Book picks similar to
Pennsylvania's Finest by Michael Banas


mystery
freebie
contemporary-romance
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Night Machines


Kia Heavey - 2011
    No one needed to know, not even her lover. . . . Who would it hurt, if Maggie decided to carry on a torrid affair in her mind? It would soothe her feelings, hurt by her husband’s emotional abandonment while he worked on a disturbing new murder case. It would provide an outlet for the dizzying desire she felt for her employer. It would make her feel loved and appreciated and better able to be a good wife and mother. But Maggie loses control of the fantasy as lust becomes love, and things she believed confined to her own imagination are somehow known to her spectral lover. A harmless mind game spins out of control and threatens the sanctity of Maggie’s greatest treasure – her family. Part women's fiction, part suburban fantasy, and part psychological thriller, this unique tale is difficult to categorize. Women looking for a fresh voice in contemporary storytelling will enjoy the genuinely likable characters and an engrossing story that explores marriage, motherhood, morality and, ultimately, the nature of love.NOTE: Contains strong language and content. Not appropriate for readers under 18.

Either Side of Midnight


Tori de Clare - 2013
    I rate this book as a ten-star and expect to see it as number one on the best selling list for many, many weeks.” Reviewed by Trudi LoPreto for Readers'Favorite.WHAT IF THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE TURNED INTO YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE?When nineteen-year-old Naomi Stone is snatched from her husband at knifepoint on the night of their wedding and taken to a deserted cemetery, she knows her life is finished. Drugged and disorientated, she loses consciousness as she lies in an open grave with a gun to her head. But the following day, she mysteriously awakes to find herself unharmed and secured to a bed. She's in a beautiful bedroom in a secluded cottage in open countryside. Only one person knows she’s there – the man in the balaclava who’s holding her, feeding her, revealing nothing. Naomi senses the unfolding of a plan. She should be on honeymoon in the Caribbean. Instead, she’s trapped with an emotionless psycho with no hope of escape . . . And his voice is chillingly familiar.Who is he? What does he want? What's happened to her husband? Where is she? Will anyone find her before it's too late?

No Cry For Help


Grant McKenzie - 2010
    No reason. No ransom. No cry for help.Bus driver Wallace Carver fears the worst when his family fails to meet him at the Bellingham, Washington mall. His anxiety is justifiably heightened when security cameras unexplainably show that he crossed the Peace Arch border alone. Now all Wallace wants to do is get his wife and sons back. But first he has to work out why they were taken and by whom.“Think Harlan Coben on speed with a heart breaking compassion that will literally have you biting your nails." - Ken Bruen, best-selling author.“A terrific little-guy-in-big-trouble thriller.” - Lee Child, #1 NY Time bestselling author

Ties That Bind


Carolyn Arnold - 2011
    The rest of the world thought she was going crazy—until it was too late.When Laura Saunders is found strangled in her home with a man’s necktie, Detective Madison Knight is assigned the case. Her sergeant at the Stiles Police Department wants her to conclude it was an isolated incident and move on with the investigation, but Madison’s not the type to cave under pressure. She’s haunted by certain unexplainable clues at the crime scene, including the presence of a mysterious photograph. Madison believes the picture may somehow tie into the murder, but before she can dig into it, another woman’s body is discovered in a local park. Heather Nguyen was also murdered with the same brand of necktie that had been used on Laura.On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be anything beyond the way they were killed that connects the women. But as Madison delves into the lives of the victims, she unravels a web of deceit and betrayal and lays bare decades of deadly family secrets. Edging closer to the truth, Madison’s quite sure at least one more woman is slated to die. But can Madison piece together all the clues in time to save her?A gripping crime thriller full of heart-pounding twists. Perfect for fans of Robert Dugoni, J.D. Robb, and Lisa Regan.Readers love Ties That Bind:“Arnold has written one of the best female cops that I’ve ever read… Madison is just one of those characters that will stay with you.” –Harlie’s Books, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“A good detective story with lots of twists and turns and an unexpected ending.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“This is one heck of a mystery!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Brace yourself for the ending! I didn't see that one coming.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“I loved Madison Knight and her sassy dialogue.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“I found myself unable to stop reading this book.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“A must-read for the mystery fan.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“So many twists and turns I never saw the ending coming!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“A solid police procedure mystery.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“If you like true suspense, this is a book to read.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Like watching an award-winning police drama in my mind.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Intriguing, suspenseful, and full of surprises!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Well-written and researched on police procedures.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“It was very difficult to set this book aside to do something else.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“From the moment I began reading this book, I was hooked.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Perfect Marriage


Adam Mitzner - 2021
    Unfortunately, their newfound shot at happiness is not without collateral damage.There’s Jessica’s ex-husband. He pretends for all the world that he’s resilient and strong. If only for the sake of their teenage son, profoundly vulnerable in his own way. James’s ex has taken a different road. Bitter, vengeful, and threatening, she wants only the worst for the happy couple. And then there’s the couple themselves: Are they truly as in love as they seem?When James enters into an extraordinarily profitable, if shady, transaction with a beautiful art dealer, Jessica and James’s seemingly perfect marriage takes a dark and tragic turn.Amid suspicions, tested loyalties, revenge, and guilt, no one escapes unscathed from sins committed in the name of love.

Love Me Anyway


J.L. Redington - 2013
    Greyson Beauchene, Head Ranger of Alaska’s Denali National Park is certain he will never have to deal with that because his park is too ‘out of the way.’ However, Ranger Beauchene soon finds out he is dead wrong. Greyson and his two assistants are flown by helicopter into a remote section of the park where hikers have found a casket, one of the biggest indicators the serial killer has found Denali. Greyson’s team is joined by one incredibly irritating and extremely demanding FBI Profiler and her two Agents. Very good at what she does, Aspen O’Connell sets out to take control of the crime scene and everyone involved in it, and Greyson is having none of it. Greyson, Aspen and their teams must work together to find this killer before he kills again. Events move quickly as the group pieces together clues from the crime scene and a profile is established. As they work through abduction attempts and visible threats, Greyson and Aspen struggle to put their growing feelings for each other in a place that will keep them focused on finding an evil, evil man and bringing justice to innocent victims.

Doll House


John Hunt - 2017
    She will be on her own, in a new place hopeful to meet new friends. On the night she moves in, she is taken off the street by two masked men. She is placed in a room which is little more than a cell. A pink cell. A room made for a doll. She is now part of their collection.

Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love


Lora Lindy - 2012
    Little does she know she would meet that one special love, an unexpected love. That one true love is Mike Ramsey and he's a U.S. Marshal. As their love grows, so do their troubles. Someone is stalking Lana. Mike has to figure out who it is before the stalker gets Lana. Not only does he have to protect her, he must find the connection between Lana and the killer before it's too late. They soon find out this stalker also wants Mike dead, and he'll go through any lengths for that to happen. Mike's team find out how desperate this man is when he starts murdering.

False Step


Victoria Helen Stone - 2019
    In this marriage of secrets and lies, nothing is what it seems.For days, all of Denver, Colorado, has worried over the fate of a missing child, little Tanner Holcomb. Then, a miracle: handsome, athletic Johnny Bradley finds him, frightened but unharmed, on a hiking trail miles from his wealthy family’s mountain home.In a heartbeat, his rescuer goes from financially strapped fitness trainer to celebrated hero. The heat of the spotlight may prove too much for Johnny’s picture-perfect family, however. His wife, Veronica, despises the pressure of the sudden fame, afraid that secrets and bitter resentments of her marriage may come to light. And she’s willing to do anything to keep them hidden.But when a shocking revelation exposes an even darker side to Tanner’s disappearance, Veronica realizes that nothing in her life can be trusted. And everything should be feared.

Article V


Richard Rudomanski - 2014
    The United States is braced for a potential government shutdown and a US default on its debt. Washington is at the height of political dysfunction. Renowned Harvard professor, Winston Bernard Huntster II, has just aired a controversial documentary on the History Channel. To the mass of American viewers, it is an eerily striking comparison to the egocentric arrogance of the political landscape of present day. It is, to the millions of Americans tuned in, the fuel that would fire a movement to stop the reckless abuses in Washington D.C. Now, the man behind the firestorm is found dead in Boston Common from a gunshot wound to the head. His death has outraged an angry nation and incited its citizens to take to the streets. They will soon learn there is but one weapon that can crack the stronghold on Capitol Hill—the power of Article V. Show more Show less

Tubby Dubonnet Mysteries


Tony Dunbar - 2016
    Passing a good time, of course, includes dodging drug dealers, running from the mob, solving medical lab murder mysteries, thwarting hurricane season bank heists, and keeping a crime boss out of local politics. Now you can read his first five Anthony and Edgar-nominated thrilling adventures for only ....Settle down — preferably with a hearty snack — and enjoy this hard-boiled mystery series that's as chock full of laughs as it is chills!CROOKED MANMeet lawyer Tubby Dubonnet. His clients are all renegades from the asylum (aka Orleans Parish), including a transvestite entertainer, a buxom deadbeat blonde, a doctor who refers his own patients to a malpractice lawyer, and a Mardi Gras reveler who drives a float shaped like a giant crawfish pot. His new client is Darryl Alvarez, the manager of a local nightclub who's been caught unloading marijuana from a shrimp boat. At their first meeting, Darryl entrusts Tubby with an ordinary-looking blue gym bag. But after Darryl's unfortunate demise, Tubby realizes he must tighten his grasp on the gym bag — and its million-dollar contents.Tubby can’t just give up the cash. But if he gets caught, he’ll be in jail. And if the wrong people catch him, he’ll wish he was. CITY OF BEADS Tubby Dubonnet is bored. He wants to bill enough hours to pay his alimony and keep his daughter in college, with enough left over for an occasional drink and a good meal, but he longs for something different and exciting.Sure, researching licensing law for the new casino will keep trout meunière on the table, but what could be more tedious? (Unless, of course, the client turns out to be connected.) Meanwhile, there’s the estate of an old friend who controls some dock leases on the wharf. And he agrees to help his daughter’s environmental group stop illegal dumping in the river. Ho-hum, thinks our hero. But suddenly all three cases begin to converge in an entirely ominous way...  NOW Tubby's doing something exciting — he's running for his life! TRICK QUESTION Medical lab janitor Cletus Busters is caught red-handed in a restricted area with the frozen head of Dr. Whitney Valentine, one of the lab's most prestigious researchers. Busters won't say much, except that he's innocent. But given his conspicuous record and past as a voodoo guru, all signs point to life in prison.Calling Tubby Dubonnet! SHELTER FROM THE STORM To out-of-town kingpin Willie LaRue, Mardi Gras seems the perfect time for a New Orleans heist – nobody, but nobody will be thinking about a single other thing. Parties, parades, chaos, alcohol – who could be concerned about a little thing like a bank job? Indeed, all might have gone well except for an out-of-season frog-flogger that threatens to flood the French Quarter – something even Hurricane Katrina couldn't do.Next thing you know the survivors – thieves and revelers alike – find themselves marooned together.

Bribing Saint Anthony


Rita Moreau - 2014
    A missing husband. A plot to blow up a national treasure. Fortune telling aunts. Mary Catherine, MC for short, didn’t move as the Queen of Boca Vista, Babbs La-Fleur, placed a pile of cash, which appeared out of a purse she knew cost more than her car, smack dab in the middle of her desk.Word at all the cocktail parties was that MC had a skill that came in handy for an aging socialite going through a divorce. She was good at finding cash in hidden bank accounts. Cash to pay for a nip and tuck and a new identity: Cougar. Hired that day by Queen Babbs to find her bad boy husband, Charlie, MC was back on familiar ground, tracking down bad guys through clues left in the DNA of their paper life. Asking her Aunt Sophia to read the family fortune telling cards might have helped. Instead, the paper trail Charlie left takes MC from a murder in the world of rich socialites to working with covert government agents deep in the world of counter terrorism.Praise for Bribing Saint Anthony Review from Sheldon Siegel "I had a chance to read Bribing Saint Anthony on a recent flight. It was a great read! I don't have a lot of time to read for fun these days, and your story was a treat. You have a nice touch, and MC is an engaging lead. Reminded me a bit of Carl Hiaasen--What is it about Florida, anyway?!? Keep up the good work!" Cheers from San Francisco, SheldonSheldon Siegel is a New York Times best-selling author of the critically acclaimed legal thriller series featuring Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez, two of the most beloved characters in contemporary crime fiction.

The Sister


Max China - 2013
    Suspenseful, and thrilling, it is a mystery that unravels over time, following the lives of a group of seemingly unconnected people, as they struggle to bring an unusually talented serial killer to justice. CORNWALL, ENGLAND. In the summer of love, 1967, two children witness a murder. One, a seven-year old boy, views it from fifty yards - the other, a young Irish girl, from miles away... LONDON, 2006. With retirement looming, DCI John F Kennedy reopens the only unresolved case in his career, the disappearance of a young nurse, Kathy, twenty-three years earlier. The broadcast appeal for information on the missing teenage runaway, Eilise; is followed by a cold-case reconstruction of Kathy's last known movements. A new witness comes forward, and Kennedy - now set on the trail of a serial killer - unwittingly sparks a sequence of events that lead back to himself, threatening his own, very private existence. As the investigation unfolds, it becomes apparent that the murderer is no ordinary adversary. Resourceful and cunning, he has been operating undetected for over forty years, and it seems that only the original witnesses from 1967 can stop him. But they have yet to meet... The Sister is much more than just an ordinary thriller. It is the story of a lifetime...The book is a two part pilot episode with resolution, but left open to a series of planned spin-off self-contained episodes involving a selection of characters from the original story, the first of which is due for release in late spring.

A Perfect Husband


Douglas Wickard - 2012
    A rebirth, one might call it. And, she intends to do this spiritual resurrection in a small, abandoned fishing cabin, built over forty years ago by her deceased father.Not quite abandoned…A lethal serial killer has taken up residence in the basement of Sami’s remote cottage, using her father’s carpenter table for a hobby much more sinister than woodcutting.Sequestered deep within forty-two acres of tall pine trees, bristling brooks and fresh water lakes, Sami Saxton is about to fight for her life.The hard truth… nobody will ever hear her scream!"Wickard’s novel colorfully illuminates the two synchronized protagonists, each displaying profound characteristics: Sami has trouble adjusting to her new life and Smitty balances his secret life with his normal one, with a (living) wife and infant daughter at home." ~ Kirkus Reviews

Death is in the Details


Heather Sunseri - 2019
    A killer who won't let her forget.Faith Day's condition curses her to recall her mother’s fiery murder like it was yesterday. And when the forensic photographer’s convicted stepbrother is somehow cleared 12 years later and released from prison, Faith wonders if he'll put an end to her tortured memories. But after a string of eerily familiar fires tear through her small town, Faith starts to question every detail of her traumatic past.Luke Justice won't rest until he catches a notorious serial killer masking his murders in arson. Following a trail of deadly blazes to Faith's doorstep, the FBI agent senses she holds the key to the case. But if he can't convince her to open up, Luke fears he'll miss his best chance to put a psychopath behind bars.As Faith fights the resurgence of dark emotions, an arsonist begins leaving personal totems in her home. Determined to stay alive, she taps into the only weapon she has against the vicious murderer: the echoes of her childhood nightmare.Can Faith help Luke unmask the true killer before they both go up in flames?Death is in the Details is a chilling standalone thriller novel. If you like small-town mysteries, psychological thrillers, and spine-tingling twists, then you'll love Heather Sunseri's latest page-turning tale.