Book picks similar to
Bish and Bone by Craig Halloran


ebook
fantasy
dark-fantasy
sword-and-sorcery

A Fatal Family Secret


Samantha Marks - 2015
    But when she discovers she's a shape-shifter, she bites off more than she can chew. Overnight, she becomes a target, and surviving the school-year means defending herself against cyber-bullies, learning to control her new-found powers, and hiding from the ancient secret society that kidnapped her mother. Morphing has consequences, and Kayleigh begins to realize that being able to change into anything can mean losing herself in the process.

Abra-Cadaver


Matt Drabble - 2013
    Tragedy strikes when a magic trick goes horribly wrong and a woman lies dead. A local magician Albert Trotter is railroaded during a rigged trial and locked away. Forever protesting his innocence and after a vicious assault in prison, he is eventually sent to a mental institution in a catatonic state.Now Tommy is 36 and heading home for the first time in over two decades, but he's not alone. Someone is slaughtering the residents of Denver Mills with magic-trick-themed murders and holding those involved with the Trotter trial in a steely grip of fear. Tommy will have to find the strength to bring his old friends together as secrets and lies are exposed throughout the small town of Denver Mills.Something evil is coming home, and they're bringing a whole new bag of tricks.

Winter Wind


J.R. Rain - 2015
    But he will find you, one way or another. And with a killer at large, and people disappearing from his city, Lee must must unravel his most baffling case yet... Before the killer strikes again. FROM THE BACK COVER Five years ago, Lee Jordan was nearly killed on the job. Now blind, deaf and mute, he’s recovered enough to live a routine but silent life. However, now, LAPD needs him back... When the cases of many missing persons are tied together with the same M.O., this remarkable deaf and blind ex-cop is called in to help locate people who seemingly walked away from their everyday lives. But did they? When one of them surfaces, the forensic evidence makes it clear that this man did not stay gone as willingly as he disappeared. Lee's only assets are his guide dog, fourteen years of experience as a homicide detective—and an intriguing American Sign Language translator named Rachel. Just as Lee begins to discover something remarkable about himself, he must engage in a battle of wits with a murderer he can't see or hear. With no weapons but his own mind—and a guide dog with a heart of gold—he sets off alone in Los Angeles to investigate the disappearances. It’s only a matter of time before more people may die under nefarious circumstances. And the manner of death could put the entire city at risk from…something even more dangerous. Lee Jordan knows there is more to fighting crime than meets the eye, or ear, or voice. But will he survive his courageous solo pursuit of a twisted killer on the mean streets of L.A.? And can he really stop a madman by himself? ABOUT WINTER WIND WINTER WIND is a suspenseful and poignant crime thriller by bestselling author J.R. Rain, whose repertoire includes novels and stories in many genres. He has captivated millions of readers with standalone novels such as the acclaimed smash hit and ghost mystery, THE BODY DEPARTED, and SILENT ECHO, starring a detective whose death is imminent. As well, J.R. Rain has authored many mystery and urban fantasy series, with and without paranormal twists, such as VAMPIRE FOR HIRE and JIM KNIGHTHORSE. Readers are in for a heart-pounding treat in WINTER WIND, which takes readers into the brilliant mind of a detective whose surface weaknesses become his inner strengths. WINTER WIND is the first standalone novel from J.R. Rain since his mystery thriller, SILENT ECHO, hit #1 over all on Amazon Kindle. WINTER WIND continues to establish Rain's standard for unique mysteries and thrillers, richly-layered characters, exciting plots, big questions and even bigger answers - answers that keep readers thinking long after the final page.

House of Guardians


Beatrice Sand - 2016
    She is now exactly where some higher power wants her to be. But it’s not until she meets the proud and mysterious Sam Laurens that she feels something strange is going on. Why does he keep interfering in her life? Then Laurel finds out about Sam’s ominous ancestry and a whole different fear arises. Fear of who Sam really is. Fear of her own feelings. And when she learns the dark truth about her own future, a sinister secret that will change everything as soon as she turns nineteen, she wants to run and hide, but soon realizes that there is no hiding from fate. Sam may be the only one who can help her escape her destiny, but then she has to start trusting him again, and time is of the essence because he has his own fate to deal with. Still, Sam is determined to stop Laurel from meeting her doom, even if that means he has to make a drastic move that will separate them for good.

Sleepers


Megg Jensen - 2011
    Now she's filled with uncontrollable rage and access to magic she thought had been bled from her people years ago. Even her years of secret training in elite hand-to-hand combat and meditation can’t calm the fires raging inside her.Her heart is torn between two boys, the one she’s always loved and the one who always ignored her. But when the kingdom threatens to tear itself apart due to rumors surrounding the queen’s alleged affair, who will Lianne protect and who will she destroy?

Enchanted Immortals


C.J. Pinard - 2012
    But one terrifying night in 1946 San Francisco has changed all that; he has now been alive 86 years and still looks 20. He and his associates, Jonathan and Kathryn, have been granted Immortality by a group of sylphs belonging to the Zie Council – lead by their queen, Malina – who possess an elixir called Enchantment. But what they and the rest of the Immortals have to do in order to keep receiving this elixir involves protecting sylphs and humans from the faeworlders – vampires and shapeshifters – who want nothing more than to eat, violate, and kill them. For Jonathan, Thomas, and Kathryn, policing the fae is a dirty job, but somebody has to do it. And the payment is eternally priceless.

A Quest of Heroes


Morgan Rice - 2012
    A Quest for Heroes revolves around the epic coming of age story of one special boy, a 14 year old from a small village on the outskirts of the Kingdom of the Ring. The youngest of four, the least favorite of his father, hated by his brothers, Thorgrin senses he is different from the others. He dreams of becoming a great warrior, of joining the King’s men and protecting the Ring from the hordes of creatures on the other side of the Canyon. When he comes of age and is forbidden by his father to try out for the King’s Legion, he refuses to take no for an answer: he journeys out on his own, determined to force his way into King’s Court and be taken seriously. But King’s Court is rife with its own family dramas, power struggles, ambitions, jealousy, violence and betrayal. King MacGil must choose an heir from amongst his children, and the ancient Dynasty Sword, the source of all their power, still sits untouched, waiting for the chosen one to arrive. Thorgrin arrives as an outsider and battles to be accepted, and to join the King’s Legion. Thorgrin comes to learn he has mysterious powers he does not understand, that he has a special gift, and a special destiny. Against all odds he falls in love with the king’s daughter, and as their forbidden relationship blossoms, he discovers he has powerful rivals. As he struggles to make sense of his powers, the king’s sorcerer takes him under his wing and tells him of a mother he never knew, in a land far away, beyond the Canyon, beyond even the land of the Dragons. Before Thorgrin can venture out and become the warrior he yearns to be, he must complete his training. But this may be cut short, as he finds himself propelled into the center of royal plots and counterplots, ones that may threaten his love and bring him down—and the entire kingdom with him. With its sophisticated world-building and characterization, A Quest for Heroes is an epic tale of friends and lovers, of rivals and suitors, of knights and dragons, of intrigues and political machinations, of coming of age, of broken hearts, of deception, ambition and betrayal. It is a tale of honor and courage, of fate and destiny, of sorcery. It is a fantasy that brings us into a world we will never forget, and which will appeal to all ages and genders. It is 82,000 words.

Travel Glasses


Chess Desalls - 2014
    Weeks ago, she shared photos and laughs with her best online friend. Now, after having felt the sting of betrayal, she prefers being hidden and friendless. She equates privacy with security and technology with pain.Then she meets Valcas, an otherworldly time traveler who traverses time and space with a pair of altered sunglasses. When an ethereal being knocks Calla to the ground near her family’s lakeside cottage, Valcas uses the Travel Glasses to help her escape. He offers his further protection in exchange for a promise. Intrigued by Valcas and the possibility of time travel, Calla accepts. That is until she learns that his search for her was no mere coincidence.Calla sets off on her own, taking the Travel Glasses with her. Torn between searching for her estranged father and reuniting with the rest of her family, she tracks down the inventor of the Travel Glasses in hopes of discovering more about Valcas’ past and motivations. The Travel Glasses take Calla’s mistrust of technology to all new levels. But without them, she’ll never make it back home. With Valcas hot on her trail, Calla hopes to find what she’s looking for before he catches up.The Call to Search Everywhen is a serial series of novel-length installments.

Xoe


Sara C. Roethle - 2009
    So she was stuck going to high school, and she only had a few friends to call her own. She liked her normal life. Things were about to change though, because there's a new guy in her small town, and he is anything but normal. Before Xoe can say, "Werewolf," her best friend's life is in peril, and Xoe's world is turned upside-down. Then, of course, there's Jason. Xoe doesn't trust him as far as she can throw him, and given that he's a vampire, she'd have to be able to catch him first.

An Assassin's Blade: The Complete Trilogy


Justin DePaoli - 2016
    But sometimes death is a myth.This collection includes all three novels in An Assassin's Blade, a dark epic fantasy about an infamous assassin with a woeful reputation, a malevolent nightmare that's returned from beyond the grave, and gods who must die in order for life to prevail.Book 1: The MisbegottenAstul, assassin by day and purveyor of secrets at night, has agreed to hunt down a king slayer. Somewhat for the money, a little for the ego, and a bit for the adventure... but mostly for the money.There's just one problem. The king slayer's trail leads to a cache of disturbing secrets involving insane kings, mad queens and kingdoms suddenly poised for a war to end all wars. People seem to be losing their minds. Or rather, forfeiting them.Something harrowing lingers and lurks in the world of Mizridahl. And only an infamous assassin with a woeful reputation is aware.Conjurers have returned.Book 2: The MiscreantThere is a realm the living were never supposed to visit and the dead were never supposed to leave. The rules have changed.Astul, an infamous assassin with a woeful reputation, finds his brother's corpse curiously absent from its tomb. This amid accusations that grave robbers are terrorizing the world of Mizridahl. But Astul soon discovers the cadavers aren't being robbed. They're being gathered. Harvested.A dreadful enigma creeps into Mizridahl, with the might of an army that was never supposed to see the living realm again. Astul lost nearly everything dear to him when conjurers swept across his world four months ago. Now he stands to lose the rest.Conjurers were the beginning. This is the end.Book 3: The MisjudgmentGods are real, and it's time for them to die.Astul, an infamous assassin with a woeful reputation, never believed in gods. As luck would have it, they're quite real. And if they have their way, Astul will be quite dead.A civil war is brewing between the celestial powers. And all of life hangs in the balance. If victory falls into the wrong hands, creation will begin anew. There's only one way to guarantee that doesn't happen, and it involves the assassination of a lifetime.Gods will die. Or else life will expire.

Fire and Sword


Dylan Doose - 2015
    When all the good men are dead and gone, who is to answer the call and defy what is wicked for what is right?A Twisted Tale of Three Unlikely Heroes.Heretic monk turned Sorcerer, Aldous Weaver. Infamous crusader turned fugitive, Kendrick the Cold. Aristocrat, rogue, monster hunter, and legend in his own mind, Theron Ward.Three men condemned to die for their crimes find in each other both the will and the means to survive. A dark brotherhood with Sword and Sorcery is forged, and all monsters meek and mighty do fear the three.Honorable mention in Library Journal’s Indie Ebook Awards and a Shelf Unbound Magazine Notable 100!Read all the books in the dark and gritty Sword and Sorcery Series!Fire and Sword (Volume 1)Catacombs of Time (Volume 2)I Remember My First Time (short story)The Pyres (Volume 3)Ice and Stone (Volume 4)As They Burn (Volume 5)Black Sun Moon (Volume 6—a complete, stand-alone novel)Embers On The Wind (Volume 7)Graves of the Gods (Volume 8)—Coming Soon!

The First Law Trilogy


Joe Abercrombie - 2008
    The three volume edition collecting:The Blade ItselfBefore They Are HangedThe Last Argument of Kings

The Eyes of The Sun


Christina McMullen - 2012
    But when a date with a handsome stranger takes a deadly turn, she quickly discovers that the truth is more terrifying than fiction. The real monsters are the creations of evolutionary advantage, not vivid imaginations. But vampires aren't the only ones with evolution on their side. An anomaly in her blood is found to be fatal to vampires and Lucy is swiftly recruited into shadow organization hell bent on eliminating the vampire problem once and for all. Vampirehunting does not come naturally and Lucy's dangerous improvisations are quickly called out by Andre Garnier, a hunter who makes no secret of the fact that he opposes Lucy's recruitment. Soon it is discovered that The Eyes of The Sun, the oldest and most dangerous collective of vampires, are once again gaining ground and have infiltrated the very organization that is trying to stop them. The hunters have become the hunted and no one is to be trusted. Lucy and Andre are forced to set aside their differences for the sake of survival, but The Eyes of The Sun have an agenda that no one expected.

Storm Glass


Jeff Wheeler - 2018
    The privileged live in sky manors held aloft by a secretive magic known only as the Mysteries. Below, the earthbound poor are forced into factory work to maintain the engine of commerce. Only the wealthy can afford to learn the Mysteries, and they use their knowledge to further lock their hold on society.Cettie Pratt is a waif doomed to the world below, until an admiral attempts to adopt her. But in her new home in the clouds, not everyone treats her as one of the family.Sera Fitzempress is a princess born into power. She yearns to meet the orphan girl she has heard so much about, but her father deems the girl unworthy of his daughter’s curiosity.Neither girl feels that she belongs. Each seeks to break free of imposed rules. Now, as Cettie dreams of living above and as Sera is drawn to the world below, they will follow the paths of their own choosing.But both girls will be needed for the coming storm that threatens to overturn both their worlds.

Clouds Over Akaloshia


Riley Moreno - 2017
    But Chad has a secret. Uncovering that secret throws Cara into a world of danger fraught with werewolves and shapeshifters. Through the dark perils that beset her on every side, Cara discovers her love for Chad while Chad’s heart is torn between two lovers. Will Cara eventually win Chad’s heart, even as she struggles to win the battle that will save his life?