The House of Closed Doors


Jane Steen - 2012
    Yet Nell is determined to elude the duties and restrictions of matrimony. So when she finds herself pregnant at the age of 17, she refuses to divulge the name of the father and even her childhood friend Martin is kept in the dark.Nell's stepfather Hiram sends Nell to live at the Poor Farm of which he is a governor, to await the day when her baby can be discreetly adopted. Nell is ready to go along with Hiram's plans until an unused padded cell is opened and two small bodies fall out.Nell is the only resident of the Poor Farm who is convinced that the unwed mother and her baby were murdered, and the incident prompts her to rethink her decision to abandon her own child to her fate. But the revelations to which her questions lead make her realize that even if she manages to escape the Poor Farm with her baby, she may have no safe place to run to.

All That Remains


Hannah Holborn - 2015
    A fragile child. Will they save each other?Harvey’s training at The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children prepared him for the most important case of his career to date, the abduction of eight-year-old Gabriel Wheeler. Nothing, however, could prepare him for the boy’s blame-shifting mother from hell who shoots up instead of alerting police when the boy goes missing. Nor is Harvey equipped to deal with the heartbreak when his girlfriend leaves him on the same night, taking Effie, the non-biological young daughter Harvey adores. The case goes cold when Harvey fails to interview Effie’s best friend, the only witness able to identify the perpetrator’s car. As police resources are wasted on dead ends and wrong suspects, Gabriel receives unlikely help to escape from Willard Crawley, a simple-minded abductor seeking a replacement for the infant brother he accidentally suffocated years before.Book 1 in the Missing & Exploited Suspense Series, All That Remains explores childhood resiliency in a dangerous adult world (previously published as Notes From a Cold Case).

Undertaking Irene


Pamela Burford - 2014
    To dead people.Life gets complicated for Jane and her Death Diva business when she’s hired to liberate a gaudy mermaid brooch from the corpse during a wake—on behalf of the rightful owner, supposedly. Well, a girl’s got to make a living, and this assignment pays better than scattering ashes, placing flowers on graves, or bawling her eyes out as a hired mourner. Unfortunately for Jane, someone else is just as eager to get his hands on that brooch, and he’s even sneakier than she is, not to mention dangerously sexy.Just when she thinks her biggest problem is grand theft mermaid, things take a murderous turn. But hey, when you’ve teamed up with a neurotic seven-pound poodle named Sexy Beast, how can you go wrong?

Unforeseen


Nick Pirog - 2008
    After all, it was his case, and he doesn t need to be reminded of the gruesome details. The book dubbed the serial killer, Tristen Grayer, The MAINEiac. Grayer is allegedly dead, but only Prescott knows the truth, Grayer is alive and lurking in the shadows. On October 1st, the anniversary of the first murder, Tristen resurfaces, killing someone special from Prescott's past. Suddenly, it s deja vu for Prescott except this time the women closest to him begin to fall victim at the hands of Grayer. With the help of former flame, medical examiner Dr. Caitlin Dodds, and Eight in October author, Alex Tooms, Prescott must race against the clock to stop Tristen from completing his encore.

Diamonds and Cole


Micheal Maxwell - 2013
    In the past, Cole a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, worked for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Time Magazine. Now, he’s returned to the paper where he started his career, The Chicago Sentinel. Instead of writing the big stories, he’s doing the work of a rookie reporter. His “big story of the day” is a cat caught in a tree. During its rescue, the cat’s owner takes her Good Samaritan neighbor hostage. Cole witnesses something so disturbing it reawakens the journalist’s desire to write again.Returning to the paper, Cole finds a desperate message asking for help from Ellie, one that got away. The one that has continually haunted his life. Cole drops everything and flies to California. He must find what would make her so desperate, she would call him after so many years. Cole finds her terminally ill, and abandoned by her husband. He discovers while Ellie was heavily medicated, she mistakenly signed a Power of Attorney. Now her estranged daughter Erin’s inheritance, won’t go to her, but her abusive step-father. Cole vows to find the girl and right the situation.The path to keeping his word is blocked at every turn by the husband who abandoned her, his shady real estate deals, violent con men, street thugs and the lure of a fortune in diamonds that unite them. The anger, sorrow, and crippling guilt of twenty years fires Cole's drive to keep a promise, that in the end, will heal and return the soul to the great journalist.Beaten, bloody but determined, Cole Sage conquers greed and hatred with a strength that only love, and a will as hard as diamond, can achieve.

The Last Call


George Wier - 2011
    She has taken a North Texas quarter horse racer and liquor baron named Archie Carpin--the last of a dynasty of criminals from the 1920's--for a ride and cleaned him out of a neat two million bucks. And thus begins the adventure of Bill’s life.Ensues a chase north across Texas to recover the money and shake the pursuit of a couple of rednecks with a penchant for rifles and rigged explosives. Yet, through all this action the compelling tale of yet another mystery—an 80-year old missing person’s case—begins to unravel.

Plain Jane: Brunettes Beware


Cristyn West - 2010
    A Patterson-style thriller with a dash of Hannibal...A city paralyzed by a serial killer stalking the night, taking a most gruesome trophy.The only standing in the murderer's way is an FBI profiler...recently released from a mental institution.Plain Jane combines the swift action of Patterson with the macabre of Harris.Just remember to keep the lights on when reading this one!

Miami Requiem


J.B. Turner - 2013
    They wanted her dead". Since her first day on the Miami Herald, rookie reporter Deborah Jones has been agitating for a shot at one particular story. William Craig is on Death Row, convicted of killing Senator Jack O'Neill's only son. There is no question of his guilt. Craig murdered the young man who was acquitted of raping his granddaughter. There are only five weeks and one day until his execution. And Craig has not given a single interview. Deborah Jones has assembled a whole dossier on the case, including court transcripts and every newspaper clipping. She wants to know what prompted Craig to exact revenge. And she has her own, very personal reasons for wishing to uncover the truth. Managing editor of the Herald Sam Goldberg is well aware that Senator O'Neill has powerful friends. The two men have crossed swords on a number of occasions. But against his better judgement, he decides to give Deborah a chance to prove herself. Only with one warning - 'Be careful. Florida may be the Sunshine State to most people. But it's not. It's a swamp. Don't ever forget that.'

Unleashed


Emily Kimelman - 2011
    This left him unconscious on the floor of my home. Amazingly, this bullet did not kill him. Ten years ago I adopted Blue as a present to myself after I broke up with my boyfriend one hot, early summer night with the windows open and the neighborhood listening. The next morning I went straight to the pound in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Articles on buying your first dog tell you never to buy a dog on impulse. They want you to be prepared for this new member of your family, to understand the responsibilities and challenges of owning a dog. Going to the pound because you need something in your life that's worth holding onto is rarely, if ever, mentioned. I asked the man at the pound to show me the biggest dogs they had. He showed me some seven-week-old Rottweiler-German shepherd puppies that he said would grow to be quite large. Then he showed me a six-month-old shepherd that would get pretty big. Then he showed me Blue, the largest dog they had. The man called him a Collie mix and he was stuffed into the biggest cage they had, but he didn't fit. He was as tall as a Great Dane but much skinnier, with the snout of a collie, the markings of a Siberian husky, the ears and tail of a shepherd and the body of a wolf, with one blue eye and one brown. Crouched in a sitting position, unable to lie down, unable to sit all the way up, he looked at me from between the bars, and I fell in love. "He's still underweight," the man in the blue scrubs told me as we looked at Blue. "I'll tell you, lady, he's pretty but he's skittish. He sheds, and I mean sheds. I don't think you want this dog." But I knew I wanted him. I knew I had to have him. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Blue cost me $108. I brought him home, and we lived together for years. He was, for most of our relationship, my only companion. But when I first met Blue, a lifetime ago now, I had family and friends. I worked at a crappy coffeehouse. I was young and lost; I was normal. Back then, at the beginning of this story, before I'd ever seen a corpse, before Blue saved my life, before I felt what it was like to kill someone in cold blood, I was still Joy Humbolt.I'd never even heard the name Sydney Rye.P.S. The dog does not die.**Beware: If you can’t handle a few f-bombs, you can’t handle this series.**

Murder on the Mind


L.L. Bartlett - 2005
    But after suffering a fractured skull in a vicious mugging, he reluctantly accepts the fact that he has a long and brutal recovery to face—and his closest of kin can provide him with the time and place to do it. Now, Jeff is haunted by unexplained visions of a heinous crime—a banker, stalked, killed, and eviscerated like a ten-point buck. When Matt Sumner’s murder is discovered, a still-recovering Jeff realizes this was what he had seen. Jeff must not only convince himself of his new-found psychic ability, but also his skeptical brother Richard Alpert. Since Sumner was Richard’s banker, both brothers have a stake in finding out what happened. With Richard’s reluctant help, Jeff’s investigation leads him to Sumner’s belligerent family and hard-nosed business associates, none of whom want him snooping around. When Jeff discovers a second victim, he knows he must relentlessly chase his quarry even if it means risking his brother’s life.

The World Beneath


Rebecca Cantrell - 2013
    This subterranean labyrinth inhales three million bustling commuters every day. And every day, it breathes them all out again... except for one. Software millionaire Joe Tesla is set to ring the bell on Wall Street the morning his company goes public. On what should be the brightest day in his life, he is instead struck with severe agoraphobia. The sudden dread of the outside is so debilitating, he can't leave his hotel at Grand Central Terminal, except to go underground. Bad luck for Joe, because in the tunnels lurk corpses and murderers, an underground Victorian mansion and a mysterious bricked-up 1940s presidential train car. Joe and his service dog, Edison, find themselves pursued by villains and police alike, their only salvation now is to unearth the mystery that started it all, a deadly, contagious madness on the brink of escaping The World Beneath.

Angela Marchmont Mysteries: Books 1-3 - The Murder at Sissingham Hall, The Mystery at Underwood House, The Treasure at Poldarrow Point


Clara Benson - 2016
    But in the dead of night Sir Neville is murdered. Who did it? As suspicion falls on each of the house guests in turn, Knox finds himself faced with deception and betrayal on all sides, and only the enigmatic Angela Marchmont seems to offer a solution to the mystery. This 1920s whodunit will delight all fans of traditional country house murder stories. THE MYSTERY AT UNDERWOOD HOUSE (Book 2) Old Philip Haynes was never happier than when his family were at each other's throats. Even after his death the terms of his will ensured they would keep on feuding. But now three people are dead and the accusations are flying. Can there really be a murderer in the family? Torn between friendship and duty, Angela Marchmont must find out the truth before the killer can strike again. THE TREASURE AT POLDARROW POINT (Book 3) When Angela Marchmont goes to Cornwall on doctor's orders she is looking forward to a nice rest and nothing more exciting than a little sea-bathing. But her plans for a quiet holiday are dashed when she is caught up in the hunt for a diamond necklace which, according to legend, has been hidden in the old smugglers' house at Poldarrow Point for over a century. Aided by the house's elderly owner, an irrepressible twelve-year-old, and a handsome Scotland Yard detective, Angela soon finds herself embroiled in the most perplexing of mysteries. Who is the author of the anonymous letters? Why is someone breaking into the house at night? And is it really true that a notorious jewel-thief is after the treasure too? Angela must use all her powers of deduction to solve the case and find the necklace—before someone else does.

Run Girl


Eva Hudson - 2014
    It’s been eighteen years and she’s never stopped looking, not for him… or for the friend who has never been seen since.Now the Secretary of State’s granddaughter has gone missing in London, and it falls to Ingrid to find the teenager. There’s something about girls who disappear from view that gnaws at Ingrid, that makes her care more than she should, that makes her lose perspective and take unnecessary risks.It’s Ingrid’s first time in London—she’s only in town to train the Metropolitan Police––so she needs some local knowledge. She is reluctantly paired with a suave, good-looking and arrogant secret intelligence operative who leads her through the city’s back alleys and corridors of power. He’s charismatic and dynamic but when his methods become dangerously unconventional, the two of them clash… in more ways than one. Run Girl sets the scene for Ingrid’s future adventures working out of the US embassy in London. If an American citizen lands in trouble… or winds up dead… or gets accused of a crime they didn’t commit, Special Agent Ingrid Skyberg is on their case.Unlock the thrills and twists of this up-all-night crime thriller series, perfect for fans of gripping mysteries, strong women investigators and any reader who has ever wondered if there’s a female version of Jack Reacher. There is, and her name is Ingrid Skyberg.Please note: Run Girl is a novella - roughly half the length of an average novel.PRAISE FOR EVA HUDSON"I was immediately struck by the plotting savvy and grip-factor of Eva Hudson's writing – she is a natural storyteller" - Sophie Hannah"Ingrid is a fascinating character" - James Oswald"Gripped me from the first page " - DS ButlerABOUT EVA HUDSONAfter years of enjoying thrillers and police procedurals by authors like Lee Child and Michael Connelly, Eva was inspired to write thrillers herself. In 2011 she won the inaugural Lucy Cavendish fiction prize for her first novel, The Loyal Servant, and never looked back.

Material Witness


Lisa Mondello - 2012
    Researching the cool, blue-eyed and dashingly handsome man at the end of the bar stirred her senses more than she wanted to admit. But was this man of leather armor all he appeared to be?Playing White Knight to an innocent wasn't how Detective Jake Santos planned to spend his time under cover. But there was no way "CJ" was what she claimed to be and that nagging tightness in Jake's chest told him he'd better take her home to safety and leave it at that. Then the barroom exploded with gunfire, leaving a trail of dead that includes a notorious Providence crime boss and an undercover FBI agent. When Cassie's name is leaked to the media as the only witness to the grisly murders, Cassie insists she only trusts Jake to protect her.The FBI wants their star witness happy and will do anything to make sure Cassie testifies. But it is clear to Jake that the shooter isn't the only person who wants Cassie dead. Not knowing who to trust, he vows to protect Cassie at all cost despite the fact that guarding the beautiful novelist is a serious distraction. MATERIAL WITNESS is the follow-up Romantic Suspense Novel by Lisa Mondello's Yuletide Protector and is book 1 of her new Heroes of Providence series.

Never Buried


Edie Claire - 1999
    Too bad his body didn't!Advertising copywriter Leigh Koslow doesn't pack heat--just a few extra pounds. And she doesn't go looking for trouble. When she moved into her cousin Cara's refurbished Victorian house, she wasn't planning on discovering a corpse--certainly not one that had been embalmed ten years before. But as anyone in the small Pittsburgh borough of Avalon could tell her, her cousin's house has a history attached. A history dating back to two mysterious deaths in the summer of 1949.Someone wants Leigh and Cara out of the house--someone who has something to hide. But that someone doesn't know Leigh's impetuous cousin, and when Cara digs her heels in, Leigh looks to her old college chum, local policewoman Maura Polanski, for help. But the answers the trio find only point to more questions. Were the scandalous deaths of fifty years ago really an accident and a suicide? Or were they murder?The nearer the women get to the truth, the more desperate someone becomes. Because some secrets are better off kept. Especially when they hit close to home!