The Prodigal Captive


Rachel Woods - 2018
     On a gorgeous morning in paradise, tourists find a dead body on the pristine white beach of St. Killian, an island in the Caribbean. The victim was killed in a ritualistic murder. The dead man was castrated and branded. Burned into his skin is a strange word—“eros.” Investigative journalist Vivian Thomas-Bronson heads to the scene of the crime. She’s got to cover the story alone. Her husband, Leo Bronson, has to do a mysterious favor for his father. Leo is less than thrilled when he’s asked to find the missing son of a billionaire. There’s only one clue to go on—something known as “eros.” Could the missing scion be connected to the dead man on the beach? And what is the mystery behind “eros"? Their investigation uncovers an ultra-secret cult whose members perform bizarre rituals. When Leo goes undercover to get more information, he finds himself face to face with a demented killer. Can he escape with the truth? Or, will he fall prey to a psychotic villain who believes that murder is a sacrifice worth making?

Harmless


Ernie Lindsey - 2013
    When the would-be love of his life turns up dead, all signs point to Steve.Once the detectives hit a dead end in their investigation and he becomes the prime suspect, Steve is left with only a reluctant police officer and a crooked private investigator to help him prove his innocence. Could a kindhearted homeless woman and a cryptic note in Kerry's diary provide the key to the mystery?

Foreign Involvement: A Chuck Winters Thriller


Robert E. Smith - 2018
    He soon gets caught up with a nemesis character that spews death and destruction, hiding throughout the world like a chameleon---causing Winters to leave his serene retirement and take chase.

She Can Run


Melinda Leigh - 2011
    Handsome and wealthy, with a sparkling public image, Richard seemed like the perfect man to provide the security that Beth and her kids were craving. But when she uncovers a dangerous secret about her new husband, Beth realizes he will go to any lengths—even murder—to keep it. After barely escaping with her life, she and her children flee. They eventually make their way to a secluded estate in the Pennsylvania countryside, where Beth dares to hope she has found a safe place at last…Forced into retirement by an unexpected injury, Philadelphia homicide detective Jack O’Malley is mourning the loss of his career when his uncle abruptly dies, leaving Jack to dispose of his crumbling country house. Unbeknownst to him, his uncle engaged a caretaker just before his death, a mysterious woman with two children and a beautiful face that haunts his dreams. Determined to know her, Jack begins an investigation into Beth’s past. When he uncovers the shocking truth, and a local woman is viciously murdered, Jack puts his own life on the line to keep Beth and her children safe.She Can Run is a sexy, satisfying debut from award-winning author Melinda Leigh, packed with enough suspense and romance to get even the tamest heart racing!

The Woman


David Bishop - 2011
    This is a story of just one woman. As the story unfolds Linda gradually learns that some people do deserve to die, but that she is not one of those people. Linda Darby is a seven-year divorcee, living quietly in a small let-the-world-go-by beach town on the coast of Oregon, who day trades for a living. Her only close friend is a widowed elderly woman who manages a small consulting company, which, as is later discovered, never has visitors, sends and receives its business correspondence only by courier, and is not listed in any phone directory. No one in town knows what kind of consulting the company does, but the rumor is that whatever they do is done for the government. Linda doesn’t date local men. When her celibacy grows intolerable, she visits nearby towns to frequent the watering holes of successful men. Her motto: No relationships. No second dates. No use of her real name during one-night stands. Then one evening, Linda goes for a walk and nothing for her is ever the same. She is dragged into an alley by two men, but saved by a third, a stranger who disappears as suddenly as he appeared. The next day she finds out the two men in the alley had been killed, the town’s first murders ever. The following day she learns that hours before she had been dragged into the alley, her close friend was tortured and killed.

A Wicked Mercy (Harriet Quinn Crime Thriller, #1)


Bilinda P. Sheehan - 2019
    Although the police are convinced that these are open and shut cases, Forensic psychologist Harriet Quinn is certain the deaths are due to foul play. Her suspicions deepen when her own friend becomes one of the victims.Fighting the police’s indifference, she sets out to prove that a murderer stalks the village. A murderer that her training tells her might be hiding in plain sight.  Book One of the Harriet Quinn series is an explosive crime fiction series debut where murder and mystery take centre stage in this dark thriller. For fans of LJ Ross, Val McDermid, JD Kirk, Chris Carter, Joy Ellis, Angela Marsons, and Sally Rigby

Wreckage


Emily Bleeker - 2015
    On the surface, she looks like a brave survivor of a plane crash. But she’s been lying to her family, her friends, and the whole world since rescue helicopters scooped her and her fellow survivor, Dave Hall, off a deserted island in the South Pacific. Missing for almost two years, the castaways are thrust into the spotlight after their rescue, becoming media darlings overnight. But they can’t tell the real story—so they lie.The public is fascinated by the castaways’ saga, but Lillian and Dave must return to their lives and their spouses. Genevieve Randall—a hard-nosed journalist and host of a news program—isn’t buying it. She suspects Lillian’s and Dave’s explanations about the other crash survivors aren’t true. And now, Genevieve’s determined to get the real story, no matter how many lives it destroys.In this intriguing tale of survival, secrets, and redemption, two everyday people thrown together by tragedy must finally face the truth…even if it tears them apart.

Lamb to the Slaughter


Karen Ann Hopkins - 2014
    To solve the murder, she must investigate the nearby Amish community with the help of a man who was shunned years ago. Lamb to the Slaughter is a story about the intertwining lives of three unlikely people in an Indiana Amish Community and the devastating results when a rebellious teenage girl is found shot to death in a corn field during the harvest. Serenity Adams is the newly elected young sheriff in the country town of Blood Rock and besides dealing with the threatening behavior of her predecessor, she now has a dead Amish girl on her plate. At first glance, the case seems obvious. The poor girl was probably accidentally shot during hunting season, but when the elders of the Amish community and even the girl’s parents react with uncaring subdued behavior, Serenity becomes suspicious. As she delves deeper into the secretive community that she grew up beside, she discovers a gruesome crime from the past that may very well be related to the Amish girl’s shooting. Serenity enlists the help of the handsome bad-boy building contractor, Daniel Bachman, who left the Amish when he was nineteen and has his own dark reasons to help the spunky sheriff solve the crime that the family and friends who shunned him are trying desperately to cover up. Serenity’s persistence leads her to a stunning discovery that not only threatens to destroy her blossoming romance with Daniel, but may even take her life in the end.

No Time To Bleed: Austin Conrad Thriller #2


Dusty Sharp - 2017
    So Austin Conrad wrote his own when he decided to get the hell out. Now he’s the target of the MC’s ruthless president, who’s hell-bent to silence Austin to keep his own dark secrets buried. Set along the back roads of southern California’s Mojave Desert, the story comes to its thrilling climax among the abandoned ghost town of Amboy. When Austin is waylaid by a crew of murderous thugs from a rogue faction of the club, the hunters become the hunted, and learn the hard way that there’s more to Austin than motorcycles and petty crime. No Time To Bleed is the action-packed debut from author Dusty Sharp. This novella-length story provides a quick introduction to anti-hero Austin Conrad, and sets the stage for further adventure and mayhem. Warning: contains violence, profanity and irreverence, in equal measure.

From a Dead Sleep


John A. Daly - 2013
    a riveting read..." - Colorado Country Life Magazine.There are times when the truth invites evil, and there are times when the truth can get you killed. Few residents in the secluded mountain-town of Winston, Colorado, have kind words to say about local troublemaker Sean Coleman. He's a bully, a drunk, and a crime-show addicted armchair detective with an overactive imagination. After a night of poor judgment, Sean finds himself the sole witness to the unusual suicide of a mysterious stranger. With the body whisked away in the chilling rapids of a raging river, no one believes Sean's account. When his claim is met with doubt and mockery from the people of Winston, Sean embarks on a far-reaching crusade that takes him across the country in search of the dead man's identity and personal vindication. He hopes to find redemption and the truth---but sometimes the truth is better left unknown.

The Perfect Husband


Lisa Gardner - 1997
    Even locked up in a maximum security prison, he vowed he would come after her and make her pay. Now the cunning killer has escaped--and the most dangerous game of all begins.... After a lifetime of fear, Tess will do something she's never done before. She's going to learn to protect her daughter and fight back, with the help of a burned-out ex-marine. As the largest manhunt four states have ever seen mobilizes to catch Beckett, the clock winds down to the terrifying reunion between husband and wife. And Tess knows that this time, her only choices are to kill--or be killed.

Cold Hollow


Emilie J. Howard - 2015
    They find it to be quite charming and the inhabitants endearing, except for a few residents. Odd laws are enforced, confrontations begin, and insanity reigns as a madman sits upon his imaginary throne, trying to keep the threads of his dream from unraveling. Will Sophia and Angus Barner be able to protect their children from the malevolence that lurks within the small township? This is the story of Cold Hollow, a place you’ll never want to visit.

Mermaids of Bodega Bay (Terrence Reid Mystery Series)


Mary Birk - 2014
     Anne, a talented historic garden designer, doesn’t know whether to bless or curse the luck that had her husband show up on her doorstep just as disaster strikes the Grainger Art Colony. Moving on after he left her was hard, but she’d done it with Andrew Grainger’s help. When Anne and her lover become the FBI’s chief suspects, Reid, compelled to exonerate the woman he still loves, steps in to investigate—and in the process, uncovers a shocking web of deceit and danger.

The Golden Icon


Janet Pywell - 2013
    She was born to sing Puccini’s Tosca and is determined to earn the right to perform again on the world’s most prestigious and celebrated stages. But her fight for the future she craves is derailed when her ex-husband embroils her in a cynical blackmail plot. She is forced to take possession of a solid gold icon, part of a secret hoard of art treasures stolen by the Nazis - that dangerous men are prepared to kill for. As well as determining the fate of the Golden Icon, Josephine must come to terms with her past, and fight for her own life. If only her choices were simple...

Tips for Living


Renee Shafransky - 2018
    With the help of her best friend, she fled New York City for a small resort town, snagged a job as the advice columnist for the local paper, and is cautiously letting a new man into her life. But when Hugh and his perfect new family move into a summer house nearby, Nora backslides. Coping with jealousy, humiliation, and resentment again is as hard as she feared. It’s harder still when Hugh and his wife are shot to death in their home.If only Nora could account for the night of the murders. Unfortunately, her memories have gone as dark as her fantasies of revenge. But Nora’s not the only one with a reason to kill—and as prime suspect in the crime, she’d better be able to prove it.