Book picks similar to
A Thousand Bridges by Michael McKinney


mystery
indie
author-supports-readers
available

Free Fish Friday: Introducing Slacker Mills


Lee Stone - 2014
    A vagabond fisherman extraordinaire, the self-indulgent Slacker has just two goals in life. The first is to spend every conscious hour doing only what he loves – hooking and battling big game fish on the ocean by day and hooking up with bar stool sirens at night. The second goal is to avoid any responsibilities that might get in the way of achieving the first. His persistent search for the ultimate angling experience takes him from one ocean paradise to another, where he inevitably becomes entangled in a mystery adventure. His story begins in Key West, Florida, where the 37-year-old Slacker believed he had finally found the ideal life and a lasting home. With his mounted trophies covering the walls of the famous Rusty Hook tavern, he was acclaimed as the best saltwater angler around and never had to pay for a beer. Because every Friday night at the tavern was celebrated with a complimentary banquet of his catch, he also was recognized as a benevolent hero. Through wandering eyes of vacationing ladies, he was typically viewed as "The Catch of the Night." Slacker’s dream lifestyle was attributable to the influence of his best friend and benefactor Jerry Porter, who had landed in Key West aboard his yacht five years earlier. Due to a unique talent for engaging people to talk about themselves while revealing nothing about himself, Jerry quickly bonded with everyone around him. Using those bonds as foundations, he tried to build what he viewed as better and more successful people ... and Slacker was his pet project. The transformation of the Rusty Hook from a local fishermen’s haunt to a Key West landmark was Jerry's crowning achievement. No one had inquired or even speculated much about Jerry Porter’s personal history prior to his arrival in Key West; all were content to revel in his presence. However, when Porter is the victim of a violent death, the traditionally peaceful community is shocked by revelations that there may be a killer in their midst and that perhaps not all of Porter's deeds were worthy of celebration. The charter fishing industry had been losing major clients and perhaps Jerry was the reason for it. A criminal investigation turns up information that damages dozens of families, fractures friendships, and leads to unwelcome national publicity for a town that relies on tourism to fuel the local economy. The police also single out Slacker as the prime suspect, destroying his treasured image among most Islanders, even his closest friends. Exactly who was the mysterious Jerry Porter? How and why did he meet such a violent end? Slacker Mills discovers the answers, and begins to discover himself, in Free Fish Friday.

Maisie Dobbs


Jacqueline Winspear - 2010
    It is #25 in their Mysterious Profiles" series. In this book, Jacqueline Winspear tells about the "origins" of Maisie Dobbs, the heroine of her popular mystery series. This booklet is NOT to be confused with her full-length mystery with the same title.

The Charlie Parker Mystery Series: Books 1-4


Connie Shelton - 2012
    She’s an accountant and a partner with her brother in a private investigation business. But when her old friend Stacy North comes looking for help, Charlie gives in and agrees to help.Stacy’s Rolex watch is missing and she’s afraid her husband Brad will find out. The truth is that she was seeing another man, and she’s terrified of Brad’s legendary temper. Charlie finds the missing watch--no problem--but when the “other man” suddenly turns up dead, Stacy is desperate. Can Charlie find out who the real killer is before the police connect Stacy to the victim? It turns out to be the challenge of Charlie’s life.BOOK 2 - Vacations Can Be MurderCharlie is riding front seat on a Hawaiian helicopter tour when she and the pilot spot a lifeless body lying on the rugged rocks of Kauai’s NaPali coast. Drake Langston is the pilot flying the tour. When the flight is over, Charlie assumes her acquaintance with Drake is, too. Within twenty-four hours, though, Drake’s friend and employer, Mack Garvey, is arrested for murdering Gilbert Page. Drake persuades Charlie to help clear Mack.It isn’t easy. The investigating officer has an old grudge against Mack, and it doesn’t help that Mack knew the victim and owed him a half million dollars. Charlie roots out the suspects one by one, never guessing that her own life will be in danger before her vacation is over.BOOK 3 - Partnerships Can Be MurderCharlie returns from her Hawaiian vacation to find her older brother Ron involved with a much younger woman. The more Charlie sees of cute Vicky, the more she realizes how deceitful Ron’s new love is. Is it simply a case of male mid-life crisis, or is there something more devious going on?Meanwhile, Charlie doesn’t have much time to ponder Ron’s problems. Her friend Sharon Ortega is a partner in a restaurant business with David Ruiz. When David turns up dead, an apparent suicide, Sharon comes to Charlie for help. Sharon’s problem is a double-edged sword. If he did kill himself, David’s life insurance won’t pay and Sharon will probably lose the restaurant because she can’t afford to hire a replacement. But if he didn’t kill himself, then it was murder, and Sharon could very well find herself a suspect.BOOK 4 - Small Towns Can Be MurderTucked into the mountains and valleys of northern New Mexico are the hidden towns, little enclaves of history and tradition–and secrets. Charlie and her office assistant Sally Bertrand visit one such place over the July 4th weekend, and when they drop in on a friend they learn that Cynthia Martinez suddenly suffered a miscarriage and died. Privately, friends wonder if spousal abuse caused her death. Charlie agrees to ask a few questions and see what she can find out. Meanwhile, Charlie and her brother Ron have an ongoing dispute over gun control. And Drake Langston, the helicopter pilot she met in Hawaii, is visiting and the romance is heating up.

PAPA Hemingway in Key West


James McLendon - 1972
    From his first days on the island he came to know and love fishing and the sea. For the next twelve years the famed author called the island his home. His years in Key West became the most crucial and prolific years of his life. During that period he wrote Death in the Afternoon, Green Hills of Africa, numerous important short stories, To Have and Have Not, and began For Whom the Bell Tolls. He also created and became his own living legend, self-consciously constructing the swaggering image known to the world as Papa.In the early 1970s journalist James McLendon seized the opportunity to interview Ernest Hemingway’s Key West friends who remained alive. A Key West resident himself, McLendon wrote this book by combining his knowledge of the island with his conversations and with the extensive Hemingway-related material held by the Monroe County Public Library. McLendon recreates the slow-paced, sub-tropical setting, the island’s Depression years, and the people and places that infused and inspired Hemingway. These were the years that saw his love affair with Martha Gellhorn and the crumbling of his marriage to Pauline Pfeiffer. Beyond letters and legal documents, too little of the Hemingway era in Key West is found in biographical studies. Because this book was first published in 1974, much of what exists in those studies today is derived from this manuscript. This book gives us a penetrating look at the significance of the Key West era in Hemingway’s career. James McLendon was a columnist for the Key West Citizen, a creative writing instructor and a freelance writer. His dispatches and articles appeared in various U.S. newspapers and magazines, including UPI wire services, the Christian Science Monitor and Writers Digest.

Her Final Words


Skylar Finn - 2019
    Reese Lindley has never stopped wondering what happened to her.Sleeping BeautiesWhen the daughter of a prominent businessman and a wealthy debutante vanishes, Reese Lindley returns to her hometown to cover the case for her podcast. Confronted by the past and her estranged family, Reese learns that the quiet town has more secrets to hide than she ever could have imagined.The ProfessorWhen Nicole Costello's boyfriend is kidnapped by a notorious secret society, she finds herself infiltrating the inner workings of the society itself in order to save him. In a race against the clock, Nicole uncovers the dark secrets of her parents' pasts, but can she come to terms with the truth in enough time to rescue her boyfriend?

The Other Side of the Bay


Sean Dietrich - 2014
    With reminiscence and narration, a local sheriff must comb through his own humid world to unravel the truth behind the death of a local boy. But it’s not as easy as it seems, because no one is talking. The Other Side of the Bay is a remarkable portrait of the unique people in the Panhandle of Florida. The story weaves itself into the tall longleaf forests, and along the crests of the uneasy bay, telling a tale of the human spirit. This is a novel of how things aren't always as black and white as they ought to be, and how right and wrong aren't always easy to tell apart. It's an evocative tale that delivers its reader to the apricot sun rises and sepulchral storm clouds of their own bittersweet memories.

The Hands of Time Series


Irina Shapiro - 2014
    The Hands of Time: When a young American woman vanishes without a trace from a quaint fishing village on the coast of England only one person knows the truth, but he remains silent, safe in the knowledge that she will never be found. Meanwhile, Valerie Crane finds herself transported to the year 1605. Terrified and confused, she turns for help to the Whitfield brothers, who take her in and offer her a home. Both Alexander and Finlay Whitfield fall in love with the mysterious woman who shows up on their doorstep, creating a love triangle that threatens to consume them all. Valerie must make her choice, deciding between the brother who will lead her down the path of destruction and one who will give her the love she couldn’t find in her own time. A Leap of Faith: Alone and bereft, Valerie’s sister, Louisa, makes the fateful decision to follow her sister into the seventeenth century. But, the best laid plans often go awry, and she finds herself on the wrong continent, and in the wrong year. Louisa must cross the Atlantic to get to Virginia, hoping that Valerie is still there in 1620, and face the uncertainty of her situation as she makes the dangerous journey to the New World. Will the two sisters reunite, or will they pass like ships in the night, never knowing how close they came to finding each other? A World Apart: Reunited with her sister at last, Louisa settles in colonial Virginia, but an unexpected visitor throws life into turmoil once again by offering Valerie and Louisa an opportunity to return to the future. Before the sisters have a chance to make a decision, the unthinkable happens; ripping the family apart, and scattering them over continents and time itself. No one is spared as child is torn from parents, sister is parted from sister, and a devastating famine threatens the colony. The Whitfields and Sheridans must fight for survival and face challenges they never imagined as they are cast a world apart. A Game of Shadows: It’s 1624, and the Whitfields finally arrive in England, eager to spend time with Louisa and Kit, but their visit is not the happy reunion they’d hoped for. In the meantime in 1777, Abbie and Finn go behind enemy lines to spy for the Revolution, putting themselves in grave danger. The slightest mistake can mean the difference between life and death, and tear them apart forever. Even Finn’s knowledge of what’s to come is not enough to keep them safe from their own carelessness. Unexpected revelations, long-buried secrets, and unforeseen reunions threaten to destroy everything the Whitfields and Sheridans hold dear, throwing their lives into turmoil once again. Shattered Moments: Murder, blackmail, long buried secrets, and a tender new romance take center stage in Shattered Moments, the final installment of The Hands of Time Series as the Whitfields and Sheridans face their toughest challenges yet.

The Find (The Find, #1)


Venezia Miller - 2021
    In the dark forests of Sandviken, Sweden, a hiker makes a shocking discovery that disrupts the lives of four families, bound by memories of joyous summer vacations, but confronted by a dark secret they long believed to be a relic of the past.For over thirty years, a serial killer has lived among them, hunting innocent young girls and using them for his perverted pleasures.The investigation is slow, and the inspectors assigned to the case are confronted not only with a cunning, calculated and ruthless killer but also with their own personal demons.It’s only a matter of time before he strikes again.Will they be able to stop him this time?And at what price?Keywords: mystery, detective, suspense.

Slip and Go Die


Sharon Rose - 2012
    A terrible accident say the local police. But why did Beulah leave her cabin without a coat? It was thirty below in Parson's Cove. Someone must have forced her, amateur sleuth, Mabel Wickles suggests to her friend, Flori. Nobody seems to know anything, and Mabel is becoming frustrated.When Mabel witnesses some strange goings-on one night in the vacant house next door, she perks up. A person or persons unknown appear to be using the empty house for nefarious purposes. Could they be connected to Beulah's death? Mabel suspects they might and she sets out to investigate.But Mabel should be cautious. One unsuspecting resident of Parson's Cove has already slipped and died. She might be next.

Bitter Nothings


Vicki Tyley - 2012
    Her father is the prime suspect. And things are about to get a whole lot worse…Graphic designer Dervla Johns wakes one morning to the news that her father, Warren, is missing and her stepmother and step-siblings were found dead in their beds. While the police hunt for Warren, Dervla searches for answers. Could her father really be a killer? Refusing to be warned off by police threats, or intimidated by the reporter who appears to be following her, she delves into her family’s past.But as she uncovers one shocking secret after another, Dervla’s world is rocked further by another murder – and she finds herself desperately trying to untangle a web of illicit love and betrayal. Soon, Dervla must face her greatest fear… or suffer the same deadly fate as her stepmother.“If you like mystery fiction with a psychological flair, Vicki Tyley will deliver. She understands that fiction is about real people, and that real people have their dangerous flaws.” –Scott Nicholson, Bestselling author of Liquid Fear

Tales Around the Jack O'Lantern III: A Mary O'Reilly Short Story


Terri Reid - 2016
    Join the O'Reilly family once again as they meet around the Jack O'Lantern on Halloween night and share ghost stories that will make you shiver and have you looking over your shoulder to see if there is "a little something extra" wandering through your home tonight.

Feluda's Last Case & Other Stories


Satyajit Ray - 1995
    COLLECTS SEVEN CASES WHICH SPAN THE CAREER OF PRADOSH MITTER.Contents:Danger in DarjeelingTrouble in GangtokThe Anubis MysteryThe KeyThe Gold Coins of JehangirThe Mystery of NayanRobertson's Ruby (Feluda's Last Case)

Sherlock Holmes The Definitive Collection


Arthur Conan Doyle - 2011
    No more searching for each of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes books, you get them all in one book. In addition you get 54 amazing mystery stories by all time great writers, including the Father Brown series and The Man who Was Thursday. The following is included:THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLESMR. SHERLOCK HOLMESTHE CURSE OF THE BASKERVILLESTHE PROBLEMSIR HENRY BASKERVILLETHREE BROKEN THREADSBASKERVILLE HALLTHE STAPLETONS OF MERRIPIT HOUSEFIRST REPORT OF DR. WATSONSECOND REPORT OF DR. WATSONEXTRACT FROM THE DIARY OF DR. WATSONTHE MAN ON THE TORDEATH ON THE MOORFIXING THE NETSTHE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLESA RETROSPECTIONTHE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMESTHE ADVENTURE OF THE ABBEY GRANGETHE ADVENTURE OF BLACK PETERTHE ADVENTURE OF CHARLES AUGUSTUS MILVERTONTHE ADVENTURE OF THE DANCING MENTHE ADVENTURE OF THE EMPTY HOUSETHE ADVENTURE OF THE GOLDEN PINCE-NEZTHE ADVENTURE OF THE MISSING THREE-QUARTERTHE ADVENTURE OF THE NORWOOD BUILDERTHE ADVENTURE OF THE PRIORY SCHOOLTHE ADVENTURE OF THE SECOND STAINTHE ADVENTURE OF THE SIX NAPOLEONSTHE ADVENTURE OF THE SOLITARY CYCLISTTHE ADVENTURE OF THE THREE STUDENTSTHE MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMESSILVER BLAZETHE YELLOW FACETHE STOCK-BROKER’S CLERKTHE “GLORIA SCOTT”THE MUSGRAVE RITUALTHE REIGATE PUZZLETHE CROOKED MANTHE RESIDENT PATIENTTHE GREEK INTERPRETERTHE NAVAL TREATYTHE FINAL PROBLEMA STUDY IN SCARLETTHE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMESA SCANDAL IN BOHEMIATHE RED-HEADED LEAGUEA CASE OF IDENTITYTHE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERYTHE FIVE ORANGE PIPSTHE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIPTHE ADVENTURE OF THE BLUE CARBUNCLETHE ADVENTURE OF THE SPECKLED BANDTHE ADVENTURE OF THE ENGINEER’S THUMBTHE ADVENTURE OF THE NOBLE BACHELORTHE ADVENTURE OF THE BERYL CORONETTHE ADVENTURE OF THE COPPER BEECHESTHE SIGN OF FOURTHE VALLEY OF FEARHIS LAST BOWTALES OF TERROR AND MYSTERYINNOCENCE OF FATHER BROWNTHE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY * The Great Valdez Sapphire by Anonymous * The Lost Duchess by Anonymous * The Minor Canon by Anonymous * The Pipe by Anonymous * The Puzzle by Anonymous * The Baron's Quarry by Egerton Castle * The Dream Woman by Wilkie Collins * A Case of Identity by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle * A Scandal in Bohemia by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle * The Red-Headed League by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle * His Wedded Wife by Rudyard Kipling * In the House of Suddhoo by Rudyard Kipling * My Own True Ghost Story by Rudyard Kipling * The Sending of Dana Da by Rudyard Kipling * The Pavilion on the Links by Robert Louis Stevenson * The Fowl in the Pot by Stanley John Weyman * Bourgonef by Anonymous * The Closed Cabinet by Anonymous * The Avenger by Thomas De Quincey * The Haunted House by Charles Dickens * No. I Branch Line: The Signal Man by Dickens * The Haunted and the Haunters by Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton * The House and the Brain by Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton * The Incantation by Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton * Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Rober Maturin * A Mystery with a Moral by Laurence Sterne * On Being Found Out by William Makepeace Thackeray * The Notch on the Ax by William Makepeace Thackeray * The Nail by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón * The Adventure of the Three Robbers by Lucius Apuleius * Melmoth Reconciled by Honoré de Balzac * The Conscript by Honoré de Balzac * The Deposition by Luigi Capuana * The Invisible Eye by Erckmann-Chatrian * The Owl's Ear by Erckmann-Chatrian * The Waters of Death by Erckmann-Chatrian * An Uncomfortable Bed by Guy de Maupassant * Fear by Guy de Maupassant * Ghosts by Guy de Maupassant * The Confession by Guy de Maupassant * The Horla by Guy de Maupassant * The Man with the Pale Eyes by Guy de Maupassant * The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant * The Miracle of Zobéide by Pierre Mille * Letter to Sura by Pliny, the Younger * The Torture by Hope by Auguste comte de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam * Zadig The Babylonian by Voltaire

Blast


David Hodges - 2017
    But her dreams are cruelly shattered by a bomb blast that leaves her badly scarred. Suddenly her career’s in ruins and her long-term boyfriend is gone. Plagued by the paparazzi, she flees to Cornwall where she meets and falls in love with her handsome neighbour, blind crime novelist, Alan Murray. As a new life starts to fall into place, her former boss threatens to tell Alan about her past indiscretions unless Lynn agrees to become one of his porn stars. She refuses and is miraculously saved from exposure when her boss ends up taking a dive off a cliff. Relief doesn’t last long though as a series of unsettling incidents, leads Lynn to suspect that her novelist lover may not be all he claims to be … David Hodges’ latest crime thriller, Blast, again delivers the gritty realism that only an experienced ex-copper can provide. Praise for David Hodges… 'Extremely well-written and passionately described crime-scenes' - Mid Somerset Series 'Hodges uses the experience of 30-plus years in the job as an anvil of solid fact to beat out pacey tales of "canteen culture" cops' - Cheddar About the author: David Hodges is a former superintendent with Thames Valley Police, and is a prolific writer and the author of eight other crime novels, plus an autobiography on his life in the police service. He lives with his wife, Elizabeth, on the edge of the Somerset Levels where he can fully indulge his passion for thriller writing. He is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association, The Crime Readers’ Association, The Society of Authors and International Thriller Writers Inc.

Cid


Alexie Aaron - 2016
    His colleague Jesse Holden has hooked him up with a fill-in position on a multimillion dollar renovation on an isolated 1920s southern mansion called Hidden Meadow. The job is being run by a driven female contractor, Kiki Pickles, who specializes in renovating prewar buildings. She lets Cid know right away that she’s hired him for his carpentry skills and not as a ghost hunter. But Cid is all too aware that in the renovation of old homes, sometimes you have to deal with a myriad of pests, living and dead.Lurking at the top of the stairs is a very cranky ghost. He’s been woken up by the sound of pounding hammers and screeching tile cutters. He can’t do anything about the tools themselves, so he targets his rage at the men and women working on the mansion. Jesse is attacked in one of the three attics in Hidden Meadow and left to die. Cid arrives just in time to fight a black mass, and he surprises it with a good salting. Jesse is saved, but the ghost isn’t finished with them yet, nor is he the only entity that has been released to cause havoc in the first of the “Cid Garrett P. I.” novels.“Cid” is a standalone book written in the “Haunted Series” universe.