Book picks similar to
Blackfriars Gate: A DCI Shaftoe Mystery by J.J. Thomas
crime-fiction
detective-thriller
first-in-series
Spilled Blood: Inspector Drake Mysteries Box Set Book 1-3
Stephen Puleston - 2015
every killer leaves a trace. Good thing that Detective Inspector Drake is on the case ... Spilled Blood: Books 1-3 includes the first three novels Brass in Pocket, Worse than Dead and Against the Tide (plus a bonus prequel novella Devil’s Kitchen) in the captivating mystery series readers describe as “exceptional” and “lots of twists and turns”. If you like clever plotting and engaging characters to keep you up late into the night then you will love Stephen Puleston’s bestselling series. 450+ 5&4* reviews. Find out why readers are enjoying Stephen Puleston’s clever murder mystery series. Buy the box set to get FOUR books you won’t want to put down!
Impurity
Ray Clark - 2019
A detective on edge. A community that wants answers. One fateful night when off duty, DI Stewart Gardener intervenes in a street brawl and his wife is shot dead. Trying to come to terms with this, he gradually returns to normal duties policing the streets of Leeds. Finding his wife’s murderer is never far from his mind, but with no leads and a hazy recollection of events, it seems hopeless. Soon he is presented with a shocking case. A man is found dead in a grubby apartment, having been killed in the cruellest of ways. It is not long before another man meets the same fate. The deaths are caused by a rapid and violent disintegration of the victims’ flesh. Pathology cannot ascertain the cause. The only connection between the victims is they both worked seasonally as Santas, dressing up as Father Christmas and entertaining kids in grottos and such like. Who would want to kill such innocuous men as these? The detective is flummoxed. The local community is ruffled. The press is having a field day. The top brass wants answers. Can DI Gardener overcome his grief and solve the case? IMPURITY is the first in a series of six books featuring Leeds based Detective Inspector Stewart Gardener. They are all murder mysteries but as suspenseful as the best thrillers. FREE with Kindle Unlimited. Look out for the next in the series, IMPERFECTION, coming soon on Kindle. If you like crime fiction that has you glued to the page and reading late into the night, this is the book for you!
The Rope
Stephen Leather - 2015
The short story also appears in the collection Spider Shepherd: SAS Volume 2.
The DCI Isaac Cook Thriller Series: Books 1 - 6: The Complete Series
Phillip Strang - 2017
Six Edge of Your Seat Thrillers. Six Books at a Discounted Price. Over One Hundred Five Star Reviews.
Murder is a Tricky Business (Book 1) -There’s a secret, that much is certain, but who knows?
The missing actress? The executive producer, his eavesdropping assistant? Or the actor who portrayed her fictional brother on the Soap Opera? Why has DCI Cook been taken away from more important crimes to search for the woman? It’s not the first time she’s gone missing, and why does everyone assume she’s been murdered?
Murder House (Book 2) - A corpse in the fireplace of an old house. It's been there for thirty years, but who is it?
It's clearly murder, and what connection does the body have to the previous owners of the house? It was bound to be discovered eventually but was that what the murderer wanted? The main suspects are all old and dying, or already dead. There's a motive, but what is it? Those who know are not talking out of an old-fashioned belief in that a family's dirty laundry is not to be aired in public, and certainly not to a policeman - even if that means the murderer is never brought to justice! Murder is Only a Number (Book 3) - Before she left she carved a number in blood on his chest. But why the number 2, if this was her first murder? And why is she keeping count? The woman prowls London. She kills at will. Her targets are men who have wronged her, or have they? DCI Cook knows who she is, at least after she has killed the first four, but the woman disappears in plain sight. The pressure’s on to stop her, but she’s always one step ahead.
Murder in Little Venice (Book 4) - A dismembered corpse floats in a canal in London. Isaac Cook is baffled as to why it’s there. Is it gang-related, or is it something more?
Whatever the reason, it’s clearly a warning, and Isaac and his team are sure it’s not the last body that they’ll have to deal with.
Murder is the Only Option (Book 5) - A man, thought to be long dead, returns to exact revenge against those who had blighted his life. His only concern is to protect his wife and daughter. He will stop at nothing to achieve his aim.
‘Big Greg, I never expected to see you around here at this time of night.’ ‘I’ve told you enough times.’ ‘I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,’ Robertson replied. He looked up at the man, only to see a metal pole coming down at him. Robertson fell down, cracking his head against a concrete kerb. The two vagrants, no more than twenty feet away, did not stir and did not even look in the direction of the noise. If they had, they would have seen a dead body, another man walking away.
Murder Without Reason (Book 6) - Before she left she carved a number in blood on his chest.
Buried in the Backwater (A Sheriff Elven Hallie Mystery #1)
Drew Strickland - 2021
Her body washes away with the rain.Her killer remains a mystery.Sheriff Elven Hallie has been longing for a new case that would add some excitement to his small-town life.But a dead girl wasn’t what he expected.On the last murder case he worked, he was just a deputy with an experienced Sheriff to guide him and they were looking for an outsider.This time, he’s in charge, and the killer is part of their community.Short-staffed, and newly elected, Elven has an entire West Virginia county to police. With the help of his new deputy, Maddison Cook, Elven must navigate between Dupray’s rich and poor.It’s an uphill battle the entire way.With pressures mounting from the townspeople, county officials, and his own sense of duty, will he be able to catch the killer? Or will another body surface, pulling Elven in over his head?If you’re a fan of C.J. Box’s Joe Pickett, Craig Johnson’s Longmire, Jeff Carson’s David Wolf and Patrick Logan’s Damien Drake, then you will be sucked into this page-turning mystery with an ending that you’ll never see coming!
Skinner's Elves: A Bob Skinner Christmas Story
Quintin Jardine - 2017
Two pillars made them and supported them through their lives; now one is gone and the other is near to collapse. Can he be renewed, or has he been conquered at last? Major James Andrew Skinner, AKA Jazz Morgan, takes up the story. Quintin Jardine's 6,000 word short story is a glance into the future that was born from a joke, when he used its title as a throwaway line to a friend. 'A great title for a children's book,' she observed. This isn't a children's book, but in a real sense it's a take about children and the power they have to help us overcome, and emerge from, the deepest despair.
Whispers Beneath the Pines
Carla Kovach - 2014
The group plan to have one last adventure before they have to finally succumb to adulthood. What they think will be a week of sun, parties and romance soon becomes more sinister when they take a trip to the mountainous province of Mügla for the day. Eve soon realises that things are not what they seem. She sees that something isn’t right but her friends are oblivious. Can she convince them all before it’s too late? Suitable for adults only.
Jealousy Junction
Cathryn Grant - 2021
My organic grocery store was thriving; I had a charming and tender new guy in my life who was looking like he might be the real deal. And then my estranged sister reappeared in my life. I couldn’t have been happier.Until I wasn’t. Someone was stalking me. My sister was flirting with my boyfriend, and I was pretty sure he was flirting back.Someone was dead, and everyone might be lying.Welcome to Liar’s Island… a stand-alone series of interconnected, novella-length domestic thrillers set in the picture-perfect community of Liars Island. Here, nothing is quite as it seems.On this island, families and friendships are more than meets the eye … secrets, deceptions, and jealousies threaten to ruin everything these influential people have built. But it isn’t only the rich that live here … and power comes in all shapes and sizes.Everyone here is a liar … just how far would you go to get what you want?
A Victorian Gent
Andrew Wareham - 2015
The bloody conflict could be the making or the breaking of him, as could his alliance with Elizabeth, an attractive and feisty American businesswoman.
Old Age Private Eye (Old Age Pensioner Investigations (OAPI) #1)
A.W. Blakely - 2015
Then he mowed the lawn (again) and knew his life was over. His wife was happy doing her crosswords, but Stanley felt like an old age pensioner with nothing to look forward to apart from sitting in his chair, watching daytime TV, and walking his dog, Roobarb. On a whim, after yet another wet walk with his overweight pooch, he put an advert in the corner shop window: Old Age Pensioner Investigations. No job too big, or small. From murder to missing cats, Detective Stanley can solve it all. He went home, got told off for letting Roobarb get mud on the lino, stared at Custard the cat who stole the only biscuit he was allowed a day (he was putting on weight), and fell asleep in his chair. Then the doorbell rang. He had a case. The old age private eye was in business. Now all he had to do was actually solve a murder. Oh, and get a pad, and a pen, and maybe detectives had cars too, and secretaries, and offices... He wasn't bored any more, that was the main thing. Plus the murder mystery, of course.
Finding Love Again (Love on the Oregon Trail Book 1)
Emily Woods - 2018
Can a widow and a wagon master find true love too? A Sweet Western Romance from #1 Best Selling Author Emily Woods Emma is a widow who is just looking to start a new life with her children. After spending his life delivering other people’s dreams, Jeremiah hopes to find love and settle down himself. Can they overcome adversity and find love on the Oregon Trail? Finding Love Again is a clean western romance from #1 Best Selling author Emily Woods. If you like clean, historical fiction about women who risk everything to find love, you will love this sweet romance! Download Finding Love Again and get lost in another sweet western romance today. Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited
Man Found Dead in Park
Margaret Coel - 2017
I love Margaret Coel’s writing because there’s never a misplaced step. She balances two opposing cultures with little room for compromise, which is good because this chick works without a safety net. It’s human nature, or certainly the nature of writers, to analyze another’s work when reading it, in an attempt to take the story apart like an acrobatic trick—kick off your shoes and try it out. Every once in a while you second guess them and follow them out onto that tightrope just to find where they might’ve slipped up, but Margaret never does and just when you think she has she’ll turn and wink, so keep reading. Like Catherine McLeod, the reporter protagonist of Man Found Dead in Park, Margaret embraces both the mainstream and native cultures, all the while maintaining the aspect of her writing that transcends the genre with a deep understanding of human nature. When a man is found dead in an Indian section of Denver where no one is talking, McLeod finds herself in conflict with Mexican drug cartels and an investigation that leads north into Wyoming's Wind River Reservation and what turns out to be her roots. Transformative for both McLeod and the reader, the width and breath of the story is easy to miss, because Coel’s writing has a heady narrative that holds a sense of wonder and romance—a place that a lot of other writers fear to tread. I sometimes wonder if she knows how good she is, but I think probably not. The humility of a few artists is what keeps them grounded, and even when she’s out there flying high, I’m pretty sure she has her head up but is feeling every twitch of the story through the soles of her feet. Navigating with the finesse of a Flying Wallenda, Coel never misses a thing, because the devil is in the details, and like her character, Detective Nick Bustamante, Margaret knows that these indiscernible little slights of hand are the thing that makes for great drama under the Big Top. So join Margaret Coel out onto that high wire where she works without a safety net. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out there will be moments of insecurity, thoughts that will disconcert, and you might be tempted to look down, but don’t. If things get too hairy just reach out and take this daredevil performer’s hand, and she’ll grin that signature smile and make sure you make it back to safety. --Craig Johnson
A Mega Collection of Cozy Mysteries & More: 25 Book Box Set
Liz Turner - 2018
More than 600,000 words of wholesome mysteries to keep you enthralled for hours! Find your favorite spot to sit back and enjoy this fantastic collection of best-selling, standalone cozy mysteries from Liz Turner. Cozy Mystery Romances
Notes From the Mysterious “G”
Mountain Mayhem
Murder: The Missing Necklace
From the Jolene Park – Attorney At Law, Cozy Mystery Series
A Deadly Con
Deadly Winnings
Left for Dead in Alaska
Murder of the Eccentric Billionaire
From the Dr. Hallie Malone Cozy Mystery Series
Murder at the Movies
A Deadly Stew
Half-Baked Blackmail & Murder
The Sandwich Murder
The Bakery Truck Mystery
From the Rare Catch Cozy Mystery Series
Murder At Starlight Resort
Murder at the Barbecue
Murder at the Renaissance Fair
From the Cozy Mystery In The Mountains Series
Murder on the Menu
Trail Mix Murder
Getaway to Murder
Murder: The Final Dare
Murder at the Festival
From the Margie Lauderdale Cozy Mystery Series
Murder at the Wine Tasting
French Cuisine Murder
Wedding Bells & Murder?
As an added bonus, 2 exciting mystery and suspense romances from the archives have been included for your reading enjoyment:
A SEAL’s Redemption
Protected by a SEAL
Get your copy today! Click the 'BUY' button at the top of this page or read it for FREE WITH KINDLE UNLIMITED.
The Consortium: Crime fiction from the heart of Wales (The Welsh crime mysteries Book 2)
Nicola Clifford - 2021
Teesside Steal
John Nicholson - 2013
His dad has just died, he’s being made bankrupt, he’s getting evicted, his girlfriend has left him and Middlesbrough are 2-0 down in the UEFA Cup. But there’s a way out. His father has bequeathed him a huge inheritance, if only he can find out where it is. As he tries to repair his relationship with Julie and deal with the ghosts of his dysfunctional upbringing, he discovers his dad isn’t the man he thought he was. Soon it becomes obvious something very strange has happened and Nick begins to doubt that his dad is even dead at all. As he searches for the truth, he is plunged into a world of theft, greed and brutal murder. Soon, as the Boro play a huge European game, he will have to fight for his and Julie’s life on the windswept sand dunes of Saltburn. Teesside Steal is set in Teesside and North Yorkshire and is the first in the Nick Guymer series of mysteries. It is a story of upbringing, inheritance and UEFA Cup football.