Book picks similar to
Cursed! by J.R. Rain


horror
paranormal
thriller
mystery

Witch's Bell 1


Odette C. Bell - 2011
     Ebony Bell is living just exactly the life she wants. She has her very own magical bookstore, a wardrobe full of fabulously glitzy clothes, and a sweet bowl just brimming with lollies. But when a 6ft-tall annoyance by the name of Detective Nathan Wall walks through her shop door, her sweet life turns to ruin. As witch consultant for the local police department, Ebony has to work infuriatingly close with the man. And if that wasn't the worst thing that could happen, she slowly finds out that an ancient, thoroughly powerful entity might just be out to curse her. Very soon she finds herself ditching the ruby-red heels, dashing across rooftops, breaking and entering, and stuffing whole bookstores into bags. Oh, and possibly kissing annoying detectives.

Forever Road


Catie Rhodes - 2013
    A reluctant psychic medium. Destiny only knocks once—then it kicks down the door. Peri Jean Mace thinks seeing ghosts is a curse, but her murdered trailer trash cousin doesn’t care. She wants Peri Jean to expose her killer.Peri Jean figures out everyone in her one-stoplight East Texas town has something to hide. And one of them will kill to hide the truth. In over her head, Peri Jean has to face her curse or end up the next victim.Forever Road is the first book in the Peri Jean Mace Ghost Thriller series. If you like your urban fantasy served up with a heavy dose of goose bumps, a side of gut-busting laughs, and a fist-swinging heroine who will steal your heart, you’ll love Forever Road.

Amanda's Eyes


Kathy Disanto - 2012
    It's even worse if you can't remember what hit you.The bad and the ugly are crime reporter Amanda "A.J." Gregson's business. But learning she had a ringside seat for an explosion that vaporized two federal agents, incinerated an entire block of warehouses, and peppered her eyes with so much shrapnel they had to be surgically removed? Well, that gives the darker side of life a whole new meaning.Haunted by will-o-the-wisp nightmares, A.J. waits for her transplant and struggles to remember the events leading up to the fateful night of September 4, 2075. She isn't the only one who wants that information. Special Agent Jack "Iceman" Eagan is as determined to get the facts as she is to remember them. When memory floods back in brutal detail the night before surgery, fed and reporter form an uneasy alliance against the architects of her personal disaster, a lethal band of killers-for-hire known as Ferrymen. The Ferrymen. My not-so-magnificent obsession for more than a year. Only a cataclysm could have made me forget. I guess you could call them hitmen. You could also call Einstein a math whiz. Think ruthless. Think unstoppable. Think killers so proficient 'caught the ferry' was fast replacing 'bought the farm' in common usage, and you have the Ferrymen in a nutshell. A.J. is raring for a rematch with Hell's Boatmen, eager to come out swinging as soon as the bandages come off. But fate has a surprise in store for both her and Eagan. Before long, her new baby blues reveal a power that turns her world upside down--the power to see hidden dimensions of the human heart.When the Sight unmasks the mastermind behind the Ferrymen, A.J. realizes she's onto a story no one will believe--least of all the ultra-cynical Iceman--and it propels her toward a second head-collision with evil. Will she survive the final encounter?A paranormal fantasy that will appeal to those who don't normally read them, the near-future thriller Amanda's Eyes blends suspense, drama, and humor in an exploration of the capacities for good and evil in each of us, the cost of doing the right thing, and the push-me-pull-you relationship between the Fourth Estate and the Long Arm of the Law.

The Knowing


Ninie Hammon - 2015
     It ends with the return of an evil as ancient as the skeleton of the universe. In the middle, normal garden-variety people must figure out how to live their everyday lives—how to survive!—after they discover that all those Bible stories about demons and angels...they're true. When the hot call comes over the radio: “Code Red! Active shooter at Carlisle Elementary School,” Police Sergeant Jack Carpenter has only one job: find the gunman; take him out. Carpenter rushes into the school, fully armed and focused on cold, hard reality. But what happens to him in the next few hours shatters the world as he has always known it. And in the next three days, everything Jack Carpenter believes about himself, about life and reality, about good and evil and the whole nature of the universe will be challenged. Can it possibly be true—seriously?—that invisible demons prowl among us every day? That there exists in the real world a winged creature more horrifying than any Hollywood-animated, computer-generated, mechanical unreality? And that the single-minded mission of that beast—a creation of absolute, soul-less evil—is to kill Jack Carpenter? That’s crazy! Fairy-tale-science-fiction-horror-movie-bogeyman crap! Bottom line: it flat-out cannot possibly be true. But it is. In this first book in The Knowing Trilogy, award-winning journalist and bestselling Christian suspense and thriller author Ninie Hammon begins a sprawling tale of spiritual warfare that spans a quarter of a century. If you enjoy sleep-with-the-lights-on suspense coupled with characters so lifelike they'll feel like family, The Knowing will open up for you a world you probably don't want to believe is real. But it is. Interview with the Author Q - What makes The Knowing special? A - It's real life on paper. Things happen that really are "unexplainable." There are forces at work in the universe we can't see, with power we can't begin to imagine and plans we don't understand. Is it any wonder that some things flat out don't have a reasonable, rational explanation? Q - Is The Knowing a paranormal book? A - Not in the sense that most people think of as "paranormal." It's not about zombies or vampires or people who turn into werewolves or giant bears or attack-gerbils. The characters in The Knowing are folks you could bump carts with in a small-town grocery store, so when the unexplainable starts to happen to them, you realize the same thing could happen to you, too. Q - Is this Christian fiction? A -Yes, Christian fiction with a backbone. There are Scriptural realities that many Christians say they believe, even think they believe--but when push comes to shove, they discover they really don't. Theresa Washington from The Knowing says it best: "The smartest thing Satan ever done was to get people to believe he don't exist." Q - Why should readers give this book a try? A - Because it will capture your heart and mind, grab you in a reality so gripping you'll decide you can fold the towels later and the lawn will still be out there to mow tomorrow.

Open Minds


Susan Kaye Quinn - 2011
    Zeros are outcasts who can’t be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf’s mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she’s dragged deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.TOP 5 FINALIST for 2012 Best Indie Book, Young Adult Fiction - The Kindle Book ReviewMINDJACK SERIES READING ORDEROpen Minds (Book 1)Closed Hearts (Book 2)Free Souls (Book 3)Locked Tight (Book 4)Cracked Open (Book 5)Broken Wide (Book 6)Mindjack Short Story Collection (Book 7)The Locksmith is a standalone novella that can be read independently of the trilogy and novellas.

The Death Series; Boxed Set


Tamara Rose Blodgett - 2012
    When teens receive a government-sanctioned pharmaceutical cocktail during school, paranormal abilities begin manifesting... making the teens more powerful than the adults.After Caleb discovers he has the rare, Affinity for the Dead, he must do whatever it takes to hide it from a super-secret government agency whose goal is exploitation. Caleb seeks refuge in his new girlfriend, Jade, until he realizes that she needs as much protection from her family, as he does from the government.Suddenly, Caleb finds that hiding his ability while protecting Jade and his friends is a full time job; can he escape the government, protect Jade and lose the bullies that are making him miserable? (App. 119,000 word count.)DEATH SPEAKS:Caleb's in high school now and thinks the chaos of last year is behind him. Unfortunately, a serial killer is on the loose and children are his victims. Caleb agrees to help the police apprehend the murderer...until the killer takes notice of Caleb and his paranormal friends.Carson and Brett remain the bullies they always were and their posse continues to grow. How long can the two groups stay out of each others' way before there's a firestorm of retribution...The Government Graysheets continue to keep tabs on Caleb's every move while Jade's family threatens their relationship. Can they still be together even when events threaten to tear them apart? (App. 92,000 word count.)DEATH INCEPTION:Kyle Ulysses Hart and his team of scientists mapped the human genome in the year 2010. As Brain Impulse Technology came online... so did the long arm of the United States government. A covert, military-driven regime was born with genetic manipulation the key to future widespread control. When pharmaceutical laboratories, funded by the Graysheets, discover a way to unlock paranormal potential through compulsive inoculation, their exploitative dream is realized.Clyde and Caleb's lives are predestined to intertwine as they cross paths, his history becoming Caleb's future.A lone teenager named Jeffrey Parker, falls prey when he manifests the rare, Affinity for the Dead. The Graysheets abandon all pretense of stewardship, ripping him from his family for their nefarious purposes. Can Jeffrey remain who he was destined to be in an environment exclusively built for mass control? (App. 24,000 word count._

Berkley Street


Ron Ripley - 2016
    After a prolonged legal battle with his aunt and uncle, Shane has possession of the family home where his parents disappeared over 20 years ago. The house, a monstrous castle filled with ghosts and secrets, is more alive than its inhabitants.When his aunt and uncle come to town, then vanish, Shane's life takes a turn for the worse. Detective Marie Lafontaine immediately labels Shane as the prime suspect. And in a race against time, Shane desperately searches for clues about his parents.But there's something lurking beyond the walls and beneath the surface. Something sinister that has haunted him ever since he saw its face in the pond behind the house. And it isn’t happy that Shane is back.It isn’t happy at all.

The Curse of Allie Mae


Aiden James - 2010
    David Hobbs, vacationing with his wife Miriam, inadvertently stumbles upon a small cloth 'keepsake' bag and a broken tooth. A human tooth. Miriam begs David to hand the bag and tooth over to park officials, but he ignores his wife's pleas and secretly keeps the 'harmless' items. The action opens a doorway that had been closed for nearly a hundred years and unleashes hell on earth, or at least hell in the lives of David and Miriam.Following the brutal murder of his best friend in Denver, and an aborted attack on his oldest son, David desperately seeks to understand why a mysterious teenage girl has chosen to terrorize him and the males closest to him. To prevent further devastation to his family and end the wanton bloodshed, he returns to the enchanted hills of eastern Tennessee, where a terrible truth awaits discovery...one that forces him to face the consequences for the unpaid sins of his ancestors.

Through Violet Eyes


Stephen Woodworth - 2004
    Because to every generation are born a select few souls with violet-colored eyes, and the ability to channel the dead. Both rare and precious—and rigidly controlled by a society that craves their services—these Violets perform a number of different duties. The most fortunate increase the world's cultural heritage by channeling the still-creative spirits of famous dead artists and musicians. The least fortunate aid the police and the law courts, catching criminals by interviewing the deceased victims of violent crime.But now the Violets themselves have become the target of a brutal serial murderer—a murderer who had learned how to mask his or her identity even from the victims. Can the FBI, aided by a Violet so scared of death that she is afraid to live, uncover the criminal in time? Or must more of her race be dispatched to the realm that has haunted them all since childhood?

Out of Time


Monique Martin - 2010
    When a mysterious accident transports Simon and his new assistant, Elizabeth West, back in time, Simon finally finds both the proof that he's been looking for, and the romance that he hasn't.In 1920s Manhattan, they find that are more than mobsters vying for power in the city's speakeasies. Will Simon and Elizabeth's developing relationship survive the vampires' teeth? Will they survive to make it back? Or will they be forever out of time?From the AuthorDon't miss the sequel,"When the Walls Fell", now available for Kindle. Look for more books in the Out of Time Series coming in 2012.

Blood Vice


Angela Roquet - 2017
    Louis County Police Department's Vice Squad when she's bitten by a vampire in a supernatural brothel. Her day only gets worse from there. She wakes up in the morgue and discovers that her partner is dead. Before the sun rises, she realizes she is too. Jenna vows to continue their investigation until justice is served, but a werewolf squatter, an unexpected visit from her estranged sister, and a nosy FBI agent stand in her way. Not to mention her fresh aversion to sunlight and a thirst for something a little stiffer than revenge.

Messages


John Michael Hileman - 2011
    And as much as David Chance would like to hide from them, he can't. Words keep leaping off objects around him, forming messages in his mind. But how is this possible? Has his brain suddenly taken an evolutionary leap forward, or are the mysterious messages proof of divine intervention?Driven to answer a question he'd long ago abandoned, and stalked by the killer he's trying to stop, David risks everything to follow the messages to a dirty bomb set to go off in the heart of Boston. But can he trust the author of the messages to protect him from a terrorist who seems to know his every move.

Long Ago and Far Away: Six Fantasy Novels Inspired by Fairy Tales, Myths, Legends, Folklore, & Magic


Christine Pope - 2020
    Rhianne Menyon has dreams of being a painter, but her world changes forever when a single moment of sacrifice brings her to Black's Keep as the Dragon's latest Bride. As she attempts to adjust to her new life - and to know something of the monster who is now her husband - she begins to see that the curse is far crueler than she first believed. Unraveling the mystery of what happened to the Dragon's Brides is only the beginning...Jennifer Blackstream - Before Midnight (Blood Prince #1)An alpha wolf fighting a powerful curse...The werewolf prince Etienne is turning into a human. A fierce and loyal pack, Etienne and his family have protected their kingdom with tooth and claw - literally - for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, the spell of a well-meaning witch is slowly stealing the beast from inside him. Only the bite of a cursed werewolf - one who was not born with the beast inside - can save him from losing everything. He has no time for anything that will not lead him to a cure for the curse. Not even the beautiful maiden whose gentle nature soothes his soul even as she tempts him into primal pursuits of an entirely different nature…A maiden enslaved by her stepfamily, who dares to reach for more...Loupe lives in terror. Terror of the bloodthirsty stepfamily who treats her like a slave, and terror of the beast trapped inside her. Bitten by a werewolf while dealing with the illegal gains of her step-family’s poaching, Loupe’s dreams of a strong husband who would take her away from her servant-like existence are over. A woman who becomes a mindless beast on the night of the full moon has no place in a marriage bed. Not even if that bed belongs to a prince with the manners of royalty and the hungry eyes of a wolf.Nothing will stand between an alpha wolf and his mate...A grand ball. The stroke of twelve. A magic “slipper.” All kinds of things can happen when you don’t leave the ball... Before Midnight.Laura Greenwood - Spindles And Spells (Grimm Academy #1)Briar doesn't believe in Once Upon A Time...Her whole life, Briar has been told about her fate, but she doesn't believe a word. Now she's forced to go to Grimm Academy along with all the other fairy tale characters trying to avoid their tales.When she finds a spindle in one of the tallest towers, she begins to believe, but is it already too late?Welcome to Grimm Academy, where fairy tale characters go to escape their foretold fate.Kat Parrish - Bride Of The Midnight King (Grimm Blood Tale #1)And the story begins with... once upon a timeThe land was called Eindar, and those who lived there called it “home,” but those who lived beyond its borders called it “The Divided Kingdom” because it was a place where humans and vampires shared the land but divided the day’s hours into sunlight and shadow, and there were only a few whose lives were lived in both realms.Eindar had once been ruled by a royal house of humans, but that era ended when the last human king - Lorant the Third - took a vampire wife and died, leaving the kingdom in her care. Queen Isix abdicated in favor of her son Adraxus, and the sons of his line had occupied the throne of the Shadow Palace ever since.By custom, the vampire kings choose human consorts to rule by their side. A king chose his consort for any number of reasons, but rarely was love involved. Or so it was until the last consort of King Idrax died, leaving behind a most unusual bequest. Lady Judita’s final gift to the kingdom and the king she’d loved was a complete surprise, and it changed… everything.Jenna Elizabeth Johnson - Faeborne (Otherworld #9)Brennon Roarke is cursed. Stolen from his family at the age of sixteen and forced to use his glamour in the service of Eilé’s most malevolent goddess, Brenn has little room for warmth in his heart. For seven long years, he endured hardship and pain, only to escape and find his parents and sister murdered, his nephew left blind and broken. With the stain of dark magic on his soul, Brennon perseveres for the sake of his young ward, always worrying that one day the evil infecting his spirit will destroy him for good.Seren is an outcast among her own kind, ridiculed and ostracized by all but her mother. Born to the Fahndí tribe of the Weald, Seren’s glamour allows her to transform into a deer, but it also grants her the power to heal grave wounds. When she reveals this gift to her peers, jealousy and hatred drive them to murder, forcing Seren to either flee or fall victim to their malice. Taking on her animal form, Seren leaves her old life behind hoping to find a safe haven in a world that has only ever offered her hardship.Despite being worlds apart, Seren and Brennon are brought together in a single life-altering moment. When the doe Brenn shoots turns into a young woman before his very eyes, he has no choice but to bring her home with the hope that she’ll recover. What he doesn’t realize, however, is that Seren is quite capable of healing herself with glamour that may be able to cure his wounds as well, and not only the ones that run skin deep.Julia Crane - Down The Rabbit HoleDown the Rabbit hole is a twisted tale of two sisters bound by blood and separated by magick.Alice is not the lovable girl the stories depict. A lifetime of pain and illusion has left her disturbed. Unpredictable. Dangerous.For years, she’s watched her twin sister - a girl born into light and destined for power – with great envy. According to the prophecy, only one of them will rule. Only one of them will survive.What will Alice sacrifice? The sister she hates, the man she loves, or the innocent lives caught in her twisted web of magick?

Wrong Side of Hell


Sonya Bateman - 2016
    That honor was reserved for the living." Hauling dead people around Manhattan is all in a day's work for body mover Gideon Black. He lives in his van, talks to corpses, and occasionally helps the police solve murders. His life may not be normal, but it's simple enough.Until the corpses start talking back.When Gideon accidentally rescues a werewolf in Central Park, he's drawn into the secret world of the Others. Fae, were-shifters, dark magic users and more, all playing a deadly cat-and-mouse game with Milus Dei, a massive and powerful cult dedicated to hunting down and eradicating them all.Then a dead man speaks to him, saying that Milus Dei wants him more than any Other. They'll stop at nothing to capture him and control the abilities he never knew he had.He is the DeathSpeaker. He is the key. And he's not as human as he thought...Life was a whole lot easier when the dead stayed dead.

The Daemoniac


Kat Ross - 2016
    With taunting messages in backwards Latin left at the crime scenes and even more inexplicable clues like the fingerprints that appear to have been burned into one victim's throat, his handiwork bears all the hallmarks of a demonic possession.But consulting detective Harrison Fearing Pell is convinced her quarry is a man of flesh and blood. Encouraged by her uncle, Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry hopes to make her reputation by solving the bizarre case before the man the press has dubbed Mr. Hyde strikes again.From the squalor of the Five Points to the high-class gambling dens of the Tenderloin and the glittering mansions of Fifth Avenue, Harry and her best friend, John Weston, follow the trail of a remorseless killer, uncovering a few embarrassing secrets of New York's richest High Society families along the way. Are the murders a case of black magic—or simple blackmail? And will the trail lead them closer to home than they ever imagined?