Book picks similar to
Legal Briefs: Short Stories by Today's Best Thriller Writers by William BernhardtJeremiah Healy
short-stories
mystery
crime
anthologies
The Collector
John Maher - 2020
The Collector doesn’t agree.When world renowned archaeologist Philip Carlton suddenly and unexpectedly commits suicide, the police are called to investigate. Heading up the investigation is Detective Lucy O’Hara, a Forensic Linguist – and she immediately sees something is wrong with the suicide note. In her gut, she knows this was cold-blooded murder.Battling sceptical superiors and the Irish establishment, Lucy digs for the truth and begins to uncover a shadowy trade in ancient artefacts led by a mysterious figure known only as ‘The Collector’.As Lucy works to uncover his identity, she soon realises she is up against a ruthless mastermind who is systematically eliminating anyone who might lead her to him. But Lucy won’t give up and soon The Collector turns his attention to her…The Collector – the first in a gripping new series featuring Detective Lucy O’Hara.
The Last Drive: A Golfing Mystery
Rex Stout - 2013
Featuring death on the links, this tale is full of golfing, red herrings, and a detective determined to run down the villain. A great read for Rex Stout and Nero Wolfe fans alike! Originally published as a 6-part serial in Golfers Magazine (July to December, 1916).
Superstition
Karen Robards - 2001
But during the broadcast a woman is murdered - in exactly the same way as Tara was all those years ago.As an attraction grows between Nicky and enigmatic police chief, Joe Franconi, another identical murder occurs. Only, this time there's a note...Is the original killer back to claim three more lives? If so, could Nicky be the next victim?
The Best American Mystery Stories 2020
C.J. Box - 2020
J. Box.C. J. Box , #1 New York Times best-selling author of the hugely popular Joe Pickett series, selects the best short mystery and crime fiction of the year in this annual “treat for crime-fiction fans” (Library Journal).
Rage Against the Night
Shane Jiraiya CummingsStephen King - 2011
These brave men and women stand up to the darkness, stare it right in the eye, and give it the finger. These are the stories of those who rage against the night, stories of triumph, sacrifice, and bravery in the face of overwhelming evil. Rage Against the Night features the megastars of dark fantasy and horror—including Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Peter Straub, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, F. Paul Wilson, Jonathan Maberry, Scott Nicholson, Nancy Holder, Sarah Langan, and many, many more.
The Serial Killer's Wife
Robert Swartwood - 2011
Her life suddenly turned upside down, she did what she thought was best for her newborn baby: she took her son and ran away to start a new life. Now, living in a quiet part of the Midwest with a new identity, Elizabeth is ready to start over. But one day she receives a phone call from a person calling himself Cain. Cain somehow knows about her past life. He has abducted her son, and if Elizabeth wants to save him she must retrieve her husband's trophies - the fingers he cut off each of his victims. With a deadline of one hundred hours, Elizabeth has no choice but to return to the life she once fled, where she will soon realize that everything she thought she knew is a lie, and what's more shocking than Cain's identity is the truth about her husband. Praise for THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE: "This is a scary, thrilling, page-turning, race-against-the-clock novel if ever there was one, with a true shocker of an ending. Miss this one at your own peril." - Blake Crouch, author of RUN and DESERT PLACES
Burn Factor
Kyle Mills - 2001
Edgar Hoover Building. But Quinn's career -- and her life -- are about to change wildly. Testing a new program, Quinn's computer savvy turns up a mysterious DNA link among five gruesome murders. A link that the old FBI system had been carefully programmed to miss. A link that nearly costs Quinn her job, and soon, her life...Pitted against a conspiracy of unimaginable proportions, Quinn will match wits against powerful government forces that will use any means necessary to keep their dirty secrets hidden -- secrets that will land her in the clutches of a sadistic, brilliant madman who holds the key to it all.
Life Is Short and Then You Die: First Encounters with Murder from Mystery Writers of America
Kelley Armstrong - 2019
First love. First loss. First job. The first taste of adult responsibilities, and the first look at an independent life away from both the restrictions and the security of home.And in this case, a very different type of “first”: murder.This short story collection of murder mysteries adds a sinister spin to the joy and pain of firsts that have always been a major part of life, whether it be high school cliques who take the term “backstabbing” too seriously, stumbling upon a body on the way home from school, or receiving a Snapchat message that promises something deadly.Contributors include Barry Lyga, Caleb Roehrig, Emmy Laybourne, Jonathan Maberry, R.L. Stine, Rachel Vincent, Y.S. Lee, and more!
Mitigating Circumstances
Nancy Taylor Rosenberg - 1993
Eager to step into her new role as Chief of the Sex Crimes Division, she is also coping with a foundering marriage and the lure of an extremely attractive man. What keeps her anchored is her quirky, thirteen-year-old daughter, Shana.But when an intruder invades their home and commits a savage attack against them, Lily heads out on a trail of vengeance beyond any law but that of her own rage. And suddenly, with one shattering act, she finds her life is spinning out of control, leaving her nowhere to hide. But even as a circle of danger closes in on her, Lily Forrester knows that she must find a way out, because there's no turning back.
No Time Left
David Baldacci - 2010
When Becker takes a mysterious job, he has no idea that it will force him to delve deeply into his own past. Undeterred by obstacles he is determined to complete his assignment. But he may realize too late that his success will permanently alter his future.
Partners
John Grisham - 2016
Sebastian Rudd, rogue lawyer, defends people other lawyers won't go near. It's controversial and dangerous work, which is why Sebastian needs his bodyguard/assistant/sidekick: Partner. So if Sebastian is just about the most unpopular lawyer in town, why is Partner so loyal to him? How did they meet? And what's the real story of this man of few words who's as good with a gun as he is with the law? The surprising answers are all in PARTNERS, John Grisham's first exclusively digital short story.
Long After Midnight
Iris Johansen - 1997
She wanted to save lives. The killer wanted to end hers.The first warning was triggered hundreds of miles away. The second warning exploded only yards from where she and her son stood. Now Kate Denby realizes the frightening truth: She is somebody's target.Danger has arrived in Kate's backyard with a vengeance. And the gifted scientist is awakening to a nightmare world where a ruthless killer is stalking her...where her innocent son is considered expendable...and where the medical research to which she has devoted her life is the same research that could get her killed. Her only hope of protecting her family and making that medical breakthrough is to elude her enemy until she can face him on her own ground, on her own terms—and destroy him.
Hour of the Hunter
J.A. Jance - 1991
. .The brilliant psychopath Andrew Carlisle spent only six years in prison for the brutal torture–murder of a young girl of the Tohono O'otham tribe. The testimony of Diana Ladd -- a teacher on the reservation -- put Carlisle behind bars, and now she can't ignore the dark, mystical signs that say a predator has returned to prowl the Arizona desert. Because no matter where Diana and her young son hide . . . he will find them.Six years after her husband killed himself after being accused of murdering an Indian girl, Diana Ladd relys on a Native American wise woman and a local police detective to protect her and her son from her late husband's partner, recently released from prison.
Twice Kissed
Lisa Jackson - 1998
With the police indifferent and a cryptic suicide note setting up a dreadful possibility, she plunges into a seething world of scandal, intrigue, and illicit desire...and uncovers secret after shocking secret about the sister she thought she knew.But of all the men who loved and hated Marquise Walker, it is her wickedly handsome ex-husband Thane Walker who puts Maggie at greatest risk. Once, she desired him with all the wild, uncontrollable hunger of youth; now he is the man she dares not trust -- a man who could be a murderer. Yet soon Thane draws Maggie back into his dangerous, passionate embrace, where she is vulnerable again -- and where one final, shattering truth could destroy her chance for happiness forever.