Book picks similar to
Prisoner (DI Lomas Baxter series #1) by Heath Gunn


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Cut The Deck


B. Baskerville - 2019
    Any card. This killer wants the whole deck.When the body of a teenage girl, dressed in a magician’s outfit, is discovered on a beach in North Tyneside, DCI Cooper fears she is dealing with a different breed of killer.Some murderers leave a calling card, but this girl’s killer stitched his card into her flesh. Cooper quickly gets to work and identifies the victim as missing fifteen-year-old, Rachel Pearson. As the investigation progresses, Cooper soon discovers that Rachel’s father has a short fuse and that her boyfriend, Will, has a possessive streak. Before she can track down Will, another girl is murdered.  Same killer. Same school. Different outfit. With a serial killer stalking the teenagers of Tynemouth, Cooper’s boss and the press are demanding results. As Cooper’s self-confidence dwindles she works to find the connection. The eyes of the country are on Tynemouth and her investigation. Can Cooper put her personal issues behind her and stop the man tormenting her hometown before another mother loses her child and she loses her job?

Rollover


James Raven - 2012
    . . THEN GETS MURDERED, AND YOU’RE THE NUMBER ONE SUSPECT. Saturday night at Danny Cain’s home. As their daughter sleeps upstairs, Danny and his wife watch the national lottery draw. This week a massive rollover jackpot. Within minutes, Vince, Danny’s best friend and business partner, calls and claims that he’s won the jackpot. A TAUT CRIME THRILLER THAT WILL HAVE YOU GRIPPED FROM THE FIRST PAGE. Vince tells Danny to drop everything and come over to his cottage in the New Forest. But when Danny gets there he finds his friend has been murdered. His winning lottery ticket has gone. Before Danny can alert the police he receives a call from the killer who claims he’s kidnapped Danny’s wife and daughter. The man warns him not to tell anyone about the ticket. Danny is plunged into a terrible nightmare. He’s faced with a desperate race against time to save his family. CAN DETECTIVE JEFF TEMPLE FIND THE REAL KILLER BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE? DCI Jeff Temple heads up Hampshire's Major Investigations Team based in Southampton. He's a no-nonsense copper who relishes the challenges presented by the most brutal and high-profile cases. But at the same time he's still struggling to get his personal life back on track following the tragic death of his beloved wife. Things are looking up, but it's an uphill struggle. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ROLLOVER “Very addictive and couldn't put this book down!” Lucy “The plot is pacy and compelling – the essence of the polished ‘unputdownable’ novel/” View Magazine. “Extremely satisfying thriller and great entertainment.” Books Monthly Review. “The pages kept turning faster and faster.” Ginny “One of the best books I have ever read. I found it thrilling and exciting right from the first page.” Michael THE BEST-SELLING DETECTIVE JEFF TEMPLE SERIES Book 1: ROLLOVER Book 2: URBAN MYTH Book 3: RANDOM TARGET Book 4: DYING WISH Book 5: THE BLOGGER Join the Joffe Books mailing list for updates on the next mystery coming soon!

Treacherous Waters: A love story full of twists


Teresa Crane - 1978
    Her French husband was killed in the First World War before their son Davie was born, and since then the young widow has put him first in everything. Her motherly instincts tell her that Davie would benefit from having a father, and when Fergus Cameron proposes to her, Annie knows he offers them both comfort and security.But is there more to life than just safety and good sense? When she and Davie bump into Richard Ross near their home in Kew, her instincts are proved correct. Richard, a lawyer, has an easygoing charm and she agrees, at his insistence, to become his wife.But shortly afterwards she wonders if there was more to their original chance meeting than she thought… Why does Richard know more about her past than she does? And can love survive the poison of treachery? From Teresa Crane, author of the smash-hit The Italian House , this is a vivid and unputdownable story of life and love, deception and betrayal.

Dark of Night


Oliver Davies - 2021
    From the start, it is clearly a case of foul play, but every thread toward the culprit leads to a fresh tangle. Is the local lord involved? The uni students camping on the land? Criminals hunting for a lost treasure?Fortunately, Conall has a secret weapon to cut through to the truth: his eccentric, genius cousin, Shay. But even then, will the pair survive what they uncover in the dark of the night?

Beach Body Boogie (A Pepper Ryan Thriller Book)


Timothy Fagan - 2018
    A bizarre plot to kill the President. A cop with one chance to save his reputation… and his country. "An entertaining and compulsively readable thriller--on the beach or anywhere." --  Kirkus Reviews Police Officer Pepper Ryan returns home to Cape Cod for his last shot at redemption. Dumb move? He can never measure up to the ghost of his brother who died a good cop. But when a Secret Service agent’s corpse shows up in a clambake pit with a note threatening the President’s life, Ryan sees his chance to erase the past and prevent the assassination… Desperate to clear his name and protect the POTUS, Ryan confronts a tidal wave of trouble. Running afoul of mob hitmen, wacko anti-government groups, and a billionaire’s conniving daughter, he races to unravel the devious plot.Can Ryan find the assassin before it’s too late, or are his future and the President's life doomed? Beach Body Boogie is the first book in the humorous Pepper Ryan mystery-thriller series. If you like everyman heroes, thrilling twists, and laugh-out-loud moments, you’ll love Timothy Fagan’s raucous tale. Buy Beach Body Boogie to join the chase today!

One Shot


Louise Voss - 2015
    But was it murder or an unfortunate accident? Carmella's career will be in ruins if she gets it wrong... Louise Voss and Mark Edwards are co-authors of six thrillers as well as having many successful solo novels to their names. The third installment in their popular DI Lennon series, following FROM THE CRADLE and THE BLISSFULLY DEAD, will be out in 2017. You can find them at www.vossandedwards.com, or come and join their lively Facebook group: www.facebook.com/vossandedwards, for news and competitions.

Save My Daughter


Sam Vickery - 2021
    I couldn’t relax. I couldn’t hear the theme park music, the giggles of my two other children. I’d left my baby in someone else’s care. And I knew I’d made a mistake…With her two beautiful children and newborn baby Ella, Lily’s life is full of love and laughter. She gave up her job to be a stay-at-home mother, and though she sometimes envies the freedom of best friend Hannah, Lily wouldn’t trade it for anything.But Lily’s world implodes when Hannah disappears with Ella one day, and Lily fears from the text message she receives that Hannah doesn’t intend to come back:You don’t deserve her.It’s true that Lily has been keeping secrets about her marriage from Hannah, ones she thought only she and her husband knew. Suddenly Lily realises that there are things she doesn’t know about Hannah too – and that by keeping her husband’s secrets, she might pay the ultimate sacrifice.A rollercoaster ride of emotions, Save My Daughter will break your heart. Fans of Jodi Picoult, Kate Hewitt and Diane Chamberlain will be swept away by Sam Vickery’s utterly gorgeous novel.

The Arthurian Relic


Andrew Clawson - 2021
    A long-lost manuscript. A relic worth killing for.Harry Fox hunts artifacts for the Italian mob. When a forgotten manuscript suggests Great Britain's most famous king may not be fiction, Harry plunges headlong on a dangerous path to uncover the truth. Little does he know a shadowy alliance with ties to three of mankind's most powerful organizations follows his every move, desperate to stop him before he can uncover the truth behind the legend.Surrounded by enemies and able to trust no one, Harry barrels across the globe and discovers the myth of King Arthur is far more real than anyone ever imagined. Can Harry survive to reveal the true story of this legendary man, or will the ancient forces chasing him add his name to their long list of victims?

Tuesday's Gone


Lila M Beckham - 2013
    It is about a young girl who loves music and has dreams of a different life, a better life, a life that is not talked down on because of who her family is, or because of where she is from. She feels that just because she lives in the middle of the dusty fields of a flower nursery it does not make her any less important than anyone else. She wants a new life; a life without having to listen to the ranting or grunting of a drunken stepfather or the complaining of sickly mother. She wants a life of her own choosing, not one that was forced upon her by birth. Young Tuesday runs from away home to escape a life that has become unbearable. This is her story.

Line of Sin: Deputy Corus Mystery #3


Mark Hazard - 2019
    But the shadowy figures that had been operating through Walla Walla want to know more about who he is and, more importantly, who he really works for. The FBI shows up with old scores to settle and a curious interest in the case. Turns out, Deputy Albert Chu cuts a striking resemblance to an enigmatic and presumed-deceased figure, el Remora: The man who formed the lucrative Taipei route, in which Tanner Farm played a key role. The FBI sends Chu into enemy territory, posing as el Remora’s son who wants a piece of his father’s business, with Corus by his side, cutting the path straight to the smuggling organization’s leadership. Together they plunge courageously into the heart of the enemy, finding volatile internal relationships that boil over at the worst possible time, leaving Corus and Chu in a fight for their lives and later imprisoned aboard a cargo vessel heading for Asia. In the quiet moments, Corus comes to believe his noblest virtues, bravery and sacrifice, have been co-opted by a darker force inside of him, leading him across a line of sin. He must root out the cause, before it hurts everyone and everything he loves. But before that journey can begin in earnest, he and Chu must avoid watery graves, using odd-couple teamwork, wit and tenacity, and Corus must supply final severance to the menacing strands keeping him moored to his past. Book #3 in the Deputy Corus Mystery Series

A COTSWOLDS MURDER MYSTERY BOX SET BOOKS 1–4 four gripping cozy mysteries full of twists


Stella Cameron - 2021
    

Murder Games – Part 5


James Patterson - 2017
    The final part of a gripping five-part murder mystery from bestselling thriller writer James Patterson.As the end game approaches, can Elizabeth and Dylan track down the notorious serial killer they have been hunting before the Dealer runs through his entire deck?

Killing Hope


Keith Houghton - 2011
    "Celebrity Cop" Gabe Quinn is back working Robbery-Homicide after a personal tragedy has left him emotionally bare. He's raw, but resolved to catch a serial killer stalking the streets of two major cities.With cryptic clues left at each crime scene, Gabe is faced with the seemingly impossible task of piecing together the bizarre puzzle - following signs that point toward a killer whose motive questions everything he believes in ... 'If you could save a million lives by taking one ... would you?'

Key West Bounce


Mike Pettit - 2012
    A pure adrenaline rush of hard hitting, hard talking characters caught up in a chase for a fortune in gold locked inside a U.S. C-130 Aircraft that has been sitting on the floor of the Florida Straits for over fifty years. Jack Marsh is pulled into the hunt for the treasure by an old East German Stasi agent who knows where the plane is and how it got there. Always looking for easy money, Marsh recruits his friend Tommy Hicks, Captain of their salvage and dive boat, The Island Queen. Soon the three men are locked in a seesaw battle among themselves, a gang of Jamaican cutthroats, the Cuban DGI Secret Police, and a group of Cuban expatriates from Miami who claim the gold as theirs and need it to continue their fight against Castro. The fight is waged across and under the waters of the Straits as the hunt is narrowed to a small strip of palm-covered sand called Crab Cay and its surrounding waters. The clear tropical waters are soon red with blood and thousands of gold coins. Marsh and Hicks are soon fighting for their lives: vessel to vessel, gunwale to gunwale, and hand to hand as treachery and duplicity is played out. It finally comes down to two men, face to face, one will live, and one will die…the gold the prize.There is enough action and suspense in this story to satisfy the most hardened of thriller readers.

The Starks Trilogy Box Set


Nesly Clerge - 2016
     BOOK 1 -- When The Serpent Bites "Downright Amazing." ―Bobbie Grob, Readers' Favorite "A fascinating read." ―John Murray, Pacific book review "A plethora of twisted and suspenseful events." ―San Francisco Book Review "An arresting prison tale about penance.” ―Kirkus Reviews Frederick Starks has it all—a gorgeous wife who was his high school sweetheart, three beautiful children, a mansion and cars others envy, millions in the bank, respected in his community, admired by his employees, loved and respected by loyal friends. He revels in the hard-earned power and control he’s acquired. As the saying goes, “All that glitters is not gold,” which Starks discovers when gut-wrenching betrayal by his wife sends him over the edge and into a maximum security prison. There, Starks is a new “fish,” stripped of nearly everything he’s always relied on. In that place, where inmates and guards have their own rules and codes of conduct, Starks is forced to face the darker side of life, and his own darker side, especially when the betrayals, both inside and outside the prison, don’t stop. He must choose which path to follow when the line between right and wrong becomes blurred: one that leads to getting out of the physical and emotional hellhole he finds himself in or one that keeps him alive. BOOK 2 -- When The Dragon Roars "When the Dragon Roars is an absolutely riveting read, full of surprising twists and turns and brilliant writing. The chapters are short; the dialogue realistic; the characters believable and the plot gripping." —Viga Boland, Readers' Favorite "With tight, crisp prose and realistic dialogue, the author keeps the pace of his tome moving at highway speed. His characters are finely etched both physically and emotionally. Clerge knows the story he wants to tell, and he tells it in a way that is both involving and entertaining." —Joe Kilgore, Pacific Book Review "Brimming with twists, turns, and non-stop drama, When The Dragon Roars by Nesly Clerge is a thriller ideal for any fan of prison-noir." —Veronica Alvarado, Bestseller's World Secrets and lies force their way to the surface in Nesly Clerge’s newest novel of deception, crime, and buried history. Frederick Starks thought he’d already lost as much as one man could: A beautiful family, the luxurious life wealth provides, success, admiration—all stripped from him in one moment of madness that resulted in a fifteen-year sentence in a maximum security prison. Certain that life has gotten as bad as it can get, Starks contrives a way to rise to the top of the inmate hierarchy. But his assumption is wrong. Amid stunning revelations, betrayals, and violence, Starks faces one challenge after another, until a life-altering event forces him into the most brutal confrontation of all: the truth about himself.