Book picks similar to
The Greatest Good by Craig N. Hooper


thriller
mystery-thriller
fiction
first-reads

The Heart Ladder


Sibby Spencer - 2021
    Leaving behind everything she knew, including the mystery of what happened to the father of her unborn child after he went missing behind enemy lines. Three decades on and her son, thirty-something slacker Dan, knows he's wasting his life in pubs, nightclubs, and his dead-end job. That all changes, though, when a man with storied eyes and an old army jacket introduces himself as the father Dan never had a chance to know.But is Jacob, a battered and broken war veteran, really who he claims to be?As he and Dan kindle their relationship, more and more comes under question; including Jacob's true purpose in seeking Dan out, the unanswered mysteries of his past, and the pivotal role he'll play in Dan's uncertain future. Soon, Dan comes to understand that his life is very far from meaningless - and that the choices he's being forced to make might have deadly and irredeemable consequences.

The American


Kenneth Rosenberg - 2021
    Unfortunately, his adversaries aren't as eager to let him go. After a final mission ends in the deaths of two Russian spies, Grant is a marked man. To stay one step ahead, he must uncover the identity of a mole buried deep within the CIA. After traversing the globe in search of clues, the truth will shock him to his core. Now it is Nathan Grant who will to stop at nothing for revenge.The American is the first book in the exciting new Nathan Grant thriller series from author Kenneth Rosenberg and is perfect for fans of Lee Child, Daniel Silva, David Baldacci and Tana French.

Takeoff


Joseph Reid - 2018
    All he has to do is accompany female pop star Max Magic to Los Angeles and deliver her to the FBI. But when their routine flight ends in a hail of gunfire at LAX, Walker has no choice but to take the frightened diva on the run.After a second attack leaves him battered and bloody, Walker realizes he cannot trust the FBI. To keep his client alive, he must use a patchwork of trusted aviation contacts to get her home to Austin, where the key suspects await.But as they race to stay one step ahead of their deadly pursuers, the biggest danger of all may be what they’re heading toward—the dark secrets that Max herself has been keeping…

Hunt Them Down


Simon Gervais - 2019
    Will his daughter pay the price?Former Army Ranger Pierce Hunt is no stranger to violence. Fresh off a six-month suspension, he’s itching to hit a notorious Mexican drug cartel where it hurts, even if that means protecting crime boss Vicente Garcia, a witness in the case against sadistic cartel leader Valentina Mieles. But things spiral out of control when the cartel murders Garcia and kidnaps his granddaughter and an innocent bystander, Hunt’s own teenage daughter.Mieles wants the new head of the Garcia family on a plate—literally. Hunt has seventy-two hours to deliver, or Mieles will execute the girls live on social media. With the clock ticking, Hunt goes off the grid and teams up with Garcia’s daughter, a former lover and current enemy. To save the girls, Hunt will have to become a man he swore he’d never be again: an avenging killer without limits or mercy.

Fava


John Hazen - 2014
    Francine is a rising TV news reporter in New York City. Despite her brains, beauty and a growing following, she is stuck covering local interest stories. That is until her career literally hits the jackpot when the winner of a $450 million dollar lottery tells Francine that he is committed to using his new fortune to avenge his brother's killing at the Pentagon on 9/11. His seemingly crazy plan is backed by more than just money-he is in league with a ruthless and powerful Army Colonel gone rogue, religious extremists and co-conspirators in the highest levels of government. Francine teams with FBI Special Agent Will Allen, one of the few people who believe the threat is real, in a desperate race across three continents to stop the plot before it's too late.

Squall


Sean Costello - 2014
    On a clear winter morning he sets out in his Cessna 180 to do some repairs on a remote hunt camp, leaving his five year old son and very pregnant wife snug in their beds.On the return trip, a squall forces him into an emergency landing and he winds up—quite literally—in the lap of petty criminal Dale Knight. Dale, now a fugitive from the law—and worse, from a merciless drug lord who just happens to be his brother—draws Tom into a web of mayhem and treachery that puts not only his life at risk, but the lives of his wife, son…and unborn child.SQUALL is a fast-paced, darkly-comic tale of murder and gang-style retribution that grabs the reader on page one and simply does not let go.

Her Last Breath


Hilary Davidson - 2021
    However, her sorrow turns to bone-chilling confusion when she receives a message Caroline sent days earlier warning that her death would be no accident. Long used to being a pariah to her family, Deirdre covers her tattoos and heads to Manhattan for her sister’s funeral.The message claimed Caroline’s husband, Theo, killed his first wife and got away with it. Reeling from the news, Deirdre confronts Theo on the way to the cemetery, and he reveals both his temper and his suspicion that Deirdre’s “perfect” sister was having an affair.Paranoid and armed with just enough information to make her dangerous, Deirdre digs into the disturbing secrets buried with Caroline. But as she gets closer to the truth, she realizes that her own life may be at risk…and that there may be more than one killer in the family.

Noble Beginnings


L.T. Ryan - 2013
    A Marine in name only, Jack is on-loan to the CIA. Normally an integral part of the team, he finds that he is nothing more than a security detail in Iraq.Jack and his partner Bear have a run-in with four CIA special agents over the treatment of an Iraqi family. Within hours Jack and Bear are detained.All Jack wanted was to finish his enlistment and move on with his life. All he did was intervene and save a family from unwarranted violence at the hands of four CIA agents. But he soon discovers that he did far more than intervene. He has placed himself dead square in the middle of a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of the U.S. government.

Following You


Eva Lesko Natiello - 2021
    Guaranteed to shock.” —Samantha Downing, bestselling author of My Lovely Wife 

A missing body.
A dead body.
A somebody.
A nobody.
It's New Year's Eve in Southern California. Shae Wilmont, the adored celebrity host of IShop—a popular shopping site—is ready to reclaim her life. Her stalker's been caught. But en route to a party, a bizarre encounter lands her in the wrong place at the wrong time. She panics. And trusts her gut. It's a devastating mistake.Only one person knows where she ends up. It's where no one can find her.

Shae's stunned fans rally to track her down. Yet the charismatic Shae they know, who delivers digital intimacy to viewers who buy anything she sells, off camera is an enigma—private and strangely insecure. She's unable to let anyone get close. When the investigation exposes startling personal secrets, the paradox of Shae begins to unravel.

In this dark psychological thriller, the lives of three strangers collide irreversibly. Honey, a displaced Southern girl with a painful past, is fiercely protective of her new friends at the expense of her own safety. Creepy Lawrence, a Detective Bureau fast-tracker with a penchant for latex gloves and a perverse obsession with Shae. And Shae, with millions of fake friends but hardly a real one. All three are hiding something, but only two of them are lying.Time is running out. But the only way to find Shae, is for someone to discover who she really is.

Nothing is what it seems in this propulsive locked room thriller. Eva Lesko Natiello is back with another gripping suspense, keeping you guessing until the final page.

"Intense and creepy."
"Wickedly plotted."
"Gripping till the last page."
"If you think you know how this book will end—you're dead wrong!"ADVANCE PRAISE:

"Expertly paced, gripping, and intoxicating, FOLLOWING YOU will leave you breathless." —J.D. Barker, New York Times bestselling author of A Caller's Game

“FOLLOWING YOU is a dark, delicious thriller. Read it with the lights on.” 
—Amber Garza, author of When I Was You
“An inherently riveting and deftly crafted novel of dark psychological suspense, FOLLOWING YOU showcases author Eva Lesko Natiello's genuine flair for originality and a distinctively entertaining narrative storytelling style. Highly recommended, especially for library Contemporary Mystery/Suspense collections . . . and all dedicated psychological thriller fans . . .”—Midwest Book Review“Eva Lesko Natiello, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE MEMORY BOX, returns with a sizzler in FOLLOWING YOU . . . Diabolically twisted and entertaining . . . Intense and creepy . . . A smart, wickedly plotted psychological thriller brimming with dark surprises at each page turn. From the enigmatic and stunning front cover to the gripping last page, you will be spellbound.”—Judith D. Collins, Must Read Books

Water Memory


Daniel Pyne - 2021
    But when pirates seize the cargo ship she’s on, she must decide whether to risk her life to save her fellow passengers.Sentro’s training takes over, and she’s able to elude her captors, leaving bodies in her wake. But her problems are just getting started. Her memory lapses are getting more frequent, symptoms of serial-concussion syndrome.As she plays a deadly game of cat and mouse with the pirates, she pushes herself to survive by focusing on thoughts of her children. She’s never told them what she really does for a living, and now she might not get the chance.While her memories make her vulnerable, motherhood makes her dangerous.

A Familiar Sight


Brianna Labuskes - 2021
    Gretchen White is a specialist in antisocial personality disorders and violent crimes. She’s helped solve enough prominent cases for detective Patrick Shaughnessy that her own history is often overlooked: Gretchen is an admitted sociopath once suspected of killing her aunt. Shaughnessy still thinks Gretchen got away with murder. It’s not going to happen again.When a high-profile new case lands on Shaughnessy’s desk, it seems open and shut. Remorseless teenager Viola Kent is accused of killing her mother. Amid stories of childhood horrors and Viola’s cruel manipulations, the bad seed has already been found guilty by a rapt public. But Gretchen might be seeing something in Viola no one else does: herself.If Viola is a scapegoat, then who really did it? And what are they hiding? To find the truth, Gretchen must enter a void that is not only dark and cold-blooded, but also frighteningly familiar.

Leine Basso Crime Thrillers Boxset, #1-3


D.V. Berkom - 2015
     Serial Date: When a former assassin's daughter is abducted, she's drawn into the twisted game of a serial killer who may be a grisly remnant from her past. What happens when a reality show turns deadly? Determined to leave her old life behind, retired assassin Leine Basso accepts a job working security at one of television's most popular reality shows, Serial Date. When a contestant is found dead in the prop closet, it appears the killer is one of the 'bachelors' on the show- an ex-con billed as a serial killer- but the detective in charge of the case isn't so sure. When Leine's estranged daughter is abducted by a man claiming to be the real killer, she's forced to rely on old skills to find her, and must come to terms with who she really is. She soon realizes the murderer may be a grisly remnant from her past and she'll need to use all of her cunning to stop him... ...and rescue her daughter. Bad Traffick: Dangerous obsessions take center stage when a former assassin and a homicide detective race against the clock to find a missing girl before she's sold to the highest bidder. Identified as a person of interest in three cold case murders she didn't commit, retired assassin Leine Basso accepts a temporary position as a security specialist for A-list actor Miles Fournier. Soon, a woman contacts Miles, claiming to be his long-lost sister. But, there's a problem: her twelve-year-old daughter, Mara, has been abducted and she's desperate to get her back. Leine learns from a contact that Mara escaped, but the traffickers are determined to track her down and deliver her to their powerful client. Running out of time, Leine must find Mara before they do, or she will be lost forever. The Body Market: A retired assassin is called in when a celebration south of the border turns into a nightmare. Everything's for sale... Former assassin Leine Basso is hired by a wealthy Beverly Hills power couple to find their missing daughter, Elise, last seen partying with her boyfriend at a club in Tijuana. At first, police believe the two teenagers are the victims of a carjacking. But when Leine finds their missing vehicle with a mutilated body inside, and the local cartel warns her away, she knows if Elise isn’t already dead, she will be soon, or worse. In the lethal world of organized crime, there’s always a worse. As Leine races to uncover the reason behind Elise Bennett’s disappearance, she must also battle the powerful interests fighting to keep her from the truth.

Wounded Animals


Jim Heskett - 2015
    Do it now, before they kill him. WOUNDED ANIMALS is a 2015 Foreword Reviews INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award Finalist.... While nursing some drinks after a terrible day at work, Candle spits out his rum and coke when a stranger across the bar turns water into wine. But did he? Or was it just an alcohol-induced trick of the light? This stranger has a warning for Candle: skip your planned business trip tomorrow. If you go, I won’t be able to protect you any longer. With a clear head the next morning, Candle resumes his normal life, working for a company that’s about to lay him off. That barroom huckster couldn’t have been magical, or prophetic. He was just some washed-up weirdo with a few tricks. But when Candle comes back from his trip to find his pregnant wife missing and a dead man’s blood seeping into his bathroom floor, the washed-up weirdo’s counsel doesn’t seem so foreign now. Cops, friends, family… Candle doesn’t trust anyone. As he searches for his wife, people around him keep turning up murdered. If he can’t find her and uncover the mystery driving the chaos, the stranger’s words might come true, after all. This novella (the first in the Whistleblower Trilogy) combines the action-packed chase conspiracy thriller style with an amateur sleuth mystery, all told through protagonist Tucker Candle's unique and funny voice. Scroll up and click Buy Now today to get your copy of this fast-paced thriller novella, full of action and surprises! Here's what some readers have had to say about WOUNDED ANIMALS: • "If you want a real page-turner with an intriguing story and interesting characters, you should try this book." - JD • "From start to finish it's GO-GO-GO! This was truly a mystery and impossible to figure out (for me, at least). Seems like it was one big chase scene during the entire book. EXCELLENT!!!" - Zee • "From the git-go, I was sucked into this novel and couldn't let go til the last page. Crazy, twisty and waaay enjoyable. I loved this book." - Jmac55

Dead Man's Hand


Luke Murphy - 2012
    …and the cards don't fall your way? When the brutal slaying of a prominent casino owner is followed by the murder of a well-known bookie, Detective Dale Dayton is thrown into the middle of a highly political case and leads the largest homicide investigation in Vegas in the last twelve years. What if you're dealt a Dead Man's Hand? Against his superiors and better judgment, Dayton is willing to give Calvin one last chance. To redeem himself, Calvin must prove his innocence by finding the real killer, while avoiding the LVMPD, as well as protect the woman he loves from a professional assassin hired to silence them.

Foreign Deceit


Jeff Carson - 2012
    All that trouble falls to background noise, however, when Wolf learns his brother has just committed suicide in northern Italy. Devastation and resentment of his sibling's selfish act is short-lived, because Wolf knows one thing is for certain: his brother would never kill himself. Or would he? A nagging suspicion there's more to the story is enough to pull Wolf from his volatile life, to Lecco, Italy--a picturesque city along the shores of Lake Como, where danger lies amid the ancient cobblestone alleys.With the aid of a beautiful Carabinieri agent, can Wolf piece together what really happened to his brother without suffering the same fate?