Book picks similar to
Blood-Red Mist: A Jena Halpern Thriller (The Jena Halpern Mysteries Book 2) by Michael Allan Scott
mystery
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The Silver Bough
Lisa Tuttle - 2006
Here is an enchanting tale set in a land rich with folklore–and ripe for a rekindling of the old ways.Nestled on the coast of Scotland, Appleton was once famous for its apples. Now, though the orchards are long gone, locals still dream of the town’s glory days, when an Apple Queen was crowned at the annual fair and good luck seemed a way of life. And outsiders are still drawn to the charming village, including three very different American women.Enchanted by Appleton’s famously ornate, gold-domed library, divorcée Kathleen Mullaroy has left her cosmopolitan job to start anew as the town’s head librarian. Widowed Nell Westray hopes for a quiet life of gardening in the place where she and her husband spent their happiest moments. And young Ashley Kaldis has come to find her roots, and learns that the town’s fortunes turned when her grandmother was crowned Apple Queen–then mysteriously disappeared.When a sudden landslide cuts Appleton off from the wider world–and the usual constraints of reality–the village reveals itself to be an extraordinary place, inhabited by legendary beings, secret rooms, and the blossoming of a rare fruit not seen in decades. Most unexpected is a handsome stranger who will draw all three women into an Otherworld in which luck and love will return to Appleton–if only one of them will believe. Lush with the romance and allure of ancient traditions, The Silver Bough will propel you into a land where, as in Eden, the bite of a single apple can alter the whole course of reality.From the Hardcover edition.
Prescription: Murder! Volume 3: Authentic Cases From the Files of Alan Hynd
Alan Hynd - 2014
From the files and pen of world renowned true crime writer Alan Hynd (1903 - 1974) comes the final installment of deliciously dark true murder cases of the first half of the 20th Century. These stories, the third of these three short collections, are unified by a single theme: they all involve physicians. And not for the autopsy, but as perpetrators or accused perpetrators. You may never see your family care giver again in the same light. Told in the characteristic wry, anecdotal reportorial style that made Alan Hynd famous in his day (two wartime best sellers in 1943, contributions to The Reader's Digest, Colliers, Coronet, The Saturday Evening Post, True, Liberty, The American Mercury and almost every true detective magazine in print) these tales will have you cringing one minute, laughing the next, and gasping in shock a moment later. Truly, no one could make up classics like these. We meet here the notorious Dr. Cream, a twitchy-eyed psychotic with a yen for prostitutes, a Philadelphia chiropractor whose girlfriend lost her head, and Marcel Petiot, whose patients payed their own way out of this world. Then as a bonus, get to know (from a safe distance) "Lethal Louise," the black widow of California, and Adolf Luetgert of Chicago, whose sausage-making plant was put to extracurricular uses. This is not for the faint of heart. True crime is always farther out there than fiction.
Death on D'Urville: A Claire Hardcastle Mystery
Penelope Haines - 2019
When Claire’s routine flight to pick up regular passenger, Jorge, from a remote island turns into a homicide investigation, she is excited to discover she may hold a clue to the crime! A growing attraction to investigator Detective Sergeant Jack Body, and a desire to help solve the murder, leads Claire into a world of disputed Maori history, artefact smuggling and child abuse. Death on D’Urville is the first novel in the Claire Hardcastle Mystery series set in New Zealand, following Claire’s adventures as a commercial pilot, flying instructor and accidental detective.
Painless
Marty Thornley - 2018
Awesome!!!""OMG this book. Holy heck the gruesome descriptions of blood and gore and guts was SO RAD. I found myself cringing and fidgeting and yes, even feeling a bit nauseous in some spots - but totally in a GOOD WAY! Painless was exactly what I wanted in a super-unique, creepy, shocking horror-thriller."About the Book...The debut psychological-horror novel from author Marty Thornley is a page-turning ride, a front row seat to a clinical trial gone horribly wrong. For Greg Owens, this was supposed to be a chance to end years of back pain and escape his reliance on pain pills. If it all worked out, he could maybe even get back the life he left behind as the pills took control.Instead, as the patients are cured of their physical pain, they encounter a different sort of pain building inside them – obsessive thoughts, depression, self-destruction. The side-effects grow worse, and the suspense ratchets tighter. The patients want answers and violent revenge, setting them on a collision course with a crazed doctor, determined to protect his life's obsession.
Slip
Shelley Hazen - 2016
That's what Harriet and Arthur Bloomsbury think, but that comforting feeling is a fiction. Hiding among the stone walls, picturesque barns, and hay bales is a horror they can't imagine. It's deadly, impossible -- maybe even paranormal. This short story isn’t your average murder mystery, because this time, the threat isn’t quite so clear. Is it the serial killers hunting you? Your own paranoia? Or the very laws of nature? The suspense is free.
The Trash Collector
Monica Shaughnessy - 2014
He's a strange man with an even stranger habit of digging through people's garbage. But when she sets out to prove the "Trash Collector" is behind these thefts, she discovers more than the culprit. She discovers some things can't easily be discarded. A heart-warming story of tolerance, grief, and the persistence of memory.
The Cottage of Curiosities (Pengelly Series, Book 2)
Celia Anderson - 2020
But it also explains a lot of things for Grace too. Including the gift that has plagued Grace since childhood – the ability to feel other people’s memories.Could this gift be something she shared with the woman who abandoned her – the mysterious May Rosevere?And as Grace travels to the small coastal village of Pengelly to find the answers she craves, she feels her gift growing stronger. As though May is somehow calling her long-lost daughter home…
Fall From Lace
Emily Claire - 2021
Everyone knows it, from her dearest friends within the Spinsters’ Sewing Circle to her most distant acquaintances within the parish.So when the beloved new curate turns up dead the night before Valentine’s Day, stabbed through the heart with Lydia’s own knitting needle, not even Lydia’s closest friends expect her to do more than cry and perhaps arrange a luncheon after the funeral service. After all, the tragedy was only a robbery gone wrong, and how could any vicar’s daughter hope to bring the long-gone thief to justice?
But Lydia can’t shake the feeling that this crime was somehow personal. The clues suggest the curate was murdered for some terrible purpose, and everyone at the house party seems to have a motive. Was it the high-born lady whose charitable endeavors are at risk? The beautiful young lady of the house who's hiding an agonizing secret? Her mother, who had every reason to want the curate gone? Or even the butler, whose private life is more scandalous than it seems?
And that’s to say nothing of handsome Mr. Pemberton, a notorious gambler and infuriating flirt from London who seems equally likely to have killed the curate and to drive Lydia to commit a murder herself.
This cozy, romantic Regency murder mystery—full of strong female friendships, gripping twists and turns, and witty repartee sharper than a knitting needle—is sure to delight fans of Jane Austen, Lynn Messina, and Patricia C. Wrede.
The Beachside Cafe (Saltwater Secrets Book 6)
Sage Parker - 2021
The Never List: Free First Chapter
Koethi Zan - 2013
And then, very suddenly and without warning, there were three. Even though the fourth person hadn't made any noise at all in several months, the room got very quiet when she was gone. For a long time after that, we sat in silence, in the dark, each of us wondering what this meant for her and for us, and which of us would be the next in the box.NEVER GET IN THE CARFor years, best friends Sarah and Jennifer kept what they called the 'Never List': a list of actions to be avoided, for safety's sake, at all costs. But one night, they failed to follow their own rules.NEVER GO OUT ALONE AFTER DARKSarah has spent ten years trying to forget her ordeal. But now the FBI has news that forces her to confront her worst fears.NEVER TAKE RISKSIf she is to uncover the truth about what really happened to Jennifer, Sarah needs to work with the other women who shared her nightmare. But they won't be happy to hear from her. Because down there in the dark, Sarah wasn't just a victim.NEVER TRUST ANYONE
The Broadcast: A Mystery Thriller
Liam Fialkov - 2018
Two decades ago, nuns collaborated in seizing her newborn baby.Could the show help her reunite with her son? Who is behind the astonishing footage? Are the films authentic or an elaborate scam? How far back in time will the TV show go? Will it show the crucifixion of Jesus? Will Sarah and Jonathan manage to restore their love?"A riveting story with exciting plot twists and characters that linger in readers' minds. Liam Fialkov's ability for summary and measured sentences makes his work absorbing." - Readers' Favorite, 2019 International Contest - Award WinnerSarah thinks she’d found an opportunity to reunite with her son, but the road is filled with centuries’ old mysteries, and a peculiar connection to “The Broadcast,” a riveting new television show, that may or may not be a scam.
“If you’re looking for a riveting novel that is shrouded in mystery and will draw you in with vivid details, then “The Broadcast” is a fabulous choice.”
- Editorial Review, Manybooks.
Sarah watches with awe as “The Broadcast” not only cracks unsolved crime cases, but it airs actual footage of historical events going back 2,000 years.A well-respected journalist is on the hunt for answers too, and he works tirelessly to prove the strange recordings are a hoax.While they seek answers, the show begins to expose a shattering secret that could threaten many people’s beliefs and perception of history.This captivating psychological thriller is as enigmatic and gripping as the television series itself. It intertwines personal drama with suspenseful twists and turns, all leading to an astonishing conclusion.If you like charismatic characters, riveting suspense, and mysteries that keep you guessing, then you’ll love Liam Fialkov’s gripping novel.
"A truly innovative thriller that should make for a lively book club discussion."
- Official Review, BestThrillers.com
"I love it when a unique book comes my way. Well-written and intelligent, "The Broadcast" is such an interesting premise and it twists and turns with many of the characters’ stories and secrets. This book was a fun read and I can recommend it to anyone looking for a thrilling and different book that draws you in and won’t let you go. Isn’t that the best kind?"- HUGEOrange Publication Review - Editor’s Pick Winner"If you are looking for a story filled with mystery and a great plot, then this is the book for you." - Official review, onlineBookClub.com
"A complex suspense tale which convincingly examines esoteric characters. In addition to the mystery of Walter’s unnamed source, this book is also an engrossing melodrama. Backstories are particularly strong, from 2-year-old Jonathan experiencing a car accident to nuns taking away teen Sarah’s baby while she’s at a convent."
- Kirkus Reviews
“The book is a promising and engaging read that'll stick with readers.”
- Pacific Reviews
“Wow! This story’s mystery and meticulous build-up to the “what’s next” and “what’s gonna happen” is a work of art. This is what mysteries are supposed to be like.
FINDING FRANKIE (A Tuper Mystery #2)
Teresa Burrell - 2019
But why? And how did Squirrely, a homeless man, acquire a duffle bag stuffed with thousands in cash, a pistol, and a 25-year-old newspaper?As Squirrely lies in a coma, Tuper’s techie sidekick, Lana, uncovers fifty-year-old secrets about his connection to the death of a high school classmate. The cold case pops to the front burner when a second classmate dies in the same manner.A Senator, his barren wife, and a long-ago illegal adoption heat up the complications. As Tuper and Lana dig deeper, lies, fraud, and blackmail bubble to the surface. When they get too close, the killer panics and tries to take them out too.The case reaches a boiling point—just as Tuper unties a fifty-year-old twist and the cold truth finally puts the fire out.
A Means of Escape
Joanna Price - 2011
Detective Sergeant Kate Linton is called on Glastonbury Tor where a young woman has been strangled. Twelve holes are found at the scene, surrounded by wax, evidence of garden flares - the only connection to two other unsolved cases. When another young woman and a TV celebrity go missing, Linton is in a race against time to find the serial killer before he strikes again. But, when her journalist ex-boyfriend is singled out as a chief suspect, Linton feels that events are heading a bit too close to home. A Means of Escape presents an intricate, gripping mystery plot, combined with a focus on the heroine's personal life as she juggles an unwelcome attraction for her good-looking and charismatic superior with her efforts to become closer to her estranged family. A Means of Escape is the first in a series of psychologically driven crime novels.
Rooked
Caitlin Sara - 2018
. . Despite her desire for control, Ara Hopkins has always felt like a pawn—constantly being maneuvered by those surrounding her. Carrying a riddled past of abandonment by her mother, a jealous step-sister and exploitation by men she was supposed to be able to trust, Ara craves a social media certified life. So, when she meets her husband, a New York congressman’s son, she believes she’s finally won her game. Secure in a life her mother would approve of—and having firmly shut the door on her chaotic and miscalculated past—Ara feels she’s thriving. Until the night her husband is murdered. Thrust into a game of deceit and lies, Ara realizes that nothing is as it seems and that the past can quickly return to the present. The facade crumbles as relationships are tested and family boundaries crossed. Faced with losing it all, she discovers what a person is really capable of. Because in this game of life, it's either rook or be rooked. An intricately braided plot with unforeseeable twists and a sucker-punch ending, Rooked is a captivating thriller that shatters all perceptions.