Book picks similar to
Central City by Indy Perro


digital
fiction
foreword-reviews
mystery-police-procedural

The Blue Executions


George P. Norris - 2014
    An incident in a Queens housing project hurls highly decorated detective Tommy Galvin not only onto the front pages of the newspapers but also into the crosshairs of the sociopath. The hunter becomes the hunted! Galvin’s actions on a warm spring evening ignite a powder keg of racial tension and civil unrest, capturing national attention which must be dealt with and brought under control by the NYPD. When the two men finally come face to face, Galvin’s life has changed forever, in a way he could have never imagined. The Blue Executions will take you from the eyes of the killer to the investigation charged with taking him down; from the inner workings of a major New York City newspaper that the killer has entrusted, to the behind the scenes politics of the NYPD at the highest levels. All of the while, Galvin’s life is on the line.

Broken Angels


Russell Heath - 2015
    Nine years. Nine years since she stepped over her mother’s drunken body and into a cold Alaska night running south, lost to her mother forever. How did she find me? She hesitates, not wanting to open the envelope, knowing the letter inside will drag her home; back into the bleakness of a life with no exit. Kris Gabriel, twenty-four, Alaska Native, and fierce like a wolverine, returns to Alaska—to find her mother murdered; shot in the face by the double-barreled blast of a shotgun. Angry her mother is pushed around even in death, guilty she abandoned her in life, Kris only knows to fight. Relentlessly, she tracks a trail of pain, of lost love, of lives ripped apart by the frozen north’s unyielding law of survival, never suspecting it’s not what her mother would have wanted. Never suspecting that she has far more at stake than finding her mother’s killer. Broken Angels is fast-paced Alaskan noir filled with richly drawn characters struggling to survive in a hostile country where there are no second chances.

First to Fall


Carys Jones - 2010
    Hired to defend a local ex-beauty queen accused of murdering her husband, he’s confident that he’ll have the case closed in record time. But below the surface lurks a darker truth…Suddenly, a quiet backwater has transformed into a dangerous pressure cooker. In a town where everyone knows everyone, gathering evidence should be easy… but the harder Aiden searches, the more he appreciates how tangled this net of loyalties is. And as he digs deeper, Aiden begins to realise that his very first case in Avalon could be the beginning of his undoing…

London Large - Bound by Blood (Detective Hawkins #2)


Roy Robson - 2016
    Inspector Harry ‘H’ Hawkins, only just back at work after a mental and physical breakdown, investigates the crime in the only way he knows how; he embarks on a full-blooded search for the truth. But the truth can be brutal As the murder investigation gathers pace H discovers his own son has been sucked into the dark world of organised crime. A traumatized young man; and a traumatized father H's hard-boiled instinct is to fight, to protect the things he loves. But when his son becomes his enemy his world view is shattered. How can son be turned against father? H’s gripping mission is no longer a search for a killer; but a quest to save his boy, and exact a terrible vengeance against the man who has corrupted him. And his search is a search for a deeper truth, a truth that will stretch family loyalty - and the love of a father for his son - to its very limits. Blood Is Thicker than Water…Or Is It?

Elephants in the Room


Suraj Laxminarayanan - 2018
    Novices to crime, they are driven more by emotions than skill - their plan seems foolproof, or so they think. In another part of the city, a gang of seasoned dacoits has botched up a job and now owes money to the local crime lord. They have to either pay up or pay for it with their lives - and time is running out... In a bizarre twist of fate, both these groups are brought face to face. Trapped in a situation beyond the realm of their planning and experience, they must think on their feet, form quick alliances and rally behind an unlikely leader. Set against the backdrop of Chennai, where men sing gaana songs in kuppams (fishing hamlets) nestled against swanky glass-fronted buildings and life-size cutouts of film stars and politicians, a story of love, greed, friendship, fate and the absurdity of the human condition unfolds.

The Set Up


Felix Riley - 2011
    Mike Byrne wants to know who framed him for murder. The NYPD want Byrne locked up. The US Secret Service want Byrne dead. Detective Jenni Martinez just wants her gun and her badge back. Mike Byrne has three days to stop a deadly game that will bring America to its knees - and he's just been set up. Full description

The Larmenius Inheritance


John Paul Davis - 2013
    Hidden amongst his cargo is a legendary treasure – its very existence known only to those deemed worthy.500 years later, esteemed history professor William Anson is found murdered in La Rochelle. Around his neck, an ancient medallion, one that has not been seen since 1307. He is the grandmaster of the Knights of Arcadia: a society of men deemed worthy. His killers, a ruthless brotherhood, whose existence is equally legendary. And they will not rest until they have reclaimed what was once theirs.For Anson’s son, navy outcast Matt Anson, his father’s death is just the start of a series of events that turn his life upside down. Meanwhile, in London, journalist Nicole Stocker is sent to look into a string of deaths, including the mysterious demise of Anson. But as progress starts to be made, she is dragged off the case, attacked, and soon running for her life.As the futures of Anson and Stocker become intertwined, it becomes clear there is more at stake than mere history. An explosive secret remains buried, one that threatens to bring half the world to its knees. And some want it exposed…

Never Girl


Ana Valen - 2021
    Two LAPD officers arrived at her condo and said her older brother was murdered. In the wake of this, she seeks guidance from James Reed—a lifelong friend and defense attorney in her brother’s law firm. James cautions against rash action, and she heeds this advice… until one of the homicide detectives updates her on the proceedings.Detective Stacy Raven doesn’t believe the facts on the ground—that someone killed Claire’s brother in a robbery. The crime hints at passion, not desire for his wallet. When Raven informs Claire about the irregularities, Claire shifts into action.Claire needs to find out what happened, but she doesn’t possess investigative skills. She needs someone who understands crime scenes. Better yet, she needs someone who understands the criminal mind. After finding the ideal person, they begin their own investigation. They quickly realize that the truth differs from what even Detective Raven suspects.

In a Small Motel


John D. MacDonald - 2017
    She owns a small motor-inn motel on a major highway in South Georgia. The summer heat is still strong in the waning days of October, and she is tired from a long summer season. As the evening progresses, Ginny’s motel begins to fill-up. There is Johnny Benton, a strange motel guest who insists on parking his car behind the motel, a would-be suitor named Don Ferris, a guest that is the catalyst for a long and frightening night, and then there is the dead husband whose long shadow is cast across Ginny’s life like a long heavy rain...

Controlled Burn: Stories of Prison, Crime, and Men


Scott Wolven - 2005
    Scott Wolven is such a talent, and his raw, blistering tales of hard-bitten convicts, dodgy informers, and men running from the law make for "the most exciting, authentic collection of short stories I have read in years," says George Pelecanos. Brooding, edgy, and sometimes violent, Controlled Burn's loosely linked stories are each in some way a distillation of hard time -- spent either in prison, the backwoods of Vermont, or the badlands of the American West. Peopled by boxers, drunks, truck drivers, murderers, bounty hunters, drifters traveling under assumed names, and men whose luck ran out a thousand miles ago, these stories feel hard-won from life, and if they are moody and stark, so too are they filled with human longing. Controlled Burn is divided into two sections: "The Northeast Kingdom" and "The Fugitive West." In each, Scott Wolven reveals a broken world where there is no bottom left to hit. In the haunting "Outside Work Detail," convicts stoically dig graves for their fellow prisoners yet reserve their deepest grief for the senseless death of a deer. "Crank" introduces Red Green, a maniacally brilliant addict who brews his own crystal meth in a backwoods lab, and whose high-energy antics inspire both cautious admiration and mortal fear in his business associates. In "Ball Lightning Reported," Red Green's ultimate fate is revealed. In "Atomic Supernova," a revenge-obsessed sheriff deputizes a known cop-killer to help him hunt down a counterfeiter and drug lord. The unexpectedly tender and heartbreaking "The Copper Kings" concerns a father facing the dark truth behind his son's disappearance. And in "Vigilance," a hunted man struggles to escape his past, always yearning for an honorable yet perhaps unreachable future. Powered by a spare, ruminative prose style that recalls the best of Denis Johnson and Thom Jones, Controlled Burn is an unforgettable debut.

Lasser- Beginnings


Robin Roughley - 2017
    Soaked to the skin with the lightning illuminating the tumultuous sky he is determined to get his man. This is only the start to a night that will change him forever. Soon he will find a young girl, a runaway with a terrifying tale to tell, leading Lasser on a race against time as he tries to help her find her way through the terror. Though as the mystery unfolds Lasser realises that there is more at stake and the clock it ticking. The question is can he save the innocent as well as the guilty as the thunder continues to bellow from the unforgiving heavens?

A Bounty with Strings


Markus Matthews - 2019
    The thirty-three-year-old once used his elemental powers of Air and Lightning to protect the city from natural disasters, super villains, and criminals. Unfortunately, crime fighting didn’t pay the bills, so he hung up his spandex. Now known as bounty hunter Zack Stevens, he spends his time hunting monsters for money. While on the trail of a wanted Earth elemental, Zack finds he’s not the only one interested in the job. A Werepanther, a crazy vampire, a Mr. Hyde-type creature, and a blue-skinned alien attempt the bounty, and Zack helps clean up the mess, leaving him with a sense of responsibility for this odd crew who are now homeless and injured. Thanks to a multimillion-dollar contract on one of their group, the hunters become the hunted, and Zack and his new acquaintances strike up an alliance. He has always worked alone but must find a way to lead his ragtag crew if they are to survive attacks by the underworld they fight against. A Bounty with Strings leads readers on a fast-paced adventure starring an unlikely group of companions who must learn to trust each other even as they work to outwit those who would destroy them. Disclaimer - This book contains coarse language, sexual humor, violence and adult situations.

The Hackman Blues


Ken Bruen - 1997
    Find a white girl in Brixton. Piece of cake. What I should have done is doubled my medication and lit a candle to St Jude - maybe a lot of candles. Add in a lethal ex-con, an Irish builder obsessed with Gene Hackman, the biggest funeral Brixton has ever seen, and what you get is the Blues like they've never been sung before.

Maybe I Should Just Shoot You In The Face


Brian PanowichMark Krajnak - 2014
    This collection features new stories from all the Zelmer Pulp regulars as well as stunning noir photography from Mark Krajnak and an introduction by Brit Grit Godfather Paul D. Brazill.Zelmer Pulp arrives with both guns out in this Volume 1 noir collection.

Drug Gang


Neil Walker - 2017
     What would you be prepared to do to have everything you ever wanted? How far would you go and where would you draw the line? These are the questions facing John Kennedy in Drug Gang, as he arrives in Manchester in the summer of 2001 and finds the sinister but exciting world of The Brotherhood. If he is prepared to sell drugs, risk his life and commit vicious acts without limits, a life of luxury and huge sums of money can be his. As events spiral out of control, are the money and the glamorous lifestyle enough to keep him locked in a destructive cycle of cruelty and violence?