Book picks similar to
The Double Take by Roy Huggins
mystery
noir
crime-fiction
fiction
Red Harvest
Dashiell Hammett - 1929
"Red Harvest" is more than a superb crime novel: it is a classic exploration of corruption and violence in the American grain.The Op was in Personville, derogatory nickname aside, as the result of a letter to the Continental Detective Agency in San Francisco from Donald Willsson, publisher of the local paper, asking for an agent to visit. No other information. As soon as the OP arrives, the body count begins. It starts with his client!
Dividend on Death
Brett Halliday - 1939
But when Mike got a load of the set-up at the Brighton mansion, two things changed his mind: a slimy private secretary named Montrose, and a phony doctor whose theories began where Freud's left off. Both of them were just a little too anxious to convince the stubborn redhead that Phyllis was "a very sick girl." And Mike Shayne was a man who liked to make up his own mind.
Kinds Of Love, Kinds Of Death
Tucker Coe - 1966
So we're reissuing the first of five Mitchell Tobin mysteries that went largely unnoticed when originally published by Westlake, under the pseudonym Tucker Coe in the 1960s. With a new introduction by Westlake detailing how Tucker Coe and Mitchell Tobin came to be, this novel is classic Westlake. Mitch Tobin is a cop who betrayed those people closest to him. Losing the only job he knew how to do, he's a loner. Then mobster Arnie Rembek offers Tobin a task tailor-made for his talents and keen cop mind -- find out who killed his girlfriend. The alliance between these two men creates a gripping tale.
Biker
Mike Baron - 2013
Ginger Munz, a woman dying of cancer hires him to find the son she lost as a baby. The child’s father is a sadistic sociopath named Moon who has vowed to kill her and Josh’s girlfriend Cass, for ratting him out. The trail leads to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and west into no-man’s land where Josh learns the monstrous fate of the stolen child.Josh is the BIKER, caught up in a race for survival against a human monster on the road between heaven and hell at the end of which lies either salvation or damnation.
Baron spins a tale of unrelenting suspense and horror that moves across his narrative landscape like the roar of a chopper’s engine.
Killing Season: Part 1
Faye Kellerman - 2015
Ben was the one to discover her body in a shallow grave by the river’s edge on the first anniversary of her disappearance. On that day, he made a promise to Ellen that he would do whatever it took to find the monster who kidnapped and strangled her.Several years later, the police believe Ellen was the victim of a serial killer known as the Demon, but Ben isn’t convinced. As a math whiz, Ben is able to see patterns that don’t match. And when he researches other similar unsolved murders, he’s convinced the killer is still out there stalking more young girls. Though Detective Sam Shanks, the lead cop on the case, thinks Ben’s obsession has gone too far and warns him to back off, he refuses to give up. But when Ro Majors, the most popular girl in school, offers to help him, Ben not only finds an ally in the beautiful cheerleader he’s quickly falling hard for, but he also learns they share a bizarre coincidence that brings them closer together.As their search leads to the grisly discovery of the corpse of Katie Doogan, Ben becomes more desperate than ever to find this cunning, methodical killer before he strikes again.Find out what happens in Killing Season, Part 2, as the danger intensifies when Ben and Ro travel to California in their search to uncover a serial killer's identity.
Bound by Lies
Gretta Mulrooney - 2017
The chief character is so well defined and so likeable. The story was intriguing and had plenty of twists and turns. ” Julia Corbett “Swift is a good character, suitable for people who like PD James, the story is believable and comes together well.” “Absolutely loved this book! Extremely well written with believable characters and lots of twists!” E. Boisvert “Excellent mystery, well drawn characters, and a great storyline.” Suki Anne Perfect for fans of Robert Galbraith, Paula Hawkins, P.D. James, or Ruth Rendell. IN THIS THREE-BOOK BOXSET: BOOK 1: THE LADY VANISHED A missing woman holds the key to a valuable inheritance Florence Davenport hires Swift to find her missing stepmother. There are no leads and no suspects, but if the body is found, Florence will inherit half of a very valuable house. BOOK 2: BLOOD SECRETS Fifteen years ago a teenage boy, Teddy Bartlett, went to a woods on the outskirts of London and was beaten to a pulp and left damaged for life. The police never found who did it or why he was targeted. Now, the boy’s father, recently returned from Australia, wants to find out what really happened to his son. He hires private detective Tyrone Swift to investigate the tragic crime. BOOK 3: TWO LOVERS, SIX DEATHS A man stabs his girlfriend to death. Then hangs himself, leaving a note confessing to the murder. Open and shut case? Not for detective Tyrone Swift Dominic Merrell’s estranged wife Georgie doesn’t believe that he could have done it. Detective Swift discovers that Dominic was a reliable, devoted husband and father for eighteen years until he met the beautiful, charismatic Lisa, who he left his wife for. No one can believe that Dominic was capable of murder. But if it wasn’t him, then who killed the seductive but chaotic Lisa? THE DETECTIVE Tyrone Swift is an ex-police detective who now works privately. He’s survived a stabbing and his fiancée running off with another man. Swift's personal life is complicated. He is still involved with his ex-wife Ruth. THE SETTING The streets of London with their vibrant mix of nationalities, cultures, and rich and poor are beautifully evoked. From the quiet suburbs with their veneer of happy family life, to the bustling centre with refugees struggling to survive, to exclusive penthouses where the rich can have anything they want delivered. THE AUTHOR Gretta is a critically acclaimed author of best-selling detective and literary fiction. 'Mulrooney has a real gift for dialogue, the words and phrases ring true and make her characters wonderfully real . . .
Tussinland
Mike Monson - 2014
His inertia is broken when he becomes the chief suspect in the murders of his soon-to-be ex-wife and her new lover. Set in the town of Modesto, deep in California’s Central Valley, Tussinland is about sex, drugs, addiction, smart phones, Facebook and the internet, digital cable, anti-government militias, reality TV, fundamentalist homophobic Christians, families, 12-step groups, pornography, marriage, death, disease, and love.
The Find (The Find, #1)
Venezia Miller - 2021
In the dark forests of Sandviken, Sweden, a hiker makes a shocking discovery that disrupts the lives of four families, bound by memories of joyous summer vacations, but confronted by a dark secret they long believed to be a relic of the past.For over thirty years, a serial killer has lived among them, hunting innocent young girls and using them for his perverted pleasures.The investigation is slow, and the inspectors assigned to the case are confronted not only with a cunning, calculated and ruthless killer but also with their own personal demons.It’s only a matter of time before he strikes again.Will they be able to stop him this time?And at what price?Keywords: mystery, detective, suspense.
The Missing
Karl Vadaszffy - 2012
He pulls into the London Gateway Services, leaving Jennie in the car. But when he returns, she has disappeared. Frantic with worry, he turns to the police for help. The police doubt that Jennie exists: there is no trace that she ever existed.John, convinced Jennie was not a figment of his imagination, sets out in a desperate attempt to find the woman he fell in love with. He has the help of Detective Sergeant Kate Nielsen, herself haunted by a botched undercover operation that led to her being raped four years earlier.Everything he can remember of Jennie – where she worked, where she lived – turns out to be untrue. Nielsen, following John as he lurches from one lead to another, begins to wonder if Jennie could be the eleventh victim of a serial killer. Their investigation becomes increasingly urgent and threatens to bring back dark and murky images from Nielsen’s past.Praise for The Missing:“Karl Vadaszffy’s The Missing is a terrifying and perplexing debut mystery, spare and fast-paced with a terrific ending. I wouldn’t be surprised if it spawns a DS Kate Nielsen series.”
Glenn Cooper (Library of the Dead and Book of Souls)“A thriller to make your pulse race. Desperation and frustration stain the pages – a cracking good read.”
James Becker (The First Apostle and The Moses Stone)“Karl Vadaszffy delivers a real treat in The Missing, a thriller written with the passion and intensity of a master storyteller. Mystery, action, a flawed but determined protagonist, this book has it all. I’m a fan of Karl’s skill.”
Matt Hilton (Dead Men’s Dust and Judgement and Wrath)“A mystery that grips, provokes and most definitely causes the spine to tingle. Nothing is as it seems in this suspense-laden tale, the pith darkening on each exquisitely written page. The Missing moves at a relentless pace, taking the reader on a journey into the twisted mind of a very dark soul. A spellbinding thriller.”
C. M. Palov (The Templar’s Quest and The Templar’s Code)“The Missing plunges you into a nightmare scenario worthy of Harlan Coben at his best. However, this is more than a suspense novel, it is a perceptive and intriguing human drama. All the interactions ring true and the characters – even the monsters – are always believable.” Elly Griffiths (The Crossing Places and The Janus Stone)
“The Missing is a fast and compelling book, by turns tender and brutal, with a pounding sense of approaching crisis. The author’s command of the scenes is impressive.” Patrick Lennon (Corn Dolls and Steel Witches)“The Missing is a nightmare of a book, triggering a reader’s darkest fears and keeping him in a state of tension from the first page until the last.” Thomas Perry (Strip and Silence)"Karl Vadaszffy's 'The Missing' is a superior thriller, at once an exercise in vicarious paranoia and a horrifyingly convincing look into the mind of a killer. It's a shame Hitchcock isn't around to film it, it's exactly the kind of story he did best." Scott Phillips (The Ice Harvest and The Walkaway)“Karl Vadaszffy is just the sort of writer we should encourage – young, ambitious and creative.” Michael Dobbs (House of Cards and Winston’s War)Visit karlvad.com for Karl's official website.
Getting Off
Jill Emerson - 2011
She goes to bed with him, and she likes that part. Then she kills him, and she likes that even better. On her way out, she cleans out his wallet. She keeps moving, and has a new name for each change of address. She's been doing this for a while, and she's good at it.And then a chance remark gets her thinking of the men who got away, the lucky ones who survived a night with her. She starts writing down names. And now she's a girl with a mission. Picking up their trails. Hunting them down. Crossing them off her list...
Buried By Debt (A Suburban Noir Novel)
Cathryn Grant - 2011
Their friends say he's obsessed with her. Maybe he is. He wants to give her the world. Counting on a lucrative promotion, he bought a multi-million dollar home in Silicon Valley for her. It's all good because Jenna adores him. He's a lucky guy.Jenna loves Devon, loves her job, and loves nice things.Now, the economy's gone south, the promotion is delayed, and Devon and Jenna are desperate to hide their sky-rocketing debt.When a childhood friend confronts them about the money they owe, jealousy and secrets erupt in violence.Buried By Debt - A Suburban Noir love story.
The First Wife
Diana Diamond - 2004
Sure, age isn't a problem. Neither are her looks. Heaven knows that plenty of perfectly respectable men would consider themselves lucky to end up with someone like her. Then again, the last perfectly respectable man to end up with her - her ex-husband - ended their marriage, not to mention Jane's belief in happy endings...But she just can't muster the cynicism to resist William Andrews - a dashing, debonair widower with two children of his own. Soon, Jane's doing what she swore she'd never do: Marching down the aisle, promising to have, hold, serve, and protect, 'til death do them part. But why does Andrew seem so obsessed with his dead wife? And why do the children seem to hate Jane so passionately?As Jane struggles to understand the nature of the powerful hold Andrews's first wife still exerts over the husband and children she left behind, her day-to-day life grows increasingly more dangerous. During a family outing, she is suddenly thrown violently from her horse. Had someone deliberately spooked the horse? As she takes a midnight swim, the mechanical dome over the pool closes on her. Did it short circuit, or was it sabotage? Are these just coincidences, or are the stakes and risks getting higher the closer Jane gets to the truth? Someone would clearly like to see her follow the first Mrs. Andrews to the grave. Why?In a thriller that moves from New York to Paris to the Caribbean, a plot filled with relentless suspense, and a witty and intelligent heroine worth cheering for, this latest from Diana Diamond is her best yet, an unputdownable romance of deadly proportions.
The All Bengali Crime Detectives
Suparna Chatterjee - 2011
Will the unlikely 'detectives' be able to catch the criminal? Or will they unravel something even more sinister? The protagonists grab this exciting opportunity to rise above their mundane existence. They defy the ordinary, Stretch their boundaries, and in the process discover something precious.
Robbers
Christopher Cook - 2000
Now, with a pack of cigarettes, a stolen Caddy, and no plan, the two must think fast-and move faster, in this novel with "a lyric voice that sings itself raw."(New York Times Book Review) "My kind of book." (James Ellroy) "Cook's plot tumbles from scene to scene with jarring brilliance, the pathos of his characters lending his otherwise brutal world a certain beauty." (Publishers Weekly) "Elmore Leonard's laconic flair with the dumb and dangerous [and] James Lee Burke's lyric feel for the dark hearts in a New South-Robbers ranges wild and wide, deep through the heart of Texas." (Michael Malone, author of Time's Witness) "Cook clearly has the suspense-building gene...The nerve-jangling plot tick-tick-ticks toward its explosive end." (Texas Monthly) "High-octane...Cook takes the noir chase novel on some remarkable detours." (Booklist, starred review) "This is a terrific book. I haven't enjoyed a novel this much in years." (James Crumley, author of The Last Good Kiss)