Book picks similar to
The Inquisitor by Gayle Wilson


romantic-suspense
fiction
wilson-gayle
mystery-crime

Black Silk


Metsy Hingle - 2006
    Mere hours before her wedding, the fiancee of real estate mogul JP Stratton is found strangled in her penthouse. New Orleans homicide detective Charlotte "Charlie" Le Blanc views the crime scene, finding a black silk stocking draped casually beside the body--a chilling calling card from the killer. The dramatic clue leads Charlie to a world of privilege and wealth, and before long she singles out a suspect whose identity creates a furor in the city: Cole Stratton, JP's estranged son. But what she doesn't know is that Cole has been set up, and while she sets out to prove his guilt a real killer is on the loose--a man who now has Charlie in his sights, a man with yet another black silk stocking.

Fade the Heat


Colleen Thompson - 2005
    "Too hard, and it won’t bust when it hits the floor. Too thin, and it explodes on impact with the window, splashing you with the fuel mix and burning you to hell."Someone is setting fires in the Houston barrio, and Dr. Jack Montoya is the first intended victim. Is there some connection between the torching of his apartment and the gorgeous blonde from his past who appears at his clinic that same day? For sure, Reagan Hurley turns up the flames of his libido, but these days the beautiful firefighter is more interested in putting out conflagrations than fanning old sparks. Yet when a hotly contested mayoral race turns ugly, when Reagan’s life is threatened and Jack’s career almost destroyed, when desire sizzles uncontrollably between them, it seems that no one will be able to… Fade the Heat.

Where Truth Lies


Christiane Heggan - 2006
    In his will, Steven has left her his art gallery in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Anticipating that she would turn down the bequest, he asked that she spend a week at the gallery before making her final decision. Motivated by a sense of duty to a man she once loved, Grace agrees to go to New Hope for one week.She isn't the only person drawn to the small town. FBI agent Matt Baxter has returned to his hometown for one reason only--to clear his father of a bogus murder charge. While he and Grace seek answers, they discover that beneath the surface of this charming, peaceful town lies an old secret a few of its citizens would rather keep buried. And when their search takes an unexpected turn, they have only hours to find out where the truth lies--or be buried with it.

Trust Me


Brenda Novak - 2008
    She managed to fend off her knife-wielding assailant, but the trauma changed everything about her life. As a result of that night, she joined two friends--also survivors--in starting The Last Stand, an organization to help victims of crime.But now...Her would-be rapist is getting out of prison. Skye knows that Dr. Oliver Burke hasn't forgotten that her testimony cost him his reputation--and his freedom.Sacramento detective David Willis, who investigated her case, believes Burke is a clear and present danger--and guilty of at least two unsolved murders.And now Burke is free to terrorize Skye again. Unless David can stop him. Unless Skye can fight back. Because Oliver Burke has every intention of finishing what he started. And that's a promise. Trust me.

Don't Tell


Karen Rose - 2003
    But Mary Grace Winters knew the only way to save herself and her child from her abusive cop husband was to stage their own death. Now all that remains of their former life is at the bottom of a lake. Armed with a new identity in a new town, she and her son have found refuge hundreds of miles away. As Caroline Stewart, she has almost forgotten the nightmare she left behind nine years ago. She is even taking a chance on love with Max Hunter, a man with wounds of his own. But her past is about to collide with the present when her husband uncovers her trail and threatens her hard-won peace. Step by step, he's closing in on her—and everything and everyone she loves.

The Watcher


Jo Robertson - 2011
    Working with a single-minded tenacity, she sets out to prove it.Deputy Sheriff Ben Slater hides his personal pain behind the job, but Kate's arrival in his county knocks his world on its axis. He wants to believe her wild theory, but the idea of a serial killer with the kind of pathology she proposes is too bizarre.Together they work to find a killer whose roots began in a small town in Bigler County, but whose violence spread across the nation. A Janus-like killer, more monster than man, he fixates on Kate. The killer wants nothing more than to kill the "purple-eyed girl again."

Thread of Fear


Laura Griffin - 2008
    Her skill at mining victims' memories to re-create the faces of sadistic criminals has left her haunted and wary, and only Jack Bowman's dogged persistence convinces her to help him. The rugged police chief is hunting a serial killer who's targeting teenage girls. But what seems like a simple assignment is fraught with complications, including a searing attraction to Jack that's tempting Fiona to let her guard down in potentially dangerous ways. Jack never intended for Fiona to become so deeply involved in the case -- or in his life. But every instinct tells him she's his best hope for finding a psychopath who's lurking in plain sight, growing more ruthless with each passing day. And now that Fiona is right in the killer's crosshairs, the only way to keep her safe is to unravel a small town's darkest secrets, one terrifying thread at a time....

Mirror Image


Sandra Brown - 1990
    But it also makes her the crucial player in a drama of violent passions and deadly desires. After plastic surgery transforms her face, Avery is mistaken for the glamorous, selfish wife of Tate Rutledge, the famous senatorial candidate and member of a powerful Texas dynasty. As she lays helpless in the hospital, Avery makes a shattering discovery: someone close to Tate planned to assassinate him. Now, to save him, she must live another woman's life -- and risk her own.

Last Kiss Goodbye


Rita Herron - 2006
    But in coming home to Kudzu Hollow, she discovers she is not alone in her search for the truth: Matt Mahoney, the man who saved her life, who haunts her dreams, who was wrongfully accused of the crime, has come back, too, demanding answers -- and justice.When Matt looks into Ivy's eyes, he sees a woman whose pain mirrors his own. The feelings she stirs within him promise a life he never thought he'd have. But evil still resides in this sleepy mountain town, as do secrets worth killing for. Now danger stalks them both, and Matt is fighting for more than vengeance...he's fighting for their future.

If You Hear Her


Shiloh Walker - 2011
    Unfortunately, with no physical evidence, the local law officers in small-town Ash, Kentucky, dismiss her claim. But Lena knows what she heard—and it leaves her filled with fear and frustration.Ezra King is on leave from the state police, but he can’t escape the guilty memories that haunt his dreams. When he sees Lena, he is immediately drawn to her. He aches to touch her—to be touched by her—but is he too burdened by his tragic past to get close? When Ezra hears her story of an unknown woman’s screams, his instincts tell him that Lena’s life is also at risk—and his desire to protect her is as fierce as his need to possess her.From the Paperback edition.

Secret Sins


Jasmine Cresswell - 1996
    A cold, snowy night in Cleveland...And a traffic pileup that left eight cars wrecked, at least four people dead. But in the midst of this ugliness and pain, a small miracle. A little girl was alive. Her parents weren't so lucky.Gene Zajak, a cop who'd seen more than his share of dead bodies, took the toddler home. Jessica Marie Pazmany became Jessica Marie Zajak. Now--twenty-seven years later--Jessica's fascinating, if less than faithful, ex-husband has come to see her, armed with some terrifying evidence. Jessica Marie Pazmany is dead. And she'd died seven months before the car crash.There are answers, and they're out there. He's determined to find them. She may not live to find them..

Presumed Guilty


Tess Gerritsen - 1997
    With her knife.Miranda is the obvious suspect, and she looks even guiltier when her bail is posted by an anonymous donor. Was this an act of kindness designed to buy her time to clear her name? Or is someone trying to manipulate Miranda and draw her into the dark and secret world of a murdered man, where everybody's presumed guilty?With her world falling around her, Miranda is determined to discover who killed Richard. But proving her innocence may become secondary to staying alive.…

Pursuit


Karen Robards - 2005
    He needs Jess to meet First Lady Annette Cooper, for whom Davenport is a personal lawyer, at a Washington, D.C., hotel. Jess is thrilled: this high-profile assignment must mean that she's earned her boss's trust and she's on her way to bigger things. But unfortunately, bigger isn't always better.Jess doesn't remember much --- only that in the course of the late-night meeting with Annette Cooper, she ended up in the backseat of a car, speeding off into the darkness. All Jess knows is that the car crashed en route, and the other three passengers were killed, including the First Lady. Badly injured, Jess is the only survivor of what is trumpeted around the world as a tragic accident.Although she has no memory about the events leading up to the accident, Jess is still bothered by one question: Was it really an accident? The Secret Service agent on the case, Mark Ryan, gets the feeling that Jess is hiding something. As his suspicions grow, Jess's world starts falling apart. First, she is brutally attacked in the hospital, barely escaping with her life. Then her boss dies under questionable circumstances. In fact, everyone who might possibly know the details about the First Lady's last few hours starts turning up dead. And then Jess understands: If she remembers that night, she'll be dead too.Terrified and certain that the First Lady's death was no accident, Jess has only Mark Ryan to turn to ...

Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes


Denise Grover Swank - 2011
    She’s had plenty of visions, usually boring ones like someone’s toilet’s overflowed, but she’s never seen one of herself before. When her overbearing momma winds up murdered on her sofa instead, two things are certain: There isn't enough hydrogen peroxide in the state of Arkansas to get that stain out, and Rose is the prime suspect.Rose realizes she’s wasted twenty-four years of living and makes a list on the back of a Wal-Mart receipt: twenty-eight things she wants to accomplish before her vision comes true. She’s well on her way with the help of her next door neighbor Joe, who has no trouble teaching Rose the rules of drinking, but won’t help with number fifteen-- do more with a man. Joe’s new to town, but it doesn’t take a vision for Rose to realize he’s got plenty of secrets of his own.Somebody thinks Rose has something they want and they’ll do anything to get it. Her house is broken into, someone else she knows is murdered, and suddenly, dying a virgin in the Fenton County jail isn’t her biggest worry after all.

Still Waters


Tami Hoag - 1992
    But on their arrival the locals are distinctly cool, and when Elizabeth gets involved in a murder case she finds there is more to it than meets the eye.