Book picks similar to
Sledge by Ernie Lindsey


thriller
mystery
mystery-thriller
short-story

The Cipher


Isabella Maldonado - 2020
    Until now…FBI Special Agent Nina Guerrera escaped a serial killer’s trap at sixteen. Years later, when she’s jumped in a Virginia park, a video of the attack goes viral. Legions of new fans are not the only ones impressed with her fighting skills. The man who abducted her eleven years ago is watching. Determined to reclaim his lost prize, he commits a grisly murder designed to pull her into the investigation…but his games are just beginning. And he’s using the internet to invite the public to play along.His coded riddles may have made him a depraved social media superstar—an enigmatic cyber-ghost dubbed “the Cipher”—but to Nina he’s a monster who preys on the vulnerable. Partnered with the FBI’s preeminent mind hunter, Dr. Jeffrey Wade, who is haunted by his own past, Nina tracks the predator across the country. Clue by clue, victim by victim, Nina races to stop a deadly killer while the world watches.

Black Coke


James Grenton - 2011
    They call it:BLACK COKENathan Kershner is an agent with the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency and a former special forces operative. Often working undercover, he has single-handedly brought down some of the most wanted criminals in the world.But when he clashes with the drugs cartel and tries to stem the flow of Black Coke into Europe and the US, he finds himself up against his most difficult assignment yet.On a mission that takes him from the crack houses of North London to the underground drug labs of southern Colombia, Nathan enters the darkest regions of the war on drugs, where treachery, greed and violence reign.With the drugs cartel growing in power by the day, Nathan has to decide just how far he is prepared to go to avert disaster.

Cold Cotton


Joe R. Lansdale - 2017
     Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are up to their ears in trouble once more, when a kinky, psychotherapist client and her household end up dead with a crazy, nymphomaniac niece as the main suspect. Hap is facing his own inner crisis, wavering between a shrink and a little blue pill, while his lover Brett and his best friend Leonard speculate on a colorful variety of causes and cures. When he opts for neither, ignoring his doctor's advice to call a shrink, she calls him instead and the team is off to the races, facing off with a wide array of odd relationships, crazed florists and murder. Action like only Joe R. Lansdale and Hap & Leonard can provide.

Maternal Harbor


Marie F. Martin - 2012
    281 Five Star Amazon reviewsPregnant and alone, Teagan O’Riley befriends three expectant mothers at an OBGYN clinic. Now, two of them are dead and the third is close on Teagan’s heels, intent on eliminating the last obstacle to a monstrous plot. She cannot risk entrusting the police. Her finger prints are all over one crime scene and her foot print smeared into blood at another. Surely, the authorities would remove the babies from her care and place them with child protective services, making them easy targets. Teagan flees with the babies to the only refuge she can think of − the wilderness cabin belonging to the grandmother of her lost love. But is even this remote location safe?

Cruel Justice


M.A. Comley - 2011
    Detective Inspector Lorne Simpkins and her partner, DS Pete Childs are assigned to the case. A few days later another victim, this time a young girl, is discovered. Who could the killer be and what's the connection between the two victims?Then after a third murder, the killer contacts Lorne with a grisly surprise. It looks like Lorne has a serial killer on her hands - and one that has become fixated on her. As she tries to solve the crimes, Lorne is also coping with a failing marriage and new, unsympathetic boss with whom she has a secret past. Then, as she begins to despair at the lack of clues, help arrives from an unlikely source.

Tuesday's Child


Dale Mayer - 2011
     Shunned and ridiculed all her life for something she can’t control, Samantha Blair hides her psychic abilities and lives on the fringes of society. Against her will, however, she’s tapped into a killer—or rather, his victims. Each woman’s murder, blow-by-blow, ravages her mind until their death releases her back to her body. Sam knows she must go to the authorities, but will the rugged, no-nonsense detective in charge of tracking down the killer believe her? Detective Brandt Sutherland only trusts hard evidence, yet Sam’s visions offer clues he needs to catch a killer. The more he learns about her incredible abilities, however, the clearer it becomes that Sam’s visions have put her in the killer’s line of fire. Now Brandt must save her from something he cannot see or understand…and risk losing his heart in the process. As danger and desire collide, passion raises the stakes in a game Sam and Brandt don’t dare lose. Length - 90,000 words. Excerpt Agony. Pain. Terror. A voice whispered through the blackness of her mind, so odd, so different it caught her attention. She strained to hear the words. “Let go. It’s time to let go.” Sam stared through the flames, stunned. Let go of what? She couldn’t hear over the roaring fire and could barely see, but knowing that someone was there stirred her survival instinct, and she fought with the seatbelt buckle jammed at her side. She was saved. Just another minute and they’d open the door and pull her free. She’d be fine. “Please hurry,” she cried out. “Let go. You don’t need to be in there. Let it all go, and come with me.” She peered through the golden orange windshield to see a strange male face peering at her through the flames. He smiled. “Come with me.” “I want to, damn it. Can’t you see I’m trapped?” she screamed, her vocals crisping in the heat. “Release yourself. Come with me. Say yes.” The pain hit a crescendo. She twisted against it, hearing her spine splinter. The car seat melted into her skin. So much pain, she couldn’t breathe. Blackness crowded into her mind, blessed quiet, soothing darkness. She reached for it. “Let it go. You don’t need to go through this. Hurry.” She started. Why wasn’t he opening the door or getting others to help? He should be trying to save her. Shouldn’t he? Sam, so confused and so tired, she could barely feel the pain overtaking her body. Where had he gone? She tried to concentrate. His face was now only a vague outline that rippled with the heat waves. A soft smile played at the corner of his mouth. The flames burned around him, weird as they centered him in the warm glow. She wanted to be with him. To live. “Here, take my hand.” Dazed and on the brink of death, Sam focused on the hand reaching for her. She struggled to raise the charred piece of flesh that had been her arm and reached out to grasp his. She was free. Overwhelmed, she turned to hug her savior, her head just reaching his shoulder. He stood beside her, the same radiant beaming look on his face. His blond hair glowed, and he had the brightest teeth. She sighed. This beautiful man pointed to her right arm. Confused, Sam glanced down at her burned arm, realizing she could feel none of her injuries. Just like her other one, her broken arm had miraculously healed – whole, smooth and soft. Her skin hadn’t looked this good in ten years. She spun around to find a massive fireball below. What the hell? She had to be dead.

Murder in the South of France


Susan Kiernan-Lewis - 2011
    Along the way, she finds handsome Laurent Dernier, a sexy if nefarious Frenchman who it's not clear is there to help or hinder Maggie's search for the girl. Meanwhile, her sister's murderer sets his sights on the little girl — and Maggie.The first book of the Maggie Newberry Mystery Series, Murder in the South of France was originally titled Murder on the Côte d’Azur.

First Thrills


Lee ChildSean Michael Bailey - 2010
    Showcasing many of the organization’s bestselling authors as well as rising stars in the genre, here are twenty-five brand-new, never-before-published stories packed with murder, mystery, and mayhem.• A cunning criminal thinks he can use a child to take the rap for his crimes.• A hospital intern turned body snatcher• A priest who comes face-to-face with his wife’s murderer on death row• A Confederate soldier comes home to his love, but changed by more than just the war . . . he comes back wrong.• The discovery of a flying saucer in the ocean depths brings one man to the brink of a massive revelation.• A dying man’s last request proves to his ex-wife that he’s still rotten to the core.• A clandestine operative finds himself caught in a wicked game of confusion . . . but who is calling the shots? No matter what type of thriller you listen to, you’ll find something here that will entertain you . . . and perhaps a new writer you’ll cherish for years to come.

Closure


Randall Wood - 2009
    Special Agent Jack Randall of the FBI finds himself appointed to track down and stop the shooter. Not by his superiors, but by the killer himself.As more bodies fall the shooter takes his message to the press, earning the support of the public with his choice of targets and confounding the FBI at every turn. From the desert of Nevada to the urban jungle of New York City, Jack and his team follow the trail of bodies and haunting messages left behind by the killer. With the pressure to find him mounting on Jack, the assassin’s crimes grow bolder, and his message more sinister and closer to home.It becomes clear to Jack that in order to find the shooter, he may have to look inside his own past, and become the man he was years ago.

What We Saw


Ryan Casey - 2012
    As the story twists and turns towards a shocking conclusion, the secrets of the seemingly sleepy community begin to unravel…What We Saw is a touching and thrilling British mystery novel with elements of comedy, friendship, fear and loss. Told from the innocent perspective of a child, it poses the ultimate question: if you stumbled upon a shocking discovery as a child, how would you react?

Safely Buried


John Pesta - 2011
    I had just come off I-65, and my high beams lit her up from behind. She was walking along the road between dark, endless cornfields, and her right leg was in a cast. She wore denim shorts and a yellow tank top that didn’t quite reach the shorts. Without crutches, she moved as fast as she could on the gravelly shoulder. She would take a long step with her good leg, stiffly swing the cast forward the same distance, and immediately start the next step. Tilting jerkily, she looked as if she would fall with every stride. I crossed the centerline to give her more room to fall. Just as I was about to pass her, she glanced over her shoulder and stuck out a thumb.When Phil Larrison picks up a hitchhiker, he gets more than he bargained for.

Dissident


Cecilia London - 2015
    After losing her husband, she is raising two small children alone while trying to navigate the tricky and sometimes shallow halls on Capitol Hill. A string of nasty speeches has her scrambling to apologize to any number of candidates, including newly elected Republican Jack McIntyre. Falling in love again is the last thing on her mind.Jack McIntyre might have a reputation as a playboy, but he has his sights set solely on his new colleague. Can he break through Caroline’s grief and capture her heart? Told mostly in flashback and set against a chilling fascist backdrop, Dissident is a rollercoaster ride of political intrigue, passionate contemporary romance, and undying love. For readers 18+. Ends in a cliffhanger. The first part in a six book saga.

Death at Sunrise: a 509 Crime Short Story


Colin Conway - 2020
    Was it suicide or was it something else?Spokane County Detective Shane McAfee must unravel the mystery.Discover The 509 Crime Stories with this free short story.Then check out the books The Side Hustle The Long Cold Winter The Blind Trust The Suit What readers are saying about The Side Hustle★★★★★ “… just looking for my next thriller fix, I discovered this gem.” – John Barksley★★★★★ “… a great read! A different kind of police procedural.” – Mickey★★★★★ “This book was hard to put down.” – Amazon Customer★★★★★ “…kept me reading.” – Mary Arnold★★★★★ “Loved my first foray into the 509 series… and Quinn!” – Cynthiareads★★★★★ “The story is well crafted and kept me quickly ‘turning the pages.’” – Sally★★★★★ “Great read.  Very enjoyable.” – Amy Dalton

A Secondhand Lie


Pamela Crane - 2018
    Things that you can never un-know. Things that will change the course of your life…and the fate of the ones you love. I found her in our living room, bleeding and close to death, but alive. Barely. Until morning stole her last breath. The media called her killer the “Triangle Terror” … and then forgot about her. But I never forgot—my murdered sister, and an investigation that led to my own resurrection from the dead. Twenty-two years ago, on a cold February night, Landon Worthington lost his father for the last time. After an armed robbery gone wrong, evidence and witness testimony pointed a shaky finger at Dan Worthington—deadbeat dad and alcoholic husband. But before the dust could settle over the conviction, Landon’s preteen sister, Alexis, is murdered in their home, plunging Landon’s life into further despair. Two decades and a cold case later, Landon is dogged by guilt over their estranged relationship and decides to confront his incarcerated father-of-the-year about what really happened the night of the robbery. But the years of lies are hard to unravel. And the biggest question of all haunts him: How does everything tie into his sister’s murder? And so begins Landon’s journey to piece together the puzzle of secrets, lies, and truths that can free his father, avenge his sister, and perhaps save himself. A short mystery perfect for fans of Robert Dugoni's Third Watch and Dean Koontz's The Neighbor. Read as a standalone or as the companion book to A Secondhand Life.

Open House


Katie Sise - 2020
    A town still held in the grip of an unsolved mystery. A breathtaking novel of psychological suspense by the bestselling author of We Were Mothers.A decade ago in upstate New York, art student Emma McCullough walked into the woods and was never seen again. It’s a mystery that still haunts her bucolic university town and her broken family, especially her sister Haley, whose need for closure has become an obsession. But now, finally, the first piece of evidence in the vanishing has been found: Emma’s bracelet, lodged in a frozen piece of earth at the bottom of a gorge. For Emma’s three best college friends, for a beloved former teacher, and for Haley, the chilling trinket is more than a clue in a resurrected cold case. It’s a trigger.Then a woman is attacked during an open house, and the connections between the two crimes, ten winters apart, begin to surface. So do the secrets that run as deep and dark as the currents in this quiet river town.