Book picks similar to
Deadly Touch by Audrey Walker


ww
mystery-suspense
thriller
police-department

Crossroad


W.H. Cameron - 2019
    But just as she's beginning to think of Barlow County as home, her life takes an ominous turn when she comes upon a grisly multiple car wreck and three shattered bodies on an isolated road outside of town. Near the scene, Melisende trips over a fourth body, that of a newborn girl lying a physics-defying distance from the wreckage. There is no one to claim the infant, nor a clear indication she was even part of the accident.The crash offers plenty of opportunities for an apprentice mortician--but when the victims' bodies are stolen from her family's mortuary, Melisende is branded suspect number one. Then, Portland lawyer Kendrick Pride arrives on the scene on behalf of one of the victim's families--or so he says--and Melisende begins to see that there's much more to this enigmatic figure than meets the eye.As the shadows gather and the mystery deepens, Melisende must race to find the truth--or be swallowed by the darkness.

The Zodiac Killer


W.L. Knightly - 2017
    The worst sin he’s ever committed bubbles up, threatening to destroy his future.Are the Zodiac killings a coincidence or is someone toying with him, and if so… who?

The Barkeep


William Lashner - 2014
    Six years ago Justin's life was ripped apart when he discovered his mother's bludgeoned corpse. Now Justin's father is serving a life sentence and Justin drowns his emotions in a pool of inner peace. But when Birdie claims he murdered Justin's mother for cash, Justin is hurled back to the emotions, back to the past, and, most frightening of all, back to the father he tried to leave behind. WHO HIRED BIRDIE GRACKLE TO KILL JUSTIN?S MOTHER? As Justin pieces together the truth, a killing machine stalks Justin, leaving a trail of dead in his wake. Someone wants to bury the truth, and maybe Justin, too. Justin had better find some answers quick, because murder is just not Zen.

Lie Still


Julia Heaberlin - 2013
    Pregnant with her first child, Emily just wants to start over. But as she is drawn into a nest of secretive Texas women—and into the unnerving company of their queen, Caroline Warwick—Emily finds that acceptance is a very dangerous game. It isn’t long before Caroline mysteriously disappears and Emily is facing a rash of anonymous threats. Are they linked to the missing Caroline? Or to Emily’s terrifying encounter in college, years earlier? As the dark truth about Caroline emerges, Emily realizes that some secrets are impossible to hide—and that whoever came for Caroline is now coming for her.

Chained Guilt


Terry Keys - 2015
    A fifteen-year veteran of the Houston Police Department, Porter was one of the best serial killer detectives in the country, his talents known worldwide. The recently promoted officer couldn’t ask for much more. He was husband to one of the hottest women on the planet, former-model-turned-news-anchor Miranda Porter. He also had two beautiful daughters. Yes, life was good . . . or so it seemed. A cunning serial killer was on the prowl, brutally killing every child he could get his hands on. Porter was hot on his trail, but the killer was an expert – no mistakes. A late night of work, a storm and a car accident would lead David head first into another case – a kidnapping – and this time it was personal. Could there be a connection between the two? David was staring face-first down the barrel of both cases and time was running out. Does Detective Porter have what it takes to bring these criminals to justice? Will the good life he once enjoyed elude him forever? Only time will tell.

Steel Breeze


Douglas Wynne - 2013
    It’s been a year since novelist Desmond Carmichael's wife Sandy was brutally murdered. Now, with someone stalking him and his four-year-old son, he fears that the wrong man has been imprisoned for the crime. Sandy’s parents and Detective Chuck Fournier have a different fear: that Desmond, despondent over Sandy’s death, has become too unstable to raise his own son.To prove them wrong, Desmond must work outside the law to defeat a threat born in the dust of an American wasteland, baptized by fire, and hellbent on riding the winds of karma.

The Butcher


Jennifer Hillier - 2014
    Now, some thirty years later, Shank, retired and widowed, is giving up his large rambling Victorian house to his grandson Matt, whom he helped raise.Settling back into his childhood home and doing some renovations in the backyard to make the house feel like his own, Matt, a young up-and-coming chef and restaurateur, stumbles upon a locked crate he’s never seen before. Curious, he picks the padlock and makes a discovery so gruesome it will forever haunt him… Faced with this deep dark family secret, Matt must decide whether to keep what he knows buried in the past, go to the police, or take matters into his own hands.Meanwhile Matt’s girlfriend, Sam, has always suspected that her mother was murdered by the Beacon Hill Butcher—two years after the supposed Butcher was gunned down. As she pursues leads that will prove her right, Sam heads right into the path of Matt’s terrible secret.

See Her Run


Rylie Dark - 2021
    But when Mia, unwilling to back down, escapes and turns into a fugitive, she continues to hunt down killers and solve active cases—all while trying to clear her own name.In SEE HER RUN (A Mia North FBI Suspense Thriller—Book One), Special Agent Mia North is a rising star in the FBI—until, in an elaborate setup, she’s framed for murder and sentenced to prison. When a lucky break allows her to escape, Mia finds herself a fugitive, on the run and on the wrong side of the law for the first time in her life. She can’t see her young daughter—and she has no hope of returning to her former life.The only way to get her life back, she realizes, is to hunt down whoever framed her.A diabolical killer that Mia once put behind bars is freed on parole. He taunts her while she’s in prison, now on the other side of the Visitor glass, and boasts of a murder he is about to commit. Mia, locked in jail, will be helpless to stop it.With time running out, Mia must use her sharpest instincts to escape, evade the law, and stop him before he claims his next victim. Can she hunt down the killer and save the victim—and herself?Will she find herself back in jail?Or worse—at the mercy of a killer, without any backup?An action-packed page-turner, the MIA NORTH series is a riveting crime thriller, jammed with suspense, surprises, and twists and turns that you won’t see coming. Fall in love with this brilliant new female protagonist and you’ll be turning pages late into the night.

Endless Evil


Amanda Feyerbend - 2014
    Someone is hunting down young women to fulfill their macabre fantasies.Then they make a mistake and leave a witness behind.When Megan Crawford wakes up in the hospital, she can’t remember her attackers or what happened to her.If Megan’s memories are their only clue, will Alex catch the killers?

A Journal of Sin


Darryl Donaghue - 2014
    A troubled priest is brutally murdered, leaving behind a journal of the resident's confessional secrets; secrets certain people would prefer he took to the grave. As word spreads, the pressure rises as the eyes of the town watch her every move. With no forensic team, no support and a savage killer hiding in a turbulent town, is PC Sarah Gladstone up to the task?

Plain Jane: Brunettes Beware


Cristyn West - 2010
    A Patterson-style thriller with a dash of Hannibal...A city paralyzed by a serial killer stalking the night, taking a most gruesome trophy.The only standing in the murderer's way is an FBI profiler...recently released from a mental institution.Plain Jane combines the swift action of Patterson with the macabre of Harris.Just remember to keep the lights on when reading this one!

Murderland


Pamela Murray - 2019
    When DI Joe Burton and DS Sally Fielding are called to investigate a suspicious death in a care home, it is just the start of their problems. As further bodies are discovered, with playing cards placed beside their bodies, the Manchester police realise they have their work cut out.With the press closing in on the case, a criminal profiler is called in to help work out what the killer’s motive is.With the clock ticking and more victims uncovered, Fielding and Burton must race to track down a twisted killer before it’s too late. But could the killer be closer to home than anyone ever imagined?

Falling


Emma Kavanagh - 2014
    A woman is murdered. Four people all have something to hide. Jim is a retired police officer, and worried father. His beloved daughter has disappeared and he knows something is wrong.Tom has woken up to the news that his wife was on the plane and must break the news to their only son.Cecilia had packed up and left her family. Now she has survived a tragedy, and sees no way out.Freya is struggling to cope with the loss of her father. But as she delves into his past, she may not like what she finds.'Before the plane crash, after the plane crash, such a short amount of time for the world to turn on its head. '

From the Cradle


Louise Voss - 2014
    The third from her own bedroom...When Helen and Sean Philips go out for the evening, leaving their teenage daughter babysitting little Frankie, they have no idea that they are about to face every parent's greatest fear. Detective Inspector Patrick Lennon is hopeful that the three children who have been abducted in this patch of south-west London will be returned safe and well. But when a body is found in a local park, Lennon realizes that time is running out—and that nothing in this case is as it seems...Blending police procedural with psychological thriller, From the Cradle will have every parent checking that their children are safe in their beds...then checking again.

The 7th Victim


Alan Jacobson - 2008
    His brutal murders confound the local task force, despite the gifted profiling skills of Special Agent Karen Vail. But along with Vail’s insight and expertise comes considerable personal and professional baggage. On leave pending a review of her assault on her abusive ex-husband, Vail must battle forces determined to bring her down, as she fights to find Dead Eyes before he murders more young women. But the seventh victim is the key to all that stirs this killer...the key that will unlock secrets perhaps too painful for Vail to bear. These are secrets that threaten to destroy her, secrets that will bring down her storied career. For Karen Vail, the truth rests at the heart of a lie. And uncovering it could get her killed...With material meticulously researched during seven years of study with the Bureau’s vaunted profiling unit, Alan Jacobson brings refreshing realism and unprecedented accuracy to his pages.The 7th Victim is a page-turner as only Alan Jacobson can write, with a stunning twist of an ending that will satisfy even the most discerning thriller reader.