Book picks similar to
Girl in Reverse by Lore Dresden


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Stone of Fire


J.F. Penn - 2011
    Morgan Sierra, an Oxford University psychologist with a deadly past, doesn’t know the answer to that question — and doesn’t care. All she knows is that her sister and niece have been abducted, held hostage for the stone pendants that Morgan and her sister wear: two of twelve relics once owned by the original Apostles.Forged in fire and wind, drowned in the blood of martyrs, the twelve Pentecost stones have been kept secret for two thousand years. But now the Keepers of the stones are being murdered, and the relics stolen by Thanatos, a shadowy group dedicated to remaking the world into a living Hell. The authorities are clueless; the world lies helpless. And Thanatos grows more powerful with each stone they take. Enter Jake Timber — agent of ARKANE, the British agency tasked with investigating the supernatural. Jake knows some of the secrets Morgan needs to save her family, but can’t stop Thanatos without her help. Only together can they stop Thanatos before the stones are captured, before Morgan’s family is murdered, and before the world is changed forever.From flooded ruins in Italy, to religious sites in Israel, to the far reaches of Iran and Tunisia, Morgan and Jake must race across the world to find the stones before Thanatos gathers the relics and uses their power to turn Earth into a living Hell.But every step they take brings Morgan and Jake closer to the end. To the knife edge between salvation and madness. To the moment when Morgan will have to decide whether she will save her family… or save the world.Time is running out. Thanatos draws near. And the day of Pentecost is at hand.Stone of Fire is the first book in the ARKANE series by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J.F. Penn.

What the Dead Know


Laura Lippman - 2007
    Their bodies were never found and those familiar with the case have always been tortured by these questions: How do you kidnap two girls? Who—or what—could have lured the two sisters away from a busy mall on a Saturday afternoon without leaving behind a single clue or witness? Now a clearly disoriented woman involved in a rush-hour hit-and-run claims to be the younger of the long-gone Bethany sisters. But her involuntary admission and subsequent attempt to stonewall investigators only deepens the mystery. Where has she been? Why has she waited so long to come forward? Could her abductor truly be a beloved Baltimore cop? There isn't a shred of evidence to support her story, and every lead she gives the police seems to be another dead end—a dying, incoherent man, a razed house, a missing grave, and a family that disintegrated long ago, torn apart not only by the crime but by the fissures the tragedy revealed in what appeared to be the perfect household. In a story that moves back and forth across the decades, there is only one person who dares to be skeptical of a woman who wants to claim the identity of one Bethany sister without revealing the fate of the other. Will he be able to discover the truth?

Reckless


Susan Kiernan-Lewis - 2014
    She's able to tell the story behind any object simply by touch. It’s a gift that comes in handy when her only brother, a detective with the Atlanta Major Crimes Division, is murdered. Determined to find his killer, Mia reaches out to the one person in Atlanta she believes can help her—Dave’s ex-partner, Jack Burton. Unfortunately, Burton is also the prime suspect. Together, Mia and Jack create a partnership that breaks all the rules, skirts every law, and lobs as many sparks and landmines at each other as if they were adversaries–which half the time they are—all while attempting to ignore their undeniable mutual attraction. Can two people so different—one intuitive and inexperienced, the other cynical and by-the-book—work together to solve the murder? And can they do it before the killer turns his attention to Mia?

Deadline


Craig McLay - 2013
    His second is the strange symbol found at the scene of the crime, one that may have a connection to a murderous cult whose origins go back almost a thousand years to a highly secretive military religious order founded during the Crusades.As he digs deeper into the mystery, Colin begins to uncover a trail of murder and corruption that extends beyond his wildest dreams. He’s going to need every last bit of his innate investigative talent and insider knowledge of how the school operates to get to the bottom of it all because the police are starting to zero in on him as their prime suspect…and the real killer is closer than he thinks.

The Good Neighbor


A.J. Banner - 2015
    That’s what Sarah thinks as she settles into life with her new husband, Dr. Johnny McDonald. But all too soon she discovers an undercurrent of deception. And one October evening when Johnny is away, sudden tragedy destroys Sarah’s happiness.Dazed and stricken with grief, she and Johnny begin to rebuild their shattered lives. As she picks up the pieces of her broken home, Sarah discovers a shocking secret that forces her to doubt everything she thought was true—about her neighbors, her friends, and even her marriage. With each stunning revelation, Sarah must ask herself, Can we ever really know the ones we love?

Ghost Gifts


Laura Spinella - 2016
    Her remarkable gift may help others rest in peace, but it also made for an unsettling childhood and destroyed her marriage. Finally content as the real estate writer for a local newspaper, Aubrey keeps her extraordinary ability hidden—until she is unexpectedly assigned the story of a decades-old murder.Rocked by the discovery of a young woman’s skeletal remains, the New England town of Surrey wants answers. Hard-nosed investigative reporter Levi St John is determined to get them. Aubrey has no choice but to get involved, even at the terrifying risk of stirring spirits connected to a dead woman’s demise and piquing her new reporting partner’s suspicions.As Aubrey and Levi delve further into the mystery, secrets are revealed and passion ignites. It seems that Aubrey’s ghost gifts are poised to deliver everything but a normal life.

A Death in Sweden


Kevin Wignall - 2016
    A former CIA operative, he is now an agent for hire by foreign powers on the hunt for dangerous fugitives. It’s a lethal world at the best of times, and Dan knows his number is almost up. His next job could be his last—and his next job is his biggest yet.The target sounds trackable enough: Jacques Fillon, who gave up his life trying to save a fellow passenger following a bus crash in northern Sweden. But the man was something of an enigma in this rural community, and his death exposes his greatest secret: Jacques Fillon never existed at all.Dan is tasked with uncovering Fillon’s true identity—but can he do so before his own past catches up with him?

My Sister's Grave


Robert Dugoni - 2014
    She doesn’t believe that Edmund House — a convicted rapist and the man condemned for Sarah’s murder — is the guilty party. Motivated by the opportunity to obtain real justice, Tracy became a homicide detective with the Seattle PD and dedicated her life to tracking down killers.When Sarah’s remains are finally discovered near their hometown in the northern Cascade mountains of Washington State, Tracy is determined to get the answers she’s been seeking. As she searches for the real killer, she unearths dark, long-kept secrets that will forever change her relationship to her past — and open the door to deadly danger.

Winter Wind


J.R. Rain - 2015
    But he will find you, one way or another. And with a killer at large, and people disappearing from his city, Lee must must unravel his most baffling case yet... Before the killer strikes again. FROM THE BACK COVER Five years ago, Lee Jordan was nearly killed on the job. Now blind, deaf and mute, he’s recovered enough to live a routine but silent life. However, now, LAPD needs him back... When the cases of many missing persons are tied together with the same M.O., this remarkable deaf and blind ex-cop is called in to help locate people who seemingly walked away from their everyday lives. But did they? When one of them surfaces, the forensic evidence makes it clear that this man did not stay gone as willingly as he disappeared. Lee's only assets are his guide dog, fourteen years of experience as a homicide detective—and an intriguing American Sign Language translator named Rachel. Just as Lee begins to discover something remarkable about himself, he must engage in a battle of wits with a murderer he can't see or hear. With no weapons but his own mind—and a guide dog with a heart of gold—he sets off alone in Los Angeles to investigate the disappearances. It’s only a matter of time before more people may die under nefarious circumstances. And the manner of death could put the entire city at risk from…something even more dangerous. Lee Jordan knows there is more to fighting crime than meets the eye, or ear, or voice. But will he survive his courageous solo pursuit of a twisted killer on the mean streets of L.A.? And can he really stop a madman by himself? ABOUT WINTER WIND WINTER WIND is a suspenseful and poignant crime thriller by bestselling author J.R. Rain, whose repertoire includes novels and stories in many genres. He has captivated millions of readers with standalone novels such as the acclaimed smash hit and ghost mystery, THE BODY DEPARTED, and SILENT ECHO, starring a detective whose death is imminent. As well, J.R. Rain has authored many mystery and urban fantasy series, with and without paranormal twists, such as VAMPIRE FOR HIRE and JIM KNIGHTHORSE. Readers are in for a heart-pounding treat in WINTER WIND, which takes readers into the brilliant mind of a detective whose surface weaknesses become his inner strengths. WINTER WIND is the first standalone novel from J.R. Rain since his mystery thriller, SILENT ECHO, hit #1 over all on Amazon Kindle. WINTER WIND continues to establish Rain's standard for unique mysteries and thrillers, richly-layered characters, exciting plots, big questions and even bigger answers - answers that keep readers thinking long after the final page.

Murder At The Fourth: A Forest Pines Mystery


Duncan Whitehead - 2016
    That is until local businessman, Donald Sands, is found murdered on the local golf course. Young and inexperienced Sheriff, Steve Calder, needs help and turns to Jenny to assist him in his investigation. Suddenly Jenny is plunged into a mystery unlike any other she has encountered and faces a multitude of suspects who all have a reason to rejoice the victim's death. It isn’t going to be as easy as Jenny thought, as she tries to find out who killed the most unpopular man in town. A string of mistresses, a jealous husband, a shady realtor as well as a down on his luck store owner, who couldn't repay a debt, are just some of the suspects as the plot thickens, and twists abound. Meanwhile, skeletons from Jenny's past are rattling their unwelcome bones. The truth contorts to a climax that will leave readers breathless.

Malevolent


Jana Deleon - 2015
     Everyone wondered about Shaye Archer’s past. Including Shaye. Shaye Archer’s life effectively began the night police found her in an alley, beaten and abused and with no memory of the previous fifteen years, not even her name. Nine years later, she’s a licensed private investigator, with a single goal—to get answers for her clients when there aren’t supposed to be any. And maybe someday, answers for herself. Emma Frederick thought her nightmare was over when she killed her abusive husband, but someone is stalking her and tormenting her with mementos from her past. With no evidence to support her claims, the police dismiss her claims as post-traumatic stress, but Shaye is convinced that someone is deliberately terrorizing Emma…playing a cat and mouse game with only one goal in mind. To kill Emma.

The Long and Faraway Gone


Lou Berney - 2015
    Six movie-theater employees were killed in an armed robbery, while one inexplicably survived. Then, a teenage girl vanished from the annual State Fair. Neither crime was ever solved.Twenty-five years later, the reverberations of those unsolved cases quietly echo through survivors’ lives. A private investigator in Vegas, Wyatt’s latest inquiry takes him back to a past he’s tried to escape—and drags him deeper into the harrowing mystery of the movie house robbery that left six of his friends dead. Like Wyatt, Julianna struggles with the past—with the day her beautiful older sister Genevieve disappeared. When Julianna discovers that one of the original suspects has resurfaced, she’ll stop at nothing to find answers.As fate brings these damaged souls together, their obsessive quests spark sexual currents neither can resist. But will their shared passion and obsession heal them, or push them closer to the edge? Even if they find the truth, will it help them understand what happened, that long and faraway gone summer? Will it set them free—or ultimately destroy them?

A Familiar Sight


Brianna Labuskes - 2021
    Gretchen White is a specialist in antisocial personality disorders and violent crimes. She’s helped solve enough prominent cases for detective Patrick Shaughnessy that her own history is often overlooked: Gretchen is an admitted sociopath once suspected of killing her aunt. Shaughnessy still thinks Gretchen got away with murder. It’s not going to happen again.When a high-profile new case lands on Shaughnessy’s desk, it seems open and shut. Remorseless teenager Viola Kent is accused of killing her mother. Amid stories of childhood horrors and Viola’s cruel manipulations, the bad seed has already been found guilty by a rapt public. But Gretchen might be seeing something in Viola no one else does: herself.If Viola is a scapegoat, then who really did it? And what are they hiding? To find the truth, Gretchen must enter a void that is not only dark and cold-blooded, but also frighteningly familiar.

Open Season


Archer Mayor - 1988
    Joe Gunther of the Brattleboro, Vermont police force has a serious problem: in a community where a decade could pass without a single murder, the body count is suddenly mounting. Innocent citizens are being killed—and others set-up—seemingly orchestrated by a mysterious ski-masked man. Signs suggest that a three year-old murder trial might lie at the heart of things, but it’s a case that many in the department would prefer remained closed. A man of quiet integrity, Lt. Gunther knows that he must pursue the case to its conclusion, wherever it leads.Open Season is the first of Archer Mayor’s twenty-three Joe Gunther novels, a series of gripping police procedurals set in New England, where small-town charm, stoicism and civility sometimes conceal brutal truths.

Daughters of the Lake


Wendy Webb - 2018
    Tucked in the folds of the woman’s curiously vintage gown is an infant, as cold and at peace as its mother. No one can identify the woman. Except for Kate. She’s seen her before. In her dreams…One hundred years ago, a love story ended in tragedy, its mysteries left unsolved. It’s time for the lake to give up its secrets. As each mystery unravels, it pulls Kate deeper into the eddy of a haunting folktale that has been handed down in whispers over generations. Now, it’s Kate’s turn to listen.As the drowned woman reaches out from the grave, Kate reaches back. They must come together, if only in dreams, to right the sinister wrongs of the past.