Book picks similar to
Fatal Fortune by Miranda Rijks


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The Bad Place


M.K. Hill - 2019
    A remote farm out on the Thames estuary, where six children were held captive for two weeks. Five of them got out alive. That was twenty years ago. Now adults, they meet up annually to hold a candlelit vigil for their friend who died. The only rule is that no-one can talk about what happened the night they escaped. But at this year's event, one of them witnesses a kidnapping. A young girl, Sammi, is bundled into a van in front of their eyes. Is history repeating itself? Is one of them responsible? Or is someone sending them a twisted message? DI Sasha Dawson, of Essex Police, is certain that the key to finding Sammi lies in finding out the truth about The Bad Place. But she also knows that with every second she spends trying to unlock the past, the clock ticks down for the missing girl...

The Numbers Killer


Jenifer Ruff - 2019
     When a key witness in an organized crime trial turns up dead in his kitchen with liar and the number two scrawled on his forehead, the FBI assumes the murder was a hit to silence him. Then the calls start coming in—more victims with similar markings and no connection to the mob. As agents Victoria Heslin and Dante Rivera struggle to catch a break in the case, they receive a series of cryptic, personal messages from the killer, complicating the investigation. Something disturbing and frightening is underway, and anyone might be next, including the agents, unless they uncover the common denominator. Bestselling author Jenifer Ruff delivers a gripping new psychological thriller that will appeal to fans of the Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn as well as serial killer favorites like The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris and Kiss the Girls by James Patterson. PRAISE FOR THE NUMBERS KILLER: “Jenifer Ruff’s best book yet! I was hooked from page one until the very twisty ending."– Author, Caryn Sutorus “Shocking, chilling, and fascinating – Jenifer Ruff’s latest book takes us into the twisted mind of a young murderess as she goes on a cold-blooded killing spree.”– Author and journalist, Karen D. Scioscia “Cancel your plans because you can’t put this book down. A nail-biting, thrill ride from beginning to end.”– Author, Susan Mills Wilson ARC REVIEWERS: “Fresh, back of the neck, hair tingling entertainment, you will never be able to put down!” - Patricia “LOVED IT! I couldn't leave it alone! I want more!” – Cheri “You did it again...another can’t-put-it-down book. I loved the story.”- Pamela “Loved the book! Couldn't put it down.” – June “Loved it!” – Debbi “Couldn’t put it down! Loved it!!!! I really do love all your characters!! - Alison “LOVED it! Especially the twist at the end.” –Shelly The Numbers Killer is the first book in the Agent Victoria Heslin Series and can be read as a standalone. Grab your copy today!

The Killing Woods


Linda Berry - 2018
    After years of investigations in a big city, she’s haunted by grisly crime scenes. Fleeing the stress of the job and a failed relationship, she accepts the position of police chief in her hometown—a peaceful mountain community in Oregon. Life is good. Beautiful scenery. Low crime. Close to family. Then a woman is found brutally murdered in the woods. The staging of the body is chilling, and resembles a victim found in the same area years earlier. The case went cold. Now the killer has come out of hiding. The case instantly becomes intensely personal for Sidney. Garnerville is a small community. Folks know each other. It’s unnerving to imagine that a neighbor could be a murderer, hiding in plain sight. As she conducts her investigation with her small force of three officers, Sidney finds she is pitted against a killer more cunning than any she has faced before. The man is ruthless, and plans each murder to the smallest detail. The only clue found at the crime scene is an origami butterfly planted on the victim. Inside is a handwritten verse. Sidney must decode his cryptic message and lure him into the open—before he strikes again.

The Taken Girls


G.D. Sanders - 2018
    But Ed’s already got her hands full with a team who don’t want her, an ex who won’t quit, and terrible guilt over a secret from her past.As Ed investigates the case, she discovers Canterbury has seen this crime not once, but several times before. And when Ed and her detectives encounter missing historic police files, falsified school records, and Ed’s new lover as a prime suspect, it becomes clear that the system has been corrupted. Can Ed find the kidnapper behind these depraved crimes before he strikes again? Or has time already run out?

Perilous


Tamara Hart Heiner - 2010
    . . . Weeks before, Jaci Rivera join her best friends Callie, Sara and Amanda for a night of pizza and shopping. But an evening at the mall turns into a terrifying twist of events that drives Jaci and her friends 2000 miles across the Canadian border.The girls escape the kidnapper's lair only to find that he has spies and agents working on both sides. They are being hunted, and not even the police can be trusted. . . . And Detective Hamilton is in a life and death race to find the three remaining girls before the kidnapper does.

Body of the Crime


Jennifer Chase - 2016
    The District Attorney’s Serial Special Task Force retains the help of the reclusive Dr. Chip Palmer, a forensic expert and criminal profiler, to steer them in the right direction. Palmer is known for his astute academic interpretations of serial and predatory crimes, along with his unconventional tactics that goes against general police procedures. He is partnered with the tough and beautiful D.A. Inspector Kate Rawlins, a homicide detective transplanted from Phoenix, and the chemistry ignites between the team—both good and deadly. The Flower Girl Murders leaves three homicides, five cold cases, two seasoned detectives, three suspects, and one serial killer calling all the shots. The investigation must rely on one eccentric forensic scientist to unravel the clues to solve the case. But at what cost?

Harry Starke


Blair Howard - 2015
    Harry Starke was there, on the bridge, and he want's to know why Tabitha Willard decided to kill herself. Was it his fault? . “….she saw me, stopped running, put her hands to her mouth, looked desperately around, then turned, ran to the rail, and started to climb….” Tormented by guilt and the thought that he might have caused the girl’s death, Harry vows to find out why Tabitha killed herself and plunges headlong into an investigation that pits him against a corrupt congressman, a beautiful United States senator, a local crime boss, and a sadistic killer. It's a case that will push Harry to the extremes of the law as he works his way through a web of deceit, extortion, high finance, corruption, sex, and three murders. In the end… well, as always, there’s a twist in the tale, several, in fact. Scroll up and grab a copy today.

Into Darkness


T.J. Brearton - 2020
    The verdict – guilty. The sentence – death.Two beautiful young women are found strangled, their bodies meticulously washed and groomed. The only thing they have in common – both worked as reporters for local TV stations. A coincidence? Or something more sinister? Rookie Special Agent Shannon Ames is assigned to the case and soon impresses with her brilliant intuition and startling ability to think outside the box. But as Shannon takes a more prominent role in the investigation, she finds herself drawn into a deadly dance with a master of deception, a serial killer whose victims all work in media – journalists, influencers, reporters. Shannon’s superiors are convinced it’s part of some grand attack on the free press, but she has a hunch these killings are much more targeted. And she follows that hunch - straight into the heart of darkness…Into Darkness is a gripping mystery thriller that will keep you up all night as it races towards its shocking conclusion. Perfect for fans of David Baldacci, Robert Dugoni and Lisa Regan.

Deadly Secrets


O.M.J. Ryan - 2019
    He’s been setup. Someone wants to destroy him.Things go from bad to worse when tenacious DCI Jane Phillips is assigned to his case, determined his celebrity won’t get in the way of justice. Even Marty’s powerhouse lawyer, Nicolette Johnson, fears this is a case she simply can’t win.Desperate to clear his name, Marty is propelled into a dark world of danger, corruption and depravity, and with the media world he once ruled now baying for his blood -- the hunter has become the hunted.Not knowing who to trust, or where to turn, Marty fights alone against a powerful criminal network as he tries to save his reputation, his job…and his life.

Cold Comfort


Trevor Douglas - 2017
    The circumstances surrounding the murder of a young woman lead Bridgette to believe it’s the work of a serial killer, but nobody is listening. Convinced the killer will strike again shortly, can Bridgette find enough evidence to convince her team before another young woman is murdered?

Last Request


Liz Mistry - 2019
    The dead man is a direct link to her painful past. As the body count begins to rise, Nikki must do everything she can to stop the killer in their tracks before anyone else gets hurt – even if it means digging up secrets she had long kept hidden… For readers of Angela Marsons and Helen H. Durrant comes a gritty new crime series featuring bold, brave and ferocious D.S. Nikki Parekh. Readers LOVE Last Request: ‘I devoured this over two nights, literally not being able to put it down.’ 5 stars, NetGalley reviewer‘Amazing… A story so twisted it makes your head spin in a good way.’ 5 stars, NetGalley reviewer‘An excellent crime thriller… Entertaining and exciting and a particularly satisfying finale… Engrossing.’ 5 stars, NetGalley reviewer‘Gripping from beginning to end, and I enjoyed each and every moment of it!’ 5 stars, NetGalley reviewer‘From the first page to the last it kept you gripped.’ 5 stars, NetGalley reviewer‘Great read!’ 5 stars, NetGalley reviewer‘A cracking good read.’ 5 stars, NetGalley reviewer

Testarossa


J.D. Cary - 2010
     John Testarossa is an LAPD cop with an NYPD attitude who has seen it all. The dead, the dying and the decomposing are all in a day’s work for the red-headed Italian from Brooklyn. After an arm rolls up on a Santa Monica beach, and the dead body to which the arm was once attached is discovered, John and his partner, Alex Ortiz, enter the world of college sports, athletes, and the illegal drugs that enhance their performance. Rage and revenge come together in a toxic cocktail John is all too familiar with. It defined him as a young boy, and ultimately still does as a man. He carries a dark secret. It is in the beautiful Dr. Karen Gennaro—who has a few secrets of her own— that John finds a soft place to land. Even as he knows all too well what falling in love with a cop can do to a woman. What sustains this hard-boiled detective is the bond he shares with his brave and dedicated partners. When that bond is destroyed in a senseless act of violence, will his past, and a desire for vengeance, destroy him? From Los Angeles, where Venice Beach, Marina del Rey, and the dream of Abbot Kinney’s Venice Canals paint a picture of bliss, Testarossa will take you on a deeper, darker journey.

Dance with the Enemy


Rob Sinclair - 2014
    A loner. No real friends or family. Trained to deal with any situation with cold efficiency, devoid of emotion. But Logan isn’t the man he used to be, or the asset he once was. Five months ago his life changed forever when he was captured, tortured and left for dead by Youssef Selim, one of the world’s most violent terrorists. When Selim mysteriously reappears in Paris, linked to the kidnapping of America’s Attorney General, Logan smells his chance for revenge. Pursuing his man relentlessly, oblivious to the growing trail of destruction that he leaves in his wake, Logan delves increasingly deep into the web of lies and deceit surrounding the kidnapping. Finally, he comes to learn just what it means to Dance with the Enemy. If you like Lee Child, Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, Tom Wood, Scott Mariani, CJ Box, JB Turner, Mark Greaney, Mark Dawson, Stephen Leather, then you will be gripped by this exciting new thriller series.

The Sleeper Lies


Andrea Mara - 2020
    Movement. I force myself to take another step. I think about all of it, all of the deaths and all of the accidents and all of the pain. And I know what I need to do.ONE WINDOWIt’s March 2018, and the country is covered in snow. Roads are impassable, shops are running out of food, and official advice is to stay indoors. Marianne lives on her own and works from home, so this isn’t a problem. Until she wakes one morning in her house in the middle of nowhere and finds footprints trailing all across her garden. Half-asleep, she is at first curious. Then she realises the footprints stop at her bedroom window, and curiosity gives way to unease. Who was looking in at her, while she was asleep?THREE LIESAs the big freeze worsens and the stalker begins to leave disturbing mementoes, Marianne’s thoughts go back two decades to the schoolyard outburst that tore her childhood apart. Old feuds resurface, and the mystery of her mother’s death is pulled back into focus. Marianne begins to see patterns – is there a link between her stalker and the true crime story she’s been obsessively researching, or does the answer lie closer to home?24 DAYSIn the end, 24 days is all it takes for everything to come crashing down.

Now You See Her


Paul J. Teague - 2019
    While the authorities draw a blank, Cory picks up the cold trail and finds there's something sinister going on in Shallow Falls--something he'll regret ever getting involved in. Now You See Her is an exciting new thriller about pain, loss and regret. The conspiracies deepen with each turn of the page, leading readers on a relentless pursuit for answers until the very end.