Book picks similar to
Blood Guilt by Lindy Cameron
mystery
crime
australian
lesbian
The Last Place You Look
Kristen Lepionka - 2017
Her boyfriend Brad Stockton - black and from the wrong side of the tracks - was convicted of the murders and sits on death row, though he always maintained his innocence. With his execution only weeks away, his devoted sister, insisting she has spotted Sarah at a local gas station, hires PI Roxane Weary to look again at the case.Reeling from the recent death of her cop father, Roxane finds herself drawn to the story of Sarah's vanishing act, especially when she thinks she's linked Sarah's disappearance to one of her father's unsolved murder cases involving another teen girl. Despite her self-destructive tendencies, Roxane starts to hope that maybe she can save Brad's life and her own.With echoes of Sue Grafton, Dennis Lehane and the hit podcast Serial, The Last Place You Look is the gripping debut of both a bold new voice and character.
Officer Down
Erin Dutton - 2015
Now she spends every shift dreading what could happen and doubting whether she’ll be able to handle another tragedy.Olivia Dennis joined the sheriff’s department for the action and to fulfill the family legacy. But she could lose both when she’s caught up in an internal investigation and assigned to a security desk at the communications center.
Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls
Lynn Weingarten - 2015
They say it was suicide.But June doesn’t believe it.June and Delia used to be closer than anything. Best friends in that way that comes before everyone else—before guys, before family. It was like being in love, but more. They had a billion secrets, binding them together like thin silk cords.But one night a year ago, everything changed. June, Delia, and June’s boyfriend Ryan were just having a little fun. Their good time got out of hand. And in the cold blue light of morning, June knew only this—things would never be the same again.And now, a year later, Delia is dead. June is certain she was murdered. And she owes it to her to find out the truth…which is far more complicated than she ever could have imagined.Sexy, dark, and atmospheric, Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls will keep you guessing until the very last page.
Trigger
Jessica L. Webb - 2016
Kate Morrison doesn’t know how or why someone would create human bombs that are triggered by touch. But when Sergeant Andy Wyles blocks Kate from touching the patient who collapses in her Vancouver ER, Kate joins the investigation to demand answers, regardless of the danger. As the two women work together to find those responsible for creating an army of human weapons, Kate finds it increasingly difficult to ignore her feelings for the fiercely protective and unrelentingly perceptive cop. The investigation escalates, and Kate gradually begins to trust Andy, not only with her safety but also with the difficult details of her past. With lives at risk and her heart on the line, Kate must search for a way to defuse the bombs and save her patients, even as she questions the intensifying connection between herself and Andy.
Lucifer Rising
Sharon Bowers - 1999
When an apparently happenstance meeting introduces Jude to reporter Liz Gardener, the dark ex-agent is both intrigued and aroused by the young woman. A sniper shot intended for Jude strikes Liz, and the two women are thrown together in a race to discover who is intent on killing her. As their lives become more and more intertwined, Jude finds herself unexpectedly falling for the reporter, and Liz discovers that the agent-turned drug-dealer is both more and less than she seems.In eloquent language, author Sharon Bowers paints a dazzling portrait of a woman driven to the darkest extremes of the human condition-and the journey she makes to cross to the other side.
Just Friends
Mia Archer - 2016
Spend a couple years running her hometown library, get job experience, then get the hell out of Small Town, USA. The last thing she expected was to meet someone like Savannah. Savannah loved life in the small town slow lane, even if it meant hiding who she really was. She was content until she met Kirsten and remembered what was missing in her life. Girl meets girl and everything is perfect. Almost. Sort of. Except for the part where they have to keep their budding relationship secret because Kirsten is worried about getting fired and Savannah never told her mother that she was into girls. Oops. To the world they might be just friends, but they'll have to stand up to prejudice and their own fears if they want their girl meets girl story to have a happy ending!
One Last Child
Anni Taylor - 2020
The heat was stifling that day, the tinkle of an ice-cream van in the air....Three-and-a-half years later, in the dead of winter, the children are returned to their families...one by one.All except for Ivy - the granddaughter of Homicide Detective Kate Wakeland. The other four children say Ivy is dead.Speculation grows that the mysterious abductor is enacting a cruel revenge plot due to a murderer that Kate put in jail years before.Kate isn't sure what to believe. But one thing is certain - she's about to begin the battle of her life. When the children were first stolen, she was prevented from investigating the case.But now, Kate will be relentless in uncovering the identity of the abductor and discovering what happened to Ivy.
A Grave Talent
Laurie R. King - 1993
King into the upper tier of the genre. As "A Grave Talent" begins, the unthinkable has happened in a small community outside of San Francisco. A string of shocking murders has occurred, each victim an innocent child. For Detective Kate Martinelli, just promoted to Homicide and paired with a seasoned cop who's less than thrilled to be handed a green partner, it's going to be a difficult case. Then the detectives receive what appears to be a case-breaking lead: it seems that one of the residents of this odd, close-knit colony is Vaun Adams, arguably the century's greatest painter of women, a man, as it turns out, with a sinister secret. For behind the brushes and canvases also stands a notorious felon once convicted of strangling a little girl. What really happened on that day of savage violence eighteen years ago? To bring a murderer to justice, Kate must delve into the artist's dark past -- even if she knows it means losing everything she holds dear.
She Waits
Kate Sweeney - 2006
Emphasis on 'ex' as she and her partner gave up their profession after their last case nearly cost both of them, their lives. They wisely decided to limp away with whatever dignity and body parts they had left. Unfortunately, Kate will forever carry the scar to remind her of her folly that nearly took her life and plagues her heart and soul. Vowing never again to let her emotions rule her reason, Kate decides to go back to her first love, free-lance photography. For the next few years, she exists alone in - "My emotionally detached loop," as Kate proudly calls it. Then all hell breaks loose and Kate drops a loop. Enter young Dr. Maggie Winfield and her adorable Aunt Martha. Kate literally stumbles into their lives one autumn morning and becomes an unwitting participant in their tangled web. Clues unravel in their small little hamlet and old secrets are sadly revealed. Kate's long forgotten instincts now compel her to untangle this web of deceit. In the midst of all this murder and mayhem, the detached photographer finds herself in a position she never thought she would be in again. It seems the feisty Dr. Winfield is having an unexpected, yet pleasant effect on her. The elusive Kate combines forces with the sarcastic Maggie, as they become the nucleus for this ongoing series.
In the Company of Crocodiles
Maggie Brown - 2017
Too bad those are the least of their worries.After being severely wounded in a covert operation, ex-Australian Secret Service officer Vivian Andrews has built a quiet life for herself in a small fishing village in Northern Queensland. Or so she believes, until she discovers a rotting corpse in the mangroves. An angry crocodile drags the body away, but not before Vivian snags the man’s money belt which contains nearly $75,000—and a phone number that Vivian knows all too well.At the police station to report her discovery, Vivian finds two government agents who are looking for her. A young man has gone missing and they need an experienced guide to help them negotiate the terrain to find him. Vivian knows they aren’t telling her the whole story but is attracted to the idea of returning to action—and to behavioral scientist Claire Walker.When Claire’s partner is injured, tough, resilient Vivian and smart, intuitive Claire must use every skill they possess to complete their mission despite nearly impenetrable walls of vegetation, trails that lead to deadly traps, the damp simmering heat—and another kind of heat neither of them wishes to acknowledge. Could the woman sleeping next to you be a master thief…or worse?
The Reef
Lois Kay - 2003
Just as fast, something deeper develops, but circumstances beyond their control cause a separation and they are forced to split up. Eight years later, Sam Stevens, who works for her father's company, is sent back to Australia after her father has received information that business at 'The Reef', a resort the company owns, is not as it should be. On her first day back, Sam runs into Jody and, immediately, both their worlds are turned upside down. As they try to make sense of the past, they also have to deal with theft, arson, murder, kidnapping and betrayal. While Sam fights to keep herself, Jody and her family safe, will they be able to find a way back to each other?
Alone
E.J. Noyes - 2019
No faces. No voices. No way to leave.Since Celeste has never really worried about being alone, the generous paycheck she’ll receive for her participation in the solitary psychological experiment seems like easy money.When she finds an injured hiker in the woods bordering her living compound, her strictly governed world is thrown into disarray. But even as she struggles with the morality of breaking the rules of the experiment, Celeste can’t deny her growing attraction to the kind and enigmatic Olivia Soldano. Still, how much can you really trust a stranger? And how much can you trust yourself when you know all the faces you’ve seen and voices you’ve heard for the past three years have only been your imagination?But what’s real? Celeste’s reality may lie somewhere between the absolute truth and a carefully constructed deception.Genre: RomanceEditor: Cath WalkerCover Designer: Judith Fellows
Paranoid
Lisa Jackson - 2019
But Rachel still has no idea how a foolish teenaged game turned deadly--or who replaced her soft pellet air gun with a real weapon. When a figure jumped out at her from the darkness, she fired without thinking. By the time she recognized her half-brother, Luke, it was too late. Blood bloomed around his chest . . .Rachel's horrifying dreams about that night continue. Her anxiety contributed to her divorce from Detective Cade Ryder, though he blames himself too. And now, as Rachel's high school reunion nears, she feels her imagination playing tricks on her. She's sure that there's a hint of unfamiliar cologne in the air. That someone is tailing her car. Watching her home . . .She's right to be scared. And as connections surface between a new string of murders and Luke's death, Rachel realizes there's no escaping the past. And the truth may be darker than her worst fears . . .
Mercy
Michelle Larkin - 2018
But finding and stopping the man who plans on single-handedly annihilating the human race—armed only with her 9mm, integrity, and sense of humor—is definitely not in her job description. Perhaps it’s time to ask for some help. Psychic ex-profiler Piper Vasey keeps everyone at arm’s length, but Mercy’s wit and selfless dedication to the greater good slowly break down Piper’s defenses. As their attraction for one another grows, they’re joined by an unlikely team of extraordinary people. Together, they embark on a race against time to recover a journal, a dog, and a kidnapped girl with unique psychic abilities. There’s a slim chance they’ll succeed in saving the human race, but will it be enough to restore the balance between unseen forces of light and darkness that have plagued humankind for centuries?
Proper English
K.J. Charles - 2019
She’s visiting her old friend, the Earl’s heir Jimmy Yoxall—but she wants to spend a lot more time with Jimmy’s fiancée. The irrepressible Miss Fenella Carruth, with her laughing eyes and lush curves, is the most glorious woman Pat’s ever met, and it quickly becomes impossible to remember why she needs to stay at arm’s length.But while the women’s attraction grows, the tensions at Rodington Court get worse. Affairs, secrets, betrayals, and blackmail come to light. And when a body is discovered with a knife between the shoulderblades, it’s going to take Pat and Fen’s combined talents to prevent the murderer destroying all their lives.