Faces of Darkness


Steven A. McKay - 2019
    For months now, she’s been stalked by some shadowy tormentor yet, bafflingly, the attacker has never been clearly seen by anyone, even Lady Isabella, and he seems to leave no trace of his movements.Can the bailiff, John Little, along with the legendary friar, Robert Stafford, uncover the truth and, more importantly, will they be able to save the troubled victim before she ends up dead?This new standalone novella from the author of The Druid sees the return of two much-loved characters from the Forest Lord series and is based on a shocking real-life case which remains, to this day, unsolved.

Run, Run, Run


Mark Capell - 2011
    But even that can't protect him and his wife, Sally. Somebody knows their new identity - somebody who shouldn't.Frank Tong is an artist who finds inspiration for his paintings from the violence of his criminal life. When his brother is put away for murder he wants revenge. And Frank has a mole in the Witness Protection Scheme.Dan and the pregnant Sally have no choice. They have to flee. They go on the run from both sides of the law.They must learn to lie, steal, shoot and fight to survive. They can't use their credit cards, cash machines, mobile phones - anything that will give away their location. They must constantly look over their shoulder. It's living life like a criminal - a difficult task for two law abiding people.What will it take to return to a normal life? How far are they prepared to go? What will they sacrifice for their freedom?'Run, Run, Run' is a crime thriller that will have your heart racing and your mind buzzing....Sometimes the best way to get justice is to run away from it...(2014 REVISED EDITION)

The Moose Jaw - (Book, #2)


Mike Delany - 2013
    2nd in the Fergus O'Neill Series

Defending Evil


Charles Shea - 2010
    Have you ever wondered how an attorney would feel if that same recently acquitted client kills a second time? Again, I have, and these very questions prompted me to write a dark mystery/thriller about just such an attorney…I call it DEFENDING EVIL.Travis Knight is an extraordinary Criminal Defense Attorney winning high profile cases in Atlanta. One of his recently acquitted clients kills again, which has Travis and his wife Julie, questioning what he does for a living. Travis is shaken to his core, but being a consummate lawyer, he is able to move past his feelings of guilt; Julie isn’t. In a bizarre twist, a mysterious vigilante begins executing Travis’ clients after he wins them an acquittal. This righteous vigilante decides that the clients Travis is helping to put back into society are guilty, and don't deserve to live--the vigilante delivers ultimate justice.The police only half-heartedly search for the vigilante-off the record, they are glad someone is cleaning-up after the hot-shot attorney.The vigilante's attention turns to the source, and sends Travis an ultimatum--stop defending guilty clients or he will be the next to be executed. Risking his life, and his marriage, Travis refuses to be intimidated, and continues to defend clients accused of murder. This story chronicles the labyrinth of high-speed twists and turns of a deadly cat-and-mouse game…a game that can end with only one winner.Buckle-up and enjoy the ride!Best Regards,Charles Shea - Author of DEFENDING EVIL

The Masada Complex


Avraham Azrieli - 2010
    – President Barack Obama calls America’s alliance with Israel “unshakeable.” The Masada Complex questions this assertion with a realistic political thriller taking place in Arizona, Washington and Jerusalem.The Masada Complex unveils a chilling scenario. Its hero is Masada El-Tal, a beautiful Israeli expatriate, currently an investigative reporter in Arizona. Her exposure of a bribe payment causes a disgraced U.S. senator to commit suicide. Angered by Israel’s supposed culpability, an angry Congress moves to terminate all military aid to the Jewish state. At the same time, someone repeatedly attempts to assassinate Masada, whose relentless investigation becomes a race against time, leading to a shocking discovery and a spectacular climax.

Children of Apollo


Adam Alexander Haviaras - 2012
    Having achieved a measure of success in the Emperor’s Legions in North Africa, Lucius is recalled to Rome where he finds himself surrounded by enemies, cast into the deadly arena of Roman politics. Amid growing fears of treachery, Lucius meets a young Athenian woman who fills his darkening world with new-found hope. Their love grows, as does their belief that the Gods have planned their meeting but when an ancient oracle of Apollo utters a terrifying prophecy regarding his future, Lucius’ world is once more thrown into chaos. Ultimately, he must choose sides in a war that threatens to destroy his family, his faith and all that he has worked for.

The Black Mountains


Janet Tanner - 1981
    Charlotte, James and their seven children are independent spirits, united by strong family values.Living in a mining community is never easy, and when the shadow of impending war threatens, they must pull together to face the hardship to come. Can this close-knit family overcome whatever tragedy life throws at them?The Black Mountains, a moving saga of love, happiness and heartbreak, is perfect for fans of Rosie Goodwin and Katie Flynn. ‘Sensitive and exceptionally polished’ Manchester Evening News The Hillsbridge Sagas The Black Mountains The Emerald Valley The Hills and the Valley A Family Affair

After the Roses


Shayne Parkinson - 2015
    For a brief period, Daisy’s world once again seems a safe and settled one.But no one returns unscathed from such a war, although not all wounds leave obvious signs. And hard on the heels of the Armistice comes a new, invisible enemy that will strike much closer to home: a lethal epidemic of influenza.Till now, Daisy has shared her dream of some day becoming a doctor with only one person: her beloved cousin Eddie. Her hopes for the future must be set aside while events are buffeting her family; and the best education her little school can offer aims no further than producing capable farmers and useful wives. Pursuing her dream will be no easy task for Daisy."After the Roses" is the sequel to "Daisy's War".

Ancient Revenge


J.F. Lourens - 2011
    An explosion rips the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris apart during celebratory mass, killing hundreds and revealing a hidden crypt with a most gruesome find: the crucified body of a naked young woman; twelve tombstones inscribed with a single phrase -- in domina nostra salus. CIA agent John Russell, an expert in religious crime, is summoned to investigate a wave of atrocities that surges through Europe: Bodies on cathedral towers covered in baffling tattoos; the massacre of a Cistercian monastery; the relentless execution of senior Cardinal Bishops. Sorting through the bizarre crimes, Russell and his team are plunged into a web of age-old conspiracies involving the Vatican, the Ceile De, spouses of the gods, warrior priestesses and their quest to settle a primeval score. In a race against time, Russell drags his team through Europe in a desperate struggle to prevent total cataclysm. In just four days...

The First Witness


Todd Easterling - 2013
    Southern California Novelist Todd Easterling, discovered by New York's Jay Garon-Brooke Agency (of John Grisham fame), weaves a well-written, character-rich story with cinematic potential.With a topic right out of today's headlines, this story follows Tom Lassiter in a fast paced race to separate facts from propaganda, and ends in a heart stopping glimpse of the new world we live in and threats posed by rogue states set on nuclear weapons development.On his journey, Tom finds friendship and loyalty with his sidekick from The Washington Post, and unexpectedly develops a romantic interest while interviewing key players behind the scenes.The book might be compared to an early Tom Clancy type story (such as The Hunt for Red October) or Harrison Ford type thriller movie involving espionage and covert government actions (Air Force One), yet relationships and suspense play a stronger role in The First Witness. Never delving too deep into technical details to avoid a pure military thriller, the story focuses on uncovering clues, determining who is involved and trying to avoid capture before getting the story out. In the end, Tom Lassiter finds himself and the United States in a mission to fix what he admittedly and inadvertently help set in motion.

A Moment of Wrong Thinking


Lawrence Block - 2002
    The first novel, The Sins of the Fathers, appeared in 1975, and A Drop of the Hard Stuff—the 17th and most recent—was published in 2011. Over the years Scudder has also been featured in 11 short works of fiction; A Moment of Wrong Thinking, which first appeared in EQMM in 2002, is one of them.Short stories have provided me with the opportunity for a glance back at Scudder's life before the first of the novels, when he was a working member of the NYPD. A Moment of Wrong Thinking puts the spotlight on Vince Mahaffey, the veteran plainclothes cop with whom Matt was partnered in his early days on the job in Brooklyn. "They put me with him so he could teach me the ropes," Matt recalls, "and he taught me plenty,including some things they'd have just as soon I never learned." There are references to Mahaffey in several of the novels, but this story gives us a closer look at him.A Moment of Wrong Thinking is included in The Night and the Music, my collection of all 11 Matthew Scudder short stories.

Fifth Column


Christopher Remy - 2011
    A divided America is debating whether or not to go to war. The FBI and police, scrambling to thwart any attacks, round up the plotters. Experts declare that our intelligence capabilities are insufficient and that a new agency must be created. The year is 1941. Fifth Column is the story of Johanna Falck, a German immigrant who joins the new American central intelligence service. As Americans focus on the war in Europe and whether the United States should intervene, the FBI is rounding up scores of German spies. The German-American Bund, a pro-Nazi group of Americans suspected of being saboteurs and subversives, is at the center of the FBI's investigations. Johanna is recruited to infiltrate the Bund and discover what they and the Nazis have planned. Soon she is caught up in a far-reaching conspiracy, one that stretches from the top of the Nazi state to the streets of New York. What she finds shatters her most basic assumption about the Third Reich.

Jeremy's Loss


Jeff Menapace - 2011
    Just when it seems that his grief may turn into madness, a disfigured man appears and reveals to Jeremy that his mother's death was no accident: She was murdered for unearthing a deadly conspiracy.Now, if Jeremy wants to stay alive, he must trust this mysterious stranger at all costs and find a way to eliminate the impending threat--before it eliminates him.Short Fiction. approx. 26 pages

Shattered


Donna Ball - 1997
    a desperate mother... a frantic call in the night... is this a cruel hoax, or the work of a maniacal serial killer? The peaceful resort town of St. Teresa-by-the-Sea on Florida's Forgotten Coast is known for its low crime rate, pristine beaches, and great fishing. But tragedy can come even to Paradise, as Carol Dennison found out two and a half years ago when her fourteen-year-old daughter, Kelly, disappeared on her way to a Tallahassee concert. Now, just as Carol as beginning to rebuild the pieces of her shattered life, she receives a midnight call from someone who calls her "mama" and begs for help. Is this a cruel prank designed to terrorize and punish Kelly's father for the role he played in bringing a recently paroled criminal to justice? Or is it possible that Kelly is still alive?A grim investigation uncovers a connection between Kelly and other girls who have gone missing along the Gulf Coast in the past few years. When the body of one of those missing girls washes up on the shores of St. Teresa-by-the-Sea, the police are forced to admit they may have a serial killer in their midst. And with over three thousand college students poised to descend on the tiny community for spring break, their only hope for stopping him before he strikes again is the frightened voice of a teenage girl on the telephone... and the desperate determination of the parents who love her.Shattered is Donna Ball at her best: spine-tingling terror, chilling realism and unforgettable characters. No parent will ever watch her child leave the house in the same way again.Praise for the work of Donna Ball:"A maelstrom of suspense… gripping, intense”--Rendezvous“[Ball] knows how to keep a story moving”--Kirkus Reviews“A major talent of the genre”--Publisher’s Weekly“A must read”--Examiner.com

Case Theory


Stephen Penner - 2012