Book picks similar to
Mary by Amy Cross


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Frenzied - A Suspense Thriller


Brandon Massey - 2017
    . . WORK . . . PLAY . . . DIE . . . South Haven is the premier mixed-used community in metro Atlanta, a vibrant place where old-fashioned country living gets a modern update. There’s the town square where residents watch family movies on the lawn on warm summer nights. The corner market stocked with organic foods. The bakery with fresh coffee and Wi-Fi. The stately homes on shaded, gently winding streets. The water park where children splash, laugh, and run . . . There’s also something deadly lurking. The first incident is dismissed as an aberration: a college student goes berserk and hacks his family to chunks with a machete. But a day later, a young woman riding her bicycle is chased through the streets by her own neighbors. Then a teenager takes a deadly joyride, using his pick-up truck to mow down everyone in sight. As the incidents pile up, the only thing they share is that each person launched into an inexplicable, uncontrollable frenzy. Mark Deacon, an ex-cop and chief of South Haven’s private security force, has never seen anything like it. And it’s about to get a whole lot worse. Within twenty-four hours, South Haven is declared a quarantine zone, with every entrance barricaded and military snipers positioned outside the perimeter with orders to shoot on sight. Fearful residents huddle inside, uncertain whom to trust, anxiously watching one another for clues of where the terror might strike next. Together with Dr. Hannah Bailey, a brilliant CDC scientist dispatched to investigate the threat, Deacon teams up with a motley crew of neighbors, and they hatch a desperate plan to find out answers--and stay alive. But the spreading menace might not have arrived by accident . . . RAVES FOR BRANDON MASSEY'S SUSPENSE THRILLERS : "An intense thriller . . . a wild ride!" -Kevin O'Brien, New York Times bestselling author “A razor-sharp thriller guaranteed to keep you turning pages well into the night. Start this one on your day off—-you won't be able to put it down.” —Douglas Clegg, bestselling author of The Queen of Wolves and The Hour Before Dark "The talented Mr. Massey has the rare knack of grabbing the reader early and not letting go. Massey knows how to ratchet up the suspense." —John Lutz, New York Times bestselling author “A taut, involving, and utterly convincing thrill ride.” —Gregg Olsen, New York Times bestselling author

Sherman's Library Trilogy


Ron Ripley - 2015
    Sherman’s death sparks one of the wildest, weirdest adventures he’s ever had…Upon Mr. Sherman’s death, Charles learns the rich old gentleman gave away all his money, leaving only his Victorian mansion and the huge library in the house. His will clearly stipulates the new owner must keep the library intact. Of course, with Mr. Sherman being dead, how would he know or even care about the library?It isn’t until Charles buys the house and discovers someone has stolen items from the library that he understands the significance of keeping the library intact. Mr. Sherman’s letter to the new owner shares the secret of the library—every item in the library is haunted! But how can Charles ever imagine just how deadly the library keeper’s job is…or the blood bath that will follow if he fails to “protect and serve” according to Mr. Sherman’s will?Sherman's Library Trilogy Contains:1. Sherman's Library2. An Endless Search3. Gathering The Cursed

The Outsiders: Book One


Brandon Faircloth - 2018
    Patrick Barron, carrying a woman’s lifeless body into the woods, he was terrified. When Dr. Barron admitted to it and started explaining why it was necessary, Jason’s life would never be the same. Dr. Barron recounts the brutal murder of his wife and the secret world he uncovered trying to bring her killer to justice—a world filled with monsters wearing human faces, cults, and even stranger things… The Outsiders: Book One tells the story of Dr. Barron and his grandson, but it also contains a number of other interconnected stories spanning decades and worlds beyond this one. This is the definitive entry point into The Outsiders universe—a place where nothing is what it seems and depending on who you ask, the heroes may be the biggest monsters of them all.

The Haunting of Leigh Harker


Darcy Coates - 2021
    Curtains open by themselves. Radios turn off and on. And a dark figure looms in the shadows of her bedroom door at night, watching her, waiting for her to finally let down her guard enough to fall asleep.Pushed to her limits but unwilling to abandon her home, Leigh struggles to find answers. But each step forces her towards something more terrifying than she ever imagined.A poisonous shadow seeps from the locked door beneath the stairs. The handle rattles through the night and fingernails scratch at the wood. Her home harbours dangerous secrets, and now that Leigh is trapped within its walls, she fears she may never escape.Do you think you're safe?You're wrong.Also By Darcy Coates:The Haunting of Ashburn HouseThe Haunting of Blackwood HouseCraven ManorThe House Next DoorVoices in the SnowThe Whispering Dead

With Child: Extreme Horror


Sea Caummisar - 2021
    Marsh's OB-GYN office, he becomes a prime suspect in the missing person cases.Dr. Marsh prides himself on being an upstanding citizen. Not only does he donate time and money to several charities, he is also a caring doctor.Is he a nice person? Or is he as evil as the police suspect?EXTREME HORROR: There are multiple scenes of violence, blood, gore, and torture.Most of the torture is against a pregnant woman, being held captive against her will.

Gods and Psychopaths


Louis Park - 2019
    Like most omnipotent beings, Little Dog finds boredom a constant problem, but the deity has just the right plaything to solve this, a psychopathic and eccentric vagabond called Cain. Cain never wanted to make a deal with the sadistic and petulant deity. All he ever wanted was to gorge on Manchester's finest foods, fight the police and save the bumblebee through murderous rampages. Instead, he has to give bloodthirsty performance after bloodthirsty performance to keep the deity entertained. If he fails, he might just find that he - and the rest of the world - become Little Dog's snacks.**If you like your violence gory, your heroes twisted, your sex messed up, and your comedy as black as your ex's heart, then this is the book for you!**

Devil's Day


Kyle M. Scott - 2014
     A small, sleepy town cut off from the hardships and the horrors of the modern world - Blackhaven has enjoyed a fruitful, peaceful history in it's 300 years. That's all about to change... Something is coming. Something unspeakable. Something evil. 300 years ago to the day, the founders of Blackhaven made a deal with an outside force in order to secure their comfort and safety. A deal that now, centuries later, requires payment. A deal that will see the quiet streets run red, and the fires rise. The people of Blackhaven are about to learn the true cost of sacrifice, for Hell is coming to claim what's owed. And the Devil will have his day....

Yesterday's Lost (Yesterday's Mysteries)


Sam Cheever - 2018
     Pratt Davies is a police detective with the Saint Louis PD. He’s comfortable in his role…confident that he’s seen just about everything there is to see. Until he and his partner answer a call to enter a home where blood curdling screams speak of horrific violence. Inside the disturbing house, he encounters a strange, icy mist and something malevolent waiting just beyond view. Pratt’s confidence is shaken, his worldview smashed into tiny pieces…like shards of glass from a broken mirror. His partner comes out of that house damaged, both physically and mentally, unable to even form a coherent response. Pratt is so shaken he can barely function. And he still has a murder to solve. Who killed the couple living in that terrible house? What haunted the mist obscuring the scene? How did Pratt’s partner end up bleeding and babbling on the floor, something evil oozing through her gaze? And how is Pratt…broken and terrified himself…ever going to solve a murder that has every indication of having been born in the ether?

Wrath Child


Erik Henry Vick - 2020
    DO NOT RESEARCH THESE EVENTS! Think of it as fiction, and nothing more.The Smith has returned, leaving a new trail of gruesome serial murders across Manhattan--all blonde, beautiful, beaten to death with a blacksmith's hammer. Gavin Gregory, an FBI agent who profiles serial killers for the Behavioral Analysis Unit, couldn't capture The Smith the first time around and wants a second stab at catching the killer. The case takes a bizarre turn when Debra Esteves, a psychiatrist from a New York mental hospital, says she knows The Smith's identity.Esteves spins a tale of disturbing horror from her past, claiming The Smith controlled one of her patients through his psychic influence. But Gavin considers himself a rational man. He believes in science over superstition and rejects her version of events.When his wife is kidnapped, Gavin has no choice but to turn to Esteves for help. Can she keep him safe from the devil hunting him long enough to free his wife from the clutches of the killer or will The Smith make him a pawn in future murders?

The Dark Chorus


Ashley Meggitt - 2020
    He has never questioned the fact that he can see them. He thinks of them as the Dark Chorus. When he sets out to restore the soul of his dead mother it becomes clear that his ability comes from within him. It is a force that he cannot ignore – the last shard of the shattered soul of an angel. To be restored to the kingdom of light, the shard must be cleansed of the evil that infects it – but this requires the corrupt souls of the living! With the help from Makka, a psychotically violent young man full of hate, and Vee, an abused young woman full of pain, the Boy begins to kill. Psychiatrist Dr Eve Rhodes is seconded to assist the police investigation into the Boy’s apparently random ritualistic killings. As the investigation gathers pace, a pattern emerges. When Eve pulls at the thread from an article in an old psychology journal, what might otherwise have seemed to her a terrible psychotic delusion now feels all too real…Will the Boy succeed in restoring the angel’s soul to the light? Can Eve stop him, or will she be lost to realm of the Dark Chorus?

The Devil's Colony


Bill Schweigart - 2017
    From the author of The Beast of Barcroft and Northwoods comes a chilling descent into the depths of horror and human depravity. Ben McKelvie had a good job, a nice house, a beautiful fiancée . . . until a bloodthirsty shapeshifter took everything away. Ever since, he’s been chasing supernatural phenomena all across the country, aided by dedicated zoologist Lindsay Clark and wealthy cryptozoologist Richard Severance. Now they face their deadliest challenge yet. In the New Jersey Pine Barrens, a man named Henry Drexler operates a private compound called Välkommen, which is Swedish for “welcome.” Indeed, Drexler welcomes all visitors—so long as they’re racists, neo-Nazis, or otherwise in cahoots with the alt-right. But Drexler is no mere Hitler wannabe. Once he was Severance’s mentor, and his research may well have summoned a monster to the Pine Barrens. To find out the truth, Ben and Lindsay must enter the camp incognito. There, under the watchful eyes of Drexler’s bodyguards and sociopathic son, they will learn that the most dangerous beasts lurk in the human heart.

House of Skin


Jonathan Janz - 2012
    But his estate, Watermere, lives on, waiting for a new Carver to move in. Myles’s wife, Annabel, is dead too, but she is also waiting, lying in her grave in the woods. For nearly half a century she was responsible for a nightmarish reign of terror, and she’s not prepared to stop now. She is hungry to live again… and her unsuspecting nephew, Paul, will be the key.Julia Merrow has a secret almost as dark as Watermere’s. But when she and Paul fall in love they think their problems might be over. How can they know what Fate - and Annabel - have in store for them? Who could imagine that what was once a moldering corpse in a forest grave is growing stronger every day, eager to take her rightful place amongst the horrors of Watermere?

Remains


Michael McBride - 2009
    Armed with only their faith and the scriptures, they rented a small cluster of cabins on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. None of them were ever heard from again. On October 29th, 2013, a disarticulated femur is discovered in a mountain lion's den. Forensics confirms the bone belongs to one of the missing seven, triggering a massive search of the surrounding wilderness. No other evidence is found. On November 13th, the families of the missing students rent the same cabins and attempt to recreate the final days of their loved ones in hopes of divining their fate. Only this time, thanks to an unusual bacterium isolated from the femur, they know where to look. Nothing can prepare them for the truth. This is their story. The story of what they found, what they lost…and what remains. PRAISE FOR REMAINS "Pitch-perfect pacing...gripping." - Cemetery Dance Magazine "McBride does a wicked job here of building (not only) some serious suspense, but an expectation that kept me flipping the pages as quick as I could." - The Horror Fiction Review "Remains is ambitious, and intelligent. The tone reminded me of something by Richard Matheson, in its matter-of-fact approach to the investigations. The story works as a piece of suspense fiction, a techno-thriller, a horror yarn, and it's also a science fiction story at heart." - Horror Drive-In Reviews ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michael McBride is the best-selling author of Burial Ground, Snowblind, The Coyote, Vector Borne, and F9, as well as Bloodletting, Innocents Lost, Predatory Instinct, and Category V. He lives in Avalanche Country with his wife and children.

Inside Perron Manor: Investigating Britain's Most Haunted House


Lee Mountford - 2020
    

What Adam Wants: (a short story)


Michael Hebler - 2016
     Days after losing her child while giving birth, Rachel, and her husband, David, are haunted by the incessant cries of a baby. It is their stillborn, Adam, and he wants something from Rachel... something deadly.