With the help of childhood friends, he learns to watch others around him and mimic their behaviors, in order to conceal the fact that his mind operates more like a computer that he has spent years programming. That program is what allows Noah to pass himself off as normal, by establishing parameters of right and wrong that are completely inviolable to him.As a young adult, Noah finds structure in the U.S. Army, and becomes an excellent and exemplary soldier, but when his self-imposed programming is put to the test by the murderous acts of the superior officer, Noah finds himself quickly made expendable, charged with crimes he did not commit and facing the possibility of execution. Without any reasonable hope for a reprieve, Noah's logic-based mind accepts his fate.Sometimes, though, things are not all as they seem to be, and Noah is offered one chance to save himself. It was his disability, his lack of emotion, that made him the soldier he had become. Now, an ultrasecret organization known as E & E wants Noah's talents, offering him a chance to survive…As the most deadly assassin the world has ever known.

    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

    International visitors surge into Sydney's Darling Harbour. Two-year-old Tommy is sailing his toy boat in the park when he vanishes. Six months later, taunting notes written as nursery rhymes begin arriving at his parents' home.Little Boy Blue, where did you go? Who led you away? Only I know . . . . The police believe the messages are just a cruel prank. But Tommy's mother Phoebe becomes obsessed with tracking down the writer of the rhymes. Her life and marriage shatters.When the shocking identity of the message-writer is discovered, Phoebe's desperate race for the truth has only just begun."I love love love this author! This is the sort of book I love but never find very often!" - reviewer

    At least this time she’s actually legit. Acting as local investigator for her co-owned Fleming Investigations private eye firm while her father, John, takes care of things more far flung, Fee not only uncovers the wrongdoings she's been hired to solve, but stumbles yet again over death, mayhem and murderers bent on keeping their secrets to themselves. Welcome back to Reading, Vermont, the cutest (and deadliest!) town in America!

    He reports violent incident confidentially to the local Sheriff...who is murdered the next day. Storme believes there's a connection and starts asking questions, unraveling a deadly conspiracy of corruption, drug-trafficking and organized crime... and making himself someone that just about everybody wants dead.

    So for the moment, her fledgeling career as a freelance journalist has been put on hold.  Then comes the horrific news that an entire family has been slaughtered in their own home. Aoife is shocked to discover two of the victims were members of her on-again-off-again book club. Even more disturbing is the revelation that the police believe it was a murder-suicide. That’s when Aoife receives a tantalising offer. Lisa, the main suspect’s sister, will grant Aoife access to the victims’ extended family for an exclusive news story—if Aoife will help find the real killer. Moved by Lisa’s unwavering belief in her brother’s innocence, Aoife agrees to help.  As she digs into the secrets of her fellow book club members, Aoife discovers potential suspects everywhere: people having affairs, a jealous husband, and a power-hungry business partner who’s clearly hiding something. Aoife keeps pulling at the threads of the story, untangling more and more deception. Is the killer really dead and buried? Is it someone Aoife already knows? Could the lunatic be closer than Aoife ever imagined? You won’t be able to put down this twisty thriller from international bestselling author Val Collins.

    If this was a TV series, it would be the perfect Sunday evening drama. The books in this UK based series have accumulated hundreds of reviews, with almost 90% of reviewers giving 4 and 5 stars. This collection includes the first four books in the series (and you get them for the price of two!): Book 1: Death Of A Temptress Ruth Thornhill went missing six months ago. According to the evidence, she ran off with another man, so the Met closed the case. However, Slater’s enquiries soon find inconsistencies in the original investigation, and after a near-fatal encounter with a London bus, he realises the stakes are far higher than he imagined. An unlikely ally, in the form of fellow scapegoat DS Norman Norman, helps him uncover disturbing connections between the missing woman, a Chinese businessman, a glossy magazine, an online escort agency, a top London banker and senior officers from London’s Serious Crime Unit. The two uncover a mire of corruption, blackmail, deception and possibly the most cunning murder ever seen. The evidence stacks up against one particular suspect and Slater and Norman close in, but as with most things in Slater’s life, nothing is ever simple. Book 2: Just A Coincidence In the sleepy Hampshire town of Tinton, major crime is rare, and DS Slater and colleague Norman Norman find themselves with nothing to investigate except a flasher and an illiterate counterfeiter. Things are so quiet Slater even arranges to go on his long-awaited date with bombshell waitress Jelena. But things can change in a matter of seconds, and a dog walker’s discovery of a battered body near a local woodland sends Slater and Norman hurrying to the scene. Before they know it, they have three dead bodies on their hands, and the victims are all related. But with 15 years between the murders, is this just a bizarre coincidence, or could the murders be linked? With tensions rising within their close-knit team, can Slater and Norman keep it together to solve their latest mystery? Book 3: Florence When a little old man is found dead in his home, DS Dave Slater assumes he was simply the victim of a tragic accident. He lived alone, after all, and didn’t seem to have any living relatives. But after some strange occurrences at the old man’s home, Slater finds himself probing deeper. He soon discovers that someone seems to be looking for something, but what was the lonely old man hiding, and why is someone so desperate to find it? And then there’s Florence, a ghost-like figure who is occasionally spotted around town in the early hours of the morning. Slater can’t shake off the feeling she is linked, somehow. But how, and why? Book 4: The Wrong Man When Diana Woods is found stabbed to death in her kitchen, DS Slater and DS Norman Norman are plunged into another major investigation. The finger of suspicion quickly points at Diana’s estranged husband, Ian, a bully who regularly abused his wife. But as Slater learns more, he begins to wonder if everything is as it seems. When a new suspect appears on the scene, it seems that Slater’s instincts were right. But the evidence seems just a bit too convenient, and Slater and Norman have to face the possibility that their suspect is being framed, and they could be back to square one.

    Will Lou be the next victim? Find out in Motion to Kill.

    When a former client bequeaths Drayco a rundown Opera House in a Virginia seaside town, he figures he'll arrange for a quick sale of the place while nursing his battered soul in a peaceful setting near the shore. What he doesn't count on is finding a dead body on the Opera House stage with a mysterious "G" carved into the man's chest. With hopes for a quick sale dashed and himself a suspect in the murder, Drayco digs into very old and very dangerous secrets to solve the crime and clear his name. Along the way, Drayco must dodge a wary sheriff, hostility over coastal development, and the seductive wife of a town councilman - before the tensions explode into more violence and he becomes the next victim. Want to read a Scott Drayco novella for FREE? Sign up for BV’s Mysteries in Crimetime newsletter at bvlawson.com and receive a FREE copy of "The Maltese Moon Rock"! Scott Drayco Thrillers in order: PLAYED TO DEATH (A Shamus Award Finalist and Best Mystery, Next Generation Book Awards) REQUIEM FOR INNOCENCE DIES IRAE ELEGY IN SCARLET

    Haunted by all the serial killers she caught, she left a stunning career behind to join the U.S. Marshals. As a Deputy Marshal, Alexa—fit, and as tough as she is brilliant—could immerse herself in a simple career of hunting down fugitives and bringing them to justice.But when a notorious serial killer escapes from a prison transport, it crosses the jurisdictions of the U.S. Marshals and the FBI’s BAU. The two departments are forced to come together on a new joint task force to hunt down the fugitive serial killer and bring him to justice. Alexa, to her dread, finds herself forced to confront the thing she fears the most—entering a killer’s mind. Doing so again, she knows, may just drag her down for good.Alexa and her new partner, each territorial, don’t take well to each other. Between their tension and all the clues leading to dead ends and the bodies piling up on the killer’s spree, Alexa knows that she, up against a ticking clock, can’t afford to get this wrong. Especially when she realizes that she herself may be the next target.To find this diabolical killer, Alexa will have to do what she fears most—enter his twisted mind, before he can strike again. It’s a life-and-death game of cat and mouse, and it’s winner takes all.But will the darkness swallow her whole?A page-turning and harrowing crime thriller featuring a brilliant and tortured Deputy Marshal, the ALEXA CHASE series is a riveting mystery, packed with non-stop action, suspense, twists and turns, revelations, and driven by a breakneck pace that will keep you flipping pages late into the night.

    Archaic clues. A visionary killer. In this heart-stopping novel by the Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Sydney Rose Parnell series, words can kill.On the muddy banks of the Calumet River, a body has been found posed next to a series of mysterious glyphs and bearing wounds from a ritualistic slaying. Chicago detective Addie Bisset knows only one man who can decipher the message left by the killer: her friend Dr. Evan Wilding. A brilliant forensic semiotician, Evan decodes the etchings as Viking Age runes. They suggest either human sacrifice or righteous punishment. But to what god? And for what sins?Only one thing is clear from the disturbing runic riddles: there are more victims to come.As Evan races to determine the identity of the Viking Poet, he and Addie uncover the killer’s most terrifying secret yet: the motive. This startling discovery puts Evan’s life in mortal danger, and verse by ancient verse, time is running out.

     A woman dies in his arms...a drug dealer offers him $10,000...a gunman is determined to kill him. And then everything goes to hell. Shelby Alexander is an aging ex-boxer and retired fixer, whose activities often flirted with the wrong side of the law. Looking for a little peace and a slower pace of life, he moved to Serenity, the small Michigan town where he grew up. But trouble follows men like Shelby, and he finds himself embroiled in an underworld of drugs and violence that may prove to be his undoing. The first book in the new Shelby Alexander Thriller Series, Serenity is an action-packed read with a lovingly rendered cast, witty dialogue, and a main character who doesn't know when to quit.

     Moving through streets where people line up at soup kitchens, Maggie draws information from sources others overlook: The waitress at the dime store lunch counter where she has breakfast; a ragged newsboy; the other career girls at her rooming house. Her digging gets her chloroformed and left in a ditch behind the wheel of her DeSoto. She makes her way to an upscale bordello and gets tea – and information – from the madam herself. A gunman puts a bullet through Maggie’s hat. Her shutterbug pal on the evening paper warns her off. A new cop whose presence unsettles her thinks she’s crooked. Before she finds all the answers she needs, she faces a half-crazed man with a gun, and a far more lethal point-blank killer. If you like Robert B. Parker's hard boiled Spencer series and strong women sleuths, don't miss this one-of-a-kind Ohio detective from a time in United States history when dames wore hats -- but seldom a Smith & Wesson.

    But after the mother of one of the missing children commits suicide, he stamps down his demons and, together with the dead woman's sister Rebecca, plunges into the case.The clues lead to a shadowy cabal lurking behind one of the richest and most powerful Pharma corporations on the planet. When Frank finally unravels the mystery, the truth is more bizarre and deadly than he ever imagined, and telling Rebecca would put her life in danger. Soon even she comes to question his sanity.The world needs to be warned of the treacherous plot. But can Frank stay alive long enough to find someone to buy his story?

    Can an ex-soldier put aside his own demons to stop them? Ex-military contractor Harper Knox has taken over his family’s farm in eastern Washington, ripped up the cherry trees and planted grape vines, hoping that the wine life will ease his PTSD-riddled soul. But he still has nightmares, and he’s still diving into the dirt every time a kid sets off a firework.Desperate to taste battle again, he accepts a bodyguard gig in Seattle protecting a doctor involved with controversial AI research. Sometimes the only way to deal with the fire is by jumping back into the flame. Things go bad quickly, and Harper and Italian mercenary Francesca Daly join forces to make things right. Technology and religion collide as the two vigilantes race through Seattle on a hunt for a madman.