Don't Close Your Eyes


Lawrence Kelter - 2005
    The first is a teenage girl whose asthma suffocates her while sleeping. The second is a man shot on the tram that connects Roosevelt Island to Manhattan. Lying next to the man is the real puzzle: a woman who might appear to have died of natural causes if not for the handwritten note stuffed in her mouth that simply reads "Look back." Murder mystery thrillers are often driven by tough, fast-talking, streetwise detectives with a sad story about their past and a penchant for nabbing perps. The cop on the case in "Don't Close Your Eyes" is all these things and more. Meet Stephanie Chalice. She's a smart, beautiful, 28-year-old NYPD homicide detective whose acerbic repartee is like an arsenal of nuclear missiles--it convinces her male colleagues that she means business. Behind all the bluster, though, is a young woman with fierce passions who shows the same tremendous dedication to her ill mother as she does her job. Chalice is an excellent detective, but it comes at a cost. She suffers recurring nightmares, and obsesses that the diabetes that killed her father and weakens her mother will one day come for her. When a second woman is found dead with a rag in her mouth and another cryptic note nearby, Chalice realizes a serial killer stalks Manhattan's Upper East Side. Her detective work combines intelligence, persistence, a skilled partner, and well-connected friends. Secret allies also work on her behalf to thwart dangers that lie just beyond her periphery. As she follows a trail of clues and corpses to the murderer, she also pursues her own demons, uncovering startling truths about who she really is.

Ghosts of Guatemala


Collin Glavac - 2019
    Desperate for a swift solution, the agency calls in their black operative fixer: John Carpenter.John is a cold-blooded professional ready for the job. But the mission doesn’t have a simple fix. Pablo has a disastrous kill switch in place. John is still haunted by the mysterious death of his best friend who died on a far too similar mission, and now is uncertain about how much he can trust his handler or his sensual partner.Back at the agency, tensions are running hot as the stench of corruption is growing to a boiling point. If things aren’t put to rights – and soon – the entire mission will go up in flames and take the CIA down with it. Only John Carpenter can bring this drug lord to justice and get the answers he deserves.Because this mission is personal…“If you like the relentless tension of Daniel Silva and the gritty reality of Lee Child then you’ll love this first book in the John Carpenter Trilogy!”Visit his website at CollinGlavac.com

The Charm School


Nelson DeMille - 1988
    In a place called Mrs. Ivanova's Charm School, young KGB agents are being taught by American POW's how to be model citizens of the USA. The Soviet goal -- to infiltrate the United States undetected. When an unsuspecting American tourist stumbles upon this secret, he sets in motion a CIA investigation that will reveal horrifying police state savagery and superpower treachery.

The Nostradamus Traitor


John Gardner - 1979
     Frau Fenderman approaches a warder at the Tower of London, asking questions about her husband – a Nazi spy who’d been imprisoned and executed there thirty years ago. But there’s no record of anyone called Claus Fenderman having ever been executed on British soil. Tasked with investigating the mystery, British Intelligence Officer Herbie Kruger digs into the strange operations of the Psychological Warfare Executive. Beginning to put the pieces together, he discovers that the group was trying to push false occult predictions into the Nazi mind using the famous Nostradamus prophecies. But something had gone very, very wrong. The deeper he delves into the investigation, the bigger and more dangerous the web becomes, for more than one of the participants in the Nostradamus Operation has something lethal to hide… Praise for John Gardner: ‘A master storyteller at the height of his power’ - Len Deighton, acclaimed author of Funeral in Berlin 'Cool polished story-telling with all the sexy sidelines in the best James Bond tradition' - The Evening Standard John Gardner was educated in Berkshire and at St. John’s College, Cambridge. He has had many fascinating occupations and was at one time a Royal Marine officer, a stage magician, theatre critic, reviewer and journalist.

Into Twilight


P.R. Adams - 2017
    When he’s double-crossed by one of his own, he’ll stop at nothing to take out the trash. Korea, 22nd Century. Surrender isn’t in Stefan Mendoza’s DNA. So when a traitor betrays his black-ops team, he alone pushes through the torture and escapes with revenge burning in his mind. On the verge of a systems failure, he taps into his underground network for a set of cybernetic limbs. But his high-tech recovery comes at a heavy price—an assassination hit on a rising political star.Filled with resentment for the cutthroat world of contract killers, he uses the hit job as a cover to track down the traitor. When he discovers he’s competing with other assassins for the same political target, he starts to piece together a sinister conspiracy that could lead him straight to the shadowy figure behind his betrayal. Trapped within a hotbed of corruption, can Mendoza exact his revenge and win his freedom or will he spiral deeper into the twisted game of brokered death?Into Twilight is the first book in The Stefan Mendoza Trilogy of high-octane cyberpunk techno-thrillers. If you like street-smart soldiers, complex conspiracies, and immersive sci-fi settings, then you'll love P.R. Adams noir-style page-turner.

Lie Down with Lions


Ken Follett - 1986
    Jean-Pierre, the Frenchman. They were two men on opposite sides of the cold war, with a woman torn between them. Together, they formed a triangle of passion and deception, racing from terrorist bombs in Paris to the violence and intrigue of Afghanistan - to the moment of truth and deadly decision for all of them...

Berlin Game


Len Deighton - 1983
    But soon, Samson is confronted with evidence that there is a traitor among his colleagues. And to find out who it is, he must sift through layers of lies and follow a web of treachery from London to Berlin until hero and traitor collide.From the Paperback edition.

White Out


Danielle Girard - 2020
    Scattered Bible verses and the image of a man lying in a pool of blood haunt her memory.The same night of the accident, a young woman is murdered and tossed in a dumpster. Kylie Milliard, Hagen’s only detective, doesn’t immediately recognize the victim, but Kylie soon discovers that Lily and the dead woman share a dark past…if only Lily could remember what it was.Lily and Kylie both want answers. But Kylie has to play by the book. Lily has to play it safe. And the more Lily learns about her identity, the more she fears the truth.

The Winner Maker


Jeff Bond - 2018
    Fiske did more than inspire with soaring oratory; he supported their ambitions into adulthood. Four of his brightest former stars reunite to find him, putting high-octane careers on hold, slipping police barricades, racing into the wilds of Northern Michigan for clues about the fate of their legendary mentor.Others don’t see a legend. They see an elitist whose time has passed.When a current student — female — disappears just hours into the Winners’ search amid rumors of inappropriate meetings, the Great Man’s reputation is a shambles.Feints, betrayal, explosive secrets from their own pasts: as facts emerge, each Winner must decide how far they’ll go for Fiske. Can the truth redeem him? Or has this cult of hyper-achievement spawned a thing so vile none of their lives will survive intact?

American Assassin


Vince Flynn - 2010
    He trains six months intensely with other clandestine operatives, under CIA Operations Director Thomas Stansfield and protégé Irene Kennedy, to stop terrorists before they reach America. The assassin leaves a trail of bodies from Istanbul across Europe to Beirut, where he needs every ounce of skill and cunning to survive the war-ravaged city and its deadly terrorist factions.

A Life Removed


Jason Parent - 2017
    But a new terror is stalking their city. The killer’s violent crimes are ritualistic but seemingly indiscriminate. As the death toll rises, the detectives must track a murderer without motive. The next kill could be anyone… maybe even one of their own. Officer Aaron Pimental sees no hope for himself or humanity. His girlfriend is pulling away, and his best friend has found religion. When Aaron is thrust into the heart of the investigation, he must choose who he will become, the hero or the villain. If Aaron doesn’t decide soon, the choice will be made for him.

Conspiracy in Kiev


Noel Hynd - 2008
    Or can she? While on loan from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Alex is tapped to accompany a Secret Service team during an American Presidential visit to Ukraine. Her assignment: to keep personal watch over Yuri Federov, the most charming and most notorious gangster in the region. Against her better judgment—and fighting a feeling that she’s being manipulated—she leaves for Ukraine. But there are more parts to this dangerous mission than anyone suspects, and connecting the dots takes Alex across three continents and through some life-altering discoveries about herself, her work, her faith, and her future. Conspiracy in Kiev—from the first double-cross to the stunning final pages—is the kind of solid, fast-paced espionage thriller only Noel Hynd can write. For those who have never read Noel Hynd, this first book in The Russian Trilogy is the perfect place to start.

The Perfect Assassin


Ward Larsen - 2004
    Christine Palmer, a young American doctor sailing solo across the Atlantic, makes an incredible discovery - a man narrowly clinging to his life in the frigid waters. But there is much more to this desperate survivor than meets the eye. David Slaton is a Kidon - a highly-trained, highly-precise, and highly-dangerous assassin. The Kidon is both the hunter and the hunted, and he and Christine are in grave danger. Will they win in this race against time?With the precision of a sharpshooter, author Ward Larsen weaves an intricate tale of espionage and intrigue.

The Man of Legends


Kenneth C. Johnson - 2017
    The bet pays off, resulting in a story that will be popular with book clubs and fun to discuss.” —Associated Press New York City, New Year’s weekend, 2001. Jillian Guthrie, a troubled young journalist, stumbles onto a tantalizing mystery: the same man, unaged, stands alongside Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, and Gandhi in three different photographs spanning eighty-five years of history.In another part of town, Will—an enigmatic thirty-three-year-old of immense charm, wit, and intelligence—looks forward to the new year with hope and trepidation. Haunted by his secret past and shadowed by a dangerous stranger, he finds himself the object of an intense manhunt spearheaded by an ambitious Vatican emissary and an elderly former UN envoy named Hanna.During the next forty-eight hours, a catastrophic event unites Will, Jillian, and Hanna—and puts them in the crosshairs of a centuries-old international conspiracy. Together, the three must unravel an ancient curse that stretches back two millennia and beyond, and face a primal evil that threatens their lives and thousands more.Award-winning science-fiction mastermind Kenneth Johnson blends epic adventure, romance, and evocative drama into an intense supernatural thriller rooted in one of the great untold legends of human history.

Witness for Wendy


M.K. Turner - 2021
    A bored writer. A matter of life and death when their stories collide……Actress Wendy Knight thought her life was finally turning around. But when her ex came back into the picture, he wanted to take all of that away from her and more…and then she disappeared.Scriptwriter Angie Bearing longs to write something deeper than daytime soaps. When the plot for a new thriller comes to her, she doesn't question it. At least until she discovers an uncanny resemblance between her story and the unsolved disappearance of an actress named Wendy. Angie begins to investigate. As she retraces Wendy's footsteps, she doesn't realise that someone is watching her. Someone who would do anything to keep the awful truth buried for good…Witness for Wendy is the captivating first book in the Bearing Witness series