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An Expert in Murder
Nicola Upson - 2008
Revered mystery writer Josephine Tey is traveling from Scotland to London for the final week of her celebrated play "Richard of Bordeaux," But joy turns to horror when her arrival coincides with the murder of a young woman she had befriended on the train ride, and Tey quickly finds herself plunged into a mystery as puzzling as any of those in her own works.Detective Inspector Archie Penrose is convinced that the killing is connected to her play. "Richard of Bordeaux" has been the surprise hit of the season, with pacifist themes that strike a chord in a world still haunted by war. Now, however, it seems that Tey could become the victim of her own success, as her reputation--and even her life--is put at risk.A second murder confirms Penrose's suspicions that somewhere among this flamboyant theatre set is a ruthless and spiteful killer. Together, Penrose and Tey must confront their own ghosts in search of someone who will stop at nothing.An Expert in Murder is both a tribute to one of the most enduringly popular writers of crime and a richly atmospheric detective novel in its own right.
Kill Joy
Holly Jackson - 2021
Especially one that involves 1920’s fancy dress and pretending that their town, Little Kilton, is an island called Joy. But when the game begins, Pip finds herself drawn into the make-believe world of intrigue, deception and murder.But as Pip plays detective, teasing out the identity of the killer clue-by-clue, the murder of the fictional Reginald Remy isn’t the only case on her mind …Find out where it all began for Pip in this prequel to the best-selling A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and Good Girl, Bad Blood.
The Snowdonia Killings
Simon McCleave - 2019
A big city detective. Can she unravel the gruesome trail of clues before the killer strikes again? Detective Inspector Ruth Hunter lives with the pain of her partner’s mysterious and unsolved disappearance. About to hit fifty, the veteran police officer trades in the crime-ridden streets of London for a more peaceful life in rural North Wales. But Ruth has barely settled into her new position in North Wales Police, when the body of a brutally murdered woman is discovered…with strange symbols carved into her skin. Teaming up with an obstinate deputy, Ruth struggles to eliminate anyone from a long line of suspects. When another slain victim is discovered with the same cryptic markings, she’s forced to re-think the investigation. Has Ruth got what it takes to solve the case before the murderer attacks again? The Snowdonia Killings is the first book in the DI Ruth Hunter Crime Thriller series and set against the majestic backdrop of Snowdonia, a timeless land of Arthurian legend, folklore and myth. If you like dark police procedurals, psychologically complex characters, and shocking twists, then you’ll love Simon McCleave’s pulse-pounding debut novel.
Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder
T.A. Willberg - 2020
A name, a time, a place.Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder plunges readers into the heart of London, to the secret tunnels that exist far beneath the city streets. There, a mysterious group of detectives recruited for Miss Brickett’s Investigations & Inquiries use their cunning and gadgets to solve crimes that have stumped Scotland Yard.Late one night in April 1958, a filing assistant for Miss Brickett’s named Michelle White receives a letter warning her that a heinous act is about to occur. She goes to investigate but finds the room empty. At the stroke of midnight, she is murdered by a killer she can’t see—her death the only sign she wasn’t alone. It becomes chillingly clear that the person responsible must also work for Miss Brickett’s, making everyone a suspect.Almost unwillingly, Marion Lane, a first-year Inquirer-in-training, finds herself being drawn ever deeper into the investigation. When her friend and mentor is framed for the crime, to clear his name she must sort through the hidden alliances at Miss Brickett’s and secrets dating back to WWII. Masterful, clever and deliciously suspenseful, Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder is a fresh take on the Agatha Christie—style locked-room mystery with an exciting new heroine detective at the helm.
Déjà Dead
Kathy Reichs - 1997
In the year since Temperance Brennan left behind a shaky marriage in North Carolina, work has often preempted her weekend plans to explore Quebec. When a female corpse is discovered meticulously dismembered and stashed in trash bags, Temperance detects an alarming pattern and she plunges into a harrowing search for a killer. But her investigation is about to place those closest to her, her best friend and her own daughter, in mortal danger...
Runaway
Peter May - 2015
Yet before year's end three returned, and returned damaged. In 2015, a brutal murder forces those three men, now in their sixties, to journey back to London and finally confront the dark truth they have run from for five decades. Runaway is a crime novel covering fifty years of friendships solidified and severed, dreams shared and shattered and passions lit and extinguished; set against the backdrop of two unique and contrasting cities at two unique and contrasting periods of recent history.
Tell No One
Harlan Coben - 2001
David Beck, the loss was shattering. And every day for the past eight years, he has relived the horror of what happened. The gleaming lake. The pale moonlight. The piercing screams. The night his wife was taken. The last night he saw her alive.Everyone tells him it's time to move on, to forget the past once and for all. But for David Beck, there can be no closure. A message has appeared on his computer, a phrase only he and his dead wife know. Suddenly Beck is taunted with the impossible- that somewhere, somehow, Elizabeth is alive.Beck has been warned to tell no one. And he doesn't. Instead, he runs from the people he trusts the most, plunging headlong into a search for the shadowy figure whose messages hold out a desperate hope.But already Beck is being hunted down. He's headed straight into the heart of a dark and deadly secret- and someone intends to stop him before he gets there.
A Talent for Murder
Andrew Wilson - 2016
In this tantalizing new novel, Christie’s mysterious ten-day disappearance serves as the starting point for a gripping novel, in which Christie herself is pulled into a case of blackmail and murder.“I wouldn’t scream if I were you. Unless you want the whole world to learn about your husband and his mistress.”Agatha Christie, in London to visit her literary agent, is boarding a train, preoccupied with the devastating knowledge that her husband is having an affair. She feels a light touch on her back, causing her to lose her balance, then a sense of someone pulling her to safety from the rush of the incoming train. So begins a terrifying sequence of events—for her rescuer is no guardian angel, rather he is a blackmailer of the most insidious, manipulative kind.“You, Mrs. Christie, are going to commit a murder. But, before then, you are going to disappear.”Writing about murder is a far cry from committing a crime, and Agatha must use every ounce of her cleverness and resourcefulness to thwart an adversary determined to exploit her expertise and knowledge about the act of murder to kill on his behalf.In A Talent for Murder, Andrew Wilson ingeniously explores Agatha Christie’s odd ten-day disappearance in 1926 and weaves an utterly compelling and convincing story around this still unsolved mystery involving the world’s bestselling novelist.
The Wrong Turn
N.C. Marshall - 2017
Now though, she is desperate to track down the stranger who saved her life. DCI Tony Morgan thought he had escaped his old career, but when he receives a call from his ex-boss to tell him that there’s been a hit and run in the area, leaving a young woman trapped in a burning car and left to die, he knows that he must return and help to investigate. Meanwhile, Megan sets out to track down the man who pulled her from the car that night, and in doing so, develops a strange infatuation for him. As secrets are revealed, and the truth starts to emerge, it soon becomes clear that Megan is still in danger, and the life-saving hero may not be everything that she wants him to be. A twisty, psychological drama combining crime, mystery and romance.
The Black Dahlia
James Ellroy - 1987
The victim makes headlines as the Black Dahlia—and so begins the greatest manhunt in California history. Caught up in the investigation are Bucky Bleichert and Lee Blanchard: Warrants Squad cops, friends, and rivals in love with the same woman. But both are obsessed with the Dahlia—driven by dark needs to know everything about her past, to capture her killer, to possess the woman even in death. Their quest will take them on a hellish journey through the underbelly of postwar Hollywood, to the core of the dead girl's twisted life, past the extremes of their own psyches—into a region of total madness.
Exit Strategy
Kelley Armstrong - 2007
A former cop, drummed out of the force because of a scandal, she is an expert at disguise and cool under pressure. But when fellow hitman Jack arrives on the scene, Nadia’s very private existence is seriously challenged.A series of victims are being murdered seemingly at random all over the US — different areas, different walks of life, different MOs. There is nothing to tie them together except a random page torn out of a single book, "Helter Skelter". Does the Helter Skelter killer — as the hysterical media now dub him — have a real connection to Charles Manson? Or is there something even more sinister at work?Is this, in fact — as Jack believes — the carefully planned exit strategy of a fellow professional killer, determined to leave the life, but equally determined to clear up an old mistake or two? And, if so, who is the real victim? Now, the highly suspicious and secretive hitman community will have to break their cover — at least, to each other — and help take down this killer before the cops and the Feds discover his true connection to their own secret, exclusive society.
Dark Path
Melissa F. Miller - 2017
But death keeps finding him.
After solving a series of unexplained deaths and exposing a sordid political scandal, Bodhi retreated from the limelight. Permanently, he thought. But now he's called out of early retirement to help investigate a death cluster on a private island in the Florida Keys.
Healthy residents of a ritzy assisted living facility are dying in the middle of the night ... their faces frozen in terror.
Bodhi arrives on Golden Island to find a community gripped by fear. And beneath the surface, conflict simmers, threatening to boil over. The charismatic leader of the Golden Island Church, the dying Cuban-Americans, and the local Catholic priest all have secrets to protect.It's up to Bodhi to bring the truth to light ... before another resident dies.
Dark Path is the first book in an intriguing, engrossing new forensic thriller series by USA Today bestselling author Melissa F. Miller. Lonely Path (Book 2), Hidden Path (Book 3), and Twisted Path (Book 4) are available now!What Readers Are Saying:"[A] very enjoyable read--a forensic thriller crossed with cozy mystery, with a cast of entertaining characters confined in a remote location. ... [I]n Miller's books there are always interesting themes alongside the thrill of a fast-paced plot, and 'Dark Path' is no exception.""I fervently enjoyed the twists and turns as one by one, the clues to the puzzle are discovered.""[A]n excellent, tightly woven tale that hooked me quickly and kept me reading until the conclusion.""Melissa Miller's writing is strong, with good character development, lots of action and a mystery that keeps you guessing until the end."Other Thriller/Mystery Series by Melissa F. Miller:The Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller SeriesThe Aroostine Higgins Thriller SeriesThe We Sisters Three Mystery Series