Book picks similar to
The Crittendon Files by Creston Mapes


christian-fiction
mystery
christian
thriller

The Legend of Devil's Creek


D.C. Alexander - 2012
    More abductions and killings soon follow. Justin Riddley, recently transferred to the island’s small college, faces growing evidence that one of his new friends and fellow students may be the murderer. John Marshall, redemption-seeking captain of the local police force, leads the frantic murder investigation and struggles to figure out whether the killings are tied to the island's dark and violent past. Tormented by tragic wartime memories, and more convinced with each day that it is humanity’s fate to destroy itself, Marshall races against both the murderer and the specter of his own mental breakdown. As blood continues to spill, Riddley and Marshall wonder whether there may be a dark, universal force that drives evil deeds great and small, and whether the nature of one’s childhood might sometimes, in the end, be all that separates the saint from the psychopath.

Dead Running


Cami Checketts - 2012
    Running from the mercenaries who killed her parents. Running from a scheming redhead intent on making her life miserable. Running from painful memories that sabotage her dreams of happiness. With two very tempting men competing for her attention, she hopes she'll finally have someone to run to, but can she trust either of them? When secrets from her past threaten her family, Cassidy decides to stop running and fight for her future. A light-hearted suspense with a side of PG-rated romance, Dead Running will have you lacing up your running shoes and impatiently waiting for the sequel. "Dead Running was everything I was hoping it would be, captivating, invigorating, and a page turner that I could not, would not, put down! Cami Checketts writes books that will make you think, and make you feel. She captivated me with The Sister Pact, and doesn't lose speed with her newest "must read," Dead Running." Sheila DeChantal Book Reviewer - Book Journey "Brilliant characterization, edge-of-your-seat suspense and a touch of humor make Dead Running a rare treat..." Wendy Davy Award winning author of Deadly Chase

Solitary


Travis Thrasher - 2010
    Jocelyn is beautiful and mysterious enough to leave Chris speechless. But the more Jocelyn resists him, the more the two are drawn together. Chris soon learns that Jocelyn has secrets as deep as the town itself. Secrets more terrifying than the bullies he faces in the locker room or his mother’s unexplained nightmares. He slowly begins to understand the horrific answers. The question is whether he can save Jocelyn in time. This first book in the Solitary Tales series will take you from the cold halls of high school to the dark rooms of an abandoned cabin—and remind you what it means to believe in what you cannot see.

Deuce Mora Mystery Series


Jean Heller - 2018
    The scrappy lead columnist for the Chicago Journal normally writes about politics, and, rather than shying away from fights, she tends to pick them, but every once in a while, Deuce’s search for a good story brings her face to face with more trouble than she was really looking for. In Award-winning journalist Jean Heller’s first action-packed mystery featuring the intrepid sleuth, Deuce learns in short order that if you mess with organized crime, you have to be tough—and you’d better be as much detective as reporter. The second volume finds Deuce on the wrong side of the NSA, the FBI and the CIA. At a minimum. Exhausted by these two white-knuckle investigations in one year, Deuce is content to focus on her column until she gains information that could help catch the relentless arsonist whose Burning Rage is consuming Chicago. Fans of hard-boiled female protagonists should hang onto their fedoras-- this one’s an action-packed extravaganza! "Good reporters do not always good novelists make, but Jean Heller is both." -- The Boston Sunday Globe "Superb ... It reads like a multimillion-dollar movie thriller." -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Deuce … finds dead-ends and danger at every turn. Part journalism procedural, part character study, THE SOMEDAY FILE is a humdinger of a mystery, the first of a welcome new series.” --Paul Levine, author of Bum Rap THE SOMEDAY FILE Deuce uncovers a series of crimes committed over nearly six decades, and, as her human interest story morphs into a hard-boiled, action-packed mystery, she finds herself dead center in a storm of threats and reprisals from the mob. Fortunately, she has many allies, but at least one of them, she suspects, is hiding a secret–- corruption? Murder? The veteran reporter knows: if you’re talking Chicago crime scene—it’s probably both. THE HUNTING GROUND The grisly discovery of a human bone while Deuce is out for a hike with handsome arson investigator Mark Hearst leads to the unearthing of a vast burial field, a human trafficking ring, and international intrigue. The pull-no-punches columnist-- and meticulous detective-- keeps turning up information, but the Journal’s lawyer appears daily, bringing warnings about “national security.” What, Deuce seethes, could be a greater matter of national security than the safety of the city’s children, who are being kidnapped and murdered? BURNING RAGE Whole blocks of Chicago real estate are falling to an arsonist, but no one knows why and everyone suspects the worst – terrorism. But no terrorist group has claimed the mayhem. From the moment she hears the earliest details of the first fire, her detective-instincts say the pieces don’t fit, and every other instinct tells the hard-hitting reporter she can’t walk away from the story – even though she knows she’ll regret it. WHO WILL LIKE IT: Fans of Chicago private investigators VI Warshawski and Libby Fischer Hellman’s Georgia Davis, get-the-story-or-die reporters like Hank Philippi Ryan’s Jane Rylan

Younger


Suzanne Munshower - 2015
    Desperate to prove she is still relevant, the fiftysomething accepts a shady job offer from Pierre Barton, secretive billionaire owner of Barton Pharmaceuticals. Isolated in a facility outside London, she agrees to test a new top-secret product guaranteed to make her look thirty years younger. Anna is starting to look on the outside the way she feels on the inside: ageless. But she soon discovers that her predecessor died under mysterious circumstances, leading her to research just who stands to gain—and lose—with this miraculous product. When Pierre drops dead in front of her, she takes off on a dangerous journey across Europe hoping to stay alive long enough to uncover the truth.With the hard-won knowledge that younger isn’t always better, Anna is determined to escape and reclaim her life before it’s too late.

The Planner


Alexandra Swann - 2012
    She has lost her home to foreclosure, and her long-time boyfriend has married someone else. Then, just when she has almost given up hope for a better future, an opportunity presents itself for her to become a Level 1 Planner for a newly created federal agency that will implement the Retire America Act of 2013.After persuading her own aging parents to sign over all of their assets, Kris learns that the government’s plan to confiscate the wealth and property of America’s retirees in exchange for lifelong care in the Smart Seniors community has some serious downsides. As she relinquishes more and more personal freedom to hold onto her job, she discovers what it means to trade liberty for a steady government paycheck.

A Perfect Ambition


Kevin Leman - 2015
    Groomed from birth with the relentless message that he was destined for greatness, Will has always pushed himself to succeed--nearly as much as his never-satisfied financial tycoon father pushes him. Becoming CEO of his company seems the next logical step on the success ladder. But when circumstances turn, Will finds himself staring down a road that leads to Capitol Hill. Can he trade the board room for the Senate floor? Or will a closetful of family secrets keep him from his destiny?

Burned


Jennifer Youngblood - 2014
    Sydney Lassiter has the perfect life—glamour, wealth, and all the high-society status to go with it. But something is tell her that she needs to return to the sleepy little town of Stoney Creek, Alabama where she grew up. She hasn’t been there since her father was killed in a boating accident—or was he murdered? She takes a job as a safety consultant at the local sawmill—the same place where her father worked—and sets out to discover the truth about his death. In Stoney Creek, you don’t ask the kinds of questions Sydney is asking. There are too many secrets—secrets that someone will do anything to keep hidden. To complicate matters, Sydney becomes enmeshed in a confusing love quadrangle involving two men, and the other woman, who seems to want both of them. And both men seem to have some connection to the death of her father. The closer Sydney gets to the truth, the more it seems that her quest could destroy not only her but the people and town she has come to love.

Coldwater


Samuel Parker - 2018
    An empty shell of a man who now lived--if it could be called living--in the still vacant house of his parents in a town with one stoplight. A town that hated him. Had always hated him. And was ready to pick up where the prison system had let off.Now he's on the run from men who've tried to kill him once; but Michael is more than an ex-con. A powerful, sinister force creeps inside him, threatening and destructive. Who--and what--it will destroy next is the only real question. From the bold voice that brought readers down Purgatory Road comes a new pulse-pounding, spine-rattling tale of vengeance and justice that will have them up all night.

All Good Deeds


Stacy Green - 2014
    She's just taking out the trash. Don’t call Lucy Kendall a serial killer. She’s fighting for the innocent, and she’ll do whatever it takes to bring justice. When a child disappears, Lucy quickly discovers the link to a predator she’s faced before–a man the state of Pennsylvania decided to turn loose on the streets. Determined to find the little girl and put a criminal behind bars for good, Lucy forces her way onto the case.As the search for the kidnapped child pulls Lucy into a web of evil beyond her darkest imagination, she’ll have to face her own dark truths to save the little girl–and herself.

Under Covers (City Girls #1)


Rhonda Bowen - 2015
    Her sister is missing. When her search for her sister sets her on a path into her past, she is forced to ask for help from the last person on earth she ever wished to see again - Garth Duhaney - a man she has both loved and hated for most of her life and whose power over her she has never been able to break.Jordan Lennox knows his wife-to-be is hiding things in her past. But his love for her keeps him believing that one day she will come clean. But when the secrets force him on a trip across the ocean only days before their wedding, he begins to question whether love is really enough.Will love keep them together or will it all fall apart when everything is uncovered?

The Vengeance Squad


Sidney W. Frost - 2011
    "Thank you for loving me," she said.I was the one who should be thanking her for loving me. I couldn't think about that right now. There was too much blood. I had to help her. "Tell me how to fix this."She coughed and cleared her throat. "Your love has fulfilled me.""No, please," I said, "don't talk like that. You're in shock. That's all. We'll get help soon.""Chris," Sarah said. "You have to let me go. I love..."She sank into my arms as her life left her body."No! Please, God, no."When Chris McCowan's fiancée, 24-year-old Sarah Eason, is killed during a bizarre robbery near Austin, Texas, an unlikely trio teams up to find those responsible for her death. The trio, Chris, a 31-year-old computer science professor, Percy "Tex" Thompson, a 40-year-old wheelchair bound ex-con student of Chris', and 65-year-old head librarian Liz Siedo, pool their talents to find the criminals after local law enforcement agencies have given up.Chris wants an eye for an eye even if it means giving up God and the church where he and Sarah were to be married. He sets out to learn the tricks of the trade from his ex-con student, all while continuing to teach and coming to terms with his grief. Angela, who claims to be an FBI agent, joins the Vengeance Squad to help the three find the killers.

When the Devil Whistles


Rick Acker - 2010
    Now, it’s their turn. And the price could be their lives.“I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t.” That’s what Allie Whitman tells herself every night as she lies awake. Sometimes she even believes it. But mostly she knows deep down that her inability to make a hard choice has put millions of lives at risk, including her own. Now the only one who can help her is her lawyer, Connor Norman. Unfortunately, Allie’s actions have destroyed Connor’s trust in her—and may destroy much, much more.

Missing


Shelley Shepard Gray - 2012
    The first death from mysterious circumstances in more than two decades brings the scrutiny of the outside world: A police detective arrives to help the local sheriff with the investigation. His questioning begins with Lydia Plank, Perry’s former girlfriend, and Perry’s best friend, the Englischer Walker Anderson.Lydia and Walker know they didn’t have anything to do with Perry’s death, but they both hold secrets about his final days. Do they dare open up about the kind of man Perry had become? In the oppressive shadow of these dark times, they discover strength in a most unlikely companionship: one that offers solace, understanding, and the promise of something more.

The Third Target


Joel C. Rosenberg - 2015
    B. Collins hears rumors that an al-Qaeda splinter cell--ISIS--has captured a cache of chemical weapons inside Syria, he knows this is a story he must pursue at all costs. Does the commander of the jihadist faction really have weapons of mass destruction? If so, who is the intended target? The U.S.? Israel? Or someone else? With tensions already high, the impending visit of the American president to the region could prove to be the spark that sets off an explosion of horrendous proportions. Knowing that terrorist forces are already trying to bring down two Arab governments in the region--Iraq and Syria--can Collins uncover the truth before it's too late? Or will the terrorists succeed in setting their sights on the third target and achieving genocide?