Book picks similar to
Death Rattle by David Jewell


british-literature
crime
drm-mm
queer-fiction

The Tightrope Men / The Enemy


Desmond Bagley - 2009
    But it is only the beginning of a hair-raising adventure in which Denison finds himself trapped with no way to escape. One false move and the whole delicately balanced power structure between East and West will come toppling down…THE ENEMYWealthy, respectable George Ashton flees for his life after an acid attack on his daughter. Who is his enemy? Only Malcolm Jaggard, his future son-in-law, can guess, after seeing Ashton's top secret government file. In a desperate manhunt, Jaggard pits himself against the KGB and stalks Ashton to the silent, wintry forests of Sweden. But his search for the enemy has barely begun…Includes a unique bonus - Desmond Bagley's pen portrait, written for the original publication of The Tightrope Men.

NightShade Forensic FBI Files: Vol 2 (Books 5-7)


A.J. Scudiere - 2021
     Vol 2 - Books 5, 6, and 7 Salvage - A Shadow Files Novel Former marine turned Private Investigator, Walter Reed, has been given yet another strange and amazing opportunity: to become an agent with the FBI’s NightShade division. Though confident her training will make Quantico a cake walk—even with only one leg—Walter is discovering her shot at a new career has disaster written all over it. Her first hurdle? Walter doesn’t graduate training if her new partner GJ Janson doesn’t graduate, too… After previously being arrested by the FBI, GJ Janson hopes to redeem herself with the chance to become an agent. Unfortunately, her snooping around her grandfather’s laboratory reveals he’s been hiding strange skeletons—with strikingly similar anomalies to those she notices in her friend Donovan. When a weekend visit to her grandfather’s lab yields a fresh body, GJ goes into investigation mode. But the body is that of a fellow NightShade agent, and Walter and GJ quickly realize that nothing in NightShade is what it seems—not the case, the other agents, nor even their job descriptions. Only one thing is clear: the killer is coming after them next. And they suspect it’s someone GJ knows. Garden of Bone FBI Agent Eleri Eames was there the day her sister disappeared at eight years old. However, Eleri is the only one who knows that her sister is already dead and has been for quite some time. When a skeleton is unearthed in New Orleans, Eleri is convinced it belongs to Emmaline. The age and ancestry of the remains are a match, and there’s something telling Eleri that New Orleans is the place where her sister lived and died. As Eleri hunts for answers, demons—old and new—begin following her. The Lobomau have been entering the city in ever-increasing numbers, and that might just have something to do with the Dauphine sisters and their long family history of witchcraft and voodoo. Eleri desperately needs her partner Donovan on this case with her, but can he risk his own job to help her? Eleri’s ancestry may have imbued her with some powers, but compared to her own great-grandmother and the Dauphines, she’s untrained and untested at best. When the bones turn out not to belong to her sister, Eleri has to ask how a case so similar to Emmaline’s even exists…and is it an arrow pointed to her own twisted family history? The Camelot Gambit Can Eleri and Donovan outsmart a killer who leaves no evidence behind or even a discernable cause of death? How will they track down someone who is more intelligent than both of them together? Curie, Nebraska was designed as a research haven for the ultra-intelligent. In fact, applicants must pass a rigorous IQ test before they can call the strange town home. Nearly every resident—including several child geniuses—is suspect and no one is safe. Going undercover as the new neighbors leaves the agents struggling to find even the most basic clues. Eleri and Donovan can barely maintain their false identities against their overly-curious and stunningly intelligent new friends, let alone solve a murder. Can they figure it out before the next body turns up? Or has the killer already found them… “She’s in the top five of my best writers list.

Blamed


Dana Griffin - 2017
    His last memory is putting the landing gear down. The NTSB and news media blame him and the deceased first officer Ned Partin for the accident that killed thirty-eight, and burned or severely injured ten. Bill knows from experience flying with Ned that they would have prevented the accident. While recovering from his debilitating injuries, Bill investigates why data that would exonerate him has disappeared. Why hasn’t the NTSB figured out there was something wrong with the rudder? And why does his airline’s management thwart his attempts to prove he shouldn’t be blamed? Those who caused the accident will go to extreme lengths to assure Bill does not uncover their secret agenda.

Kill Order / Vendetta


Jack McSporran - 2017
    Beautiful. On the run. When secret agent Maggie Black agrees to protect the Mayor of London, she thinks she’s in for a boring night of babysitting. The simple job gets a lot more complicated when an assassin arrives and takes out the Mayor, framing Maggie as the killer. Unable to explain the evidence against her, Maggie is branded a traitor and hunted by the very people she once fought beside. With no one to turn to, Maggie relies on the one person who has always had her back—herself. From the hidden nightclubs of Madrid, to the dark streets of Moscow, Maggie must delve into the depths of the criminal underworld to unearth the truth, and fast. Because time is running out and the enemy is closer than she thinks… KILL ORDER is the first gripping installment to the Maggie Black thriller series, and the perfect read for fans of Lee Child and James Patterson. Venice. The Mafia. A drug deal gone wrong. When a British covert intelligence agency learns of an impending drug deal between the Venetian mafia and one of the UK’s most notorious importers, agent Maggie Black is sent to stop it. Under the alias of an American drug lord, Maggie must infiltrate the crime family and stop their product from reaching British soil. A feat that gets more complicated when her colleague and old flame Leon is sent along with her. Maggie is soon thrust into the middle of a vicious war that spans generations. As blood is spilled and the scent of death lingers across the lagoons, a failed mission becomes the least of her worries. Because someone has a score to settle and they won't let Maggie stand in their way... Join Maggie Black in VENDETTA, the first heart-pounding novella in the Maggie Black Case Files series. Get your copy of the Starter Library today and discover the action-packed world of Maggie Black.

The Eleventh Hour: Day Of Atonement Book II (The Eleventh Hour Trilogy)


Kathryn Dionne - 2012
    

Deja Karma


Vish Dhamija - 2015
    But Jay Singh is a closet alcoholic; he has a dark and ominous past. His mother has been accused and convicted of killing his father..something he doesn't accept even after twenty years.Flamboyant, wicket, lethal, Jay Singh never loses a case, though his methods might not always be within the law. If the law is after you - guilty or not - there is only one man who can save you. If Jay Singh takes your case, witnesses for the prosecution disappear or turn hostile, evidence evaporates, technology and science fail to provide any cogent support. What's more - Jay Singh can even provide you with an ironclad alibi.And then he gets a case that can completely destroy him.If he loses the high-profile he can kiss his career goodbye ; if he wins the case he better keep his obituary ready.

Smith: A Detective Jason Smith Thriller


Stewart Giles - 2014
    It is Christmas Day in York. A woman is found dead in her bed. A suicide note is found on her chest. It reads ‘I am so sorry Martin’. Hours later the police are called to a house a few miles away. A mother and her daughter have been brutally attacked; the mother is dead and the daughter is barely alive. The father is found shaking uncontrollably in the corner of the room. He is covered in blood but he is unharmed. His name is Martin Willow. Detective Sergeant Jason Smith is put in charge of the investigation. After reaching dead end after dead end, Smith starts to put the pieces together and figures out that Martin Willow is innocent and the killer is still out there. The little girl who was attacked on Christmas Day wakes from her coma and gives Smith a clue about the attacker; a piece of a song she heard directly before the attack. Smith then finds himself in a race against time to find this maniac before he kills again.

The Blood Banker


David Prever - 2012
    And something about the tube death doesn’t add up… When a second banker takes his life, then a third, he’s certain of wrongdoing.In a race to reveal the truth, Lightfoot uncovers a laundered money trail that leads, via Hong Kong and the world’s largest online criminal cartel, to the heart of British government: Number Ten Downing Street – and a man who will stop at nothing to achieve the power he craves.But with a hired killer watching his every move, can Lightfoot banish his demons and face down the evil that threatens his life?

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.