The Dying Hour


Rick Mofina - 2005
    At The Seattle Mirror, he is competing for the single full-time job being offered through the paper's intense intern program. But unlike the program's other young reporters, who attended big name schools and worked at other big metro dailies, Wade put himself through community college, and lacked the same experience. Wade struggles with his haunting past as he pursues the story of Karen Harding, a college student whose car was found abandoned on a lonely stretch of highway in the Pacific Northwest. How could this beloved young woman with the altruistic nature simply vanish? Wade battles mounting odds and cut-throat competition to unearth the truth behind Karen Harding's disturbing case. Her disappearance is a story he cannot give up, never realizing the toll it could exact from him. The Dying Hour is a bone-chilling, mesmerizing page-turner that introduces readers to an all-too-human young hero who journeys into the darkest regions of the human heart to confront a nightmare. The International Thriller Writers (ITW), selected The Dying Hour as a finalist for a Thriller Award for Best Paperback Original, 2006. Rick Mofina is a former journalist who has interviewed murderers on death row, flown over L.A. with the LAPD and patrolled with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police near the Arctic. He's also reported from the Caribbean, Africa and Kuwait's border with Iraq. His books have been published in nearly 30 countries, including an illegal translation produced in Iran. His work has been praised by James Patterson, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen, Jeffery Deaver, Sandra Brown, James Rollins, Brad Thor, Nick Stone, David Morrell, Allison Brennan, Heather Graham, Linwood Barclay, Peter Robinson, Håkan Nesser and Kay Hooper. The Crime Writers of Canada, The International Thriller Writers and The Private Eye Writers of America have listed his titles among the best in crime fiction. As a two-time winner of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award, a three-time Thriller Award finalist and a two-time Shamus Award finalist, the Library Journal calls him, “One of the best thriller writers in the business."

Steps to Heaven


Wendy Cartmell - 2011
    Sgt Major Crane and his team from the SIB investigate the case of a young soldier who murders his wife and six year old son and then commits suicide, after recently returning from Afghanistan. As Crane investigates he finds the soldier had links with a local church. As the body count rises, events take a darker turn and he wonders w

The King Tides


James Swain - 2018
    And that of strangers, too. Wherever she goes, she’s being watched. Each stalker is different from the last, except for one thing—their alarming obsession with Nicki.Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Nicki’s father is turning to someone who can protect her: retired private detective and ex–Navy SEAL Jon Lancaster. Teaming up with FBI agent and former abduction victim Beth Daniels, Lancaster can help—his way. He’s spent most of his career dispatching creeps who get off on terrorizing the vulnerable. Unlicensed, and unrestricted, he plays dirty…But this case is unusual. Why so many men? Why this one girl? Does Nicki have something to hide? Or do her parents?Trawling the darkest depths of southern Florida, Lancaster faces a growing tide of secrets and deception. And the deeper he digs, the more he realizes that finding the truth won’t be easy. Because there’s more to this case than meets the eye.

Castle Cay


Lee Hanson - 2010
    Who could have killed rising artist Marc Solomon, and what does Castle Cay, the Solomon's mysterious Caribbean island, have to do with it? Before long, Julie's sixth-sense pulls a hidden string that unravels a deadly conspiracy...and her own troubled past.

Grosse Pointe Pulp


Dan Ames - 2016
    A disgraced ex-cop turned private investigator is hired by the dead woman’s father and immediately becomes the target of a violent ex-convict. An enigmatic music star performs damage control on her links to the dead woman. And a professional killer who idolizes Keith Richards is brought into town by a mysterious employer. DEAD WOOD is what great mysteries are all about: love, hate, faith and vengeance, all wrapped up in an explosive story that simply refuses to let up. HARD ROCK (John Rockne Mystery #2) Private Investigator John Rockne is determined to find out who is responsible for the brutal murder of a young man in Grosse Pointe. A contract killer known only as The Spook wants to keep the truth buried forever. Rockne quickly uncovers a series of dark secrets with ties to his own tortured past. HARD ROCK is a thrilling conclusion to the bestselling crime novel DEAD WOOD. COLD JADE (John Rockne Mystery #3) Once a cop in the well-to-do Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe, John Rockne was dismissed from the force after making a tragic mistake that resulted in the brutal murder of a young man. Now working as a private investigator, John is hired by a man whose daughter is missing and he soon discovers the young woman was living a secret life under the name Jade. John quickly realizes the world Jade had entered was a dangerous one filled with thieves, drugs, pimps and murderers. He has no idea if he can find her…and bring her out alive. “Dan Ames' writing reminds me of the great thriller writers -- lean, mean, no nonsense prose that gets straight to the point and keeps you turning those pages.” --Robert Gregory Browne, author of Down Among the Dead Men "As gritty as the Detroit streets where it's set, DEAD WOOD grabs you early on and doesn't let go. As fine a debut as you'll come across this year, maybe any year." --Tom Schreck, author of Out Cold, A Duffy Dombrowski Mystery “From its opening lines, Daniel S. Ames and his private eye novel DEAD WOOD recall early James Ellroy: a fresh attitude and voice and the heady rush of boundless yearning and ambition. Ames delivers a vivid evocation of time and place in a way that few debut authors achieve, nailing the essence of his chosen corner of high-tone Michigan. He also deftly dodges the pitfalls that make so much contemporary private detective fiction a mixed bag and nostalgia-freighted misfire. Ames’ detective has family; he’s steady. He’s not another burned-out, booze-hound hanging on teeth and toenails to the world and smugly wallowing in his own ennui. This is the first new private eye novel in a long time that just swept me along for the ride. Ames is definitely one to watch.” — Craig McDonald, Edgar-nominated author “Dead Wood is a fast-paced, unpredictable mystery with an engaging narrator and a rich cast of original supporting characters.” –Thomas Perry, New York Times bestselling author of The Butcher’s Boy.

Stealing Power


Bo Brennan - 2013
    The charismatic star of New Scotland Yard is public relations gold. Everyone loves him. Well, almost everyone. For three years, a serial rapist has been taunting and tormenting him, sending him DVD copies of every drug facilitated rape he commits. It's been one year since he received the last DVD and the trail is stone cold dead. When a new DVD arrives out of the blue, a familiar landmark takes him away from the job and life he loves and back to his home town. The last place on earth he wants to be.Detective India Kane does not suffer fools gladly, unfortunately she's surrounded by them. Obsessively private, she keeps her head down, gets on with her job, and doesn't bother anybody. She likes life that way. When people bother her, things have a tendency to get messy. She's just landed her first lead case - a drug facilitated rape investigation - and doesn't take kindly to the arrogant newcomer parachuted in to snatch it from her.The hunt is on.But the rapist is just warming up. As he escalates, so does his power. And he won't stop until he's stolen it all . . . even if it means bringing his own brand of terror directly to those who hunt him.When their lives collide - it won't just be the victims' worlds that are torn apart.

Ghost of a Chance


Cate Dean - 2016
    His search leads him to Holmestead, and a stubborn, fascinating American who has acquired the box that once contained the rare jar.When the missing jar turns up, clutched in the hand of the very dead local historian, Martin becomes the prime suspect. He and that dead historian were bitter rivals.With his future on the line, Martin turns to Maggie for help, and they join forces to find the real killer.Maggie Mulgrew Mysteries:Ghost of a ChanceWritten on the Wind - coming August 2016Check out all my books here: amazon.com/author/catedean

Wanted


Nick Stephenson - 2013
    Caught in the cross hairs of a ruthless assassin and on the run from the police for a murder he didn't commit, Blake and his team must fight to clear his name before it's too late.As enemies close in from all sides, Blake is about to learn who he can trust - and who is determined to destroy him - as The City of Light becomes a new hunting ground.Wanted is the first novel in the Leopold Blake series of thrillers, which can be read and enjoyed in any order.

A Buried Past


Alexandria Clarke - 2020
    Until a one hundred year old case gives her a new purpose. When Jacqueline, a self-professed detective with a dark secret, arrives in Whitechapel, she becomes embroiled in one of London's greatest mysteries.

Whispering Pines Mysteries Books 1-3: Family Secrets / Kept Secrets / Original Secrets


Shawn McGuire - 2017
     Family Secrets — Book 1Sixteen years after a family feud drove her from the cozy Northwoods village of Whispering Pines, Wisconsin, former detective Jayne O’Shea returns to prepare her grandparents’ lake house for sale. Once there, not only does she find that the house has been trashed, her dog discovers a dead body in the backyard. Jayne intends to stay out of it, but when it becomes obvious the sheriff isn't interested in investigating the death, Jayne can't stop herself. Her list of suspects grows faster than the plants in the commons’ pentacle garden. Could it be the local Wiccan green witch with her stash of deadly plants? The shopkeeper who slips into trances and foretells death? The visitor determined to practice black magic? What Jayne knows for sure is that the closer she gets to solving this crime, the more the sheriff wants her to back off. And when a local fortune teller provides a crucial clue, Jayne knows it’s up to her to solve this murder. Kept Secrets — Book 2One month after arriving in the Northwoods, former detective Jayne O’Shea has settled comfortably into small-town life and is making good progress with her task of getting her grandparents’ house ready for sale. Then the shocking death of one of the carnies rocks the community, and the villagers look to Jayne for help, placing her in an impossible middle ground of not wanting to get involved and needing to ensure justice is served. When a second carney turns up dead, and the newly hired sheriff—more concerned with ticketing tourists than catching the killer—dismisses the death as an accident, Jayne has no choice but to step in. Can she uncover the truth before the murderer strikes again? Original Secrets — Book 3Exhausted from being the only law enforcement official on duty, while also trying to open a bed-and-breakfast, Jayne O’Shea welcomes the escape she finds in her grandmother’s journals. Each entry gives her a deeper understanding of why her grandparents moved to the secluded spot so long ago. But as questions are answered, deeply hidden secrets are unearthed. If Jayne can put all the pieces of this puzzle together, she’ll not only learn the truth behind her grandmother’s death, she’ll catch a killer who's been wandering the village for forty years.

The Unburied Dead


Douglas Lindsay - 2012
    A city lives in fear. The police fall into chaos. A woman is savagely murdered, her body stabbed over a hundred times, and the police recognise that the perpetrator will likely strike again. DCI Bloonsbury, the once-feted detective, is put in charge of the investigation, but when an officer is slain, and an old police conspiracy begins to unravel, Bloonsbury slides further into morose, intoxicated depression. And here, somewhere in the midst of the horror, is Detective Sergeant Thomas Hutton, lost in a sea of love, lust, deception, alcohol, and murdered colleagues. But the dead will not rest, the past will not be buried, and DS Hutton must find his way, as the killer kills, and kills again…

Deadly Motives


Ann Girdharry - 2019
    The problem is, Travis was at the hospital in custody when the nurse was murdered but he was in the constant custody of two police officers.Determined to solve the case, Grant recruits a specialist to his team, Ruby Silver, a top criminal profiler. But Ruby is hiding something from her colleagues.Who is the killer and what is their motive?Grant and the team must work quickly to solve the case as the body count rises.Introducing Detective David Grant and Psychologist Ruby Silver.

Just Evil


Vickie McKeehan - 2011
    No one cared. But a stranger, bent on revenge, is out to change all that. Kit Griffin has finally overcome a painful childhood at the hands of her mother, former actress Alana Stevens. No longer living in the grasp of the cold, tyrannical woman, Kit has found a new life tucked away in little San Madrid, California, running a business she loves, surrounded by friends she considers family. For the first time her life is on track. That is, until Alana is found brutally murdered on Mother’s Day, pulling Kit back in to the dark horrors of her past. To make matters worse, the police consider her the prime suspect.Jake Boston, an old family friend and the man Kit has loved since she was a teen, is fighting his own demons as a suspect in his wife’s murder two years earlier. Despite his past, he’s determined to win Kit over once and for all. But before that can happen they need to convince the police there’s a killer working his way down a list with cold-hearted vengeance in mind. Forced to delve into Alana’s dark past, it becomes clear someone is out to settle a score. When Jake and Kit uncover a forty year old double murder that leads them straight to the door of a legal dynasty, they soon find out just how far the heirs will go to keep the past buried and eliminate all the loose ends to protect their empire. Will Jake and Kit become the next victims or will they find an unexpected guardian angel?

The Charlie Cooper Mysteries


Deany Ray - 2020
    A light read with no gore or foul language, these books are perfect to unwind at the end of the day.GLAZED:Charlie’s life in her hometown, Springston, is not by far as dull as she expected it to be. Stumbling over dead bodies, being held at gunpoint or getting kidnapped in the back of a van would actually qualify as a pretty exciting life. If you like to live on the edge.Still, Charlie hopes her next case would not include dead people, guns or exploding cars. Well…one could at least hope.When Celeste’s nephew, Lucas, is suspected of attempted bank robbery and CMC Services – a.k.a. Charlie and her best friends, Marge and Celeste – is called in to help, the girls launch into crime-fighting mode yet again. Apparently, Lucas could be a key witness in what seems to be the new crime wave in Springston.Charlie soon finds herself trying to solve another murder, causing a small explosion involving one particular item in Marge’s black hole of a purse, dodging the advances of Celeste’s cousin, Eddy, and trying to get on board with her mom’s new healthy diet. All the while with Alex, Springston’s hot detective, right on her heels.Running low on caffeine and running out of time, Charlie has to step up her game and out-step a killer.DAZZLED:Charlie, Marge and Celeste are back! This time in Las Vegas. Las Vegas? That’s right. What better way to celebrate a milestone birthday than to fly to Sin City?When Marge and Celeste surprise Charlie with tickets to Vegas, she decides it’s going to be the best weekend ever. I mean, how often does a gal turn 30?But Charlie wouldn’t be Charlie, if she didn’t stumble into a hot mess in the most unlikely place. She comes to realize that finding a small velvet bag full of diamonds does not mean you’ve hit the jackpot playing slots. Neither does finding a dead body when you at least expect it. Nor being chased by presumably some bad dudes for finding said body.Talk about bad luck in Vegas.How do you survive illicit bus rides, surprise guests and bachelor parties all while trying to stay alive…and getting rid of those darned diamonds?There is only one answer in Vegas: you either win…or you lose.BERRIED:Charlie Cooper, former secretary for the Boston PD, chocolate enthusiast and private investigator extraordinaire takes on her most puzzling case yet. Having to work for the grumpiest man in town, Edgar McMillan, the only clues she gets to solve her next case are a lurking shadow, a gunshot blast, possibly a Tony winner, some Ponies and Betty’s crew. Needless to say, nobody knows who Betty is. Or her crew.Oh, and there’s the dead body too. Charlie hates when that happens. Found in no other place than the client’s backyard just seconds after he was shot. But what was he doing there in the first place?Adding to the stress is Charlie’s mother, who’s current project is redecorating the house, meaning there are more cans of paint in the kitchen than a batch of fresh baked cookies. To top it off, Charlie’s love life takes a hit when her boyfriend, Detective Alex Spencer, is assigned the same case as she is.Together with Marge and Celeste, her best friends and business partners, Charlie sets out to find the killer and reinstall peace in her life.

Gone the Next


Ben Rehder - 2012
    He's working a routine case, complete with hours of tedious surveillance, when he sees something that shakes him to the core. There, with the subject, is a little blond girl wearing a pink top and denim shorts—the same outfit worn by Tracy Turner, a six-year-old abducted the day before. When the police are skeptical of Ballard's report—and with his history, who can blame them?—it's the beginning of the most important case of his life.