Book picks similar to
Mezcalero by T.E. Wilson
canadian
chapters-book-club
lgbt-etc
mexico
Lunenburg
Keith Baker - 2000
Recently divorced without custody of her two young sons, Annie’s career is now stalling under the ambitions of her ruthless colleagues. John Taggart is a Scottish journalist looking to land the scoop that will secure his future. In Halifax to cover the Royal visit, John finally has a chance to understand his mother’s connection to the province, which she has always kept hidden.When two murders occur within 48 hours, they are both led to the small, picturesque town of Lunenburg and a 30-year-old murder case with a long-buried secret. The town’s dark past may hold the answers they both need, but digging it up could mean more danger than it’s worth.
Why we don't die in Dreams
Debbie Zello - 2016
Gavin McLean is an astute, accomplished and dedicated homicide detective. His days are filled with solving brutal murder cases, delving into the psyches of the worst humanity has to offer. His work comes first, to the detriment of his personal life. His sleeping hours are plagued by a reoccurring dream of a beautiful naked woman with long brown hair. He's mesmerized by her shapely backside, which is all he can see in the vision. The dream is erratic, with no patterns to help discern frequency or cause ... with one complicated exception. She is always suspended by her hands, from a meat hook, on the ceiling, and pleads for her life. With his personal life in turmoil and dreams shortening his sleep, he struggles to keep his world in operating order. He distracts himself by having an encounter with a frequent lover. Then fate steps in when a woman is found naked and dead, in a dumpster. Is Gavin's dream becoming his reality. Sometimes nothing is as it seems.
Under Dark Waters
Bernadette Calonego - 2007
Officially, she’s tracking down the German author Else Seel, who had left Berlin in the 1920s to marry a Canadian trapper and homestead in the wild woods of British Columbia. But the real reason for her trip is much more difficult to face: three years before, her husband took off to this part of the world on one of his usual mountain-climbing adventures, and never returned. Only after the police brought her word of his death—and the mysterious circumstances in which they found him—did Sonya discover the simultaneous disappearance of her beautiful best friend, Odette, and the possibility that her husband had been lying to her all along.Now, haunted by sorrow and jealousy, Sonya sets out on a dangerous mission to discover the truth, and to try to put back together the pieces of her broken heart.
The Nightmare Ex-Boyfriend Before Christmas: A modern day Christmas Carol
Devon Hartford - 2019
It’s also the epicenter of our past scandal that nearly killed me and my parents when it broke.Trust me, it made the local TV news every night for two weeks. One night, it went national.Guess who never left King City?Channing.The curb turd.As relentless as he was on the field, I would’ve thought he’d go on to play in the NFL. He never did. Knee injury. Oh, the cliche.Small pond, meet big fish.Only this fish has grown bigger than anyone ever expected, built up his own business empire. Turns out he’s better at business than he ever was at football, and that’s saying something. Despite his knee injury, he managed to keep his college football body, abs and all. Wherever he goes, it’s raining money and marriage proposals.When he finds out I’m home for the holidays, he just has to come knocking at my parents’ house bearing meaningless gifts.News flash, unless he’s hoping for an immaculate conception, he has another thing coming, and it definitely won’t be me.
Lie for Me
Karen Young - 2011
Tucker claims to have been alone at a job site at the time, but he needs Lauren to lie for him so that he won't become a suspect in the murder. She refuses; now as a prime suspect, Tucker disappears without a trace. Years later, she sees him at an antique fair, and worried that Lauren will reveal his carefully constructed life, he forces his into her hotel room and tells her that he's trying to find evidence to clear his name. As Lauren tries to help Tucker, she questions her ability to judge character as she uncovers a labyrinth of deceit, putting her very life in danger."Karen Young has written an exciting thriller with the second chance romantic subplot enhancing the suspense. Readers will root for the embattled lead protagonists caught in the crosshairs of a ruthless diabolical killer. . . . Lie For Me is a gripping one sitting read." --Harriet Klausner (5 stars)
Missing from the Village: The Story of Serial Killer Bruce McArthur, the Search for Justice, and the System That Failed Toronto's Queer Community
Justin Ling - 2020
On paper, an investigation continued for a year, but remained "open but suspended." By 2015, investigative journalist Justin Ling had begun to put in multiple requests to speak to the investigators on the case. Meanwhile, more men would go missing, and police would continue to deny that there might be a serial killer. On January 18, 2018, Bruce McArthur, a landscaper, would be charged with three counts of first-degree murder. In February 2019, he was convicted of eight counts of first-degree murder.This extraordinary book tells the complete story of the McArthur murders. Based on more than five years of in-depth reporting, this is also a story of police failure, of how the gay community failed its own, and the story of the eight men who went missing and the lives they left behind. In telling that story, Justin Ling uncovers the latent homophobia and racism that kept this case unsolved and unseen. This gripping book reveals how police agencies across the country fail to treat missing persons cases seriously, and how policies and laws, written at every level of government, pushed McArthur's victims out of the light and into the shadows.
Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries Book Bundle, Books 1-3: Plus a Bonus Christmas Novella!
Christy Barritt - 2016
But one of her extreme good deeds goes horribly wrong, implicating Holly in a string of murders. Holly is suddenly in a different kind of fight for her life. Only two other people know Holly was at the site of the murder, and one of them is the killer. Making matters stickier is the fact that the detective assigned to the case is her old high school crush and present day nemesis. The clock is ticking as Holly is forced to play a dangerous game. Will Holly find the killer before he ruins what’s left of her life? Or will she spend her final days alone and behind bars? Random Acts of Deceit: "Break up with Chase Dexter, or I’ll kill him.” Holly Anna Paladin never expected such a gut-wrenching ultimatum. But the man threatening her makes it clear he’s dead serious. With home invasions, hidden cameras, and bomb threats, Holly must make some serious choices. Whatever Holly decides, the consequences will either break her heart or break her soul. She tries to match wits with the masked man, but he’s always a step ahead of her. The more she fights, the deeper she’s drawn into the perilous situation. Dealing with the ultimatum, her sister’s wedding problems, and riots that have broken out in the city, Holly’s nearly at her breaking point. She must discover the identity of this mystery man before someone she loves dies. But the deceit is threatening to pull her under . . . six feet under. Random Acts of Malice: When Holly Anna Paladin’s boyfriend, police detective Chase Dexter, says he’s leaving for two weeks and can’t give any details, she wants to trust him. But when she discovers Chase may be involved in some unwise and dangerous pursuits, she’s compelled to intervene. Holly gets a run for her money as she’s swept into the world of horseracing. The stakes turn deadly when a dead body surfaces and suspicion is cast on Chase. At every turn, more trouble emerges, making Holly question what she holds true about her relationship and her future. Just when she thinks she’s on the homestretch, a dark horse arises. Holly might lose everything in a nail-biting fight to the finish. Random Acts of Scrooge: Christmas is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but a real-life Scrooge is threatening to ruin the season’s good will. Holly Anna Paladin can’t wait to celebrate Christmas with family and friends. She loves everything about the season—celebrating the birth of Jesus, singing carols, and baking Christmas treats, just to name a few. But when a local family needs help, how can she say no? Holly’s community has come together to help raise funds to save the home of Greg and Babette Sullivan, but a Bah-Humburgler has snatched the canisters of cash. Holly and her boyfriend, police detective Chase Dexter, team up to catch the Christmas crook. Will they succeed in collecting enough cash to cover the Sullivans’ overdue bills? Or will someone succeed in ruining Christmas for all those involved?
Primrose & Poison
Mara Webb - 2020
Her mom is more than willing to welcome her back, and it seems that not much has changed in the sleepy old lake town, or has it?Astrid seems to be bumping into old high-school classmates at every turn, and when her old best friend, Rachel, shows up at her birthday party she is thrilled. The feeling is short lived however, a body has turned up on the shores of Raven Bay, and the ghost has sought Astrid out, to help solve a murder.Seeing ghosts is one thing, learning you’re a witch is another.Astrid always had Raven Bay down as a quaint lakeside getaway. Upon returning home she realizes nothing is further from the truth. She’s only back in town a few days when she uncovers a decades old secret that seems to have been magically removed from everyone’s mind. To make matters worse there seems to be a connection to a new murder.Has a killer been roaming the streets of her hometown all this time?With her friend’s reputation on the line, she finds herself falling headfirst into a life-threatening murder mystery. Clues are hiding everywhere, and when she starts to uncover the truth, the killer turns their sights on Astrid.At least there’s a high-school crush back on the scene. He’s smooth, charming, and even has a pair of handcuffs in his pocket—but he is the town sheriff after all. With a murder to solve Astrid finds plenty of excuses to hang around the dreamy officer.That’s if her talking cat, Renny, can give her a minute to think.
The One
John Marrs - 2016
Just a quick mouth swab and soon you’ll be matched with your perfect partner the one you are genetically made for.That’s the promise made by Match Your DNA. A decade ago, the company announced that they had found the gene that pairs each of us with our soul mate. Since then, millions of people around the world have been matched. But the discovery has its downsides: test results have led to the breakup of countless relationships and upended the traditional ideas of dating, romance and love.Now five very different people have received the notification that they’ve been “Matched.” They’re each about to meet their one true love. But “happily ever after” isn’t guaranteed for everyone. Because even soul mates have secrets. And some are more shocking than others…A word-of-mouth hit in the United Kingdom, The One is a fascinating novel that shows how even the simplest discoveries can have complicated consequences.
The Calling
Inger Ash Wolfe - 2008
Dead faces set in grimaces and shouts. Faces howling, whistling, moaning, crying, hissing. Hazel pinned them to the wall and stood back. It was a silent opera of ghosts. Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef has lived all her days in the small town of Port Dundas and is now making her way toward retirement with something less than grace. Hobbled by a bad back and a dependence on painkillers, and feeling blindsided by divorce after nearly four decades of marriage, sixty-one-year-old Hazel has only the constructive criticism of her old goat of a mother and her own sharp tongue to buoy her. But when a terminally ill Port Dundas woman is gruesomely murdered in her own home, Hazel and her understaffed department must spring to life. And as one terminally ill victim after another is found—their bodies drained of blood, their mouths sculpted into strange shapes—Hazel finds herself tracking a truly terrifying serial killer across the country while everything she was barely holding together begins to spin out of control.Through the cacophony of her bickering staff, her unsupportive superiors, a clamoring press, the town’s rumor mill, and her own nagging doubts, Hazel can sense the dead trying to call out. But what secret do they have to share? And will she hear it before it’s too late?In The Calling, Inger Ash Wolfe brings a compelling new voice and an irresistible new heroine to the mystery world.
There's Someone Inside Your House
Stephanie Perkins - 2017
She's found new friends and has even started to fall for mysterious outsider Ollie Larsson. But her past isn't far behind.Then, one by one, the students of Osborne Hugh begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasingly grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and her feelings for Ollie intensify, Makani is forced to confront her own dark secrets.
Never Saw it Coming
Linwood Barclay - 2010
At least, that's what she passes herself off as. The truth is, Keisha's real powers have more to do with separating troubled families from their money than actually seeing into the netherworld. Keisha watches the news for stories of missing family members. She gives it a few days, then moves in, tells these families she's had a vision, that she may have some clue to where these missing people are. And by the way, she charges for this service, and likes to see the money up front.Keisha's latest mark is a man whose wife disappeared a week ago. She's seen him on TV, pleading for his wife to come home, or, if she's been abducted, pleading with whoever took her to let her go. Keisha knows a payoff when she sees one. So she pays a visit to our troubled husband and tells him her vision.The trouble is, her vision just happens to be close enough to the truth that it leaves this man rattled. And it may very well leave Keisha dead...
Blind Faith
Christiane Heggan - 2000
But when she gets a frantic call from an old friend, she embarks on an investigation that will put her to a test she's never faced before: survival.Jonathan Bowman, a loving husband and father, has disappeared, and his wife fears the worst. Was the high-ranking casino employee an innocent victim? Or had he been involved in something illegal—and murdered for it?
Refuge
Merilyn Simonds - 2018
Curiosity, loneliness, and a slender filament of hope prompt her to accept a visit. But Nang’s story of torture and flight provokes memories in Cass that peel back, layer by layer, the events that brought her to this moment — and forces her, against her will, to confront the tragedy she has refused for half a century. Could her son really be Nang’s grandfather? What does she owe this girl, who claims to be stateless because of her MacCallum blood? Drawn, despite herself, into Nang’s search for refuge, Cass struggles to accept the past and find a way into whatever future remains to her.