Book picks similar to
Lady Killer by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
mystery
from-friends
pulp-fiction
thriller
Girl Waits with Gun
Amy Stewart - 2015
Constance Kopp doesn’t quite fit the mold. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from the world since a family secret sent her and her sisters into hiding fifteen years ago. One day a belligerent and powerful silk factory owner runs down their buggy, and a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their family farm. When the sheriff enlists her help in convicting the men, Constance is forced to confront her past and defend her family — and she does it in a way that few women of 1914 would have dared.
The Weight of Water
Anita Shreve - 1997
(Can you guess which one?) She discovers a cache of papers that appear to give an account of the murders by an eyewitness. The plot weaves between the narrative of the eyewitness and Jean's private struggle with jealousies and suspicions as her marriage teeters. A rich, textured novel.
The Dead Key
D.M. Pulley - 2015
In the confusion that followed, the keys to the vault’s safe-deposit boxes were lost.In the years since, Cleveland’s wealthy businessmen kept the truth buried in the abandoned high-rise. The ransacked offices and forgotten safe-deposit boxes remain locked in time, until young engineer Iris Latch stumbles upon them during a renovation survey. What begins as a welcome break from her cubicle becomes an obsession as Iris unravels the bank’s sordid past. With each haunting revelation, Iris follows the looming shadow of the past deeper into the vault—and soon realizes that the key to the mystery comes at an astonishing price.
The Hangman's Daughter
Oliver Pötzsch - 2008
And her father’s wisdom and empathy are as unusual as his despised profession. It is 1659, the Thirty Years’ War has finally ended, and there hasn’t been a witchcraft mania in decades. But now, a drowning and gruesomely injured boy, tattooed with the mark of a witch, is pulled from a river and the villagers suspect the local midwife, Martha Stechlin.Jakob Kuisl is charged with extracting a confession from her and torturing her until he gets one. Convinced she is innocent, he, Magdalena, and her would-be suitor race against the clock to find the true killer. Approaching Walpurgisnacht, when witches are believed to dance in the forest and mate with the devil, another tattooed orphan is found dead and the town becomes frenzied. More than one person has spotted what looks like the devil—a man with a hand made only of bones. The hangman, his daughter, and the doctor’s son face a terrifying and very real enemy.Page Numbers Source ISBN: 054774501X
The Cromwell Deception
John Paul Davis - 2014
For over four hundred years the Crown jewels of England have been held safely in the Tower of London, yet in the coming days they are removed, never to be seen in public again. Government receipts confirm the jewels have been sold and melted down for mint value.Only one man knows the truth...Present day: In the heart of London, a famous art gallery is robbed in the dead of night. Two paintings are taken: a newly purchased £10million self-portrait of a famous 17th-century artist and a portrait of a Roundhead soldier of moderate fame. For gallery director Gillian McKevitt, news of the theft is an absolute nightmare. Aside from the theft occurring less than two days before the self-portrait's unveiling, CCTV footage suggests the theft was an inside job.As the news sinks in, a surprise revelation from Gillian's predecessor confirms she is dealing with no ordinary theft. One of the portraits contains an unimaginable secret, one with the potential to reveal the whereabouts of a long-lost treasure. With time running out before the grand unveiling, Gillian realises she has no choice but to take matters into her own hands. Following the clues revealed by earlier x-ray and infrared examination of the painting, Gillian finds herself in a frantic, and dangerous, race across England and through history as she attempts to track down the thieves before they reach their goal. To succeed, she must not only uncover their identity, but also unearth one of England's best-kept secrets...
The Ice Maiden (Detective Inspector Jack Gilbert)
Michael Saunders - 2018
Simply waiting for a bus why should Anne ever dream of dying? He was an opportunist driven by lust, needing to climax while looking into her eyes as she died. Found two months later she will be like all the others - frozen in time. Hunting the killer down is Detective Inspector Jack Gilbert, a dinosaur of the old school, a fish out of water in the swinging sixties, but with a reputation second to none. What is Jack’s sad secret? What does the future hold for him? Read the ICE MAIDEN and there’s a link at the end allowing you to download for FREE, number one in the Jack Gilbert Series – THE CHOCOLATE KILLER. For you, chocolate will never taste the same again!
Snap Shot: An atmospheric historical thriller (Julia McAllister Victorian Mysteries Book 1)
Marilyn Todd - 2019
Julia turns from murder suspect to England’s first crime scene photographer…
1895, London
Taking risqué photographs is the only way Julia McAllister can retain her independence as a young widow in London. But one by one, her models are dying — and now she is being framed for their murders. The relentless Inspector Collingwood is on the case and Julia knows he’s watching her every move. With young women still dying, and her own life on the line, Julia must unmask the real killer before it is too late… Can Julia clear her name? Will Collingwood believe her? Or will the dark secrets of her past come back to haunt her…? SNAP SHOT is the first book in the Julia McAllister Victorian Mystery series: historical romance murder mysteries with a courageous woman sleuth embarking on a traditional British, private investigation in nineteenth-century London. Praise for Marilyn Todd: ‘wry and entertaining’ -
Mystery Scene
‘delectably enjoyable’ -
Daily Mail
‘Skilfully tangled plot’ -
Booklist
‘never boring’ –
Kirkus Reviews
‘thoroughly entertaining’ -
The Bookseller
JULIA MCALLISTER VICTORIAN MYSTERY SERIES BOOK ONE: Snap Shot BOOK TWO: Cast Iron
Fantômas
Marcel Allain - 1911
Three appalling crimes leave all of Paris aghast: the Marquise de Langruen is hacked to death, the Princess Sonia is robbed, and Lord Beltham is found dead, stuffed into a trunk. Inspector Juve knows that all the clues point to one suspect: the master of disguise, Fantômas. Juve cleverly pursues him in speeding trains, down dark alleys, through glittering Parisian salons, obsessed with bringing the demon mastermind to justice. As thrilling to read now as it was when first published in 1915, Fantômas is not a puzzle but an intoxicant” (The Village Voice).
The Janissary Tree
Jason Goodwin - 2006
Europe is modernizing, and the sultan of the Ottoman Empire feels he has no choice but to follow suit. But just as he's poised to announce sweeping political change, a wave of murders threatens the fragile balance of power in his court. Who is behind the killings? Deep in the Abode of Felicity, the most forbidden district of Topkapi Palace, the sultan - ruler of the Black Sea and the White, ruler of Rumelia and Mingrelia, lord of Anatolia and Ionia, Romania and Macedonia, Protector of the Holy Cities, steely rider through the realms of bliss - announces, "Send for Yashim." Leading us through the palace's luxurious seraglios and Istanbul's teeming streets, Yashim places together the clues. He is not alone. He depends on the wisdom of a dyspeptic Polish ambassador, a transsexual dancer, and the Creole-born queen mother. He manages to find sweet salvation in the arms of another man's wife (this is not your everyday eunuch!). And he introduces us to the Janissaries. For four hundred years, they were the empire's elite soldiers. But they grew too powerful, and ten years earlier the sultan had them crushed. Are the Janissaries staging a brutal comeback? And if they are, how can they be stopped without throwing Istanbul into political chaos?
Warrior Monk: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel
Ray Keating - 2010
Lutheran pastor, saving lives and taking care of bad guys (who get saved)." WARRIOR MONK revolves around a former CIA assassin, Stephen Grant, who has lived a far different, relatively quiet life as a parish pastor in recent years. However, a shooting at his church, a historic papal proposal, and threats to the Pope's life mean that Grant's former and current lives collide. Grant must tap the varied skills learned as a government agent, a theologian and a pastor not only to protect the Pope, but also to feel his way through a minefield of personal challenges. Larry Kudlow, CNBC's "The Kudlow Report," said, "Ray Keating has created a fascinating and unique character in Pastor Grant. The way Keating intertwines politics, national security and faith into a compelling thriller is sheer delight." U.S. Congressman Pete King, the Ranking Member on the House Homeland Security Committee, declared, "CIA intrigue, the Vatican, international terrorism and brutal assassinations make Warrior Monk a fast-moving, riveting read right out of today's - and tomorrow's - headlines. Add challenging religious issues, which the author makes us confront, and you have a brilliant novel. Ray Keating knows what he is writing about and writes it extraordinarily well." And Paul L. Maier, best-selling author of A Skeleton in God's Closet, commented, "Holy Scripture and unholy gun play in the same novel? Exactly - and you'll love the combination! WARRIOR MONK offers a riveting mix of action, romance, and intrigue, served up by a master wordsmith. Keating's Pastor Stephen Grant manages to wield both Bible and bullets with equal expertise. Grant is clearly in control whether in or out of the pulpit."
Dead Man's Badge
Robert E. Dunn - 2018
It's lean and smart and very good. I say, check it out.” Joe Lansdale Career criminal Longview Moody, on the run from killers, assumes his dead, twin brother's identity as the new Chief of Police of a Texas town that's being terrorized by a Mexican drug cartel. To pull off the deadly deception, Longview desperately works to become the kind of cop and man that his brother was. But when the two lives he’s living converge, he’s forced to embrace the violence within him to get justice...and vengeance. PRAISE FOR ‘DEAD MAN’S BADGE' “Robert Dunn unloads both barrels – DEAD MAN'S BADGE is a fast, furious shootout from beginning to end. This tale of corrupt cops, cartel killers, and one bad guy just trying to make good, lingers like gun smoke. Bloody, dark, and pistol-whip smart, it's Border noir at its best.” J. Todd Scott, author of THE FAR EMPTY “Fans of Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti westerns will find a lot to like.” Publishers Weekly "In Dunn's capable hands, readers will jump onboard for the ride. Dunn is a gifted writer and he opens DEAD MAN'S BADGE with one of the most gripping scenes I've ever read. Fans of grit will love this fast-paced book." Mystery Scene Magazine "Riveting thriller about coming back from the dead, revenge and redemption. The pages fly by even faster than the bodies pile up. DEAD MAN'S BADGE establishes Robert E. Dunn as a formidable new name in hard-boiled fiction." R.G Belsky, author of the Clare Carlson and Gil Malloy mystery series "DEAD MAN'S BADGE sizzles with suspense! Dunn promises action on page one of this thriller and delivers the goods nonstop to the very end." Margaret Mizushima, award-winning author of HUNTING HOUR. "Brutal, vivid, and unforgettable...a modern-day western morality tale in crime-novel wrapping with a blood-red bow. This one will haunt you." -Lee Goldberg, #1 New York Times bestselling author of TRUE FICTION "DEAD MAN’S BADGE is crazy good, a great story, non-stop action, and a brilliantly-crafted hero. Dunn hit it out of the park with this one". -Harry Hunsicker, former executive vice president of the Mystery Writers of America and the author of THE DEVIL’S COUNTRY
The Mask of Dimitrios
Eric Ambler - 1939
At first merely curious to reconstruct the career of the notorious Dimitrios, whose body has been identified in an Istanbul morgue, Latimer soon finds himself caught up in a shadowy web of assassination, espionage, drugs, and treachery that spans the Balkans. The classic story of an ordinary man seemingly out of his depth, A Coffin for Dimitrios remains Eric Ambler's most widely acclaimed novel.
The Girl in the Letter
Emily Gunnis - 2018
A girl locked away. A mystery to be solved.1956. When Ivy Jenkins falls pregnant she is sent in disgrace to St Margaret's, a dark, brooding house for unmarried mothers. Her baby is adopted against her will. Ivy will never leave.Present day. Samantha Harper is a journalist desperate for a break. When she stumbles on a letter from the past, the contents shock and move her. The letter is from a young mother, begging to be rescued from St Margaret's. Before it is too late.Sam is pulled into the tragic story and discovers a spate of unexplained deaths surrounding the woman and her child. With St Margaret's set for demolition, Sam has only hours to piece together a sixty-year-old mystery before the truth, which lies disturbingly close to home, is lost forever ...Read her letter. Remember her story ...
A Jury Of Her Peers
Susan Glaspell - 1917
Two women uncover the truth in a rural murder investigation.
The House of Closed Doors
Jane Steen - 2012
Yet Nell is determined to elude the duties and restrictions of matrimony. So when she finds herself pregnant at the age of 17, she refuses to divulge the name of the father and even her childhood friend Martin is kept in the dark.Nell's stepfather Hiram sends Nell to live at the Poor Farm of which he is a governor, to await the day when her baby can be discreetly adopted. Nell is ready to go along with Hiram's plans until an unused padded cell is opened and two small bodies fall out.Nell is the only resident of the Poor Farm who is convinced that the unwed mother and her baby were murdered, and the incident prompts her to rethink her decision to abandon her own child to her fate. But the revelations to which her questions lead make her realize that even if she manages to escape the Poor Farm with her baby, she may have no safe place to run to.