Book picks similar to
Blinke It Away by Victoria Landis
mystery
mystery-suspense
mystery-thriller
amateur
Dead Angler
Victoria Houston - 2000
But when Doc Osborne catches more than he bargained for, he winds up in the middle of a murder mystery -- and only Chief of Police Lew Ferris can get him out of it.
City of Echoes
Robert Ellis - 2015
Driven by the grisliness of the killing, Jones and his hot-tempered partner, Denny Cabrera, jump headfirst into the investigation. But as Jones uncovers evidence that links the crime to a brutal, ritualized murder that occurred eighteen months prior, he begins to suspect that there’s more going on beneath the surface. When Jones discovers shocking, deep-seated corruption; a high-level cover-up; and his own personal ties to the rising body count, he’s no longer sure he can trust anyone, even himself.
Untapped
M.C. Soutter - 2010
The question is: what kind of genius? The awesome potential of the human mind is an incredible thing, but it is also a very dangerous thing. After several years of neurology research on autistics and children, Dartmouth psychology professor Frederick Carlisle has made a startling discovery. With a custom-made device and a simple set of steps, he can unlock fantastic mental abilities in his test subjects. But the brain is a delicate, complicated piece of equipment, and side-effects are inevitable; when one part of the brain ramps up, another will inevitably shut down...Charcot's Genius is part one of the Great Minds series. It is the story of two very different people: an asylum inmate who is haunted by memories of the murder they say he committed, and a self-possessed first-year Dartmouth student who is trying to escape a small town and a destructive father. Both grapple with the effects of Professor Carlisle's treatment, and both discover powers of thought they never imagined possible. But while our Dartmouth first-year simply hopes to lead a normal life, the asylum inmate is out for revenge. He blames Carlisle for his condition and his imprisonment, and soon he will make his return to the Dartmouth campus.Professor Carlisle has some explaining to do.
In for a Penny
Kelsey Browning - 2013
Desperate to keep up the family name and give the man a decent burial, penniless Lil cooks up a shady deal that lands her smack-dab in the slammer.Burdened by her shameful secret and a crumbling family estate, Lil entrusts Summer Haven’s care to her best friend, Maggie, who recruits two more over-fifty ladies to help. But when Maggie discovers that Lil’s restitution is ten times the amount she “borrowed” from the federal government, she’s convinced Lil has taken the fall for someone else’s crime.Will these gals be able to get some vigilante justice for Lil, or will the swindler get away with hoodwinking a sweet little old lady?Recipes included!(Originally published as In for a Penny in the Granny/G Team series)
Still Coming
Joseph Flynn - 2011
But what might happen if a large number of them refused to take no for an answer?One morning, Shepherdton College receives 437 envelopes from twenty-eight states. Each contains the same two-word message: Still coming.That’s just the beginning. The college president’s house burns down; the water in the country club swimming pool turns red; the ghost of a local war hero appears.Another message is received: We’re Here.Nerves fray, and if the “comers” aren’t trouble enough, a Peeping Tom turns into a home invader, and shows signs of becoming a full-blown sexual predator.The town fragments and people take up arms after one last message is received…Won’t Be Long Now.Still Coming is a psychological thriller for anyone, student or parent, who’s ever sweated a college admission decision.
4 Gigs of Trouble
Stella Baker - 2011
She is also a wise-cracking high school history teacher, supervising a class visit to Washington. When a student bolts off the path near the Lincoln Memorial, Toni chases him into the foliage, where she finds more than her wayward student. A man has been shot, left for dead in the bushes. He appears homeless and drunk, jabbers craziness and dies in her arms. The police say it is typical street violence. Toni knows better. Crime scene details don’t add up and when she begins receiving threats, Toni knows someone wants her to shut up. The teacher she has become wants to skedaddle back to the safety of her Marin classroom. The cop she used to be won’t let her. Before he died, the man in her arms hid a 4 gig flash drive in her jacket. Once Toni discovers what’s on it, there’s no turning back. Fortunately Toni isn’t in this alone. Her father’s brother, Lester, is a gay introvert who works as a civilian number-cruncher at the Pentagon. Her mother’s brother, Gino, claims to run a cleaning business, though the family suspects the only thing Gino launders is money. Unfortunately for Toni, her uncles aren’t exactly The A Team. Toni Teitelbaum’s got 4 gigs of explosive truth in her Anne Klein jacket. And though it’s been said that the truth will make you free, in Toni’s case, it just may make her dead.
A Shadow Fell
Patrick Dakin - 2012
Patrick Dakin once again thrills fans with a tale that is never predictable and is always entertaining.
The Gray and Guilty Sea
Scott William Carter - 2010
An iconoclast. A loner. That's how people describe Garrison Gage, and that's when they're being charitable. After his wife's brutal murder in New York, and Gage himself is beaten nearly to death, the crippled private investigator retreats three thousand miles to the quaint coastal town of Barnacle Bluffs, Oregon. He spends the next five years in a convalescent stupor, content to bide his time filling out crossword puzzles and trying to forget that his wife's death is his fault. But all that changes when he discovers the body of a young woman washed up on the beach, and his conscience draws him back into his old occupation – forcing him to confront the demons of his own guilt before he can hope to solve the girl's murder.
What Have You Done
Matthew Farrell - 2018
Instead, the victim turns out to be a woman he'd had an affair with before breaking it off to save his marriage. But there's a bigger problem: Liam has no memory of where he was or what he did on the night of the murder.Panicked, Liam turns to his brother, Sean, a homicide detective. Sean has his back, but incriminating evidence keeps piling up. From fingerprints to DNA, everything points to Liam, who must race against time and his department to uncover the truth - even if that truth is his own guilt. Yet as he digs deeper, dark secrets come to light, and Liam begins to suspect the killer might actually be Sean ...When the smoke clears in this harrowing family drama, who will be left standing?
Death by Darjeeling
Laura Childs - 2001
Patrons love her blend of delicious tea tastings and southern hospitality. And Theo enjoys the full-bodied flavor of a town steeped in history—and mystery...—It's tea for two hundred or so at the annual historic homes garden party. And Theodosia, as event caterer, is busy serving steaming teas and blackberry scones while guests sing her praises. But the sweet smell of success turns to suspense when an esteemed guest is found dead—his hand clutching an empty teacup. All eyes are on Theo... who is now trying desperately to save her reputation and track down the real killer. If only she can make sense of it all—before someone else takes their last sip...
Surface Tension
Christine Kling - 2002
Working as she does in a man's world, Seychelle has to work twice as hard just to compete. Some have even called her reckless. In her view, she's just doing her job, salvaging boats and people's lives. FROM BOOKLIST –Kling packs her debut with nautical detail, interesting characters, a well-tangled plot, and detailed descriptions of both the natural beauty and rampant tackiness of southern Florida. Recommend to James W. Hall fans and to all who like outdoor adventure along with their murder and mayhem. Carrie Bissey Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved SURFACE TENSION Years ago Seychelle Sullivan had the chance to save a person’s life. But on that summer night in Florida, lost in a world of teenage resentment and loneliness, Seychelle was not able to feel any pain but her own. Today Seychelle captains her father’s forty-six-foot salvage boat out of Fort Lauderdale’s New River. But she’s never escaped that one moment when she could have made a difference and didn’t. On a steamy Florida morning Seychelle is answering a Mayday call launched from the five-million-dollar Broward yacht called Top Ten. Racing her fiercest competitor for salvage rights, Seychelle has a personal stake in this rescue: Her former lover, Neal Garrett, is the yacht’s hired skipper. But being the first to reach Top Ten leads to a bloody payday. A beautiful woman has been stabbed to death onboard. And Garrett is nowhere to be found. While the police treat her as the prime suspect, Seychelle begins to unravel a tangled plot centered on a strip club where “all the girls are tens on top.” Seychelle is connecting human predators with innocent victims, and a mystery on land with a mystery buried deep beneath the sea. Now, to find out what really happened to Neal Garrett, Seychelle must retrace his last steps, through two murders and a horrific crime wave, to a final confrontation with someone who may want to kill her . . . or be her salvation. About the Author Christine Kling is the author of five nautical thrillers and one anthology of short stories. She lives aboard her 33-foot sailboat Talespinner and travels wherever the wind and free wifi may take her.
The Weight of Lies
Emily Carpenter - 2017
But Meg knows that the glow of their very public life hides a darker reality of lies, manipulation, and the heartbreak of her own solitary childhood. Desperate to break free of her mother, Meg accepts a proposal to write a scandalous, tell-all memoir.Digging into the past—and her mother’s cult classic—draws Meg to Bonny Island, Georgia and an unusual woman said to be the inspiration for the book. At first, island life seems idyllic, but as Meg starts to ask tough questions, disturbing revelations come to light…including some about her mother.Soon, Meg’s search leads her to question the facts of a decades-old murder. She’s warned to leave it alone, but as the lies pile up, Meg knows she’s getting close to finding a murderer. When her own life is threatened, Meg realizes the darkness found in her mother’s book is nothing compared to the chilling truth that lurks off the page.
The Prey
Allison Brennan - 2005
Then a killer made it real.Rowan Smith is living in a borrowed Malibu beach house while her bestselling novel is made into a Hollywood movie. A former FBI agent with a haunted past, Rowan thinks she has outrun her demons. But fiction and reality collide when a dismembered body is found in Colorado: the real-life victim had the same name, occupation, and looks as a character in Rowan’s novel. By the time the FBI, the LAPD, and her own private bodyguard gather around her, another person is killed–again, the murder ripped from the pages of Rowan’s book.In the company of a former Delta Force officer with secrets of his own, Rowan faces an excruciating dilemma: the only way to chase down the tormenting killer is by revisiting the darkness of her past–and by praying for some way out again.After the prey is chosen, the hunt is on and the kill is certain.From the author's website:Each book stands alone. The story is complete (no continuing mystery) and there is a separate hero, heroine and villain. However, I do have recurring characters throughout my books, so someone may be introduced as a minor or major secondary character in one book, then come back as the hero or a secondary character in another book.THE PREY (12/27/05)Setting: Malibu, CaliforniaHero: John Flynn, former Delta Force turned mercenary/DEA drug informantHeroine: Rowan Smith, former FBI agent turned crime fiction writer
The Ninth District
Douglas Dorow - 2011
FBI Special Agent Jack Miller, pulled into a high-profile case to mentor a new agent, finds himself in a clash with the toughest opponent of his career. The chase culminates in the bowels of the city, in the storm sewers and tunnels beneath The Ninth District Federal Reserve of Minneapolis.The Ninth District is approximately 74,600 words (300 pages) in length.
