Book picks similar to
Dead Peasants by Larry D. Thompson


mystery
legal
mystery-thriller
fiction-old

Across the Broken Line


Zoë Sharp - 2011
    Never before published, it features her ex-Special Forces soldier turned self-defence expert and bodyguard, Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Fox.In Across The Broken Line, we follow Charlie through a fragmented timescale of cross and double-cross as she fights to keep her principal alive – whoever that might be.

Redemption


Phil M. Williams - 2021
    I had it all. At least that’s what people told me. Beauty, brains, and a rich husband. I deserved it too. My fiancé had cheated on me with my best friend. But I won in the end, or at least I thought I had.Until Christmas of 1999. My ex-fiancé, Danny, showed up at my parents’ house, wanting to talk to my father. Danny’s a police officer, and my father’s a retired officer. A six-year-old girl had disappeared without a trace, resembling a case my father had worked on years earlier.My parents still loved Danny. The gregarious local cop. A man’s man with manners. What’s not to love? My introverted and awkward husband, Jason, couldn’t compete. My parents weren’t impressed by his money. Jason’s job in finance was too abstract. He made money from other people’s money, like a banker or a loan shark.I think this made it easier for my family to blame Jason. They were right to blame him. He was alone with her. It was his DNA. It was an impossible choice for me though. My family or my husband. I suppose we all made our choices. We were never the same after that. We all suffered from his terrible crime.Twenty years later, I had a happy life and a happy family. I wanted to forget the past, but it all came back, forcing me to choose all over again. This time we couldn’t bury the secrets. Jason. Danny. My parents. My daughter. All those missing girls.Never in a million years could I have seen it coming.Buy Redemption today if you enjoy page-turning domestic thrillers that will keep you reading late into the night.Adult language and sexual content.

Intrusion


Mary McCluskey - 2016
    While Scott throws himself back into his law practice in Los Angeles, Kat is hesitant to rejoin the workplace and instead spends her days shell-shocked and confused, unable to focus.When an unwelcome face from Kat’s past in England emerges—the beautiful and imposing Sarah Cherrington—Kat’s marriage is thrown into a tailspin. Now wealthy beyond anything she could have imagined as a girl, Sarah appears to have everything she could need or want. But Sarah has an agenda and she wants one more thing. Soon Kat and Scott are caught up in her devious games and power plays.Against the backdrops of Southern California and Sussex, in spare and haunting prose, Mary McCluskey propels this domestic drama to its chilling conclusion.

Slow Fire


Ken Mercer - 2010
    Fresh out of rehab but jobless and estranged from his wife, Will now lives alone in an old Airstream trailer on the fringes of L.A.Out of options, Will accepts the job. After moving to Haydenville, he discovers that the once postcard-perfect town is being corrupted by a criminal influence that threatens to destroy it.Haydenville’s normally law-abiding citizens begin to erupt in acts of unspeakable violence. Pets are going missing at an alarming rate. Stately Victorian homes are falling into disrepair. With only a rookie officer at his disposal, Will risks everything in his quest to save Haydenville—entering a labyrinth of dark secrets that have remained buried for almost 40 years.An emotionally complex and literate page-turner, Slow Fire marks the electrifying debut of a new series featuring Will Magowan.

Felony Murder


Joseph T. Klempner - 1995
    Klempner's fast-paced page-turner is more than entertainment . . . He writes with power, color, and compassion. . . . Felony Murder takes you through the tawdry, real-life criminal justice system where you cannot tell the cops from the crooks." - William Kunstler On the surface, the court-appointed case that lands on young Dean Abernathy's desk is a biggie; he is slated to defend a homeless man accused of the felony murder of the popular black New York City Police commissioner during an early-morning mugging attempt. But at second look, the case promises to be a routine conviction. The evidence is overwhelming. The police have come up with an eyewitness, they have physical evidence, and Joey Spadafino has given the arresting officers a signed confession. Dean's course seems obvious: Get Joe Spadafino, an ex-con, to plead guilty, bargain for the most lenient sentence possible, and figure you can't win ‘em all. Before he can talk to his client about a plea bargain, however, he finds that the prosecutor has already offered one - which Joey refuses. Dean, not only a conscientious defense attorney but a former investigator, starts looking harder at the seemingly incontrovertible evidence. What he turns up changes a foregone conclusion into something very different. The district attorney, although outwardly cooperative, seems to be trying to keep Dean from interviewing the eyewitness - and the reason becomes apparent when Dean, challenged, digs deeper into her background. Anomalies and discrepancies in the government's case crop up. Dean realizes that he is drawing closer to a particularly nasty truth, one that not only puts his life and those of others in immediate peril but confronts him with a moral dilemma that is even more difficult to face.

Girl, Under Oath


John Ellsworth - 2021
    It shatters when his dying request is to pay half of his two-million-dollar life-insurance policy to some woman named Elise.Shocked to learn the secret affair resulted in a second wife and a child in Paris, Jenny comes face-to-face with the other woman when Elise shows up demanding half of everything she’s worked hard for—over Jenny’s dead body. As the wives square off, Jenny stands trial for their husband’s suspicious death.Criminal attorney Michael Gresham, is on the case, but when Elise suddenly vanishes, disturbing texts, emails, and a horrifying discovery come to light. When dangerous attraction and sudden obsession collide, Michael must entrap a killer to protect those he loves from a case that’s turned personal.Don’t miss the slow-burn suspense from USA Today Bestselling author John Ellsworth. If you enjoy jaw-dropping plot twists, engaging legal drama, and battles of wits and wills, this gripping thriller is a read all night page-turner.

I Do Not Belong


Rick Wood - 2018
     One of them put them there. For every hour they do not figure out who, another person will die. They are all going to have to ask themselves: who does not belong?

If I Could Remember


Vedant Saxena - 2021
    Only to find it was a dream. Or was it? He can’t differentiate between reality and dreams. And his memories lapses aren’t helping him either. Haunted by a past he can’t remember about, he stands at odd with the society, and his family—who favours their prodigal son, Yash.UNTIL! He discovers the session tapes of his classmate Ananya, in his psychiatrist father’s office. What’s in those tapes that incite fear in the school diva? When the tapes go missing from the office, he believes something sinister is being protected. Meanwhile, he is able to win the trust of Ananya, who reluctantly bares her traumatic past, revealing she was—RAPED & MOLESTED. It compels him to seek justice for her. But, the evils bestowed upon her stretch deep, even forcing her to—KILL.Will he be able to save her after the revelation of his family‘s involvement in her destruction? Or will the truth drive him to insanity?In this vicious dark thriller, everyone’s a liar. Everyone is hiding a secret which can’t come to light...

Remorse


Stephen Edger - 2011
    But behind closed doors, his wife is cheating on him; his daughter’s relentless screaming deprives them of sleep; and he drinks heavily.Struggling to maintain balance in his life, cracks start to appear. Unable to deal with the mounting pressure, he hires a private investigator to spy on his wife. He is prepared to do anything to maintain the idyll.As the conclusion of Duggan’s trial looms, he must come to terms with what he has done and why he is facing a life behind bars. He is about to learn a valuable lesson: not every fairy tale has a happy ending…Betrayal, revenge, regret and suspense: TELL NO LIES is a heart-breaking thriller, exploring what fathers will do when driven to desperation.(Also considered a standalone novel.)

The Good Lie


D.F. Bailey - 2007
    A Moment of Panic. Lives Changed Forever. As Paul Wakefield paddles his kayak across Mouat Channel off Vancouver Island, he hears the engine of a yacht cutting through the fog toward him. In an instant, the cruiser swamps Paul and the young girl beside him and disappears into the fog, never to be seen again. Dumped into the winter ocean, the terrified girl thrashes in the ice-cold water, submerging Paul in her frenzy to survive. In a desperate attempt to save them both, Paul makes a fateful decision. The Child Must be Revenged. Who will Survive?The Good Lie goes deep into the hearts and souls of characters who struggle to adapt to an utterly senseless incident. Faced with grieving parents demanding retribution, Paul and his wife Valerie find their relationship pressured by a series of events that threaten to consume them. What is Good? What is False? The Good Lie. “In this profession you see everything. The thieves, the cokeheads, the pimps and prostitutes — of course they lie. Everybody expects them to lie. But sometimes, the good lie, too.”

Summer of Grace


Shani Struthers - 2021
    Three are loners. One is new in town. Together they’re a perfect fit.2010: Tupper, the owner of the store and a pillar of the community, dies. Of the night shift, only three return to their hometown for his funeral.Jules, Lenny and Dean haven’t heard a word from Grace since they left for college in the fall of 1999, despite promises to keep in touch.No one in town remembers her either. Or so they say.Jules delves deeper into the mystery of her missing friend, and as she does, a dark secret unravels.One that could prove fatal.

The Librarian


Philip Wilson - 2017
    Assaulted, framed and sent to prison to ensure her silence, Sarah discovers a fierce will to live and a startling capacity for violence that enables her to survive the harsh prison environment. On her release, Sarah learns her father died alone and her old life is gone forever. Heartbroken and enraged, Sarah devises a chilling revenge for the men who destroyed her world. As she prepares, she meets Paul Taylor, an ex US navy seal, who teaches her the skills she needs; but also shows her love and the promise of a new life. As Sarah begins her hunt, the cops’ disbelief turns to terror as they realize they are being stalked and killed by a librarian.

Not In Time


Shawna Seed - 2013
    Julien Brooks, whose family claims the drawing, has vital information. He also has a killer smile and speaks flawless French. She's eager to get to know him better. A lot better. But someone - could it be Julien? - seems very determined to thwart her work. And why does she keep having bizarre flashbacks to a place she's certain she's never been? Mental illness ruined her mother's life. Is that Genevieve's fate? On a research trip to Paris, Genevieve confronts her growing attraction to Julien and the truth about those flashbacks. What she learns will reveal the real story of her mother, the heroism of Julien's family and the heartbreak of a doomed romance. It may also cost her and Julien their lives.

The Hidden Light of Mexico City


Carmen Amato - 2011
    Expect characters who leap off the page and a chilling border scenario that could be tomorrow’s headlines. As presidential elections near, Mexico City attorney Eduardo Cortez Castillo discovers evidence of collusion between a powerful government official and Mexico's most dangerous drug cartel. Coded messages . . . A secret website . . . Clever money laundering. The conclusion is terrifying. With deep state help, a ruthless druglord is poised to buy Mexico’s presidency. As he digs for evidence and violence spills across the US-Mexican border, Eduardo is marked for death by cartel assassins. Instead of abandoning the dangerous investigation, he follows the money trail deep into drug smuggling territory where violence buys loyalty and votes are for sale. The odds are against survival. Back in Mexico City, a woman whose name means Light of Mary faces a painful choice. Wait for Eduardo or join the immigration train? But the cartel is looking for her, too. * Get your copy today * This brilliant political thriller takes you on a riveting ride through Mexico's rigid class system and the country's spiraling drug violence, to the harsh realities of the US-Mexican border. Authentic and revealing, much of the action is drawn from the author’s own experiences. "Enthralling political drama" -- Literary Fiction Review “Captivating and thrilling” – InDTale Magazine Love international thrillers by Nelson DeMille, Andrew Gross, Ken Follett, Lee Child and David Morrell? Riveted by AMERICAN DIRT or Don Winslow’s cartel and border thrillers set in Mexico? You won't want to miss THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY. Author Carmen Amato is a former CIA intelligence officer who uses her own counterdrug and espionage experiences to craft intrigue-filled crime fiction that keeps you guessing until the very end. Amato is a recipient of both the National Intelligence Award and the Career Intelligence Medal. Her award-winning Detective Emilia Cruz police series pits Acapulco’s first female police detective against cartels and corruption.

All The Hidden Pieces


Jillian Thomadsen - 2018
    Within minutes, she and her family hastily pack up their belongings and abandon their home. Where did the family go and why? Det. Roberta Hobbs has been assigned to uncover the family's whereabouts. Hobbs is a confident, intelligent police veteran. However, each passing day brings her closer to her unresolved past. When Hobbs digs deeper into the mystery, all leads point to her own longtime ex-boyfriend - a former drug dealer turned philanthropist named Steven Vance -- as the primary suspect. This riveting dual-timeline suspense novel takes us back to 2004 -- the year Greta Carpenter first realizes something is wrong with her young son, John. Over the course of his childhood, John's learning disabilities become apparent. Greta's unfaltering advocacy on his behalf puts her at odds with the school system and strains her relationship with her husband Griffin. Eventually Greta and Griffin's marriage falls apart, and during the divorce trial, Greta reveals that she was a teenage runaway, and a local entrepreneur named Steven Vance rescued her from the streets. Vance is certainly a man of many shades - a local celebrity for his philanthropy, a cunning CEO who sits atop a questionable mini-empire, a benevolent former father figure to Greta and a lying, evasive former companion to Hobbs. It seems that only Vance has the power to make people disappear in this small town and he emerges as the most obvious suspect...but Hobbs remains uncertain of his role. While her colleagues question whether she can truly be impartial, Hobbs realizes she has a reason to suspect them as well. Nothing is obvious in this thrilling mystery...except that Hobbs must race to solve the mystery before it's too late.