Book picks similar to
The Charcoal Bullet by Jim Heskett


adventure
all-action-thriller
detective
environment

Altitude


Dean Crawford - 2017
    It can't turn back. And the fuel's running out.Reaching the end of a four hour flight, the crew of Phoenix Flight 375 find themselves facing an impossible dilemma: terrible weather, a natural disaster and a silent killer force them to decide not how to live, but how they might have to die. Half of the passengers want to survive. The others want a quick and painless end. They have one hour of fuel remaining, and then their choices will be over.At thirty-seven thousand feet and five hundred miles per hour, you're not in control of anything. On this flight, neither are the pilots...

The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar


Preston W. Child - 2020
     When John Henry “Doc” Holiday joined the SEALs, he swore, “If knocked down, I’ll get back up, every time.” So he wasn’t ready to go quietly and just fade away when a bullet abruptly ended his military career. And you can bet that when he gets knocked down while searching for the lost treasure of the Knights Templar, all hell breaks loose as he gets back up! The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar leads the reader on a roller-coaster ride in search of a legend. Packed with breathtaking suspense and nerve-shredding action, The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar is a thrilling read for all fans of action, suspense, and intrigue. Join a cast of characters that will keep you entertained long into the night... Adventure awaits just one click away. Start reading NOW! Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited If you like Indiana Jones, Clive Cussler or Dan Brown's Robert Langdon novels, you will love this series ...

Firebird: The Spy Thriller of the 1960s


Noel Hynd - 2018
     It is 1968, one of the most tumultuous years of the 20th Century. Frank Cooper, a former star investigative reporter now writes obituaries for a popular New York City tabloid. He hears the confession of a dying man named Leonard Rudawski, a former American diplomat, who bitterly questions the fate of Pavel Lukashenko, a would-be Soviet defector in Paris in 1965. Lukashenko promised to expose the espionage secret of a generation if he could get to the West. But the defector, code named “Firebird,” vanished. Or did he? Cooper teams with Lauren Richie, a young NY/Latina reporter from the same tabloid. They prowl into the dying man’s confession. Soon they are onto the story of their lifetimes, reviving a dangerous once-cold trail of back channel/back alley CIA and KGB intrigue and tradeoffs, all of which factor into the 3-way racially tinged American election of that year: Nixon vs. Humphry vs. the segregationist George Wallace. Murder, espionage, romance, betrayal and conspiracy intertwine. Readers will meet and recognize dozens of memorable “real life” characters: reporters, gangsters, diplomats, call girls, spy masters, politicians and assassins. The story is tough, large, sprawling and historically precise. "Russians sabotage and destabilize the west," says one experienced reporter with KGB knowledge. "It's not just what they do. It's what they do best." The story straddles the decades from World War Two to 2018, even throwing a cynical light on Russian-American relations of today. “Hynd is a solid, dependable writer with enough literary flair to move him up a few notches above the Ludlums and Clancys of the world. —Booklist

North Korea Deception (The Deception Series #1)


Richard Lyntton - 2021
    In this espionage action thriller, Steele's encounters with blackmail, suicide bombers, double agents, unwelcome romance, rogue military forces, and a full-on tank assault will excite fans of British and American spy thrillers as he incurs the wrath of British, US, and North Korean authorities and a Russian organized-crime boss, all of whom want him dead.As if that wasn't enough, Steele alone holds the key to defeating the twisted and ruthless external reality of international politics, diplomacy, and unexpected evil in the Tumen triangle of Russia, North Korea, and China.From London to Moscow to Vladivostok and into the secret world of Pyong Yang, Steele must continually choose: fight, flight, report … or die?

When You're Smiling


G.S. Rhodes - 2021
    No one has heard from him. He’s disconnected from his friends, from his family, and from the job he dedicated his life to—the job that cost him everything.Then a new, all too familiar murder occurs on his patch and Kidd has no choice but to throw himself back into the fold. A young woman has been found with a smile cut into her throat, eyes carved into her cheeks, the brutal signature of The Grinning Murders—one of the most ruthless serial killers the country has ever seen. A killer who lies behind bars.However things are not as they seem and not everything adds up. Only one thing is clear: Kidd may be the only one who can figure this out before this copycat killer strikes again.

The Last Drive: A Golfing Mystery


Rex Stout - 2013
    Featuring death on the links, this tale is full of golfing, red herrings, and a detective determined to run down the villain. A great read for Rex Stout and Nero Wolfe fans alike! Originally published as a 6-part serial in Golfers Magazine (July to December, 1916).

Logan McRae #1-3: Cold Granite, Dying Light, Broken Skin


Stuart MacBride - 2009
    DS Logan McRae investigates after a year off the job sick – but knows time is running out fast…Dying Light: A woman is found dead by the docks, in the heart of Aberdeen’s Red Light District. For DS Logan McRae it’s a bad start to another bad day. Rosie Williams is just the first – how many more will die?Broken Skin: A serial rapist leaves a string of victims as DS Logan McRae’s investigations suggest that someone in the local bondage community has developed a taste for full-blown violence. The Granite City’s seedy side is about to be exposed…

A Summer of Surprises: (Little Duck Pond Cafe, Book 16)


Rosie Green - 2021
    Having been through a traumatic time, it’s a joy to be working for Ellie, and now all Ruby wants is to lead a quiet life and support her mum in getting the help she needs.But life, it seems, has other plans for Ruby.Working alongside the bafflingly rude Hudson Holmes would be bad enough – but then odd things start happening. It seems that someone is out to sabotage the café and bakery, and to her horror, Ruby finds the finger pointing at her.Desperate to prove her innocence, she teams up with the most unlikely person in order to get to the bottom of what’s going on. Tailing suspects and hiding in bushes isn’t something she ever imagined she’d be doing, although her partner in mystery-solving seems the perfect man for the job. Can they clear Ruby’s name by discovering the real culprit?With all the drama afoot, at least there’s no time for romance. Because that’s the very last thing on Ruby’s mind these days. Or is it…?

Easter with Dad's Best Friend


Flora Ferrari - 2020
    now she’s a woman. I don’t know how I’ll be able to handle the Easter holidays in New York without making her my own. But time is ticking before I fly home to LA and I need to make her mine without her protective father finding out.MadisonI’ve been in love with Elijah since I was a little girl. He might be an international rockstar, but to me, he’s Dad’s best friend from school. Now that I’m older and wiser, maybe he’ll finally notice me, but if Dad gets his way then he’ll be intent on keeping us apart. *Easter with Dad's Best Friend is a SHORT insta-everything standalone instalove romance with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.

Becoming The Wolf (White Wolf)


R.H. Neil - 2016
    A fierce guardian of justice who uses Cincinnati’s forgotten underground—abandoned since the 1920’s—to wreak havoc on the city's most violent criminals.Now the predators have become his prey... As The White Wolf, JD Ward is pulled back into a world every bit as deadly as the one he'd left behind in the military. He finds himself hunted by a homicidal clan, a street gang, and a federal task force, forcing him to step out of the shadows to save Cincinnati from a cunning plan of revenge and total devastation. And the conspiracy turns out to be more treacherous than JD could have imagined, and more savage than he may be able to survive.

A Spy Is Born


Emily Kimelman - 2019
    The last thing I want is the director of my film—my first big role—dead.Now the cops are here, and even though it's obviously self-defense, I'm done for...my life is over. I'll never work in this town again even if I manage to avoid jail time. I'll be infamous instead of famous.Temperance Johnson is straight out of central casting—a spy master with tiger's eyes and unnatural grace—a real killer.He offers me a solution. He'll sweep all this under the rug and help me reach my goals if I work for him. Well, for the government. There is a long history of spies in Tinseltown; we have the perfect cover, and we're good at lying. I always wanted to be a star, and I never considered becoming a spy. Now I'm both. ***If you have trouble reading about violence against women, modern political themes, or sex (not graphic but out of wedlock).. then this series probably isn’t your thing. If you love powerful women, gritty thrillers, and vivid storytelling then download A Spy is Born today!***

Rainhorse


Jesse Jacobson - 2018
    Rainhorse leaves his life as a killer-for-hire and goes deep into hiding. Two years later the former Ranger learns that the daughter of his high school sweetheart, a beautiful teen named Lona, has been kidnapped and is to be sold as a human sex slave by a criminal organization that has been terrorizing an entire reservation. Rainhorse discovers that the powerful organization has been hooking young adults on drugs and then ‘buying’ or stealing their children to sell into slavery. The retired assassin vows to end the suffering and save Lona. Along the way, an old flame is rekindled and begins to burn. Lindsay discovers the whereabouts of Rainhorse and seeks him out, unwittingly throwing herself into the middle of the chaos as the Cheyenne races against the clock to put an end to the tyranny. Note: This book was previously published through Amazon Kindle World.

Soul Identity


Dennis Batchelder - 2007
    but what if you could? Most people believe their souls outlive their bodies. Most people would find an organization that tracks their souls into the future and passes on their banked money and memories compelling. Scott Waverly isn't like most people. He spends his days finding and fixing computer security holes. And Scott is skeptical of his new client's claim that they have been calculating and tracking soul identities for almost twenty-six hundred years. Are they running a freaky cult? Or a sophisticated con job? Scott needs to save Soul Identity from an insider attack. Along the way, he discovers the importance of the bridges connecting people's lives.

The Hunting


Stephen Leather - 2021
    His medical skills help casualties survive against all the odds.But Raj needs to rely on a completely different set of skills when he is taken hostage in a treacherous case of mistaken identity.Billionaire big-game hunter Jon van der Sandt is driven by revenge - his family have been killed by jihadist terrorists and he wants his vengeance up close and personal. He has hired ex Special Forces hard men to snatch the ISIS killers from the desert and transport them halfway across the world to the vast wilderness of his American estate.But they grab Raj by mistake, and once the killing begins it's too late to plead mistaken identity. To survive, he'll have to become as ruthless a killer as the man who is hunting him.

Cradle of Death


Matthew James - 2020
    The object, the “Cradle,” isn’t a mythological container filled with the evils of the world as the Greek poet, Hesiod, once described. Pandora’s Box is, in reality, an advanced energy core mightier than any weapon imaginable.Shortly after the Cradle’s unearthing, its discoverer, Special Forces veteran turned archaeologist, Elliot Oxley, is thrust into a centuries-old war that still rages on within the shadows of the world’s governments. He and a small team are forced to survive attacks by murderous zealots and well-armed mercenaries while also preventing the Cradle from falling into the hands of someone who intends to use it to fulfill a terrible prophecy.Matt James’ CRADLE OF DEATH is Indiana Jones, James Bond, and the X-Files rolled into one. This action-packed adventure is an exciting experience for all audiences, especially those that enjoy the “what if” of ancient history.