Book picks similar to
A Deadly Dividend by David Pearson


mystery
crime
murder-mystery
first-in-series

Salt in the Wounds


Mark Richards - 2020
    Going back to his old life.The one that cost him his wife…Michael Brady was a high-flying detective, working on a high-profile case.And much too close to the truth.Someone arranged a hit-and-run.But they missed Brady. And hit his wife.And after six months sitting by her bed, he took the only decision he could take. He turned the machine off.Now he’s back home in Whitby. Trying to rebuild his life. And be a good dad to his teenage daughter.But when his best friend is murdered Brady – unwillingly at first – is drawn into the investigation.And when the only people he has left are threatened, he finds there’s only one answer.Going back to his old life…

Hit and Run


Andy Maslen - 2017
    FORGET THE LAW, SHE WANTS REVENGE Detective Inspector Stella Cole was a rising star in London’s Metropolitan Police. Then a hit-and-run driver killed her husband, Richard, a human rights lawyer. Grief drove her to booze and pills. Back at work after a year’s compassionate leave, Stella secretly re-investigates his death and begins to suspect a cover-up. Freelance journalist Vicky Riley was working with Richard to expose corruption buried deep inside the legal system. Unaware that powerful people are out to stop her, she contacts Stella. Vicky’s research confirms Stella’s worst fears. The people who should be upholding the law are turning it on its head. Stella thinks she’s closing in on the truth. Then a horrific discovery threatens her very sanity. What began as a search for justice is now a raging thirst for revenge. A disturbing psychological crime thriller… Hit and Run is a disturbing, psychological crime thriller set in the grimy world of legal conspiracy and corruption, from Andy Maslen, author of the hugely popular Gabriel Wolfe novels. Set in the grey area where truth and lies, virtue and villainy collide, it shines a spotlight into some very dark places. The book is the first in a series.

THE LATCH MAN


John Dean - 2020
    DCI Blizzard attends in person, bemused that a woman who has spent her life evading the law, now seeks its protection.Meeting the tough old bird, he senses a genuine fear. But if suspicions that the unwelcome guest was the infamous Latch Man are true, that fear should be allayed. A ‘gentleman thief’, he has never harmed a soul. But when the woman is later found to have died, DCI John Blizzard senses something is afoot.Dismissing the doctor’s summary conclusion of natural causes, he determines to investigate further. What he discovers will shake the community to its core, scaring criminals and law-abiding folk alike.If it is true The Latch Man has returned, that is only part of the puzzle. Rivalries that have been simmering for years have come to the fore, and Blizzard must stop the case from snowballing into further tragedy.Can Blizzard discover The Latch Man’s identity, and can he collar him for the crime?

The Eye Thief


M.K. Farrar - 2020
    Blind. With holes in their head where their eyes used to be.DI Erica Swift is caught between the stresses of trying to take care of a young family, a father with dementia, and a demanding job. Working for the Violent Crimes Task Force, she does her best not to let her work life encroach on her family, but it’s not always easy.The case the papers have dubbed ‘The Eye Thief’ is a welcome distraction, though London’s residents are fearful of who will be next.When one of the victims dies, turning it into a murder case, Erica and her team find themselves on the trail of a killer.But a chance encounter drags a horrific event in Erica’s past to collide with her present.The killer has one thing on their mind…Revenge.

Before He Kills Again


Margaret Murphy - 2020
    Seven victims so far. And he’s already got his next victim.The police can’t catch him. He leaves no trace of himself, and no one has been able to provide a reliable description of him.Detective Cassie Rowan is working undercover and on his trail. But now he has Cassie in his sights.DISCOVER A BRAND-NEW SERIES FROM ONE OF THE MOST THRILLING WRITERS OF CRIME FICTION!This brand-new, unputdownable crime thriller series from Murder Squad founder Margaret Murphy is one of the must-reads of 2020!MEET DETECTIVE CASSIE ROWANDC CASSIE ROWAN is a young policewoman who has been the main carer for her little brother NEIL since their parents died. She has to balance this role with her demanding job. She is working undercover on the streets of Liverpool trying to find the ‘Furman’, a man who has been brutally assaulting sex workers. Cassie blames herself and another detective, Wicks, for not catching him sooner. Forensic scientist Dr Ian Chan is on her side, but her boss Detective Chief Inspector Pat Warman thinks she is uncooperative and needs to work as part of a team.ALSO BY MARGARET MURPHYCLARA PASCAL SERIESBook 1: DARKNESS FALLSBook 2: WEAVING SHADOWSDETECTIVE JEFF RICKMAN SERIESBook 1: SEE HER BURNBook 2: SEE HER DIE

Combustible


David K. Wilson - 2019
    But then someone had to go and get murdered.When he’s sent to investigate an accidental death from a house fire, it seems like just another open-and-shut case... until he discovers the victim was dead before the fire started.It isn't long before Sam stumbles upon a dark side to the victim’s past and unwittingly ignites a powder keg of secrets. Soon he is caught in a maze of murder, abuse and corruption.Was it the vengeful arsonist? The widow with a sordid past? The son with a chip on his shoulder? Or is an ambitious warden trying to keep a prison scandal under wraps? One thing’s for sure: the more Sam fans the flames, the more likely he is to get burned.Set among the colorful backdrop of East Texas, this taut page-turner is sure to keep you guessing until the very last page.

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 Surrey Stalker


B.L. Pearce - 2019
    An ambitious young detective. A case that could destroy everything he holds dear.When a young woman is found raped and strangled along the Thames River path, it looks like a personal vendetta by an enraged ex-lover. Then two more women die in the same manner and it becomes clear that a deranged serial killer is on the loose. All three women were engaged to be married. Could this be the link between them?The case is assigned to DI Rob Miller, a young, ambitious detective, whose job it is to catch the killer before any more women are murdered. Rob throws himself into the investigation to the detriment of his own fiancé who is planning their wedding. When Rob begins to hone in on the killer, his fiancé disappears, and Rob knows it's only a matter of time before the killer makes this personal.

The Magpie


Marrisse Whittaker - 2021
    A detective who is out of control. Meet DSI Wilde. Wilde by name. Wild by nature. DSI Billie Wilde is on a mission to catch the killer responsible for a horrific showcase of murders, in order to prove that she’s still at the top of her game. But when hidden skeletons come out of dark corners, she is forced to confront her past and face the truth - that she is the ultimate target, now firmly in the executioner’s sights.As Billie grapples with her past, and learns she isn’t who she thought she was, she uncovers devastating childhood links to each of the victims. The past refuses to stay buried and Billie soon finds herself wondering if she knows who’s behind the brutal murders.But can Billie solve the case and unravel the mystery of her own past before it’s too late?

A Murder on Wall Street


Owen Parr - 2017
    Also investigating is Marcy Martinez, a Cuban bombshell and FBI agent who's Joey's girlfriend. When a customer kills himself after celebrating the night before, the three know something's wrong. Turns out, the customer's death coincides with people losing money, and lots of it—and some of those people are very, very dangerous. The apparent suicide of a hedge fund executive and the hit and run accident of his assistant leads Mancuso, Father O'Brian, and FBI Special Agent Martinez into the underworld of Wall Street. Money laundering, insider trading, and a Ponzi scheme are but a few of the crimes they uncovered, as they try and piece together this crime-ridden puzzle. Joey Mancuso spent sixteen years in the NYPD earning his First Grade Detective shield and becoming one of the most successful homicide detectives. His last case, the murder of a homeless person in an alley behind the famed 21 Club, went unsolved. Political pressure undermined the case, as Joey's efforts led him to a congressional candidate and a Wall Street major donor with political juice. His efforts to continue the investigation in spite of the pushback caused his forced retirement from the NYPD. The Internal Affairs Division has sealed his file warning him to cease or else. Now a half-owner, with his half-brother, Catholic priest, Father Mancuso, of an Irish pub, he continues his quest to solve crimes. Both are private investigators and together with Joey's girlfriend, FBI Agent Marcy, set out to bring to justice perpetrators of crimes, law enforcement is ignoring. Fast-paced, suspenseful and thrilling, A Murder on Wall Street is one case you'll want to solve yourself. But the ending is unexpected, as the puzzle finally comes together in this page-turner you won't want to put down.

Murder on the Old Bog Road


David A. Pearson - 2018
    As the list of suspects grows, a town’s dirty secrets are revealed. It’s a cold winter evening and rain is sweeping in from the Atlantic when a young woman, having braved the weather to visit her sick mother in a remote part of Ireland , comes across an obstacle in the road. She clears the highway of stones from a damaged bridge only to see the body of a woman in a ditch. With no phone reception, she travels to the nearest police station to report what she has found. The local Garda waste no time in attending the scene of the crime. The woman is clearly dead, but it needs proper forensics to establish if foul play was the cause. In the meantime, is it not possible that the woman driver was in fact the culprit? She is clearly not telling the whole truth. A game of cat and mouse ensues when the inquiry is upgraded to a murder investigation. The trouble is, when the victim is recognised as a sex worker, there is no shortage of possible suspects. And few of them, if any, are willing to tell the truth to the police. It will take all of Galway detectives Hays and Lyons’ experience to cut through the web of lies and identify the killer in their midst. MURDER ON THE OLD BOG ROAD is the first in a series of atmospheric crime fiction titles featuring Detective Inspector Mick Hays and Detective Sergeant Maureen Lyons. The second book, UNEQUAL SHARES, will be released in April, 2018. MURDER ON THE OLD BOG ROAD will appeal to fans of Val McDermid, Stuart McBride and Pete Brassett.

Shaking the Tree (The Man with Three Names)


Michael Donohue - 2011
    Out of prison, but still on parole, the only thing he wants is to keep his head down, go to work and maybe grab a cold beer at the end of his shift. He doesn't even care that the program stuck him in Essex - a nice, but nowhere small town. With his head already full of bloody and painful memories, he'd like it just fine if his past and future stayed nice and quiet.Too bad the present just got really messy.A body in a tree. A missing briefcase. A Russian hit man. A DEA agent bent on revenge. A corrupt mayor. Not to mention a sheriff with dangerous ambition. A meth lab in the woods. And some pissed off bikers. Things are suddenly very interesting in sleepy Essex county. Bodies are turning up. Secrets are coming out. Questions are being asked. Fingers are being pointed. It's not good being the new guy in a small town.

Meowing for Murder (A Clever Cat Detective Series Novel Book 1)


Sandra Baublitz - 2020
    It’s what sisters do.Lillian knew they’d argue like they always did. But murder?She’s shocked to find a dead neighbor in the middle of her sister’s living room. Why did the woman break in? And who killed her?It’s time for Lillian to pick up her spyglass and Saber to prowl for clues. A killer is on the loose.It will take one clever cat and one canny older woman to solve the purr-fect murder.

The Innocent and the Dead


Robert McNeill - 2019
    A local distiller’s daughter has gone missing, and when he receives a ransom note, his fears that it is a kidnapping are confirmed. Knox decides to take a serious risk to capture the abductors, but the stakes could not be higher. The father is wealthy and well-connected. If Knox’s gamble goes wrong, he’ll have hell to pay. DI Jack Knox is a likeable detective. He likes the odd dram, hankers after his family who are based in Australia, and has a relationship with a colleague he tries to keep under wraps.

Borderlands


Brian McGilloway - 2007
    Garda Inspector Benedict Devlin heads the investigation: the only clues are a gold ring placed on the girl's finger and an old photograph, left where she died.