Book picks similar to
Jailbird Detective by Helen Jacey


crime
historical-fiction
huskeliste-books-eng
thriller

The Trial


Larry D. Thompson - 2010
    She had volunteered for a clinical trial of a drug that both the company and the FDA knew was dangerous. When his daughter's liver starts to fail, and he realizes a liver transplant is out of the question, he decides to fight the drug company on the playing field he knows best...the courtroom. Discovering what was hidden from the public, he finds himself faced with a ruthless adversary willing to commit bribery, kidnapping and murder to keep the drug on the market.

Trouble in Paradise


L.T. Vargus - 2021
    And an old flame to complicate the trip.Check out this beach-y Violet Darger short featuring Darger, Loshak, Owen, and Spinks.When 17-year-old Micaela Tolliver goes missing during her beach vacation, FBI profiler Violet Darger heads to Curacao to investigate. The case vexes local law enforcement, with plenty of suspicious characters around and comparisons to Natalee Holloway aplenty.Red herrings. False starts. People who will go great lengths to protect the island's long held secrets.Further complications emerge due to someone else entangled in the case -- Darger's old friend and former lover, private investigator Owen Baxter. They're working together for the first time after a bad breakup. The tension is palpable, and Darger begins to question the knot of conflicts in her own heart.Corruption. Death. Sand. Romance.Once again, Violet Darger shines her light into the shadows. And what she finds there in the darkness will change her.

Fire in Bone (Jake Pettman #2)


Wes Markin - 2021
    A suspected child killer from a bygone era. And a schoolgirl washed up on the banks of the River Skweda.A storm is coming to Blue Falls, Maine.An unprecedented storm. And in the eye of the storm stands ex-detective Jake Pettman. A man desperate for sanctuary and desperate for the truth. But in a place of undying and heinous secrets, such desperations become dangerous.Both to yourself, and the people that you love. Fire in Bone is an adrenaline-pumping crime thriller novel from the Amazon bestselling author of One Last Prayer for the Rays, and the DCI Yorke series. Perfect for fans of Chris Carter, James Patterson, Chris Brookmyre, and Stuart Macbride.

The Magpie


Marrisse Whittaker - 2021
    A detective who is out of control. Meet DSI Wilde. Wilde by name. Wild by nature. DSI Billie Wilde is on a mission to catch the killer responsible for a horrific showcase of murders, in order to prove that she’s still at the top of her game. But when hidden skeletons come out of dark corners, she is forced to confront her past and face the truth - that she is the ultimate target, now firmly in the executioner’s sights.As Billie grapples with her past, and learns she isn’t who she thought she was, she uncovers devastating childhood links to each of the victims. The past refuses to stay buried and Billie soon finds herself wondering if she knows who’s behind the brutal murders.But can Billie solve the case and unravel the mystery of her own past before it’s too late?

Camp Leichhardt


Greg Barron - 2017
    When he heads down to Camp Leichhardt, a Grey Nomad camp on the Roper River, to fish and get away from the stresses of life, he finds that all is not what it seems. Ben uncovers a criminal conspiracy that will destroy lives and wreak havoc on local communities. With the beautiful Malea as his ally, he has to face his past head on, and tackle a cartel intent on making money at any cost. Yet, in doing so, he risks everything, even his own future.

Thunder Storme (Wyatt Storme Mystery #5)


W.L. Ripley - 2020
    Wyatt and Chick save the woman and are swept into a violent battle for control of a new casino and all the riches and power it will bring. The Kansas City mob, the Dixie Mafia and the local syndicate have them out-numbered and out-gunned but it's the gangsters who should be worried. There's a deadly storm coming...and his name is Wyatt.

Avery’s Knot


Mary Cable - 1981
    Avery was tried for the murder of a twenty-nine-year-old mill worker, Sarah Marie Cornell. It was the first time a clergyman had ever been tried for murder in the United States and the first time an American murder trial became headline news. From this factual base, Mary Cable weaves a chilling novel of gothic desires and conflicting classes. She creates a rich atmosphere to show New England as it was then - simple, puritanical, superstitious, and unsentimental - on the brink of emerging from the eighteenth century into an industrial and far-more-complicated age. This dramatic, compelling story is as much about a time and place as it is about a notorious murder trial. A work of poetic intensity, Avery’s Knot is finally a classic, tragic tale of a woman caught between passion and puritanism.

Mercy


John W. Mefford - 2019
    He can't deny it. But in what form will the pressure erupt? Cooper Chain isn't just down on his luck -- he's almost down for the count. The mob wants a piece of him, and he sees no way out. It's a special week for Willow Ball, a woman who's survived her own tribulations to reach this milestone in her life. Through fate -- or a temporary misalignment of the stars -- Willow and Cooper cross paths for the first time since college. Will an unexpected spark re-ignite the flame? A shattering discovery changes everything for Willow and Cooper. The murder is unlike any other. But what will the cops do about it? Attacks ensure, chaos ruptures a family . . . Through it all, how can Willow and Cooper find the killer? But it's not over. As the bodies pile up, a pattern develops and it rocks Willow and Cooper to the core. And then someone emerges after a three-decade disappearance. Could he be connected to this string of murders? The past might provide the breadcrumbs to end this nightmare. But Willow and Cooper may not live long enough to see it through. Will mercy save a life or end many?

The Masada Complex


Avraham Azrieli - 2010
    – President Barack Obama calls America’s alliance with Israel “unshakeable.” The Masada Complex questions this assertion with a realistic political thriller taking place in Arizona, Washington and Jerusalem.The Masada Complex unveils a chilling scenario. Its hero is Masada El-Tal, a beautiful Israeli expatriate, currently an investigative reporter in Arizona. Her exposure of a bribe payment causes a disgraced U.S. senator to commit suicide. Angered by Israel’s supposed culpability, an angry Congress moves to terminate all military aid to the Jewish state. At the same time, someone repeatedly attempts to assassinate Masada, whose relentless investigation becomes a race against time, leading to a shocking discovery and a spectacular climax.

Deep Fire Rise


Jon Gosch - 2018
    Helens as a journalist and ridden with Clark County deputies, I can testify just how impressively Jon Gosch has captured that time and culture." --William Dietrich, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and NY Times bestselling author of the Ethan Gage adventure series It is 1980 and Deputy Wilson has been banished to a backwoods district in the shadow of Mount St. Helens. His duty is to protect a humble rural populace from the miscreants and misfits who lurk at this fringe of society – an all-too-human cast of white supremacists, PCP brewers, Sasquatch hunters, and hermetic schizophrenics. That spring the volcano awakens from its long dormancy. Earthquakes rock the locals in their beds. Plumes of ash blot out the sun. Amidst the rising threat of eruption, a horrific act of bloodshed will propel Deputy Wilson to the very flanks of the smoking volcano on a mission that blurs the line between justice and vengeance. A genre-defying blend of mystery and history, Deep Fire Rise is also an homage to the everyday heroism of a profession so often maligned in America today. Dark yet tender, comedic yet sincere, this carefully crafted novel builds into a climax as shocking and unforgettable as the events of May 18, 1980. Advance praise for Deep Fire Rise: "The greatest geological event of our times finally has the novel it deserves. While the literature of Mt. St. Helens is rich in documentation and description, Deep Fire Rise is the first fiction of note to come out of that earth-shattering eruption. And fine fiction it is, melding Jon Gosch's taut, fresh style with an unforgettable cast and a riveting plot that gathers with all the tension and inexorability of the very eruption itself." --Robert Michael Pyle, 2x Washington State Book Award winner and author of Wintergreen and Where Bigfoot Walks “Jon Gosch’s Deep Fire Rise rings with authenticity. The intimate, complicated, and downright strange relationships amongst the people in these small towns are pitch perfect, as is the music of the dialogue and rhythms of the prose.” --Bruce Holbert, 2015 Washington State Book Award Winner of The Hour of Lead “Deep Fire Rise is a murder mystery, a character study, and a depiction of place that builds in tension like a swelling volcano. Having covered the eruption of Mount St. Helens as a journalist and ridden with Clark County deputies, I can testify just how impressively Jon Gosch has captured that time and culture.” --William Dietrich, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and NY Times bestselling author of the Ethan Gage adventure series "A bright young talent is on display in this vivid, avant-garde take on our local lore." --Michael Gurian, NY Times bestselling author of The Wonder of Boys "Deep Fire Rise perfectly captures the world of Mount St. Helens at its most terrifying moment. A magnificent read." --Terry Trueman, Printz Honor author of Stuck in Neutral

The Killing Dose (Thomas Cole Book 5)


Scott Jones
    A drug overdose and a vengeful mother lead ex-Army Ranger Thomas Cole into a confrontation with a violent gang, a gang who's vicious tactics exact a terrible toll from Tom, leaving him with little choice but to exact revenge with his own violent aggression.

The Curse of Anuganga


Harini Srinivasan - 2019
    India. In the thriving city of Nanivardhana, lives Shaunaka, a young man who yearns to go to Pataliputra to see the world and make his fortune. But he is forced to join his father's jewellery making business and soon finds himself in the workshop a job in which his heart clearly did not lie. Thankfully, along comes distraction in the form of two extravagant weddings royal nuptials at the palace and another wedding at the extravagant corner house in the Buddhist quarter of the city. This house, known for its opulence and sheer size, is owned by Vinayashura, an affluent trader fabled to have mysteriously deep connections to the royal family. Shaunaka is given the charge to work on the bride's jewellery at the corner house, but instead of the mundane task at hand, a morbid sight awaits the trader's wife's bloodcurdling screams bring Shaunaka to Vinayashura's bedroom where he is found murdered and lying in a pool of blood! Who killed Vinayashura? Why? Shaunaka finds himself at the heart of the mystery and his logic and keen observation skills land him the duty of assisting the head of police to solve this murder.

The Dead Prince


Matthew Reilly - 2007
    Name of the Rose meets Basic Instinct in this old-world thriller.

Our Wicked Lies


Glede Browne Kabongo - 2021
    With a gorgeous, successful husband who whisks her away on romantic trips, a beautiful home in one of the country's richest zip codes, and two wonderful daughters, life couldn't be better. However, she'll soon discover that an enviable marriage comes at a deadly cost. Who is Faith, and why are dozens of emails between her and Alicia's husband hidden in his draft folder? Why were the messages never sent? As Alicia embarks on a desperate quest to uncover Faith's identity, a shocking death hits close to home and sends her reeling. Was it a tragic accident or cold-blooded murder? In this beautiful town of wealth and privilege, nothing is as it seems, and everyone has something to hide. As Alicia struggles under the weight of dark secrets from her own past, someone knows more than they're saying--someone who knows the truth will come at a devastating price. Emotionally gripping and expertly plotted, this heart-pounding, compulsive read is the perfect domestic thriller for fans of The Wife Between Us, The Husband's Secret and The Couple Next Door.

Midnight Haul


Max Allan Collins - 1986
    The tiny New Jersey town she lived in has seen a rash of suicides lately, with the unlikely coincidence that everyone who has died worked for Kemco, the chemical factory company that fuels the town’s economy.As Crane digs deeper, he encounters Boone, a local woman writing a book about the environmental destruction that has come at the hands of the local chemical giant. The two team up to unravel the conspiracies surrounding the factory—which soon makes them the next targets for those aiming to keep Kemco’s shady dealings under wraps.The pair races to expose the illegal operations poisoning the town and bring Kemco to justice—before either of them becomes the latest in the growing list of “suicides.”