Book picks similar to
American Static by Tom Pitts


fiction
crime
mystery-thriller
fiction-07

The Smack


Richard Lange - 2017
    Tinafey is a hooker who's tired of the streets. Their paths cross one snowy night in Reno, and they hit it off. An old friend of Petty's turns up with a rumor about a crew of American soldiers who smuggled two million dollars out of Afghanistan and have stashed the money in an apartment in Los Angeles. He thinks Petty's just the guy to steal the cash. "You wouldn't even have to grab all of it for it to be a great score," the friend says. "Getting your hands on just some would make you a happy man." Petty decides to drive down to L.A. to investigate. Tinafey decides to go with him. Bad move, Petty. Bad move, Tinafey.

The Big Bounce


Elmore Leonard - 1969
    But he couldn't hit a curveball, so he turned his attention to less legal pursuits. A tough guy who likes walking the razor's edge, he's just met his match -- and more -- in Nancy. She's a rich man's plaything, seriously into thrills and risk, and together she and Jack are pure heat ready to explode. But when simple housebreaking and burglary give way to the deadly pursuit of a really big score, the stakes suddenly skyrocket. Because violence and double-cross are the name of this game -- and it's going to take every ounce of cunning Jack and Nancy possess to survive . . . each other.

The Girl at the Border


Leslie Archer - 2019
    Will a shared tragedy help them find their way home—even in the face of imminent danger? Renowned archaeologist Richard Mathis is half a world away on the island of Crete when he learns his daughter, Bella, has gone missing. Within twenty minutes, he’s on his way back to the States. Two days later, he’s dead.Richard’s young assistant, Angela Chase, is devastated by the loss of the man who had become both mentor and friend, and she’s determined to find the missing girl, who seems to have made dangerous connections—and whose lonely childhood so resembles Angela’s own. Born Laurel Springfield, Angela now spends her days digging up the origins of a lost civilization while struggling to keep her own past buried. But will the search for Bella expose Angela’s carefully disguised identity—and will she find Bella before she’s lost forever?

Whispering Bodies: A Roy Belkin Disaster


Jesse Michaels - 2013
    Belkin must begin each day with the task he calls The Service: visiting Christian chat-rooms to reply to users innocent questions with mocking answers. “Why do they call the taking of the communion ‘Mass?’”? Belkin124 responds: “They call it the Mass because after Jesus was crucified, a mass of people rushed forward to the cross and ate him. Now they eat the wafer to remember it.” At forty-seven, balding, and mildly agoraphobic, Belkin is a man without direction. He rarely leaves his apartment (he refers to the outside world as The Pounding), and when he must leave, he meticulously recounts the day in his Thunder Book; a journal where he lists all that repulsed him that day.But everything changes the day Belkin returns to his apartment to find the building ablaze along with the suspected murder of the apartment building’s maintenance man. As police question him, Belkin meets the mysterious Pernice Balfour, the alluring, religiously obsessed neighbor accused of the crime. Soon, Belkin has no choice but to come out of his shell (and his apartment) to try to clear her name. But the more Belkin investigates, the muddier things become. Wandering through San Francisco’s seedy Tenderloin district, Belkin begins to unravel the truth behind the murder, and encounters a bizarre series of characters and situations: "pansexual" crime-scene photographer, an idiot detective, and an all-knowing government operative.Whispering Bodies is comical offbeat exploration of the wisdom found in madness and the madness found in conventional life, all brought together in a classic tale of who-done-it.

Somewhere in the Dark


R.J. Jacobs - 2020
    J. Jacobs returns with another compulsively readable novel of suspense for fans of B. A. Paris and Mary Kubica.Do the mistakes of the past mark us as guilty for life?After a childhood marred by neglect, Jessie Duval's finally got it together. With an apartment in Nashville and a job with a catering company, she's thriving.But all that changes when Jessie works an event where celebrities will be in attendance--including the one person from her past she must avoid at all costs: singer Shelly James. Jessie doesn't hate Shelly. Quite the opposite. One summer, she followed Shelly's tour everywhere. Only, Shelly wasn't flattered; she was terrified by Jessie's devotion--especially after Jessie was arrested. But after a year of therapy, Jessie understands what happened. She's not the same person anymore.Jessie keeps her head down, but when Shelly is found dead, Jessie's troubled past comes tumbling out and she quickly becomes a suspect in the high-profile murder. As the police close in on her, ignoring other credible leads, Jessie realizes Shelly's murder will be pinned on her--the perfect scapegoat--unless she finds the real killer. And no one knows Shelly's life and inner circle better than her. But she will have to go deeper into the dark--if ever she wants to find her way out.

Bone Music


Christopher Rice - 2018
    If only the nightmare had ended when she was rescued. Instead, her real father exploited her tabloid-ready story for fame and profit—until Charlotte finally broke free from her ghoulish past and fled. Just when she thinks she has buried her personal hell forever, Charlotte is swept into a frightening new ordeal. Secretly dosed with an experimental drug, she’s endowed with a shocking new power—but pursued by a treacherous corporation desperate to control her.Except from now on, if anybody is going to control Charlotte, it’s going to be Charlotte herself. She’s determined to use the extraordinary ability she now possesses to fight the kind of evil that shattered her life—by drawing a serial killer out from the shadows to face the righteous fury of a victim turned avenger.

Last Seen Leaving


Catherine Lea - 2018
    Now she's blind and runs a failing law practice out in the burbs.But when Frank goes missing in New Zealand and the ransom note tells his mother not to call the police, Syd just may be the only one who can find him.Is Syd just driven by honor? Or is she trying to prove that she's still good enough? And when the first dead body turns up, can a blind woman see what everyone else has overlooked?Or will she be next on the killer’s list?A gripping thriller that will have the pages turning into the wee hours.

Slice


David Hodges - 2010
     THERE’S A KILLER INSIDE THE POLICE STATION. A police station should be a safe place. But not when there’s a psychotic serial killer working there. THE FIRST VICTIM IS FOUND GRUESOMELY MUTILATED IN HIS MOST SENSITIVE AREA. HE IS DRESSED IN A JUDGE’S WIG. Detective Superintendent Jack Fulton takes on the grisly murder enquiry and discovers that his murderer might actually be one of the police station staff. MORE EMINENT VICTIMS FOLLOW. KILLED IN THE SAME SADISTIC MANNER. The press nickname the razor-wielding assassin “The Slicer.” With the killer stalking the shadowy Victorian building, Fulton has to contend not only with press harassment and police who will stop at nothing to get a result, but also with other problems much closer to home. As the killer leads him on a grim game of cat and mouse, Fulton has little idea of just how personal that game is about to become . . . YOU WON’T WANT TO PUT THIS ONE DOWN Perfect for fans of Rachel Abbott, Robert Bryndza, Mel Sherratt, Angela Marsons, Colin Dexter, or Ruth Rendell. THE AUTHOR A former police superintendent, with thirty years’ service. Since ‘turning to crime’, he has received critical media acclaim, including a welcome accolade from Inspector Morse’s creator, the late great, Colin Dexter, and he is now a prolific novelist with eleven published crime novels and an autobiography on his police career to his credit. His previous police experience has enabled him to provide a gritty realism to his thrillers and his Somerset Murder Series, featuring feisty female detective, Kate, and her partner, Hayden, has gone from strength to strength, attracting interest in the United States as well as in the UK. DETECTIVE KATE HAMBLIN MYSTERY SERIES Book 1: MURDER ON THE LEVELS Book 2: REVENGE ON THE LEVELS Book 3: FEAR ON THE LEVELS Book 4: KILLER ON THE LEVELS Book 5: SECRETS ON THE LEVELS Book 6: DEATH ON THE LEVELS STANDALONES SLICE

Two Sisters


Kerry Wilkinson - 2017
    They told us a lie.Megan was ten years old when her older brother, Zac, went missing among the cliffs, caves and beaches that surround the small seaside town of Whitecliff. A decade later and a car crash has claimed the lives of her parents.Megan and her younger sister Chloe return to Whitecliff one summer for the first time since their brother’s disappearance. Megan says it’s to get her parents’ affairs in order. There are boxes to pack, junk to clear, a rundown cottage to sell. But that’s not the real reason. Megan has come to confront her family’s past after receiving a postcard on the day of her parents’ funeral. It had a photograph of Whitecliff on the front and a single letter on the back.‘Z’ is all it read.Z for Zac.

The Marriage Pact


Michelle Richmond - 2017
    Alice, once a singer in a well-known rock band, is now a successful lawyer. Jake is a partner in an up-and-coming psychology practice. Their life together holds endless possibilities. After receiving an enticing wedding gift from one of Alice’s prominent clients, they decide to join an exclusive and mysterious group known only as The Pact.The goal of The Pact seems simple: to keep marriages happy and intact, and most of its rules make sense: Always answer the phone when your spouse calls. Exchange thoughtful gifts monthly. Plan a trip together once per quarter. . . .Never mention The Pact to anyone.Alice and Jake are initially seduced by the glamorous parties, the sense of community, their widening social circle of like-minded couples--and then one of them breaks the rules. The young lovers are about to discover that for adherents to The Pact, membership, like marriage, is for life, and The Pact will go to any lengths to enforce that rule. For Jake and Alice, the marriage of their dreams is about to become their worst nightmare.

A Little of Chantelle Rose


Cristina Hodgson - 2017
    Except her name...At the age of twenty-four, Chantelle Rose has all a city girl can expect: a tiny bed-sit in South London, a lousy poorly-paid job, a tyrannical boss, and quite a few exes added to an ever-growing list. Desperate for change, she becomes an extra in a seedy crime film. When that leads to the opportunity of a lifetime – a role to play with a million dollars to win and seemingly nothing to lose – she accepts without thinking twice. After all, what could possibly go wrong? In any event, she´ll earn enough to buy her dream home, set up her own business and never worry about money again. And what about love? Two men have won her heart: Robbie – sultry, silent, mysterious; and Lionel – Hollywood heart-throb, charm, wealth, adventure. But who can she trust? Who is bent on scaring her away, and why? There seems to be more at stake than just her heart. Will a million dollars be worth it?

In a Deep Dark Wood


Tina Pritchard - 2021
    She tells the police exactly what she saw, but their investigation doesn’t seem to make much headway.Fran tries to settle back into a normal life, but is tormented by guilt – was there something she could have done to save the boy? Fran can’t let it go and finds herself drawn to Tyler’s grieving mother, Mel, both finding some strange connection through this shared trauma.Then someone launches a terrifying campaign of intimidation against Fran and her husband, Laurie. Could it be the killers? Are they letting her know she had better be careful what she says? Who she sees? And why is Mel acting so strangely? Does she know more about her son’s death than she is saying?Fran can’t help herself – she needs to know the truth. But when she begins to dig, she uncovers the terrible secret of the deep, dark wood – a secret that will change her life forever.

Say Nothing


Brad Parks - 2017
    A loving marriage. A pair of healthy children. Then a phone call begins every parent's most chilling nightmare. Scott's six-year-old twins, Sam and Emma, have been taken. The judge must rule exactly as instructed in a drug case he is about to hear. If he refuses, the consequences for the children will be dire.For Scott and his wife Alison, the kidnapper's call is only the beginning of a twisting, gut-churning ordeal of blackmail, deceit, and terror. Through it all, they will stop at nothing to get their children back, no matter the cost to themselves . . . or to each other.

Deep Blood


Phillip Thompson - 2013
    He doesn't care for the mundane parts of his job, he drinks too much, is separated from his wife, and has a former stripper girlfriend who regularly violates the drug laws of the county. Even when the son of a close friend is murdered, he has a hard time concentrating. But when his incorrigible father is arrested again for DUI, he learns of a secret of his father's past that threatens his own future and must confront it in a Southern tale of justice, redemption and family secrets.

The Woman Next Door


Sue Watson - 2019
    Who knows what lies behind the pretty curtains and the well-groomed lawns of Mulberry Avenue? Lucy has a lovely husband, a job she adores as a teacher, and a house on Mulberry Avenue that she’s decorated just the way she wants – from the floaty curtains and the softest bed linen, right down to the perfectly-chosen velvet cushions on their comfortable sofa. Life isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty close. She’s also got Amber. Her newest friend and neighbour. They’ve got so much in common. Even if Amber’s life sometimes seems a lot more glamorous and exciting, she shares Lucy’s down-to-earth sense of humour, and Amber seems so interested in Lucy and her life, it’s like they never run out of things to talk about. But then Amber starts acting strangely, claiming her life isn’t all it seems, talking about how she thinks she might be pregnant, and confiding in Lucy that she’s started getting threatening messages. She’s scared, and the only person she can turn to is Lucy. She wants to stay at Lucy’s house until things calm down. Lucy wants to protect her friend. But can she really trust Amber? Because sometimes other people are not all that they seem. Sometimes they have secrets. And they’d do anything to keep them… Gripping and unputdownable, All Her Secrets tells a story about the dark side of friendship, and has a final twist that will shock every reader. twists of a Claire Mackintosh book… such a good read and just as I thought I had worked it out I was wrong!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars ‘Delivers an ending that will make you go WOW but you need to read it to see why! Straight into my Top 10 of the year and a really great read… Dark, disturbing and just everything you want from a psychological thriller and more.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars ‘Most definitely a book that captures your imagination… A book that I literally did not put down.