Book picks similar to
The Penny Jumper by James Grippando
fiction
mystery
james-grippando
thriller
Before You Leap
Keith Houghton - 2016
But when Scarlett’s killer is released early from prison with a cast-iron alibi, Greg realizes that his past is about to explode into his present, with terrifying consequences.To expose the truth he must open up old wounds. As a talk therapist, Greg knows all about dark secrets, but when a childhood friendship comes to the fore and the police turn their spotlight on him, the thought of analyzing his own psyche is a disturbing prospect. How far can he trust his own memories?With his life coming apart at the seams, and his grip on reality beginning to unravel, Greg must face the ghosts of his past if he hopes to prove his innocence and live to see another day.
No Rest for the Dead
Andrew Gulli - 2011
Long suffering under Christopher's unfaithful ways, Rosemary is tried, convicted and executed. Ten years later, Jon Nunn, the detective who cracked the case, becomes convinced that the wrong person was put to death. Along with financier Tony Olsen, he plans to gather everyone who was there the night Christopher died and finally uncover the truth about what happened that fateful evening. Could it have been the ne'er do well brother Peter Hausen, interested in his sister's trust fund having got through his own; the curatorial assistant Justine Olengard, used and betrayed by Christopher; the artist Belle who turned down his advances only to see her career suffer a setback; or someone else all together? No Rest for the Dead is a thrilling, page-turning accomplishment that only the very best thriller writers could achieve.
The Alchemist
Ken Goddard - 1985
A beautiful undercover agent and her partner are brutally murdered in Southern California. A special task force of highly trained police officers go underground to find out why. What they discover is a billion-dollar criminal conspiracy--and an elusive mastermind known as the Alchemist.The Alchemist is a respected chemist who has conjured up a substance worth its weight in gold: a synthetic "designer" drug as potent as cocaine or heroin and twice as dangerous--because its unique chemical formula is perfectly legal!Caught in the crossfire between a desperate Mafia chief and two ruthless drug lords, the task force must step outside the law to crush the impending crime war, risking being lured so far out from behind the protection of their badges that there is no turning back.
The Spider Shepherd Collection 5-7: Dead Men, Live Fire, Rough Justice
Stephen Leather - 2013
Dead MenFormer SAS trooper turned undercover cop Dan Spider Shepherd knows there are no easy solutions in the war against terrorism. But when a killer starts to target pardoned IRA terrorists, Shepherd has to put his life on the line to protect his former enemies; and as a Muslim assassin closes in on his prey, Shepherd realises that the only way to save lives is to become a killer himself. Live FireDan 'Spider' Shepherd is infiltrating a tightly-knit team of bank robbers, when a group of home-grown Islamic fundamentalist fanatics embark on a campaign of terror the like of which Britain has never seen. Car bombs and beheadings are only the prelude of what they have planned. And Shepherd is the only man who can stop them. Rough JusticeVillains across London are being beaten, crippled and killed by vigilante cops. Crime rates are falling, but the powers that be want Dan 'Spider' Shepherd to bring the wave of rough justice to an end. Shepherd has always known that there are grey areas in the fight against crime, and that sometimes justice gets lost in the process. But when his own family is brought into the firing line, Shepherd has some hard decisions of his own to make.
The Body
Robin Waterfield - 1982
As they travel, they discover how cruel the world can be, but also how wondrous.
Jordan's Stormy Banks
Jefferson Bass - 2013
Bill Brockton—a bright, ambitious young forensic scientist—is hired by the University of Tennessee to head, and to raise the profile of, the school's small Anthropology Department. Six months later, the ink on his contract barely dry, Brockton is called to a gruesome crime scene in a rural area to identify a corpse and determine how the woman died. But the case—one of Brockton's first murder investigations in Tennessee—could also prove to be his last when he runs afoul of both the county sheriff and an angry mob intent on administering their own swift, rough brand of "justice." With his back to the wall, Brockton is forced to think fast, talk faster, and hope for a miracle.
You Don't Want To Know
Lisa Jackson - 2012
In the two years since, she's been in and out of Seattle mental institutions, existing in a fog of grief. Noah's body was never found, and everyone assumed he drowned after falling off a dock. Until recently, Ava thought so too. . .Is More DangerousSince she moved back home, Ava has experienced unsettling visions. She hears Noah crying in the nursery, glimpses him walking near the water. Her family, her psychologist, and her estranged husband are concerned for her well-being. Or are they worried about what she might discover?Than The TruthDid Noah really die, or is Ava losing her sanity? The deeper into her memories she goes, the more fearful she becomes. Ava thought her son's disappearance was the worst thing that could happen to her. But before this nightmare ends, she'll discover how terrifying the truth can be. . .
The Veteran
Frederick Forsyth - 2000
When a cop investigates, he finds two killers and a startling legacy of honor ... In a prestigious London art gallery an impoverished actor is swindled out of a fortune-until an eccentric appraiser hatches a delicious scheme for revenge... On an airplane high over war-torn Afghanistan, a passenger sends a note to the plane's captain, warning of suspicious behavior. But no one can guess who is really conspiring aboard the 747, or why... From the war-torn Italy to the Little Big Horn, from soldiers of fortune to victims of fate,The Veteran is a riveting experience in crime, heroism, and the kind of mano-a-mano duels-and surprising twists of fate-that are the hallmark of Frederick Forsyth at his very best.
Ring in the Dead
J.A. Jance - 2013
P. Beaumont may be an old homicide hand now, but back when he was a rookie working with his first partner, Milton Gurkey—a.k.a. Pickles—things took a turn for the worse . . . One day, at the end of Beaumont and Pickles's shift, a stop at the Doghouse restaurant quickly turns deadly. Not feeling well, Pickles steps out into the parking lot for a breath of fresh air and stumbles into a crime in progress. Suffering from a heart attack, he is found unconscious, with a dead woman on the ground nearby and the murder weapon in his hand. With Pickles under investigation from Internal Affairs, it's up to the new kid on the block, J. P. Beaumont, and his friends on the force to find out the truth.
Bad People: Four terrifying short novels of suspense
Jeremy Bates - 2018
After a night out with his girlfriend in one of the country's remote provinces, he wakes to find himself in a pitch-black coffin—and quickly running out of oxygen. With only his cell phone and his own wits to rely on, it's a race against time to escape the claustrophobic death trap. SIX BULLETS The end of civilization arrived in the form of a giant asteroid thirteen months ago. For Burt James, a survivalist, it was not a complete surprise. He'd spent much of his adult life prepping for such a catastrophe. Consequently, while the majority of the population scoured the post-apocalyptic landscape for water and food, regressing into primitive killers, he bunkered down in his fortified hilltop home in a small town in the middle of the Australian Outback. But now he's out of food and down to his last six bullets, and he will have to make the most difficult choice of his life. THE MAILMAN Los Angeles, 1985. Never was the motto sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll more apt than the scene on the legendary Sunset Strip with the arrival of the underground Hollywood glam bands. While Mick Freeman, a record executive with a major label, works tirelessly to sign five toxic rockers whom he believes might flip the entire music world on its head, his wife, Jade, spends her days bored and alone at home, struggling with a midlife crisis that threatens to topple their twenty-year marriage. And then she meets the new mailman. Young and handsome, he sweeps her off her feet—straight into a nightmare the likes of which she could never have imagined. RE-ROLL In the near future, breathtakingly humanoid robots called Mechs are for sale, and they're designed to fulfill whatever role you want: husband, wife, best friend, slave. Manufacturers allow new owners one free "roll" to randomly determine their Mech's three leading characteristics. But as everybody knows, scoring your ideal traits is a crapshoot, though you can always re-roll—at a price.
Deliver Us From Evil (DI Braddick Book #4)
Conrad Jones - 2019
The victims' bodies are missing and the police have no clue as to their identities or who killed them.As the investigation snowballs, the potential body count rises and the Major Investigation Team have little to go on until DNA evidence is examined.There appears to be no motive for the dreadful murders until an ancient script is found daubed on the walls of a nearby property.
As the clues are unravelled, Braddick and his team realise they are dealing with something they have never faced before. Because this time they're tracking evil itself…
Deliver us from Evil is a fast-paced crime thriller full of breathless action. It can be read as book 4 in the international bestselling DI Braddick series or as a truly unmissable stand-alone thriller.
The Night Caller
Martina Murphy - 2021
The close community is stunned to learn that it's Lisa Moran, a popular teacher who disappeared two days earlier.DS Lucy Golden is assigned to the case. For her, it's personal. As an Achill native, she knows that sometimes great evil can lurk in plain sight. Having moved back from Dublin, she has spent the last ten years trying to prove herself to her colleagues after her husband was jailed for fraud. This is her chance to put the past behind her. Her teenage son Luc's behaviour, however, is increasingly troubling and Lucy doesn't have time for distractions.When another body is found in an abandoned property on the bog, with links to a murder 20 years ago, the stakes are raised - but a pattern is emerging. Can Lucy put the pieces together? Or will her family crisis mean the murderer claims his next victim?
Miracle Cure
Harlan Coben - 1991
Their family and social connections tie them to the highest echelons of the political, medical, and sports worlds - threads that will tangle them up in one of the most controversial and deadly issues of our time. In a clinic on Manhattan's Upper West Side, a doctor has dedicated his life to eradicating a divisive and devastating disease. One by one, his patients are getting well. One by one, they're being targeted by a serial killer. And now Michael has been diagnosed with the disease. There's only one cure, but many ways to die. . .
First Thrills
Lee ChildSean Michael Bailey - 2010
Showcasing many of the organization’s bestselling authors as well as rising stars in the genre, here are twenty-five brand-new, never-before-published stories packed with murder, mystery, and mayhem.• A cunning criminal thinks he can use a child to take the rap for his crimes.• A hospital intern turned body snatcher• A priest who comes face-to-face with his wife’s murderer on death row• A Confederate soldier comes home to his love, but changed by more than just the war . . . he comes back wrong.• The discovery of a flying saucer in the ocean depths brings one man to the brink of a massive revelation.• A dying man’s last request proves to his ex-wife that he’s still rotten to the core.• A clandestine operative finds himself caught in a wicked game of confusion . . . but who is calling the shots? No matter what type of thriller you listen to, you’ll find something here that will entertain you . . . and perhaps a new writer you’ll cherish for years to come.