The Good Lawyer


Thomas Benigno - 2012
    Working as a Bronx Legal Aid Attorney he learns how to twist the system, how to become an unbeatable defense lawyer, and he his peacock proud of his perfect record-not a single conviction. But it's 1982. The Spiderman rapist is on the loose and New York City is a city in fear. When an outraged rape victim commits suicide right before his eyes, searching for absolution, he grabs the headline case of a teacher’s aide accused of molesting three students. Armed with a firm belief in his client’s innocence, he knocks the pegs out from under the prosecution’s case. When one of the children turns up dead, he discovers that his client may be strangely connected to the Spiderman. Digging deeper, horrifying revelations about his family's past collide with the true identity of the sadistic sociopath behind the Spiderman's rampage. In the process, this good lawyer comes face-to-face with his greatest conflict and deepest fear: to win, really win-save the city and even the woman he loves-must he sacrifice every principle he believes in and embrace his family's mafia past to become judge, jury, and executioner?

Bad to the Bone


Tony J. Forder - 2017
    Republished with minor edits in February 2022.When two retired police officers are murdered shortly after human remains are discovered in woodland, a connection between the three events leads to an investigation unlike any the city of Peterborough has seen before.As DI Jimmy Bliss and his Major Crimes team delve deeper into the murders, evidence points towards the involvement of other officers. And when he and his colleagues receive targeted warnings, Bliss has to decide whether those responsible might be too powerful and too dangerous to pursue.Will Bliss walk away in order to keep his career intact, or will he fight no matter what the cost? And is the killer closer to home than any of them could have imagined?

Unforeseen


Nick Pirog - 2008
    After all, it was his case, and he doesn t need to be reminded of the gruesome details. The book dubbed the serial killer, Tristen Grayer, The MAINEiac. Grayer is allegedly dead, but only Prescott knows the truth, Grayer is alive and lurking in the shadows. On October 1st, the anniversary of the first murder, Tristen resurfaces, killing someone special from Prescott's past. Suddenly, it s deja vu for Prescott except this time the women closest to him begin to fall victim at the hands of Grayer. With the help of former flame, medical examiner Dr. Caitlin Dodds, and Eight in October author, Alex Tooms, Prescott must race against the clock to stop Tristen from completing his encore.

No Way Back


J.B. Turner - 2022
    When the people he loves most are in danger, Jack McNeal will get revenge...or die trying.NYPD detective Jack McNeal is used to asking the tough questions. But a late-night visit from the Secret Service lands Jack on the other side of the table—as a suspect in the disappearance of his estranged wife, Caroline, a prominent reporter on the White House beat. When her body is found floating in the Potomac, Jack is overcome by disbelief and despair.Her death seems eerily similar to the suspicious fatality of a young socialite years before. Is the similarity of the two tragic incidents simply a coincidence, or could it be a sign of a murderous orchestrated plot to protect those in the highest echelons of the American government?To avenge Caroline’s death, Jack embarks on a journey into the darkest recesses of power. Suspects abound—from haunted special forces soldiers to ex-CIA to the president’s own body man. Along the way, Jack will be forced to decide: Is there a line he won’t cross to expose the killer?

Night Sins


Tami Hoag - 1995
    But when a young boy disappears, it marks the beginning of a unspeakable nightmare. There are no witnesses, no clues, only a note, cleverly taunting, casually cruel. Has a cold-blooded kidnapper struck? Or is this the reawakening of a long-quiet serial killer? Now, a tough-minded investigator on her first, make-or-break case, and a local cop who fears that big city evils have invaded his small town, are hunting for a madman. Together, they must outsmart a killer who knows no bounds...and protect a town that may never feel safe again.

Next Girl to Die


Dea Poirier - 2019
    Claire has finally carved out a life for herself as a homicide detective in Detroit, but the past comes calling when the local police back home ask for her help with a murder eerily similar to Rachel’s.Still haunted by Rachel’s cold case, Claire returns home, hoping to solve the crime and finally put her grief to rest. As she starts investigating, the last thing she needs is tenacious journalist Noah Washington asking questions she’s not ready to answer. But like her, Noah won’t give up until he finds the truth—and Claire reluctantly finds herself relying on him more and more when disturbing new details about Rachel’s death come to light.When the killer strikes once again, Claire knows he’s not done. Now he’s set his sights on Claire, who will have to find the courage she needs to survive a deadly confrontation years in the making.

Wilde Lake


Laura Lippman - 2016
    Fiercely intelligent and ambitious, she sees an opportunity to make her name by trying a mentally disturbed drifter accused of beating a woman to death in her home. It’s not the kind of case that makes headlines, but peaceful Howard county doesn’t see many homicides.As Lu prepares for the trial, the case dredges up painful memories, reminding her small but tight-knit family of the night when her brother, AJ, saved his best friend at the cost of another man’s life. Only eighteen, AJ was cleared by a grand jury. Now, Lu wonders if the events of 1980 happened as she remembers them. What details might have been withheld from her when she was a child? The more she learns about the case, the more questions arise. What does it mean to be a man or woman of one’s times? Why do we ask our heroes of the past to conform to the present’s standards? Is that fair? Is it right? Propelled into the past, she discovers that the legal system, the bedrock of her entire life, does not have all the answers. Lu realizes that even if she could learn the whole truth, she probably wouldn’t want to.

Identity Crisis


Eliza Watson - 2018
    She learns they were placed in the Federal Witness Security Program when she was five years old. Her father was involved in an art forgery ring and testified against the mob. Brought up not to trust anyone, Olivia has a difficult time relying on U.S. Marshal Ethan Ryder to protect her, and to keep her secret. She fears her father may have continued his life of crime through her art gallery. She has little choice but to depend on Ethan when she realizes someone is now after her. Olivia’s search for the truth leads her and Ethan across the country to a family and a past she doesn’t remember. At the age of ten, Ethan witnessed a brutal murder. He vowed that when he grew up, he’d protect people in danger. Protecting Olivia is difficult when she won’t trust him. He soon realizes his desire to protect her goes beyond doing his job, but if his judgment becomes clouded by emotions, her safety could be jeopardized. Can Ethan and Olivia learn to trust each other when they uncover secrets that will change their lives forever? *This book was originally published under the name Eliza Daly.

Speak No Evil


Allison Brennan - 2007
    . . . Just scream.The murder of eighteen-year-old Angie Vance was exceptionally vile–her mouth was sealed with glue, an obscenity was scrawled across her skin, and she was suffocated in a garbage bag. The killing seems personal, so police detective Carina Kincaid focuses her efforts on the victim’s much older ex-boyfriend, Steve Thomas. But without physical evidence, Carina can’t make a collar or a case. She also can’t stop Sheriff Nick Thomas, the prime suspect’s brother, from conducting his own unwelcome investigation. Though Nick is still scarred and unsteady from a recent confrontation with a serial killer, he’s determined to prove his brother’s innocence. But his confidence is shaken when he learns of Steve’s dark side, and when a friend of the murdered girl meets a similarly gruesome fate. With no time to lose, Carina and Nick work together to trap a psychopath, before another unlucky woman faces an unspeakable end.

The Substitution Order


Martin Clark - 2019
    Short on cash and looking for work, he lands in the middle of nowhere with a job at SUBstitution, the world's saddest sandwich shop. His closest confidants: a rambunctious rescue puppy and the twenty-year-old computer whiz manning the restaurant counter beside him. He's determined to set his life right again, but the troubles keep coming. And when a bizarre, mysterious stranger wanders into the shop armed with a threatening "invitation" to join a multimillion-dollar scam, Kevin will need every bit of his legal savvy just to stay out of prison. A remarkable tour of the law's tricks and hidden trapdoors, The Substitution Order is both wise and ingenious, a wildly entertaining novel that will keep you guessing--and rooting for its tenacious hero--until the very last page.

If I Could Remember


Vedant Saxena - 2021
    Only to find it was a dream. Or was it? He can’t differentiate between reality and dreams. And his memories lapses aren’t helping him either. Haunted by a past he can’t remember about, he stands at odd with the society, and his family—who favours their prodigal son, Yash.UNTIL! He discovers the session tapes of his classmate Ananya, in his psychiatrist father’s office. What’s in those tapes that incite fear in the school diva? When the tapes go missing from the office, he believes something sinister is being protected. Meanwhile, he is able to win the trust of Ananya, who reluctantly bares her traumatic past, revealing she was—RAPED & MOLESTED. It compels him to seek justice for her. But, the evils bestowed upon her stretch deep, even forcing her to—KILL.Will he be able to save her after the revelation of his family‘s involvement in her destruction? Or will the truth drive him to insanity?In this vicious dark thriller, everyone’s a liar. Everyone is hiding a secret which can’t come to light...

Open Season


Archer Mayor - 1988
    Joe Gunther of the Brattleboro, Vermont police force has a serious problem: in a community where a decade could pass without a single murder, the body count is suddenly mounting. Innocent citizens are being killed—and others set-up—seemingly orchestrated by a mysterious ski-masked man. Signs suggest that a three year-old murder trial might lie at the heart of things, but it’s a case that many in the department would prefer remained closed. A man of quiet integrity, Lt. Gunther knows that he must pursue the case to its conclusion, wherever it leads.Open Season is the first of Archer Mayor’s twenty-three Joe Gunther novels, a series of gripping police procedurals set in New England, where small-town charm, stoicism and civility sometimes conceal brutal truths.

Pretty Little Killers


Rita Herron - 2018
    She is his most guilty secret—the one-night stand who almost cost him everything.Korine has her own demons. As a child, she witnessed her father’s murder, and she’s spent her life waiting for the killer’s return. She and Hatcher are both looking for closure, but the disturbing case that draws them together could be their last.When the mutilated body of a corrupt Savannah judge surfaces, Hatcher and Korine find themselves on the trail of a vigilante who is showing no mercy. Not for the predators who’ve gone free. And not for anyone who gets in the way.As the body count rises, and as Hatcher’s and Korine’s own pasts unfold, they must risk their lives tracking a killer they’ve come to understand all too well. After all, the ends justify the means.

Maternal Harbor


Marie F. Martin - 2012
    281 Five Star Amazon reviewsPregnant and alone, Teagan O’Riley befriends three expectant mothers at an OBGYN clinic. Now, two of them are dead and the third is close on Teagan’s heels, intent on eliminating the last obstacle to a monstrous plot. She cannot risk entrusting the police. Her finger prints are all over one crime scene and her foot print smeared into blood at another. Surely, the authorities would remove the babies from her care and place them with child protective services, making them easy targets. Teagan flees with the babies to the only refuge she can think of − the wilderness cabin belonging to the grandmother of her lost love. But is even this remote location safe?

Shadow Kill


David Caris - 2021
    Betrayed by his employer and left for dead, Kovac decides to lie low in Tokyo.His plan? Revenge...But when a young woman asks him to protect her from the yakuza, Kovac feels duty-bound to help. She’s a victim of abuse, and long experience tells him if he doesn’t step in tonight she’ll be a corpse before dawn.As Kovac works to uncover the truth of his last job, he finds himself drawn into a conspiracy which goes well beyond the yakuza to a new and terrifying multinational cartel. One that will stop at nothing to control the global drug trade.The kingpins are certain they’ve covered all bases. They're well-funded and utterly ruthless. But they’ve failed to account for one man – John Kovac.SHADOW KILL is the first in a fast-paced, unflinching thriller series that won't in any way shortchange you on action. Perfect for fans of Lee Child, Mark Greaney and Mark Dawson.