Book picks similar to
Hollow Crib by B.J. Bourg


mystery
ebook
mysteries
crime-fiction

Sweet Revenge


Maisy Morgan - 2019
    What she didn’t plan on was bringing Tripp, her less than thrilled fourteen-year-old grandson with her. Soon after their arrival, things start happening fast. First, Tripp gets attacked by a cat named Sweet Feet. Then the town reveals some of it’s deep, dark secrets, and, to Mary’s surprise, Preston, a local police officer, asks her out on a date. But, halfway through their date, they get interrupted…by a murder. And it wasn’t just any murder…it was the beloved local pastor. Turns out Mary and Preston make quite the detective duo. Even Tripp gets in on the detective work. But now he’s in danger. Who would want revenge on the local pastor? And will Mary be able to get to Tripp before he becomes the next victim? And how does Mary get that rainbow cake to taste so darn good?

Olive Park


C.J. Booth - 2011
    One of the most intensive investigations in California history fails to find any trace of the killer and the case goes cold.15 years later - the newly formed Ongoing Investigation Division, charged with closing cold cases, is handed as its very first case – the Olive Park Murders. Detectives Stan Wyld and Jake Steiner, together with assistant Mallory Dimante, reopen the Olive Park case and find nothing new, until their examination of the original burial site turns up one chilling piece of evidence that proves Olive Park is no longer just a cold case about three dead children.The truth is much worse.For the twisted killer of Olive Park has never stopped and has already chosen its next victim. And no one will be able to protect her. No one.

The Opposite of Dark


Debra Purdy Kong - 2011
    Why would she, given that she buried her dad three years earlier? Desperate to understand what’s going on and if the man she buried really was Marcus Holland, Casey attempts to unravel the truth about her past. Filled with twists and turns and the unwelcome help of a persistent stranger, Casey’s quest takes her to Europe where startling revelations place her in danger. An associate of her father believes that Marcus stole three million dollars from him and he wants it back. Convinced that Casey can find the money, the man won’t stop until he either has the cash or she and those she loves die.

Chloe - Lost Girl (Carl Sant Murder Mysteries, #1)


Dan Laughey - 2019
    A gunned-down detective. A woman in fear for her life. All three are connected somehow.Detective Inspector Carl Sant and his fellow officers get on the case. But what links the disappearance of a university student, the death of an off-duty police sergeant, and a professor reluctant to help them solve the case?Their only clue is a sequence of numbers, etched by the police sergeant Dryden on a misty window moments before he breathed his last. Soon it becomes clear that Dryden's clue has brought the past and present into a head-on collision with the very heart of Sant’s profession.Racing against time, D.I. Sant must find out what's behind the mysterious events - before the bodies start piling up.

The Sedleigh Hall Murder


Roy Lewis - 1980
    Enjoy a beautifully told story from a time before smart phones and DNA testing. Full of twists and turns, this will have you gripped from start to finish. Please note this book was first published as “A Certain Blindness” “Jolly good reading with a protagonist you’ll like” Chicago Tribune “Lewis skillfully ties up everything . . . smoothly written. Compassionate yet with plenty of force” New York Times “Well devised and moving. Lewis excels with a certain type of anti-hero, beset with problems, no longer young” Financial Times “Legal shenanigans explicable, whodunit finely spun . . . A nice piece of work, in fact” Oxford Mail “Lewis at his well-rooted best in this drama of bent solicitors and corrupt businessmen living high in the North East. Well worked out investigation, excellent characterisation and a tense climax against Northumbrian scenery. Highly recommended” Sunday Telegraph A SUSPICIOUS DEATH AND A LARGE INHERITANCE WITHOUT ANYONE TO RECEIVE IT. Eric Ward thinks there is something odd about Arthur Egan's life and death. But Ward is a former police inspector, and trained to be suspicious. Egan left a large sum. But Ward makes no progress tracing the dead man's offspring. A photograph of an unknown tombstone is his only clue. He discovers Egan served a term for manslaughter, and that the evidence against him may have been planted. Why had he accepted his fate so meekly? Despite warnings that he is wasting the firm's time, Ward persists in his investigations. AND HIS PERSISTENCE LEADS TO MURDER. And by the time he realizes why, he finds his life and career are both at risk. AND WHAT IS THE CONNECTION TO LORD MORCOMB AT SEDLEIGH HALL? This fast-paced mystery will have you enthralled from the start. Set in England in the late 1970s, this is the first book to feature Eric Ward. More coming soon. DISCOVER YOUR NEXT FAVOURITE MYSTERY WRITER Perfect for fans of Peter James, Ruth Rendell, P.D. James and Peter Robinson. THE DETECTIVE Eric Ward is forced to retire from the police when he discovers he suffers from glaucoma but qualifies as a solicitor (lawyer) and sets up his practice on the Quayside in Newcastle, where he deals with the seamier side of the law. When he marries a wealthy young woman she attempts to persuade him to settle in Northumberland and work with wealthier clients but he stubbornly refuses to give up his criminal practice in Newcastle. Although she draws him into the world of high finance he still insists on continuing at the Quayside—which causes tensions within his marriage, and lead to fatal consequences. Roy Lewis is one of the most critically acclaimed crime writers of his generation. ERIC WARD BOOKS Book 1: THE SEDLEIGH HALL MURDER INSPECTOR CROW BOOKS Book 1: A LOVER TOO MANY Book 2: ERROR OF JUDGMENT Book 3: THE WOODS MURDER Book 4: MURDER FOR MONEY Book 5: MURDER IN THE MINE Book 6: A COTSWOLDS MURDER Book

Dig Two Graves


Keith Nixon - 2017
    or murder? Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray is driven to discover the truth. Whatever the personal cost.When teenager Nick Buckingham tumbles from the fifth floor of an apartment block, Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray answers the call with a sick feeling in his stomach. The victim was just a kid, sixteen years old. And the exact age the detective's son was, the son Gray has not seen since he went missing at a funfair ten years ago. Each case involving children haunts Gray with the reminder that his son may still be out there – or worse, dead. The seemingly open and shut case of suicide twists into a darker discovery. Buckingham and Gray have never met, so why is Gray's number on the dead teenager's mobile phone?Gray begins to unravel a murky world of abuse, lies, and corruption. And when the body of Reverend David Hill is found shot to death in the vestry of Gray's old church, Gray wonders how far the depravity stretches and who might be next. Nothing seems connected, and yet there is one common thread: Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray, himself. As the bodies pile up, Gray must face his own demons and his son's abduction.Crippled by loss Gray takes the first step on the long road of redemption. But is the killer closer to home than he realised?Set in the once grand town of Margate in the south of England, the now broken and depressed seaside resort becomes its own character in this dark police suspense thriller, perfect for fans of Ian Rankin, Stuart MacBride, and Peter James. Dig Two Graves is the first in the Solomon Gray series.

Stray Cat Blues: A Mystery Crime Thriller (Max Plank Mystery Series Book 1)


Robert Bucchianeri - 2017
    He’s looking forward to a well-deserved vacation. His plan includes nothing more than a little fishing, a bit of fooling around, and a whole lot of hammock time. Little does he know that this small, cute, skateboarding time bomb will lead him into a mystery with a tangled web of secrets and lies involving small-time hoods, powerful gangsters, corrupt politicians, paranoid hippies, and most dangerously, his long-time nemesis, a twisted casino operator at the heart of the city’s criminal trade. As Max races to untangle the convoluted case and find the little girl’s sister, the mayhem and dead bodies pile up. Finally, he realizes that the only way to get the whole truth involves risking his own life. But for Max Plank, this is just the price of admission to the game he’s decided to play. Stray Cat Blues is the first Max Plank mystery. Coming soon the next two adventures: The Ties That Bind and Devil’s Arcade.

Love, Murder and a Good Bottle of Wine (Wagner & Callender Mystery Book 1)


Chris Phipps - 2014
    Now she is simply trying to hang on to the only family she has left: her husband Scott, who is escalating from emotional to physical abuse; her cousin Laura Thornton, her best friend since babyhood; Laura’s ex-husband Sam; and Caro, the much-loved and wealthy young aunt who took Sarah in as a teenager. When Caro’s lifeless body is discovered, Sarah’s problems escalate. The family has motive, and none of them have alibis, prompting a close-minded homicide detective to hone in on them as his only suspects. To protect her family, Sarah has to find the strength to put aside her mind-numbing grief so she can focus on unraveling the mystery of Caro's death. It will take a depth of courage Sarah’s not sure she possesses, especially when every move she makes seems to increase the odds that one of the people she loves is the killer.

Stanton: The Trilogy


Alex MacLean - 2016
    When he finally decides to leave the force and start over, he's assigned a string of murders that all bear the signs of a serial killer collecting trophies.As Stanton unravels each grisly crime scene, the mounting evidence points uncomfortably close to him and a case unlike anything he's ever seen.One Kill Away (Book 2) - In this sequel to Grave Situation, Detective Allan Stanton has walked away from his job to reconnect with his young son--until a killer starts methodically carving his way through the city's underbelly. His ex-partner needs help, and Stanton reluctantly returns.The killer is definitely working through a list of victims, and he's leaving cryptic clues at his grisly crime scenes. Are they there to confuse the police? Or is there something more to them? As Stanton unravels this shocking central mystery, he becomes the target of an unexpected enemy--those next on the killer's list.Sorrowful Road (Book 3) - Detective Stanton has been haunted for the last year by one case he couldn't close: the brutal murder of a pretty twenty-two-year-old in Point Pleasant Park. On the anniversary of her death, the body of another young woman is found. The MO suggests the same person killed them both, but the long gap between murders is unusual for a serial killer.Fellow detective Audra Price joins Stanton in the search for this ruthless predator. But neither is prepared to handle such a unique brand of psychopath. Over a decade of unsolved case files turn up a swath of carnage, cut all across Canada with bone-chilling efficiency. The only way to bring justice to the victims is by following the most horrifying trail of their careers--to a monster who knows he's being hunted.

A Perfect Eye


Stephanie Kane - 2019
    Lily Sparks was born with a perfect eye. As Conservator of Paintings at the Denver Art Museum, she uses her keen visual powers to restore masterpieces and detect what's authentic and what is not. When the museum's billionaire benefactor is brutally murdered and Lily is dragged into the case, the grisly tableau stuns her: it's the human embodiment of the museum's prized landscape by famed Impressionist Gustave Caillebotte. Lily comes to believe the Caillebotte was forged and the killer is a painter the art world spurned. But this knowledge comes at a terrible cost. As she confronts where art ends and fraud begins, she must face the deceptions in her own past.

Deadly Secrets


Terry Odell - 2011
    And to Gordon, a promise is a promise, even if the person you made it to isn't around anymore. However, doubts creep in, and he wonders if he was shoved into the job because his mentor thought he couldn't cut it on the streets. Everything changes when a fatal traffic accident well outside Mapleton seems connected to elderly Rose and Sam Kretzer, two of Mapleton's most beloved citizens. The arrival of Megan, the Kretzer's grown ward, and Justin, their grandson add to his troubles when Megan is mugged. In addition, Justin is renovating his grandparents' house despite their objections, and then someone breaks in and the house is ransacked. When Gordon ties the car accident to a grisly murder in Mapleton—the first anyone in town can remember—he's afraid he's into more than he bargained for. His fears are realized when his investigation seems to link the Kretzers to a Nazi war criminal. Can he work with the big-city detective brought in to assist? Will he be able to solve the crime without revealing the secrets of his citizens? DEADLY SECRETS revolves around a secret journal kept by a Nazi during WWII, and the lengths people will go to protect those they love. Set in a small Colorado community, Deadly Secrets deals with people trying to do what they think is right while protecting those they love.

Big Numbers


Jack Getze - 2007
    We spend the book trying to guess the identity of the unknown man on the fishing boat; not an easy task because Carr's big mouth alienates about everyone he knows. "Darkly comic, with an engaging protagonist." -- T.J. MacGregor, Edgar Winner, Author of The Tango Key Mysteries "Big Numbers is a gritty, sexy, violent, and funny book." -- Liz Clifford at Reviewed by Liz "Wonderful characters...well-written, entertaining...a good read." --Connie Anderson for Armchair Interviews   "Jack Getze started his career as a newspaper reporter. As a result, BIG NUMBERS is lean and mean, with not a word wasted. A truly fun, genuinely funny read." --Lisa Guidarini for Bluestalking Reader

Sins of the Child


Shannon Heuston - 2019
    Now an ordinary wife and mother, she hides a terrible secret someone is determined to expose to the world. Who is Polly's mystery stalker? And what do they know about the events that occurred in the woods that long ago July day?

Lies Come True


Emerald O'Brien - 2015
    Ten years later... The body of a young woman is discovered along the path of a park in the same town. The killer is cunning and ruthless, but even the best killers make mistakes. Fiona Wolfe, the second woman to be attacked, survives and reveals a potential link between the current killer and the attack on Avery Hart. Noah Cotter, an ambitious new inspector, becomes drawn to the case when his curiosity combines with his attraction to Avery. The dangerous search for truth appears to be muddied with each shocking secret brought to light, as Avery, Fiona, and Noah realize that when someone is deceived for too long, sometimes... Lies Come True*Free with sign up to Emerald O'Brien's newsletter http://eepurl.com/4YHaX

Witness for Wendy


M.K. Turner - 2021
    A bored writer. A matter of life and death when their stories collide……Actress Wendy Knight thought her life was finally turning around. But when her ex came back into the picture, he wanted to take all of that away from her and more…and then she disappeared.Scriptwriter Angie Bearing longs to write something deeper than daytime soaps. When the plot for a new thriller comes to her, she doesn't question it. At least until she discovers an uncanny resemblance between her story and the unsolved disappearance of an actress named Wendy. Angie begins to investigate. As she retraces Wendy's footsteps, she doesn't realise that someone is watching her. Someone who would do anything to keep the awful truth buried for good…Witness for Wendy is the captivating first book in the Bearing Witness series