Book picks similar to
City of Heretics by Heath Lowrance


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8 Pounds: Eight Tales of Crime, Horror, & Suspense


Chris F. Holm - 2010
    We're talking over a hundred print pages of pure pulp perfection that'll cost you less than the paper it ain't printed on.Includes the Spinetingler-Award-winning "Seven Days of Rain," Derringer-Award finalist "The Big Score," and "The World Behind," which originally appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.Also included are "A Better Life," "The Well," "A Simple Kindness," "Eight Pounds," and "The Toll Collectors."

What We Reckon


Eryk Pruitt - 2017
    Pruitt is one of our best Southern fiction writers." —BookreporterMeet Jack Jordan. He’s a smooth-talking con artist with a penchant for the fast life. He’s snuck into Lufkin, Texas, in the dead of night with little more than a beat-up Honda, a hollowed-out King James Bible full of cocaine, and enough emotional baggage to sink a steam ship. He’s charming, dedicated, and extremely paranoid. Summer Ashton, his partner-in-crime. She’s stuck by him through thick and thin, but lately her mind has begun to slip. They’ve told their fair share of lies and she’s having a devil of a time remembering what’s the truth. And recently, she’s been hearing voices. Unfortunately for both of them, she’s the brains of the operation. Furthermore, they have begun to tire of one another. For these two career grifters, the sleepy East Texas countryside is but another pit stop on their rampage across the American South.Will it be their last? In WHAT WE RECKON, Eryk Pruitt explores themes of identity, loyalty, and purpose with psycho-delic, transgressive, chicken-fried twists that read like Trainspotting cut with a couple grams of Helter Skelter.

Rough Trade


Todd Robinson - 2016
    So when Byron is found dead, they’re shocked. They’re even more shocked when they learn that nothing is what they originally thought, and they’re being held accountable in the man's death.With Junior called in for questioning, Boo is determined to clear their names by finding Byron’s true killer. It’s a quest in which Boo will have to face down crooked cops, crazed guard dogs, a rival security crew, the Irish mob and—worst of all—his own ingrained prejudices.Action-packed, outrageously funny, and brutally honest, Rough Trade brings back crime fiction’s favorite bouncers and takes them well out of their comfort zone in a novel that’s whip-smart, hilarious, gritty and above all human, proving that Todd Robinson is one of the most important voices in crime fiction.

Buffalo Bayou: A Noir Crime Thriller


Tom Abrahams - 2021
    His first case is a young woman found in an urban bayou. He immediately sees clues that lead him places he doesn't want to go. But his own demons may be the clue to solving the mystery of the woman's death. And as the case widens, so do his new partner's suspicions about his past and motivations.

Burn


Sean Doolittle - 2003
    Not a good sign for Andrew Kindler, who just came from back east to get away from his past–as an arsonist. In fact, almost from the moment he sets foot in his cousin’s Santa Monica beach house, the heat starts swirling around him. First there’s the cop who thinks Andrew might know something about a murder suspect. Then there’s the suspect’s beautiful sister, who is willing to pay Andrew $5,000 for the same information.But Andrew really uninformed. And with a sensational murder case burning a hole in the gut of the LAPD–as well as the star-studded L.A. fitness industry–ignorance is dangerous. Now Andrew must solve a murder he knows nothing about, find a killer he’s never met, and unravel a family’s explosive secret. His reward for success? To live another day: one step ahead of his burning past... “An exceptionally well-crafted and well-told tale of arson, police work, misplaced zeal, bad relationships, good relationships, family bonds and, oh yes, exercise videos. Quirky, compelling, intelligent, and funny ... If you like Elmore Leonard, do yourself a favor and pick up BURN.”–Lincoln Journal Star “A cult writer for the masses–hip, smart and so mordantly funny that the casual reader might be laughing too hard to realize just how thoughtful Doolittle’s work is. Get on the bandwagon now.”–Laura Lippman, author of By a Spider’s Thread “Sean Doolittle combines wit, good humor, and a generosity of spirit rare in mystery fiction to create novels that are both engrossing and strangely uplifting. He deserves to take his place among the best in the genre.”–John Connolly, author of The White Road“An estimable addition not only to the publisher’s list but also to crime fiction ... Doolittle delivers a briskly plotted, hard-boiled mystery that has its roots in the Elmore Leonard school of dark comedy.”–South Florida Sun-Sentinel·Gold medal winner for mystery in ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Award·A Best Crime Fiction of 2003 pick from January Magazine

The DI Kate Burrows Trilogy: The Ladykiller / Broken / Hard Girls


Martina Cole - 2017
    Perfect for fans of Val McDermid, Karin Slaughter and Patricia Cornwell.'The Queen of Crime' - Woman & Home on Hard GirlsThe deadly DI Kate Burrows trilogy: the only time Martina's written from the Old Bill's perspective.Kate is the hard-but-fair copper whose investigations - and heart - become dangerously entwined with London's most infamous gangster, Patrick Kelly. But when there's a killer on the loose, Kate Burrows is the only woman for the job. THE LADYKILLER. BROKEN. HARD GIRLS.

Sniper


Vaughn C. Hardacker - 2014
    Amidst the blood and terror, Houston discovers similarities, likenesses—the killer’s positioning, his choice of victims, and his code of ethics—between the crime scene and his own training as a US Marine scout and sniper. And with the staging of the scene set for prime shock value, Houston has to wonder what it is this murderer intends to accomplish.The connection is confirmed in the worst possible way when the sniper strikes again, this time killing Houston’s ex-wife, severing what’s left of the bond between Houston and his estranged daughter, Susie. It’s personal now, and as the death toll rises, Houston and Bouchard will stop at nothing to find the cold-blooded sniper who’s making a mockery of their department. In a final gesture of cat and mouse depravity, the killer kidnaps Susie, luring Houston to an island on a remote lake in Maine for a deadly, sniper-to-sniper showdown.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

The Pandora Directive


Aaron Conners - 1995
    The official story was that the Roswell crash was a balloon. But the real story is that Project Bluebook became Project Blueprint and helped start WWIII. Tex Murphy has never been good at staying out of trouble . . . and this time he's in for lots of trouble

Sons of the Pope


Daniel O'Connor - 2012
    Bravo!" ~Romeo Tirone, Director of True Blood, Dexter, and Red Widow “Daniel O'Connor's Sons of the Pope reveals an interesting new talent with a snappy style. This is someone's career to watch.” ~Andrew Neiderman, Author of The Devil's Advocate and several V.C. Andrews novels"A rich, epic chronicle of murder, the mob, and miracles...” ~ Kevin O'Brien, NY Times Bestselling Author***In Brooklyn, before the murders, before the miracle, before the 1940s were gone forever, there was a tree. If only they let that tree alone. If that sycamore tree had been allowed to stand, then maybe Biaggio Falcone never would have been the head of the Campigotto crime family. Perhaps little Joey Salerno would not have been born like that.Joey’s father, Sal - just home from World War II - probably would never have gotten involved with the New York underworld, and his wife Mary wouldn't have spent her entire life caring for an eternal child. There may have been no reason, four decades later, for that desperate pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. And no need for anyone to call upon the one known only as The Diabolist. Experience the richness of a story that spans half a century. Love and hatred. Devotion and betrayal. Murder and miracles. If only they let that tree alone.

City On Fire: Five LAPD Thrillers


Dallas Barnes - 2020
    He silently hopes his life choices aren’t a reflection of what he sees wrong in others.Detective Bobbi Marshal is an attractive woman whose beauty turns heads. Ironically, she and her partner comprise the LAPD Wilshire Division sex team. Bobbi, mature, sophisticated, capable and compassionate, finds herself working and competing in a man’s world.Detective Sergeant Stryker and Detective West are a “Salt & Pepper” team, one white, one Black. Besides race, there’s one crucial difference between the men…at End of Watch, Stryker drives out of the ghetto into a White community where he lives. West has a much shorter drive, his home is in the ghetto.Now, it’s just a matter of time and cunning …and who makes the first fatal mistake. City on Fire includes: City of Passion, Badge of Honor, Deadly Justice, See the Woman and Yesterday Is Dead.

Quantrall


Carolina Mac - 2017
    When his on-again, off-again, love is kidnapped, Jesse risks his life to discover the startling truth behind her disappearance. Battling the chaos of guns and violence, Jesse finds new strength and purpose.

Just the Way it Is


James Hadley Chase - 1944
    Then someone tries to make it look like he's killed again. A neat frame up. But Duke's still got some aces in his hand. Aces, and a gun.

Taking Natasha


Terence Mitford - 2017
    An offer too good to refuse. And consequences beyond her control. Gritty, dark, and disturbing. The Story of Natasha, tricked and trafficked to London, and trapped in a ruthless, criminal underworld. Introducing Mason Cooper, a tough detective quitting the force to save his failing marriage. Their worlds collide as he drives his daughter home from school. This novella introduces the hard-hitting Mason Cooper thriller series with "awesome characters" and a style of its own. Fans of Lee Child's Jack Reacher, Jon Mills' Jack Winchester Mark Dawson's John Milton, Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, and many more strong leading male and female characters should read Terence Mitford's new Mason Cooper thrillers. WARNING: Due to the theme, this book contains scenes that some readers may find disturbing.

The Rapist


Les Edgerton - 2013
    Master storyteller Les Edgerton guides us on a haunting journey inside the criminal mind to show that no matter how depraved a person appears to be, there might still exist a spark of humanity.

Robbers


Christopher Cook - 2000
    Now, with a pack of cigarettes, a stolen Caddy, and no plan, the two must think fast-and move faster, in this novel with "a lyric voice that sings itself raw."(New York Times Book Review) "My kind of book." (James Ellroy) "Cook's plot tumbles from scene to scene with jarring brilliance, the pathos of his characters lending his otherwise brutal world a certain beauty." (Publishers Weekly) "Elmore Leonard's laconic flair with the dumb and dangerous [and] James Lee Burke's lyric feel for the dark hearts in a New South-Robbers ranges wild and wide, deep through the heart of Texas." (Michael Malone, author of Time's Witness) "Cook clearly has the suspense-building gene...The nerve-jangling plot tick-tick-ticks toward its explosive end." (Texas Monthly) "High-octane...Cook takes the noir chase novel on some remarkable detours." (Booklist, starred review) "This is a terrific book. I haven't enjoyed a novel this much in years." (James Crumley, author of The Last Good Kiss)