Book picks similar to
Try Not to Burn by Michael David Matula
horror
dark-fantasy
fantasy
strong-characters
Candles Burning
Tabitha King - 2006
Known for his chilling "Blackwater" series, author Michael McDowell left behind the unfinished manuscript for "Candles Burning" upon his death in 1999. In the spirit of the ghost stories that Michael loved, Tabitha King has taken up where he left off, weaving a Southern gothic fabric of murder, guilt, innocence, corruption, and survival, in the voices of the living and the dead. Calliope "Calley" Dakin is just seven when her beloved father is tortured, murdered, and dismembered by two women with no discernible motivation. In the aftermath, Calley and her mother find themselves caught up in inexplicable events that exile them to Pensacola Beach, where-in a house that's a dead ringer for Calley's late great-grandmother's house-a woman awaits their presence. For Calley is no normal little girl.
The Book of Lost Things
John Connolly - 2006
But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own -- populated by heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things.Taking readers on a vivid journey through the loss of innocence into adulthood and beyond, New York Times bestselling author John Connolly tells a dark and compelling tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.
Double Blind
Dan Alatorre - 2019
The killer's hunting them. A lone trucker is ambushed, shot, and brutally stabbed. A tourist meets the same fate while out for a jog. Facing two crime scenes that could have come from a horror movie, Detectives Carly Sanderson and Sergio Martin search for a crazed serial killer. Five more attacks happen in a week, launching the entire city into a panic and causing the mayor to throw all of the city’s resources into stopping the rampage. But while the detectives work around the clock, they don’t know the killer has upped the game—by making them his next targets.
PRAISE FOR DOUBLE BLIND:
ONE HELL OF A MURDER MYSTERY
A. M. Park Review
“A GRIPPING STORY” “As with all his books, Dan jumps in with an explosive start that pulls his readers in immediately.” - -San Francisco Review of Books “TRUE EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT READING” " I could see it and feel it…this crime thriller is a potent example of the talent of this author to pull his readers into his story and believe. Can’t forget to mention this, WHAT AN ENDING!”- Tome Tender Review “WOW, WHAT A RIDE”
Spencer Reviews
“KEEPS YOU GUESSING UNTIL THE END” “Lots of twist and turns, most of which you don't see coming. And even when you do see them coming, they don't lead where you think.” - L. Martin Review
Blindsighted
Karin Slaughter - 2001
But it's only when town pediatrician and coroner Sara Linton does the autopsy that the full extent of the killer's twisted work becomes clear. Sara's ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, leads the investigation -- a trail of terror that grows increasingly macabre when another local woman is found crucified a few days later. But he's got more than a sadistic serial killer on his hands, for the county's sole female detective, Lena Adams -- the first victim's sister -- wants to serve her own justice. But it is Sara who holds the key to finding the killer. A secret from her past could unmask the brilliantly malevolent psychopath .. or mean her death.
Dark Side of Sunset Pointe (Lance Underphal Mystery #1)
Michael Allan Scott - 2012
A hardnosed homicide detective who won’t give up. A Trump-wannabe real estate developer – murdered. A freelance photographer who saw it all in his head.Dark. Different. Inspired by true events. Devastated by his wife’s death, the down and out crime scene photographer wakes plagued with visions – the double shooting of a commercial real estate developer and his mistress.The hard-boiled homicide detective does his best to blow off the photographer’s “visions,” but dead bodies are piling up. The photographer comes to realize his visions will either kill him or lead to the murderer. His only hope is the voice in his head, the voice of his dead wife.
The Library at Mount Char
Scott Hawkins - 2015
A woman too busy to notice her heart slipping away.Carolyn's not so different from the other people around her. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. Clothes are a bit tricky, but everyone says nice things about her outfit with the Christmas sweater over the gold bicycle shorts. After all, she was a normal American herself once. That was a long time ago, of course. Before her parents died. Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father. In the years since then, Carolyn hasn't had a chance to get out much. Instead, she and her adopted siblings have been raised according to Father's ancient customs. They've studied the books in his Library and learned some of the secrets of his power. And sometimes, they've wondered if their cruel tutor might secretly be God. Now, Father is missing—perhaps even dead—and the Library that holds his secrets stands unguarded. And with it, control over all of creation. As Carolyn gathers the tools she needs for the battle to come, fierce competitors for this prize align against her, all of them with powers that far exceed her own. But Carolyn has accounted for this. And Carolyn has a plan. The only trouble is that in the war to make a new God, she's forgotten to protect the things that make her human. Populated by an unforgettable cast of characters and propelled by a plot that will shock you again and again, The Library at Mount Char is at once horrifying and hilarious, mind-blowingly alien and heartbreakingly human, sweepingly visionary and nail-bitingly thrilling—and signals the arrival of a major new voice in fantasy.From the Hardcover edition.
Sparrow Hill Road
Seanan McGuire - 2014
Trouble was, he didn’t ask Rose what she thought of the idea.It’s been more than sixty years since that night, and she’s still sixteen, and she’s still running.They have names for her all over the country: the Girl in the Diner. The Phantom Prom Date. The Girl in the Green Silk Gown. Mostly she just goes by “Rose,” a hitchhiking ghost girl with her thumb out and her eyes fixed on the horizon, trying to outrace a man who never sleeps, never stops, and never gives up on the idea of claiming what’s his. She’s the angel of the overpass, she’s the darling of the truck stops, and she’s going to figure out a way to win her freedom. After all, it’s not like it can kill her.You can’t kill what’s already dead.
Titanoboa
Victor Methos - 2014
On the small island of Kalou, Fiji, a rash of disappearances has the local police stumped. Men, women and children seem to disappear without a trace. Mark Whittaker is the island's sole private investigator. A former LAPD detective who moved to the island to get away from the violence of the city, he's now thrust into the middle of the disappearances when he's hired to find the brother of a mysterious client. As Mark digs into the disappearances, he discovers that something sinister and ancient has been awakened on the island. Something that kills without pity or remorse. And he fears his once island dream is about to be turned into a nightmare.
Blood Lies: Book One of The Redwing Saga
Sharon K. Gilbert - 2017
When detectives arrive, they find not only the broken body of the victim, but a child who remembers nothing of who she is or how she came to be at the scene. Because the little girl has no known home, a gentle-hearted detective inspector named Charles St. Clair takes her to his home, and from that point on, his life will never be the same. Over the course of the next ten years, he’ll learn not only all about the girl but also about himself. And St. Clair will learn the truth about a supernatural battle that has been raging across England for four hundred years.
The Redwing Saga
presents an alternative telling of history, pulling back the veil of secrecy put into place by those who would deceive and destroy. Geopolitics, criminal investigation, and science merge with secret societies, angelic warfare, and human free will. Book One of the series,
Blood Lies
, introduces the characters—both human and non-human—as well as their backstories, and it starts us on a journey that will eventually lead from Whitechapel to World War.
Dream Girl
Laura Lippman - 2021
As he moves in and out of dreamlike memories and seemingly random appearances of a persistent ex-girlfriend at his bedside, he fears he may be losing his grip on reality, much like his mother who recently passed away from dementia.Most distressing, he believes he’s being plagued by strange telephone calls, in which a woman claiming to be the titular character of his hit novel Dream Girl swears she will be coming to see him soon. The character is completely fictitious, but no one has ever believed Gerry when he makes that claim. Is he the victim of a cruel prank—or is he actually losing his mind★ There is no record of the calls according to the log on his phone. Could there be someone he has wronged★ Is someone coming to do him harm as he lies helplessly in bed★Then comes the morning he wakes up next to a dead body—and realizes his nightmare is just beginning...
The House of Thunder
Leigh Nichols - 1982
Can these be the same men? As she tries to uncover the identities of those stalking her, Susan enters a terrifying nightmare--one from which she may never escape. Previously published by Pocket under the pseudonym Leigh Nichols (1982).
Mister B. Gone
Clive Barker - 2007
of the title is Jakabob Botch, a demon whose ghastly past could make even the most merciless sociopath whimper in sympathy. Born in the deepest regions of hell, the spawn of an abusive drunkard and his whorish wife, Jakabob escapes to the world above after suffering fiendish torture. Once topside, he lands conveniently in 15th-century Mainz, the home of printing inventor Johannes Gutenberg. However, Mister B. isn't interested in merely observing history; like any other self-respecting diabolical being, he's just searching for a new demonic angle. A ghoulishly good fright fest.