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The Bunker Diary
Kevin Brooks - 2013
It was still dark when I woke up this morning. As soon as my eyes opened I knew where I was. A low-ceilinged rectangular building made entirely of whitewashed concrete. There are six little rooms along the main corridor. There are no windows. No doors. The elevator is the only way in or out. What's he going to do to me? What am I going to do? People are really quite simple, and they have simple needs. Food, water, light, space, privacy. Maybe a small measure of dignity. A bit of freedom. What happens when someone simply takes all that away?
Fragile
Lisa Unger - 2010
It's a place where neighbors keep an eye on one another's kids, where people say hello in the grocery store, and where high school cliques and antics are never quite forgotten. As a child, Maggie found living under the microscope of small-town life stifling. But as a wife and mother, she has happily returned to The Hollows's insular embrace. As a psychologist, her knowledge of family histories provides powerful insights into her patients' lives. So when the girlfriend of her teenage son, Rick, disappears, Maggie's intuitive gift proves useful to the case--and also dangerous.The investigation has her husband, Jones, the lead detective on the case, acting strangely. Rick, already a brooding teenager, becomes even more withdrawn. In a town where the past is always present, nobody is above suspicion, not even a son in the eyes of his father.Determined to uncover the truth, Maggie pursues her own leads into Charlene's disappearance and exposes a long-buried town secret--one that could destroy everything she holds dear.
The Dead Trilogy
Andrew Barrett - 2020
1500 pages of killer action and suspense that lead to a ‘fast-paced and thrilling climax’.A Long Time Dead. Everyone trusts Roger. He’s got an honest face… for a killer.Two dead women. All the evidence points to Scenes of Crime Officer, Roger Conniston. The real killer uses Roger’s sordid secrets against him until no one believes he is innocent. He’s about to lose his job, his wife, and his freedom. But the killer wants it all; the killer wants Roger’s life too, and time is running out.Stealing Elgar.No one can question Roger’s loyalty. Except those he won’t give it to.Scenes of Crime Officer, Roger Conniston, ventures out alone to find his wife. He doesn’t trust the police anymore, and he despises the man who kidnapped her.Hades is a brutal killer who is planning Britain’s largest robbery, and needs Roger’s compliance.When he found out that she was literally sitting on a bomb, Roger’s compliance turns to fury.But will his fury get him there in time?No More Tears.Roger is about to pull the trigger. And then decides to forgive himself.SOCO Roger Conniston’s fury hasn’t subsided, and he selects a name from a list of Hades’ ex-gang members. That name is Jess.A few miles away, a killer reads a name on a letter. That name is Roger Conniston, and that killer is Jess.But someone even closer has a mind for vengeance, and he wants them both dead.When fighting a killer becomes a battle for revenge – this is No More TearsBonus Material:An Introduction from Andrew BarrettReasons and MethodologyCharacter BiographyThings of NoteThe Theme of Each BookA Detailed Synopsis of Each bookA Long Time Dead – the earliest version, from October 2000. This is a link to your own downloadable ebook.
The Girl You Lost
Kathryn Croft - 2016
Today, she came back... Eighteen years ago, Simone Porter's six-month-old daughter, Helena, was abducted. Simone and husband, Matt, have slowly rebuilt their shattered lives, but the pain at losing their child has never left them. Then a young woman, Grace, appears out of the blue and tells Simone she has information about her stolen baby. But just who is Grace - and can Simone trust her? When Grace herself disappears, Simone becomes embroiled in a desperate search for her baby and the woman who has vital clues about her whereabouts. Simone is inching closer to the truth but it'll take her into dangerous and disturbing territory. Simone lost her baby. Will she lose her life trying to find her?
The Grave Tender
Eliza Maxwell - 2015
People said her mother, Winnie, was never quite right, but with one single, irreparable act, life as Hadley knew it was shattered. The aftershocks of that moonlit night left her reeling, but the secrets and lies had started long before.When a widowed and pregnant Hadley returns years later, it’s not the safe harbor she expects. The mysteries surrounding a local boy’s disappearance remain, and the townspeople still whisper about Hadley’s strange and reclusive Uncle Eli—whispers about a monster in their midst.But Hadley’s father and grandmother, the cornerstones of everything safe in her world, avoid her questions. If Hadley stays here, will she be giving her children the family they need or putting their lives in danger?The hunt for answers takes a determined Hadley deep into the pine forests, in search of sunlight that will break through the canopy of lies long enough to reveal the truth.
A Perfect Evil
Alex Kava - 2000
. .The brutal murders of three young boys paralyze the citizens of Platte City, Nebraska. What's worse is the grim realization that the man recently executed for the crimes was a copycat. When Sheriff Nick Morrelli is called to the scene of another grisly murder, it becomes clear that the real predator is still at large, waiting to kill again.Morreli understands the urgency of the case terrorizing his community, but it's the experienced eye of FBI criminal profiler Maggie O'Dell that pinpoints the true nature of the evil behind the killings -- a revelation made all the more horrific when Morrelli's own nephew goes missing.Maggie understands something else: the killer is enjoying himself, relishing his ability to stay one step ahead of her, making this case more personal by the hour. Because out there, watching, is a killer with a heart of pure and perfect evil.
The Cleaner
Paul Cleave - 2006
He isn't bothered by the daily news reports of the Christchurch Carver, who, they say, has murdered seven women. Joe knows, though, that the Carver killed only six. He knows that for a fact, and he's determined to find the copycat. He'll punish him for the one, then frame him for the other six. It's the perfect plan because he already knows he can outwit the police. All he needs now is to take care of all the women who keep getting in his way, including his odd, overprotective mother and Sally, the maintenance worker who sees him as a replacement for her dead brother. Then there's the mysterious Melissa, the only woman to have ever understood him, but whose fantasies of blackmail and torture don't have a place in Joe's investigation.
The Art of Fear
Pamela Crane - 2017
A must-read thriller…” – Southern Editor ReviewsA life no girl should endure. A father no daughter could love. A twist no one would predict.From USA Today best-selling author Pamela Crane comes a terrifying tale of small-town secrets and murder.Ari Wilburn’s life ended long ago—the day she watched her little sister die in a tragic accident and did nothing to stop it. Crippled with self-blame and resented by her parents, she stumbles through life … and onto an unexpected clue that casts doubt on whether the death was accidental.Now a psychological wreck, Ari joins a suicide support group where she meets Tina, a sex-enslaved escapee who finds her long-lost father dead. Suicide, police ruled it. But Tina suspects foul play. As a bond develops between the women in their shared loss, they’re dragged into playing a dangerous game with a killer. A serial killer with a deadly message.Faced with a murderous wake-up call and two possibly linked deaths, Ari’s investigation puts her next on the killer’s list. But she’s never been one to back down from a fight. Needing closure, Ari must face her demons and the killer behind them … or lose everything she loves.“If Dexter and Gone Girl had a love child, this would be it.” – reader review
Sweetpea
C.J. Skuse - 2017
Like an alcoholic taking a sip of whiskey. But no. Nothing. I had a blissful night’s sleep. Didn’t wake up at all. And for once, no bad dream either. This morning I feel balanced. Almost sane, for once.Rhiannon is your average girl next door, settled with her boyfriend and little dog…but she’s got a killer secret.Although her childhood was haunted by a famous crime, Rhiannon’s life is normal now that her celebrity has dwindled. By day, her job as an editorial assistant is demeaning and unsatisfying. By evening, she dutifully listens to her friends’ plans for marriage and babies while secretly making a list.A kill list.From the man at the grocery checkout who always mishandles her apples, to the driver who cuts her off on her way to work, to the people who have it coming, Rhiannon is ready to get her revenge.Because the girl everyone overlooks might be able to get away with murder…
The Merciless
Danielle Vega - 2014
No one outside of these dank basement walls knows she’s here. No one can hear her scream. Sofia Flores knows she shouldn’t have gotten involved. When she befriended Riley, Grace, and Alexis on her first day at school, she admired them, with their perfect hair and their good-girl ways. They said they wanted to save Brooklyn. They wanted to help her. Sofia didn’t realize they believed Brooklyn was possessed. Now, Riley and the girls are performing an exorcism on Brooklyn—but their idea of an exorcism is closer to torture than salvation. All Sofia wants is to get out of this house. But there is no way out. Sofia can’t go against the other girls . . . unless she wants to be next. . . . In this chilling debut, Danielle Vega delivers blood-curdling suspense and terror on every page. By the shockingly twisted end, readers will be faced with the most haunting question of all: Is there evil in all of us?
Mortal Fear
Greg Iles - 1997
But at night, Harper serves as system operator for E.R.O.S., a highly exclusive, sexually explicit on-line service whose clients range from the glitterati of Hollywood to the literati of New York. Shielded by a guarantee of absolute anonymity, these clients pour their secrets into the digital confession box of E.R.O.S. Only "sysops" like Harper - the high priests of the system - know and see all. When six female clients inexplicably drop off the network, Harper suspects that something is amiss. But when a world-famous New Orleans author - and E.R.O.S. client - is decapitated in her mansion, Harper breaks the code of silence and contacts the police. They are as shocked as Harper to learn that all six women have been brutally murdered, each with a different weapon, and in a different city. And each time the killer has claimed the same bizarre trophy. Horrified to find himself the prime suspect in the murders he reported, Harper is swept into a secret manhunt led by the FBI's Investigative Support Unit. While the FBI uses the technology of the future and the psychology of the past to trap the brilliant killer, Harper realizes that he alone stands a chance of luring the elusive madman into the open.
Betrayed
J.M. Windle - 2008
Guatemalan authorities dismiss her death as another of the country's frequent muggings or a kidnap-for-ransom, but Vicki refuses to accept their verdict. Vicki launches her own investigation and uncovers corruption buried so deep that crossing international lines may cost Vicki her life.
Man of Wax
Robert Swartwood - 2011
He doesn't know how he got there, he doesn't know where his family is, and written in dried blood on the bathroom door are the words LET THE GAME BEGIN. Soon Ben is contacted by Simon. Simon knows all there is to know about Ben, more than he cares to remember himself. If Ben wants to save himself and his family, he will have to do everything Simon says.As the game begins -- with stakes much higher than either man can imagine -- no one knows where it will lead or how it will end.Only one thing is for certain: this time the game will change everything.MAN OF WAX is 80,000 words long and the first book in a thriller trilogy where every day men and women must fight a power that threatens to destroy the world. Recommended for fans of Harlan Coben, Michael Marshall, and Dean Koontz. Praise for MAN OF WAX: "MAN OF WAX grabs you by the throat in the first chapter and never lets go. A suspense-filled thrill ride with plenty of shocks along the way. Read it!" -- F. Paul Wilson, author of the Repairman Jack novels
The Third to Die
Allison Brennan - 2020
An ambitious FBI special agent. Together they are at the heart of the ticking-clock investigation for a psychopathic serial killer. The bond they forge in this crucible sets the stage for high-stakes suspense.Detective Kara Quinn, on leave from the LAPD, is on an early morning jog in her hometown of Liberty Lake when she comes upon the body of a young nurse. The manner of death shows a pattern of highly controlled rage. Meanwhile in DC, FBI special agent Mathias Costa is staffing his newly minted Mobile Response Team. Word reaches Matt that the Liberty Lake murder fits the profile of the compulsive Triple Killer. It will be the first case for the MRT. This time they have a chance to stop this zealous if elusive killer before he strikes again. But only if they can figure out who he is and where he is hiding before he disappears for another three years. The stakes are higher than ever before, because if they fail, one of their own will be next...
Nine Elms
Robert Bryndza - 2019
But her greatest victory suddenly turned into a nightmare. Traumatized, betrayed, and publicly vilified for the shocking circumstances surrounding the cannibal murder case, Kate could only watch as her career ended in scandal.Fifteen years after those catastrophic events, Kate is still haunted by the unquiet ghosts of her troubled past. Now a lecturer at a small coastal English university, she finally has a chance to face them. A copycat killer has taken up the Nine Elms mantle, continuing the ghastly work of his idol.Enlisting her brilliant research assistant, Tristan Harper, Kate draws on her prodigious and long-neglected skills as an investigator to catch a new monster. Success promises redemption, but there’s much more on the line: Kate was the original killer’s intended fifth victim…and his successor means to finish the job.