Book picks similar to
Dead Regular by Harry Colfer
australian-author
murder-mystery
australian-authors
crime
Torched
Kimberley Starr - 2020
She’s the single mother of Caleb who is accused of starting the fire – on purpose. Twelve people are dead, students from her school among them; only a monster would cause such carnage. But where was her son that day? No one knows but Caleb, and he’s not talking.Against mounting community rage, Phoebe sets out to clear her son. But every avenue leads back to Caleb. Why did he vanish from his Country Fire Authority shift? Who else was at the abandoned goldmine that day? Why is Caleb refusing to speak?Phoebe will be forced to confront the nature of guilt and redemption, and decide what boundaries she is willing to cross to save the son she loves.
Good Girl, Bad Girl
Michael Robotham - 2019
Half-starved and filthy, she won’t tell anyone her name, or her age, or where she came from. Maybe she is twelve, maybe fifteen. She doesn’t appear in any missing persons file, and her DNA can’t be matched to an identity. Six years later, still unidentified, she is living in a secure children’s home with a new name, Evie Cormac. When she initiates a court case demanding the right to be released as an adult, forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven must determine if Evie is ready to go free. But she is unlike anyone he’s ever met—fascinating and dangerous in equal measure. Evie knows when someone is lying, and no one around her is telling the truth.Meanwhile, Cyrus is called in to investigate the shocking murder of a high school figure-skating champion, Jodie Sheehan, who dies on a lonely footpath close to her home. Pretty and popular, Jodie is portrayed by everyone as the ultimate girl-next-door, but as Cyrus peels back the layers, a secret life emerges—one that Evie Cormac, the girl with no past, knows something about. A man haunted by his own tragic history, Cyrus is caught between the two cases—one girl who needs saving and another who needs justice. What price will he pay for the truth?
Blood on the Cowley Road
Peter Tickler - 2008
SOLVING CRIMES IN THE OXFORD MOST PEOPLE NEVER SEE Sarah Johnson plunges to her death from the top of the multi-storey carpark, right in front of his prying camera. Was her death the result of a sick prank by an art student? Sarah turns out to have a history of mental ill-health, so to DI Susan Holden, it looks like a straightforward case of suicide. Then Jake Arnold, the last person Sarah phoned on her mobile, turns up dead in the River Isis, and Holden's preconceptions are thrown into disorder. Now she and her colleagues are plunged into a race against time to stop any more deaths. DISCOVER A CRIME THRILLER FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS Perfect for fans of Rachel Abbott, Robert Bryndza, Mel Sherratt, Angela Marsons, Colin Dexter, or Ruth Rendell. THE DETECTIVE DI Susan Holden is a police detective with anger management issues, a demanding mother and a searing determination to get to crack any case that comes her way in Oxford. She lives in an unprepossessing Victorian terrace, drinks too much Chardonnay and falls out with colleagues, witnesses and almost anyone who crosses her path. THE SETTING Her Oxford is a place where old ladies live in fear of lycra-clad cyclists, where you’re more likely to tread in a dog turd than nick a professor, and where mental health is a big an issue, but of less interest than Oxford United’s latest football game. It’s also a city where death comes with brutal finality – whether from the top of a grotty multi-storey car park, a careless care home and or on a dark wet night as Oxford’s adult learners wend their way home from their evening classes. PRAISE FOR PETER TICKLER “From a few chapters in, the engaging pace of the action meant that I couldn't put the book down until the end.” Daily Information "Peter's novel is a fantastic read. Its refreshing to read an Oxford book which tells a gripping story from the town point of view" - Maggie Hartford, Oxford Times “What a find!! - Could this take over the mantle from Morse? Quite possibly” Joseph “Thoroughly enjoyable and very clever; the best read I've had for a very long time.” D.G. ALSO BY PETER TICKLER DETECTIVE SUSAN HOLDEN Book 1: Blood on the Cowley Road Book 2: Blood in Grandpont Book 3: Blood on the Marsh DOUG MULLEN Dead in the Water White Lies, Deadly Lies The Girl Who Stole The Apple
Bitter Nothings
Vicki Tyley - 2012
Her father is the prime suspect. And things are about to get a whole lot worse…Graphic designer Dervla Johns wakes one morning to the news that her father, Warren, is missing and her stepmother and step-siblings were found dead in their beds. While the police hunt for Warren, Dervla searches for answers. Could her father really be a killer? Refusing to be warned off by police threats, or intimidated by the reporter who appears to be following her, she delves into her family’s past.But as she uncovers one shocking secret after another, Dervla’s world is rocked further by another murder – and she finds herself desperately trying to untangle a web of illicit love and betrayal. Soon, Dervla must face her greatest fear… or suffer the same deadly fate as her stepmother.“If you like mystery fiction with a psychological flair, Vicki Tyley will deliver. She understands that fiction is about real people, and that real people have their dangerous flaws.” –Scott Nicholson, Bestselling author of Liquid Fear
Fetish
Tara Moss - 1999
When she travels to Sydney on assignment and finds her best friend murdered, she soon discovers a deadly puzzle of suspicious photographers, hired thugs, mysterious lovers and the handsome, jaded Detective Andy Flynn investigating the Stiletto Murders - the most violent serial killings Australia has ever known. In her quest to uncover the truth behind her best friend's murder, Mak falls headlong into a deadly game of cat and mouse, unaware she has become the obsession of a sadistic psychopath. When a photo from her portfolio disappears, her borrowed flat is ransacked and Andy Flynn suddenly goes underground, Mak knows she must run. But where can she go and to whom can she turn? Mak has scratched the seedy underbelly of a foreign city and is driven into a corner, an evil place where, for her own well-being and state of mind, she must suspect everyone and everything... The first book in the Mak Vanderwall series, FETISH is followed by SPLIT, COVET, HIT, SIREN and ASSASSIN.
No Escape
Casey Kelleher - 2020
The one place she can’t escape.When she was just five years old, Lucy Murphy witnessed her mother’s brutal murder in their home on London’s notorious Griffin Estate. The case was never solved. Now a newly qualified police officer, Lucy has been given her first job: she’s going back to the Griffin Estate.She is there to protect the estate’s vulnerable residents, including Shannon and Kian Winters, two kids struggling to deal with their alcoholic mother. Fifteen-year-old Shannon is working every spare hour to keep a roof over their heads, but thirteen-year-old Kian has fallen under the sway of gang leader Jax Priestly. And now Jax has plans for Shannon too…As Lucy gets to know Kian and Shannon she becomes determined not to let the two teenagers become Jax’s victims. But time is running out. Jax is out of control, and the gang’s violent reprisals are escalating. Can Lucy face down her own demons in time to prevent a tragedy? As a child, she already witnessed the murder of one innocent person. It will take all her courage and training to stop another.A shocking, fast-paced read that will keep you gripped from beginning to end. Fans of Kimberley Chambers and Martina Cole won’t be able to put this down.
Code Blue (The Connection Trilogy)
Anita Waller - 2021
. .Five years ago, John and Caroline Coates were happily expecting the birth of twin girls, until an intruder ended their hopes and dreams.Now, John has come to the Connection Agency, asking for their help in tracking down the man who caused them such grief.Back then, Tessa's involvement was cut short when the cold case department quickly took over. This is the chance for her and Luke to follow the facts and finally lay this case to rest. With the rest of the Connection team busy with other jobs, Tessa and Luke, alongside DI Eileen Haughton, an old colleague of Tessa's from her police days, steadily follow the clues to an ending they could never have imagined--revealing a truth that could either bring the Coateses the peace they crave or take them to further depths of despair . . .
Cold Hard Truth (Boston Crime Thriller Book 5)
Brian Christopher Shea - 2022
DETECTIVE JACK DAWES BOOKS 1–5 five gripping crime mysteries full of twists
Frances Lloyd - 2020
Resurrection Bay
Emma Viskic - 2015
When a childhood friend is murdered, a sense of guilt and a determination to prove his own innocence sends Caleb on a hunt for the killer. But he can’t do it alone. Caleb and his troubled friend Frankie, an ex-cop, start with one clue: Scott, the last word the murder victim texted to Caleb. But Scott is always one step ahead.This gripping, original and fast-paced crime thriller is set between a big city and a small coastal town, Resurrection Bay, where Caleb is forced to confront painful memories. Caleb is a memorable protagonist who refuses to let his deafness limit his opportunities, or his participation in the investigation. But does his persistence border on stubbornness? And at what cost? As he delves deeper into the investigation Caleb uncovers unwelcome truths about his murdered friend – and himself.
No Man's Land
Neil Broadfoot - 2018
For DCI Malcolm Ford it's like nothing he's ever seen before, the savagery of the crime makes him want to catch the murderer before he strikes again. For reporter Donna Blake it's a shot at the big time, a chance to get her career back on track and prove all the doubters wrong. But for close protection specialist Connor Fraser it's merely a grisly distraction from the day job. But then another bloodied and broken corpse is found, this time in the shadow of the Wallace Monument - and with it, a message. One Connor has received before, during his time as a police officer in Belfast.With Ford facing mounting political and public pressure to make an arrest and quell fears the murders are somehow connected to heightened post-Brexit tensions, Connor is drawn into a race against time to stop another murder. But to do so, he must question old loyalties, confront his past and unravel a mystery that some would sacrifice anything - and anyone - to protect.
From Dundee International Book Prize and Bloody Scotland book of the year nominee Neil Broadfoot comes No Man's Land, the first in the white-knuckle Connor Fraser series.
Fool's Gold: The brand new gritty, action-packed thriller from Gillian Godden
Gillian Godden - 2021
Drivers
Peter Carroll - 2014
Revenge, justice, loyalty, lies, love, anger and an identity crisis. Turns out, the new chauffeur is not her only driver...so buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Where the Truth Lies
Karina Kilmore - 2020
In this clever and explosive thriller, a feisty but flawed investigative journalist battles unexplained deaths, big business, trade unions and media manipulation amidst the gritty underside of Melbourne.She was slipping away. The further she fell, the closer the clouds seemed to come. Wispy transparent slipstreams of white. Cirrus. Pain smashed her head. Floating ... When investigative journalist Chrissie O’Brian lands a senior job at The Argus, she is desperate to escape the nightmares of her past. Her life has become a daily battle to numb the pain. But her job is something she does better than anyone else – and the only thing that’s keeping her anchored to this world. A face-off on the waterfront between the unions and big business is just the kind of headline-grabbing story to get her career back on track. But when a dockworker turns up dead, she becomes obsessed with unravelling the truth. When a gruesome threat lands on her desk, it's clear someone will do anything to stop her. But this is one battle Chrissie won't give up without a fight.
Widow's Island
L.A. Larkin - 2021
And they’re coming to find you…Stephanie Miller is an average working mom. She isn’t perfect, but when her war hero husband dies and her work as a scientist puts her in news headlines, her past laid bare for all to see, she’s determined to make a new life for herself and teenage daughter, Amy. But she fears it’s only a matter of time before the biggest mistake of her life is revealed.As Stephanie and Amy take refuge on a remote island in Washington, it feels like they’re learning how to live again. But then they come home to graffiti on their garage door, there’s no escaping the hate online, and Stephanie is sure someone is watching from the shadows outside their house.When someone close to Stephanie is murdered in cold blood, she knows her worst fears have come true. Someone knows the truth. And she must become the fighter her husband always knew her to be if she is to protect her daughter, and everything left in the world that she loves.An absolutely nail-biting thriller from bestselling author, L.A. Larkin. Perfect for fans of Rachel Caine, Lisa Regan and Gregg Olsen. An addictive, unputdownable, up-all-night read.