Book picks similar to
Dead in the Water by A.J. Basinski
mystery
first-reads
first-in-series
import-sort
Faceless (A Suburban Noir Novel)
Cathryn Grant - 2015
Allie loves social media because it makes her feel close to her friends. It never occurs to her that some are jealous of the seemingly perfect lives they see displayed online. The embers of jealousy ignite when one of her friends flaunts his new-found wealth with a party to unveil his lavish home. A tragedy at the party seems to bring all of them closer together. But when one of Allie’s friends goes missing, their lives are suspended. No one knows whether they’re looking for an abductor or a killer. Will social media help them discover the truth? As the cords in Allie’s lifelong friendships start to fray, and her marriage is threatened by her addiction to social media, she discovers secrets she wishes she’d never known. You’ll love this gripping novel of envy and lust because you’ll recognize some of the characters from your own social media circle. Get a copy of this page-turning novel today.
Mind of a Killer
Dan Padavona - 2018
A teenage girl is brutally murdered in an idyllic lake community. In over his head, the local sheriff calls upon the Behavior Analysis Unit’s best profiler, Scarlett Bell, to find the murderer. Is a serial killer stalking Coral Lake? Now Scarlett faces a killer unlike any she’s encountered. Bloodthirsty. Cunning. Insane. Another girl goes missing, and the special agent must stop the killer before time runs out. But the killer is a ghost, a phantom hiding in plain sight, and Scarlett must untangle a confusing web of evidence if she hopes to track him down. If she fails, the girl dies. The body count will grow. Scarlett should beware. The killer is coming for her now.
Murder in a Good Neighborhood
K.K. Chalmers - 2011
So when Roxanne finds the body of a beautiful young woman the week before Halloween, she is more than happy to leave the detecting to her son Marc, an Eastport, Virginia homicide detective...until a retired astronaut who also happens to be an old flame is arrested and the abbess from a nearby monastery insists Roxanne must help clear his name. Only neither woman realizes that by unmasking a killer, Roxanne is placing someone she loves in mortal danger.MURDER IN A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD was the 2009 winner of the Best Unpublished Novel Contest sponsored by James River Writers and Richmond Magazine. (63,800 words)The author is currently writing a sequel.
Death by Pink Flamingo
Elisabeth Crabtree - 2014
Everyone in Hatter’s Cove is talking about her. They’re convinced she knocked off her sweet and kindly old uncle for her inheritance and if that weren’t bad enough, one person seems determined to make her pay for her supposed crime. Sylvia Sutton, her business partner and the other co-owner of the hotel, will stop at nothing to prove Anna’s guilt. Despite Anna’s love and affection for her Uncle Max, Sylvia’s convinced that Anna is a cold blooded murderer and has made it quite clear to anyone that will listen that she will put Anna behind bars if it’s the last thing she does. So, when Anna stumbles upon Sylvia’s dead body in the middle of the night and accidentally puts her fingerprints all over the murder weapon, there seems to be only one logical thing to do . . . bury the body and pretend she didn’t see anything. At least, that’s what her ex-boyfriend thinks. The same ex she’s loved since grade school. The same ex who left without saying good bye nine years ago. The same ex who suddenly reappeared that day. And the same ex who seems awfully anxious to get rid of the body.
Ashes
Kelly Cozy - 2013
That was Jennifer's life. But when she survived a domestic terrorist attack and her last-minute escape became the iconic image of the event, that life was over. Wanting only to disappear and become just another face in the crowd, she cashed in on her unwanted fame and moved to a small town, hidden away and safe. Retired. That was Sean's life. A former covert operative - the kind the government denies exists - he'd been pushed unwillingly into a life of suburban peace and quiet. But his retirement ended when he saw Jennifer's rescue; from then on he only wanted to find those responsible for the attack, even if it meant turning rogue.What Jennifer and Sean will both find is that nothing goes to plan, and their paths will cross in a way neither could have foreseen.
London Carter Boxed Set: Books 1 - 3
B.J. Bourg - 2017
Will London solve the mystery in time, or will more officers die before he can bring the killer to justice? PROVING GROUNDS When the sniper-style murder of an alligator poacher puts two rival families on edge, Police Sniper London Carter and Detective Sergeant Dawn Luke join forces to solve the case. But they'll have their work cut out for them as the two families recruit small armies to fight each other and the FBI becomes involved in the case. It doesn't take London long to realize they're dealing with a professional killer, but the motive for the murder is far from clear. Will he and Dawn solve the case before it's too late, or will the swamps of Louisiana run red with the blood of the rival families and the cops who are trying to stop them? SILENT TRIGGER Days after Police Sniper London Carter resolves a hostage situation at a local car dealership, Detective Sergeant Dawn Luke calls upon him to assist her with a mysterious death investigation. The cause of death is not obvious, but the body is found in a peculiar position and the individual is connected to the recent hostage situation, so something seems amiss. London and Dawn end up facing numerous roadblocks in their quest for the truth--including an unidentified body, uncooperative witnesses, and a killer tornado--and through it all they start to develop feelings for each other. But the case is growing complicated and dangerous, and if they’re not careful, one of them could end up like their victim…dead and naked on a cold morgue slab.
Patch Lane
S.F. Barkley - 2019
After repeatedly responding to an abandoned and allegedly haunted farmhouse for 911 hang up calls, she discovers a dead body in a secret room. The forensic investigators determine that the body has only been dead for three to four days, but the case takes an unexpected turn when Sarah runs the victim's fingerprints and learns that her Jane Doe actually died 20 years ago. When the investigation intersects with a larger confidential case, Sarah finds herself caught between the FBI and US Marshals and realizes that she may be closer to the victim than she thought. As Sarah’s involvement in the case deepens, she finds her career is not the only thing at stake…
Someone wants her dead.
Amish Baby Snatched
Diane Craver - 2016
Instead of going backpacking in Europe for the summer, pregnant eighteen-year-old Chloe Parrish ends up in Fields Corner. Her parents send her there to work in her aunt’s restaurant. Chloe’s parents and her boyfriend Logan want her to consider adoption. Amish and happily married, Beth Byler is pregnant with her first baby. When she sees how sad Chloe seems at the doctor’s office, Beth asks if everything is okay. Although they come from different backgrounds, their pregnancies give them something to share and they become friends. During their prenatal visits, Chloe and Beth meet a new obstetrician, Dr. Tony Cunningham. He becomes interested in the lovely Chloe. Tony and Chloe find themselves at crossroads in their lives—she’s torn about what to do about her baby, and Tony isn’t sure he wants to do Amish home births. After a baby is kidnapped, anger explodes between Beth and Chloe. Can both women recover from a heartbreaking situation, and trust God still knows what is best for them?
Operation Neurosurgeon
Barbara Ebel - 2009
Can Danny’s situation get any worse after the alluring lady disappears, he inherits her roguish retriever, and his Albert Einstein historical book turns up missing? A pack of Tennessee attorneys pursue Danny while he develops a scheme with his paramedic best friend to payback the mysterious woman who left in a hurry.
Dark Homecoming
William Patterson - 2016
Their honeymoon was idyllic and Liz is blissfully happy—at first. But she feels increasingly uneasy in her lavish new home. Huntington House and its staff still seem to be in the thrall of David’s first wife. In fact, the housekeeper, Mrs. Hoffman, has made it clear that Liz can never measure up to the stunning, sophisticated, deceased, Dominique. Though Dominique drowned in a yachting accident, Liz still senses her spirit in the house. She hears unexplained noises…sees shadowy figures vanishing down the long corridors. The scent of Dominique’s favorite flowers fills the air. But Liz’s fears are more than insecurity. Two young women connected to Huntington House have already met terrible deaths. More will die—and soon. Because behind the house’s polished façade is an unimaginable secret and a love turned to twisted, unnatural obsession…Praise for William Patterson’s The Inn "The Conjuring meets The Shining in William Patterson's deliciously creepy thriller. Fast-paced, horror-filled, clever and impossible-to-predict, this heart-pounding tale will leave you breathless." --Kevin O’Brien, New York Times bestselling author
Salty Sky
Seth Coker - 2016
Coleman is both wrapping up a reunion for childhood friends and battening down the hatches for an approaching hurricane when his life gets a jolt of adrenaline.Francisco Escobar, nephew of Columbian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, has spent the last two decades maintaining a low profile but now ready to expand his family’s empire. As Escobar plans for new business opportunities, he also wrestles with how to handle old grievances.In this riveting thriller, Seth Coker develops a range of unforgettable characters while providing a nuanced glimpse of a waterman’s life on the North Carolina coast.
The Silence
Katharine Johnson - 2017
When human remains are discovered in the grounds of an idyllic Tuscan holiday home she is forced to confront the memories she has suppressed until now and relive the summer she spent at the villa in 1992. A summer that ended in tragedy. The nearer she gets to the truth the closer she comes to losing her sanity. In order to hold onto the people she loves most, she must make sure they never discover what she did. But the reappearance of someone else from that summer threatens to blow her secret wide open.
Star of Sage & Scream
Leanne Leeds - 2022
Now I’m on my way home to a mother who disapproves of me and four sisters who barely know me. Is it possible for a witch like me to find space in a place she doesn’t belong?I didn’t think they’d dismantle the paranormal military with a wave of their bureaucratic magic wand, but they did. Everything I’d spent the previous fifteen years of my life doing and being was ripped away from me in an instant, out of my reach.And now that the paranormal military’s gone, I’ve got nothing left to fight for.So I’m on my way back to Forkbridge, Florida, to the family coven of the goddess Athena, which is led by high priestess Minerva Arden. My mother’s name. The hippie witch mother I left thirteen years ago, against her explicit wishes, to join the military rather than take my place at her side.Mother no doubt expects me to return home to claim my birthright and fulfill my destiny to the goddess Athena.Not a chance.Or so I think.Because when the goddess Athena sends you a talking owl that slaps you with a divine superpower and tells you to go save someone with it, it’s really hard to say no.
Amish Mystery Collection
Samantha Bayarr - 2017
The Amish Girl 2. Sins of the Father 3. Blood Brothers 4. Bless the Child ONE: At the tender age of ten, Amelia is orphaned when her parents are murdered because of a crime they were accused of committing during their rumsrpinga. When she returns to her childhood home, strange and frightening events warn that she will soon become a victim of the same fate if she is unsuccessful in solving the crime even the authorities couldn't solve. The secret she uncovers beneath the decaying floorboards of her dilapidated home makes her wish she'd never returned... and her parents are too dead to give her an explanation. TWO: SINS OF THE FATHER: When Kyle finds a barely-conscious woman on Zeb Yoder's property, he wonders if she was trying to break into the barn, or if she was running from it. When he begins to unravel the mystery of her identity, the secrets are a little too close to home; secrets someone will kill to keep them secret. Will Kyle find out who she is before it's too late for both of them? Or are they in danger of being murdered by someone they both know? THREE: Seth and Kyle grew up believing they were cousins, and had made a blood-brother pact when they were young. But with that pact came responsibility. After years of not seeing each other, Kyle must go in search of Seth to make good on that pact. But does that pact involve murder? How many more secrets will they find buried on Old Man Yoder’s farm? FOUR: When Amelia interrupts a man in the process of kidnapping her infant son, Gabriel, she feels her only choice is to bargain with the man, and convince him to take her too. Being held for ransom by a man who thinks there is still money left from the robbery her parent’s committed almost twenty years ago, she begins to realize there may have been more to that crime than she’s originally thought. In a race to get herself and her son rescued, Amelia puts coded messages in the ransom letters the man forces her to write. Will her husband and family be able to decode her pleas for her life before it’s too late?
Ulterior Motives
Mark O'Neal - 2008
Louis Wolves. His team got bounced out of the NBA Playoffs, so he decided to come back to Chicago to visit his family Mother's Day weekend. However, someone from his past wanted to make him pay, so his stepfather was kidnapped for a million dollar ransom. He had 48 hours to raise the money or else his stepfather was dead. Will Maurice rescue his stepfather, or will the two of them fall victim to this band of ruthless thugs?This is a reedited and reformatted version of Ulterior Motives; and it contains bonus chapters, a more in-depth background of the main characters, and an alternate ending for your enjoyment. Relive the action and suspense in Volume 1 of this spellbinding series.