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New Orleans Festival of Murder by Julie Smith
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Blake Pierce Mystery Bundle: Cause to Kill / Once Gone / Before He Kills / Trace of Death
Blake Pierce - 2016
This bundle offers a great introduction to Blake Pierce’s series with over 200,000 words of reading. In BEFORE HE KILLS, a woman is found murdered in the cornfields of Nebraska, strung up on a pole, the victim of a deranged killer. It doesn’t take long for the police to realize a serial killer is on the loose—and that his spree has just begun. Detective Mackenzie White, young, tough, smarter than the aging, chauvinistic men on her local force, finds herself called in grudgingly to help solve it. As much as the other officers hate to admit it, they need her young, brilliant mind, which has already helped crack cold cases that had left them stumped. Yet even for Mackenzie this new case proves an impossible riddle, something the likes of which she—and the local force—have ever seen. With the FBI called in, together, an intense manhunt ensues. Mackenzie, reeling from her own dark past, her failed relationships, and her undeniable attraction to the new FBI agent, finds herself battling her own demons as her hunt for the killer takes her to the darkest places of her mind. In CAUSE TO KILL, Homicide Detective Avery Black has been through hell. Once a top criminal defense attorney, she fell from grace when she managed to get a brilliant Harvard professor off—only to watch him kill again. She lost her husband and her daughter, and her life fell apart around her. Trying to redeem herself, Avery has turned to the other side of the law. Working her way up the ranks, she has reached Homicide Detective, to the scorn of her fellow officers, who still remember what she did, and who will always hate her.Yet even they cannot deny Avery’s brilliant mind, and when a disturbing serial killer strikes fear into the heart of Boston, killing girls from elite colleges, it is Avery that they turn to. It is Avery’s chance to prove herself, to finally find the redemption she craves. And yet, as she is soon to find out, Avery has come up against a killer as brilliant and daring as she. In ONCE GONE, women are turning up dead in the rural outskirts of Virginia, killed in grotesque ways, and when the FBI is called in, they are stumped. A serial killer is out there, his frequency increasing, and they know there is only one agent good enough to crack this case: Special Agent Riley Paige. Riley is on paid leave herself, recovering from her encounter with her last serial killer, and, fragile as she is, the FBI is reluctant to tap her brilliant mind. Yet Riley, needing to battle her own demons, comes on board, and her hunt leads her through the disturbing subculture of doll collectors, into the homes of broken families, and into the darkest canals of the killer’s mind. As Riley peels back the layers, she realizes she is up against a killer more twisted than she could have imagined. In A TRACE OF DEATH, Keri Locke, Missing Persons Detective in the Homicide division of the LAPD, remains haunted by the abduction of her own daughter, years before, never found. Still obsessed with finding her, Keri buries her grief the only way she knows how: by throwing herself into the cases of missing persons in Los Angeles. A routine phone call from a worried mother of a high-schooler, only two hours missing, should be ignored. Yet something about the mother’s voice strikes a chord, and Keri decides to investigate. What she finds shocks her. The missing daughter—of a prominent senator—was hiding secrets no one knew. When all evidence points to a runaway, Keri is ordered off the case. And yet, despite pressure from her superiors, from the media, despite all trails going cold, the brilliant and obsessed Keri refuses to let it go.
The Alexandra Destephano Series
Judith Lucci - 2019
A Gripping New Orleans Medical Thriller Series! A multi-dimensional medical thriller series featuring Virginia-born nurse/attorney Alexandra Lee Destephano, Commander Jack Francoise of the New Orleans Police Department, and Dr. Robert Bonnet, Alex’s former husband and a prominent New Orleans surgeon. Thrillers center on the characters as they encounter murder, malpractice, the supernatural and a serial killer in The Big Easy’s most famous hospital. Alex Destephano Medical Thriller series blends hospital drama, murder, romance, political intrigue, terrorism, and the grisly work of a serial killer. (Books 1-5) Kindle Edition Chaos at Crescent City Medical Center A New Orleans Attorney’s Mardi Gras Takes A Bloody Turn Alex wanted a new life, but that often seemed out of reach as long as she was still tied to the same hospital as her ex-husband. Mardi Gras Season brought a welcome change in pace, and her upcoming date to the Mardi Gras Ball with art historian, Mitch Landry, was a step in the right direction. However, when she is called to a grisly scene at the hospital her plans are upended. The Imposter In New Orleans, The Criminally Insane Pose A Growing Threat It is hotter than hell in New Orleans and newly promoted Police Commander Jack Francoise is battling horrific crime in the Vieux Carre. The number of criminally insane continues to rise without explanation and nurses at the Psychiatric Pavilion are doling out Thorazine cocktails to these viciously psychotic patients to the best of their ability. Viral Intent The President Is In New Orleans, And a Deadly Virus Is On The Loose While the President and members of Congress visit the Big Easy for a political convention, an unidentified killer virus is wreaking havoc in the Crescent City emergency room. Physicians are baffled, hospital staff frightened, and the CDC is en route to assist. Toxic New Year The Party Of The Year In Virginia Turns Deadly What began as rural Virginia’s premier New Year celebration turns into a day of horror when the enemies of Alex Destephano's grandfather, Congressman Adam Patrick Lee, bring the war to his Virginia estate killing, maiming and destroying everything in their path. EVIL For Fans of Robin Cook, Tess Gerritsen, Patricia Cornwell, Michael Palmer Alex returns to Wyndley Farm, her childhood home in Virginia, to await the birth of her baby. An urgent call from Crescent City Medical Center compels her to return to New Orleans to investigate cruel, questionable incidents and heinous patient deaths. Digger Stildove returns from Yemen where he has searched for Jacob Stark. Michaela McPherson travels from Richmond with police dog Angel to consult with Commander Francoise in his search for St. Germaine. Events unfold as the evil continues and the hospital attempts to safeguard patients and staff.
Cold Justice Series Box Set: Volume I
Toni Anderson - 2015
"Justice isn’t always black or white. Sometimes it’s cold and dark." A Cold Dark Place (Winner of the New England Readers' Choice Award in Romantic Suspense. 2015 Holt Medallion Finalist). Former CIA assassin Alex Parker works for The Gateway Project, a clandestine government organization hell-bent on taking out serial killers and pedophiles before they enter the justice system. Alex doesn’t enjoy killing, but he’s damn good at it. He’s good at dodging the law, too—until a beautiful rookie agent has him wondering what it might be like to get caught. FBI Special Agent Mallory Rooney has spent years hunting the lowlife who abducted her identical twin sister eighteen years ago. Now, during an on-going serial killer investigation, Mallory begins to suspect there’s a vigilante operating outside the law. She has no choice but to take him down, because murder isn’t justice. Is it? When Mallory starts asking questions, The Gateway Project management starts to sweat, and orders Alex to watch her. As soon as they meet, the two begin to fall in love. But the lies and betrayals that define Alex’s life threaten to destroy them both—especially when the man who stole her sister all those years ago makes Mallory his next target, and Alex must reveal his true identity to save the woman he loves. Cold Pursuit (2015 Winner of National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award ~ for Romantic Suspense). Single mom Vivi Vincent is thrust into her worst nightmare when she's trapped inside a mall during a terror attack along with her eight-year-old son. With the help of Jed Brennan, an FBI special agent on enforced leave, Vivi and her son survive the assault. But the danger is far from over. Vivi's son may have witnessed critical details of the terrorists' future plans and is targeted for death, but he's mute, and he's traumatized. Still someone launches a strike against the FBI's safe house, and Jed fears the bad guys have an inside man. No longer knowing who to trust, he hides mother and son in a log cabin deep in the heart of the Wisconsin Northwoods. There Jed and Vivi try to figure out how to unlock the information inside her son's head. What they don't bargain for is the red-hot attraction that flares between them, or the extent of the sinister plot that threatens to rip apart not only any chance of happiness they might have together, but also the very fabric of American society. Cold Light of Day (Winner 2015 Readers' Choice and Book Buyer's Best). Physicist Scarlett Stone is the daughter of the man considered to be the most notorious Russian agent in FBI history. With her father dying in prison she’s determined to prove he’s innocent, but time is running out. Using a false identity, she gains access to the Russian ambassador’s Christmas party, searching for evidence of a set-up. Former Navy SEAL, now FBI Special Agent, Matt Lazlo, is instantly attracted to Scarlett but life is too complicated to pursue a politician’s daughter. When he discovers she lied to him about her identity, he hunts her down with the ruthless efficiency he usually reserves for serial killers. Not only does Scarlett’s scheme fail, it puts her in the sights of powerful people who reward unwanted curiosity with brutality. The FBI—and Matt—aren’t thrilled with her, either.
Thrilling Suspenseful Nights: Fabulous Freebie Collection
Mimi Barbour - 2021
With death and destruction in the air, these characters need to succeed, protect, or die trying.Featuring:Mimi Barbour – Retaliation – She watches the mob kill her twin & revenge claws at her sheltered existence until she can’t breathe. She will avenge. USA Today and NY Times Bestselling Author.Stacy Eaton – Love Torn: The Twisted Love Series - A major part of love ‘em and leave ‘em Detective Kali “The Mann-Eater’s” past comes back to haunt her just as she begins to open up. Will both her private and professional life now be torn apart? USA Today Bestselling AuthorRachelle Ayala – Bad Boys for Hire: Ryker – Terri calls Bad Boys for Hire to book a date for her birthday party and gets caught in a motorcycle club vendetta. USA Today Bestselling AuthorTaylor Lee – The Moscow Affair – A dangerously elegant man and a beautiful feisty young woman take on the evils of the international sex trade while exploring a passionate world of their own. USA Today Bestselling AuthorNancy Radke (with Nolan Radke) – Height of Danger – Can CIA operative Owen Putman protect the Texas billionaire’s daughter if she won’t stay where he hides her, at the top of a tree in the rainforest? USA Today Bestselling Author
Trust No One
L.J. Breedlove - 2013
Mac Davis likes being a reporter.No one shoots at him, he eats real meals regularly -- what's not to like? Then someone kidnaps his friends, and tries to kill him. Mac doesn't know who or why, but he plans to find out. And make them pay.First book of the Mac Davis thrillers.
HOT Volume 1: HOT Pursuit / HOT Mess / HOT Package
Lynn Raye Harris - 2014
But this set is value-priced! 600+ pages of exciting reading! Featuring stories that have been in the Top 100 bestsellers on Amazon, B&N, iTunes, and the USA Today list. HOT PURSUIT (#1) Evie Baker's luck just ran out. A trained chef, she's now working in her mother's salon as a shampoo girl after a disastrous affair with an embezzling accountant cost her her business. Her luck can't possibly get any worse... Or can it? Her baby sister is suddenly missing, someone is shooting at her, and the only man big enough and bad enough to help is the high school heartthrob who stole her heart--and her virginity--before he joined the military and left her to pick up the pieces of her life. Special Operations Captain Matt "Richie Rich" Girard can't afford to get involved. He's on the verge of a court-martial after a Top Secret military operation gone wrong, and he's been ordered to stay out of trouble while he's home for his sister's wedding. But when Evie's ex-partner turns up dead, staying out of trouble is the last thing on Matt's mind. If he's going to protect her from a ruthless killer and find her sister before time runs out, he'll have to risk his entire future--and both their lives--to do it. HOT MESS (#2) English professor Dr. Georgeanne Hayes has a problem. Her star pupil, an Army sergeant who works in a Top Secret government program, is missing—and someone tried to push her in front of a train last night. Sam “Knight Rider” McKnight is used to looking out for Georgie. When they were kids, she was just his best friend’s baby sister. But Georgie’s not a baby anymore and Sam is getting some very male—and very dirty—thoughts about the girl he knows he can never have. When someone threatens Georgie’s life again, Sam will do anything necessary to keep her safe. Even if it means spending the next few days locked up in a remote house on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with her. Sam might be used to denying himself what he wants, but he’s about to find out that being cooped up with Georgie will push him to the limit. And maybe beyond. HOT PACKAGE (#3) When public relations expert Olivia Reese stumbles onto evidence of a dangerous conspiracy right before Christmas, there’s only one man she can call for help. Billy “The Kid” Blake is a member of an elite military unit—the Hostile Operations Team—and he’s Olivia’s former lover. Billy never forgot the sexy woman who rocked his world—and his bed—before she walked out on him. Now that she needs his help, he’ll do anything he can to keep her safe. But as time runs out and the snow piles up, can Billy and Olivia work together to thwart a lethal plot against the Pentagon without getting involved again? WHAT DO REVIEWERS SAY ABOUT LYNN'S BOOKS? "I am so adding LRH to my auto buy list!!" -- Just Plain Sassy "I highly recommend this series to readers who love romance [...] with a military theme.
Promise McNeal Mysteries Vol 1-3
Morgan James - 2016
Wrapping everything in a ghost story, Quiet The Dead will keep you guessing…”-- Mark de Castrique, Author of Sam Blackman Mysteries and Bary Clayton Mysteries. CLUES FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE… AND AN ATTRACTIVE NEW MAN! Dr. Promise McNeal, retired psychologist, is supplementing her income with a little investigative work for a lawyer friend to whom she never reveals her unconventional sources: the dead. And they have an agenda all their own. Promise has left her private counseling practice and traded Atlanta’s ghastly traffic for a package deal that included a struggling general store along with a farmhouse and five acres with a creek and mountain views in beautiful western North Carolina. Her “Watson” is her twenty-something, semi-Goth store manager Susan, a Bluegrass musician who performs with her father Daniel. Promise’s abilities of perception do not, however, extend to reading mountain men, because, no matter how vehemently Promise dismisses the notion, Daniel-- an unsettlingly handsome widower-- is, as Susan shrewdly observes, very clearly “sweet on her”. Morgan James’s appealingly human and incisive, fiftyish female sleuth is sure to delight fans of cozies, especially those by Julia Spencer-Fleming and Mary Kay Andrews, as well as the kind with a light sprinkling of psychic suspense; admirers of female amateur sleuths; readers of supernatural suspense and psychic detective fiction, and of other great North Carolina mystery authors like Margaret Maron, Barbara Neely, Elizabeth Daniels Squire, and Vicki Lane. QUIET THE DEAD (Promise McNeal Mysteries Book 1) The image comes in a dream: a beautiful woman hanging over a stream, strangled with a red scarf. And with that, Promise McNeal’s hoped-for quiet new life in the North Carolina mountains flies out the window. But in flies opportunity—along with the mystery surrounding the woman’s murder, a brand new murder, a lucrative consulting job, and an extremely attractive man (in a problematical sort of way). A lot of action for a woman who moved from Atlanta to find peace and quiet! QUIET KILLING (Promise McNeal Mysteries Book 2) Amateur North Carolina sleuth (and psychic) Promise McNeal just can't seem to get a good night’s sleep—someone’s always haunting her dreams. Lately it's been her great grandfather, January McNeal, and who disobeys their great grandfather? So she delves back into family history, but when she finds grave robbery in there, she has second thoughts. Then evil comes knocking. First someone burns her barn, then the contractor she hires to rebuild it is murdered, nearly at her back door. More fires lead her to a mysterious abandoned child who could be the arsonist-- and murderer. QUIET HEARTS (Promise McNeal Mysteries Book 3) Lovebirds Promise McNeal and her mountain man, Daniel Allen, have arrived in the historic Golden Isles, Georgia’s barrier islands, for a romantic wedding and honeymoon on nearby Jekyll Island. As fate would have it, the ruthlessly ambitious Atlanta TV talk show host Aileen Wang has brought her crew for an extravaganza production on a cursed Chinese chair that’s also a World War II relic connected to the secret of a sixty-year-old murder.
The Arx
Jay Allan Storey - 2015
But after the mother of one of the missing children commits suicide, he stamps down his demons and, together with the dead woman's sister Rebecca, plunges into the case.The clues lead to a shadowy cabal lurking behind one of the richest and most powerful Pharma corporations on the planet. When Frank finally unravels the mystery, the truth is more bizarre and deadly than he ever imagined, and telling Rebecca would put her life in danger. Soon even she comes to question his sanity.The world needs to be warned of the treacherous plot. But can Frank stay alive long enough to find someone to buy his story?
The Paul Mcdonald Mystery Series Vol. 1-2: With Bonus Short Story!
J. Paul Drew - 2016
Finally Paul’s got a story he can sell, if he can catch the murderer before the murderer catches him. And maybe he will … after all, there’s a Volume 2: HUCKLEBERRY FIEND, a risible treat for the rigorous bibliophile (and anyone else who loves a good puzzle) … Vol. 1: TRUE LIFE ADVENTURE Things were going lousy for ex-reporter Paul Mcdonald: No money, no girl friend, no bright new career as a mystery novelist … and then along came private investigator Jack Birnbaum with an offer: he’d detect, and Paul would write the client reports. It wasn’t much, but it would keep Spot the cat in Kitty Queen tidbits. But then somebody poisoned Jack in Paul’s own living room. There must have been something someone didn't want him to know in one of those client reports. But what? Vol. 2: HUCKLEBERRY FIEND The most priceless American manuscript in existence—the missing holograph of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn-- has unceremoniously dropped into Paul Mcdonald's hands-- now what? In between much-needed therapy sessions, Paul's neurotic friend Booker the burglar stole it from his dad’s girl friend’s roommate, and now wants sometime-sleuth Paul to find its rightful owner. Because he’s pretty sure the roommate's not it. He’s only too right: Beverly, it turns out, is dead. Murdered for the manuscript, if Paul’s guess is right. Fans of CASTLE, MURDER SHE WROTE, even ELLERY QUEEN will enjoy this fast-paced and funny take on the mystery-writer-as-detective. As will people who like their male sleuths wry, witty, and a little on the soft-boiled side—fans of Parnell Hall’s Stanley Hastings, say, Tony Dunbar’s Tubby Dubonnet, Gregory Mcdonald’s Fletch (this Mcdonald, it's worth noting, is Paul’s personal hero), and especially Rex Stout’s Archie Goodwin. Huckleberry Fiend will delight fans of mysteries about books-- Lawrence Block’s Bernie Rhodenbarr series, John Dunning's Cliff Janeway books, the Death on Demand books by Carolyn Hart, and Joan Hess's Claire Malloy series. Female sleuths with a sense of humor remind us of him too—for instance, Criminal Minds’ Penelope Garcia and the immortal Amelia Peabody (of whom he’d be terrified if they ever met).
Waterfell Tweed Cozy Mystery Box Set: Books 1-3
Mona Marple - 2018
Sandy Shaw was happy with her life running the village cafe and bookstore, until a series of murders in the sleepy village cause everyone to second-guess just how peaceful things are. Join Sandy as she sets out to solve the killers, and get peace restored, in this box set collection of the first three books in the Waterfell Tweed Cozy Mystery Series. This box set includes ONCE UPON A CRIME, A TALE OF TWO BODIES and A VALENTINE'S KILL. Each novella is around 30,000 words long and is a cozy mystery, meaning they are safe from swearing, sex, violence and cliffhangers. Each book can be read as a standalone but the series is best enjoyed if read in order.
Blind Justice
Nathan Burrows - 2018
His main problem is that the British justice system doesn’t agree with himHe might be a part-time thief guilty of many things, but Gareth’s not a murderer. Staring at fifteen years inside Her Majesty’s Prison Whitemoor, he considers the events that led to the wrongful verdict which cost him everything he once loved: His dignity. His freedom. His wife.A lawyer Paul Dewar claims to have information that will vindicate Gareth, but is it enough to set him free? As the threat against Gareth increases on the inside, Paul Dewar’s challenge and Gareth Dawson’s fight for freedom begins.
Prepped to Kill
M. Lee Prescott - 2011
While she pretends to be an ace private investigator, the niece of Massachusetts’ governor goes missing and a murderer terrorizes the campus. Ricky enlists the aid of her former roommates and together, the three create mayhem during Whitley School’s reunion weekend, bungling along in search of the truth. Join Ricky on her first caper and see how this humorous rollicking mystery series got its start.
The Private Face of Murder
John Bonett - 1966
In the Spanish town of Caltrava, a group of ex-pats have created their own close-knit community. In moving to a hotter country, the Brits are hoping to find a more relaxing way of living. But then – disaster strikes when the beautiful Linda Huntingdon is killed in a fatal car crash. Nothing appears too suspicious until retired actor Aubrey de Lamplugh meets the same fate, being crushed by a falling cliff. Two complete accidents, or a double homicide? That’s what Inspector Borges intends to discover. At first, the two appear unrelated – how is the death of a young, bored housewife connected with that of an alcoholic egotist?Slowly, a picture starts to unfurl before the Inspector’s eyes...The Private Face of Murder is an intriguing murder mystery that will keep you gripped until the very end.
Magic Mirror
Mickey Friedman - 1988
Now she's a Paris correspondent, thank you very much—a dream come true for any journalist.There's just a slight down side—she arrives in freezing rain, gets caught in a traffic jam caused by a bomb scare, and hates her apartment; but the real Bonjour is finding herself face down on a museum floor during a robbery. "Killed for a boring story!" she thinks. But as it happens, she isn't the one who dies. Three terrifying masked gunmen shoot the unfortunate security guard.They could have stolen all the treasures of Monte Cristo's cave, so to speak, but it turns out they've made off with only a mirror. True, it once belonged to the French seer Nostradamus, but it may be the museum's least valuable item.Does it have some prophetic ability? Does someone know something the gendarmes don't? Here's what Georgia Lee knows: If she finds out first, she's a journalistic hero. If she doesn't, she's dead.
It Never Goes Away (Brighton's No.1 Private Detective, #3)
Tom Trott - 2019
But Joe is too late, someone else has got there first: his friend is dead, and all the evidence points to him. Ten years ago the farmhouse was the scene of three infamous murders when a young boy killed his mother, father, and little sister. Now an adult, he was released from prison with a new identity. Could he be involved? The farmhouse also sits on valuable land, fought over in a struggle between building houses and drilling for shale gas. But could it really be worth killing for? Whatever is going on, Joe knows one thing for sure: his friend’s murder is just a tiny part of it. To bring the killer to justice Joe must dig up the past, and reckon with his own, because no matter how hard you work, it never goes away. Warning: this book contains adult language, sex, violence, and drug use (basically, all the good stuff).