Book picks similar to
Sophia Lane by Leigh Straw


australian
mystery
true-crime
adult-fic

Unsolved Australia


Justine Ford - 2015
    Along the way you'll meet the 'Unsolved Squad' - the humble heroes and dedicated experts involved in collecting and connecting clues. Unsolved Australia is a chilling, thrilling and inspiring book full of drama, emotion... and hope.

The Curious Case of the Hounds of Hell


Peter Cawdron - 2018
    The world's most famous detective is back in a case that brings him to an isolated mansion outside of the small town of Hell, Maine, investigating the murder of a young boy apparently killed by wolves.

Gone, Just Gone: Thirteen Baffling Disappearances


Harry M. Bobonich - 2015
    We bring you some cases you may have heard of, but others that will be new to you. A Pennsylvania DA goes for a drive and doesn’t return, years later he’s found to have passed on the early prosecution of some involved in the Penn State molestation scandal. Two young lovers in the 1970’s head off for an iconic rock festival and are never seen again—their classmates still wonder. The man behind the most important civil rights case before the landmark Brown decision steps into a cold rainy Chicago night and vanishes. A beautiful, but troubled, young Indian doctor goes missing in New York City on 9/11—or was it the night before? One of the richest and most unscrupulous men in the world falls out a small plane filled with his associates--or at least that was their story. Only one cadet in the history of West Point has gone missing and never been found—where in the world did Richard Cox go? As a bonus, you’ll read of people who went missing only to eventually turn up in the most unusual places.

Avery’s Knot


Mary Cable - 1981
    Avery was tried for the murder of a twenty-nine-year-old mill worker, Sarah Marie Cornell. It was the first time a clergyman had ever been tried for murder in the United States and the first time an American murder trial became headline news. From this factual base, Mary Cable weaves a chilling novel of gothic desires and conflicting classes. She creates a rich atmosphere to show New England as it was then - simple, puritanical, superstitious, and unsentimental - on the brink of emerging from the eighteenth century into an industrial and far-more-complicated age. This dramatic, compelling story is as much about a time and place as it is about a notorious murder trial. A work of poetic intensity, Avery’s Knot is finally a classic, tragic tale of a woman caught between passion and puritanism.

The Missing Beaumont Children: 50 Years of Mystery and Misery


Michael Madigan - 2015
    A crime so shocking that it has often been described as a defining moment in this country's history.After 50 years of intense police investigation the whereabouts of Jane (9), Arnna (7) and Grant Beaumont (4) is still a mystery; Australia's most famous unsolved crime.On the morning of January 26, 1966 the three children set off from their Somerton Park home to Glenelg Beach on a bus to enjoy a brief excursion at Adelaide's most popular beach only a few kilometres away. Apart from a brief sighting from the Beaumont family's postman early on that afternoon, there have been no other sightings of the children since.The 'mystery' of the children's disappearance has often overshadowed the 'misery' the Beaumont parents have had to endure. This book takes the reader inside the trauma of Nancy and Grant; from the panic and heartbreaking first few days to the utter despair in later years.Only seven years after the Beaumont disappearance, two girls Joanne Ratcliffe (11) and Kirste Gordon (4) were abducted from Adelaide Oval during a football match. Were the two abductions connected? How could they not be connected?Author Michael Madigan delves into the sordid world of the numerous 'persons of interest' who have at times been suspects in this case and forensically answers the question 'who could do such a thing?'

Tortured Minds: Pennsylvania's Most Bizarre--But Forgotten--Murders


Tammy Mal - 2014
    A teenage girl disappears on her way home from Coatesville High School. A reputed witch turns up dead in Pottsville. A young woman seemingly helps solve her own murder after she dies in a Philadelphia park.True-crime author Tammy Mal digs up facts on four of Pennsylvania’s weirdest killings in her book Tortured Minds: Pennsylvania’s Most Bizarre—But Forgotten—Murders. These 1930s crimes have long fallen into obscurity, but Mal deftly revives them in stark detail, from discovery of the body and through the trial. Ghosts, witches, resentment, and sex factor into these crimes, giving them a chilling edge as Mal brings them back to life in her latest true-crime book. It’s a look into just what tortured minds can do, certain to convince you to lock your doors after dark.

The Unforgiven: The Untold Story of One Woman's Search for Love and Justice


Edith Brady-Lunny - 2019
    But in "The Unforgiven", three young children are in the back seat of a car driven by Amanda Hamm's boyfriend as it slips into an Illinois lake. Amanda and her boyfriend survive. Her three children do not. The question of whether it was a horrible accident or a murderous plot divided family and friends and traumatized the entire community. The brief but intense police investigation included seven interviews Hamm voluntarily gave police without the benefit of counsel. The outcome remains controversial to this day and comes full circle with state child welfare workers' concern about children born to Hamm since the fateful day at Clinton Lake. "The Unforgiven" co-author and journalist Edith Brady-Lunny covered the case from start-to-finish, beginning the night of the drownings. Her co-author Steve Vogel lives nearby. His "Reasonable Doubt", considered a true crime classic, was a New York Times best-seller. Together they have extensive first-hand knowledge of the case and access to nearly every record related to the court proceedings.

The Sheriff's Miracle Bride


Rowan Gracemill - 2021
    

Act One


D. Camille - 2017
    As a Hollywood director, she’s looking to direct her career-making film, and now that she has the story, she needs a studio. Her journey leads to love, danger, and making fairytales come true… Love comes from a place that she never expects, in the form of a sworn enemy, who becomes everything she ever needed.

Unreal Part II (Unreal Crime Thriller #2)


Riley Moreno - 2017
    But the battle is far from over. A year ago, Julie Edwards and her best friend, Kimberly Beyer, were kidnapped by two brutal sex traffickers. Julie survived. Kimberly did not. Haunted by the horrific abuse and the loss of her best friend, Julie clings to her savior, the tortured Ethan Graff. Just as she is beginning to adjust to her new normal, Julie is called upon to testify at the trial of the men who kidnapped her. Despite her own feelings, Julie is determined to take the stand. But someone is desperate to keep her from testifying. Someone who will stop at nothing to silence the survivor. The nightmare isn’t over yet. In fact, it’s about to get much worse.This book is for mature audiences only. It deals with topics such as abuse and murder and is recommended for readers 18 and older.

Man Hunt


Priya Kumar - 2020
    If you really want to feel alive, get out of the four walls of the little point in space you call home and embrace the infinite, immortal truth of who you really are. You cannot know life living in the box of your daily existence. Step out into the planet, step into the wild, and you will come alive. Set in the Nagarjuna Tiger Reserve, the story is filled with Suspense, Drama, and Divinity, which brings fore issues like deforestation, genetic modification of animals, corruption in media, vested political agendas, and a larger environmental impact stemming from our responsibility. Get into the canter for an adventure of a lifetime, through the jungles of India’s most pristine tiger reserve. And as you do, keep your eyes open to the truth about the state of our planet. We were given its custody, and we have polluted it with our greed, ignorance, and misplaced purposes. There is still a way back, there is still a way out to restore our world to the glory it was meant to be. Let’s go. The wild is calling.About the AuthorPriya Kumar is an Internationally Acclaimed Motivational Speaker and Bestselling Author of 12 Inspirational Books. In her 25 years journey with Motivational Speaking, she has worked with over 2000 Multi-National Corporates across 47 countries and has touched over 3 million people through her workshops and books, and is the only Woman Speaker in India to have done so. She is the only Indian Author who has won 39 International Awards for her books.

Detective Michael Angel: Books 8-14 (Yorkshire Murder Mysteries #8-14)


Roger Silverwood - 2021
    That is, until his body is found floating in the River Don. Who killed him and why?BOOK 9: THE MISSING THIEFTwo victims. One ultra-glamorous thief spotted fleeing the scene. Who is the mystery woman in the raincoat? And what is she running from? It’s up to DI Angel to piece it all together before the killer strikes again.BOOK 10: FIND THE LADYCan Angel find the lady in the blue dress? She’s already killed once. Witnesses swear they saw her at the grisly scene. But Angel knows that’s not possible. His prime suspect is in a portrait. And it’s over sixty years old.BOOK 11: THE MISSING MODELWigmaker Peter Wolff is found dead in his workshop. The place has been burned, leaving no clues, no DNA and no motive. Can Angel unravel the mystery of Wolff’s murder before anyone else pays the ultimate price?BOOK 12: MURDER IN BARE FEETMillionaire Charles Pleasant is shot dead in a scrapyard. Near the spent handgun shells, Angel finds one crucial clue: a print left by a bare foot. Who killed the playboy millionaire? And why ever weren’t they wearing shoes?BOOK 13: THE MISSING HUSBANDWealthy Selina Line marries a man she hardly knows. Then she vanishes. Who stands to gain from her demise if not her new husband? There’s just one complication. As Angel soon realises, Selina’s husband never existed.BOOK 14: THE CUCKOO CLOCK MURDERSA writer is murdered on a lonely retreat. In his bed, the killer left a shocking something . . . And that’s not all. Wherever Angel goes, there’s a cuckoo clock. An unlikely coincidence or a threat he shouldn’t ignore?

Lines of Duty: Deputy Corus Mystery #1


Mark Hazard - 2019
    The series you didn’t know you’ve been missing. From lauded author Mark Hazard comes a new off-beat crime series about a man with one name, a hidden past, and an uncontrollable urge to root out villainy. Mere weeks after returning from his final deployment, Corus is a cadet at an elite police academy in Seattle. While doing grunt work at a local precinct, he comes across a set of diamonds taken from the scene of an unsolved hit-and-run. Not only did the diamonds go unclaimed, but the still-living victim is nowhere to be found. When the diamonds turn out to be fakes, it’s one too many oddities in an attempted murder with no suspects. Instincts forged in covert action plunge Corus headlong into criminal ranks, but taking the fastest route to answers runs roughshod over the delicate procedural approach he’s supposed to be learning. Corus knows he’s threatening his new life and career in the process, but putting the mission before self-preservation is the hardest habit of all to break. The one man who can help Corus sort through his issues is the least likely of all. Albert Chu is a cheery and childlike cadet who's failing the academy but has a knack for getting into Corus' head. In trying to rein Corus in, he ends up proving his mettle, and together they fight to prevent multiple murders and foil a kidnapping plot, even while the eye of the law they hoped to serve is turned on their actions.Can Corus unite the lines of duty pulling him in different directions, or will he end up another casualty of the war he brought home?Through Corus’ journey runs a cracking mystery/crime story with humor, thrills, and a cast of well-drawn side characters, from small-time gangsters and rodeo riff-raff to Corus' wife who grapples with her own grifter impulses. The Deputy Corus series is precisely the blend of action and depth that readers of James Patterson and Lee Child are looking for.What readers are saying about the series: “…Nuance of character development that is often lacking these days. - especially with books that deal with military or police.” “A heck of a caper that'll make you laugh a lot more often than most crime novels.” “Not at all the same cookie cutter outline that most crime writers follow for their main character. It's much more complex and enjoyable.” "Exactly the story I was waiting for!" "In Lines of Duty, Hazard paints a scene with his words that transported me into a new world and created thought-provoking and enticing dilemmas. This story is entertaining and engaging. I recommend Lines of Duty 100% to anyone who loves a good mystery." "If you’re looking for a paint-by-numbers procedural, this isn’t the book for you, but if you crave deeply human crime drama with a fair share of thrills and humor, then this is a must-read." “This series is as enjoyable as Lee Child’s Reacher books.”

Happy Endings (Kate McCall Book 5)


Tina Lencioni - 2014
    But when her con man cousin Nick suddenly disappears, Kate’s own plans are put on hold as she is forced to deal with bounty hunters, criminals, and a relentless private detective, all looking for Nick - and looking to Kate for answers. Spurred on by family loyalty and her reluctant curiosity, Kate wades into the murky waters of Nick’s illegal activities and finds herself facing her greatest challenge yet: office work.Fresh and very funny, Happy Endings wraps up the Kate McCall series, which features a fearless and impulsive young woman absolutely determined to make a success of her business on her own terms and in her own way. Written for fans of humorous fiction as well as those who like imperfect female PIs and quirky cases, this lighthearted series will also appeal to anyone who enjoys a great read, memorable characters and a happy ending.

Fighting for Love


Emma Ashwood - 2020