Book picks similar to
No Heaven by Lex Allen


thriller
sci-fi
science-fiction
recommendations

Ghost Hand


Ripley Patton - 2012
    Instead of a right hand made of flesh and blood, she was born with a hand made of ethereal energy.How does Olivia handle being the girl with the ghost hand? Well, she's a little bit morbid and a whole lot snarky. Her mother thinks her obsession with death, black clothing, and the local cemetery is a bid for attention. But when Marcus, the new guy in Olivia's calculus class, stares at her like she's a freak, Olivia doesn't like it. And when her hand goes rogue, doing things she never imagined possible, Olivia finds herself running for her life with Marcus from a group of men bent on taking the power of her hand for their own nefarious purposes.NEWLY DESIGNED COVER FOR 2015

Different


Alycia Linwood - 2014
    Determined to figure out why she has an element she shouldn’t have, her parents take her to a secluded island to keep her safe from anyone who might want to experiment on her. There she meets Noah, a boy who seems to know a lot about her elements. As he introduces her to a group of a new kind of elementals who are more powerful than anyone could have imagined, she doesn’t know if she can trust them, especially because the group’s leader, Jaiden, has an extremely dangerous ability. But when her parents get kidnapped by a mysterious man, she has no choice but to turn to Noah and Jaiden for help.

The Man of Legends


Kenneth C. Johnson - 2017
    The bet pays off, resulting in a story that will be popular with book clubs and fun to discuss.” —Associated Press New York City, New Year’s weekend, 2001. Jillian Guthrie, a troubled young journalist, stumbles onto a tantalizing mystery: the same man, unaged, stands alongside Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, and Gandhi in three different photographs spanning eighty-five years of history.In another part of town, Will—an enigmatic thirty-three-year-old of immense charm, wit, and intelligence—looks forward to the new year with hope and trepidation. Haunted by his secret past and shadowed by a dangerous stranger, he finds himself the object of an intense manhunt spearheaded by an ambitious Vatican emissary and an elderly former UN envoy named Hanna.During the next forty-eight hours, a catastrophic event unites Will, Jillian, and Hanna—and puts them in the crosshairs of a centuries-old international conspiracy. Together, the three must unravel an ancient curse that stretches back two millennia and beyond, and face a primal evil that threatens their lives and thousands more.Award-winning science-fiction mastermind Kenneth Johnson blends epic adventure, romance, and evocative drama into an intense supernatural thriller rooted in one of the great untold legends of human history.

Gone to Green


Judy Christie - 2009
    The paper was an unexpected inheritance from a close colleague, and Lois must keep it for at least a year, bringing a host of challenges, lessons, and blessings into her life.When Lois pulls into Green on New Year’s Day, she expects a charming little town full of smiling people. She quickly realizes her mistake. After settling into a loaned house out on Route 2, she finds herself battling town prejudices and inner doubts and making friends with the most surprising people: troubled teenager Katy, good-looking catfish farmer Chris, wise and feisty Aunt Helen, and a female African-American physician named Kevin.Whether fighting a greedy, deceitful politician or rescuing a dog she fears, Lois notices the headlines in her life have definitely improved. She learns how to provide small-town news in a big-hearted way and realizes that life is full of newsworthy moments. When she encounters racial prejudice and financial corruption, Lois also discovers more about the goodness of real people and the importance of being part of a community.While secretly preparing the paper for a sale, Lois begins to realize that God might indeed have a plan for her life and that perhaps the allure of city life and career ambition are not what she wants after all.

The Fire Seekers


Richard Farr - 2014
    A rash of mysterious disappearances, from Bolivia to Japan. An ancient warning at the ruins of Babel. And a new spiritual leader, who claims that human history as we understand it is about to come to an end.Seventeen-year-old Daniel Calder’s world falls apart when a freak accident brings personal tragedy—and he discovers there’s a link between the accident and a wildly successful new cult, the Seraphim. Catapulted into a violent struggle for humanity’s past and future, he’s not even sure who the enemy is, or if he’s battling a phantom that doesn’t exist. But as Daniel puts his life on the line, he is forced to conclude that our very survival as a species will depend on who, and what, we choose to believe.

The Soulkeepers


G.P. Ching - 2011
    A beautiful and mysterious neighbor offers to use her unique abilities to help him find his mom. But in exchange she requires Jacob to train as a Soulkeeper, a protector of human souls. He agrees to her demands, desperate for any clue to the mystery of his mother's disappearance. But soon Jacob finds himself trapped in a web of half-truths, and questions her motives for helping him.

Perception


Lee Strauss - 2012
     Zoe’s carefree life takes a traumatic turn when her brother Liam is murdered.The only one who can help her find out what happened is Noah Brody, the last guy on earth she should trust.  Noah Brody is a natural who lives on the outside. He leads protests against the GAPs and detests the widening chasm they’ve created between those who have and those who don’t. He doesn’t like girls like Zoe and he has good reason not to like her specifically. He's not sure why he's agreed to help her, but what he finds out when he does, will change his life forever.PERCEPTION is a near-future mystery that can be read alone. ​

Silas


Robert J. Duperre - 2011
    Duperre, author of The Fall and Dead of Winter, now presents Silas, a contemporary fantasy novel. Ken Lowery is a man at odds with his life. He hates his job, is disappointed in his marriage, and feels resigned to leading a mundane existence. That all changes when his wife brings home a rambunctious Black Labrador puppy named Silas, who forges a remarkable connection with Ken and begins to heal his inner turmoil. When some neighborhood children start to go missing, he takes it upon himself to protect those around him and is thrust into a surreal world where monsters roam. Not everything is what it seems to be, he soon discovers, including his new best friend.

AngelFall Book I - A Novel of Hell


S.E. Foulk - 2011
    Tired of living within the gilded cage of Limbo, the great teacher has unknowingly opened Hells' own Pandora's box and set in motion a chain of events that will forever alter the infernal landscape. Will the Fallen, those Dark Angels who reign over Hell, discover their loss? And why does this prisoner not know who he is? Can he evade capture and get to Limbo? This is Book I of the AngelFall series. Book II will be available on September 1st, 2011.

Land of Shadows


Jeff Gunzel - 2012
    But the virtually lawless cities contain no shortage of darkness and greed. A land where daily survival in the harsh realm takes priority over all else. But the world is about to change. The ancient prophecies, written during a time long forgotten, just might be true after all.Join in as unlikely companions from completely different worlds set out on the adventure of a lifetime. A search for answers. A search for the truth. This book is intended for mature audiences.

Apocalypse Island


Mark Edward Hall - 2012
    Is it a serial killer, someone with a penchant for the macabre and a need to destroy? Or is it a darker force, an ancient legend from a mysterious Island come ashore to wreak havoc upon the unsuspecting?Amid the backdrop of Portland's burgeoning night scene, Police Lieutenant Rick Jennings discovers that no one is safe, and that evil has many faces. Danny Wolf, a gifted musician with alcohol problems is witnessing brutal murder in his dreams. Someone is carving a cross on each of the young female victims before crucifying them. Newly released from prison for a crime he did not commit, Wolf is having trouble adjusting to civilian life. He believes the dreams are a symptom of his adjustment until he discovers that they are real and that the victims are his own groupies. He soon begins to doubt his sanity. Could he be a homicidal madman? Wolf has no memory of his early childhood but discovers that he spent his first eight years in a Catholic orphanage on a mysterious island off the coast of Maine. Is it possible that his early life and the murders are somehow connected? Soon the killings become more bold and gruesome, as members of the church begin to die. Enter Police Lieutenant Rick Jennings and his young assistant Laura Higgins. They discover a government conspiracy involving the Catholic Church, and a cold war CIA mind control program known as MK-Ultra where children were used as test subjects. Danny Wolf becomes the number one suspect in the murders, but no one, not even Wolf, is prepared for what they discover on Apocalypse Island, a mind blowing secret that was supposed to stay hidden forever.

Asylum Lake


R.A. Evans - 2010
    Through its doors came the weak and the weary, the disabled and the discarded, the frail and the forgotten. But an open door is an invitation, and some visitors, once invited, are loath to leave. The hospital abruptly closed in 1958 under a cloud of mystery. It has remained empty and silent, save for the memories trapped both within its walls and far below the surface of the nearby lake that bears its name. At the bottom of Asylum Lake, the unremembered are growing restless. Brady Tanner is trying to outrun memories of his own. After the sudden death of his wife, Brady retreats to the small town where he spent the summers of his youth. But he soon learns small towns can be stained by memories... and secrets, too. As Brady is drawn into unearthing these secrets, as he discovers a new love in an old friend, he is also drawn into the mystery of Asylum Lake and the evil that lies submerged beneath its sparkling surface. What is the source of this evil - and what does it want with Brady Tanner?

The King Tides


James Swain - 2018
    And that of strangers, too. Wherever she goes, she’s being watched. Each stalker is different from the last, except for one thing—their alarming obsession with Nicki.Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Nicki’s father is turning to someone who can protect her: retired private detective and ex–Navy SEAL Jon Lancaster. Teaming up with FBI agent and former abduction victim Beth Daniels, Lancaster can help—his way. He’s spent most of his career dispatching creeps who get off on terrorizing the vulnerable. Unlicensed, and unrestricted, he plays dirty…But this case is unusual. Why so many men? Why this one girl? Does Nicki have something to hide? Or do her parents?Trawling the darkest depths of southern Florida, Lancaster faces a growing tide of secrets and deception. And the deeper he digs, the more he realizes that finding the truth won’t be easy. Because there’s more to this case than meets the eye.

Murder of Crows


Kevin Kauffmann - 2012
    Since interstellar travel was never developed, asteroids were towed into orbit around Earth and terraformed into smaller planets to deal with excess population. While most of the asteroids were designed for colonization, Eris was destined for constant commercial warfare. Most people just call it "War World" after their favorite show.In this new age of gladiatorial combat, the athletes are divided into teams and each person is cloned prior to the games. When they die, their consciousness and memories are transferred into new clones and the process begins all over again.What the rest of humanity doesn't realize is that each death and resurrection is incredibly painful and disorienting, let alone the monetary cost that is forced upon them.Rarely do any of them make it off the asteroid.Drawing on themes of grief, freedom and coping with an uncaring world, Murder of Crows tells the story of one of the best teams in the system, centering on the trauma these men and women experience as they die for public entertainment.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Author's note: As of June 14, 2016, Murder of Crows has been updated for a sixth time to deal with certain proofreading and editing missteps. It should be a much better read this time around.

Chihuahua Karma


Debby Rice - 2011
    Cherry Paget's is a Chihuahua.Cherry was young, beautiful and rich-just golden enough to imagine that she had the world by the balls. Death was the furthest thing from her mind. But even a morbid obsession with the afterlife could not have prepared her for what happened.Chihuahua Karma chronicles the horrendous consequences of Cherry's bad choices. She trades love for a Black American Express card. She dumps veterinarian, Richard Preston, to marry gangster, Larry Finkelstein. And, when a smudge of magenta lipstick confirms that Larry is cheating she washes down a fist-full of Vicoden with a bottle of wine for breakfast. That mistake is the beginning of her problems.In an inebriated attempt at tanning, Cherry plunges from the terrace of her penthouse to the street below. She escapes extinction only to encounter a more complicated fate. Cherry regains consciousness trapped inside the body of a very tiny dog.Cherry's diminutive prison is a mini Chi named Sugar. The Lucky Dream Dry Cleaners is her dismal new home. With the unwitting assistance of her former housekeeper, Cherry escapes the dirty clothes and cotton dust. Once again ensconced in Larry's luxurious penthouse, she becomes his girlfriend's prized purse-buddy.In her diminished state, Cherry finds new perspective. She yearns for Richard. And she forms an unlikely alliance with Don Paco Fernandez, a temperamental ghost with a taste for tequila and pretty ladies. Through Don Paco, Cherry discovers that only she can save an orphaned child from her impending adoption by a sinister couple. The cast of off-beat characters collides, and Cherry meets her destiny at a casino night Christmas party.Chihuahua Karma could easily share a shelf with humorous fiction like the Devil Wears Prada and the Nanny Diaries. Sugars fans include women who love fashion, passion and small dogs and any reader who enjoys unraveling a quirky plot to its surprising conclusion.Debby Rice is a writer from Chicago. She has spent time in Mexico City, San Miguel Allende, New Orleans and San Francisco, and her experiences in those cities color her work. Rice blurs the distinctions between fantasy and reality and immerses her readers in a vividly imagined new world.