Book picks similar to
Dance on His Grave by Sylvia Dickey Smith


fiction
mystery
set-in-the-south-west-us
mystery-and-crime

The Odd Fellows Society


C.G. Barrett - 2015
    First, historian Jasper Willoughs, his closest friend, didn’t toss himself off a dormitory roof. Second, a Georgetown University secret society—a running joke on campus—has blood on its hands. Torres’s pursuit of the truth embroils him in a bizarre and thrilling scavenger hunt. The clues, scratched out on parchment by the mysterious Odd Fellows Society, lead Santi to risk everything he holds sacred: his job, his life, even the woman he secretly loves. As for his relationship with his God? Well, that’s complicated. A hold-your-breath thriller that explores our national obsession with race, The Odd Fellows Society will have you looking at the U.S. capital—and its monuments’ secrets—in a whole different shade of black and white.

The Hashtag Life of Isobel Irving


Alice Ross - 2020
    But that’s before she’s reacquainted with one of her former classmates, who is no longer the geek she remembers. And who adds a whole load of extra complications to the mix.

California Blood


Pete Palamountain - 2011
    Baldy.• Suicide of a wandering derelict.• Murder of a wealthy matriarch.• Murder of a charismatic Catholic priest.

Cozy Mystery 15 Book Set


K.M. Morgan - 2016
     The Daisy McDare Series Daisy McDare's vacation plans go awry when a washed up rock star turns up dead and the local detective thinks Daisy's cousin Addison is the killer. Daisy arms herself with cupcakes, one-liners, and plenty of spunk to find the killer before her cousin goes to jail for a crime she didn't commit. 4 books included from this series: The Deadly Rock Star Affair, The Deadly Restaurant Affair, The Deadly Secret Affair, and The Deadly Rival Affair. The Deanna Devlin Series Welcome to Desert Palms, a cozy Arizona tourist town set up against the mountains. Deanna Devlin is a thirty-two year old reporter who dreams of tackling hard-nosed stories, but is stuck writing puff pieces for the local paper. When a murder strikes Desert Palms, Deanna suddenly gets her chance to cover some hard-hitting news. Unfortunately, one of Deanna's good friends is wrongly suspected as the killer by the local police detective. To prove her friend's innocence, Deanna has no choice but to take matters into her own hands and find the real killer herself. 2 books included from this series: A Prescription To Die For and A Novel To Die For. The Witches Of Enchanted Bay Series Welcome to Enchanted Bay, a picture-perfect small town on the coast of Northern California. Meg Walton comes from a long line of witches. It's a secret her family has been keeping for generations. The Waltons have been living a quiet existence, running the local donut shop in town. All that changes when a murder occurs. Enter Connor Smith, Meg's former crush, who left for San Francisco ten years before, and who has now returned to town as the new detective with the Enchanted Bay police department. If Meg's feelings were mixed enough over having Connor back in town, the detective wrongfully suspects one of Meg's good friends for murder. To prove her friend's innocence, Meg has to find the real killer herself--with the help of a few good spells. 6 books included from this series: Witches Of Enchanted Bay, Ax To Grind, Killer Twist, A Bewitching Murder, A Riddle Of A Murder, and The Nuts And Bolts Of Murder. The Chloe Cook Series Thirty-four year old cosmetics saleswoman Chloe Cook is busy searching for a love that lasts in the tourist town of Cape Cod when a murder strikes. The victim is Marty Diamond, a mattress mogul known for his high pressure sales tactics and schlocky TV ads. Unfortunately, the local police detective suspects that Chloe's good friend Kristina Miller is the killer. To prove Kristina's innocence, Chloe has to take matters into her own hands and find the real killer herself. 3 books included from this series: Mattress Mart Murder, Reunions Can Be Deadly, and Killer Finale.

Brad Thor Collectors' Edition #4: The Athena Project / Full Black / Black List


Brad Thor - 2012
    Follow counterterrorism operative and ex-SEAL Scot Harvath’s action-packed exploits, and discover why Brad Thor has been called “America’s favorite author” (KKTX). The Athena Project When a terrorist attack in Rome kills more than twenty Americans, four of Delta Force’s best and brightest women—part of a top-secret program codenamed the Athena Project—are tasked with hunting down a Venetian arms dealer. But as team members Gretchen Casey, Julie Ericsson, Megan Rhodes, and Alex Cooper close in on their target, the deadly assignment unearths a grisly discovery in the jungles of South America...and a foreign spy penetrating a mysterious secret hidden in the American West. With an unthinkable second attack already set in motion, the women of the Athena Project race to uncover the greatest of threats: the secrets kept by their own government. Full Black Born in the shadows and kept from heads of state, some missions are so deadly, so sensitive, that they simply don’t exist. When one such mission goes horribly wrong, only former Navy SEAL Team 6 member turned covert counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath can carry out an audacious plan to prevent the United States from facing complete and total collapse. But as the identities of the perpetrators are laid bare, Harvath will be left with only one means to save America. Unable to trust anyone, he will be forced to go full black. Black List Somewhere…deep inside the United States government is a closely guarded list. Once your name is on the list, it doesn’t come off…until you’re dead. Someone…has just added counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath’s name. Somehow…Harvath must evade assassination long enough to untangle who has targeted him and why. Somewhere, someone, somehow…can put all the pieces together. But Harvath must get to that person before the United States suffers the most withering terrorist attack ever conceived.

Deliver Us From Evil (DI Braddick Book #4)


Conrad Jones - 2019
    The victims' bodies are missing and the police have no clue as to their identities or who killed them.As the investigation snowballs, the potential body count rises and the Major Investigation Team have little to go on until DNA evidence is examined.There appears to be no motive for the dreadful murders until an ancient script is found daubed on the walls of a nearby property. As the clues are unravelled, Braddick and his team realise they are dealing with something they have never faced before. Because this time they're tracking evil itself… Deliver us from Evil is a fast-paced crime thriller full of breathless action. It can be read as book 4 in the international bestselling DI Braddick series or as a truly unmissable stand-alone thriller.

Collusion/Ghosts Of Belfast Bundle


Stuart Neville - 2010
    Now that peace has come, he is being haunted day and night by twelve ghosts: a mother and infant, a schoolboy, a butcher, an RUC constable, and seven other of his innocent victims. In order to appease them, he’s going to have to kill the men who gave him orders. As he’s working his way down the list he encounters a woman who may offer him redemption; she has borne a child to an RUC officer and is an outsider too. Now he has given Fate—and his quarry—a hostage. Is this Fegan’s ultimate mistake?CollusionWhen Detective Inspector Jack Lennon tries to track down his former lover, Marie McKenna, and their daughter, his superiors tell him to back off. But now an assassin stalks Belfast, tying up loose ends for a vengeance-driven old man. As Lennon unravels a conspiracy that links his daughter to a killer named Fegan, the line between friend and enemy blurs.

The Spy Whisperer


Matthew Dunn - 2018
    One by one, they are committing suicide. But the suicides are not what they seem. They have been forced to take their lives by a supremely clever individual. Former high-ranking MI6 officer Ben Sign is instructed to identify who is behind the murders. Could it be a hostile foreign intelligence agency? Sign thinks not. He believes the murderer is one of the six MI6 officers who wants to kill off the competition. With the help of a male former undercover police officer and a female serving Special Branch officer, he scours London and the rest of Britain to identify the serial killer he nicknames 'the whisperer'. But the whisperer has help: a former special forces assassin, code name 'the limpet'. Can Sign find the whisperer and the limpet in time? Who's working against him? Can he protect national security from a psychopath?"Fans of action-heavy thrillers set in the intelligence world are likely already reading Dunn, but if they're not, they should start. They won't be disappointed." - Booklist"For those who like an updated version of James Bond, Matthew Dunn's Will Cochrane books are spy stories at their finest." - Iron Mountain Daily NewsPraise for Spycatcher: "Great talent, great imagination, and real been-there done-that authenticity make this one of the year's best thriller debuts. Highly recommended." - Lee Child"I know of no other spy thriller that so successfully blends the fascinating nuances of the business of espionage and intelligence work with full-throttle suspense storytelling." - Jeffery Deaver"Dunn, who was a field officer in the British Secret Intelligence Service, often known as M16, has created a plot with plenty of action and lots of twists and turns . . . nonstop action and relentless danger." - Associated PressPraise for Dark Spies: "Another deep and intense thriller that feels authentic in terms of how it conveys the spy world... Dunn has crafted another winner in this fine series. The world of spy fiction has a writer who deserves comparison to Ludlum and Fleming." - Booklist"Fans will enjoy the trademark momentum and the inclusion of several long-running subplots and characters." - Publishers Weekly on A Soldier's Revenge"One of the things that makes A Soldier's Revenge so good, aside from the complexity of the plot, the harrowing escapes and spy craft that Dunn artfully employs, is the visceral feelings that he can convey. . . . Cochrane is no emotionless Bond...he's much more real." - blackdogspeaks.com on A Soldier's Revenge

The Archer House


Kimberly Thomas - 2020
    A return to the Florida Keys. Her first love and all the problems she left behind twenty-five years ago — await her. Holly Archer's husband ruined her life. While they made their fortune in Miami real estate, he took a mistress and managed to make enough illegal dealings to absolutely destroy them forever. Now, Holly's lost her real estate license, her house, her husband, her friends, and her life.But Islamorada calls. It's a sunny, white-sand strip of life and love and sun in the Florida Keys, where she grew up with her three siblings, Randy, Rina, and Amy — all of whom she's lost touch with over the past twenty-five years.Now, two years after the death of their father, the Archer House, the Inn where the four of them grew up, is dilapidated and has a financial bleed that she can't put her finger on; their mother has fallen into an intense depression and Holly finds a place where someone in the world actually needs her help. It's also a good place to hide in the wake of what her husband did, a place to pretend her life didn't crumble into nothing.But patching up the Archer family won't be easy. Her brother, Randy, is the only sibling who remains in the Keys, and his love for alcohol keeps him isolated and unwilling to help out. Their other sisters hardly answer the phone. Even as Holly digs in her heels, she creates conflict between herself and her own children, the people she loves the most.All the while, her old high school boyfriend is a mainstay on the island. He's a cop and, as news of Holly's husband's illegal dealings surface in Miami, perhaps he's one of the only people she can trust in the world.Secrets unravel in this first installment in the Archer Family Series.Lose yourself in this new women's fiction series that revolves around friendship, love and loss among the Archer Clan. A heartwarming family saga that has the backdrop of the Florida Keys white sand and crystal blue waters.

In the Matter of Michael Vogel


Drew Yanno - 2013
    At first, the townspeople accept the initial ruling of an accidental drowning, despite the fact that the boy's body wasn’t discovered when the lifeguards searched the pool earlier in the day after his sister reported him missing. However, when an autopsy reveals an unanticipated result, it sets in motion a search for a killer, in a town unaccustomed to murder. The story is told from the perspective of three members of the community: a twelve year old boy with a future he hopes to avoid; a sheriff with a past he longs to forget; and a forty year old bachelor with a secret he wants desperately to protect. Their stories all come together in a stunning and heart-stopping conclusion that helps to provide each of them a measure of redemption.Librarian please note:This is an alternate cover edition. The original ISBN numbers are:ISBN10 - 0615757588ISBN13 - 9780615757582

Murder in the Goblins Playground (DCI Arthur Ravyn Mystery, #1)


Ralph E. Vaughan - 2016
    Located deep in Red Cap Woods, it has long been the site of weird events, from pagan rites to human sacrifice by secret devil cults. When local rowdy Allan Cutter staggers into the snug bar of the Three Crowns pub and dies, old fears that have lain dormant for ages come to the fore. His death is quickly followed by the murder of a developer who planned to destroy Red Cap Woods. Villagers believe dark powers are awakening, that the murderous elves reputed to dwell in the woods will again dip their caps in human blood. Into this maelstrom of fear and emotion come DCI Arthur Ravyn and DS Leo Stark. As the bodies continue to mount, they discover it will take all their combined skills, intellect and courage to solve the mysterious deaths, keep the villagers from panicking, and not get sacked by powers even more inimical than those lurking in the eldritch depths of Red Cap Woods.

A Season to Kill


Michael Mucci - 2017
    With the small town of Macon, Pennsylvania now in a panic, will DeAngelo uncover the clues in time to prevent another murder? Or will his attempt to stop the killer make him the next victim?

Point of Honor


Maurice Medland - 1997
    A master storyteller." - Clive Cussler Two men separated by a strict code of honor locked in a lethal game of international terror . . . Jorge Cordoba has schemed and murdered his way to the top of a Colombian drug cartel intent on bankrupting the industrialized nations of the world. But when the freighter delivering the goods that will secure the cartel's - and Cordoba's - future goes missing, he's thrown into a life or death struggle to recover it. Enter Navy Lieutenant Daniel Blake, a former merchant marine officer who's just been ordered to lead a boarding party of seven men and one woman onto an abandoned freighter. In the hull of the freighter are thirty tons of cocaine, $350 million in cash - and half a dozen corpses with their tongues cut out. Separated from his own ship with a typhoon rapidly approaching, Blake and his team are plunged into a battle of terror against not one, but two treacherous enemies - Cordoba's strike force racing to the scene and a savage murderer who is still aboard. At the heart of this electrifying novel are two very different men, separated by their morality and strict code of honor, bound together in a deadly game of power and survival that each must fight to the very end.

Mary Higgins Clark Gift Set Cst: While My Pretty One Sleeps and Weep No More My Lady


Mary Higgins Clark - 1992
    The killing of one of her best customers reminded her of the one thing -- they slaying of her own mother years earlier. Faced with a variety of suspects, Neeve plunges into the mystery of Lambston's death, determined to find the truth. But as she is drawn into a whirlwind of money and romance, she is also being stalked by a killer who's closer than she could ever dream . . .Weep No More, My LadyYoung Elizabeth Lange is haunted by the tragic death of her beloved sister, the legendary actress Leila LaSalle. Ted Winters, Leila's multi-millionaire fiance, has been accused of her murder -- and Elizabeth is slated to be the star witness for the prosecution. But before the trial begins, Elizabeth gets an invitation to unwind at a swank California spa. There is caught up in a torrent of confusing emotions and perplexing questions. Elizabeth must discover the truth -- and soon. Because someone is stalking her, patiently waiting for the right moment to strike . . .

The Adventures of Charlie Smithers


C.W. Lovatt - 2012
    Make way for Charlie Smithers.The time is the nineteenth century. The place, the Serengeti Plain, where one Charlie Smithers – faithful manservant to the arrogant bone-head, Lord Brampton (with five lines in Debrett, and a hopeless shot to boot) – becomes separated from his master during an unfortunate episode with an angry rhinoceros, thereby launching Charlie on an odyssey into Deepest Darkest Africa, and subsequently into the arms of the beautiful Loiyan…and that’s where the trouble really begins.Maasai warriors, xenophobic locals, or evil Arab slavers, the two forbidden lovers encounter everything that the unforgiving jungle can throw at them."A truly engaging read that will keep anyone’s attention from the hilarious beginning until the last word. I highly recommend this 5 star novel." ~ Chapters & Chats