Book picks similar to
Killing Pretties (DS Malice, #1) by Rob Ashman


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Lynchpin: The Best Laid Schemes of Mice and Men


Siddharth Maheshwari - 2021
    A sinister plan, of a shrewd calculating mastermind, has set the wheels of doom in motion. He is now pulling the lynchpins across the country and making it fall into disarray. He is using everyone in his path to achieve his goals. Within thirty days he intends to control the nation’s soul. As chaos grips the country, it’s a race against time for DSP Ranbir Roy of the Intelligence Bureau and Inspector Vikram Aditya Singh to stop him before anarchy dooms the country. The pieces are set, the board is laid out but what happens when your own pawns move against you? What will be the end game?

Rollover


James Raven - 2012
    . . THEN GETS MURDERED, AND YOU’RE THE NUMBER ONE SUSPECT. Saturday night at Danny Cain’s home. As their daughter sleeps upstairs, Danny and his wife watch the national lottery draw. This week a massive rollover jackpot. Within minutes, Vince, Danny’s best friend and business partner, calls and claims that he’s won the jackpot. A TAUT CRIME THRILLER THAT WILL HAVE YOU GRIPPED FROM THE FIRST PAGE. Vince tells Danny to drop everything and come over to his cottage in the New Forest. But when Danny gets there he finds his friend has been murdered. His winning lottery ticket has gone. Before Danny can alert the police he receives a call from the killer who claims he’s kidnapped Danny’s wife and daughter. The man warns him not to tell anyone about the ticket. Danny is plunged into a terrible nightmare. He’s faced with a desperate race against time to save his family. CAN DETECTIVE JEFF TEMPLE FIND THE REAL KILLER BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE? DCI Jeff Temple heads up Hampshire's Major Investigations Team based in Southampton. He's a no-nonsense copper who relishes the challenges presented by the most brutal and high-profile cases. But at the same time he's still struggling to get his personal life back on track following the tragic death of his beloved wife. Things are looking up, but it's an uphill struggle. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ROLLOVER “Very addictive and couldn't put this book down!” Lucy “The plot is pacy and compelling – the essence of the polished ‘unputdownable’ novel/” View Magazine. “Extremely satisfying thriller and great entertainment.” Books Monthly Review. “The pages kept turning faster and faster.” Ginny “One of the best books I have ever read. I found it thrilling and exciting right from the first page.” Michael THE BEST-SELLING DETECTIVE JEFF TEMPLE SERIES Book 1: ROLLOVER Book 2: URBAN MYTH Book 3: RANDOM TARGET Book 4: DYING WISH Book 5: THE BLOGGER Join the Joffe Books mailing list for updates on the next mystery coming soon!

The Needle House


Robin Roughley - 2013
    Young Billy Jones comes from a notorious family of drunks and thieves. So, when he fails to return home it's hardly a surprise. However, when mutilated remains are found it becomes apparent that a savage executioner is stalking the untamed windswept moorland that surround this northern town. The clues lead DS Lasser directly to the poverty-stricken Radfield family who once owned great swathes of local land. When another body is discovered, Lasser's convictions are thrown into turmoil. Someone is playing a vicious game, someone with a burning hatred for the Radfield family. The body count rises and Lasser finds himself enmeshed in a tangled web of deceit as he tries to unravel the dark, twisted secrets that bind two families. Secrets stretching back over four decades, blackmail and murder reaching out to ensnare the innocent as well as the guilty.

The Toybreaker


Roy Chester - 2008
    They leave a sinister calling card behind: a broken handmade puppet on the child’s pillow. The press nickname the kidnapper the Toybreaker. In a desperate move, Superintendent David Mallory calls in criminal profiler Dr Hannah Nightingale to help with an investigation that is going nowhere. More children disappear and the city of Garton is on the edge of panic. A very dark mind is at work, but why does the Toybreaker suddenly change his method, adding a lock of hair to the crime scene. When a prime suspect escapes, the police appear to have reached another dead end. Will the Toybreaker be stopped before more families are destroyed? This is a fast-paced thriller that will have you turning the pages till the action-packed ending. THE DETECTIVES: David Mallory is an old-school policeman who has made some powerful enemies within his own department. DCI Gary Falcon is an ambitious young man on the rise, but his father’s legal work for the city’s criminals does not play well with his fellow officers. THE PROFILER: Dr Hannah Nightingale is an up-and-coming forensic psychiatrist who is employed as a consultant profiler by the Toybreaker team. The Nightingale family are prominent in the Garton social scene and Hannah has to fight hard to be accepted by a sceptical police force. THE SETTING: Garton is a fictional port city in the north of England. It’s faced years of industrial decline, but a strong community spirit and sense of humour give hope for revival. But there are still pockets of rundown inner-city criminality. THE TOYBREAKER is the first in a new series of crime thrillers. Great for fans of Sarah Flint, Paul Finch. Kathy Reichs, Angela Marsons, and Patricia Cornwell. OUT NOW the next book in the series: ANGER MAN. Can the team stop a killer full of rage and guilt? PRAISE FOR ROY CHESTER “Intriguing, compelling, and thoroughly entertaining” Chorley Guardian

Robbing the Dead


Tana Collins - 2017
    To prevent further violence they must find the answers quickly. But will Jim’s old adversary, terror expert McGhee, be a help or a hindrance?The first in a new series featuring DCI Jim Carruthers

Standstill


J.A. Marley - 2016
    Marley's unmissable debut, Standstill.Even the deadliest criminals leave a trail…When a psychotic policeman drags the young, ambitious thief, Danny Felix out of bed, he could not imagine he was about to be plunged into the robbery of a lifetime. Corruption and coercion follow the corrupt Detective Inspector Harkness everywhere he goes and now he has Danny just where he wants him. But Harkness isn’t the only officer with Danny in his sights. Christine Chance is getting closer to him while doing her best to be a mother to her seriously ill daughter. Can Danny escape Harkness with his life intact? Can he avoid detection by Chance? And does he have what it takes to use the streets of modern-day London to pull off the theft of the 21st Century? Danny thinks he can...but there will be bloodshed. Standstill is hard-boiled crime thriller which will appeal to fans of authors like Jeffery Deaver, Robert Bryndza, Lisa Unger, Michael Connelly, and Barbara Nickless

The Price


Kerry Kaya - 2020
    Together they work for notorious East End gangster Billy King. Across the water in South London is Billy’s rival George Bannerman and the two firms are locked in a bitter turf war.Amid murder, drug deals, and rival firms, Fletch is harbouring his own secrets and it’s only a matter of time until those secrets are revealed, and when you break the rules you have to pay the price.

Avaline Saddlebags


Netta Newbound - 2019
    As the body count rapidly rises—each slaying more savage than the last—it soon becomes clear the butchered and mutilated victims have one thing in common—they are all male to female transsexuals. With time against them, Dylan is forced to go undercover in the only place that provides a link to the victims—Dorothy’s, a well-known drag and cabaret bar in the heart of Liverpool. Avaline Saddlebags is a gripping, often amusing, psychological thriller with an astonishing twist that will take your breath away... change can be DEADLY!

The Afghan


Andrew Turpin - 2019
    A knife-edge CIA operation that goes wrong. And a vengeful mujahideen tribesman, armed with Stinger missiles. When CIA officer Joe Johnson is handed the tough task by his boss of capturing a Soviet helicopter and forging better contacts among the mujahideen, he unknowingly finds himself up against a sinister KGB rival who wants him dead. But after coming under fire, Johnson comes to suspect that his difficulties stem not just from the Soviets—but from a traitor on his own side. To extricate himself from the web of deceit in which he finds himself, Johnson comes to rely on a female colleague from Britain’s MI6, Jayne Robinson, to whom he grows unexpectedly close. As pressure mounts on Johnson from CIA headquarters at Langley and politicians in Washington, DC, the story reaches a climax during a life-or-death shootout in Jalalabad. The Afghan , set in 1988, is a thriller that forms a compelling prequel to the Joe Johnson series as a whole. It also creates the backdrop for book four in the series, Stalin’s Final Sting , set in Afghanistan, New York City, and Moscow in the present day. Meet Joe Johnson today and read how he uncovers dark secrets.

Murder By The Broads


Anthony Tamiozzo - 2018
    While at a crime scene he is informed of another murder. But Burnt is also having problems at home. He suspects his wife is having an affair. As the clues unfold DS Burnt begins a game of cat and mouse.What links the two murders to a doctor and a psychiatric hospital? Trying to juggle his personal life and the job, Burnt must navigate Great Yarmouth and the surrounding areas to catch a killer and stop a vicious gang.

Stitched: A gruesome tale of control, fear and brutality


Cheryl Elaine - 2019
    To the outside world, Andrew Brooke is a cop who’s obsessively committed to his job. But behind closed doors, he enforces his dominance and disciplines his wife, Emily, in the most inhumane ways. When his life begins to fall apart and his reputation becomes tarnished, he unleashes his anger and seeks revenge on those who dare to encounter him. Emily Brooke is left broken by her husband’s hand, with no means of escape. Eventually, though weak and confused, she manages to flee. But is the life she escapes to a better one? Detective Donavan has his own demons to battle following his wife’s death. Assigned a missing person’s case that leads to a series of brutal attacks, he follows the trail of a serial killer dubbed ‘The Stitcher’ - but will his own dark secrets get in the way of justice being served? Stitched perfectly demonstrates how cruel life – and people – can be.

A Poison Tree


J.E. Mayhew - 2020
    A coincidence or a connection?Will Blake is determined to find out, but as he unearths the past, questions are raised about the original investigations and it becomes clear that The Wirral has a killer on the loose once again.Victor Hunt, the father of the last dead girl from the original case, lies in a hospice with weeks to live. The truth lies hidden in Hunt’s tangled family tree, and the actions of his wayward daughter. Time is against Blake and his fractious team. If they don’t get to the root of past crimes, then innocent blood will flow again.A Poison Tree is the first thrilling mystery in the Will Blake crime series. A great read for fans of Luca Veste's and JD Kirk’s Jack Logan series.

Drivers


Peter Carroll - 2014
    Revenge, justice, loyalty, lies, love, anger and an identity crisis. Turns out, the new chauffeur is not her only driver...so buckle up and enjoy the ride.

How to kill your friends


Phil Kurthausen - 2019
    Who needs enemies?There’s something about Meredith…Meredith is a young underachiever, living in a squalid apartment, struggling to stay one step ahead of her landlord and the law when she meets a man from her past who offers her a way out and a chance to start over.Having worked her way into the lives of the rich and privileged, Meredith will do just about anything to preserve her new lifestyle.But just how far is she prepared to go?

Slice


David Hodges - 2010
     THERE’S A KILLER INSIDE THE POLICE STATION. A police station should be a safe place. But not when there’s a psychotic serial killer working there. THE FIRST VICTIM IS FOUND GRUESOMELY MUTILATED IN HIS MOST SENSITIVE AREA. HE IS DRESSED IN A JUDGE’S WIG. Detective Superintendent Jack Fulton takes on the grisly murder enquiry and discovers that his murderer might actually be one of the police station staff. MORE EMINENT VICTIMS FOLLOW. KILLED IN THE SAME SADISTIC MANNER. The press nickname the razor-wielding assassin “The Slicer.” With the killer stalking the shadowy Victorian building, Fulton has to contend not only with press harassment and police who will stop at nothing to get a result, but also with other problems much closer to home. As the killer leads him on a grim game of cat and mouse, Fulton has little idea of just how personal that game is about to become . . . YOU WON’T WANT TO PUT THIS ONE DOWN Perfect for fans of Rachel Abbott, Robert Bryndza, Mel Sherratt, Angela Marsons, Colin Dexter, or Ruth Rendell. THE AUTHOR A former police superintendent, with thirty years’ service. Since ‘turning to crime’, he has received critical media acclaim, including a welcome accolade from Inspector Morse’s creator, the late great, Colin Dexter, and he is now a prolific novelist with eleven published crime novels and an autobiography on his police career to his credit. His previous police experience has enabled him to provide a gritty realism to his thrillers and his Somerset Murder Series, featuring feisty female detective, Kate, and her partner, Hayden, has gone from strength to strength, attracting interest in the United States as well as in the UK. DETECTIVE KATE HAMBLIN MYSTERY SERIES Book 1: MURDER ON THE LEVELS Book 2: REVENGE ON THE LEVELS Book 3: FEAR ON THE LEVELS Book 4: KILLER ON THE LEVELS Book 5: SECRETS ON THE LEVELS Book 6: DEATH ON THE LEVELS STANDALONES SLICE