Book picks similar to
Twisted Clay by Frank Walford
horror
20th-century
fiction
male-author
The Skittering
David Haynes - 2020
But what emerges from the shadows of the town’s waste plant is beyond anything found in nature.Fist-sized cockroaches. Bird-sized wasps. Spiders, millipedes, ticks, all swollen to enormous bulk with vicious appetites to match. And other things, creatures that should never exist.Through the night they come, slithering, buzzing, scuttling, crawling over skin, burrowing into flesh, making the town their nest.Time is soon running out for Crease and the other survivors, as that hideous skittering noise closes in from all around…
Slice
David Hodges - 2010
THERE’S A KILLER INSIDE THE POLICE STATION. A police station should be a safe place. But not when there’s a psychotic serial killer working there. THE FIRST VICTIM IS FOUND GRUESOMELY MUTILATED IN HIS MOST SENSITIVE AREA. HE IS DRESSED IN A JUDGE’S WIG. Detective Superintendent Jack Fulton takes on the grisly murder enquiry and discovers that his murderer might actually be one of the police station staff. MORE EMINENT VICTIMS FOLLOW. KILLED IN THE SAME SADISTIC MANNER. The press nickname the razor-wielding assassin “The Slicer.” With the killer stalking the shadowy Victorian building, Fulton has to contend not only with press harassment and police who will stop at nothing to get a result, but also with other problems much closer to home. As the killer leads him on a grim game of cat and mouse, Fulton has little idea of just how personal that game is about to become . . . YOU WON’T WANT TO PUT THIS ONE DOWN Perfect for fans of Rachel Abbott, Robert Bryndza, Mel Sherratt, Angela Marsons, Colin Dexter, or Ruth Rendell. THE AUTHOR A former police superintendent, with thirty years’ service. Since ‘turning to crime’, he has received critical media acclaim, including a welcome accolade from Inspector Morse’s creator, the late great, Colin Dexter, and he is now a prolific novelist with eleven published crime novels and an autobiography on his police career to his credit. His previous police experience has enabled him to provide a gritty realism to his thrillers and his Somerset Murder Series, featuring feisty female detective, Kate, and her partner, Hayden, has gone from strength to strength, attracting interest in the United States as well as in the UK. DETECTIVE KATE HAMBLIN MYSTERY SERIES Book 1: MURDER ON THE LEVELS Book 2: REVENGE ON THE LEVELS Book 3: FEAR ON THE LEVELS Book 4: KILLER ON THE LEVELS Book 5: SECRETS ON THE LEVELS Book 6: DEATH ON THE LEVELS STANDALONES SLICE
The Last Lesson
Jon Athan - 2019
A gang-infested school. A vengeful teacher. After his star pupil, Rina Ogawa, is sexually assaulted in a school restroom, Edward Clifford sets out on a journey to find the truth and bring her attackers to justice. He finds himself delving head-first into the lives of his other students—lives filled with crime, violence, and hatred. What starts as a desperate attempt to achieve justice quickly sends Edward down the path of vengeance... Who attacked Rina Ogawa? Can Edward bring her attackers to justice? Or will he take matters into his own hands? From the provocative author of The Law of Retaliation and Grandfather’s House, Jon Athan brings you a shocking thriller packed with mystery, suspense, and extreme violence. This is a story of human horror. WARNING: This novel contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.
Worst Case (Charley Gallagher Mystery)
Jack Parker - 2014
So he is completely unprepared for when he is assigned the case of a murdered high school gym teacher who was found beaten to death and wrapped up in a volleyball net. Encountering the likes of a compulsive overeater, a female gym teacher with an attitude, and an advice-giving dog, Charley's life gets a little crazy.
Deep Blood
Phillip Thompson - 2013
He doesn't care for the mundane parts of his job, he drinks too much, is separated from his wife, and has a former stripper girlfriend who regularly violates the drug laws of the county. Even when the son of a close friend is murdered, he has a hard time concentrating. But when his incorrigible father is arrested again for DUI, he learns of a secret of his father's past that threatens his own future and must confront it in a Southern tale of justice, redemption and family secrets.
Hunted
Antony Dunford - 2021
Once a member of the world’s first all-female special forces unit, the Norwegian Hunter Troop, Jane Haven is now helping her brother Kennet protect some of the world's most endangered animals at his Kenyan Wildlife Conservancy.Heavily armed poachers pose a deadly threat to humans and animals alike, and when her brother dies suddenly, Jane vows to protect his legacy against the threats circling the Bandari reservation.With rhino horn worth more than diamonds - those threats keep on coming - until Jane finds she's the one being hunted ...
Alice to Nowhere
Evan Green - 1984
Two vicious murderers, fleeing Alice Springs, hide on a battered truck carrying mail, food and supplies on its fortnightly journey to remote cattle stations.
How to kill your friends
Phil Kurthausen - 2019
Who needs enemies?There’s something about Meredith…Meredith is a young underachiever, living in a squalid apartment, struggling to stay one step ahead of her landlord and the law when she meets a man from her past who offers her a way out and a chance to start over.Having worked her way into the lives of the rich and privileged, Meredith will do just about anything to preserve her new lifestyle.But just how far is she prepared to go?
Jasper Jones
Kate Mulvany - 2016
Overseas, war is raging in Vietnam, Civil Rights marches are on the streets, and women’s liberation is stirring – but at home in Corrigan Charlie Bucktin dreams of writing the Great Australian Novel. Charlie’s 14 and smart. But when 16-year-old, constantly-in-trouble Jasper Jones appears at his window one night, Charlie’s out of his depth. Jasper has stumbled upon a terrible crime in the scrub nearby, and he knows he’s the first suspect – that goes with the colour of his skin. He needs every ounce of Charlie’s bookish brain to help solve this awful mystery before the town turns on Jasper. Kate Mulvany’s adaptation of Craig Silvey’s award-winning novel is wise and beautiful. A coming-of-age story, Jasper Jones interweaves the lives of complex individuals all struggling to find happiness among the buried secrets of a small rural community.Whether you know the book or not, this piercing adaptation is very much worth seeing for the way it depicts – and shows ways across – some of the deep and enduring divides in our society." - Jason Blake SMH
The Mother's Tale
Camilla Noli - 2009
She used to be a successful career woman in control of her life and with her husband's undivided attention. But now her control is slipping away. Motherhood is devouring her life. She is desperate to reclaim her sense of self, even if that means thinking the unthinkable.
Spooky Nook
Robert Swartwood - 2011
Spooky Nook is a 10,000-word "prequel of sorts" to The Calling, a supernatural thriller by Robert Swartwood.
Trouble in Paradise
L.T. Vargus - 2021
And an old flame to complicate the trip.Check out this beach-y Violet Darger short featuring Darger, Loshak, Owen, and Spinks.When 17-year-old Micaela Tolliver goes missing during her beach vacation, FBI profiler Violet Darger heads to Curacao to investigate. The case vexes local law enforcement, with plenty of suspicious characters around and comparisons to Natalee Holloway aplenty.Red herrings. False starts. People who will go great lengths to protect the island's long held secrets.Further complications emerge due to someone else entangled in the case -- Darger's old friend and former lover, private investigator Owen Baxter. They're working together for the first time after a bad breakup. The tension is palpable, and Darger begins to question the knot of conflicts in her own heart.Corruption. Death. Sand. Romance.Once again, Violet Darger shines her light into the shadows. And what she finds there in the darkness will change her.
The Ultimate Aphrodisiac
Robert G. Barrett - 2002
Besides being president, the natives treat him as a god. to the American DEA he is a dangerous criminal. US President Clifford J. Clooney decides to invade. Onto this island of sun, surf, beautiful women and mysterious ruins arrives Bondi surf journalist Brian Bradshaw. Brian came to find a story, then return home to write it. He didn't expect to get involved in something almost impossible to comprehend, fall in love and get taken literally for the ride of his life.
Bad Intent Volume 1
Michael Tabman - 2011
A New York City Detective. Cocaine flooding the streets. Colombian Cartels in control. The Mob has been cut out. Someone must be killed. Everybody has a motive. Nobody can be trusted.Born and raised in New York City, Michael served as a police officer with the Fairfax County VA police department on patrol, in plain clothes and as hostage negotiator on the SWAT Team, before joining the FBI. Michael, a 24 year FBI veteran, investigated crimes ranging from white collar to bank robberies, organized crime, drug trafficking and money laundering. He rose through the ranks reaching the level of Special Agent in Charge. His professional travels took him to Israel, Russia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. He has been interviewed and quoted on national and local media on matters ranging from workplace violence to fraud and street crimes. Michael is the author of two books, Walking the Corporate Beat: Police School for Business People and crime novel, Midnight Sin. He has a Crime and Security Blog and can be followed on Twitter.