Book picks similar to
The Nero Wolfe Primer by Rex Stout


mystery
fiction
mystery-suspense
rex-stout

1 Ragged Ridge Road


Leonard Foglia - 1997
    When Carol Robbins and her son make over the mansion into a bed and breakfast, she uncovers evidence about a bizarre double murder that was never solved.

Spectre Series Box Set: Books 1-4


C.W. Lemoine - 2017
    SPECTRE RISING (BOOK 1)Cal "Spectre" Martin is out of the military, but that doesn't mean he's out from behind enemy lines. In a techno thriller that launches the military/political espionage SPECTRE series, C.W. Lemoine explores just how far a fighter pilot will go to save the ones he loves. AVOID. NEGOTIATE. KILL. (BOOK 2) Book 2 in the military/political espionage thriller SPECTRE series finds Spectre with a new job - and a new set of problems. His latest mission will force him to confront political deception, international terrorism… and devastating personal loss. ARCHANGEL FALLEN (BOOK 3) Spectre is being hunted by the FBI. The agency believes he’s at the heart of an unthinkable act of terrorism. But as Spectre’s about to find out, the true culprit has set in motion a far more powerful conspiracy. EXECUTIVE REACTION (BOOK 4)Political deception, international espionage and entrenched military corruption. Cal "Spectre" Martin finds himself face to face with the Commander in Chief aboard Air Force One. Together with FBI agent Michelle Decker, he is ready to share evidence so incriminating it could topple the current administration in Washington D.C..

Takeoff


Joseph Reid - 2018
    All he has to do is accompany female pop star Max Magic to Los Angeles and deliver her to the FBI. But when their routine flight ends in a hail of gunfire at LAX, Walker has no choice but to take the frightened diva on the run.After a second attack leaves him battered and bloody, Walker realizes he cannot trust the FBI. To keep his client alive, he must use a patchwork of trusted aviation contacts to get her home to Austin, where the key suspects await.But as they race to stay one step ahead of their deadly pursuers, the biggest danger of all may be what they’re heading toward—the dark secrets that Max herself has been keeping…

The Warlock Enlarged


Christopher Stasheff
    Its five continents and numerous small islands were covered with rain forest and inhabited by amphibians and hordes of insects—very much like Terra during its Carboniferous Era. One large island was noticeably different, however, It had been terraformed by human colonists centuries earlier…colonists who had abandoned technology in order to re-create the medieval/renaissance culture of Old Earth, right down to the belief in magic and witches. And on Gramarye, those beliefs were not merely archaic superstitions; they were facts of life.Rod Gallowglass, agent for the Society for the Conversion of Extraterrestrial Nascent Totalitarianisms (SCENT, for short), had sniffed out the Lost Colony—and been amazed to discover it was a communications gold mine: a segment of the population were genuine espers. No matter that, in this particular anachronistic setting, they were known as witches and warlocks; they were telepaths, and with their ability to communicate instantaneously, regardless of distance, they would be invaluable to the Decentralized Democratic Tribunal which had created SCENT.It was Rod’s job to steer them gently in the right direction…to see that Gramarye’s monarchy gradually evolved among democratic lines. And, aided by an old family retainer named Fess—an antique robot whose brain he had placed in a black steel horse’s body—the agent was doing quite well. He had earned the Crown’s respect and, in recognition of his “powers,” been awarded the title “High Warlock.” He had also married a beautiful, gifted witch, and together they had begun a family—strange as it was to raise children who were capable of levitation and telekinesis, among other adorable tricks.But if Gramarye had strategic value for the DDT, it was equally important to the opponents of democracy. With all of the technology at their command—resources unknown on Gramarye—and no scruples about using it to distort the colony’s natural development, Rod’s enemies had a powerful advantage. And their insidious attacks could take any form. How, for instance, was a space-age Warlock supposed to combat deadly, real-life bogeymen…?It’s fast-paced fun and adventure—three complete novels in one volume: King Kobold Revived, The Warlock Unlocked and The Warlock Enraged.

Devil in the Hole


Charles Salzberg - 2013
    In an upstairs bedroom: an elderly woman and the family dog, both of them shot as well. The only person missing is the husband, father, son, and prime suspect, John Hartman, who's got a three-week jump on the police. Through the eyes of almost two dozen characters, including the neighbor who reports the crime, Hartman’s mistress, a dogged state investigator, the family minister, and some of the characters Hartman meets on his escape route, we piece together not only what happened and how these shocking murders affect the community, but how John Hartman evades capture, where he’s headed, and maybe even why he committed this gruesome crime in the first place. Based on the notorious John List murders and already compared to works by Norman Mailer and Russell Banks, Devil in the Hole is gripping, literate, and haunting.

Mistress of Mellyn & Kirkland Revels


Victoria Holt - 1962
    "As the train carried Martha Leigh -- heroine of Mistress of Mellyn - through the wooded hills of Devon, she could not help feeling a deep sense of foreboding." "The magnificent manor house on the Yorkshire moors, the ancestral home of the Rockwell family, was called Kirkland Revels."

The Ritual Bath / Sacred and Profane


Faye Kellerman - 2007
    

Agent Hill Super Boxset


James Hunt - 2017
    These stories have accumulated over 150+ five-star reviews and have been boxed together for the first time! That's TWO COMPLETE BOOK SERIES totaling 6 NOVELS! Agent Sarah Hill loves her job. As the number one agent at the GSF, the most covert spy agency in the world that operates beyond the reach of any government, Agent Hill has to balance locating the mastermind behind the attack on the global power grid and finding her brother and his family. But for her, they’re one in the same.

Kinsey and Me: Stories


Sue Grafton - 1990
    The nine stories that open the book show how fully formed Kinsey was from the beginning. The thirteen stories in the second part, written in the decade following her mother's death, feature Kit Blue, a younger version of Grafton herself, and reflect her troubled family life and the author's journey from anger to understanding and forgiveness.Between the sheets --Long gone --Parker shotgun --Non sung smoke --Falling off the roof --Poison that leaves no trace --Full circle --Little missionary work --Lying game --Eye for an I : justice, morality, the nature of the hard-boiled private investigator, and all that existential stuff --Woman capable of anything --That's not an easy way to go --Lost people --Clue --Night visit, corridor A --April 24, 1960 --Closet --Maple Hill --Portable life --Quarrel --Jessie --Death review --Letter from my father

Deep Blue Goodbye/Nightmare in Pink


John D. MacDonald
    

Conviction


Robbin J. Peterson - 2018
    And in an instant, a peculiar encounter with the wrong people changes everything. Dragged from his apartment in the dead of night, Neal is taken to prison and charged with the theft of a priceless museum piece. As days turn into weeks, he is thrown into a world of uncertainty where he must rely on the only person he can trust—the Savior. And as his Russian slowly improves within the prison walls, he begins preaching the gospel in the last place he imagined proselytizing. But when civil unrest erupts in Ukraine, the now-familiar routine of imprisonment is over. Neal is trapped in the chaos, and with his life on the line, his only hope of survival is escape. Yet he learns too late that there is as much danger awaiting him outside the prison walls as within. Someone has gone to great lengths to incriminate the young missionary, and they will stop at nothing to silence him forever.

Murder at Markham


Patricia Sprinkle - 1988
    When another body turns up, Sheila knows something has to be done. Will she be able to handle the academic infighting in time to prevent another murder?

Ties That Bind


Carolyn Arnold - 2011
    The rest of the world thought she was going crazy—until it was too late.When Laura Saunders is found strangled in her home with a man’s necktie, Detective Madison Knight is assigned the case. Her sergeant at the Stiles Police Department wants her to conclude it was an isolated incident and move on with the investigation, but Madison’s not the type to cave under pressure. She’s haunted by certain unexplainable clues at the crime scene, including the presence of a mysterious photograph. Madison believes the picture may somehow tie into the murder, but before she can dig into it, another woman’s body is discovered in a local park. Heather Nguyen was also murdered with the same brand of necktie that had been used on Laura.On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be anything beyond the way they were killed that connects the women. But as Madison delves into the lives of the victims, she unravels a web of deceit and betrayal and lays bare decades of deadly family secrets. Edging closer to the truth, Madison’s quite sure at least one more woman is slated to die. But can Madison piece together all the clues in time to save her?A gripping crime thriller full of heart-pounding twists. Perfect for fans of Robert Dugoni, J.D. Robb, and Lisa Regan.Readers love Ties That Bind:“Arnold has written one of the best female cops that I’ve ever read… Madison is just one of those characters that will stay with you.” –Harlie’s Books, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“A good detective story with lots of twists and turns and an unexpected ending.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“This is one heck of a mystery!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Brace yourself for the ending! I didn't see that one coming.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“I loved Madison Knight and her sassy dialogue.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“I found myself unable to stop reading this book.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“A must-read for the mystery fan.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“So many twists and turns I never saw the ending coming!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“A solid police procedure mystery.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“If you like true suspense, this is a book to read.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Like watching an award-winning police drama in my mind.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Intriguing, suspenseful, and full of surprises!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Well-written and researched on police procedures.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“It was very difficult to set this book aside to do something else.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“From the moment I began reading this book, I was hooked.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Big Lake Hoarder


Nick Russell - 2020
    An elderly woman who sat down in her recliner to take a nap and never woke up. But Sheriff Weber would soon learn there was nothing routine about this case at all.When an autopsy revealed that she had been murdered, things take a bizarre turn. The sheriff discovers that there were many people who had reason to want Edna Knowles dead, among them relatives she had cheated out of an inheritance, two adult stepchildren she had treated cruelly, and a high school sweetheart from long ago upon whom she had committed the ultimate betrayal.As the sheriff and his deputies investigate the case, they find that searching for the old woman’s killer is only one mystery awaiting them in a house filled with secrets. Who was Edna Knowles, and why did she do the bizarre things she did? There is no doubt that she was an oddball, a recluse, and a hoarder. Maybe even a monster?

A Royal Threesome


Rhys Bowen - 2014
    But when a Frenchman winds up dead in Georgie’s bathtub, it’s her job to clear her very long family name. A Royal PainWhile entertaining a Bavarian princess at the Queen’s behest, Georgie finds herself investigating the rather more worrisome matter of the dead body in the bookshop, as well as her royal guest’s unwitting involvement in the communist party. Royal FlushAfter being saved from scandal by her on-again-but-mostly-off-again beau, Darcy O’Mara, Georgie is shipped home, where Scotland Yard asks her to keep an eye on a shooting party and prevent someone from killing the Prince of Wales instead of quails.