Book picks similar to
Driven to Distraction by John Thaw


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The Miracle of Love


Montana Ross - 2021
    

Lines of Duty: Deputy Corus Mystery #1


Mark Hazard - 2019
    The series you didn’t know you’ve been missing. From lauded author Mark Hazard comes a new off-beat crime series about a man with one name, a hidden past, and an uncontrollable urge to root out villainy. Mere weeks after returning from his final deployment, Corus is a cadet at an elite police academy in Seattle. While doing grunt work at a local precinct, he comes across a set of diamonds taken from the scene of an unsolved hit-and-run. Not only did the diamonds go unclaimed, but the still-living victim is nowhere to be found. When the diamonds turn out to be fakes, it’s one too many oddities in an attempted murder with no suspects. Instincts forged in covert action plunge Corus headlong into criminal ranks, but taking the fastest route to answers runs roughshod over the delicate procedural approach he’s supposed to be learning. Corus knows he’s threatening his new life and career in the process, but putting the mission before self-preservation is the hardest habit of all to break. The one man who can help Corus sort through his issues is the least likely of all. Albert Chu is a cheery and childlike cadet who's failing the academy but has a knack for getting into Corus' head. In trying to rein Corus in, he ends up proving his mettle, and together they fight to prevent multiple murders and foil a kidnapping plot, even while the eye of the law they hoped to serve is turned on their actions.Can Corus unite the lines of duty pulling him in different directions, or will he end up another casualty of the war he brought home?Through Corus’ journey runs a cracking mystery/crime story with humor, thrills, and a cast of well-drawn side characters, from small-time gangsters and rodeo riff-raff to Corus' wife who grapples with her own grifter impulses. The Deputy Corus series is precisely the blend of action and depth that readers of James Patterson and Lee Child are looking for.What readers are saying about the series: “…Nuance of character development that is often lacking these days. - especially with books that deal with military or police.” “A heck of a caper that'll make you laugh a lot more often than most crime novels.” “Not at all the same cookie cutter outline that most crime writers follow for their main character. It's much more complex and enjoyable.” "Exactly the story I was waiting for!" "In Lines of Duty, Hazard paints a scene with his words that transported me into a new world and created thought-provoking and enticing dilemmas. This story is entertaining and engaging. I recommend Lines of Duty 100% to anyone who loves a good mystery." "If you’re looking for a paint-by-numbers procedural, this isn’t the book for you, but if you crave deeply human crime drama with a fair share of thrills and humor, then this is a must-read." “This series is as enjoyable as Lee Child’s Reacher books.”

Fighting for Love


Emma Ashwood - 2020
    

Act One


D. Camille - 2017
    As a Hollywood director, she’s looking to direct her career-making film, and now that she has the story, she needs a studio. Her journey leads to love, danger, and making fairytales come true… Love comes from a place that she never expects, in the form of a sworn enemy, who becomes everything she ever needed.

The Silent Prodigy


Emily Shiner - 2021
    

The Sheriff's Miracle Bride


Rowan Gracemill - 2021
    

Umbrellas and Undertakers (An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Book 21)


Diana Xarissa - 2022
    

A Filling Account (Raised and Glazed Cozy Mysteries Book 2)


Emma Ainsley - 2021
    

The Heathcliff Lennox Series: Books 1 - 2: (The Heathcliff Lennox Series Boxset Book 1)


Karen Baugh Menuhin - 2020
    Major Heathcliff Lennox, ex-WW1 war pilot, six feet 3 inches, unruly dark blond hair, age around 30 - named after the hero of Wuthering Heights by his romantically minded mother - much to his great annoyance. Murder at Melrose Court is the first book in the Heathcliff Lennox series. It's 1920 and Christmas is coming. Major Lennox finds a body on his doorstep - why on his doorstep? Was it to do with the Countess? Was it about the ruby necklace? Lennox goes to Melrose Court home to his uncle, Lord Melrose, to uncover the mystery. But then the murders begin and it snows and it all becomes very complicated.... The Black Cat Murders is the second book in the Heathcliff Lennox series. Who killed Sir Crispin Gibbons? A wedding invitation and news of mischief that could be murder, takes Lennox to the Earl of Bloxford's country pile. He soon finds himself in a world of purloined artworks, forgeries and a priceless Bloxford Beauty. But who are the Bloxford Beauties? And why are they the focal point around which swirls death?Lennox must confront life-long friends, unscrupulous artists and dealers to finally unravel a plot so complex that even his old adversary, Chief Inspector Swift of Scotland Yard, is befuddled.

Alien Disclosure: Experiencers Expose Reality


Lon Strickler - 2019
    Earth’s evolving primate was selected by the Gods to be transformed into a being of their own design. There was no clear reason as to why this was occurring, but it would profoundly influence mankind into the present day. Over the past decade, it had become increasingly apparent to me that we are not alone as a single intelligent species in the cosmic ocean. But it has also become apparent that our Earth and overall humanity have attracted the attention of non-terrestrial entities over many millennia. Our history is intertwined with extraterrestrial beings. I truly believe that humans are a genetic extension of otherworldly races. I also believe that most of the alien entities that people encounter are biologically enhanced and evolved humans from our past and future. But we must always keep in mind; they do have an agenda. I believe that agenda is eventual technological and biological singularity. Human experiencers are providing us with actual accounts of alien abduction and close encounters. Their stories are important; giving us a real sense of this global phenomenon. My premise may become more understandable as you read this book. The experiences described in the accounts are brutally forthright. Some readers may be shocked by the details. But then again, I don’t believe that you would want me to present the information in any manner that isn’t consistent with the experiencers' actual encounters.

Fatal Fall (A Miranda and Parker Mystery Book 18)


Linsey Lanier - 2021
    

DETECTIVES MERRY & NEAL BOOKS 1-3: three gripping crime mysteries box set


Janice Frost - 2018
    Meet DS Ava Merry & DI Jim Neal. If you like Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, Ruth Rendell, or Mark Billingham you will be gripped by this series. You get THREE best-selling mysteries in this great value box set. BOOK 1: DEAD SECRET Who killed Amy Hill? Amy Hill, a nineteen-year-old student, is strangled and her body dumped on open ground in the city. New police partners, D.I. Jim Neal and D.S. Ava Merry are called in to investigate this brutal crime. The last person to see Amy alive was Simon, the son of a family friend, but before he can be properly questioned he disappears. Detectives Neal and Merry are led on a trail of shocking family secrets and crimes. Can this duo track down the murderer before anyone else dies? Stopping this tragic cycle of violence will put D.S. Merry’s life at risk in a thrilling and heart-stopping finale. BOOK 2: DARK SECRET Gray Mitchell’s body is found buried under fresh snowfall in the early hours of the morning outside Stromford Cathedral. D.I. Jim Neal and D.S. Ava Merry are called in to investigate. It seems that a number of people had motives to kill him, including his partner. Then another shocking act of violence occurs, also connected to the cathedral. Detectives Neal and Merry’s investigation reveals an intricate web of secrets connecting the crimes. But there is something the detectives have missed, the dark secret which can break open the case. BOOK 3: HER HUSBAND’S SECRET Two children sneak out on a freezing winter night, hoping to see a ghost. But instead they witness something far more terrifying. A man dumping a body . . . DS Ava Merry and DI Jim Neal are called in to investigate this perplexing murder. Eventually the dead man’s wife is identified. But Laura Cameron’s husband turns out to have kept many secrets from her. And when she goes to visit her old friends who live near where the murder happened, Laura enters a dark web of lies as she tries to dig into the past to discover the truth about what happened to her husband. Who killed her husband how does it tie into the past? In a thrilling climax, everything will be turned upside down in the twisting crime thriller. THE DETECTIVES DS Ava Merry is a young policewoman, recently promoted to detective sergeant. She is fitness fanatic with a taste for dangerous relationships. DI Jim Neal is single dad who juggles his devotion to his job with caring for his son. DS MERRY & DI NEAL SERIES Book 1: DEAD SECRET Book 2: DARK SECRET Book 3: HER HUSBAND’S SECRET Book 4: THEIR FATAL SECRETS Book 5: DIRTY SECRETS What readers are saying about Janice Frost’s books “Really enjoyable read.” Nerys A wonderful story of intrigue, mystery and murder keeps you reading. I actually completed it in one day much to my wife’s dismay!” Ron Harris “It had me gripped from the first word to the last. I will definitely be reading more Janice Frost books.” Jacqueline Flaherty “I just had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next.” Dawn

MESSAGE in the BOX: A Psychic Murder Mystery (Messages of Murder Book 5)


Dawn Merriman - 2021
    

Night Train: The Freeman Files Series: Book 9


Ted Tayler - 2020
    

A VERY MODEL MURDER: An Inspector Rudolph Riley Mystery


Jack G. Hills - 2017
    But to add further angst to the growing list of gruesome killings is his boss’ decision to re-open the cold case involving the disappearance of a school boy in what has become an annual test of endurance… The Ten Tors Race. Unsure why a twenty year old case has suddenly come to the top of his in tray, his suspicions are aroused further when the murder victims all appear to have been school friends of the missing boy. Adamant that coincidences don’t exist in police work Riley sets about trying to find the link between Sam Haldane’s disappearance and the recent killings, other than the obvious connection of friendship. Added to his troubles, is the presence in the area of a fugitive, who has his own ideas about revenge and justice and an unscrupulous developer, who wants to buy the land surrounding his farm and turn it into a theme park, with scant regard for the history or the people who were thrown off their land prior to D Day. With the disappearance of the schoolboy and the final showdown all set around the infamous Fox Tor Mire, which was allegedly the inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyle’s Grimpen Mire in the Hound of the Baskervilles, the murderer is finally revealed but not without one final twist of the plot. But in all the blackness and soul searching there is one ray of brightness for Riley, and its one that will bring him a little closer to his brother and shows a different side to the curmudgeonly detective.