Book picks similar to
Run For the Money (Prologue Books) by Robert Colby


crime-and-western
crime-fiction
crime-fiction-all
have-but-not-read

Last Dance (Sam Carver, #2)


Jeffrey Fleishman - 2020
    No marks, no bruises. The suspects are many: spies, hit men, a gunrunner, and one of Hollywood's most powerful and mysterious film producers. Detective Sam Carver becomes entangled in a perilous reignited Cold War between Moscow and Washington. He chases leads from Europe to Africa.But Carver faces other demons, too. He is haunted by Dylan Cross, a killer who got away a year earlier. She knows his secrets, whispers to him in his dreams. His obsession with Dylan threatens his new case and his relationship with Lily Hernandez, a uniform cop who wants to work as his partner.Last Dance explores dangers within and without, and how we reconcile the damage, love, and things lost, in a Los Angeles that is as tempting and alluring as it is cruel and sinister.

Long Shot


Dan Ames - 2015
    When he is murdered during a sailboat race, no one sees it coming. Private investigator John Rockne investigates the killing and soon unravels a web of greed and betrayal. A hard-hitting, action-packed story in the bestselling and award-winning John Rockne Mystery Series.

Cold Hard Truth (Boston Crime Thriller Book 5)


Brian Christopher Shea - 2022
    

Dead Man's Walk: An Unofficial Inspector Morse Mystery


Antony James - 2018
     Set in 1971, Detective Sergeant Morse is confronted by two deaths along Dead Man’s Walk, which he’s sure are connected to the Oxford Martyrs of the 1550s. There are clues and red-herrings aplenty as Morse uses his detective skills to be metaphorically furlongs ahead of the field, albeit on the wrong racecourse. For Morse there is romance, an unpleasant academic with which to contend, beer in copious quantities, opera, a crossword-type clue, and even an appearance by a boy named Dexter, but above all there is a murder mystery puzzle, set against the backdrop of 1970s Oxford, which only he can solve. For those who love Oxford, the iconic Inspector Morse or even just a good old mystery, Dead Man’s Walk is a taut, entertaining tale of intrigue and delight. Antony James is a British author. A pseudonym for Antony Richards, he is the chairman of the Inspector Morse Society and was a close friend of the late Colin Dexter. He is also an actor with the Irregular Special Players, who regularly produce Sherlock Holmes-based plays.

Murder in the Goblins Playground (DCI Arthur Ravyn Mystery, #1)


Ralph E. Vaughan - 2016
    Located deep in Red Cap Woods, it has long been the site of weird events, from pagan rites to human sacrifice by secret devil cults. When local rowdy Allan Cutter staggers into the snug bar of the Three Crowns pub and dies, old fears that have lain dormant for ages come to the fore. His death is quickly followed by the murder of a developer who planned to destroy Red Cap Woods. Villagers believe dark powers are awakening, that the murderous elves reputed to dwell in the woods will again dip their caps in human blood. Into this maelstrom of fear and emotion come DCI Arthur Ravyn and DS Leo Stark. As the bodies continue to mount, they discover it will take all their combined skills, intellect and courage to solve the mysterious deaths, keep the villagers from panicking, and not get sacked by powers even more inimical than those lurking in the eldritch depths of Red Cap Woods.

Kwik Krimes


Otto Penzler - 2013
    Yet in this mystery anthology, renowned editor and author Otto Penzler weaves together to heart-stopping effect more than ninety tales of brutality, terror, and unexpected demise, with each story told in a swift one thousand words or less.These crimes may be fast in both form and fallout, but none lack the dark impulses that too often guide human hands to ill ends. Prepare to be transported into the diabolical schemes of criminal masterminds…into robberies and pranks gone horribly awry…into closets crammed with skeletons…into families bound not by love but wickedness.Authors include Peter Blauner, Ken Bruen, Rob W. Hart, K. A. Laity, Tasha Alexander, Patricia Abbott, Bruce DeSilva, Chuck Caruso, Gregory Gibson, Joe R. Lansdale, and many more.

Bait Money


Max Allan Collins - 1973
    With a lifetime of heists under his belt and a bullet in his side, he’s ready to retire. And the Mafia’s eager to help him along...permanently. They think he’s got a debt to pay - with his life. But after all these years, they might be willing to settle for 100 grand instead.Nolan’s got to pull a bank job to try to save his ass. Trouble is, the only people willing to help him are a kid whose idea of danger comes out of comic books, a punk as green as the grass he smokes, and a sweet young thing who gets her kicks playing one man off another...and another....It’s a desperate gamble - for the highest stakes - and Nolan’s down to his last chip....

Sons of the Pope


Daniel O'Connor - 2012
    Bravo!" ~Romeo Tirone, Director of True Blood, Dexter, and Red Widow “Daniel O'Connor's Sons of the Pope reveals an interesting new talent with a snappy style. This is someone's career to watch.” ~Andrew Neiderman, Author of The Devil's Advocate and several V.C. Andrews novels"A rich, epic chronicle of murder, the mob, and miracles...” ~ Kevin O'Brien, NY Times Bestselling Author***In Brooklyn, before the murders, before the miracle, before the 1940s were gone forever, there was a tree. If only they let that tree alone. If that sycamore tree had been allowed to stand, then maybe Biaggio Falcone never would have been the head of the Campigotto crime family. Perhaps little Joey Salerno would not have been born like that.Joey’s father, Sal - just home from World War II - probably would never have gotten involved with the New York underworld, and his wife Mary wouldn't have spent her entire life caring for an eternal child. There may have been no reason, four decades later, for that desperate pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. And no need for anyone to call upon the one known only as The Diabolist. Experience the richness of a story that spans half a century. Love and hatred. Devotion and betrayal. Murder and miracles. If only they let that tree alone.

Dead Times Four


Joel Goldman - 2011
    Fans will set in motion a plea for Mr. Goldman to return with more Mason (Lou not Perry) legal thrillers." Harrriett Klausner Lou Mason is back in The Last Witness and this time it's personal as Mason unearths secrets someone will do anything to keep. Goldman goes Grisham one better! "Fast, furious and thoroughly enjoyable, The Last Witness is classic and classy noir for our time, filled with great characters and sharp, stylish writing." Jeffery Deaver, bestselling author of The Vanished Man A troubled young woman turns herself in for murder in Cold Truth and Lou Mason takes the case. A riveting, page-turning romp in the tradition of James Patterson! "Wanted for good writing: Joel Goldman strikes again with Cold Truth." The Kansas City Star When Lou Mason is hired to prove a death row convict's innocence in Deadlocked, the past and present collide in an explosion of deceit, corruption and murder. "Deadlocked, the fourth Lou Mason case, is the best and...when the action starts it is a real page turner delivered by a pro." Mystery Scene Magazine Think Lee Child's Jack Reacher meets Michael Connelly's Mickey Haller and you'll get Joel Goldman's Lou Mason! Dead Times Four is the perfect gift at a great price! Buy it today for someone you love or treat yourself to four unforgettable thrillers!

The Big Ugly


Jake Hinkson - 2014
    She’s only been out for a day when she accepts a strange job offer from the head of a Christian political advocacy group. He wants her to track down a missing ex-con named Alexis. Although no one knows where Alexis has gone, it seems like everyone in Arkansas is looking for her—from a rich televangelist running for Congress to the governor’s dirty tricks man. When Bennett finds the troubled young woman, she has to decide whether to hand her over to the highest bidder or help her escape from the most powerful men in the state.

A F*ckload of Shorts


Jedidiah Ayres - 2012
    Two stories from this collection have been adapted into the films Viscosity and A F*ckload of Scotch Tape.

AGATHA CHRISTIE Collection : The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Poirot Investigates, The Murder on the Links, The Secret Adversary, The Man in the Brown Suit


Agatha Christie - 2020
    

Rumrunners


Eric Beetner - 2015
    They're not criminals. They're outlaws. They have made a living by driving anything and everything for the Stanleys, the criminal family who has been employing them for decades. It's ended with Tucker. He's gone straight, much to the disappointment of his father, Webb. When Webb vanishes after a job, and with him a truck load of drugs, the Stanleys want their drugs back or their money. With the help from his grandfather, Calvin-the original lead foot-Tucker is about to learn a whole lot about the family business in a crash course that might just get him killed.Praise for RUMRUNNERS:“A killer. If you dug Bull Mountain, you’ll love it.”—Brian Panovich, author of Bull Mountain“The best word to sum up this book is ’FUN’, in capital letters.”—Stuart MacBride, author of The Missing and the Dead“Buckle up...RUMRUNNERS is a fast and furious read.”—Samuel W. Gailey, author of Deep Winter“Few contemporary writers do justice to the noir tradition the way Eric Beetner does. Others try to emulate and mimic; Beetner just takes the form and cuts his own jagged, raw and utterly readable path.”—Gar Anthony Haywood, author of Assume Nothing, Cemetery Road and the Aaron Gunner series“Rumrunners just never lets up. It's a fuel-injected, mile-a-minute thrill ride. I had a blast.”—Grant Jerkins, author of A Very Simple Crime and Done In One

Rough Trade


Todd Robinson - 2016
    So when Byron is found dead, they’re shocked. They’re even more shocked when they learn that nothing is what they originally thought, and they’re being held accountable in the man's death.With Junior called in for questioning, Boo is determined to clear their names by finding Byron’s true killer. It’s a quest in which Boo will have to face down crooked cops, crazed guard dogs, a rival security crew, the Irish mob and—worst of all—his own ingrained prejudices.Action-packed, outrageously funny, and brutally honest, Rough Trade brings back crime fiction’s favorite bouncers and takes them well out of their comfort zone in a novel that’s whip-smart, hilarious, gritty and above all human, proving that Todd Robinson is one of the most important voices in crime fiction.

Dirtbags


Eryk Pruitt - 2014
    But Calvin Cantrell doesn’t care for those jobs anyway. Instead, he dreams of becoming a famous serial killer. When sleazy restauranteur Tom London hires Calvin to kill his ex-wife, Calvin’s dreams begin. And so do Lake Castor’s nightmares.