Book picks similar to
The Trap by Jack Parker


thrillers-mystery-crime
crime
mystery
not-sure

The Rose Killer


Pat Gragg - 2010
    A serial killer.A young widow tormented by unanswered questions. Was Valerie Yates' late husband, a police officer, hunting for the Rose Killer on his own? What was his relationship with the beautiful young woman who was the Rose Killer's third victim? Valerie's search for the truth uncovers the dark secrets of her idyllic little town and puts her squarely in the Rose Killer's path. The question now is: Will she survive?

A Killing in November


Simon Mason - 2022
    As a young Detective Inspector, he's lost none of his disgust with privileged elites - or his objectionable manners. But he notices things; they stick to his eyes. His professional partner, DI Ray Wilkins, of affluent Nigerian-London heritage, is an impeccably groomed, smooth-talking graduate of Balliol College, Oxford. You wouldn't think they would get on. They don't.But when a young woman is found strangled at Barnabas Hall, they're forced to.Rich Oxford is not Ryan's natural habitat. St Barnabas's irascible Provost does not appreciate his forceful line of questioning. But what was the dead woman doing in the Provost's study? Is it just a coincidence that on the night of her murder the college was entertaining Sheik al-Medina, a Gulf state ruler linked to human-rights abuses in his own country and acts of atrocity in others?As tensions rise, things aren't going well. Ray is in despair. Ryan is in disciplinary measures. But their investigation gradually disentangles the links between a Syrian refugee lawyer now working in the college kitchens, a priceless copy of the Koran in the college collection and the identity of the dead woman.A Killing in November introduces an unlikely duo from different sides of the tracks in Oxford in a deftly plotted murder story full of dangerous turns, troubled pasts and unconventional detective work.

Lawfully Matched


Lorana Hoopes - 2018
    Little does she know the man she intends to marry has a dark past, sending her fleeing into a neighboring town and into Jesse Jenning's life. Jesse never wanted to be in law enforcement, but after a band of robbers kills his fiancee, he dons the badge and swears revenge. Will he find his fiancee's killer? And when Kate flies into his life, will he be able to put his painful past behind him in order to love again?

Victims for Sale


Nish Amarnath - 2018
    A new voice whose sharp, descriptive prose is reminiscent of Megan Abbott." - Charles Salzberg, author of the Swann detective series, New York. “A thriller that accentuates the cadence of a finely crafted literary oeuvre.” - ITV America. "A dark, well-crafted tale that takes readers on a disturbing ride through society’s underbelly.’ - Adam Hamdy, author, screenwriter and film producer, London, UK."Nish Amarnath's new book gives you the chills, showing how crime can unfold in both lethal and cosy setups." - The Hindu.For fans of Stieg Larsson's 'The Girl Who Played with Fire' and Sophie Hannah's 'A Room Swept White', this debut psychological thriller and crime suspense novel, set in London, is a strident expose on an under-reported form of social injustice where the line of distinction between the betrayer and the betrayed increasingly fades into oblivion. BLURB:BBC stringer Sandy lives as a paying guest with the Sawants, a regular, quiet family. Or so she thought. Until she woke up to a woman with a knife … and a dark secret.It is only after she runs a sting operation on a home for the differently abled that Sandy makes a connection between an institute acting as a front for something sinister and the strange family she lives with. Chasing the truth up a trail of brutal murders, Sandy must evade the clutches of a thriving sex racket and expose the predators before her time runs out.

Creeper


Stuart James - 2021
    He's not real.A story so terrifying, the locals won't mention his name.It's said that Creeper is an urban legend, a chilling, made-up character fabricated to scare children into behaving themselves.He's known as Painswicks own Bogeyman.Parents tell their children that Creeper will come if they're naughty.Adults continually look over their shoulders.It's said that he hides out front late at night or crawls around in the basement. Others believe Creeper watches them as they sleep.Eight women have gone missing over the last twenty years. They're known as the Painswick eight.Now, a ninth woman has vanished.Billy Huxton, an ex-private investigator, resides at a retirement home and tries to persuade the local, flamboyant entertainer, Declan Ryan, to help him solve the case.Sean and Jenny make documentaries, creepypastas, the paranormal, and unsolved mysteries. Together with their children, they move into a rundown farmhouse on Gallows Lane.As they begin to learn of Creeper and the terror many believe he brought to Painswick years ago, they begin to make a film, delving into the chilling story.But they soon learn it may not be just a story.Whatever happens, pray you don't see Creeper...

Michael Robotham Omnibus : The Drowning Man; Bombproof


Michael Robotham - 2010
    Two fast-paced London-based thrillers in one volume.The Drowning Man 390 pagesBombproof 393 pages

Still Waters: Secrets Always Have a Way of Rising to the Surface


Linda Kavanagh - 2013
    But she didn't. Now she's burdened with a terrible secret - something so awful that she must constantly live in fear, since its disclosure could destroy her marriage, her career, and turn her own son against her.As the star of Bright Lights, a soap that airs nightly on TV, Ivy has achieved fame and fortune, and led a charmed life, adored by millions of fans. Her husband Danny is managing director of one of the country's leading supermarket chains, and their son Joseph is at university.And all this time, her secret has lain hidden beneath the waters of the lake in the Lincolnshire village where she grew up. As a regular visitor to Willow Haven, where Ivy and Danny's families still live, she must regularly confront the scene where terrible things happened many years earlier. The demons are never far away, and the tragic legacy of her teenage years has always been on her mind. Will she ever be able to forget what happened? Or will her past destroy her future?Ivy soon discovers that being a celebrity can be a double-edged sword. Her worst nightmare comes true when someone discovers the secret she's been hiding all those years. And their whispered phone calls make it clear that they're keen to ensure she suffers. Now she must face terror of a different kind as this unseen enemy twists the knife. Who is this person and what do they want? Terrified, she flees to South Africa, where her brother Owen lives, hoping that this person can't find her there. But there is no escape, even six thousand miles from home. Ivy must now battle for all she holds dear, maybe even her own life...Linda Kavanagh is a former journalist. She has worked for various newspapers and magazines, and as a travel and health columnist, she has travelled extensively. She lives in Dublin, but commutes regularly to the UK and the USA. She is the author of the top-five bestselling novels Hush Hush, Love Child, Love Hurts, Time After Time, and had her first Number One bestseller with Never Say Goodbye. Still Waters is her new novel. To find out more, please visit her website, www.lindakavanagh.com

King Death


Toby Litt - 2010
    A heart - a human heart - slithering down outside the window of a train travelling between London Bridge and Blackfriars. Someone must have thrown it out from a carriage in front. Kumiko is determined to find out who - and why. But Skelton was sitting next to Kumiko on the train and he saw it too, so he also wants to get to the bottom of the mystery. Or he says he does, but really he just wants Kumiko back, because she's walked out on him, just like that, and left him heartbroken. Each for their own reasons, Kumiko and Skelton set out - separately - on a bizarre trail of discovery. Darting between dingy student pubs, the roofs of Borough Market and the corridors and car-parks of Guy's Hospital, they become embroiled in the seedy world of young medical students, until eventually the gossip and the stories lead them both to the hospital's infamous dissection lecturer - known behind his back as 'King Death'...

The 13th Victim


Linda S. Prather - 2017
    Rescued by the man she believed responsible, Andi lost everything: the man she loved, her promising future as an investigative reporter and her memory of the weeks leading up to her torture. "Tell me what I want to know and I won't hurt you again."Thomas's voice haunted her dreams, sending her into the pits of depression to seek solace in a bottle of whiskey until a young woman reaches out for help. Twelve young girls have been brutally murdered, their bodies hidden beneath concrete structures. The thirteenth victim is fighting back the only way she knows how, and telling their story to the one person she believes will listen. "I'm sixteen, alone and scared. I killed a man yesterday, and today I'm going to kill another one."

A Brutal Hand: There's No Escape (SHORTZ)


Ravi Subramanian - 2020
    

The DCI Jack Logan Collection Books 1-3: A Scottish Crime Fiction Series


J.D. Kirk - 2020
    

Prediction: Big Data, big danger


Tony Batton - 2019
    Their hopes rest on a new quantum super computer, one capable of interpreting patterns in the oceans of intelligence data. There’s just the small challenge of building it. Gregory Jenson, CEO of ZAT Systems, is tasked by MI5 to create the computer, but ghosts in his past could thwart matters before he even begins. Young lawyer, Michael Adams, is given the task of helping Jenson, but he soon has problems of his own. And they’ll soon learn that a hidden player wants to use the new system for their own plans – someone incredibly well-informed, and prepared to go to any lengths to achieve their goals. And if they succeed, the recovery of the nuclear reactor will be the least of everyone’s problems.

Ashes to Ashes


Cory Toth - 2013
    Then, after a business misfortune and a stormy relationship, he lost everything but his sanity and his love for his baby daughter. He is now struggling to make it through each day, emotionally and financially, when disaster strikes and the floodgates of Hell are opened. Danger lurks in the background, tearing at the fabric of his fragile existence. Someone has been watching him. Someone is following his every move, waiting in the shadows, terrorizing him with unknown motives. He begins to suspect everyone in his life, including himself. He must fight to learn what is happening before it is too late for him...and his family.

Tunny 2


Robin Roughley - 2021
    Though gradually it becomes apparent that there is a method to the maniac's madness, the victims are linked, they knew one another, and Tunny knows he must get to the truth before others die at the hands of the brutal killer. But why is he on the rampage what drives him to commit such atrocities? As the investigation progresses each new twist throws up more questions than answers. Though there is one thing that Tunny is sure of, the truth is buried somewhere amongst the carnage, and he will have to delve deep to get to the truth and when he does the devastation is beyond anything he could have anticipated let alone prepared for

The Aftermath: A Nate Reigns Novel


Iris Bolling - 2021
    For the brass, the number of closed cases is a triumph, however, it does not solve the murder of the friend and mentor of Nathan ‘Nate’ Reigns, a detective in the Major Crimes Division.A one-time top criminal defense attorney, Nate uses his insight from his previous occupation to close his cases. No case leaves his desk marked closed until he has filled every hole a defense attorney will use to free their client. Nate vows justice for his friend. That path leads to an organization with plans that will have far-reaching impacts on the justice departments across the country. A suspense thriller with a twist that leaves you gasping to breathe…The innocent and the guilty have to deal with the Aftermath.