Book picks similar to
Goodbye Port Alma by Anne Shillolo


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Spare Change


Bette Lee Crosby - 2011
    A boy running for his life. A town defending them both.From award-winning USA TODAY Bestselling Author BETTE LEE CROSBY, the first book of a gritty, small-town, family saga in the tradition of the finest Southern fiction.Small-town gossip never much bothered Olivia Westerly. As a single career woman, she's weathered her share. It's easy to ignore the raised eyebrows over her late-in-life marriage to Charlie Doyle. But after he drops dead on their honeymoon, the whispers are salt on her raw grief. Especially when an orphaned, eleven-year-old-boy shows up on her doorstep, looking for the grandfather he never met.Behind Ethan Allen Doyle's wary blue eyes lie heavily guarded emotions that unexpectedly tug on Olivia's heart, and she finds herself wanting to win his trust. But when his murderous secret comes looking for him, the entire town embraces the lonely widow and desperate child to show its true heart when danger threatens one of its own.A heartwarming tale of love, loss and unexpected gifts, featuring a woman you'd like to call friend, a boy you will ache to hug, and a town you wish you could call home. USA TODAY BESTSELLER AND WINNER OF FIVE LITERARY AWARDS - Royal Palm Literary Award, Reviewer's Choice Award, FPA President's Book Award, IAN Outstanding Fiction Award, Eadon Contemporary Fiction Award

Buried


C.J. Carmichael - 2012
    Now someone with inside knowledge is feeding clues to true crime writer Dougal Lachlan, promising him the best story of his career. Pursuing the leads means returning to Twisted Cedars, where his sister Jamie, is about to marry a man he deeply dislikes.Local Twisted Cedars librarian Charlotte Hammond prefers her mysteries - and her romances - between the covers of a good book, especially since the disappearance of her older sister, Daisy, eight years ago. But then the dark and tortured soul who is Dougal Lachlan walks into the Twisted Cedars Library asking for her help.Before long Charlotte realizes there is no safe zone. Not even in libraries...and especially not in Twisted Cedars.Twisted Cedar MysteriesBuried, Book 1Forgotten, Book 2Exposed, Book 3

The House of Closed Doors


Jane Steen - 2012
    Yet Nell is determined to elude the duties and restrictions of matrimony. So when she finds herself pregnant at the age of 17, she refuses to divulge the name of the father and even her childhood friend Martin is kept in the dark.Nell's stepfather Hiram sends Nell to live at the Poor Farm of which he is a governor, to await the day when her baby can be discreetly adopted. Nell is ready to go along with Hiram's plans until an unused padded cell is opened and two small bodies fall out.Nell is the only resident of the Poor Farm who is convinced that the unwed mother and her baby were murdered, and the incident prompts her to rethink her decision to abandon her own child to her fate. But the revelations to which her questions lead make her realize that even if she manages to escape the Poor Farm with her baby, she may have no safe place to run to.

Devil Dealing


Ian Patrick - 2015
    Lead detective Jeremy Ryder is a physically powerful, quiet and meticulous investigator. His partner Navi Pillay is a small and exceptionally strong Tamil martial arts instructor, and she provides the speed and physical power to complement Ryder's incisive sleuthing abilities. Together with their other detective colleagues Ryder and Pillay crack open two interwoven criminal operations. There are two key villains. One is a corrupt murderous senior police officer at the heart of the illegal gambling operation and the other is a sinister and violent gangster dealing in drugs and murder. Each of them presides over lesser criminals and each of them controls separate domains of corruption until their paths cross in a spectacular climax.

Loose Ends


D.D. VanDyke - 2013
    As a straightforward case takes unexpected twists, Cal must quell a growing fear that an anguished mother may never see her child again. With a shadowy crime lord lurking behind every unexpected clue, Cal struggles to tie up loose ends before evil claims its next victim.Loose Ends is book one in a new P. I. mystery series from D. D. VanDyke. Set against the rich backdrop of the San Francisco Bay Area, Cal Corwin novels brim with intrigue and fully fleshed characters from cops and criminals to hit men, oddball family and unexpected allies.

Next Door


Blake Pierce - 2018
    Her career with the FBI looks promising, and her wedding is on the horizon. But, she learns, all is not as it seems in suburbia. Chloe begins to see the underside—the gossip, the secrets, the lies—and she finds herself haunted by her own demons: her mother’s mysterious death when she was 10, and her father’s imprisonment. And when a fresh body is found, Chloe soon realizes that her past, and this small town, might hold the key to solving both.An emotionally wrought psychological suspense with layered characters, small-town ambiance and heart-pounding suspense, NEXT DOOR is book #1 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.

A Body On The Beach


P.F. Ford - 2020
    But he’s much happier with something to do… like solve a murder.Former Detective Sergeant Norman Norman’s retirement is boring him to tears. So when he’s asked to assist an upcoming female DI and mentor a new team of misfits in a sleepy Welsh coastal town, he jumps at the opportunity to lend his expertise. But the training has barely begun when a woman’s corpse washes up on the sand.With no reports of missing persons, DS Norman is stumped… until the post-mortem reveals a shocking hint to the culprit being local. But with a growing list of suspects who all have iron-clad alibis, the experienced cop and his fledgling team’s first case could be their last.Will DS Norman’s reinvigorated career end in a fizzer, or can he help his young charges nab a devious killer?A Body On The Beach is the fast-paced first book in The Rejoiner mystery series. If you like smart policemen, perfect British settings, and a complex web of clues, then you’ll love P.F. Ford’s captivating whodunit.Buy A Body On The Beach to reel in a murderer today!

Murder in the Family


Paula Bernstein - 2014
    She is barely managing to hold it all together, when her life is shattered once again by the brutal murder of her beautiful, bright, zany and recently divorced sister-in-law Beth. Hannah is determined to do whatever she can to assist the police in finding the murderer. She soon becomes obsessed with the details of Beth's life. As she encounters her sister-in-law's eclectic collection of friends and former lovers, she discovers that all was not as it seemed. Not only was Beth a woman with a secret life, but her secrets may have led her inexorably to a rendezvous with her killer. Inspired by the real-life murder of the author’s cousin, this story has everything—mystery, heart, family, secrets and romance—as Hannah struggles to make sense of Beth’s murder and bring the killer to justice.

Bad Karma


Douglas Clegg - 1997
    You will never escape me.” She’s the most dangerous inmate in the hospital for the criminally insane...and she just broke out. When Trey Campbell takes his family to Catalina Island, his escaped patient leaves a trail of bodies behind as she hunts for her one true love – from a previous life.

Artifacts of Death


Rich Curtin - 2011
    The only clue besides a 9-mm slug in the victim's head is an ancient-Indian potsherd stuck into his chest. Deputy Sheriff Manny Rivera is assigned the case and judges that it's likely related to a drug deal gone bad. But he's actually up against an intelligent and cunning adversary driven by greed who's discovered a long-forgotten cave containing a collection of rare museum-quality Indian artifacts. Local politicians and merchants are exerting strong pressure on the sheriff for a quick resolution to the case as the killing is threatening to disrupt the upcoming tourist season, Moab's sole source of economic activity. After all, who would want to explore the backcountry with a killer on the loose out there? In the end, Rivera faces a moral crisis: Should he enforce the law or serve the cause of justice? And a woman learns the answer to a question that's been haunting her for seventy years.

His Hand In the Storm


Ritu Sethi - 2018
    Daphne du Maurier Suspense Finalist. A MAN COPES ANY WAY HE CAN AFTER KILLING HIS ONLY SON. His team believes he’s calm and Zen. His boss finds him obsessive. Suspects think him gorgeous but dangerous. They’re all right. Chief Inspector Gray James is sculpting the remembered likeness of his small son when he receives the call – a faceless corpse is found hanging by the choppy river, swirls of snow and sand rolling like tumbleweeds. Montreal glitters: the cobbled streets slippery with ice, and the mighty St. Lawrence jetting eastward past the city. One by one, someone is killing the founders of a booming medical tech startup – propelling Gray into a downward spiral that shatters his hard-earned peace, that risks his very life, that threatens to force him to care and face what he has shunned all along: his hand in the storm. From the prize-winning author comes a psychological, page-turning mystery with all the elements one needs on a rainy night: a complex murder, a noble yet haunted detective, and an evocative setting to sink into. Scroll up to get to know Gray and download, His Hand In the Storm.

Panic at the Pier


Mel McCoy - 2019
    They head down to Cascade Cove, Florida, where her eccentric grandpa, Larry, and sassy cousin, Emma, run a pet boutique on the boardwalk. Antics between Rugby and Emma’s feisty cat, Misty, quickly ensue, but that’s just a small price to pay to spend quality time with her family while preparing the boutique for the busy season. But then her plans are quickly capsized… Soon after arriving, a mystery unfolds, starting with the washed-up body of a local landowner, a lost corgi carrying an antique locket, and a family secret that may hold the key to the puzzle. Will Sarah be able to wade through the wave of suspects in order to piece the puzzle together? And will she solve the mystery before peak season ends up being a flop? Join Sarah and the rest of the gang at Larry’s Pawfect Boutique in this fun Whodunit Pet Cozy Mystery Series. So, get nestled in your favorite chair, put on a pot of tea, and escape into the cozy beachside town of Cascade Cove!

Taking the Fall


Laney Monday - 2014
    Now, she’s just burned out—and burned by love. She’s ready to retire from competitive judo and pursue a new dream in a new town, with her biggest supporter, her recently divorced little sister, Blythe. But on their first day in town, Blythe falls for local sleaze-bag reporter, Ellison Baxter, and their small-town welcome is stained by Baxter’s murder. The weapon—Blythe Battle’s hair brush. In this fast-paced, fun cozy mystery, Brenna, the proud new owner of the building that formerly housed Bonney Bay’s lone recreational opportunity for kids, Little Swans Ballet, is ready to turn tutu-clad powder-puffs into little warriors by opening a judo school for kids in its place. But now she must clear her sister’s name and save her new dream from ending even more disastrously than her Olympic hopes. Brenna must deal with one crazy member of the local police force, who’s determined to see the sisters pay—and another cop, whose deep brown eyes just might drive Brenna crazy—in a way her battered heart just can’t take.

Blast of the Dragon's Fury


L.R.W. Lee - 2013
    Experience it for yourself!Gamer Andy Smithson is whisked away to the magical land of Oomaldee, where fire-breathing dragons, giants, and deadly curses lurk around every corner.Trading his controller for a sword of legend, Andy embarks upon an epic quest to break a centuries-old curse oppressing the land. It isn't chance that plunges him into the adventure though, for he soon discovers his ancestors are behind the curse.Blast of the Dragon's Fury is a coming-of-age, epic fantasy adventure from USA Today Bestselling author L. R. W. Lee featuring fast-paced action, sword fights, laugh-out-loud humor, with a few life lessons thrown in. It's perfect for fans of Eragon, Fablehaven, Percy Jackson, Magemother, and Aster Wood!

Deadmistress


Carole B. Shmurak - 2004
    When professor Susan Lombardi learns that her friend John is the prime suspect, she sets out to clear his name, but her research uncovers some troubling secrets about the school's faculty and students. And soon it becomes clear that John is not the only one with a motive for murder. “This is a story about puzzles and people, and that’s where it shines.” - Kim Malo, Mystery Morgue “There is a continual twinkle in the author’s prose.” - Steve Lewis, Mystery File