Book picks similar to
Dara and Dupree by Micheal Maxwell


5-star-books
american-theme
heartwarming
mystery

Burned


Melissa F. Miller - 2021
    Light the fuse. Watch Olivia burn.CIA operative Olivia Santos lives on a razor's edge. As a NOC--an agent with non-official cover--she's well aware of the risks: if her cover's blown, there's no diplomatic immunity, and a life sentence in a foreign prison is the best-case scenario. The worst-case scenario is too gruesome to mention. But she never imagined her cover would be compromised from the inside. She has no choice but to go on the run--as luck has it--with her musclebound driving instructor.Once upon a time, Trent Mann thrived on danger. Now the former Navy SEAL's haunted by a costly mistake in his past. He focuses on his work for Potomac Private Services to hold his nightmares at bay. But when he's saddled with a vapid trophy wife as a defensive driving student, it doesn't take long for the fiery blonde with the enormous eyes to land them both in deep trouble.Soon Trent and Olivia are on the run from the government, foreign agents, her husband, and an endless list of shadowy enemies. As the danger reaches a boiling point, Olivia and Trent will have to ignore the fire crackling between them to focus on staying alive.

The Gifts


Linda S. Prather - 2006
    . . raped. . . executed. . . No matter how much he drank, Gavin McAllister couldn't get the headline out of his head. Just words. He was a writer, made his living with words. The impact of the words directly correlated to the emotions of the reader. Words could be twisted, knives to open up wounds long hidden. Maneuvered to evoke buried nightmares. Bare the soul, expose the wound, and you had a best seller. Make them laugh. Make them cry. Above all, make them feel something. He was an expert at manipulating words for emotion. But he'd seen the body. It wasn't a story this time. This time it was personal. The demon of his nightmares had no name, but now he knew where to look for him. Glade Springs had secrets. And no one uncovered secrets better than Jacody ives.

Madeline Missing (Jack Dillon Dublin Tales #7)


Mike Faricy - 2019
    Now she's missing . . . By the time US Marshal Jack Dillon and An Garda Síochána DI Paddy Suel get assigned to the case American student Madeline Keller has already been missing for four days. Her former boyfriend already has an attorney and an alibi. The school and her girlfriends have absolutely no idea. AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT!

Blizzard Ball


Dennis Kelly - 2011
    The jackpot has run up to a red-hot $750 million, the world's richest prize. A bungled convenience store heist triggers a happenstance theft of winning lottery tickets and trips up an insider's scheme to rig the results.Agent Kirchner, an old-school cop reluctantly teams up with a young tech-savvy analyst on an investigation that propels them into the world of numerical probability, conspiratorial politics, international ticket scalpers, counterfeiters, disgruntled players, and illegal immigrants looking to grab the brass ring. Caught in the crosscurrents of those in deadly pursuit of the winning ticket, the investigators are buffeted by unsolved murders, a bomb blast-and the curious giveaway of winning lottery tickets: acts of charity or criminal subterfuge?The whereabouts and redemption of the $750 million jackpot lottery ticket remains a mystery throughout, stirring anger and resentment among the lottery-playing public. The winning ticket, finally, surfaces but before the prize can be claimed a Faustian bargain puts Kirchner's job on the line.

Finding Katrina: Mystery and Suspense


James Kipling - 2017
    Will she make the right choice? This novel is a police procedural mystery of crime and suspense - an absolutely gripping thriller with a jaw dropping twist. This is a mystery and suspense story that revolves around the kidnapping of a beautiful young girl named Katrina Radha. She is the daughter of a prominent international diplomat. The story takes place primarily in New York City, where Hassan Radha is conducting peace talks at the United Nations. There is an ironic twist to the story in which the reader is fully aware of who the kidnappers are, but the detectives at the FBI are convinced that terrorists are responsible. The story coincides with New York Fashion Week, which draws fashion and photography icons from all over the world. This is truly an international story at several levels. Katrina Radha wants to immerse herself in the fashion world while her father takes his place on the international diplomatic stage. The two main boroughs involved in the story are Manhattan and Brooklyn. Jimmy Nolan lives in Brooklyn and comes from the rougher side of town. Tango Cash is a criminal overlord who is based out of the notorious Marcy Housing Projects, which have been home to numerous criminal and gang-related incidents in recent years. There’s a dichotomy in play with this story between the international importance of New York City and the everyday criminal underworld that is always looking for opportunistic advantages. Katrina Radha gets caught up at the intersection of these two worlds. Can she be rescued?

Power Trip (Eric Swan, #1)


Dom Testa - 2019
    Eric Swan is a modern mashup of James Bond and Fletch.” - Charlie Keaton, author and founder of Brubaker Creative Eric Swan can be killed - but he can never die. For a government agent hunting the most dangerous domestic terrorists, that comes in handy. But Swan is beginning to question his own humanity. Is technology turning this Q2 secret agent into a monster himself? Now villainous brother-sister twins, fueled by a lust for power and revenge, have set their sights on taking down the power grid. And they’ve hired an army of mercenaries to protect them. The clock is ticking with millions of lives at stake, and Swan must battle an army of killers while questioning the authenticity of his own soul. If he fails, the country will slip into a dark age of chaos and anarchy. Power Trip is the first book in the Eric Swan thriller series. If you enjoy a dynamic fusion of action and intrigue, with a solid dose of humor, you’ll love Dom Testa’s Eric Swan novels. Get your copy now and discover the most entertaining and unique spy series in years.

Non-Suspicious: A Detective Brook Deelman Mystery


Ed Church - 2020
    Homicide can’t see anything suspicious. In fact, the only person asking questions is a jaded Met detective with breakfast beers on his mind. Shame for the killer…You shouldn’t underestimate Brook Deelman.Standing between Brook and the truth: a police cover-up, a professional hitman, and a dark secret going back to the final throes of WW2. But what exactly happened in those last days at Stalag IV-B? And why is the past catching up with people now?In a web of loyalty and betrayal, revenge and redemption, an old police saying has never been truer: Assume nothing. The closer Brook Deelman gets to the heart of the conspiracy… the more seismic the twists will become.

A Dark Amish Night


Jenny Moews - 2015
    A budding romance threatens to consume and destroy both their lives. Can Quinn find Eric's killer before Hannah is cast out of the only community she has ever known and save her son before the killer strikes again?

Run, Run, Run


Mark Capell - 2011
    But even that can't protect him and his wife, Sally. Somebody knows their new identity - somebody who shouldn't.Frank Tong is an artist who finds inspiration for his paintings from the violence of his criminal life. When his brother is put away for murder he wants revenge. And Frank has a mole in the Witness Protection Scheme.Dan and the pregnant Sally have no choice. They have to flee. They go on the run from both sides of the law.They must learn to lie, steal, shoot and fight to survive. They can't use their credit cards, cash machines, mobile phones - anything that will give away their location. They must constantly look over their shoulder. It's living life like a criminal - a difficult task for two law abiding people.What will it take to return to a normal life? How far are they prepared to go? What will they sacrifice for their freedom?'Run, Run, Run' is a crime thriller that will have your heart racing and your mind buzzing....Sometimes the best way to get justice is to run away from it...(2014 REVISED EDITION)

Death's Witness


Paul Batista - 2006
    When Tom Perini, a legendary Heisman Trophy winner turned criminal lawyer, is found brutally murdered in Central Park, his widow Julie Perini suspects a wider conspiracy.  Not only was her husband part of the defense team for a Congressman on trial for bribery, her intuition also tells her that the FBI is not too eager to find the killer.Relying on her skills as a journalist, Julie begins her own investigation and soon discovers her late husband’s secret underworld associations; ties that now threaten her and her toddler’s lives.  Fighting grief and a sense of betrayal, Julie is pulled into an inescapable labyrinth of organized crime dealings, political corruption, brutal power grabs and murder. Desperate, Julie turns to Vincent Sorrentino, Tom’s defense partner, for help, and the two discover a shocking and terrifying truth that threatens to paralyze them.  But it may also hold the key—the only key—to saving the lives of Julie and her daughter.Renowned attorney Paul Batista seamlessly combines crack legal expertise with suspenseful storytelling to produce a pulse-pounding action story and a first rate courtroom procedural; a legal thriller so authentic, it reads like tomorrow’s headlines.

Blind Evil


Eric Praschan - 2014
    As John unravels the mystery and trails the killer across Missouri, he finds himself caught in the web of David's twisted psychological schemes. The terror increases when Emily Dolon, the woman both John and David have loved since childhood, becomes the target of David's macabre mind games.Trapped between his duty of solving the case and his devotion to his best friend, John struggles to find the truth, knowing he must execute justice, even if it costs him lifelong loyalties or his own life. Blind Evil is a taut psychological thriller that explores the dark place where sanity and madness collide.