Book picks similar to
The Donzerly Light by Ryne Douglas Pearson
mystery
fiction
horror
thriller
I-35
Brett Selmont - 2011
He wakes up one morning, freezing in the backseat of his car, 1,500 miles from home, with no idea how he got there. After hearing a horrifying voicemail, he embarks on a harrowing journey through America 's heartland, searching for his estranged brother and his brother 's wife, while attempting to piece together his own fractured memory. Along the road, David meets a cast of odd characters who become suspects in his clouded and paranoid mind. And just as the clues begin to add up, a chance encounter at a seedy Oklahoma diner leads him to Shawna a beautiful girl, shrouded in mystery, who escorts him down a vertiginous path to the end of the I-35 highway where a shocking truth is revealed
Follow the Crow
B.B. Griffith - 2014
Six years ago his little sister Ana vanished without a trace. His best friend saw what happened, but he refuses to speak of what he knows, and so was banished from the Navajo tribe. That was the day the crows started following Ben. Caroline Adams is a nurse with a special talent: she sees things others can’t see. She knows that Ben is more than he seems, and that the crows are trying to tell him something. What the crows know will shed new light on the mystery of Ana’s disappearance, and throw Ben and Caroline into a race against time to find out what happened before they end up vanishing just like she did.
Sea Sick
Iain Rob Wright - 2012
Now, years later, Jack is a changed man, with a head full of secrets driving him insane. His recent record of police brutality and a reputation for not following the rules has prompted his seniors to give him an ultimatum: take a few weeks off, relax, and find some way to let go of all the anger – or else find another job.That’s why Jack is about to board The Spirit of Kirkpatrick, a cruise liner built for relaxation and fun. Pretty soon, however, Jack realises that a little R&R is the last thing he’s ever going to get aboard the cursed ship. There’s a virus onboard, making people insane and bleeding from the eyes. The whole ship is overrun with blood and death, and there is nowhere to escape. Just when Jack thinks his number is up and his life is over, he wakes up. The day is exactly the same. In fact, everything is the same. Jack is forced to witness the viral outbreak again and again as it ravages the ship and its passengers over and over, day after day. Jack finds himself trapped in a repeating hell. It won’t be long before Jack realises there are others onboard just like him – and that some of them know more than they’re letting on.
Whisper Me This
Kerry Anne King - 2018
The only thing Maisey’s sure she’s gotten right is her relationship with her twelve-year-old daughter, Elle…until a phone call blows apart the precarious balance of their lives. Maisey’s mother is in a coma, and her aging father faces charges of abuse and neglect.Back at her childhood home, Maisey must make a heartrending life-or-death decision. Her confused father has destroyed family records, including her mother’s final wishes. Searching for answers, Maisey uncovers one unspeakable secret after another when she stumbles upon a shattering truth: a twin sister named Marley.Maisey’s obsession with solving the mystery of her sister forces her to examine her darkest memories and triggers a custody battle with Elle’s father. Will Maisey’s love for her daughter be strong enough to break a cycle of abuse and create a new beginning for them all?
Critical Vulnerability: A Sasha McCandless Companion Novel
Melissa F. Miller - 2014
It's convenient and efficient. And potentially deadly. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aroostine Higgins put her personal life on hold to join the Department of Justice's elite Criminal Division. Now she’s prosecuting two men accused of attempting to bribe a foreign government official. But everything's going wrong. Her pretrial motion vanishes from the federal court's electronic docketing system. Her apartment catches fire. Routine dental surgery turns into a near-death experience. When Aroostine's past comes crashing into her present, her most critical vulnerability is exploited and she finally admits she isn't simply suffering a string of bad luck. An unseen enemy is determined to destroy her—and the only man she's ever loved—unless she finds him first. Critical Vulnerability is the latest whip-smart legal thriller by USA TODAY Bestselling Author Melissa F. Miller.
The Legend of Devil's Creek
D.C. Alexander - 2012
More abductions and killings soon follow. Justin Riddley, recently transferred to the island’s small college, faces growing evidence that one of his new friends and fellow students may be the murderer. John Marshall, redemption-seeking captain of the local police force, leads the frantic murder investigation and struggles to figure out whether the killings are tied to the island's dark and violent past. Tormented by tragic wartime memories, and more convinced with each day that it is humanity’s fate to destroy itself, Marshall races against both the murderer and the specter of his own mental breakdown. As blood continues to spill, Riddley and Marshall wonder whether there may be a dark, universal force that drives evil deeds great and small, and whether the nature of one’s childhood might sometimes, in the end, be all that separates the saint from the psychopath.
Forever Road
Catie Rhodes - 2013
A reluctant psychic medium. Destiny only knocks once—then it kicks down the door.
Peri Jean Mace thinks seeing ghosts is a curse, but her murdered trailer trash cousin doesn’t care. She wants Peri Jean to expose her killer.Peri Jean figures out everyone in her one-stoplight East Texas town has something to hide. And one of them will kill to hide the truth. In over her head, Peri Jean has to face her curse or end up the next victim.Forever Road is the first book in the Peri Jean Mace Ghost Thriller series. If you like your urban fantasy served up with a heavy dose of goose bumps, a side of gut-busting laughs, and a fist-swinging heroine who will steal your heart, you’ll love Forever Road.
Wolves of the Northern Rift
Jon Messenger - 2015
It spread from the Rift, a great chasm hundreds of miles long that nearly split the southern continent in two. The Rift was a portal, a gateway between their world of science and the mythological world of magic.On the northern continent of Ocker, King Godwin declared that no magical monstrosity would be allowed within their borders. The Royal Inquisitors were formed to investigate reports of mystical occurrences and, should they be found, to destroy them.Inquisitor Simon Whitlock knows his responsibilities all too well. Along with the apothecary, Luthor Strong, they’ve spent two years inquiring into such reports of magical abominations, though they’ve discovered far more charlatans than true magical creatures. When assigned to investigate Haversham and its reports of werewolves, Simon remains unconvinced that the rumors are true. What he discovers in the frozen little hamlet is that the werewolves are far more real than he believed; yet they’re hardly the most dangerous monster in the city.
Lost Girls
Celina Grace - 2012
She was never seen again.In the present day, Maudie is struggling to come to terms with the death of her wealthy father, her increasingly fragile mental health and a marriage that’s under strain. Slowly, she becomes aware that there is someone following her: a blonde woman in a long black coat with an intense gaze. As the woman begins to infiltrate her life, Maudie realises no one else appears to be able to see her. Is Maudie losing her mind? Is the woman a figment of her imagination or does she actually exist? Have the sins of the past caught up with Maudie’s present... or is there something even more sinister going on?Lost Girls is the new novel from the author of The House on Fever Street: a dark and convoluted tale which proves that nothing can be taken for granted and no-one is as they seem
The Devil's Alphabet
Daryl Gregory - 2009
Then, as quickly and inexplicably as it had struck, the disease–dubbed Transcription Divergence Syndrome (TDS)–vanished, leaving behind a population divided into three new branches of humanity: giant gray-skinned argos, hairless seal-like betas, and grotesquely obese charlies.Paxton Abel Martin was fourteen when TDS struck, killing his mother, transforming his preacher father into a charlie, and changing one of his best friends, Jo Lynn, into a beta. But Pax was one of the few who didn’t change. He remained as normal as ever. At least on the outside.Having fled shortly after the pandemic, Pax now returns to Switchcreek fifteen years later, following the suicide of Jo Lynn. What he finds is a town seething with secrets, among which murder may well be numbered. But there are even darker–and far weirder–mysteries hiding below the surface that will threaten not only Pax’s future but the future of the whole human race.
Before You Leap
Keith Houghton - 2016
But when Scarlett’s killer is released early from prison with a cast-iron alibi, Greg realizes that his past is about to explode into his present, with terrifying consequences.To expose the truth he must open up old wounds. As a talk therapist, Greg knows all about dark secrets, but when a childhood friendship comes to the fore and the police turn their spotlight on him, the thought of analyzing his own psyche is a disturbing prospect. How far can he trust his own memories?With his life coming apart at the seams, and his grip on reality beginning to unravel, Greg must face the ghosts of his past if he hopes to prove his innocence and live to see another day.
Blood Harvest
Sharon J. Bolton - 2010
A devastating fire burned down their home, but she remains convinced her daughter survived.Now you don'tTen-year-old Tom lives by a neglected church. Is he the only one who sees the strange, solitary child playing there? And what is she trying to tell him?Now you runThere's a new vicar in town -- Harry. But menacing events suggest he isn't welcome. What terrible secret is this town hiding?Sometimes I wish that she'd just leave me in peace.
Death in the Beginning
Gary Williams - 2011
First, he discovered a magnificent manmade cave in the Canary Islands off the African coast. Then, while exploring a newly-found gunpowder magazine inside a 300-year-old stone Spanish fort in St. Augustine, Florida, a man emerged. The man is killed by police before his identity can be ascertained. All evidence indicates that the man had been sealed in the room for centuries. When Curt uncovers a link between the Canary Island cave and the unidentified man, he realizes that he has stumbled upon a secret lost in history; the catalyst for the Fountain of Youth legend. But the revelation holds terrifying consequences. And there are those willing to murder to guard the truth. As Northeast Florida braces for a deadly hurricane, Curt and his friends are drawn into a monumental conspiracy which could alter the balance of power…and destroy humanity.
Darby Stansfield Thriller Series (Books 1-3 & Bonus Novella)
Ty Hutchinson - 2012
Readers have described the series as Tarantino meets The Office with a splash of romance.Also includes BONUS CONTENT - THE ST. PETERSBURG CONFESSIONS (The prequel to the Ghostface character in STROGANOV)The bundle includes the following novels:CHOP SUEYWhen disgraced sales associate Darby Stansfield discovers he has six months to save his job, he does what any normal person would do. He freaks. Desperate to resurrect his career at Teleco Wireless, Darby conjures up an international scheme filled with the promise of endless, high-spending clients. It’s brilliant, it’s international, it would have his boss snooping and his best friend sweating, but it has Darby on a plane to Hong Kong where he signs his latest client, a Chinese gang.Meanwhile, bodies are piling up in San Francisco and Darby has no idea that his brilliant plan has just put him on collision course with the killer. To make matters worse, those closest to him find themselves caught up in his dangerous plan. Darby must now make a tough decision — give up on the one good idea he ever had or risk it all.STROGANOVDiscover how one act of kindness can bring on a world of pain.In Stroganov, a smarter, more confident Darby Stansfield continues his life as the telecommunication consultant to the criminal underworld. This time he’s in bed with the Russians and everything is peachy, so far.With his career back on track, Darby focuses on improving his personal life. However, his unconventional methods for finding love land him in the middle of a war between the Ukrainian government and a dangerous sex trafficking ring. That’s his life. Wrong place. Wrong time. All of the time.Anxious to get out of the situation, he reluctantly offers his help to the authorities in hopes of a clean break. What he gets instead is the attention of Russia’s most feared criminal.LOCO MOCOThe world’s only consultant to the criminal underworld has just experienced his closest brush with death yet, and wonders if it’s time to quit the biz. In need of some serious soul searching, Darby Stansfield and his girlfriend, Izzy Weber, set off for a summer surfing adventure in Hawaii. But what the land of Aloha offers instead, is the same temptations he’s eager to escape—one in particular, the North Beach Boys. Hoping to resist the lure of the local gang, Darby focuses on improving his relationship with Izzy. All is fun in the sun until their beach house is broken into.From there, the mysterious threats begin to escalate, forcing Darby and Izzy to hire a local private detective. Between the PI working the case and the security improvements made around their place, the ideal summer appears to be back on track. Wrong. What they don’t realize is that a stranger is watching them and someone is going to die.THE ST. PETERSBURG CONFESSIONS (BONUS CONTENT)“I have sins to confess.”“Tell me, what evil have you done?”It’s St. Petersburg, right before the fall of Communism. Father Fedor, an Orthodox priest at St. Catherine’s Cathedral, is locking up after the late night mass when he hears a stranger’s voice call out to him. The man begs to confess immediately, afraid that if he waits he will become a lost soul. Of course Father Fedor accepts, but what he doesn’t know, what he isn’t expecting, is that this madman has committed the same sin ninety-nine times.
Tips for Living
Renee Shafransky - 2018
With the help of her best friend, she fled New York City for a small resort town, snagged a job as the advice columnist for the local paper, and is cautiously letting a new man into her life. But when Hugh and his perfect new family move into a summer house nearby, Nora backslides. Coping with jealousy, humiliation, and resentment again is as hard as she feared. It’s harder still when Hugh and his wife are shot to death in their home.If only Nora could account for the night of the murders. Unfortunately, her memories have gone as dark as her fantasies of revenge. But Nora’s not the only one with a reason to kill—and as prime suspect in the crime, she’d better be able to prove it.