Book picks similar to
The Specter by Jonas Saul


mystery
e-books
thriller
thrillers

Mr. Mercedes


Stephen King - 2014
    They are tired and cold and desperate. Emerging from the fog, invisible until it is too late, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes.Months later, an ex-cop named bill Hodges, still haunted by the unsolved crime, contemplates suicide. When he gets a crazed letter from "the perk," claiming credit for the murders, Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, fearing another even more diabolical attack and hell-bent on preventing it.Brady Hartfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. He loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again. Only Bill Hodges, with a couple of eccentric and mismatched allies, can apprehend the killer before he strikes again. And they have no time to lose, because Brady's next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim thousands.Mr. Mercedes is a war between good and evil from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable.--front flap

Snowbound


Blake Crouch - 2010
    Will under suspicion, they flee. Suddenly a hard-edged FBI agent appears on their doorstep. “I know you’re innocent, because Rachael wasn’t the first ... or the last.”

The Ninth District


Douglas Dorow - 2011
    FBI Special Agent Jack Miller, pulled into a high-profile case to mentor a new agent, finds himself in a clash with the toughest opponent of his career. The chase culminates in the bowels of the city, in the storm sewers and tunnels beneath The Ninth District Federal Reserve of Minneapolis.The Ninth District is approximately 74,600 words (300 pages) in length.

Remorse


Stephen Edger - 2011
    But behind closed doors, his wife is cheating on him; his daughter’s relentless screaming deprives them of sleep; and he drinks heavily.Struggling to maintain balance in his life, cracks start to appear. Unable to deal with the mounting pressure, he hires a private investigator to spy on his wife. He is prepared to do anything to maintain the idyll.As the conclusion of Duggan’s trial looms, he must come to terms with what he has done and why he is facing a life behind bars. He is about to learn a valuable lesson: not every fairy tale has a happy ending…Betrayal, revenge, regret and suspense: TELL NO LIES is a heart-breaking thriller, exploring what fathers will do when driven to desperation.(Also considered a standalone novel.)

Saving Max


Antoinette van Heugten - 2010
    Until he's accused of murder.Attorney Danielle Parkman knows her teenage son Max's behavior has been getting worse—using drugs and lashing out. But she can't accept the diagnosis she receives at a top-notch adolescent psychiatric facility that her son is deeply disturbed. Dangerous.Until she finds Max, unconscious and bloodied, beside a patient who has been brutally stabbed to death.Trapped in a world of doubt and fear, barred from contacting Max, Danielle clings to the belief that her son is innocent. But has she, too, lost touch with reality? Is her son really a killer?With the justice system bearing down on them, Danielle steels herself to discover the truth, no matter what it is. She'll do whatever it takes to find the killer and to save her son from being destroyed by a system that's all too eager to convict him.

The Marriage Pact


Michelle Richmond - 2017
    Alice, once a singer in a well-known rock band, is now a successful lawyer. Jake is a partner in an up-and-coming psychology practice. Their life together holds endless possibilities. After receiving an enticing wedding gift from one of Alice’s prominent clients, they decide to join an exclusive and mysterious group known only as The Pact.The goal of The Pact seems simple: to keep marriages happy and intact, and most of its rules make sense: Always answer the phone when your spouse calls. Exchange thoughtful gifts monthly. Plan a trip together once per quarter. . . .Never mention The Pact to anyone.Alice and Jake are initially seduced by the glamorous parties, the sense of community, their widening social circle of like-minded couples--and then one of them breaks the rules. The young lovers are about to discover that for adherents to The Pact, membership, like marriage, is for life, and The Pact will go to any lengths to enforce that rule. For Jake and Alice, the marriage of their dreams is about to become their worst nightmare.

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes


Diane Chamberlain - 2006
    Twenty years later, her remains are discovered and Timothy Gleason is charged with murder. But there is no sign of the unborn child. CeeCee Wilkes knows how Genevieve Russell died, because she was there. And she also knows what happened to the missing infant, because two decades ago she made the devastating choice to raise the baby as her own. Now Timothy Gleason is facing the death penalty, and she has another choice to make. Tell the truth, and destroy her family. Or let an innocent man die in order to protect a lifetime of lies...

Hanover House


Brenda Novak - 2015
    Why do psychopaths act as they do? How do they come to be? Why don’t they feel any remorse for the suffering they cause? And are there better ways of spotting and stopping them?After having been kidnapped, tortured and left for dead when she was just a teenager—by her high school boyfriend—she’s determined to understand how someone she trusted so much could turn on her. So she’s established a revolutionary new medical health center in the remote town of Hilltop, Alaska, where she studies the worst of the worst.But not everyone in Hilltop is excited to have Hanover House and its many serial killers in the area. Alaskan State Trooper, Sergeant Amarok, is one of them. And yet he can’t help feeling bad about what Evelyn has been through. He’s even attracted to her. Which is partly why he worries.He knows what could happen if only one little thing goes wrong...

The Last Innocent Hour


Barbara Taylor Sissel - 2000
    It lurks at the periphery of Beth's vision. Her husband Charlie can't help, if she could even remember him; he's doing time for a murder he didn't commit. The small child Beth was found with, whom she doesn't know either, was taken to foster care. There isn't much time now. If Beth doesn't recall the hideous events that stole her memory soon, the killer will strike again, and someone else will die.

A Stranger in the House


Shari Lapena - 2017
    A domestic thriller packed full of secrets, and a twisty story that never stops—from the bestselling author of The Couple Next DoorHe looks at her, concerned. “How do you feel?” She wants to say, Terrified. Instead, she says, with a faint smile, “Glad to be home.”Karen and Tom Krupp are happy—they’ve got a lovely home in upstate New York, they’re practically newlyweds, and they have no kids to interrupt their comfortable life together. But one day, Tom returns home to find Karen has vanished—her car’s gone and it seems she left in a rush. She even left her purse—complete with phone and ID—behind.There's a knock on the door—the police are there to take Tom to the hospital where his wife has been admitted. She had a car accident, and lost control as she sped through the worst part of town.The accident has left Karen with a concussion and a few scrapes. Still, she’s mostly okay—except that she can’t remember what she was doing or where she was when she crashed. The cops think her memory loss is highly convenient, and they suspect she was up to no good. Karen returns home with Tom, determined to heal and move on with her life. Then she realizes something’s been moved. Something’s not quite right. Someone’s been in her house. And the police won't stop asking questions.Because in this house, everyone’s a stranger. Everyone has something they’d rather keep hidden. Something they might even kill to keep quiet.

The Shadow Box


Luanne Rice - 2021
    But her well-connected husband, Griffin—who is running for governor—is her prime suspect.Just before the attack, Claire was preparing for an exhibit of her shadow boxes, one of which clearly accuses Griffin of a violent crime committed twenty-five years ago. If the public were to find out who her husband is, his political career would be over. Claire’s certain her husband and his powerful supporters would kill her to stop the truth from getting out.When one of Claire’s acquaintances is murdered, the authorities suspect the homicide is linked to the attack on Claire. As the dual investigations unfold, Claire must decide how much she’s willing to lose to take down her husband and the corrupt group of elites who will do anything to protect Griffin’s interests and their own.

The Cabin


Natasha Preston - 2016
    But when they wake to find two of their own dead and covered in blood, it's clear there's a killer among them.As the police try to unravel the case, Mackenzie launches her own investigation. Before long secrets start to emerge, revealing a sinister web of sins among the original seven friends. The killer is still free. Every one of them is a suspect. And Mackenzie starts to realize that no one is innocent…

In a Dark, Dark Wood


Ruth Ware - 2015
    Not since Nora walked out of school one day and never went back. There was a dark, dark houseUntil, out of the blue, an invitation to Clare’s hen do arrives. Is this a chance for Nora to finally put her past behind her?And in the dark, dark house there was a dark, dark roomBut something goes wrong. Very wrong.And in the dark, dark room.... Some things can’t stay secret for ever.

Between a Smile and a Tear (A Crime Thriller)


Robert Bucchianeri - 2012
    He meets a fan, an attractive woman, in a coffee shop and she plies him with compliments and a Mickey. The next morning he wakes up at a seedy motel naked, reeking of alcohol, alone, and confused. A blackmail ensues and he becomes entangled in a shadowy underworld involving strippers, prostitutes, gangsters, corrupt politicians, and cops. His wife and son leave him and he plunges into the mean streets of San Francisco seeking answers to the riddles at the heart of those seeking to destroy him.My main character in Between a Smile and a Tear, Jack Waters, a successful novelist, is a recovering alcoholic coming to terms with the damage his drinking has caused to his family and friends. He's trying his best to make amends, but is it too late? Is it impossible to right some wrongs?I've read a number of James Hall's antic thrillers set in Florida (primarily the Thorn books) with their wild and crazy bad guys and they inspired me to create my villain here: Wallace Unger. I tried to make him both humorous and scary, a counterpoint to the serious and darker action and themes of the novel.Wallace is wild and crazy, funny and dumb, but also unpredictable and a dangerous antagonist made even more fearsome by his employer, the amoral gangster boss, NIck Ravelli.This is a "bigger" novel than others that I have written, featuring multiple point-of-view characters, more subplots, a wider range including political and social forces impacting the characters, as well as a deeper attention to location and geography.I've tried to make San Francisco a major character in its own right here. I grew up in the city and know it well, but supplemented that knowledge with research and maps and a couple of trips back to the Bay Area. I think San Francisco, in all of its beauty and mystery, comes alive in the novel and I hope you agree.I put my heart and soul into this book and hope you feel that while you read.Thanks for taking the time.

Children of the Fog


Cheryl Kaye Tardif - 2011
    Choose! Sadie O'Connell is a bestselling author and a proud mother. But her life is about to spiral out of control. After her six-year-old son Sam is kidnapped by a serial abductor, she nearly goes insane. But it isn't just the fear and grief that is ripping her apart. It's the guilt. Sadie is the only person who knows what the kidnapper looks like. And she can't tell a soul. For if she does, her son will be sent back to her in “little bloody pieces.” When Sadie's unfaithful husband stumbles across her drawing of the kidnapper, he sets into play a series of horrific events that sends her hurtling over the edge. Sadie's descent into alcoholism leads to strange apparitions and a face-to-face encounter with the monster who abducted her son--a man known only as...The Fog.