Book picks similar to
The First Cut (Terrence Reid Mystery Series Book 2) by Mary Birk
abandoned
detective
library-e-book
mysteries
The Philosophical Detective
Bruce Hartman - 2014
Nick Martin has just started graduate school when he’s dragooned into serving as the driver, guide and confidant of a blind poet by the name of Jorge Luis Borges. Together they must address an extraordinary series of crimes and the equally baffling conundrums of literature and philosophy, including Zeno’s paradoxes, the mind/body problem, and the mysteries of destiny, personal identity and artistic creation. Nick plays the parts of Watson, Sancho Panza, Dante and Stephen Daedalus, and before the story ends he hears the last tale of Scheherazade and finds the love of his life. Forty-five years later, struggling with pain and grief, he looks back with wonder at the magical year when he wandered into the labyrinth and took his first steps to self-understanding.Lighthearted but deeply serious, The Philosophical Detective is a unique journey into the visionary world of a genius.Kirkus Reviews called The Philosophical Detective “...a suspenseful, pitch-perfect novel with an unlikely lead detective: a fictionalized version of iconic Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986)..... An intelligent, original detective novel.”Note: With my apologies, at this time the book is available only in the United States.
Edinburgh Twilight
Carole Lawrence - 2017
The wealthy residents of New Town live in comfort, while Old Town’s cobblestone streets are clotted with criminals, prostitution, and poverty.Detective Inspector Ian Hamilton is no stranger to Edinburgh’s darkest crimes. Scarred by the mysterious fire that killed his parents, he faces his toughest case yet when a young man is found strangled in Holyrood Park.With little evidence aside from a strange playing card found on the body, Hamilton engages the help of his aunt, a gifted photographer, and George Pearson, a librarian with a shared interest in the criminal mind. But the body count is rising. As newspapers spin tales of the “Holyrood Strangler,” panic sets in across the city. And with each victim, the murderer is getting closer to Hamilton, the one man who dares to stop him.
Entry Island
Peter May - 2013
Hubert airfield, he does so without looking back. For Sime, the 850-mile journey ahead represents an opportunity to escape the bitter blend of loneliness and regret that has come to characterise his life in the city.Travelling as part of an eight-officer investigation team, Sime's destination lies in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Only two kilometres wide and three long, Entry Island is home to a population of around 130 inhabitants - the wealthiest of which has just been discovered murdered in his home.The investigation itself appears little more than a formality. The evidence points to a crime of passion: the victim's wife the vengeful culprit. But for Sime the investigation is turned on its head when he comes face to face with the prime suspect, and is convinced that he knows her - even though they have never met.Haunted by this certainty his insomnia becomes punctuated by dreams of a distant past on a Scottish island 3,000 miles away. Dreams in which the widow plays a leading role. Sime's conviction becomes an obsession. And in spite of mounting evidence of her guilt he finds himself convinced of her innocence, leading to a conflict between the professonal duty he must fulfil, and the personal destiny that awaits him.
The Grave Tattoo
Val McDermid - 2006
What she never expected was to find herself at the heart of a 200-year-old mystery that still has the power to put lives on the line. And with each new lead she pursues, death follows hard on her heels….
The Bridge of Deaths
M.C.V. Egan - 2011
Five deaths were reported: two Standard Oil of New Jersey employees, a German Corporate Lawyer, an English member of Parliament, and a crew member for the airline. Here is a conceivable version of the events.
The Killing Pool
Kevin Sampson - 2013
The slaying carries all the hallmarks of a gangland hit -- a message from the underworld to snitches, cops and rival gangs. One mile away, a Liverpool-Somali girl, Misha, staggers into a run-down bar, dazed and confused. The bar's owner, a career criminal called Shakespeare who dresses like an Edwardian dandy, cannot get a word out of her. Shakespeare, a chivalrous old Trinidadian who has called Liverpool his home since the 70s, is smitten. DCI McCartney is all too well aware that the clock is ticking. The butchered body was one Kalan Rozaki, youngest brother of a notorious Liverpool-Kurdish crime family -- except Kalan is no criminal. For almost a year his brothers have been under full-time Drug Squad surveillance as McCartney slowly closed the net on the Rozakis' intercontinental heroin trafficking organisation. McCartney's key witness and chief informant on the case is someone with intimate insider knowledge of the Rozaki clan's operation... their newly deceased baby brother, Kalan. McCartney's investigation into Kalan's murder peels back layer after layer of a decades-long dynasty of drug smuggling. Each revelation plunges Mac further back into the dark heart of an unsolved drug crime that weighs heavy on his soul. He wants to catch the Rozakis -- badly -- but he wants the shadowy men behind their drug empire even more. The closer McCartney gets to Kalan's killer, the closer he comes to facing down a lifetime's torment -- and facing up to the possibility, finally, of closure. There is one solid gold witness to the killing, Kalan's girlfriend, Misha -- but Misha has vanished. Meanwhile a shipload of unadulterated heroin is sailing ever closer to the Port of Liverpool and Mac's key informant is dead. As dawn breaks on his day of destiny, Mac's priorities have become fatally intertwined: find Kalan's killer, rescue Misha and swoop on the Rozakis -- hopefully elbows-deep in heroin. Then, and only then, can he unmask the demon who has haunted his adult life.
The Sunday Philosophy Club
Alexander McCall Smith - 2004
1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels, begins a wonderful new series starring the irrepressibly curious Isabel Dalhousie.Isabel is fond of problems, and sometimes she becomes interested in problems that are, quite frankly, none of her business. This may be the case when Isabel sees a young man plunge to his death from the upper circle of a concert hall in Edinburgh. Despite the advice of her housekeeper, Grace, who has been raised in the values of traditional Edinburgh, and her niece, Cat, who, if you ask Isabel, is dating the wrong man, Isabel is determined to find the truth—if indeed there is one—behind the man's death. The resulting moral labyrinth might have stymied even Kant. And then there is the unsatisfactory turn of events in Cat's love life that must be attended to.Filled with thorny characters and a Scottish atmosphere as thick as a highland mist, The Sunday Philosophy Club is irresistible, and Isabel Dalhousie is the most delightful literary sleuth since Precious Ramotswe.
Jack Daniels Series - Three Thriller Novels (Rum Runner #9, Last Call #10, White Russian #11)
J.A. Konrath - 2018
She has since retired from the Chicago Police Department in order to raise her toddler daughter.But old grudges never die. They fester until the right opportunity comes along.While on vacation in the Wisconsin north woods, Jack learns--too late--that her old adversary is out of prison. He has revenge on his mind. And he's bringing an army with him.Outnumbered, outgunned, and cut off from the outside world, Jack Daniels is about to learn the meaning of last stand.L A S T C A L LThis is where it all ends. An epic showdown in the desert, where good and evil will clash one last time.His name is Luther Kite, and his specialty is murdering people in ways too horrible to imagine. He's gone south, where he's found a new, spectacular way to kill. And if you have enough money, you can bet on who dies first.Legendary Chicago cop Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels has retired. She's no longer chasing bad guys, content to stay out of the public eye and raise her new daughter. But when her daughter's father, Phin Troutt, is kidnapped, she's forced to strap on her gun one last time.Since being separated from his psychotic soulmate, the prolific serial killer known as Donaldson has been desperately searching for her. Now he thinks he's found out where his beloved, insane Lucy has been hiding. He's going to find her, no matter how many people die in the process.All three will converge in the same place. La Juntita, Mexico. Where a bloodthirsty cartel is enslaving people and forcing them to fight to the death in insane, gladiator-style games.Join Jack and Phin, Donaldson and Lucy, and Luther, for the very last act in their twisted, perverse saga.Along for the ride are Jack's friends; Harry and Herb, as well as a mob enforcer named Tequila, and a covert operative named Chandler.There will be blood. And death. So much death...W H I T E R U S S I A NJust when you get out...Former Chicago cop Jack Daniels thought she'd left her former life behind. She'd traded her badge for a toddler, and her lifelong pursuit of heinous serial killers for a boring house in the suburbs....they pull you back in.Then Jack sees some pictures. Pictures of men who were supposed to be dead. And once again, against the fierce insistence of her husband, Phineas Troutt, Jack reluctantly straps on her gun and goes hunting. Hunting for the worst of the worst.This leads to a trek across the Great Plains, searching for a modern slavery ring, on a collision course with three of the most horrible villains Jack has ever faced.But Jack, and her irritating buddy Harry McGlade, will face them, and much more. Because they're prepared to go to hell and back to rescue an old friend.The trick will be getting back in one piece. And--spoiler alert--they don't.About JA KonrathJA Konrath is the author of twelve novels in the Jack Daniels thriller series.
Whisky from Small Glasses
Denzil Meyrick - 2014
Jim Daley is despatched from Glasgow to lead the investigation. Far from home, and his troubled marriage, it seems that Daley’s biggest obstacle will be managing the difficult local police chief; but when the prime suspect is gruesomely murdered, the inquiry begins to stall. As the body count rises, Daley uncovers a network of secrets and corruption in the close-knit community of Kinloch, thrusting him and his loved ones into the centre of a case more deadly than he had ever imagined. The first novel in the D.C.I. Daley Thriller series, Whisky from Small Glasses is a truly compelling crime novel, shot through with dark humour and menace.
The Twilight Time
Karen Campbell - 2008
On her first day in the new job she discovers she'll be working with her ex, Jamie, now married and with a child. In at the deep end emotionally after many years without him, she's also plunged headlong into the underworld of Glasgow's notorious Drag—the haunt of working girls, drug dealers, and sad, seedy men. Someone is carving up the faces of local prostitutes, an old man has been brutally killed, and racist violence is on the rise; Anna must deal with all this alongside tensions and backstabbing within her own team. Atmospheric, affecting, and beautifully-written, The Twilight Time is a stunning debut from a remarkably talented new crime writer.
Merrily Watkins collection 1: Midwinter of Spirit and Crown of Lights
Phil Rickman - 2001
Tricky Twenty-Two: by Janet Evanovich
aBookaDay - 2016
If you have not yet bought the original copy, make sure to purchase it before buying this unofficial summary from aBookaDay. SPECIAL OFFER $2.99 (Regularly priced: $3.99) SUMMARY Tricky Twenty-Two is the twenty-second, and most recent novel, in the Stephanie Plum book series, authored by Janet Evanovich. The books tell the story of a woman named Stephanie Plum who stumbles into a career as a bounty hunter. In the beginning, it takes her some time to get the hang of the job. However, in Tricky Twenty-Two she’s developed relationships and has an interesting colleague named Lula that provide her with assistance in her work. The book starts out with her colleague, Lula and her trying to talk a woman down from a ledge. Joe Morelli, Stephanie’s boyfriend (who’s also a cop), shows up and manages to talk the woman down. It’s after this that Stephanie goes back to his place where he, unfortunately, dumps her after they have sex. Stephanie leaves his place angry and returns to work the next day with signs of her stress on her face in the form of a zit. She receives two assignments; Ken “Gobbles” Globovic and Billy “Bacon” Brown. The book weaves the main case Stephanie is working around the other assignments she receives. One of the jobs Stephanie receives is from Ranger, assisting as security for a man named Doug Linken, and his wife, Monica when they attend the funeral of Linken’s late colleague, Harry Getz. Later in the book, it’s revealed that Doug and Harry are Zeta alumni. Gobbles is a Zeta fraternity brother and his story, and the fraternity house, are the main focus of the book. During the search for Gobbles and the investigation into the Zeta fraternity, Stephanie and Lula meet Dean Mintner and Professor Pooka. Pooka is an eccentric biology professor and Gobbles’ faculty advisor, as well as the den father (they don’t have a den mother because one night one of the brothers got the den mother pregnant) for the Zeta fraternity. Both Mintner and Pooka point Stephanie and Lula in the direction of Gobbles’ girlfriend Julie. Stephanie suspects that Gobbles is bunking with Julie so her and Ranger go and check it out. There’s no sign of him, and after checking out the apartment, the two decide to go for burgers. It’s here that they spot Gobbles, however, he gets away. Throughout the book, the Zetas play pranks on Stephanie and Lula (beer balloons, graffiti and geese in their cars, etc.,). This further plays into Pooka’s and Mintner’s opinion of the Zeta fraternity. However, towards the end of the book, we learn that Mintner and Pooka are out to destroy the fraternity, and are, in fact, the villains. We learn this when Gobbles sends Julie to talk to Stephanie. Julie and Gobbles tell Stephanie that for homecoming the Zetas were planning on creating fireworks with stink bombs attached to them. Gobbles and his friend Becker were in charge of executing this plane. However, they soon found out that they needed help and decided to ask Pooka. It was at this point that things got out of hand. It’s revealed that Pooka slowly started to lose his mind and developed a plan to attach tubes filled with fleas that were infected with the bubonic plague virus. When the fireworks went off at homecoming, the fleas would infect everyone on the campus and result in the death of everyone. In the process of working on another assignment, Stephanie is kidnapped by Pooka.
Serenity
Harry Kraus - 2002
Nobody except his former physician's assistant who hasassumed his identity.Serenity was to be a fresh start and the fulfillment of a vowmade years ago. Being a doctor there is supposed to be a quiet, non-descript job. But it is in this touristy, seaside town wheredrugs flow, insurance is defrauded and people are dying.As the mystery around these suspicious activities and deathsunfolds, so does the new doctor's false identity. If the pretendercan survive the allegations and keep the unconditional love he'sdiscovered, he just may find the serenity he was seeking.
Knots and Crosses
Ian Rankin - 1987
Once John Rebus served in Britain's elite SAS. Now he's an Edinburgh cop who hides from his memories, misses promotions and ignores a series of crank letters. But as the ghoulish killings mount and the tabloid headlines scream, Rebus cannot stop the feverish shrieks from within his own mind. Because he isn't just one cop trying to catch a killer, he's the man who's got all the pieces to the puzzle... Knots and Crosses introduces a gifted mystery novelist, a fascinating locale and the most compellingly complex detective hero at work today.