Book picks similar to
Proteus by Simon Hawkins
detective
first-reads
real-books
thriller
The Missed Beat
G.V. Subba Rao - 2018
Raj Kumar, the eminent cardiologist and the founder of Get Well Hospitals. But no one knew about a dark secret he nurtured within. And then one day, his precious daughter Dr. Sheela, gets kidnapped! Hell breaks loose as a free fall of skeletons from the past start haunting him. In this roller coaster ride can he overcome the deadly combination of the present and the future? Yet another hard ‘heart-hitter’ from G V Subba Rao. A tale of inconceivable, sinister sequence of events with a headlong rush of excitement.
This Green and Pleasant Land
John Andrews - 2014
His life and his business collapse in a haze of sleepless, nightmare ridden nights and excessive drinking.As he attempts to rebuild his life, a spiteful character from his past comes back to haunt him and contributes to his downfall.With his home repossessed he moves to a flat on a council estate where through a series of random unrelated incidents Alex finds himself in violent conflict with the gang who control the area and most of the drug dealing in West Yorkshire.The story centres on the fight of good against evil and explains how each of the individual characters involved developed into the people they've become and how they interact with each other.
The Missing Bride: Her Love Started Where His Ended....
Seema Parashar - 2015
All your problems will be solved while we have fun’, his voice sounded throatier as he spoke. ‘Fun? For me, it’s sin’, she met his eyes with a conspicuous scorn. His mouth contorted into a sarcastic smile. ‘Prudish! This outmoded thinking won’t do you any good. Your body won’t lose any of its charm if you share it with me for a few days.’ ‘You think my ethics are outdated and I think that your modern ideas are outrageous. I don’t share even my feelings with someone I don’t trust. For me, any kind of physical intimacy, not preceded by love and commitment, is a sin, committed to self.' ‘Then you have two options, either you fall in love with me or decide to commit this sin as this is the only key to your freedom.' ‘I don’t want to go back’, she said flopping her head back on the pillow behind her, ‘I like it here.' Brought up amid limited sources but unlimited love of her mother, Niyati is happy with her far-from-perfect life until she finds a rich and dissolute man, Avi, flinging himself on her. When she goes missing just before her wedding, the city is rife with speculations about The Missing Bride. Has she escaped or eloped or been abducted? Chained and kept behind a locked door, she goes through an unexpected ordeal and a living nightmare. Rescued a few months later, she encounters the truth. Is she really free or fettered forever by her past? Can the seeds of lust grow into an eternal shoot of love? A never-heard-before saga of lust and love; revenge and sacrifice....
The Message
Hylton H. Smith - 2014
Olivia Radford-Wickham is a prominent surgeon with searing career ambition. Her husband Tom, in stark contrast, is one of life's drifters, currently parading as an author. His true dedication, however, was caring for their six year-old son. Kieron was born with neurological abnormalities, and has special needs. After a blazing row between Olivia and Tom, a single phone call changes their lives forever. The police investigation kicks grit into an already delicate situation, as the unfolding events defy belief. A sinister explanation gradually emerges, together with a potential ticking time bomb. However, all is not as it seems to be.
Lovers Lane: 10 Christmas Romances
Sandra Edwards - 2017
This boxed set includes nine ALL-NEW tales from New York Times Bestselling Author Sandra Edwards, USAT Bestselling Author Regina Duke, and featuring Bestselling Author Colleen Ladd.About Our Books:CHRISTMAS PAST by Sandra EdwardsThe holidays are turned upside down at the posh resort Serenity Pines when Liz Stephens receives a letter--more than forty years late in this newest installment in the Joseph's Point Romance series.CHRISTMAS PRESENT by Sandra EdwardsThe holiday chaos continues at Serenity Pines after Lily decides to stay in Seattle over the winter break from college, and inadvertently learns the secret her grandmother is hiding.CHRISTMAS FUTURE by Sandra EdwardsAs the holidays come to a close, the dust settles while the ladies of Serenity Pines receive a special gift--and just in time for Christmas. Join NYT & USAT Bestselling Author Sandra Edwards as she revisits Joseph's Point in this trilogy about love, loss, and second chances.THE CHRISTMAS APP by Regina DukeCan a Christmas app help Camryn Talbott step out of her sister's shadow and find what her heart really yearns for--true love!THE CHRISTMAS BEAU by Regina DukeWhen Holly falls for Tanner at the Christmas Circuit, he's surrounded by glamorous females, leaving Holly to wonder if she can compete. Will she end up with her Christmas Beau?THE CHRISTMAS SWEETS by Regina DukeTatum Price allows herself to splurge during the holidays, but Braydon Farmer's prize-winning sweets contain more than chocolate...and maybe more than Tatum bargained for. Is the secret ingredient true love?THE CHRISTMAS LIGHT by Regina DukeHanna Gordon's life is a mess and there is no room in her heart for Christmas spirit. Then she meets Trevor Gatlin and things are looking up, until her hopes are dashed. Can a Christmas tree heal her heart? Find out in this lovely offering by USA Today Bestselling Author Regina Duke.THE CHRISTMAS CARNIVAL by Colleen LaddPullman Siding's annual carnival turns truly magical when Carey Langley meets skijorer Hunter Cameron. But Pullman is Carey's home, while Hunter's always chasing the next race. It'll take a little extra magic to ensure a truly special Christmas.THE CHRISTMAS CHAMPIONJamie Drake is used to taking care of herself. But when her car breaks down in the snow and her new job turns out to be a dud, she finds herself with a champion, whether she wants one or not.CHRISTMAS MAGIC by Sandra EdwardsA down-hearted woman gets a magical candy bar from a sidewalk Santa that transports her into an alternate reality in this enchanting tale from NYT & USAT Bestselling Author Sandra Edwards.
Face Book
P.J. Jovanovic - 2015
He’s lost his job, he’s in debt, and his girlfriend has thrown him out. Things can’t get any worse, can they? He doesn’t think so. But then three guys enter and demand protection money from the landlord. Jack, being the sort of bloke he is, can’t just sit back and do nothing. He tells the thugs to go away, take a hike. A fight ensues. Jack gets badly beaten. One of the thugs cuts his face, leaving him scarred. When Jack comes around in hospital, he sees what he looks like and vows revenge. Weeks later, when he’s recovered, he watches a news clip about a serial killer who’s escaped from prison. James Ward has a special fetish. He befriends women on Facebook. He meets up with them and kills them. Then he brutalizes them in a very unusual way. Jack wonders how anyone could do something so inhuman. But the more he sees his own ruined reflection, the more he understands. And then he starts plotting his revenge …
The Zima Confession
Iain M. Rodgers - 2019
Party activists develop the plan - code name Zima and lie in wait...London 2013 - Richard is in London, working for a financial software company. He has held onto the Zima plan all this time and has been signalling he can activate it. Is anyone listening? Have others stayed true to the ideology?The "suicide" of Richard's work colleague shows British and Russian Intelligence have been listening and waiting too. Tension mounts as more players reveal themselves and the battle for power and control moves to Moscow. As the coil of agents, misinformation and mind control experiments connected to Zima unravel - where do allegiances lie? Can Richard trust anyone - even himself?Can MI9 stop a catastrophic act of sabotage on the banking system? Will the revolution succeed? Can Richard uncover the TRUTH and save himself?
Jason Wade Thriller Trilogy
Rick Mofina - 2017
The Dying Hour 2. Every Fear 3. A Perfect Grave. Meet Jason Wade, a rookie crime reporter with The Seattle Mirror, a loner who grew up in the shadow of a brewery in one of the city's blue-collar neighborhoods. BOOK 1 THE DYING HOUR: After its publication, the International Thriller Writers (ITW) selected The Dying Hour as a Finalist for a 2006 Thriller Award in the category of Best Paperback Original. The book introduces Jason Wade who is working at The Seattle Mirror, in a competition for the single full-time job being offered through the paper's intense intern program. But unlike the program's other young reporters, who attended big name schools and worked at big metro dailies, Wade put himself through community college, and lacked the same experience. Wade struggles with his troubled past as he pursues the story of Karen Harding, a college student whose car was found abandoned on a lonely stretch of highway in the Pacific Northwest. How could this beloved young woman with the altruistic nature simply vanish? Wade battles mounting odds and cut-throat competition to unearth the truth behind Karen Harding's disturbing case. Her disappearance is a story he cannot give up, never realizing the toll it could exact from him. The Dying Hour is a bone-chilling, mesmerizing page-turner that introduces readers to an all-too-human young hero who journeys into the darkest regions of the human heart to confront a nightmare. BOOK 2 EVERY FEAR: On an ordinary morning Maria Colson takes her baby son Dylan to the corner store. She turns her back for only a few seconds. When she looks again, she sees his empty stroller as Dylan is being abducted into a waiting van. Maria climbs into the van but is violently thrown to the road where she is left for dead as the vehicle vanishes without a trace. As Maria fights for her life and her anguished young husband keeps a beside vigil, the FBI and police across metro Sea-Tac and Washington State search for Dylan. Seattle Mirror reporter Jason Wade is under pressure to bring in a big story, and the Colson kidnapping could be it. It’s a bizarre case with pieces that just don’t add up: The Colsons are a hard-working couple. Former high school sweethearts. No problems. No enemies. Then Jason and his dad, a private detective haunted by his former life as a cop, discover a grisly murder of a young woman that is somehow connected to the Colsons. Now, in a dark Seattle underground of desperate dreamers and ex-convicts, Jason embarks on an investigation that parallels one led by Homicide Detective Grace Garner. They're both hunting for the one piece of the puzzle that connects the baby’s disappearance with a spine-tingling case of revenge. And time is running out, because whoever took little Dylan Colson is more dangerous than anyone could ever imagine. Every Fear takes suspense to a whole new level in a heart-pounding story that moves like a true crime case torn from today's headlines. BOOK 3 A PERFECT GRAVE: Rookie crime reporter Jason Wade, a loner from the wrong side of the tracks, pursues the story of a murdered Seattle nun. The case leads him to a hermit nun who founded a mysterious religious order; and ultimately to the dark secret that has tormented his ex-cop father for decades. It culminates in a life-and-death struggle against the clock. With time running out, Jason and his father battle the odds to confront a terrible truth.
Wicked Trap: A Billionaire Neighbor Romance
M.V. Kasi - 2021
He called her an entitled princess when they got arrested together. And just when she thought she got rid of him, she saw him again as her new neighbor.Sparks fly each time they meet and argue. And soon, angry sparks turned into roaring flames as they spend time together in their small apartments. She was beginning to lose her heart to him, only to discover his wicked trap...Aryan Varma is ruthless in business and when hunting down his enemies. When a past family betrayal is discovered, he is determined to avenge the devastating loss at any cost. He made a fiery woman his pawn.But just like his two brothers had warned, beautiful pawns can turn into maddening obsessions. Can he capture the heart and soul of the woman who hates him and threatens to blow away all his plans?Wicked Trap is a standalone romance.
Hell Hath No Fury
Robert Reid - 2013
They confront bias, ridicule and death. They stand fast and roar, "We will not go quietly into the night." Their skill, bravery and dedication change the course of military history. Their right to fight is on the line as they stand toe to toe with their enemies. Equality, like freedom, is won with their blood and sacrifice.
IN WINTER'S GRIP: A 1940s' Mystery Thriller
Gordon John Thomson - 2014
The action of this period romantic mystery takes place in the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne two years after the end of the war, as Britain is caught in the grip of the worst winter in a thousand years. As blizzards rage and the country grinds to a frozen standstill, on Tyneside a young German woman, Elsa Platten, goes on trial for her life, accused of deliberately burning a man to death... Alexander Galbraith is the lawyer hired to defend her, a man undergoing a personal crisis of his own, since his vengeful wife, Virginia, has discovered evidence of a homosexual affair and is threatening to ruin him... Jack Raisbeck is the owner of the Tyneside shipyard where the murdered man, a Dutchman called Jeroen van Rijn, worked. Jack is a physically scarred and cynical survivor of the war in the North Atlantic but his developing romantic relationship with Elsa in the months before the murder has rejuvenated him. Yet, as Elsa begins her trial, Jack is also struggling to keep his shipyard business alive, beset with a rebellious workforce led by union leader Ernie Wilmot, and with the financial future of his yard hanging in the balance after a recent arson attack and an act of embezzlement by his former chief accountant, George Hetherington. As the evidence against Elsa unfolds in the course of the trial, she re-lives her past life in Germany and Holland: the rise of the Nazis and the invasion of Holland, her subsequent betrayal and deportation to the East, and her escape and struggle to survive the fall of Berlin. Jack and Alexander Galbraith both believe in Elsa’s innocence but that belief is strongly tested as the evidence against her grows. The trail to find the truth leads both men in unexpected directions. For Jack it leads to a confrontation with his brother-in-law on a frozen cliff top, and to other disturbing family revelations. For Galbraith it is something even worse - he has to make the ultimate choice between preserving his own career and reputation, or saving his client from the hangman...
The Cain Series Box Set
Mike Ryan - 2016
All four books are included in this series, including:The Cain Conspiracy:Shot in the head and recovering from brain surgery, Delta Force soldier Thomas Nelson wakes up in a military hospital unable to remember who he is. Faced with going through recovery alone, with no family that he's aware of, he is recruited by a top secret government agency. Project Specter is tasked with eliminating targets they deem to be a threat to the United States. Their goal is to turn Nelson into a super assassin named Matthew Cain. Cain's first mission is supposed to be a piece of cake. Just take out an escaped fugitive in Honduras who's on the run for the rape and murder of a little girl in New York. There's only one problem...somebody beat him to it. Everything is not what it seems as Cain gets mixed up with an international arms dealer and an ex government agent who's gone rogue and supposed to be dead. The Cain Deception:In this follow-up to The Cain Conspiracy, Matthew Cain finds himself on the wrong side of a hit man. After he is sent on an assassination mission in Russia, The Specter Project learns of a man seeking revenge for Cain’s actions. After Cain hears of the man’s intentions, he sets out on a frenetic search to find the killer before he makes good on his plans to kill both Cain and his girlfriend. Along the way, Cain finds more questions than answers about the mysterious assassin, who seems to be a ghost. As Cain dives deeper into his quest, he starts to wonder about his role within the super secret agency and whether there are those above him who know more than what they appear.The Cain Directive:Cain, still reeling from the attack on his girlfriend, gets even more suspicious of Project Specter when they send him to Russia to find Dmitri Kurylenko, a man he has already secretly killed. After another attempt on his life, he soon learns of the agency's involvement in keeping his memory from him and sets to meet with a man who seems to know everything. Unfortunately for Cain, Specter showed up first and framed Cain for murder. Now, on the run, he must protect those close to him, while also trying to prove his innocence. In his quest to take down Project Specter, Cain turns to the only man he can trust for help, Eric Raines, a man Specter wants almost as badly as Cain, and a man as equally bent on taking down Specter as he is.The Cain Redemption:Cain finally relents to getting his head and seizures fixed, but his recovery time is cut short from eight weeks to one week when he learns his fellow agent, and friend, Eric Raines has gone missing. Will the rushed recovery period have dire consequences for the super assassin? Despite the concerns of those closest to him, Cain ignores the personal dangers to his health in his quest to find his friend and the last remaining remnants of the previous Specter regime, who are still on the run. His adventures take him to France, Germany, and back to Honduras, where it all started for him. Will his mission end where it all began?
Taste of Fury
M.A. Comley - 2021
From M A Comley, New York Times bestselling author of the DI Sara Ramsey series who has sold over 3 million copies to date.Does time ever truly heal an aching heart?DI Katy Foster and her partner, DS Charlie Simpkins arrive at a crime scene where the victim has been torched in his own vehicle.But who is the killer and what is their motive?Over the course of a week, several more men are murdered and Katy is put under severe stress to find the culprit when clues are sparse and the crimes are happening frequently.Until finally, a suspect emerges with a heartbreaking motive and a truly wicked agenda.Giving up their weekend off to try to locate the suspect, leaves Katy and Charlie reeling when a child goes missing in connection with the investigation.With a child’s fate in their hands, Katy and Charlie are thrust into a dangerous race against the clock.Other books in this series are:Gone in SecondsUltimate DilemmaShot of SilenceTaste of Fury
Line of Sin: Deputy Corus Mystery #3
Mark Hazard - 2019
But the shadowy figures that had been operating through Walla Walla want to know more about who he is and, more importantly, who he really works for. The FBI shows up with old scores to settle and a curious interest in the case. Turns out, Deputy Albert Chu cuts a striking resemblance to an enigmatic and presumed-deceased figure, el Remora: The man who formed the lucrative Taipei route, in which Tanner Farm played a key role. The FBI sends Chu into enemy territory, posing as el Remora’s son who wants a piece of his father’s business, with Corus by his side, cutting the path straight to the smuggling organization’s leadership. Together they plunge courageously into the heart of the enemy, finding volatile internal relationships that boil over at the worst possible time, leaving Corus and Chu in a fight for their lives and later imprisoned aboard a cargo vessel heading for Asia. In the quiet moments, Corus comes to believe his noblest virtues, bravery and sacrifice, have been co-opted by a darker force inside of him, leading him across a line of sin. He must root out the cause, before it hurts everyone and everything he loves. But before that journey can begin in earnest, he and Chu must avoid watery graves, using odd-couple teamwork, wit and tenacity, and Corus must supply final severance to the menacing strands keeping him moored to his past. Book #3 in the Deputy Corus Mystery Series