The Closing


Ken Oder - 2014
     On one side of a glass divider sits Kenneth Deatherage, who was sentenced to death for the brutal rape and murder of a young woman. The jury agreed with the prosecutor’s closing argument: that all evidence points to Deatherage as the killer. But Deatherage says the evidence was fabricated. He claims that the judge and his own lawyer rigged the trial against him. On the other side of the divider sits Nate Abbitt, who was a successful prosecutor until he tried to drink his way through a midlife crisis. When he finally sobered up, he had lost his career, his marriage of thirty years, and his self-respect. He turned to criminal defense because it was the only work he could get. When the court appoints Nate to represent Deatherage on appeal, Nate doesn’t believe there’s a grand conspiracy to send Deatherage to the electric chair. But when his investigation uncovers hints of corruption in the county justice system, he finds himself accused of murder by the same forces that convicted his client. To save himself, Nate risks his life and the lives of others, and in the process, discovers that he and Deatherage have much more in common than he wants to admit.

Reckless


Susan Kiernan-Lewis - 2014
    She's able to tell the story behind any object simply by touch. It’s a gift that comes in handy when her only brother, a detective with the Atlanta Major Crimes Division, is murdered. Determined to find his killer, Mia reaches out to the one person in Atlanta she believes can help her—Dave’s ex-partner, Jack Burton. Unfortunately, Burton is also the prime suspect. Together, Mia and Jack create a partnership that breaks all the rules, skirts every law, and lobs as many sparks and landmines at each other as if they were adversaries–which half the time they are—all while attempting to ignore their undeniable mutual attraction. Can two people so different—one intuitive and inexperienced, the other cynical and by-the-book—work together to solve the murder? And can they do it before the killer turns his attention to Mia?

Dead Air


Deborah Shlian - 2009
    An outspoken, brash, native New Yorker, Sammy Greene isn't afraid to ruffle a few feathers at Ellsford University, her ultraconservative New England college. Host of The Hot Line, a talk-radio show on campus station WELL, Sammy tackles the toughest, most controversial issues facing Ellsford's students. When Sammy discovers the body of Dr. Burton Conrad, one of Ellsford's most esteemed professors, her journalistic drive kicks in and she sets out to discover what happened to the beloved professor. But when several Ellsford students mysteriously disappear, Sammy realizes she's uncovered the seamy, terrifying underbelly of this prestigious institute of higher education. With the entire campus in peril, and demons from her past close behind, Sammy Greene must race to find answers. Along the way, she'll discover some unlikely allies-and even more unlikely enemies. If Sammy isn't careful, someone is going to make sure that she signs off-for good.

The Forgotten Girls


Alexa Steele - 2014
    That doesn’t happen in Greenvale, with its immaculate lawns, exclusive yacht clubs and multi-million dollar mansions. But behind its perfect façade, its trimmed hedges and luxury cars, a darkness lies. Girls, dependent on Adderall, outmaneuver each other to get into top colleges, while the mothers’ need to live vicariously only makes it worse. Bella DeFranco is one of the Bronx’s top SVU detectives. At only 37, she disarms everyone with her stunning good looks, yet she is as tough as most men—and a lot smarter, too. Yet when is summoned to Greenvale, she finds herself getting lost in a case that even she can’t comprehend. She stumbles into a land of secrets, a place where husbands hide their pasts from their wives, where friends are not what they seem, and where no one wants to know too much. As she digs deeper into layers of suburban dysfunction, she comes to learn that, behind all the fake smiles, there is a subtle violence--rivaling even her crime-ridden streets of the Bronx. With a killer on the loose, time running out, and a new partner who never recovered from his washed-up alcoholic days, the odds are stacked against Bella. She is determined, though, to save these girls, whatever the cost. Yet as she gets close, the depth of psychosis she discovers shocks even her….

Lie With Me


Sabine Durrant - 2016
    The kind we've all told - to a former acquaintance we can't quite place but still, for some reason, feel the need to impress. The story of our life, embellished for the benefit of the happily married lawyer with the kids and the lovely home.And the next thing you know, you're having dinner at their house, and accepting an invitation to join them on holiday - swept up in their perfect life, the kind you always dreamed of...Which turns out to be less than perfect. But by the time you're trapped and sweating in the relentless Greek sun, burning to escape the tension all around you - by the time you start to realise that, however painful the truth might be, it's the lies that cause the real damage...... well, by then, it could just be too late. Longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Shortlisted for the British Book Awards Crime Novel of the Year

Speak No Evil


Tanya Anne Crosby - 2013
    But a killer is making headlines, and Caroline may have unwittingly stepped into the crosshairs. Even as she mends the tattered bonds of sisterhood, a sinister force beyond their control may tear them apart forever…Reading order for The Oyster Point ThrillerBook 1: Leave No TraceBook 2: Speak No EvilBook 3: Tell No Lies

Squall


Sean Costello - 2014
    On a clear winter morning he sets out in his Cessna 180 to do some repairs on a remote hunt camp, leaving his five year old son and very pregnant wife snug in their beds.On the return trip, a squall forces him into an emergency landing and he winds up—quite literally—in the lap of petty criminal Dale Knight. Dale, now a fugitive from the law—and worse, from a merciless drug lord who just happens to be his brother—draws Tom into a web of mayhem and treachery that puts not only his life at risk, but the lives of his wife, son…and unborn child.SQUALL is a fast-paced, darkly-comic tale of murder and gang-style retribution that grabs the reader on page one and simply does not let go.

Cicada Spring


Christian Galacar - 2015
    . .On a warm May evening in the spring of 1979, the people of Heartsridge, Massachusetts, are living the American dream. Families are gathered for barbecues. Kids are playing in front yards. Gardens are being kept. Meanwhile, Kara Price stumbles home through the woods, raped and beaten, her life shattered by a wicked act of violence, perpetrated by one of the town’s most beloved and public figures. Surrounding Kara is a cast of compelling and nefarious characters—a violent-tempered mayor who can do no wrong in the eyes of the town, a sheriff bound by the rules and plagued by a guilty conscience, a father bent on revenge, a serial killer in the midst of an identity crisis. And at the center of it all there's Kara, who just wants to move on with her life and forget everything that happened to her. But how can she do that when everyone thinks she is a liar who is only out for attention? With plot and emotion braided together by a careful hand, this haunted group of people all acting on behalf of their own interests begs the question: How far would you go to protect your own?

Her Last Breath


Hilary Davidson - 2021
    However, her sorrow turns to bone-chilling confusion when she receives a message Caroline sent days earlier warning that her death would be no accident. Long used to being a pariah to her family, Deirdre covers her tattoos and heads to Manhattan for her sister’s funeral.The message claimed Caroline’s husband, Theo, killed his first wife and got away with it. Reeling from the news, Deirdre confronts Theo on the way to the cemetery, and he reveals both his temper and his suspicion that Deirdre’s “perfect” sister was having an affair.Paranoid and armed with just enough information to make her dangerous, Deirdre digs into the disturbing secrets buried with Caroline. But as she gets closer to the truth, she realizes that her own life may be at risk…and that there may be more than one killer in the family.

Sketches


Teyla Branton - 2017
    She works hard with other enforcers to maintain peace and order among the CORE's 2 million residents, especially against the radiation-crazed outsiders called fringers.But Reese hides a secret she can never share with anyone, a secret that killed her father and ruined the life of the person she once loved more than anyone.When a new assignment sends Reese to Amarillo City, near where she grew up, she's partnered with Jaxon Tennant on the Violent Crimes Investigation Unit, and she knows her secret won't stay secret long. Somehow their past is connected to missing scientists and programmers, but all leads go nowhere: evidence disappears, witnesses change testimony, and names vanish from the CORE database.Someone is willing to do anything to stop Reese and her former Colony 6 crew from discovering the truth behind what has been done to them—and thousands of others. To learn what they have become, Reese and her friends must go against the very foundations of the society they serve. There is no going back.Sketches (Colony Six, #1) is the first of a series following the six members of the Colony 6 crew.

The Lie


C.L. Taylor - 2015
    She's happier than she's ever been but her life is a lie. Jane Hughes does not really exist.Five years earlier Jane and her then best friends went on holiday but what should have been the trip of a lifetime rapidly descended into a nightmare that claimed the lives of two of the women.Jane has tried to put her past behind her but someone knows the truth about what happened. Someone who won't stop until they've destroyed Jane and everything she loves.

Girl Last Seen


Nina Laurin - 2017
    Thirteen years apart.Olivia Shaw has been missing since last Tuesday. She was last seen outside the entrance of her elementary school in Hunts Point wearing a white spring jacket, blue jeans, and pink boots. I force myself to look at the face in the photo, into her slightly smudged features, and I can't bring myself to move. Olivia Shaw could be my mirror image, rewound to thirteen years ago. If you have any knowledge of Olivia Shaw's whereabouts or any relevant information, please contact... I've spent a long time peering into the faces of girls on missing posters, wondering which one replaced me in that basement. But they were never quite the right age, the right look, the right circumstances. Until Olivia Shaw, missing for one week tomorrow. Whoever stole me was never found. But since I was taken, there hasn't been another girl. And now there is.