Book picks similar to
Hell Up In Houston by Garnett Elliott
mystery
amazon
novella
might-read
The President Killed His Wife
Steve Richer - 2015
on live TV, during the State of the Union address! FBI agent Rogan Bricks is a recluse with a murky past. Just an ex-soldier happy to be low-profile. While he's shocked watching from his mansion in Alaska, he's not particularly distressed. He's never cared about politics anyway. But everything changes when he's personally summoned to Washington to lead the investigation. Why him? Why is his life suddenly in danger from assassins? And why is everything starting to point toward a conspiracy? Novel. Action thriller.
The Secrets of Shepard's Woods (Shepard's Series Book 1)
Mimi Streets - 2014
Audrey works in the canning factory by day but her nights soon become filled with suspense after she learns that the woods near her house are haunted and filled with secrets that she longs to uncover. Hold your breath as Audrey walks on the “wrong side of the fence” and share her wonder as she marvels at the mysterious, disappearing church. She may need your prayers as she brushes shoulders with the spirits of the dead but her biggest obstacle will still be ahead of her. Preacher Man, the reportedly deceased property owner of Shepard’s Woods, must be confronted before Audrey can make any headway. Will he allow her to uncover the mysterious secrets or will he refuse to let her on his property? Can she convince him that she is mature enough to help him conquer his demons? Come along for the journey and watch as Audrey discovers the secrets, excitement, and heart-felt warmth of small town living.
Daria's Daughter
Linda Huber - 2021
Her daughter has vanished without a trace and nobody is telling her what happened. Evie's gone. That's all. Gone. What does Daria have left to live for?A mother and daughter reunitedMargie can't believe it. Bridie is hurt. Bridie needs her. They manage to escape the smoke, the noise and the confusion. They are together, that's all that matters. Everything will be better in the morning, Margie tells Bridie. And it will.The bonds that never breakWill Daria ever be able to put the pieces of her tattered life back together after the loss of her daughter? Is it possible that things aren't quite as they seem? Can the unimaginable turn out to be the truth?
Chef Maurice and the Rather Fishy Tale, A Short Story Prequel
J.A. Lang - 2014
A tale of intrigue, kidnap and the price of fish…
When a mysterious carved wooden fish turns up in the morning seafood delivery, bearing a desperate—albeit badly spelt—plea for help, Chef Maurice, proprietor of Le Cochon Rouge in the Cotswold village of Beakley, has only one response: if he can’t steam it, grill it or fry it, he’s not interested. Unfortunately, friend and food critic Arthur Wordington-Smythe is more than willing to get the pair embroiled—or should that be broiled?—in what could turn out to be some seriously fishy business. Time then for a trip to the Cornish seaside in search of the fish’s owner, a parking space, and a jolly good plate of haddock and chips, not necessarily in that order...
Chasing Amanda
Robin Patchen - 2015
Behind her, the men get into a scuffle, and she runs, not quite sure what just happened. He must make sure she’s safeMonths after 9/11, Mark is about to ship out to Afghanistan. He’s not looking for romance, but the marines have trained him to listen to his gut. And his gut screams that the pretty waitress is in danger. The stranger in the shadowsWhile Amanda and Mark learn to trust one another, a monster stalks his next target. Will Mark be able to save her a second time, or will the love he thought he didn’t want be ripped from his hands by violence?
This Lonely Town
Josh Griffith - 2014
Nora Lord, a rock superstar whose reckless, self-destructive actions were as famous as her music, is found dead in the bathtub of her suite at the hipster boutique hotel, The Sunset Club, from an overdose of Xanax and red wine. Jason Chance, a lonely, haunted LA Sheriff's homicide detective, as passionate about rock and roll as he is dedicated to his job, grabs up the case. On the surface, her death looks like an accident or possible suicide. But Jason isn't buying it. As he digs deeper into the last tragic days of Nora's life, he follows a bloody trail that takes him from the raucous Sunset Strip to dark East Hollywood alleys, and on to the protected enclaves of Newport Beach and Pasadena, clashing with his partner and his bosses, and uncovering a web of obsession, corruption, blackmail, and murder.
broken
Mary Ann Gouze - 2014
As Anna Mae grows up, she finds herself subject to blackouts, and she’s not sure why. Her psychiatrist thinks she might have traumatic amnesia, but all the diagnosis does is complicate her already troubled life, affecting her relationships involving family, friends, and love. At first she tries to deal with it, but she soon discovers that she will have to overcome it once and for all. For she can’t remember the crucial information she witnessed during a recent blackout. And her life depends on it.
Splitsville
William Bernhardt - 2021
A bitter custody battle. A deadly fire. This case could cost Kenzi her career—and her life.Kenzi Rivera is furious. Passed over for promotion at her own father’s firm, the talented divorce lawyer is tired of fighting chauvinism every single day. When a desperate scientist begs for help getting her daughter back, Kenzi can’t resist…even though this client is involved in Hexitel, a group she calls her religion but others call a cult.Kenzi uncovers evidence of disturbing practices at Hexitel involving large sums of money, servitude, and sex. She also learns her client’s lab has been plagued by death threats and cutthroat competition. After the workplace burns to the ground and her client is charged with murder, the ambitious attorney knows there is much more at stake than a simple custody dispute.Can Kenzi find a path to the truth before she’s trapped in a maze of death?Splitsville is the dramatic first book in the Splitsville Legal Thriller series. If you like gutsy heroines, diverse characters, and page-turning suspense, then you’ll love William Bernhardt’s twisty tale.
Where There's Smoke: Charlie Walden's First Case
Peter Murphy - 2017
But he soon finds himself struggling to keep the peace between three feisty fellow judges who have very different views about how to do their job, and about how Charlie should do his.And as if that’s not enough, there’s the endless battle against the ‘Grey Smoothies’, the humourless grey-suited civil servants who seem determined to drown Charlie in paperwork and strip the court of its last vestiges of civilisation.No hope of a quiet life then for Charlie, and there are times when his real job – trying the challenging criminal cases that come before him – actually seems like light relief.
If you like Rumpole of the Bailey, you'll love Walden of Bermondsey
Praise for Walden of Bermondsey
'No one writes with more wit, warmth and insight about the law and its practitioners than Peter Murphy. He has no equal since the great John 'Rumpole' Mortimer' - David Ambrose'Though his exasperation is sometimes palpable, what triumphs over everything is his sense of humour. And it is the humour that makes Walden of Bermondsey such a delightful read. Think of him as what Rumpole would be like if he ever became a judge, and you get some idea of his self-deprecating wit and indomitable stoicism. Add a dash of Henry Cecil for his situation and AP Herbert for the fun he has with the law, and you get a sense of Peter's literary precedents' - Paul Magrath
City of Fallen Angels
Paul Buchanan - 2020
A scorching heatwave is suffocating L.A. PI John Keegan is offered a small fortune to find a beautiful woman from a set of photographs. He refuses; the job seems suspicious.But the next day the same woman, Eve, turns up, unbidden, on his doorstep. Eve fears for her safety. She is being watched. Before Keegan knows it, someone has been killed with Keegan s own gun, and he gets sucked into a world of suspicion and betrayal where he s never quite sure where the truth lies. Before long he s the prime suspect in a murder he didn't commit, and all the evidence seems to point in his direction.It s almost like someone planned it that way.
Quantrall
Carolina Mac - 2017
When his on-again, off-again, love is kidnapped, Jesse risks his life to discover the startling truth behind her disappearance. Battling the chaos of guns and violence, Jesse finds new strength and purpose.
The Accidental Existentialist
Joshua Graham - 2010
Tense, action-packed and filled with more twists than the Coney Island Cyclone, THE ACCIDENTAL EXISTENTIALIST poses the question: How far would one man go to rid the world of evil, and avenge his son?
Mass Destruction (Nuclear Threat, #1)
Carolyn McCray - 2014
Tracking down rogue spears, broken arrows and suitcase nukes, add in Brandt's team's tendency toward explosive action, and you've got quite a thriller.
Murder On Perrys Island
J. Kevin Earp - 2017
The boy was left a paraplegic. Marcus suffered PTSD and could no longer bring himself to carry a gun. Forced to resign the job he loved, Marcus returned to his historic family home on Perrys Island to try to put his life back together. Marcus had grown up there listening to the police chief’s stories of crime solving in the city. The chief’s stories inspired Marcus to leave the island and become the youngest detective in PD’s history. Marcus’s childhood best friend had been Jenny Gibbons, the Chief’s daughter, who was now an Ohio Wildlife Officer assigned to the island’s state park. She is determined to help Marcus face his pain and to reestablish their relationship. As they return home from an evening out, Jenny learns that the wife of an island businessman has been brutally murdered. With Chief Gibbons away for the night, a desperate Jenny turns to Marcus to use his experience to preserve the crime scene. Marcus refuses at first, unwilling to have anything to do with police work that might force him to relive recent events. Finally, he gives in to her pleas and agrees to supervise the crime scene just until the Chief can take over. Despite himself, Marcus is drawn deeper into the investigation. When a witness identifies a youth camp chaperone as the last person to be with the victim before her death, Marcus believes the man’s story of innocence. Marcus is proven correct when the elderly housekeeper who helped raise him is left for dead in his own house and the historic mansion set on fire. The attack provides a personal aspect to the case that drives him to narrow down the suspects. Marcus’s single-minded pursuit of the killer while fighting his personal demons might cost him his own life!
Davenport House
Marie Silk - 2016
She lives isolated in the Pennsylvania countryside with her affluent and secretive family. When her father dies suddenly, Mary becomes pained with grief and increasingly suspicious of those around her. A humble servant girl has the chance of a lifetime to become a lady's companion. Costly dresses, exquisite rooms, and fine dinners are pleasant distractions from what is really happening in the house.