughter


Andy Davidson - 2020
    Ever since her father was killed when she was just a child, Miranda Crabtree has kept her head down and her eyes up, ferrying contraband for a mad preacher and his declining band of followers to make ends meet and to protect an old witch and a secret child from harm.But dark forces are at work in the bayou, And when the preacher makes an unthinkable demand, it sets Miranda on a desperate, dangerous path, forcing her to consider what she is willing to sacrifice to keep her loved ones safe.

The Grave Above the Grave


Bernard B. Kerik - 2018
    Ever since that awful day, as he climbed the ranks, Raymond vowed to protect his city, his police force, and citizens. For Raymond this means an uncompromising dedication to his duties, while at the same time juggling the political demands of his office – the grandstanding mayor, the ever-questioning press, and oh yes, his torrid (but secret) romance with District Attorney Sheilah Dannis.During the aftermath of a shooting in Times Square that left on cop dead and one gravely wounded, Raymond finds himself at the center of the drama when he confronts and takes out cop killer. When the cop killer is revealed to be a radical Islamic terrorist, Raymond’s vow takes him on a dangerous mission to save and protect New York City from another devastating attack – a mission that will take a very personal toll.

Seraphim


Jon Michael Kelley - 2012
    She appears to be at or near her present age of ten, but the studio's dated stamp on the back indicates that the photo was taken nearly a year before her birth. More alarming, however, is the beautiful woman standing beside Amy, a woman with whom he had an affair in the periphery of his own new marriage, during the time Amy was conceived. And the fact that this photograph has been in his wife's possession for more than a decade is perhaps the most disturbing element of all. Duncan's wife Rachel doesn't know about his affair with this woman, but he will soon tell her. And upon that revelation they will begin a journey that will take them clear across the continent, from California to Massachusetts, then ultimately in the boundless, uncharted territory of the human collective. There, a devil is waiting; the penultimate personification of evil. And he goes by the name of Mr. Gamble. "Apocalyptic in the truest sense of the word, Jon Michael Kelley's Seraphim is a stunning thriller with the very fate of the world at stake. Beautifully written, with prose as lush as it is chilling, Kelley is part poet, part prophet, but a true master of fear, through and through. This is top notch stuff of highest caliber!" -- Joe McKinney, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Flesh Eaters and Inheritance "Seraphim is a beautifully wrought tale of angels and demons that starts out strong and just gets better and better. A thoroughly enjoyable read. Jon Michael Kelley proves to be a mature, intelligent new voice in horror right out of the gate." -- Craig Saunders, author of The Love of the Dead and A Stranger's Grave "Written with the finesse of a pro, Seraphim is one hell of a frightening horror novel. With bits of dark fantasy and humor mixed in, this one has it all! Hard to believe this is Jon Michael Kelley's first novel." -- David Bernstein, author of Amongst the Dead and Tears of No Return

The Beast Is an Animal


Peternelle van Arsdale - 2017
    Alys, and all the other children, were spared—and they were sent to live in a neighboring village. There the devout people created a strict world where good and evil are as fundamental as the nursery rhymes children sing. Fear of the soul eaters—and of the Beast they believe guides them—rule village life. But the Beast is not what they think it is. And neither is Alys.Inside, Alys feels connected to the soul eaters, and maybe even to the Beast itself. As she grows from a child to a teenager, she longs for the freedom of the forest. And she has a gift she can tell no one, for fear they will call her a witch. When disaster strikes, Alys finds herself on a journey to heal herself and her world. A journey that will take her through the darkest parts of the forest, where danger threatens her from the outside—and from within her own heart and soul.

The Diary: The Complete Loving a Killer Serial


Julia Derek - 2014
    TERRIBLE SECRETS.Happily married Lexi Woods thought losing a child would be the worst thing that could ever happen to her. She was wrong. It turns out that life has more ugly surprises for her. When she is finally through the heavy depression of losing her newborn, she finds her husband’s diary. As she reads it, she learns that he’s been unfaithful to her. He’s not at all the man she thought he was. Unfortunately, that’s not the worst part. Not only has the love of her life gone behind her back -- but it also looks like he killed his mistress... What else could he be hiding?NOTE: This edition contains all three novellas of the Loving a Killer serial. The first is entitled The Diary, the second The Other Woman, and the third Guilty. It has some sexual content.

Prehistoric, Vol. 1


S.J. LarssonJeff Bracket - 2019
    Lost worlds where T-Rex and Velociraptors still roam and man is now on the menu. Laboratories at the forefront of cloning technology experiment with dinosaurs they do not understand or are able to contain. The deepest parts of the ocean where Megalodon, the largest and most ferocious predator to have ever existed is stalking new prey. Plus many more thrillers filled with extinct prehistoric monsters written by some of the best creature feature authors this side of the Jurassic period.

Triple Threat


Joel Goldman - 2012
    He's driven by his own demons and past mistakes. He has what would seem to be an insurmountable flaw. When he develops the shakes and crashes to one knee, he pulls himself up and you, the reader, with him."Helen Ginger

Party Games


R.L. Stine - 2014
    But Rachel Martin has a crush on Brendan and is excited to be invited. Brendan has a lot of party games planned. But one game no one planned intrudes on his party—the game of murder. As the guests start dying one by one, Rachel realizes to her horror that she and the other teenagers are trapped on the tiny island with someone who may want to kill them all. How to escape this deadly game? Rachel doesn't know whom she can trust. She should have realized that nothing is as it seems… on Fear Island.R.L. Stine makes his triumphant return to Shadyside, a town of nightmares, shadows, and genuine terror, and to the bestselling series that began his career writing horror for the juvenile market, in the new Fear Street book Party Games.

The Last Valkyrie


Jeremy Robinson - 2017
    Shifted to the equator, the continent, now known as Antarktos, has thawed and bloomed. Endless ice has given way to lush tropical jungles, and all the people now living here are protected and led by Solomon Ull Vincent, the Last Hunter and King of Antarktos. My father.I've been told that all the creatures of Antarktos, exotic and untamed, howled at the moment of my birth. If that wasn't intimidating enough, I've also been told that I was born to be a hunter, that the blood coursing through my veins destined me to fight mankind's most ancient enemy--the Nephilim, half-human, half-demon monsters determined to exterminate humanity.My older sister, Aquila, thinks it all sounds glorious, but I don't want it. Any of it. I prefer charcoals and a drawing pad to my Norse hammer. So I choose to ignore the stories. My heritage terrifies me. But when Aquila is kidnapped and dragged to the underworld to be broken and corrupted, our guardian, Zuh, is severely wounded and my father isn't there to save them--I'm the only one who can.From the monster-filled caves beneath Antarktos to the halls of Valhalla, I must embrace my heritage, face the fears that hold me hostage and save my sister before she kills our father. To save my family, and Antarktos, I must become a hunter, or perhaps something more...My name is Norah Kainda Vincent, the Last Valkyrie. This is how my story begins.International bestselling author, Jeremy Robinson, is joined by his youngest co-author ever, Tori Paquette, as they delve into the dark and mysterious world of Antarktos, hailed as the "new continent of terror," by New York Times bestselling author James Rollins. Praised by action-adventure and thriller greats such as Steve Berry, Jeff Long, Steve Alten, Stel Pavlou and Scott Sigler, the Antarktos Saga continues in The Last Valkyrie, uncovering dark secrets, sinister evils and the true strength of a young woman.

WhiteSpace: Season Two


Sean Platt - 2013
    But the shooter wasn’t acting alone.Roger Heller was part of something bigger…A conspiracy of scientific experiments, missing citizens, and ancient secrets threatening the island and its people.Behind it all: the enigmatic Blake Conway.Can Jon Conway piece the mystery together before he loses someone else that he loves?Can Roger Heller’s surviving family move on from his heinous actions?Will Cassidy’s addictions destroy her new family with Emma and Jon?Can Milo trust the mysterious Don Bellows?What will happen when Brock Houser launches his own investigation?WhiteSpace is a character-driven, mysterious, sci-fi thriller that would be right at home with superbly scripted TV shows like LOST, The Killing, and Fringe.

The Dead Summer


Helen Moorhouse - 2011
    Living in a tranquil cottage in the heat of a perfect summer, it seems that all her wishes have come true.Until the noises start.Plagued by mysterious footsteps, scratchings, and crying in the night, Martha is at first unnerved and then terrified. What is happening to her idyllic existence? Is it all her imagination or is someone persecuting her?Little does Martha know but the cottage has witnessed terrible hatred, fear and pain in the past, when two young Irish sisters lived in it. The fate of these girls and the baby born there now casts a dark shadow over Martha and her daughter.Martha begins to unravel the story of the cottage's past, and uncover the terrifying secret that still haunts it. But can she discover the truth in time to keep herself and her little girl safe from the evil that threatens them?

The Murders of Molly Southbourne


Tade Thompson - 2017
    Experience the horror of Tade Thompson's The Murders of Molly Southbourne.The rule is simple: don't bleed.For as long as Molly Southbourne can remember, she's been watching herself die. Whenever she bleeds, another molly is born, identical to her in every way and intent on her destruction.Molly knows every way to kill herself, but she also knows that as long as she survives she'll be hunted. No matter how well she follows the rules, eventually the mollys will find her. Can Molly find a way to stop the tide of blood, or will she meet her end at the hand of a girl who looks just like her?