Book picks similar to
Merrivale Holds the Key: The Plague Court Murders & The Red Widow Murders by Carter Dickson
mystery-and-detection
mystery-thriller
crime
golden-age
Scavenger Hunt
Charles Welch - 2021
She is to solve the clue in the envelope to find the next clue. Each clue will lead to another until she finds her husband and her anniversary surprise. Excited to celebrate their day, she solves the first riddle and finds the next clue. As one clue leads to another, the tasks become harder and the clues hint at a more devious plan. A terrible reality dawns on her as she realizes she must complete the game to its end to save her marriage and possibly her life. Rachel’s adventure is not the celebration she imagined, and the creator of the game has a different prize in mind. At the end of the game, he waits for her to complete his revenge. But who created the game? Why does he seek revenge? And who will be waiting for her at the end of her Scavenger Hunt?
Heart Swarm
Allan Watson - 2015
Five years ago Harlan headed up the investigation of an identical murder in the same woods; a mishandled investigation that effectively destroyed his credibility as a detective. The new case immediately takes a bizarre twist when the body is identified as the same girl found hanging in the woods five years ago. The following day a local man commits suicide and the police find more dead girls hidden in his basement. The case seems open and closed. Until the killing spree begins. Harlan finds himself drawn into a dark world where murder is a form of self-expression and human life treated as one more commodity to be used and discarded. The only clue that links everything is a large oil painting of ‘Sagittarius A’ – a massive black hole at the centre of the galaxy orbited by thirteen stars daubed in blood with the words – Heart SwarmThis edition is no longer available.
The Set Up
Felix Riley - 2011
Mike Byrne wants to know who framed him for murder. The NYPD want Byrne locked up. The US Secret Service want Byrne dead. Detective Jenni Martinez just wants her gun and her badge back. Mike Byrne has three days to stop a deadly game that will bring America to its knees - and he's just been set up. Full description
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Jools Sinclair - 2010
She can't see colors, memories have been erased, and her friends all hate her. And then there's Jesse, who she loves, but who refuses to forgive her the one mistake she made long ago.Just when she thinks it can't get any worse, the visions begin. In them, she sees a faceless serial killer roaming the streets. While the police believe that there have been a lot of accidents in town lately, Abby knows differently. And she soon realizes that it's up to her to find him. But to stop him, she'll have to confront more than just the killer. She'll have to face something else that was lost in those dark waters: the truth.
Deadly Gift / Deadly Harvest / Deadly Night
Heather Graham - 2010
Brought to Newport, Rhode Island, from her native Ireland to nurse ailing millionaire Sean O'Riley, she's living a life few can imagine. But money can't hide the tension between O Reily s trophy wife, his paranoid daughter, the eccentric aunt in the attic and the staff members who run the house. When O Riley s business partner goes missing, family friend Zach Flynn arrives. Determined to help him solve the case, Caer becomes enmeshed in a mystery that weaves together the sins of the past with one family s destiny and a spirit that watches the mansion, possessing a deadly gift.DEADLY HARVESTWhen a young woman is found dead in a field, dressed up as a scarecrow with a slashed grin and a broken neck, the residents of Salem, Massachusetts, begin to fear that the infamous Harvest Man is more than just a rumor. But out-of town cop Jeremy Flynn doesn t have time for ghost stories. He's in town on another investigation, looking for a friend s wife, who mysteriously vanished in a cemetery. Complicating his efforts is local occult expert Rowenna Cavanaugh, who launches her own investigation, convinced that a horror from the past has crept into the present and is seducing women to their deaths. Jeremy uses logic and solid policework. Rowena depends on intuition. But they both have the same goal: to stop the abductions and locate the missing women before Rowena herself falls prey to the Harvest Man s dark seduction.DEADLY NIGHTAidan Flynn, a private investigator and eldest of the Flynn brothers, scoffs at the haunted-house rumors--especially since Kendall Montgomery, a tarot card reader who has been living in the mansion, is the one to tell him the tale of a woman in white. But when he finds a human bone on the grounds, and another by the river, Aidan delves into the dark history of the Flynn plantation. Forced together to uncover the truth, Aidan and Kendall realize that a serial killer whose victims seem to vanish into thin air has long been at work and that their own fates are about to be sealed forever unless they believe in the unbelievable.
Requiem for the Dead
Victor M. Alvarez - 2020
However, hours later the body of Helen Chapman's boyfriend was discovered by German police on the side of the road; they found a ransom letter lying on the front seat of the young man's car.US Army CID criminal investigator, Special Agent Jacqueline Sinclair, and DIA Agent Tom Price are assigned to take the lead in the case by her chief on request of the Provost Marshal, Agent Sinclair's father. She knows a SIR (Serious Incident Report) already filed through channels, will attract the close attention of higher command; they would watch Sinclair every step of the way. Later, Sinclair learns that they also kidnapped three other dependent children.Their pursuit of the kidnappers will take them straight into the heart of the military establishment where conspiracy and intrigue are commonplace . . . and where truths are seldom spoken. Worse still they uncover a more sinister and diabolical plot--a plot to set off two nuclear Smart Bombs in Pyongyang--placing the North Korean Regime and the President of the Unites States, in its crosshairs.They find themselves deep in enemy territory and the target of highly trained killers, tasked to threaten or even to shoot to kill--whatever it takes to conceal sensitive information. Bringing justice and staying alive becomes job number one as the duo finds their skills, and their courage tested under fire.
The Past We Run From: A Yorkshire Murder Mystery
Meg Jolly - 2021
A child killer on the loose. Time is running out.When a toddler goes missing in the middle of a bustling Bradford park in broad daylight, Detective Daniel Ward is put on the case. It ought to be an open and shut investigation; but the hours tick by, and Millie Thompson is nowhere to be found.There’s only one conclusion DI Ward can come to: she was taken.When a known child-killer is spotted in the vicinity, Ward fears the worst. Has this infamous monster struck again, right under his nose?He has to catch up with the only lead he has, before the infamous Hunters - merciless, vigilante, justice seekers who will seek retribution at any cost - catch up with his suspect first.If they do, DI Ward may never find Millie alive again.‘I raced through this book in one sitting. A compelling and intriguing plot that kept me turning the pages with a cast of complex and diverse characters and a gritty Northern setting. Highly recommended.’ — Imogen Clark, #1 Amazon Bestselling AuthorSet in the diverse, beautiful, and historical city of Bradford, The Past We Run From is the first in the DI Ward crime thriller series from debut crime novelist Meg Jolly. Perfect for fans of JD Kirk, Dave Gatward, and JE Mayhew, join DI Ward today on a twisting race to solve the case.
The Last Trade
James Conway - 2012
For Havens, it’s always been about the numbers. He sees things others can’t, from the collapse of the American real estate market to the multibillion-dollar rise of his ruthless and charismatic boss. Havens is now rich beyond his dreams, but his work at the Rising Fund has cost him his marriage. And now it may cost him his life. It starts with the brutal murder of his young protégé and, over the course of six explosive days, six other brokers around the world, each killed after executing a trade linked to the Rising Fund. As the violence escalates from South Africa to São Paulo, Hong Kong to Berlin, Havens frantically tries to construct a model that will reveal the catastrophic event that only he can see coming—and confirm that his boss and the Rising Fund are at the center of it. The Last Trade is a relentlessly entertaining, adrenaline-fueled thriller about the forces that shape our culture–and a lone man desperate to achieve redemption— while averting a global economic catastrophe.
Old Anger (Colt Harper Book 2)
Phillip Thompson - 2020
Sheriff Colt Harper believes he's colorblind in his enforcement of the law. But is he? When a black man is murdered, it ignites age-old anger in the African-American community over the injustices they've endured and forces Harper to confront his own personal demons. Harper's single-minded pursuit of justice for the dead man thrusts him between two volatile groups -- furious blacks who don't know if they can trust him and racist whites who want to use the controversy to spark a bloody race war."Old Anger has some sweet echoes of the past while being something modern at the same time. Pacing is outstanding and the story is engaging. It has a western rash under it's skin. Recommended." Joe R. Lansdale""Phillip Thompson combines the visceral verbal skills of Craig Johnson with the white knuckle tension of Stephen Hunter. Old Anger will leave you soaked in sweat and gasping for air" S.A. Cosby author of Blacktop Wasteland."Old Anger is a modern Southern novel in the best sense-exploring issues of race, privilege, and generational mistrust with candor and grace. It's also a fiercely engaging mystery. Thompson's lawman, Colt Harper, is a man of honor in a world that could use more of 'em. Consider me a fan." Chris Holm, Anthony Award winning author of The Killing Kind"In Thompson's well-wrought third crime novel featuring Mississippi sheriff Colt Harper. Thoughtful prose is matched by solid characterizations. Thompson delivers a timely tale of racial violence." Publishers Weekly
The Third Son
S.E. Green - 2021
. . .Architect Carter Grady is constructing his most prized design—a family. Two years after marrying his deceased best friend’s wife, Tori, he’s ready to officially adopt her two sons, independent Daniel, twelve, and sweet five-year-old Nathan. All he needs to do is sign the legal paperwork. But a phone call changes everything.A one-night stand from over a decade ago died in a freak accident and Carter now learns two things: the random stranger’s name . . . and that they share a ten-year-old son, Frances. With adultlike affectations and a fondness for wearing bow ties, the exceedingly charming and fiercely intelligent boy is unlike other children. And he’s biologically Carter’s—a seemingly impossible dream.Yet behind the ready smile, perfectly parted hair, and need to please, something’s off with Frances. There’s a cunning calculation behind his moves, an effortless talent for lying, and a dark curiosity in others’ pain. But as Carter and Tori learn about the shocking conditions of Frances’ isolated childhood, Carter is even more determined to do right by his son.When “accidents” soon escalate, with Daniel and Nathan caught in the middle, Tori’s budding suspicions and maternal paranoia grow. Could evil reside in the form of a little boy? And who—or what—have they invited into their home, their trust, their sense of safety?
Off with His Head/Singing in the Shrouds/False Scent
Ngaio Marsh - 2009
Commemorating 75 years since the Empress of Crime's first book, the seventh volume in a set of omnibus editions presenting the complete run of 32 Inspector Alleyn mysteries.
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.
Hider/Seeker
Tom Claver - 2015
But when he arranges for Angela Linehan and her son to disappear abroad from her violent husband in London, little does he know that his life will depend on finding her again. It’s a job that reawakens Harry’s past and brings him back into contact with his ex-wife Bethany. Fate has given him a second chance to redeem himself in her eyes. But Angela’s disappearance puts Harry and Bethany in terrible danger. He risks losing everything unless he can find where Angela is hiding in Central America. The clock is ticking and his finely honed tracking skills no longer apply. Chance and luck will decide everything.
Mirror Mirror
Nick Louth - 2016
So when he is offered a lucrative job in London as close protection officer to one of the world’s most beautiful women, he can hardly believe his luck. How hard can it be?Twenty-three-year-old Mira Roskova is admired, envied and desired. With a world-famous footballer for a boyfriend, her rise to celebrity and wealth comes with what her millions of Facebook and Instagram followers imagine to be a perfect life. But celebrity extracts a price. Mira is assailed on all sides. Trailed by those who adore her, threatened and stalked by strangers online, and beaten up by a man she trusted. Virgil finds this isn’t the cushy number he imagined. Her home isn’t safe, her friends can’t be trusted, and her freedoms melt away. Then there is the enigma of the woman herself: where does the image end and the person begin?As the threats multiply, the biggest danger is overlooked. In Broadmoor, Britain’s most notorious psychiatric hospital, one man has long been obsessed with Mira. His crimes are so awful that a judge ruled they must never been revealed to the public. But his plans to possess a unique beauty are well advanced, and he has the charm and the cunning to make them work.As Mira’s agent remarks, fame has a habit of devouring its most perfect children.