Book picks similar to
Shattered by Donna Ball
tbr
crime
florida-fiction
free-at-the-time
Promissory Payback
Laurel Dewey - 2011
She’s rock hard, but capable of extraordinary tenderness. She’s a brilliant cop, but she’s capable of making life-altering mistakes. She’s uncannily talented, and she’s heartbreakingly human.In this novelette, Jane is called in to investigate the gruesome murder of a woman who profited greatly from the misfortunes of others. The case leaves Jane with little question about motive...and with a seemingly endless number of suspects.
The Magpie
Marrisse Whittaker - 2021
A detective who is out of control. Meet DSI Wilde. Wilde by name. Wild by nature. DSI Billie Wilde is on a mission to catch the killer responsible for a horrific showcase of murders, in order to prove that she’s still at the top of her game. But when hidden skeletons come out of dark corners, she is forced to confront her past and face the truth - that she is the ultimate target, now firmly in the executioner’s sights.As Billie grapples with her past, and learns she isn’t who she thought she was, she uncovers devastating childhood links to each of the victims. The past refuses to stay buried and Billie soon finds herself wondering if she knows who’s behind the brutal murders.But can Billie solve the case and unravel the mystery of her own past before it’s too late?
One Glass Is Never Enough
Jane Wenham-Jones - 2005
Single mother Sarah needs a home for her children, Claire's an ambitious business woman. For wealthy Gaynor, Greens Wine Bar is another amusement, or is it? On the surface, Gaynor has it all - money, looks, a beautiful home in the picturesque seaside town of Broadstairs, and Victor - her generous, successful husband. But while Sarah longs for love and Claire is making money, Gaynor wants answers. Why does Victor behave strangely and who does he see on his frequent trips away? Who makes threatening phone-calls? Sam - strong and silent with a hidden past - becomes an unlikely friend. But nobody is what they seem in this tale of love, loss and betrayal.
Australian Amateur Sleuth: Box Set: Books 1-3
Morgana Best - 2017
First THREE books in series. BOOK ONE: Live and Let Diet USA Today BestsellerSybil Potts moves to Little Tatterford, a small town in the middle of nowhere in Australia, seeking to find peace and quiet after the upheaval of her divorce. Although the town is sleepy and nothing has ever happened, her arrival coincides with a murder in the property adjacent to her cottage. Sybil soon finds she is at odds with the attractive Blake Wessley, the exasperated police officer who is trying to solve the murder. After Sibyl narrowly misses becoming the next victim, she turns her attention to the suspects. Is it the English gentleman, Mr. Buttons, who serves everyone tea and cucumber sandwiches, or her landlord, Cressida Upthorpe, who is convinced that her fat cat, Lord Farringdon, speaks to her? Or is it someone else entirely? BOOK TWO: Natural-born Grillers When one of the new boarders, an eminent professor of Socratic philosophy, is found poisoned by hemlock in a meal of grilled quail, eccentric boarding house owner Cressida Upthorpe soon becomes the main suspect. Sibyl Potts, with the help of Mr. Buttons, launches herself into the investigation, much to the consternation of stressed police officer Blake Wessley. As the body count mounts, will Sibyl be able to clear Cressida’s name and find the real killer? BOOK THREE: Dye Hard Obnoxious ghost hunters descend on Cressida Upthorpe’s boarding house, convinced it must be a source of paranormal activity given that three murders have occurred there in a short space of time. After one of the ghost hunters is murdered with poisoned hair dye, Sibyl does her best to keep well away from the investigation, that is, until Cressida almost falls victim. With the bumbling detectives back in town and on the scene, Sibyl races to solve the murder before the body count rises. In this fun cozy mystery series so far: 1. Live and Let Diet 2. Natural-born Grillers 3. Dye Hard 4. The Prawn Identity 5. Any Given Sundae 6. Last Mango in Paris
The Beachside Cafe
Sage Parker - 2021
It had always been her dream to open a cafe on the beach and it was finally becoming a reality - until her husband disappeared into thin air. No calls, notes or clues as to where he went. Now days before the cafe’s opening, a private investigator notifies Jaymee that her husband's disappearance isn’t by mistake and the cafe, along with her life, is part of something much bigger. As more dark secrets start coming to light, Jaymee must act fast to uncover truths and figure out how to save her dream, family and the cafe.With the help of her loving daughter and a handsome investigator, ideas start coming together and the journey to save the cafe begins.Unexpected secrets, new romances and faith create an adventure Jaymee never could have dreamed of. Before the time Spring ends, relationships are strengthened, truths are discovered, and love is renewed in more ways than one.
Breaking Bones
Robert White - 2018
A ruthless criminal gang. A law unto themselves. Detective Jim Hacker has watched The Dogs grow from thuggish youths to psychotic criminals and seems to be the only cop in town with the determination to see justice done. Meanwhile Jamie Strange, a young Royal Marine, finds himself embroiled in the lives of the gang when his girlfriend, Laurie Holland, cuts off their engagement... to be with the most dangerous of The Dogs: Frankie Verdi. Strange knows right from wrong, but when Verdi begins to target Jamie's family, he makes an enemy of a man, more dangerous than even he could imagine. Crisp, slick and often terrifyingly violent, this 1980's crime thriller will appeal to the readers of Ian Rankin, Martina Cole and Stephen Leather.
Treated as Murder
Noreen Wainwright - 2014
Her brother is suspected of murdering an elderly wealthy widow, and sins of the past have echoes in her life and the lives of those close to her.
Hose Monkey
Reed Farrel Coleman - 2011
Having lost his career to charges of corruption, his family to divorce, his partner to suicide, and his fireman brother to the tragedy of 9/11, Serpe's world is nearly empty but for his cat, Mulligan. Living in a basement apartment in a blue collar town on Long Island, Joe spends his days filling tanks with home heating oil and his nights filling his belly with vodka.But when a young retarded man who worked for Joe's oil company is cruelly murdered, Joe Serpe rediscovers purpose and grasps for a last chance at redemption.Along with his former Internal Affairs Bureau nemesis, Bob Healy, and Marla Stein, a brave and beautiful, group home psychologist, Joe wades into the world of street gangs, anti-immigration organizations, and the Red Mafia.Hose Monkey is a rough and tumble ride through a violent, often cruel world--a world where it's hard to tell the bad guys from the good guys without a scorecard. It is a world of murder and extortion, but one in which an innocent Down Syndrome girl may hold the key that unlocks the mystery. At the same time, Hose Monkey is a story of salvation and forgiveness. . . a tale of justice done.
Piggy Monk Square
Grace M Jolliffe - 2005
Only two little girls know where he is but they’re too scared to tell. Time is running out for the policeman. Will the girls get help before it’s too late? Piggy Monk Square is a dark yet frequently very funny novel set in 1970's Liverpool. The action takes place in the volatile period before the Toxteth riots burned much of the inner city down. A BRITISH THRILLER This unusual yet very readable British thriller describes a world tainted with deep mistrust and hostility between the local people and the police force. This harsh world is viewed through the eyes of a nine-year-old girl, Rebecca. Rebecca’s world is changing. Her parents are fighting. Her teachers are cruel. She doesn’t know what to do and turns to her best friend Debbie more and more. But Debbie’s life is just as tough. With a father who is always dodging the police, and a mother who works her to the bone, Debbie is no Cinderella. The world these girls inhabit is no fairy tale, it is confusing and can be brutally violent. A TERRIFYING SECRET No wonder the girls mix reality with fantasy - it’s how they survive, especially when it comes to coping with what will soon become their terrifying secret. A secret that will infuse their childhood with fear and change their lives forever. The nightmare begins when Rebecca and Debbie are playing in the cellar of a derelict house. A policeman catches them there and warns them not to return to this dangerous old building. But they are both determined little girls with nowhere else to play, so they come back, again and again. Unfortunately for them so does the policeman. The policeman tries to chase the girls away, but he falls down a ladder and goes ‘asleep.’ The girls try to wake him but can’t. They want to get help but at the same time they know they shouldn’t have been playing in that cellar. They have learned not to trust the police and are so afraid of getting into trouble that they leave the injured policeman alone. NOWHERE TO TURN Wishful thinking makes the girls hope that he will get up and go of his own accord and that everything will be okay again. But when they return and find him still there, conscious but unable to move they find another way to help him. A way that doesn’t involve adults. But, their interpretation of ‘helping’ the dying policeman has terrible consequences for them all.
Rough Country
T.J. Brearton - 2020
A town with a dark secret.A young girl, Kasey, is murdered in the woods of northern New York, a strange symbol carved into her stomach.Investigator Reed Raleigh, Major Crimes, is tasked with finding the killer.Reed has his own troubles. He’s in therapy, divorced, estranged from his son. But he desperately needs to solve this case - his own stepdaughter vanished when she was a teenager and Reed knows all about the agony of having no closure. No way is he letting Kasey’s mother go through that.But as Reed begins to dig, the case grows ever more complex. Why is Kasey’s boyfriend acting so strangely? And why is her mother lying to the police?As evidence of Kasey’s bizarre secret life starts to emerge, Reed realises this case isn’t just about a dead girl. There’s something much bigger at play in this small rural town, a decades old secret that needs to be protected. At any cost.
The Eagle of Spinalonga
Nike Azoros - 2012
He is sent into exile to Spinalonga, a rock island of Crete where there is no food, no electricity, no medical help, no supplies, nothing. He catches an eagle as a unique way to source food then, armed with his education and natural instincts he decides to create a life of dignity for the inhabitants of Spinalonga in the style of the city state system of Ancient Greece. Pavlos a thug criminal sent there by the state from prison does everything in his power to maintain chaos and terror so as to keep control of the island. World War 2 breaks out and the Nazis invade and inflict horrors upon the Greek people. Nikos and the people of Spinalonga outsmart the Nazis and play a major role in the resistance.
The Specter
Jonas Saul - 2012
As he uncovers connections between a series of brutal murders that have Toronto police baffled, Aaron gets too close to the truth and finds himself targeted by a billionaire who doesn't care how many people have to die to keep his secret hidden.With unlimited resources, The Specter eliminates anyone who dares threaten his empire. Aaron's amateur sleuthing and martial arts expertise shouldn't present any problems, but when money and power do battle against family ties and passion, all the rules go out the window.
In Picardy's Fields
Hannah Byron - 2020
She follows the attractive—but married—Dr. Alan Bell to the front lines at the Château de Dragoncourt in Picardy, where they help battle the horrors of the trench war. When the castle is captured by German soldiers, the war turns personal as Agnès’s secret becomes both a terrible liability—and a mighty weapon. Until Alan is severely injured and her world falls apart.Countess Madeleine, the young go-getter of the Dragoncourt family, is furious that she’s been sidelined to a Swiss finishing school. Knowing her place is in the thick of the action, she runs away to join her siblings who are working as medics at the Château. Upon learning that it’s fallen to the Germans, Madeleine is determined to effect a rescue of the French doctors and nurses held prisoner within. But what can a mere teenager do against the German army?Told from Agnès’s and Madeleine’s perspectives, In Picardy’s Fields is a tribute to the brave young women of WW1. Through their work and courage, they set in motion the true liberation of 20th century women.
Accountable to None
Ashley Fontainne - 2011
Welcome to Audra Tanner's personal hell. She had heard the rumors about her employer. The whispered secrets. But she had thrown herself into work to escape the pain of her miscarriage and demise of her marriage. Idealistic, she thought if she worked hard she would be rewarded. She thought wrong.Savagely initiated into the brutal underbelly of the firm, Audra learns too late that the rumors are true. Now after five years of careful plotting, Audra is ready to push the wheels of justice in motion. Her goal of retribution has turned into an obsession and she will stop at nothing until everyone responsible pays. Will revenge set her free or is Audra's quest for personal justice only beginning?