The Hostage Takers


M.A. Comley - 2018
     They enter wearing vests... Packed full of explosives. Screams and shouts fill the venue until they are silenced by gunfire. A rescue attempt ensues from an unexpected source inside the nightclub. DI Kayli Bright looks on in horror as the terrorist’s plan unfolds. Will Kayli be able to work with the inspector in charge of the rescue? Or will she be tempted to go it alone?

The Missing Link


J.M. Sevilla - 2013
    It's intended to be read by mature audiences. Part one of a two part series. There are three things Lily Evans immediately notices about her new neighbor, Jay Lincoln. The first is his monstrous size, the second is the malicious way he glares at her, and thirdly, but most importantly, the three scars that mark his right eye. She knows the smart thing to do is stay away, but she has never met or seen anyone like him. The more time she spends with this frightening yet captivating man, the harder it becomes. He can make her hairs stand on end but he also has a sweetness to him that tugs at her heart. Soon she finds herself merged into his world full of murder, revenge, and deceit.New Adult Romance

Fearscape


Nenia Campbell - 2012
    She trusted him because she wanted excitement. There's a saying that curiosity can kill … but Valerian Kimble is beginning to learn that satisfaction might just be worse.Fourteen-year-old Valerian lives in an age where antiheroes and bad boys are portrayed as the romantic ideal, and good guys are passe and boring. So when Gavin Mecozzi, the school's brilliant but twisted loner, begins to show an interest in her after a chance meeting in a pet store, Val is intrigued. He's charming and poetic and makes her feel things that she thought were only possible in books--Fear.Because somebody is stalking Val. Somebody who wants to hurt her. Own her. Possess her. Maybe even kill her.As her meetings with Gavin unravel into a more complex and frightening relationship, Val can't help but wonder if the new boy in her life is her depraved and obsessive stalker.And whether he's capable of murder.Time is running out.

Nichelle Clarke Crime Thriller Series, Books 4-6: Box Set: Devil in the Deadline / Cover Shot / Lethal Lifestyles


LynDee Walker - 2018
    DEVIL IN THE DEADLINEA human sacrifice unlocks a chilling mystery, and leads Nichelle Clarke into a world of unimaginable danger."...You won't be able to read fast enough..."When Richmond Police find a young woman's bloody remains spread across a candle-lit altar in an abandoned power plant on the banks of the James River, they give crime reporter Nichelle Clarke an all-access pass in exchange for her help.But the information Nichelle gets from the victim's friends only draws her deeper into the mystery. Where did Jasmine come from? How did she end up on the streets of Shockoe Bottom? And why doesn't she have any dental records?The answer trail stops at the front doors of a sprawling compound in the foothills of the Blue Ridge, where Nichelle finds a secretive cult leader and his devoted following. It is a world where lies becomes truth, and money is the true idol. Money some people would do anything to keep collecting...Even if it means murdering a nosy reporter.----------------------------COVER SHOTCryptic online messages and a murder in a swanky condo complex don't strike crime reporter Nichelle Clarke as related--until a gunman sends a hospital into chaos."...if you're a fan of mystery, you simply must read this series..."When a body is discovered in a high-rise in Richmond, Virginia, crime reporter Nichelle Clarke races to the scene. The victim is a brilliant doctor with an unusual past. But before Nichelle can decide what to make of the murder, the local police radio is filled with a dreaded distress call.There is an active shooter at a nearby hospital.The gunman has taken hostages on a patient floor, and gives the police a single demand.He wants to speak with Nichelle.In person.----------------------------LETHAL LIFESTYLESThe groom is the prime suspect in a murder at his own rehearsal dinner. Crime reporter Nichelle Clarke doesn't believe he's the killer-but now it's up to her to find out who is.When Nichelle Clarke is invited to be the maid of honor in her friends' Virginia Vineyard wedding, she looks forward to the celebration.

Behind His Eyes: Truth


Aleatha Romig - 2014
    With one promise complete, he must face the truth of his emotions regarding Claire Nichols. Is it too late? Can a man who had never been forgiven accept forgiveness? Can that man forgive? Not a total re-write, this companion explores the thoughts of the man who discovers that the truth is not always what it seems. Secrets exposed.As past sins and motivations are revealed, Behind His Eyes Truth explores the recurring questions: What was Tony thinking? Who can he trust? Through significant scenes and behind-the-scenes moments, learn how Tony’s well-designed existence is incomplete. The acquisition of a soul. Experience the journey into the mind of the man who slowly realizes that there is more to life than money and power. Witness his thoughts as his control is not only challenged but lost, and as he comes to terms with the new truth. For the avid reader of the Consequences series, it is recommended that this companion be read after Consequences, Truth, Convicted, Revealed, and Behind His Eyes Consequences. Behind His Eyes Truth, for more insight into the man who: “Once upon a time, signed a napkin that he knew was a contract. As an esteemed businessman, he forgot one very important rule. He forgot to read the fine print. It wasn’t an acquisition to own another person as he’d previously assumed. It was an agreement to acquire a soul.”—Aleatha Romig, CONVICTED

There is No Light in Darkness


Claire Contreras - 2013
    Her present cloaked in secrets. The future holds the only truth that cannot be escaped.After the mysterious and violent death of her parents, Blake Brennan finds comfort with an unconventional family. As the dramatic loss of her parents continues to haunt her—and hinders her from reciprocating love that others give freely—Blake embarks on a harrowing journey in search for the truth.Living in a constant state of fear and need for control, vivid nightmares reveal details that lead to perilous situations. The past begins to collide with the present, and Blake must decide if the truth is worth losing the ones she loves. Can love conquer all as her past comes to light? Or will Blake realize that there is no light in darkness?Book contains: Explicit language & sexual content.

Blackbird


Michael Fiegel - 2017
    And so I believe in neither free will nor predetermination. I believe in condiments.”A cold-blooded killer-for-hire, Edison North drifts across America from city to city, crime scene to crime scene, leaving behind a world in flames. But during a random bloodbath at a fast food restaurant, Edison meets Christian, a young girl who mirrors his own vacant stare and stink of “other.” Though it’s been a long time since he felt anything resembling a human connection, something about this desperately lonely child calls to him. Edison feels certain she deserves better. And while he is not convinced that he can give her that, he can make her stronger. So begin the chronicles of Edison North―and his protégé.As Edison begins Christian’s strange apprenticeship, Christian looks back upon her fractured upbringing and the training that made her into the killer she’s become. What follows is a brilliant―and ultimately tender―character study of two outsiders whose improbably forged bond unleashes a new facet of the human experience between them―and a jagged slash of violence on the world around them.

Crossed


Meredith Doench - 2015
    It’s the case she’s been waiting for, the case that compels her to return to the small town she turned her back on nineteen years ago, the case she plans to ride from the Ohio BCI all the way to the FBI.The case worth risking her shaky relationship with her lover, Rowan. But the horrors of the case recall the unsolved murder of Luce’s first girlfriend, and Luce is forced to confront the local ex-gay ministry that haunted her youth. When the past crosses the present, will Luce lose everything she’s worked so hard to build?

What Lies Beneath


R.J. Scott - 2019
    The tragic story of a missing man is a media sensation, and abruptly the writer and the cop falling in love is just a postscript to horrors neither could have imagined. Best Selling Horror writer Chris Lassiter struggles for inspiration and he’s close to never writing again. His life has become an endless loop of nothing but empty pages, personal appearances, and a marketing machine that is systematically destroying his muse. In a desperate attempt to force Chris to complete unfinished manuscripts his agent buys a remote cabin. All Chris has to do is hide away and write, but he’s lost his muse, and not even he can make stories appear from thin air.Sawyer Wiseman left town for Chicago, chasing the excitement and potential of being a big city cop, rising the ranks, and making his mark. A case gone horribly wrong draws him back to Lancaster Falls. Working for the tiny police department in the town he’d been running from, digging into cold cases and police corruption, he spends his day's healing, and his nights hoping the nightmares of his last case leave him alone. Word Count: 67,000

Don't Say It


Mick Bose - 2018
    The death of a new born child. Every day for her is a living battle. She is recovering slowly, but the brutal murder of a woman close to her home rocks her peaceful world. Another woman is killed in the same way. Kirsty now makes a terrifying discovery – the murders of both these women point to her husband, Jake. He is the local doctor and knew both women well. Piece by piece, the jigsaw falls into place, and Kirsty is spellbound as she realises what her husband is capable of. Then she finds the evidence that could utterly destroy her: Did Jake kill her baby son? As her life unravels, Jake becomes more suspicious. Soon, Kirsty knows her life is in danger, and she has to act fast to make the police believe her. But by then, it might be too late…

In the Company of Crocodiles


Maggie Brown - 2017
    Too bad those are the least of their worries.After being severely wounded in a covert operation, ex-Australian Secret Service officer Vivian Andrews has built a quiet life for herself in a small fishing village in Northern Queensland. Or so she believes, until she discovers a rotting corpse in the mangroves. An angry crocodile drags the body away, but not before Vivian snags the man’s money belt which contains nearly $75,000—and a phone number that Vivian knows all too well.At the police station to report her discovery, Vivian finds two government agents who are looking for her. A young man has gone missing and they need an experienced guide to help them negotiate the terrain to find him. Vivian knows they aren’t telling her the whole story but is attracted to the idea of returning to action—and to behavioral scientist Claire Walker.When Claire’s partner is injured, tough, resilient Vivian and smart, intuitive Claire must use every skill they possess to complete their mission despite nearly impenetrable walls of vegetation, trails that lead to deadly traps, the damp simmering heat—and another kind of heat neither of them wishes to acknowledge. Could the woman sleeping next to you be a master thief…or worse?

Michael Robotham Omnibus : The Drowning Man; Bombproof


Michael Robotham - 2010
    Two fast-paced London-based thrillers in one volume.The Drowning Man 390 pagesBombproof 393 pages

Red Leaves


Paullina Simons - 1996
    Why had she not even been reported missing by her friends?Spencer O'Malley, the police detective assigned to the case, is soon drawn into the strange world of four friends, Jim, Conni, Albert and Kristina. O'Malley finds that these children of privilege who played, studied, and occasionally slept together also kept secrets of their own, secrets that must be pieced together to form an entirely new picture.O'Malley is a stranger in this Ivy League environment, yet he feels an affinity with the victim. In her death, he gradually discovers the truth of her mysterious and complex life, and each revelation is more shocking than the last.Suspenseful, claustrophobic and utterly compelling, Red Leaves puts Paullina Simons in the very front rank of contemporary writers.

Crimson Rain


Meg O'Brien - 2002
    Adopting one-year-old twin girls seemed like an answer to desperate prayers. But when one girl is caught trying to kill her sister with a knife on Christmas Eve four years later, the Bradleys have no choice but to return the disturbed child to the care of an orphanage. Sixteen years pass before their actions come back to haunt them, and by then Paul and Gina's marriage is in trouble; the only light in their lives is Rachel, the child they raised. Then Rachel is kidnapped, and the sacrifice Paul and Gina must make to ensure her safe return results in their own utter humiliation. Will they have the strength to get her back?

More Than One Truth


Matt Benson - 2018
     MTOT is the story of an idealistic young attorney who must defend a childhood acquaintance from murder while receiving guidance from his mentor's ghost. After his client and lover exposes their illicit affair, the unnamed narrator is forced to resign his position as an attorney in the Navy JAG Corps. He takes a job with a charismatic criminal defense attorney known for reckless behavior, which reunites him with his hometown of Chico, California. After tragedy strikes and John dies, he must take on his first felony murder case alone. His client is Scotty Watts, a former high classmate and sports superstar turned jail bird. Scotty professes his innocence and remembers nothing about the night in question other than waking up in a pool of blood to sheriff's deputies pounding on his door. Despite a mountain of evidence pointing to Scotty's guilt, Narrator works earnestly to exonerate him. But while he investigates the case, it becomes harder and harder to separate fact from fiction, and his mind starts to unravel. Filled with conspiracy theories, twists, turns, and eleventh-hour evidentiary discoveries, More Than One Truth leads to a climax that shocks to the core. A unique take on the legal thriller, a story about the conflicted emotions of returning home, shattered idealism, and the pernicious effect of loneliness. "...will keep many readers guessing until the end." -Kirkus Reviews "...spooky..." -Kirkus Reviews "The groundwork (is) laid early on, but with such a light touch that clues are easy to overlook..." -Kirkus Reviews