Trance


Adam Southward - 2019
    He is in control. This is his revenge—and he’s only just begun.Three university scientists are found dead in a gruesome murder-suicide, and the only suspect in the case, Victor Lazar, is quickly captured. When the spate of violent suicides follows him to prison he is moved to solitary confinement, reserved for the highest-risk inmates. And then his assigned psychologist inexplicably takes his own life.Alex Madison, a former forensic psychologist turned private therapist, is brought in to interview Victor. He suspects that Victor is controlling his victims, somehow coaxing them into a suggestive trance. It seems like science fiction, but as Alex digs deeper he uncovers a frightening reality of secret research and cruel experimentation—and the perpetrators are closer to home than he could ever have imagined.Too late, Alex learns the true extent of what Victor is capable of—and who he’s after. With everything he holds dear at risk, can Alex take control of a dangerous mind—before it takes control of him?

Unleashed


Emily Kimelman - 2011
    This left him unconscious on the floor of my home. Amazingly, this bullet did not kill him. Ten years ago I adopted Blue as a present to myself after I broke up with my boyfriend one hot, early summer night with the windows open and the neighborhood listening. The next morning I went straight to the pound in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Articles on buying your first dog tell you never to buy a dog on impulse. They want you to be prepared for this new member of your family, to understand the responsibilities and challenges of owning a dog. Going to the pound because you need something in your life that's worth holding onto is rarely, if ever, mentioned. I asked the man at the pound to show me the biggest dogs they had. He showed me some seven-week-old Rottweiler-German shepherd puppies that he said would grow to be quite large. Then he showed me a six-month-old shepherd that would get pretty big. Then he showed me Blue, the largest dog they had. The man called him a Collie mix and he was stuffed into the biggest cage they had, but he didn't fit. He was as tall as a Great Dane but much skinnier, with the snout of a collie, the markings of a Siberian husky, the ears and tail of a shepherd and the body of a wolf, with one blue eye and one brown. Crouched in a sitting position, unable to lie down, unable to sit all the way up, he looked at me from between the bars, and I fell in love. "He's still underweight," the man in the blue scrubs told me as we looked at Blue. "I'll tell you, lady, he's pretty but he's skittish. He sheds, and I mean sheds. I don't think you want this dog." But I knew I wanted him. I knew I had to have him. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Blue cost me $108. I brought him home, and we lived together for years. He was, for most of our relationship, my only companion. But when I first met Blue, a lifetime ago now, I had family and friends. I worked at a crappy coffeehouse. I was young and lost; I was normal. Back then, at the beginning of this story, before I'd ever seen a corpse, before Blue saved my life, before I felt what it was like to kill someone in cold blood, I was still Joy Humbolt.I'd never even heard the name Sydney Rye.P.S. The dog does not die.**Beware: If you can’t handle a few f-bombs, you can’t handle this series.**

Shaking the Tree (The Man with Three Names)


Michael Donohue - 2011
    Out of prison, but still on parole, the only thing he wants is to keep his head down, go to work and maybe grab a cold beer at the end of his shift. He doesn't even care that the program stuck him in Essex - a nice, but nowhere small town. With his head already full of bloody and painful memories, he'd like it just fine if his past and future stayed nice and quiet.Too bad the present just got really messy.A body in a tree. A missing briefcase. A Russian hit man. A DEA agent bent on revenge. A corrupt mayor. Not to mention a sheriff with dangerous ambition. A meth lab in the woods. And some pissed off bikers. Things are suddenly very interesting in sleepy Essex county. Bodies are turning up. Secrets are coming out. Questions are being asked. Fingers are being pointed. It's not good being the new guy in a small town.

Hard Rain


Irma Venter - 2012
    It starts when he meets Ranna, a beautiful photographer with something to hide. Alex stopped believing in love a long time ago, yet here in the middle of East Africa, it’s found him again.Alex knows a thing or two about chaos—wherever he goes, it follows. When an IT billionaire washes up onshore after seasonal flooding, he finds himself at the center of an investigation with Ranna as the main suspect. It turns out she may have a good reason for hiding her past.Wherever she goes, murder follows.Alex should be used to these cat-and-mouse games, but this time it’s different. Should he listen to his heart and help Ranna hide the bloody trail leading to her? Or should he use his head and run for his life?

Three Days to Die


John Avery - 2011
    but he did.HE ONLY HEARD A FEW WORDS ... but he heard too much.HE RAN ... but he was followed -- a mistake that would turn thirteen-year-old Aaron Quinn's, and his beautiful, courageous, single mother, Ashley's, worlds upside down.THE CLOCK STARTS TICKING ... when Aaron is stolen from his mother by a psychotic killer and thrust headlong into a dark underworld of armed robbery, prostitution, and death. Will Aaron lose his mind as he's forced to participate in a deadly crime spree and witness first hand the horror of cold-blooded murder?THE WALLS CLOSE IN ... on Ashley when she listens to a tape recording left on her pillow by the killer, giving her two choices:1) Call the police and risk being responsible for her only child's death ...2) Offer herself as a sacrifice in exchange for his life ...WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WERE HER?---A CRIME THRILLERAn ACTION MOVIEA LOVE STORYIn THREE DAYS to DIE, debut author John Avery takes you on a perilous journey unlike any suspense thriller you've read before.From the opening sequence to the smashing ending, THREE DAYS to DIE moves at lightning speed, introducing the world to an exciting new hero, a beautiful and plucky heroine, and a truly frightening villain."John Avery opens Three Days to Die with a bang and then sprints toward the finish line ... taking thriller lovers of any age on a heart-pounding, pulse- tingling ride, and he does it with style. Five Stars!" – Jill Allen, Foreword Review"I truly got lost between the pages of this wonderfully told story - though I did cringe and even cry sometimes and wanted to hit someone at other times, which is totally against my nature. It just goes to show how totally absorbed I was in the world John Avery created in Three Days to Die." - N. Budden - Amazon Top Reviewer---*** Adapted from the original screenplay, THREE DAYS to DIE, by John Avery - Shortlisted for Hollywood's prestigious 2010 - PAGE International Screenwriting Awards ***Approx 225 pagesRecommended for adults 16+

Daughters of the Lake


Wendy Webb - 2018
    Tucked in the folds of the woman’s curiously vintage gown is an infant, as cold and at peace as its mother. No one can identify the woman. Except for Kate. She’s seen her before. In her dreams…One hundred years ago, a love story ended in tragedy, its mysteries left unsolved. It’s time for the lake to give up its secrets. As each mystery unravels, it pulls Kate deeper into the eddy of a haunting folktale that has been handed down in whispers over generations. Now, it’s Kate’s turn to listen.As the drowned woman reaches out from the grave, Kate reaches back. They must come together, if only in dreams, to right the sinister wrongs of the past.

Stress Fracture


D.P. Lyle - 2010
    Vacillating between wildly divergent personalities fueled by post traumatic stress disorder—at times calm, cold, and calculating; at others maniacal and out of control—the psychopath taunts, threatens, and outmaneuvers Dub at every turn. The stakes are suddenly elevated as Dub uncovers a deadly conspiracy tainted with unrestrained greed, corruption, and ties to the military establishment and the medical community.

Hunt Them Down


Simon Gervais - 2019
    Will his daughter pay the price?Former Army Ranger Pierce Hunt is no stranger to violence. Fresh off a six-month suspension, he’s itching to hit a notorious Mexican drug cartel where it hurts, even if that means protecting crime boss Vicente Garcia, a witness in the case against sadistic cartel leader Valentina Mieles. But things spiral out of control when the cartel murders Garcia and kidnaps his granddaughter and an innocent bystander, Hunt’s own teenage daughter.Mieles wants the new head of the Garcia family on a plate—literally. Hunt has seventy-two hours to deliver, or Mieles will execute the girls live on social media. With the clock ticking, Hunt goes off the grid and teams up with Garcia’s daughter, a former lover and current enemy. To save the girls, Hunt will have to become a man he swore he’d never be again: an avenging killer without limits or mercy.

All Good Deeds


Stacy Green - 2014
    She's just taking out the trash. Don’t call Lucy Kendall a serial killer. She’s fighting for the innocent, and she’ll do whatever it takes to bring justice. When a child disappears, Lucy quickly discovers the link to a predator she’s faced before–a man the state of Pennsylvania decided to turn loose on the streets. Determined to find the little girl and put a criminal behind bars for good, Lucy forces her way onto the case.As the search for the kidnapped child pulls Lucy into a web of evil beyond her darkest imagination, she’ll have to face her own dark truths to save the little girl–and herself.

Blues of Autumn


Richard Adamson - 2020
    He came to the Adirondacks because he heard small-town cops spend their days helping kittens cross the road and rescuing little old ladies out of trees. Or something like that. And so far, things have been quiet as promised.Paul Briar is not so happy. He came to these mountains to spark some romance in his marriage. Now his wife is missing and presumed drowned.And poor Dr. Simon Reesor is downright devastated. He came here to practice medicine in a small hospital. Last night his wife was brutally murdered, blown up in her car.Police Chief Norris Tanager came to these beautiful mountains to escape the ugliness of the big city. Too bad. Seems like ugly just follows some cops around.

The Teacher


Katerina Diamond - 2016
    It meant the end.As Exeter suffers a rising count of gruesome deaths, troubled DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles must solve the case and make their city safe again.But as they’re drawn into a network of corruption, lies and exploitation, every step brings them closer to grim secrets hidden at the heart of their community.And once they learn what’s motivating this killer, will they truly want to stop him?SMART. GRIPPING. GRUESOME.This is a psychological crime thriller in a class of its own.WARNING: Most definitely not for the faint-hearted!

The Good Soldier: Jack Noble Early Years Bundle


L.T. Ryan - 2014
    A Marine in name only, Jack is on-loan to the CIA. Normally an integral part of the team, he finds that he is nothing more than a security detail in Iraq. Jack and his partner Bear have a run-in with four CIA special agents over the treatment of an Iraqi family. Within hours Jack and Bear are detained. All Jack wanted was to finish his enlistment and move on with his life. All he did was intervene and save a family from unwarranted violence at the hands of four CIA agents. But he soon discovers that he did far more than intervene. He has placed himself dead square in the middle of a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of the U.S. government. This Jack Noble political thriller is not for the faint of heart! A DEADLY DISTANCE (JACK NOBLE #2) - Washington, D.C. Midday. A man waits at a bus stop, his intentions unknown. Two government operatives have been stalking him for days, waiting for him to make his move. Unexpectedly, the man takes off running and heads for a deserted warehouse. Jack Noble and his partner, Frank Skinner, believe the man to be part of a terrorist organization that is involved in smuggling drugs and guns and men into the country. But it turns out their plan involves far more export than import, and hits a lot closer to home. As the case in this explosive action thriller unfolds, the man behind it all reaches out to Jack with a simple message... 37 hours.

Dangerous Stakes


G.K. Parks - 2019
    Her target, Axel Kincaid, is smart and ruthless. His forte - stealing cars. His temperament- violent. And his legitimate business keeps half the judges and city officials entertained, so collecting enough evidence to put him behind bars is nearly impossible. But when a parking attendant is murdered and two exotic sports cars are stolen, all bets are off. There's just one problem. Axel claims to have an airtight alibi, but there are more than a few holes in his story. The only thing Liv knows for sure is someone is determined to get away with murder, and now the killer has set his sights on her. Will she stop the murderous thief before he strikes again? Or will she become his next victim?

Alas, She Drowned


Monica Knightley - 2016
    Betrayal. Tea and Scones. When ex-novice nun, turned steamy romance writer, Maggie O’Flynn moves to the charming village of Stratford Upon Avondale to open a tea room she expects plenty of murders, betrayal, and duplicity. On the stages of the town’s renowned Shakespeare Festival. But when a theater critic is found murdered on the town’s riverbank and the prime suspect turns out to be the sexy bookshop owner Maggie has had her eye on, she takes matters into her own hands. Will she be able to dig through the layers of betrayal and duplicity to find the true murderer before that handsome bookseller, Nate Larimer, finds himself behind bars? With the help of her loud, brash, spitfire of a friend, Gina Mattucci, Maggie plans to do just that. With a bit of Shakespeare, copious amounts of tea, and a faux-English setting to rival anything the real England has to offer, ALAS, SHE DROWNED is the first book in THE STRATFORD UPON AVONDALE mystery series. Lovers of cozy mysteries will find a cozy home in Stratford Upon Avondale.

Serenade


Heather McKenzie - 2017
    But as she forms an unlikely connection with her abductor, Luke, her adventure takes a strange turn.There is nothing magical about growing up in a mountainside castle, when it’s your prison. Kaya’s ruthless and powerful father keeps her under lock and key, watched every second of the day–and Kaya’s not really sure why. She’s just a normal girl…no one special. She doesn’t understand her father’s obsession with her safety – until she is kidnapped. Dragged through a brutal wilderness, Kaya’s captor shows her the devastating truth, and even though he has dark secrets of his own, she is inexplicably drawn to him–when the stars are in your eyes, sometimes the line between right and wrong is blurred. Passion obliterates common sense. Love... makes you reckless. As Kaya's father’s men and her devoted bodyguard scour the woods to find her, she wonders if staying in the arms of her abductor is the safer place to be. At least, that’s what her heart is saying—her head is saying run… Dangerously passionate and darkly romantic, SERENADE is a page-turning thriller and seductive love story.