Book picks similar to
Umbrellas and Undertakers (An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Book 21) by Diana Xarissa
contemporary-fic
manx
mystery
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Holmes Picks a Winner
Charles Veley - 2021
A fiendish plot. A spectacular do-or-die climax.The five-day Ascot opening is the most fashionable event in England and, some say, around the world. But it's now 1900, and Royal Ascot is different. Even the newspapers will report that opening day is not quite the gala occasion to which the British Public has become accustomed.Yet none of them knows that among the glamorous crowds are powerful men who have come, not to watch the grand spectacle, but to create a ghastly event that will shock the world.Unless someone stops them.Enter Sherlock, Lucy, and the Baker Street team.A fast-paced and thrilling take on a classic Sherlock who-done-it, with unexpected twists and turns, two strong, feisty heroines, and a touch of romance. Holmes Picks a Winner stays faithful to the spirit of the beloved original series, while introducing more intriguing relationship dynamics.The third installment in a three-part 'season finale.
The Detective Deans Mystery Collection
James D. Mortain - 2019
Written by an ex-CID detective, these books are so realistic; you'll feel like one of the team. THREE CHILLING MURDER MYSTERIES ARE WAITING FOR YOU TO UNLEASH THIS BOX…
BOOK 1: STORM LOG-0505
This detective's best lead could be a voice from beyond the grave...
Bath, England. Detective Andrew Deans always embraces his work. As he struggles to be present for his wife's challenging fertility treatments, the case of a missing college student hits a dead end. Under pressure from his job and his marriage, Deans' inquiry takes a turn when he receives impossible-to-deny evidence from a psychic...Despite his lack of belief in the paranormal, following the ghostly thread escalates his missing persons case into a murder investigation. Unable to focus on his responsibilities at home, Deans works with the medium to build evidence from a new source: the voice of the victim herself...To put the killer behind bars, just how much will Deans have to sacrifice in the name of justice?
BOOK 2: DEAD BY DESIGN
Can a detective solve a case that’s taken over his mind… and cost him everything?
A young couple in their prime is found dead in the marital bed. As they lie naked, staring at each other with eyes wide open – filled with fear, his colleagues assume a double suicide, but Detective Andrew Deans senses darker forces are at work.Deans is facing an awakening – a spiritual birth, but he is stuck in a living nightmare. Those around him are watching … judging … expecting him to break.As he waits to hear the news he dreads most, Deans receives an unmarked DVD and the true meaning of horror is revealed.Playing by the rules is getting him nowhere. Now, it’s time to do things his way. But death and tragedy haven’t finished with him … yet.
BOOK 3: THE BONE HILL
A killer at large. A gift obscured by tragedy. One last chance for justice…
As Detective Andrew Deans pieces together the fragments of his shattered life, the North Devon tide washes up another decapitated corpse. Consumed by torment and rage, it is clear that Deans still hunts a methodical and cold-blooded killer…Determined to end the horror and avenge his own devastating loss, Deans exposes an ancient cult with a thirst for blood and a lust for human sacrifice. As he peels back the layers to the core of the deadly secret society, there can be only one guarantee – unless he acts quickly, more people will die.Deans is staring down a terrifying evil, the like of which he’s never confronted. Time is against him, but the biggest question remains… who will be next?
FREE BONUS MATERIAL: Click the link to The Real Story behind the Detective Deans Mysteries in the back of this book, and also find a link to the short story prequel – The Night Shift.
Christmas at The Ginger Cat Cafe: A Charnley Acre Novella
Zara Thorne - 2018
Left standing in the church porch with three redundant bridesmaids dressed in black and no groom in sight, it’s no wonder she isn’t feeling festive. Asked to run The Ginger Cat café in the Sussex village of Charnley Acre while the owners are away, Isla seizes the chance to escape from Nottingham with its constant reminders of what might have been. But running a busy café isn’t as easy it sounds, especially when one staff member is out of action with a broken ankle, and the rest of the team consists of eighty-something Horace, as grumpy as they come, and dreamy, lovesick teenager, Molly. When Harry Anderton pitches up in a campervan, Isla finds the perfect solution to her staff problem. Harry isn’t ‘doing Christmas’ either. Fresh from a traumatic break-up, he’d rather sit this one out, thank you very much. Then Isla discovers that as proprietor of The Ginger Cat, there are certain traditions she’s expected to uphold, and her carefully orchestrated non-Christmas looks like becoming, well… Christmas. With Harry by her side, can she hold back her own feelings and give the people around her the celebrations they deserve? And what happens afterwards? Harry’s moving on with his life; can Isla do the same, or is she destined to remain forever looking backwards?
Desperate
Patti Battison - 2019
A SICK KILLER WHO THE POLICE CAN’T PUT AWAY Please note this book was originally published as “Desperate Measures.” They arrived at the landfill site to find uniformed officers conducting a rigorous fingertip search amongst the mouldering mounds. One area was cordoned off with yellow police tape. DS Mia Harvey cut a determined path towards it and found herself staring at the body of a young female crammed into a heavy-duty green-plastic refuse sack, chin touching knees, heels kissing buttocks. DCI Paul Wells is certain that Chris Lennox is the killer. With Lennox safely in the cells Wells' team prepares its case. But they can’t get enough evidence to charge him. Time runs out and they have to release him. Wells is desperate and his career is on the line. How can he and DS Mia Harvey prove that Lennox is their man? MEET DETECTIVE MIA HARVEY A DEDICATED POLICEWOMAN TRYING TO WIN PROMOTION IN A TOUGH WORLD Then, a second murder causes even more problems. Is there any chance that the DCI can finally get the result he wants before anyone else dies? A RACE AGAINST TIME TO BRING A KILLER TO JUSTICE DETECTIVE SERGEANT MIA HARVEY Works at Larchborough Police Station. She is in her late 20s, single and unattached. She would, however, relish a romantic relationship but always puts work first. She is the only child of the late Robin Harvey, former chief superintendent at the Larchborough Division. After his death, Mia swore to follow in his footsteps and make him proud. She tolerates her mother at best. She is professional, conscientious, and has great respect for her boss, DCI Paul Wells, but is not above going against his wishes should the need arise. She is close to her colleague, DC Jack Turnbull, but barely tolerates DI Nick Ford, with whom she clashes regularly. DETECTIVE CHIEF INSPECTOR PAUL WELLS 6’ 5" and gangly, Wells is a brash Cockney with a well-hidden soft centre. A family man who is besotted with his daughters, he dresses well but lacks the finesse to appear anything other than dishevelled. Wells doesn't care about saying the right thing, but he is a fair man, and a great leader for his team. DS MIA HARVEY THRILLERS Book 1: Desperate Book 2: Obsessed Book 3: Silent Grave Join the Joffe Books mailing list to hear about the next in the series
Dead Cold Mysteries Box Set: Books 11-13
Blake Banner - 2018
So a small island off the north coast of Scotland in a 16th century castle seems to be just the job.After all, two out of three isn’t bad. At first the place seems idyllic: The wild landscapes are breathtaking, the northern lights otherworldly and the fire-side talk, fuelled by good whisky and good Angus steak, is fascinating. Maybe a bit too fascinating when it leads to a forty year old mystery about a man murdered, shot with a .38 in a locked room in circumstances which are, quite simply, impossible. And when the island is cut off by a storm, and an identical murder is committed, well, what are two cold case cops on honeymoon to do…?Book 12: The Butcher of WhitechapelIt was the first time John Stone had been back to London for fifteen years. Last time had been on an exchange program between the NYPD and Scotland Yard: an exchange of skills and experience that was supposed to last six months, but went one for a year and a half. This time he was on honeymoon with his partner and wife, Carmen Dehan. And it seemed, as they prepared to return home, that history was repeating itself.Because, as they were leaving the hotel for the airport, the call came; the call that said they had to stay, the call that said the killer was back, the one he’d been searching for fifteen years ago, the one who haunted all his secret nightmares - the one that got away.So now he has to share his dark secrets, and his nightmares, with his new bride.
Book 13: Little Dead Riding Hood
An eighteen-year-old girl sets out one November night to walk five blocks down Gleason Avenue to her boyfriend’s house. He calls her and she tells him she’s on her way. It’s a walk that should take ten minutes, but she never arrives.When she does turn up, it’s five days later, washed up on the banks of the River Bronx, in Soundview Park, strangled to death.The detective who investigates the murder, a friend of the family, finds no forensic evidence, nothing of interest in her phone records, no witnesses to the abduction or the murder. Nothing. The case goes cold.Until her brother, Samuel, comes forward with new evidence he has found. And then the cases is handed to Detectives Stone and Dehan of the 43rd Precinct. They start asking the difficult questions, like how did she get into the river in the first place, and then the case starts heating up again…
Fatal Belief - A Murder Mystery Novel
Kumar Kinshuk
Multiple suspects. A serial killer is on the loose. Can Vishal apprehend the killer in book #2 of The Kanke Killings Trilogy?Kanke has had multiple murders and mayhem. The police are in a tizzy. There is a genius serial killer on the loose, threatening the hell out of the lives of every person at Ranchi. The police have a handful and they are at a dead end.Kanke has a psychiatric hospital. The hospital has a brilliant psychoanalyst who helps the police with the case. His Nurse, Eva Black, is a British citizen who travels from London to India and begins her work routine in Kanke.Would Eva find a mentor in Kanke? Can she find love and belonging in a new country? Can Eva help the police and the psychoanalyst with their investigations into the serial killing case? Can Amrita save Alka from her depression?Peek into the lives of the ordinary citizens of Ranchi and find out the unraveling mysteries of The Kanke Killings Trilogy – Book 2. Find it out for yourself because here is a surprising, secretive murder mystery, waiting for you to decipher by allowing your creative detective juices to flow with impunity, now.Served hot, easy, peasy! Hell, no!
A Lesson in Murder: A DC Oliver Cole Mystery (Book 4)
Alan Fisher - 2018
Under pressure from Superintendent Fox, Oliver agrees to stage a week-long puzzle solving course for final year Hendon College graduates, showing them how he looks at the types of clues he’s had to deal with and setting some puzzle solving problems for the class. But minutes before the first session is held, the body of a young woman is fished out of the River Tyne. Torn between the responsibility of running the training course and helping with the case, Oliver struggles to focus on either. As a second body is found, fears of another serial killer on the loose force DCI Jack Collier to enlist Oliver’s help. But when a 3rd body is found in a familiar graveyard, Oliver begins to wonder if the killer is toying with him
The Beachside Cafe (Saltwater Secrets Book 6)
Sage Parker - 2021
The Never List: Free First Chapter
Koethi Zan - 2013
And then, very suddenly and without warning, there were three. Even though the fourth person hadn't made any noise at all in several months, the room got very quiet when she was gone. For a long time after that, we sat in silence, in the dark, each of us wondering what this meant for her and for us, and which of us would be the next in the box.NEVER GET IN THE CARFor years, best friends Sarah and Jennifer kept what they called the 'Never List': a list of actions to be avoided, for safety's sake, at all costs. But one night, they failed to follow their own rules.NEVER GO OUT ALONE AFTER DARKSarah has spent ten years trying to forget her ordeal. But now the FBI has news that forces her to confront her worst fears.NEVER TAKE RISKSIf she is to uncover the truth about what really happened to Jennifer, Sarah needs to work with the other women who shared her nightmare. But they won't be happy to hear from her. Because down there in the dark, Sarah wasn't just a victim.NEVER TRUST ANYONE
FINDING FRANKIE (A Tuper Mystery #2)
Teresa Burrell - 2019
But why? And how did Squirrely, a homeless man, acquire a duffle bag stuffed with thousands in cash, a pistol, and a 25-year-old newspaper?As Squirrely lies in a coma, Tuper’s techie sidekick, Lana, uncovers fifty-year-old secrets about his connection to the death of a high school classmate. The cold case pops to the front burner when a second classmate dies in the same manner.A Senator, his barren wife, and a long-ago illegal adoption heat up the complications. As Tuper and Lana dig deeper, lies, fraud, and blackmail bubble to the surface. When they get too close, the killer panics and tries to take them out too.The case reaches a boiling point—just as Tuper unties a fifty-year-old twist and the cold truth finally puts the fire out.
Echoes From The Water
David Banner - 2018
Available Now! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079Y5WZYN Brandon Waters had no interest in following in his parents’ footsteps. Son of two of the greatest detectives Florida had even seen, Brandon Waters wanted no part of the dangerous and transient lifestyle he grew up around. That feeling only intensified when his parents disappeared suddenly, leaving him to care for his little brother on the mean sun-soaked streets of Miami. Now ten years later, Brandon’s little brother is fingered for a murder he knows he couldn’t have committed. To save Micah from the death penalty, Brandon will be forced to dive into the case that stole his parents from him, face down the dangers they couldn’t, and unravel the sort of mystery that could only thrive in the swamps of Florida. Along the way, he’ll meet a woman with a startling connection to his past, an enemy in a place he never expected, and a puzzle of a crime so complex that even his parents couldn’t solve it. ECHOES FROM THE WATER is the first book in the DANGEROUS WATERS Thriller series.
A Time to Die (Blake Wilder FBI Mystery Thriller Book 10)
Elle Grey - 2022
Tock.When a series of bombings rock the Pacific Northwest, FBI Agent Blake Wilder leaps into action.The investigation though, brings her back into contact with an ATF agent she has clashed violently with in the past.Their theories clash as hard as their personalities and Blake opts to run her own concurrent investigation. What she uncovers is a twisted tale twenty years in the making. The story, as they uncover it, is full of twists, turns, and explosive revelations. All the while, Blake’s renewed rivalry with ATF Agent Winslow is threatening to derail everything.The bombs continue to explode, and the bodies continue to mount as Blake races to find the killer before he’s able to kill anybody else. At the same time, she’s forced to fend off the vengeful attacks coming from within the law enforcement community itself as well as the strife within her own team.Old enemies resurface and new ones lurk in the shadows, waiting for their moment to step forward and strike. The knives are out, and Blake must dodge them all to keep a serial bomber from burning the city to the ground.Time is running out.Blake must either find the killer or become his next victim…
No Enemies Here (From the Tales of Dan Coast Book 9)
Rodney Riesel - 2018
In this latest chapter join Dan and Red as they protect a marked man while they search for mob boss, Joey Pantucco's, missing nephew.