Book picks similar to
The Concrete Vineyard by Cam Lang
fiction
mystery
netgalley
mystery-thriller-suspense
Going Insane
Cole Baxter - 2021
Who do you trust when you can't even trust yourself?Occult novelist and cult escapee Brandy Lawson has worked very hard to put her past behind her.Alone in the world save for her loving but often-absent airline pilot husband Justin, she does her best to live a quiet life.Everything is disrupted, however, when she learns she’s finally inheriting a former cult property owned by her long-estranged parents.But Brandy is unprepared for how taking possession of the isolated farmhouse will affect her mental health.Peculiar occurrences on the property lead her to question her sanity, and a breakdown leads her to seek professional help and medications at the behest of her husband.After initially chalking up the strange things happening in her home to her PTSD, soon it becomes clear that everyone is not who they appear to be.To save their marriage and her sanity, they will have to investigate what may be causing the issues at her home, only to discover that their frightening, jealous “housemate” is something more disturbing than any ghost.
Bad Boy Boogie
Thomas Pluck - 2017
With an iron-fisted police chief on his tail and a ruthless mob captain at his throat, he'll need his wits, his fists, and his father's trusty Vietnam war hatchet to hack his way through a toxic jungle of New Jersey corruption that makes the gator-filled swamps of home feel like the shallow end of the kiddie pool.
The Truth About Murder
Chris Collett - 2019
A MISSING WOMAN. THEN A MURDER. Stefan Greaves wakes up from a coma. He was brutally mugged while investigating a complaint about a local hospital. The woman who visited the law firm where Stefan worked had feared something very sinister was going on in the hospital’s postnatal ward. Now she has disappeared. Rookie policeman, Mick Fraser interviews Stefan. Mick’s new partner Denny Sutton is a cynical man with secrets of his own. They try to track down the missing woman. Then a body is found on the riverbank. HOW ARE THESE CRIMES LINKED AND WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON IN THE POLICE STATION?
The Penal Colony
Richard Herley - 1987
There are no warders. Satellite technology is used to keep the convicts under watch. New arrivals are dumped by helicopter and must learn to survive as best they can. To Sert, one afternoon in July, is brought Anthony John Routledge, sentenced for a sex-murder he did not commit. Routledge knows he is here for ever. And he knows he must quickly forget the rules of civilized life. But not all the islanders are savages. Under the charismatic leadership of one man a community has evolved. A community with harsh and unyielding rules, peopled by resourceful men for whom the hopeless dream of escape may not be so hopeless after all ...
Daughters of the Lake
Wendy Webb - 2018
Tucked in the folds of the woman’s curiously vintage gown is an infant, as cold and at peace as its mother. No one can identify the woman. Except for Kate. She’s seen her before. In her dreams…One hundred years ago, a love story ended in tragedy, its mysteries left unsolved. It’s time for the lake to give up its secrets. As each mystery unravels, it pulls Kate deeper into the eddy of a haunting folktale that has been handed down in whispers over generations. Now, it’s Kate’s turn to listen.As the drowned woman reaches out from the grave, Kate reaches back. They must come together, if only in dreams, to right the sinister wrongs of the past.
With Love from the Inside
Angela Pisel - 2016
On death row for murdering her infant son, her last breath will be taken on February 15 at 12:01 a.m. Eleven years, five months, and twenty-seven days separate her from the last time she heard her precious daughter’s voice and the final moment she’d heard anyone call her Mom. Out of appeals, she can focus on only one thing, reconnecting with her daughter and making sure she knows the truth.Secrets lurk behind Sophie Logan’s big house and even bigger bank account. Every day when she kisses her husband good-bye, she worries her fabricated life is about to come crumbling down. No one knows the unforgivable things her mother did to tear her family apart—not her husband, who is a prominent plastic surgeon, or her “synthetic” friends who live in her upscale neighborhood. Grace’s looming execution date forces Sophie to revisit the traumatic events that haunted her childhood. When she returns to her hometown, she discovers new evidence about her baby brother William’s death seventeen years ago, proof that might set her mother free but shatter her marriage forever.Sophie must quickly decide if her mother is the monster the prosecutor made her out to be or the loving mother she remembers—the one who painted her toenails glittery pink and plastered Post-it notes with inspiring quotes (“100 percent failure rate if you don't try”) all over Sophie’s bathroom mirror—before their time runs out.
Conviction
Robbin J. Peterson - 2018
And in an instant, a peculiar encounter with the wrong people changes everything. Dragged from his apartment in the dead of night, Neal is taken to prison and charged with the theft of a priceless museum piece. As days turn into weeks, he is thrown into a world of uncertainty where he must rely on the only person he can trust—the Savior. And as his Russian slowly improves within the prison walls, he begins preaching the gospel in the last place he imagined proselytizing. But when civil unrest erupts in Ukraine, the now-familiar routine of imprisonment is over. Neal is trapped in the chaos, and with his life on the line, his only hope of survival is escape. Yet he learns too late that there is as much danger awaiting him outside the prison walls as within. Someone has gone to great lengths to incriminate the young missionary, and they will stop at nothing to silence him forever.
Real Easy
Marie RutkoskiMarie Rutkoski - 2022
She’s not used to mixing work and friendship―after all, between her jealous boyfriend and his young daughter, she has enough on her plate. But the newest dancer is so clueless that Samantha feels compelled to help her learn the hustle and drama of the club: how to sweet-talk the boss, fit in with the other women, and make good money. One night, when the new girl needs a ride home, Samantha agrees to drive: a simple decision that turns deadly.Georgia, another dancer drawn into the ensuing murder and missing person investigation, gathers information for Holly, a grieving detective determined to solve the case. Georgia just wants to help, but her involvement makes her a target. As Holly and Georgia round up their suspects, the story’s point of view shifts between dancers, detectives, children, club patrons―and the killer.Drawing on her experience as a former dancer, Marie Rutkoski immerses us in the captivating world of the club, which comes alive with complicated people trying their best to protect themselves and those they love. Character-driven and masterfully plotted, Real Easy gets to the heart of the timeless question: How do women live their lives knowing that men can hurt them?
I Choose You
Gayle Curtis - 2020
Now, grown up and married with a young family, they feel their worst nightmares are behind them. Until the day their daughter is abducted and murdered.Both Elise and Nathaniel lost their mothers to a notorious killer who manipulated innocent victims into taking their own lives. Could it be that ‘the Watcher’ has returned for another round of the same sadistic game? Why now? And why are Elise and Nathaniel being targeted again?When Elise’s family falls under suspicion, her world crashes down around her. Is there anyone she can trust, or is her whole life built on lies?Only one thing is clear: someone left their cruel game unfinished all those years ago. This time the Watcher intends to win – once and for all.
Wild
Kenzie Macallan - 2021
He’ll endure hell to bring her home. Sparks fly, but will romance die on the wrong side of a bullet?Security firm owner Sean Knight always follows the action. So the former Navy SEAL doesn’t hesitate to head to Afghanistan to extract a world renowned hacker. But when he finds his childhood best friend is being held captive, old feelings come flooding back and he’ll protect her with his life.Investigator reporter Jess Wilander doesn’t lack courage. So when she discovers her sister’s been kidnapped by an Afghan warlord, she agrees to write an article on him in order to stage a rescue. But her plans go sideways when the man sent to get them out is the guy who secretly broke her heart.As Sean seeks a way to free everyone, his growing attraction to the one regret from his past threatens to jeopardize the mission. And though Jess yearns to share her heart with him, she struggles to trust he won’t betray her again.Can these friends become lovers and make it out alive to finally find happily ever after?WILD is the first book in the pulse-pounding Deep 8 romantic suspense series. If you like steamy scenes, action-packed plots, and love rising above violence, then you’ll adore Kenzie Macallan’s scintillating tale.Add WILD to you TBR list and go on an international adventure!
The Fall
Evie Hunter - 2021
Now, with her life in tatters, she is determined to bring those who framed her to justice.Out for revenge…Journalist Nate Black is intrigued by Lauren’s story. Is she the innocent victim she claims to be or is there more to her past? Eager to learn more he offers to help Lauren clear her name and bring the real villains to justice.And running out of time.But with millions of pounds still missing, Lauren remains the prime suspect…and the main target in an increasingly deadly game. And as Lauren’s plan with Nate reaches its shocking climax, no one knows who will ultimately take the fall…A nail-biting revenge thriller, perfect for fans of Gemma Rogers, Heather Atkinson and Caro Savage.'A brilliant read that hooked me from the outset. The Fall is a tale of sweet revenge that I couldn’t tear myself away from!' Bestselling author Gemma Rogers.
Every Now and Then
Lesley Kagen - 2020
For kids seeking relief from the heat, there was a creek to be swum in, sprinklers to run through, and ice cream at Whitcomb's Drugstore. But for Frankie, Viv, and Biz, eleven-year-old best friends, it would forever be remembered as the summer that evil paid a visit to their small town--and took their young lives as they'd known them as a souvenir.With a to-do list in hand, the girls set forth from their hideout to make their mark on that summer, but when three patients escape from Broadhurst Mental Institution, their idyllic lives take a sinister turn. Determined to uncover long-held secrets, the girls have no idea that what they discover could cost them their lives and the ones they hold dear.Six decades later, Biz remembers that long ago summer and how it still haunts her and her lifelong friends in Every Now and Then. A story about ties that bind forever, the timelessness of guilt and grief, and the everlasting hope for redemption.
Night of the Coyote (The Coyote Saga, #1)
Ron Schwab - 2015
It’s now 1875, however, and there has been peace in this part of Wyoming for several years, and Ethan has settled down in the small town of Lockwood. No longer working in stealth, he is the town’s lone lawyer. When two young Sioux are lynched by a makeshift posse for a crime they may or may not have committed, Ethan knows he must act quickly to prevent a bloody retaliation from their Sioux tribe. Can he gain the trust of both his former enemy and the townspeople of Lockwood so that there is enough time to unravel the mystery of the crime and ensure justice is fairly served? In Night of the Coyote, the worlds of the old and new collide, and the clock is ticking for Ethan to prevent a further descent into violence.
Tragic Deception
M.A. Comley - 2016
For important background information, please read the novella CLEVER DECEPTION first. "Seek liberty, Foxy, and you'll find me."Sergeant Alexandra Fox came to America to find the man who had brutally murdered her sister. A man the press called The Escape Artist. Could a British Sergeant fit in with the NYPD? Not if Commander Patterson had anything to do with it.Suspended with only two friends in America-- Chief Brown, a long time family friend, and retired Sergeant Matt "Nobby" Adams, Alex has seven days to find three kidnapped babies, or look for a new job.Her investigation leads her into a world of deception, that turns tragic before it even begins, and a helping hand from the one person she hated the most--The Escape Artist.
Payback Jack
Timothy Gene Sojka - 2021
Why is Driskill determined to die on death row, and why have so many people pledged to stop him?