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Point Blank: A Short Tale of Macabre Family Faults


Justine Avery - 2015
    ask your mother to stop pointing the gun at your head. Steven is a writer, by all accounts of self-proclamation. But no artist can be expected to work under serious pressure, especially not when the pressure consists of his own mother indenting his tender skull with the muzzle of the pistol held in her hand. Suddenly, it's write or die for Steven. He better tap away on that typewriter or expect to be extracted from the land of the living before he's had the opportunity to finish anything he's ever written. Not to mention that his recently departed Father lying on the floor beside him should supply enough motivation. When Steven manages to frustrate his murderous mother to no end, his wish made under duress actually comes true. Mother's vanished... along with all evidence of the foregoing incident ever having taken place. Is his beloved father really dead? Is his own mother now a criminal on the run? Can he truly never cure his lifetime disease of writer's block? Only one person can uncover the truth and set the world to rights again. That would be Tim, Steven's much more successful, though younger, brother. If only Tim would actually believe Steven's retelling of the frightful situation he's just managed to survive. Someone's got to fix the latest family faux pas. And everyone in the family knows it can't be Steven. In the dead of night, two brothers battle sibling rivalry, serious mother issues, one heinous surprise after another, and a lifetime of family strife to get to the bottom of it all and uncover what's been lying beneath all along. Start Reading Now... What are you waiting for? chuckle-worthy dark comedy, murder mystery, delicious sibling rivalry and family issues, the cure for writer's block, and so much more await you. About the Author Justine Avery Is a Genre-Breaker, a Writer of Delicious Story Above All Else Justine Avery is an avid reader of all genres, weaves her own stories among them all, and sets out to surprise her readers at every opportunity. She's an acutely observant introvert with an insatiable yearning to explorer, a risk-taker who's based in reality, a wanderer with a mission, and a grownup blessed with childlike wonder at the world. Her stories reflect the same, and readers can't get enough of them. Avery writes genre-breaking fiction with universal appeal, emphasizing enticing story above all else. She writes powerful, affecting stories accessible to all readers, regardless of what your own favorite genres happen to be. She writes the tales all readers are drawn to, the stories capable of changing your view of the world around you, the narratives that will become a part of you. Go ahead—take a peek. Use the Look Inside feature above, and start reading Point Blank now.

The Ghosts of Miller's Crossing


David Clark - 2019
    This move is ironic, since it was the mysterious death of his parents that forced him away. He is looking for a quiet setting for them to start over, but what he finds is anything but. Dark truths and a centuries old family secret await him. With the help of his local minister and a historic religious relic, Edward joins the eternal battle of good versus evil and the devils of his past. If you enjoy paranormal thrillers doused in the historical legends of the Vatican and Knights Templar, then this book is for you. Buy David Clark's The Ghosts of Miller's Crossing and take the journey with Edward.

When You're Gone


Marguerite O'Callaghan - 2017
     Eighteen-year-old Lydia Stone wakes up one morning in the north London gothic mansion she shares with her family, to find that her twin sister Kate has disappeared off the face of the earth. CCTV footage shows Kate entering a night club in south London on the night she went missing, but there is no evidence that she ever came out of the club, and police are considering the idea that she was sex-trafficked. In the days and weeks that follow, Lydia takes a closer look at her twin sister's life; her modelling career, penchant for fetish clubs, and interesting array of older friends. It seems like Kate was definitely hiding something. But she isn't the only one...

314


A.R. Wise - 2012
    She has a good life as a music teacher now, and might rekindle her relationship with her one true love. However, the number 314 haunts her, and threatens to bring her back to the day that her brother disappeared. When a reporter shows up, just days before March 14th, Alma realizes that her past is coming back to haunt her. What happened on March 14th, at 3:14, 16 years ago? No one but The Skeleton Man can remember.

The Hen Party


Maria Frankland - 2021
    Who will be the one?

The Stepsister


Jenny O'Brien - 2018
    That was her first mistake. She trusted him. That was her second...​ When a stranger leaves stepsisters, Victoria and Ness, a half-share in a house in Holland, they think it must be a mistake. But there's no mistake when Ness goes missing. Desperate for the truth, Victoria travels from Guernsey to Holland to find out what’s happened to her. Has she, as her texts show, embarked on a whirlwind romance? Has someone abducted her or even worse? What she doesn’t know is there’s someone watching, and that person wants her dead. Can Victoria find out the truth before it’s too late?

Fairwood


Eli Yance - 2013
    A modern day Bonnie and Clyde, in it for the adrenaline rush with no intention of murder -- that came by accident as well.Max Cawley is tired of his miserable life, made even more miserable by his succubus wife, his sadistic boss and his retiring partner, but his detective instincts are as switched-on as ever and finding the bandits soon becomes an obsession.Fairwood is a dark, twisted roller coaster of a thriller, not for the faint hearted.

Desert Places


Blake Crouch - 2004
    Novelist Andrew Thomas finds his peaceful life transformed into a nightmare by a mysterious killer who has framed him for the murder of a young woman whose body is buried on his property, covered in Andrew's blood, and who threatens to turn Andrew over to the police unless he does what his unknown adversary wants.

Man Down


Roger Smith - 2014
    A life that seems prosperous and peaceful until a home invasion plunges them into an orgy of bloodshed. As three masked gunmen terrorize the Turners, exposing the fault lines in a marriage built on a foundation of lies, John is forced to confront the truth about his complicity in an unspeakably brutal crime in Johannesburg a decade ago and ask himself a question: is it payback time?Man Down is both a harrowingly propulsive thriller and a meditation on moral ambiguity and the roles choice and chance play in the shaping of a life.Praise for Man Down"Smith, without apology, confronts the 'banality of evil' dear to Hannah Arendt. He is a novelist-gunslinger unafraid to show the path to disaster." Marianne Magazine"Man Down, a thriller about violence and guilt, takes you by the throat like a cat takes a rat, and the reader will emerge with a renewed fascination with Smith's kamikaze side." Libération"Clever, dark and suspenseful." Huffington Post Quebec"Man Down has both Shakespearean and Hitchcockian influences and yet has this inimitable fearlessness that only Roger Smith can muster. Read it if you dare." Dead End Follies"This very dark novel, with its expertly constructed plot and apocalyptic climax, uses extreme violence to portray a society where the boundaries between good and evil no longer exist." Nord-Pas-de-Calais Gazette"Beautifully built, exciting--a really good thriller that hits hard. Very hard." Nyctalopes"Very well written, the timelines are beautifully handled, and Smith can elicit suspense like few other thriller writers. Genuinely gut-wrenching." The Gamblers Blog"Sensitive souls should steer clear, but this very dark thriller hits the mark." Action-Suspense Blog"Roger Smith is not holding back: violence engulfs every page, breaking bones and families. The pungent odor of meth can't hide the stink of blood and fear. Quentin Tarantino watch out!" Jeune Afrique"Excellent. In this book Roger Smith has reached the pinnacle of Machiavellian manipulation and cruelty and one wonders how he'll ever be able to invent characters more twisted and tormented than these." Unwalkers Praise for Roger Smith"Roger Smith is the crime genre's greatest tragedian." Spinetingler Magazine"Smith's writing is astonishing." The Cleveland Plain Dealer"Smith has a unique ability to plunge readers into his nightmare visions." The Times"If you are a fan of George Pelecanos or Dennis Lehane, give Roger Smith a close look." Bookpage"Smith writes with the brutal beauty of an Elmore Leonard in a very bad mood." The Washington PostRoger Smith's novels are published in eight languages and two are in development as feature films. Website: rogersmithbooks.com

Jack of All Trades


D.H. Smith - 2015
    The two months work will pay his debts, and give him space to sort out his personal demons. Except, the couple are at war, both having affairs, their marriage beyond salvage. The husband fires Jack, she takes him back on – and suddenly he is too involved with their scheming. Complicated further when he falls for her secretary. And when there’s a murder, using his tools as the weapon, Jack is prime suspect.

Haunting Obsession


R.J. Sullivan - 2010
    Daryl’s girlfriend, Loretta Stevens, knew about his geeky lifestyle when they started dating, but she loves him, quirks and all.Then one day Daryl chooses to buy a particularly tacky piece of memorabilia instead of Loretta’s birthday present. Daryl ends up in the doghouse, not only with Loretta, but with Maxine Marie herself. The legendary blonde returns from the dead to give Daryl a piece of her mind—and a haunting obsession he’ll never forget.

Act of Revenge


Dick Couch - 2014
     Garrett Walker is a warrior. For the last decade and a half he’s been continuously at war –combat rotation after combat rotation. He’s a veteran of the close fight. And he’s taken a great many lives. Yet, all that combat and all those deaths were in the service of his country. Now, that’s about to change. Since their college days, Garrett and his identical twin have been estranged. They were both in love with the same woman, and she chose Garrett’s brother. So Garrett chose the Navy SEALs. Then, following the death of their younger brother, also a Navy SEAL, yet another tragedy strikes the Walker family. The twin is caught in the web of a Russian Mafia organ-theft ring. He was just another business man in Las Vegas on just another business trip. Then drugged and alone, strange men enter his hotel room and crudely remove his kidneys. It’s a rare crime, but one that happens more than is reported. For those in the black-market organ trade, easy pickings right? But they didn’t count on the resiliency of the one twin, nor the rage of the warrior twin. Together, they embark on a mission. Together, they put all the rules to aside bring about the ultimate Act of Revenge. About the Author Dick Couch. Navy SEAL, Combat Veteran, CIA Case Officer, New York Times Best Selling Author–with eighteen books to his credit. During the Global War on Terror, Dick Couch alone has been allowed to embed with the component commands of the US Special Operations Command. Dick Couch alone has tracked the SEALs, Green Berets, Rangers, and Marine Special Operators as they trained for war–and written extensively about this training. Now after eight books of special-operations nonfiction, Act of Revenge marks his return to fiction.

Man In The Water


Jon Hill - 2021
    Though he's forced to confront the reality about his wife's recent cancer diagnosis, he puts his own needs aside to make the best of what may be their last vacation. But he's shocked to be rudely awoken in his stateroom, abducted by masked men and thrown off the cruise.Plucked from the ocean's cold grip of death, he fears the worst when he learns his spouse has disappeared. But when he returns home to find his mother-in-law and son missing, his frantic search reveals a staggering secret he refuses to believe... until someone tries to kill him.Can Jack uncover the conspiracy surrounding his family before the next attempt on his life succeeds?Man In The Water is the chilling first book in A Jack and Stacey Green suspense series. If you like spine-tingling espionage, complex characters, and surprise twists and turns, then you'll love Jon Hill's action-packed tale.

Marked by Darkness


Dawn Merriman - 2020
    . Two years ago, Detective Maribeth Johansen’s family was murdered by the killer she hunted. Maribeth now lives alone in the woods with her grief, the ghosts of her family in her mind. . Her solitude is shattered when a young woman, bearing a striking resemblance to Maribeth’s dead daughter, is murdered and left in the woods for Maribeth to find. The woman’s chest bears the same mark the killer carved into the chests of his victims. . But that killer has been dead for two years. . Is the ghost of a serial killer after her, or is there a new threat hunting her in the woods? An emotionally intense thrill ride!

The Vanishing Wife


Barry Finlay - 2014
    Mason Seaforth, a mild mannered accountant, wakes up the morning of his 20th wedding anniversary to find that his wife, Sami, has disappeared. A search of Sami’s computer uncovers a past she has buried for more than 20 years. Together with their strong-willed friend, Marcie Kane, he leads an investigation that takes them to a casino in Gatineau, Quebec. As the two close-in on Sami’s whereabouts, so do Aaron Marshall and his enforcer, Greg Johnson, AKA “The Force” - deadly serious men willing to kill the entire Seaforth family to protect Sami’s secrets. Action-packed crime thriller with suspenseful storytelling and a surprising twist. Mason is thrust into a race against Marshall and Johnson, thrown into a life that is meant for other people. He must put his quiet job on hold and quickly learn how to handle a Glock 17. Each decision he needs to make is deadlier than the last, and a wrong move could result in the death of his family. Written by one of Authors Show’s “50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading” list, in 2012 and winner of a Canada Book Award, comes a masterpiece nominated best e-book in the Thriller/Mystery category.