Book picks similar to
The Unexpected Guest: A Wade Parker Short Story by Linsey Lanier


linsey-lanier
light-reading
novellas-under-100pgs
adventerous

Bitter Past


Caroline Fardig - 2017
     Three years ago, criminalist Ellie Matthews was blindsided when a grisly homicide case suddenly became personal. She abandoned the danger and stress of crime scene investigation for a professorship at a posh private college and never looked back. Now, Ellie’s pleasant world is shattered when she finds the dead body of a female student. The campus is in chaos, reporters are circling like vultures, and Ellie is trying her best to distance herself from the situation. Not an easy task when her closest colleague becomes the prime suspect. After the college community is rocked by another suspicious death, Ellie’s mentor, Sheriff Jayne Walsh, convinces her to consult on the case. Partnered with quick-witted Detective Nick Baxter, Ellie reluctantly bottles up her personal demons and dives back into the world she left behind, racing to make sense of the evidence before the killer strikes again.

Dog Gone


Diane Moat - 2016
    The animal has been brutally tortured and killed, and Sam is incensed by its senseless death — and the apparent disinterest of the local police. She resolves to learn more about saving animals in distress but soon realizes that this can be a frustrating business as her efforts are constantly hampered by endless rules and red tape. In desperation, Samantha turns to crime in her efforts to tackle those who harm and abuse animals, while never losing her focus of finding the man who killed the dog she found. Assisted by a gorgeous "fence," a social media guru who spends her life indoors, and a retired gangster, Sam follows her instincts with an undeterred and unrelenting fortitude until she finally tracks down the heartless killer and faces him in a final reckoning. DOG GONE is a satisfying adventure for animal lovers everywhere.

West Texas Match


Ginger Chambers - 1996
     At eighty-one, Mae is the matriarch of the Parker family and is accustomed to bending everyone to her will. Everyone, that is, except her great-nephew, Rafe, who runs the huge family-owned operation and is equally as iron-willed. Rafe is not at all happy when he learns that his great-aunt has picked out a wife for him...and invited her, after a recent accident, to recuperate at the ranch. All his life he’s watched Mae manipulate people. He’ll be damned if he’ll fall in love on her order! The Parker Ranch, run by Parker sons and daughters since before The War Between the States. Tough, rugged, fiercely loyal...to each other and to the people they let into their hearts. The West Texans, a 7-book series.

Rolling Thunder


Matt Lincoln - 2019
    Now though? Well, he's just a humble bar owner with a story to tell, a girl to save, and a few drinks to make... or is he?

Before It's Too Late


Jane Isaac - 2015
    I heard nothing. Just my own breaths and the wind, whistling through branches above... The thought made me shiver. I am buried alive.Following an argument with her British boyfriend, Chinese student Min Li is abducted whilst walking the dark streets of picturesque Stratford-upon-Avon alone. Trapped in a dark pit, Min is at the mercy of her captor. Detective Inspector Will Jackman is tasked with solving the case and in his search for answers discovers that the truth is buried deeper than he ever expected. But, as another student vanishes and Min grows ever weaker, time is running out. Can Jackman track down the kidnapper, before it's too late?

The Mind's Eye


Perry Prete - 2018
    At first, she uses her ability to entertain friends at parties and work. Meanwhile, the police are unable to uncover a single clue in a series of unsolved murders. Seasoned detective Paul Hammond learns of Nicole’s ability, and enlists her help.Carl Kadner, a rookie reporter with the local paper, takes it upon himself to investigate the murders as well. As he learns what it takes to be the kind of reporter he wants to be, Carl puts himself in danger for the sake of the story. What will it take to bring all of these people together to find the real reason people continue to disappear?

Purrfect Murder


Louise Lynn - 2018
     A man is murdered in her Wild @ Hart Photo Studio, and the new sheriff in Cedar Valley not only declares it a crime scene and insults Hazel’s fashion sense, but he also suspects Hazel of the murder! In order to clear her name and restore her shop’s reputation, Hazel must find the real killer. Problem is, the list of suspects and their secrets seem to grow the deeper Hazel digs. Not to mention the mysterious figure who keeps showing up in Hazel’s photos. Can she unearth the killer before time runs out? A feel-good, cozy mystery about a quirky photographer and her black cat solving mysteries in Cedar Valley, a small town in the Sierra Nevada mountains. This book does not contain any cliffhangers, gore, graphic scenes, or foul language.

Orient


Christopher Bollen - 2015
    One late summer morning, the body of a local caretaker is found in the open water; the same day, a monstrous animal corpse is found on the beach, presumed a casualty from a nearby research lab. With rumors flying, eyes turn to Mills Chevern—a tumbleweed orphan newly arrived in town from the west with no ties and a hazy history. As the deaths continue and fear in town escalates, Mills is enlisted by Beth, an Orient native in retreat from Manhattan, to help her uncover the truth. With the clock ticking, Mills and Beth struggle to find answers, faced with a killer they may not be able to outsmart. Rich with character and incident, yet deeply suspenseful, Orient marks the emergence of a novelist of enormous talent.

Carson


Maryann Jordan - 2022
    Lighthouse Security Investigation West Coast.Carson Dyer spent years creating his business, partnering with a former Special Forces leader who owns the original LSI. Determined to make it as successful as possible, he gives one hundred percent to the effort.No distractions. No way. Not him. Until her. Jeannie Carnes. Former military nurse. Burned-out ER nurse. Volunteer Red Cross nurse. And she lands in the middle of an LSI- WC investigation of a cartel drug lord.She wants answers. He wants her safe. Will either of them get what they want? Only if they give in to what they need… each other.Lighthouse Security InvestigationsThe security and investigation company is filled with handpicked men and women from the SEALs, Rangers, Special Forces, Deltas, and Air Force Special Ops. All trained in CIA Special Operations, the Keepers were the best of the best and ready to take on any mission.Language and scenes similar to an R-rated movie. 18+ readers only.

Full Moon Security: The Complete 5 Books Series


Glenna Sinclair - 2018
    5 Books. Full Length. No Cliffhangers. More than 1,000 pages :) Magic and monsters are very much real, and very much a threat. Follow the shifters of Full Moon Security as they fight hard for family, friendship, and love. SAM Like all the other agents of FMS, Samuel Fitzgerald left the US Government's secretive Paranormal Research Board to focus entirely on protecting the homeland. But when Col. Harrington disappeared six months before without any word, their supernatural-focused missions seemed to have disappeared with him, and now they're stuck working plain old, boring security cases. That is, until Sam and his dragonkin boss get a call on a phone they didn't know Harrington possessed. A demon-worshiping cult has surfaced in East Texas, and it's up to him to save the small town of Potterswell, and the most beautiful coroner's assistant he's ever met: Faith Riley. CARTER Carter Grant is like any other bear shifter out there: he wants a nice tree to sharpen his claws on, some peace and quiet to keep away his memories of the war, and a mate. But when his dragonkin boss Kris Cole and FMS's resident witch Tabitha show up out of nowhere, he has a feeling they're going to take the first two from him. How was he to know their mission to stop a possession and series of murders-by-fire in the town of Shamrock would lead him to the third? Now, though, it's a race against time as Carter has to compete with a group of international hitmen who have descended on the town with the same goals in mind. These shifter hitmen may be more than Carter can handle, even with the help of Lucy Skinner, Shamrock's finest fire investigator. RYDER It started with an investigation that turned out nothing extraordinary in Philadelphia. But now Ryder Williams, panther shifter, has run over a phantasmal ghost on the highway outside Camelot, the most haunted town in the US. At least, he thinks he has! Turns out the small town is putting on some kind of music festival to celebrate the 150th anniversary of a witch cursing their town while they burned her at the stake, but not everything is as it seems. As ghosts of residents begin to revisit the living and concert-goers begin to change for some reason into shapes not normally their own, it's up to Ryder Williams and Stephanie Kaufman to save Camelot and all its residents. Not to mention the hundreds of visitors who are now stalking the streets looking for fresh meat. LUKE With Kris Cole and the elusive dragonkin shifter Hunter Jackson away from the office, Tabitha finds an old case the PRB had to ignore years before. Someone is murdering high class call girls in the small town of Prophet, Arizona. Not just any murders, either. Somehow, they're stealing their hearts without any signs of surgery! When Luke arrives on the scene, he finds the beautiful Molly Long looking for her roommate, and they're talking their way past the security gate of an exclusive club for the rich and powerful. Is this some cult, or just a deranged madman who has figured out how to tear the hearts from his victims? As the shadows lengthen, though, they'll have to race to find the killer, and to hopefully find Molly's kidnapped roommate. KRIS Kris and Hunter disappeared three months before in the northern tundra while on their search for Col. Harrington. Now, they've found what happened to him . . . and may have found their true feelings for each other, as well. Their discovery is complicated, though, by a paramilitary group striking out from the deserts of western Mexico. The group has been excavating strange Aztec ruins, but haven't yet found the weapon which will bring the mortal world to its knees and allow the supernatural to once again reign supreme. Until now.

Bone Baby


Diane M. Dickson - 2017
     For many years, Lily and her partner had kept a terrible secret. When her partner dies, this secret becomes her burden alone. Soon it becomes an obsession. Having worked alongside her more flamboyant partner in the publishing industry in London, the more sensitive Lily was used to playing second fiddle in their enigmatic social set. But their nice life hid a dark secret, one that she does not want to carry to her grave. Many years ago, Lily and her partner covered up a crime. They took something precious that didn’t belong to them and lost it. Lily has had to live with the consequences of her actions until she is given the chance to repair the damage she has done. This leads Lily down a dangerous path into the past. Disorientated, paranoid and scared, she uncovers a far graver crime. What she contemplates next is unthinkable. BONE BABY is set in the present-day cities of Bath and Portsmouth in southern England. BONE BABY is the eleventh novel by Diane Dickson to be published by THE BOOK FOLKS. Diane has a distinctive style and her thrillers and mysteries explore the lives of ordinary people facing difficult situations. Look out for her bestselling LEAVING GEORGE and the recently-published TANGLED TRUTH.

Ties That Bind


Carolyn Arnold - 2011
    The rest of the world thought she was going crazy—until it was too late.When Laura Saunders is found strangled in her home with a man’s necktie, Detective Madison Knight is assigned the case. Her sergeant at the Stiles Police Department wants her to conclude it was an isolated incident and move on with the investigation, but Madison’s not the type to cave under pressure. She’s haunted by certain unexplainable clues at the crime scene, including the presence of a mysterious photograph. Madison believes the picture may somehow tie into the murder, but before she can dig into it, another woman’s body is discovered in a local park. Heather Nguyen was also murdered with the same brand of necktie that had been used on Laura.On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be anything beyond the way they were killed that connects the women. But as Madison delves into the lives of the victims, she unravels a web of deceit and betrayal and lays bare decades of deadly family secrets. Edging closer to the truth, Madison’s quite sure at least one more woman is slated to die. But can Madison piece together all the clues in time to save her?A gripping crime thriller full of heart-pounding twists. Perfect for fans of Robert Dugoni, J.D. Robb, and Lisa Regan.Readers love Ties That Bind:“Arnold has written one of the best female cops that I’ve ever read… Madison is just one of those characters that will stay with you.” –Harlie’s Books, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“A good detective story with lots of twists and turns and an unexpected ending.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“This is one heck of a mystery!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Brace yourself for the ending! I didn't see that one coming.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“I loved Madison Knight and her sassy dialogue.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“I found myself unable to stop reading this book.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“A must-read for the mystery fan.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“So many twists and turns I never saw the ending coming!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“A solid police procedure mystery.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“If you like true suspense, this is a book to read.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Like watching an award-winning police drama in my mind.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Intriguing, suspenseful, and full of surprises!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Well-written and researched on police procedures.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“It was very difficult to set this book aside to do something else.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“From the moment I began reading this book, I was hooked.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Impurity


Ray Clark - 2019
    A detective on edge. A community that wants answers. One fateful night when off duty, DI Stewart Gardener intervenes in a street brawl and his wife is shot dead. Trying to come to terms with this, he gradually returns to normal duties policing the streets of Leeds. Finding his wife’s murderer is never far from his mind, but with no leads and a hazy recollection of events, it seems hopeless. Soon he is presented with a shocking case. A man is found dead in a grubby apartment, having been killed in the cruellest of ways. It is not long before another man meets the same fate. The deaths are caused by a rapid and violent disintegration of the victims’ flesh. Pathology cannot ascertain the cause. The only connection between the victims is they both worked seasonally as Santas, dressing up as Father Christmas and entertaining kids in grottos and such like. Who would want to kill such innocuous men as these? The detective is flummoxed. The local community is ruffled. The press is having a field day. The top brass wants answers. Can DI Gardener overcome his grief and solve the case? IMPURITY is the first in a series of six books featuring Leeds based Detective Inspector Stewart Gardener. They are all murder mysteries but as suspenseful as the best thrillers. FREE with Kindle Unlimited. Look out for the next in the series, IMPERFECTION, coming soon on Kindle. If you like crime fiction that has you glued to the page and reading late into the night, this is the book for you!

Murder is a Family Business


Heather Haven - 2011
    But the 34-year old Latina, WASP and 100% detective has her work cut out for her when the man is murdered on her watch. Of all the nerve. Set in the present, Murder is a Family Business is the first in a series of humorous mysteries revolving around Lee Alvarez, and rest of the Alvarez Family, detectives all. Seemingly light and frothy on the surface, the novel nevertheless explores familial love, the good, the bad and the annoying.Completing the family is Lee's Never-Had-A-Bad-Hair-Day aristocratic mother, Lila; computer genius brother, Richard; beloved uncle "Tio;" and her energetic orange and white cat, Tugger. When this group is not solving murders, they run Discretionary Inquiries, a successful Silicon Valley agency that normally deals with the theft of computer software. The love, humor and camaraderie shared within this family are what set this series apart from others.

So We Lie


Willow Rose - 2021
    Eva Rae Thomas is in over her head on her first assignment as an FBI profiler in multi-million-copy bestselling author Willow Rose’s nail-biting mystery.When the mother of two, Arlene Wood, crashes her car against a tree at four in the morning, the case seems pretty straightforward.But evidence found in the remains of the car soon raises the question of whether this was really an accident.Shortly after, her husband is taken in and later convicted of having murdered his own wife. But many questions remain unanswered.Why was Arlene driving in the middle of the night? Why did she leave the house, her husband, and her sleeping children, get into her car, and drive away? Was she meeting someone?A friend?A lover?A killer?Six years later, fresh out of training, FBI-profiler Eva Rae Thomas is new on the job when she stumbles upon something that suddenly blows this case wide open.But can she persuade anyone to reopen the case when even the husband is convinced that he is guilty?And will she be able to do it in time before this killer strikes again?