Book picks similar to
Winter Song by Susan C. Muller


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Time of Death


Lucy Kerr - 2016
    Within minutes of arriving at Stillwater General Hospital however, she ends up saving a man’s life, only to have him turn up dead hours later – and the hospital blames Frankie.Her instincts say Clem Jensen didn’t die of natural causes, but the more she digs, the more she discovers too many suspects, a few surprising allies, and some hard truths about the first man she ever loved–and left. Now the boy she once knew is a skeptical sheriff’s deputy, her family's hardware store is in jeopardy, and the rift between Frankie and her loved ones is deeper than ever.With her career–and future–on life support, Frankie must catch a killer, clear her name, and heal the wounds of the past in Lucy Kerr’s enthralling mystery debut, Time of Death.

Deranged


Jacob Stone - 2017
    investigator Morris Brick, a former homicide cop on the trail of a murderous psychopath who gives a terrifying new meaning to the word DERANGED . . . They call him the Skull Cracker Killer. He drugs his victims. Breaks open their skulls with a hammer and chisel. The rest is inhuman. Five years ago he terrorized New York City, claiming twelve victims before the killing stopped. Now he’s racking up victims on a fresh hunting ground. Where former LAPD homicide detective Morris Brick is working as a consultant on a serial-killer film. Where a desperate mayor pleads with Brick to take on the case. And where the only way he can stop the next wave of murders is by outsmarting a madman—before he strikes again, this time much too close to home . . .

A Reason to Live


Matthew Iden - 2012
    Twelve years later, the victim's daughter begs for help: the killer is stalking her now. But Marty has retired to battle cancer. A second shot at the killer - and a first chance at redemption - Marty has A Reason to Live.

The Numbers Killer


Jenifer Ruff - 2019
     When a key witness in an organized crime trial turns up dead in his kitchen with liar and the number two scrawled on his forehead, the FBI assumes the murder was a hit to silence him. Then the calls start coming in—more victims with similar markings and no connection to the mob. As agents Victoria Heslin and Dante Rivera struggle to catch a break in the case, they receive a series of cryptic, personal messages from the killer, complicating the investigation. Something disturbing and frightening is underway, and anyone might be next, including the agents, unless they uncover the common denominator. Bestselling author Jenifer Ruff delivers a gripping new psychological thriller that will appeal to fans of the Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn as well as serial killer favorites like The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris and Kiss the Girls by James Patterson. PRAISE FOR THE NUMBERS KILLER: “Jenifer Ruff’s best book yet! I was hooked from page one until the very twisty ending."– Author, Caryn Sutorus “Shocking, chilling, and fascinating – Jenifer Ruff’s latest book takes us into the twisted mind of a young murderess as she goes on a cold-blooded killing spree.”– Author and journalist, Karen D. Scioscia “Cancel your plans because you can’t put this book down. A nail-biting, thrill ride from beginning to end.”– Author, Susan Mills Wilson ARC REVIEWERS: “Fresh, back of the neck, hair tingling entertainment, you will never be able to put down!” - Patricia “LOVED IT! I couldn't leave it alone! I want more!” – Cheri “You did it again...another can’t-put-it-down book. I loved the story.”- Pamela “Loved the book! Couldn't put it down.” – June “Loved it!” – Debbi “Couldn’t put it down! Loved it!!!! I really do love all your characters!! - Alison “LOVED it! Especially the twist at the end.” –Shelly The Numbers Killer is the first book in the Agent Victoria Heslin Series and can be read as a standalone. Grab your copy today!

The Night Bird


Brian Freeman - 2017
    When a series of bizarre deaths rock San Francisco—as seemingly random women suffer violent psychotic breaks—Frost looks for a connection that leads him to psychiatrist Francesca Stein. Frankie’s controversial therapy helps people erase their most terrifying memories…and all the victims were her patients.As Frost and Frankie carry out their own investigations, the case becomes increasingly personal—and dangerous. Long-submerged secrets surface as someone called the Night Bird taunts the pair with cryptic messages pertaining to the deaths. Soon Frankie is forced to confront strange gaps in her own memory, and Frost faces a killer who knows the detective’s worst fears.As the body count rises and the Night Bird circles ever closer, a dedicated cop and a brilliant doctor race to solve the puzzle before a cunning killer claims another victim.

The Killings


J.A. Whiting - 2015
    Arriving at a Halloween party with her friend Melissa, the young women discover a gruesome crime scene in the hosts' living room. As Olivia and her friends try to uncover clues that will lead to the serial killer, their investigation into the murders may be putting their own lives in danger. This is a prequel to the Olivia Miller Mystery series. Each book is a standalone mystery.

Special Circumstances


Sheldon Siegel - 2000
     Debut author Sheldon Siegel bursts into the legal thriller arena with a riveting courtroom drama, exposing the world of big-time law firms and lawyers in a fresh, sharp-witted, wonderfully sardonic page-turner. Meet Mike Daley. Ex-priest. Ex–public defender. And as of yesterday, ex-partner in one of San Francisco's most prominent law firms. Today he's out on his own, setting up practice on the wrong side of town. Then his best friend and former colleague is charged with a brutal double murder, and Daley is instantly catapulted into a high-profile investigation involving the prestigious law firm that just booted him. As he prepares his case, Daley uncovers the firm's dirtiest secrets. It doesn't take long for him to discover that in this trial, ambition, friendship, greed, and long-standing grudges will play just as important a role as truth and justice. Brilliantly paced, crackling with energy and suspense, Special Circumstances reminds us why we love to hate lawyers — but can't get enough of courtroom drama when it's done this well.

My Sister's Grave


Robert Dugoni - 2014
    She doesn’t believe that Edmund House — a convicted rapist and the man condemned for Sarah’s murder — is the guilty party. Motivated by the opportunity to obtain real justice, Tracy became a homicide detective with the Seattle PD and dedicated her life to tracking down killers.When Sarah’s remains are finally discovered near their hometown in the northern Cascade mountains of Washington State, Tracy is determined to get the answers she’s been seeking. As she searches for the real killer, she unearths dark, long-kept secrets that will forever change her relationship to her past — and open the door to deadly danger.

Deadly Games


Sally Rigby - 2019
    A police officer living on borrowed time. An unexpected twist that threatens to blow everything apart. DCI Whitney Walker is in trouble. She’s been threatened with demotion if she screws up another case. So, when a killer starts murdering female students at the local university, she knows this is her chance to redeem herself.Forensic psychologist, Dr Georgina Cavendish, has spent her life inside the university walls, but when one of her students is murdered and she’s the one to find the body, she resolves to step out from behind her text books and put her skills to the test.While the killer leads the police on a game of cat and mouse, Walker and Cavendish form an uneasy alliance. But will it be too late to stop the worst serial killer in Lenchester’s history?Deadly Games is the first book in the Cavendish and Walker crime fiction series. If you like Great British serial killer mysteries, and psychological intrigue, then you’ll love Sally Rigby’s page-turning book.Pick up Deadly Games today to read Cavendish & Walker’s first case.

Bone Music


Christopher Rice - 2018
    If only the nightmare had ended when she was rescued. Instead, her real father exploited her tabloid-ready story for fame and profit—until Charlotte finally broke free from her ghoulish past and fled. Just when she thinks she has buried her personal hell forever, Charlotte is swept into a frightening new ordeal. Secretly dosed with an experimental drug, she’s endowed with a shocking new power—but pursued by a treacherous corporation desperate to control her.Except from now on, if anybody is going to control Charlotte, it’s going to be Charlotte herself. She’s determined to use the extraordinary ability she now possesses to fight the kind of evil that shattered her life—by drawing a serial killer out from the shadows to face the righteous fury of a victim turned avenger.

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."

Killer in Sight


Sandra Carrington-Smith - 2012
    Tom Lackey to locate her killer. With the help of his longtime girlfriend and professional photographer, Kathy Spencer, Lackey unravels a mystery laden with psychosis and unexpected revelations. While Tom is busy following the multiple clues pouring in from different directions, Kathy gets to work to prove her own theory: The last image viewed by the dying person can be lifted from the eyes of the victim to identify the murderer. Using her background in photography and her passion for iridology, Kathy enlists the help of Dr. Greer, a snow-haired medical examiner who allows her to take shots of Tracey Newman’s eyes. Her findings are puzzling, but they are supported by Alexis Howard, the dead girl’s ten-year-old half sister who volunteers information she claims was delivered to her by her imaginary friend Lily. With multiple suspects floating up to the surface and skeletons yanked out of unlikely closets, Tom must rely on his methodical expertise and on Kathy’s insight to find the killer before tragedy strikes again.

The 13th Victim


Linda S. Prather - 2017
    Rescued by the man she believed responsible, Andi lost everything: the man she loved, her promising future as an investigative reporter and her memory of the weeks leading up to her torture. "Tell me what I want to know and I won't hurt you again."Thomas's voice haunted her dreams, sending her into the pits of depression to seek solace in a bottle of whiskey until a young woman reaches out for help. Twelve young girls have been brutally murdered, their bodies hidden beneath concrete structures. The thirteenth victim is fighting back the only way she knows how, and telling their story to the one person she believes will listen. "I'm sixteen, alone and scared. I killed a man yesterday, and today I'm going to kill another one."

The Wrong Turn


N.C. Marshall - 2017
    Now though, she is desperate to track down the stranger who saved her life. DCI Tony Morgan thought he had escaped his old career, but when he receives a call from his ex-boss to tell him that there’s been a hit and run in the area, leaving a young woman trapped in a burning car and left to die, he knows that he must return and help to investigate. Meanwhile, Megan sets out to track down the man who pulled her from the car that night, and in doing so, develops a strange infatuation for him. As secrets are revealed, and the truth starts to emerge, it soon becomes clear that Megan is still in danger, and the life-saving hero may not be everything that she wants him to be. A twisty, psychological drama combining crime, mystery and romance.

Forgotten Bones


Vivian Barz - 2019
    But when it comes to murder, Officer Susan Marlan never trusts a simple explanation, so she's just getting started.Meanwhile, college professor Eric Evans hallucinates a young boy in overalls: a symptom of his schizophrenia - or so he thinks. But when more bodies turn up, Eric has more visions, and they mirror details of the murder case. As the investigation continues, the police stick with their original conclusion, but Susan's instincts tell her something is off. The higher-ups keep stonewalling her, and the FBI's closing in.Desperate for answers, Susan goes rogue and turns to Eric for help. Together they take an unorthodox approach to the case as the evidence keeps getting stranger. With Eric's hallucinations intensifying and the body count rising, can the pair separate truth from illusion long enough to catch a monster?