Book picks similar to
Covenant by Brandon Massey


thriller
calibre
stand-alone
fiction

Help for the Haunted


John Searles - 2013
    Lying in her bed, young Sylvie Mason overhears her parents on the phone across the hall. This is not the first late-night call they have received, since her mother and father have an uncommon occupation, helping "haunted souls" find peace. And yet, something in Sylvie senses that this call is different than the rest, especially when they are lured to the old church on the outskirts of town. Once there, her parents disappear, one after the other, behind the church's red door, leaving Sylvie alone in the car. Not long after, she drifts off to sleep only to wake to the sound of gunfire.Nearly a year later, we meet Sylvie again struggling with the loss of her parents, and living in the care of her older sister, who may be to blame for what happened the previous winter.As the story moves back and forth in time, through the years leading up to the crime and the months following, the ever inquisitive and tender-hearted Sylvie pursues the mystery, moving closer to the knowledge of what occurred that night, as she comes to terms with her family's past and uncovers secrets that have haunted them for years.

None Shall Sleep


Ellie Marney - 2020
    From the start, Emma and Travis develop a quick friendship, gaining information from juvenile murderers that even the FBI can't crack. But when the team is called in to give advice on an active case—a serial killer who exclusively hunts teenagers—things begin to unravel. Working against the clock, they must turn to one of the country's most notorious incarcerated murderers for help: teenage sociopath Simon Gutmunsson. Despite Travis's objections, Emma becomes the conduit between Simon and the FBI team. But while Simon seems to be giving them the information they need to save lives, he's an expert manipulator playing a very long game...and he has his sights set on Emma.

Drone


Miles A. Maxwell - 2016
    A Presidential election. A Constitutional crisis. And a terrorist who may get away scott-free. It could happen again. Perpetrated by anyone, anywhere . . . at a financial cost of next to nothing! A short story -- the secret behind President Christopher Wall's rise to power two years before Loss Of Reason.

Act Of Contrition


Dominic Milne - 2015
    Eddie is a reckless and dissolute operator, under investigation by the force and in debt to local mob chief, Vincent Mullis. When a killer starts targeting prostitutes in north London, Mullis is unusually keen for Eddie to solve the crime, but why? A serial killer is targeting prostitutes in Islington, the victims having a number of unusual links. The killings begin the same week that convicted killer and local man, Paddy Graham, is released from prison following a life sentence for murder. DS Eddie Kane has inadvertently found himself under the thumb of Vincent Mullis, who has taken ownership of a debt Eddie has built up with terminally-ill bookmaker, Arnie Duggan. Eddie’s troubles begin to spiral out of control when he is placed under investigation following a drugs-bust gone wrong. While suspended, he is forced to investigate the murders for Mullis, who wants to get to the murderer before the police. He then reluctantly hears a murder confession from his former bookmaker... In this heart-stopping, gripping crime drama, Eddie’s investigations lead him into a murky world of pornography, murder and revenge, all of which seems to centre around a local church and the charismatic vicar, Jonathan Carter. Eddie is feeling the pressure from all sides, but will there be any chance of salvation?

Burn the Rabbit: Rabbit in Red Volume Two


Joe Chianakas - 2016
    He's looking forward to learning the craft, renewing last year's friendships, and above all, to seeing Jaime, and finally asking her to be his girlfriend.But before he even gets to see her, one of their own is violently attacked. JB goes on the hunt, and the students learn about his troubled past, which changes their views of him forever. As their project, they create Rabbit in Red's most terrifying and disturbing challenge yet, Hellfire, and use it to recruit a new class of horror students.Then the bodies start piling up, and the mysteries become more and more dangerous. Is this another one of JB's dark games-within-a-game, or will Rabbit in Red--and everyone in it--burn in the end

Caribbean Moon


Rick Murcer - 2011
    The couple’s exotic getaway begins in sunny San Juan, Puerto Rico, by attending the June wedding of a fellow Lansing police officer, followed with an incredible week-long Southern Caribbean cruise on the glamorous Ocean Duchess. Tropical paradise appears to be a perfect recipe for desperately needed R and R...until the first dead body. A bizarre, seemingly random murder in their posh San Juan Hotel, and the heinous cruise ship deaths of two of Lansing’s law enforcement family, brings Manny, and his unique skills, out of cruise mode and head-long into the FBI-led investigation. Manny soon discovers that in this killer’s twisted perception nothing is off limits, prompting a race against time that could cost him everything. If you like edge-of-your-seat thrillers laced with humor, you'll love this!Caribbean Moon: "A new standard has been set for thrillers. In Rick Murcer's debut novel, Caribbean Moon, he's mixed the perfect ingredients to lock in readers, starting with the opening witty banter between Manny and Sophie. From there, the book takes off like a run-away roller coaster. Murcer knows just when to slow the pace and when to hit the gas. He's created a twisted mystery, with infectious characters and an unfathomable ending. Manny Williams might be the new Jedi of investigators, and Murcer is a Spielberg-like creative powerhouse. Caribbean Moon is absolutely magnetic!" John W. Mefford, Best-selling suspense author of COMMITTED

A New Life


David J. Antocci - 2013
    She has no idea how she got there, and notices changes in herself that she cannot explain. Haunted by unsettling dreams of her past, she sets out to escape, joined by Eric, who finds himself in the same predicament. Standing in their way is a madman, and his band of willing followers, with a mind set on murdering their unwelcome visitors. An eccentric hermit who has been living there for years offers them refuge, but they must deny his generosity. Escape is their only option. Yet, they discover this deceptive paradise is harder to leave than they had ever imagined. One mystery leads to another, until their escape throws them into even greater danger as Abby’s frightening past finally catches up with her. Her escape is only the beginning.

Hard Case


Bernard Lee DeLeo - 2012
    He ran away from his alcoholic father at the age of fourteen. An old man in Texas takes an interest in him, helping the runaway get a new identity. The boy becomes John Harding.Harding joins the Marine Corps with his new identity, looking for a chance to get an education and start over. While in special ops overseas, he’s recruited by a CIA agent who sees something in Harding besides his knack for languages and combat skill. Denny Strobert knows he’s found a killer.HARDCASE begins in a back alley warehouse in East Oakland, CA, where Harding fights for money, and to keep his skills honed, coupled with the fact he likes it. Harding does odd jobs with the only guy he trusts implicitly, his handler and manager, Tommy Sands. They bodyguard, escort tourists around the Bay Area, and do bail bond, skip trace work for a lawyer named Tess Connagher.Tess Connagher, both fascinated and repulsed by Harding, cannot stay away from him. She rapidly finds out Harding is not some East Oakland leg-breaker, and being around him can be very dangerous, whether you’re his friend or his enemy. She makes a couple of serious errors in judgment - Tess thinks she can control Harding, and she uses him to help Lora, her older sister.

Amity


Micol Ostow - 2014
    destruction, and revenge. Dreams he kind of likes. Dreams he could make real, with Amity's help.Ten years later, Gwen's family moves to Amity for a fresh start. Instead, she's haunted by lurid visions, disturbing voices, and questions about her own sanity. But with her history, who would ever believe her? And what could be done if they did?Because Amity isn't just a house. She is a living force, bent on manipulating her inhabitants to her twisted will. She will use Connor and Gwen to bring about a violent end as she's done before. As she'll do again. And again. And again.Inspired by a true-crime story, Amity spans generations to weave an overlapping, interconnected tale of terror, insanity. danger, and death.

I Hunt Killers


Barry Lyga - 2012
    A charmer, one might say.But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view.And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

Dangerous Behavior


Walter Marks - 2002
    And it is up to Dr. David Rothberg, the new prison psychiatrist, to determine whether Janko should be released. As David finds himself drawn into the psychological quicksand of a disturbed inmate, his manipulative girlfriend, and a brutal guard, David needs to confront his own demons as he decides if Janko deserves a second chance. This high-voltage thriller will keep you at the edge of your seat and guessing until the very last page.

The Stillwater Girls


Minka Kent - 2019
    When the youngest grows gravely ill, their mother leaves with the child to get help from a nearby town. And they never return.As months pass, hope vanishes. Supplies are low. Livestock are dying. A brutal winter is bearing down. Then comes the stranger. He claims to be looking for the girls’ mother, and he’s not leaving without them.To escape, Wren and her sister must break the rule they’ve grown up with: never go beyond the forest.Past the thicket of dread, they come upon a house on the other side of the pines. This is where Wren and Sage must confront something more chilling than the unknowable. They’ll discover what’s been hidden from them, what they’re running from, and the secrets that have left them in the dark their entire lives.

Cold in July


Joe R. Lansdale - 1990
    It's clearly a case of self-defense, but the dead man’s father, Ben Russel, doesn't see it that way. Russel wants to extract Old Testament-style justice: an eye-for-an-eye, a son-for-a-son. Straightforward menace takes a 90-degree turn, though, when certain unexpected truths come to light, and soon Dane and Russel find themselves working together for a common cause. Their investigation puts them at odds with the cops, the Feds, and the Dixie Mafia, but they’re determined to find the answers that lie at the end of a very dark and twisting path.

What She Found in the Woods


Josephine Angelini - 2019
    Recovering from a scandal at her elite New York City private school that threw life into a tailspin, she is shipped off to live with her grandparents in the Pacific Northwest for the summer.Medicated and uninspired, Magda spends her days in a fog wandering the forest behind the house. But then she stumbles upon Bo. He's wild and free, and he can see the real her. Magda starts believing she might be able to move on from her past and feel something again.But there's more to this sleepy town than she thought. And what Magda finds in the woods near Bo's forest home is the beginning of a whole new nightmare...

Blind Faith


C.J. Lyons - 2012
    But for Sarah Durandt the nightmare is just beginning... Sarah has just witnessed the execution of the man who confessed to killing her husband and son, among others. She leaves with no closure as the killer has refused her repeated requests to reveal the site of her family's graves. Sarah returns home to her small town of Hopewell in the Adirondacks Mountains and vows to search until she finds Sam and Josh.Her hunt leads her to a trail of lies and unearths a new killer. In a race to save everything she holds dear, Sarah is forced to place her faith in the man who betrayed her...her husband.