Book picks similar to
Sinister Shorts by Perri O'Shaughnessy


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short-stories
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Eighteen


Jan Burke - 2002
    This positively addictive anthology is full of surprises -- a patchwork of settings and characters not soon forgotten, and mysterious twists and revelations not quickly shaken! 18 includes: "Devotion" Agatha Award nominee for Best Short Story "Unharmed" Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Award and Macavity Award winner "The Man in the Civil Suit" Agatha Award winner "The Abbey Ghosts" Edgar Award nominee ...and also features her first Irene Kelly story, "A Fine Set of Teeth."

Dark Pursuit


Brandilyn Collins - 2008
    Two years later, reclusive and bitter, he wants one thing; to plot a new novel and regain his reputation. Kaitlan Sering, his twenty-two-year-old granddaughter, once lived for drugs. After she stole from Darell, he cut her off. Now she's rebuilding her life. But in Kaitlan's town two women have been murdered, and she is about to discover a third. She's even more shocked to realize the culprit is her boyfriend, Craig, the police chief's son. Desperate, Kaitlan flees to her estranged grandfather. For over forty years, Darell Brooke has lived suspense. Surely he'll devise a plan to trap the cunning Craig. Can Darell's muddled mind do it? And - if he tries - with what motivation? For Kaitlan's plight may be the stunning answer to the elusive plot he seeks...

Caribbean Moon


Rick Murcer - 2011
    The couple’s exotic getaway begins in sunny San Juan, Puerto Rico, by attending the June wedding of a fellow Lansing police officer, followed with an incredible week-long Southern Caribbean cruise on the glamorous Ocean Duchess. Tropical paradise appears to be a perfect recipe for desperately needed R and R...until the first dead body. A bizarre, seemingly random murder in their posh San Juan Hotel, and the heinous cruise ship deaths of two of Lansing’s law enforcement family, brings Manny, and his unique skills, out of cruise mode and head-long into the FBI-led investigation. Manny soon discovers that in this killer’s twisted perception nothing is off limits, prompting a race against time that could cost him everything. If you like edge-of-your-seat thrillers laced with humor, you'll love this!Caribbean Moon: "A new standard has been set for thrillers. In Rick Murcer's debut novel, Caribbean Moon, he's mixed the perfect ingredients to lock in readers, starting with the opening witty banter between Manny and Sophie. From there, the book takes off like a run-away roller coaster. Murcer knows just when to slow the pace and when to hit the gas. He's created a twisted mystery, with infectious characters and an unfathomable ending. Manny Williams might be the new Jedi of investigators, and Murcer is a Spielberg-like creative powerhouse. Caribbean Moon is absolutely magnetic!" John W. Mefford, Best-selling suspense author of COMMITTED

Outline for Murder: A Michael Bishop Mystery


Anthony J. Pucci - 2015
    That all changes when he discovers the body of the school’s highly successful but universally disliked football coach, Albert Zappala. Even more disturbing is the news that the coach, whose net worth was in the millions, was murdered. Suddenly, everyone is a suspect, including students, colleagues, and even the Sisters who run the school. Bishop’s skill in reading people is put to the ultimate test. Like Captain Ahab searching for the answers in his pursuit of the white whale, Bishop searches into the dark past for the key that will unlock the mystery. Will the truth destroy his belief in the basic goodness of man?

Final Hour


Dean Koontz - 2015
    The troubling talent has made the Southern California surfer wary of casual contact. But while impulsively saving a stranger from an accident, she experiences her most disturbing vision.   With only a good friend to help her, and mere traces of information to guide her, Makani must track down two mysterious women—one of them innocent, one not.   But Makani is stepping into the path of an adversary more dangerous than she can imagine: a brutal predator behind a pretty face, who won’t go down without drawing blood.   Acclaim for Dean Koontz   “Dean Koontz is a prose stylist whose lyricism heightens malevolence and tension. [He creates] characters of unusual richness and depth . . . with a level of perception and sensitivity that is not merely convincing; it’s astonishing.” —The Seattle Times   “Demanding much of itself, Koontz’s style bleaches out clichés while showing a genius for details. He leaves his competitors buried in the dust.” —Kirkus Reviews   “A rarity among bestselling writers, Koontz continues to pursue new ways of telling stories, never content with repeating himself.”—Chicago Sun-Times   “Tumbling, hallucinogenic prose. ‘Serious’ writers . . . might do well to examine his technique.”—The New York Times Book Review   “[Koontz] has always had near-Dickensian powers of description, and an ability to yank us from one page to the next that few novelists can match.” —Los Angeles Times   “Koontz is a superb plotter and wordsmith. He chronicles the hopes and fears of our time in broad strokes and fine detail, using popular fiction to explore the human condition.”—USA Today   “Characters and the search for meaning, exquisitely crafted, are the soul of [Koontz’s] work. . . . One of the master storytellers of this or any age.”—The Tampa Tribune   “A literary juggler.”—The Times (London)

Three Days in Seattle


Debra Burroughs - 2012
    Romance. Murder.A gorgeous Blonde, a kidnapped Sister, a handsome Stranger, and a vengeful Killer.The desperate race is on to find the sister before both women wind up dead.A Romantic Suspense novel that will curl your toes

Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes


Karin Slaughter - 2015
    She becomes gradually more obsessed with the case, never imagining how close she herself is to danger. Includes an extract from Karin Slaughter’s gripping new novel, Pretty Girls.

Anansi Island


Christian Cantrell - 2010
    But throughout the island's history, its isolation also made it the perfect place to hide things the world was never meant to see.As Laurel finds herself entangled in the island's newest and most bizarre chapter, she must not only solve its mysteries, but also survive long enough to pass them on.This short story (about 7,500 words) mixes science fiction and horror with endearing and enigmatic characters who can only solve the mysteries of Anansi Island by facing their worst fears.

113 Minutes


James Patterson - 2016
    Short, fast-paced, high-impact entertainment. I know who killed my son. Molly Rourke’s son has been murdered… And she knows who’s responsible. Now she’s taking the law into her own hands. Never underestimate a mother’s love.

The Safe Man: A Ghost Story


Michael Connelly - 2012
    That is, his specialty is opening safes. Every job is a little mystery, and he has yet to encounter a lock he can't break or a box he can't crack. But the day Holloway gets called in to open a rare, antique safe in a famous author's library, his skills open a door that should have remained closed.In this haunting and singular story, previously published anonymously, Michael Connelly proves once again that he is "superb at building suspense.... the reader can never be sure what sudden turns the plot may take" (Wall Street Journal).

Fire in the Hole


Elmore Leonard - 2001
    In Leonard's first original e-book, U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (featured in Pronto and Riding the Rap) returns to the Eastern Kentucky coal-mining country of his youth. When Boyd Crowder, a mail-order-ordained minister who doesn't believe in paying his income taxes, decides to blow up the IRS building in Cincinnati, Givens is asked by the local marshal to intervene. This sets up an inevitable confrontation between two men on opposite sides of the law who still have a lingering respect for each other. Throw into the mix Boyd's sister-in-law, Ava, who carries a torch for Raylan along with a deer rifle, and you've got a funny, adrenaline-charged novella only Leonard could have written.

Her Final Words


Brianna Labuskes - 2020
    The teenage girl confesses to murdering a young boy. Disturbingly composed, she reveals chilling details only the killer could know. Beyond that Eliza doesn’t say another word, leaving a vital question met with dead silence: Why did she do it?To find the answer, Lucy goes to the scene of the crime in the small Idaho town of Knox Hollow. But Lucy’s questions are only mounting. Especially when she’s drawn deeper into the life of the victim. Then a combing of the woods yields unsettling evidence that Eliza isn’t the only one in this close-knit rural community with secrets.Getting to the truth is becoming Lucy’s obsession. And it’s a dangerous one. Because for the good folks of Knox Hollow, hiding that truth will take more than silence.

Girl Hidden


Kate Gable - 2021
    The only survivor is the teenage daughter who managed to escape the burning house.Who killed them? And why? Detective Kaitlyn Carr has to bring their killer to justice.A year before her disappearance, Violet, Kaitlyn’s sister, comes to stay with her after a bad fight with their mom. She can’t stand living at home as much as Kaitlyn once did and wants to move in with her.But Kaitlyn was just promoted to detective and her hours are erratic and long. She’s never home and she can’t take care of a teenager. Or maybe she can?As she gets closer and closer to finding out who killed the Hendrel family, her own family reaches a breaking point.What happens when her sister asks her to do the impossible? What happens when she can’t say no?What happens when the dysfunction of her own family threatens to blow up her face and let the killer off for good?Girl Hidden is a suspenseful thriller novella set in the same world as the Girl Missing series. It is perfect for fans of A. J. Rivers, Mary Stone, Willow Rose, James Patterson, Melinda Leigh, Kendra Elliot, Ella Gray, and Karin Slaughter. It has mystery, angst, a bit of romance and family drama.

Davenport House


Marie Silk - 2016
    She lives isolated in the Pennsylvania countryside with her affluent and secretive family. When her father dies suddenly, Mary becomes pained with grief and increasingly suspicious of those around her. A humble servant girl has the chance of a lifetime to become a lady's companion. Costly dresses, exquisite rooms, and fine dinners are pleasant distractions from what is really happening in the house.

Cool Heat


Richter Watkins - 2013
    Her crusade will propel her into a deadly underground battle involving a former border patrol agent who can't seem to resist her, a highly imaginative hit man, and a brilliant prostitute with revenge on her mind.