Book picks similar to
Blind Switch by John McEvoy


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Unlikely Killer


Ricki Thomas - 2010
    This one is breaking all the rules. It takes a journalist's keen eye to grasp the terrifying truth. This killer is recreating infamous murders from history. Despite researching historical murders in an attempt to catch the killer in the act, the police are repeatedly outwitted. With the Jack the Ripper murders next on the agenda, a bloodbath seems inevitable. With the clock ticking and the killer becoming increasingly frenzied, a detective and criminal psychologist join forces to stop this unlikely killer.

Blood and Groom


Jill Edmondson - 2009
    Former rock band singer and neophyte private investigator Sasha Jackson lands the case because she’s all Christine can afford. The high society gal was jilted at the altar and she’s the prime suspect, not to mention Sasha’s first major client. Relying on wit, technology, luck, and a nerdy semi-stalker to help her clear the unlikable Christine, Sasha digs further into the muck only to discover high-finance shenanigans, an unnerving pattern of slaughtered fiancés, and a growing list of brides that never were who might be killers, not to mention murky secrets among the city’s bluebloods, including drug addiction, art forgery, and possible insider trading. In order to trap the murderer, Sasha enlists her ex-boyfriend and former band mate to pose as her fiancé, but will her ruse make her ex the next victim on the hit list and lead to her own untimely demise?

The Dead Saint


Marilyn Brown Oden - 2010
    When a medal the player wore--a medal Lynn had promised to return to the man's family--disappears, Lynn is thrust into a suspenseful and fast-moving journey through four assassinations, an attempt on her life, conflicts with a mysterious and ancient society, and a behind-the-scenes conspiracy that reaches all the way to the White House. The turbulent, unstoppable intrigue challenges Lynn mentally, physically, and spiritually as she engages in a desperate battle with an opponent who is just as determined to kill as Lynn is to stop him even though she has no idea where--or who--he will strike next.

Loose Ends


D.D. VanDyke - 2013
    As a straightforward case takes unexpected twists, Cal must quell a growing fear that an anguished mother may never see her child again. With a shadowy crime lord lurking behind every unexpected clue, Cal struggles to tie up loose ends before evil claims its next victim.Loose Ends is book one in a new P. I. mystery series from D. D. VanDyke. Set against the rich backdrop of the San Francisco Bay Area, Cal Corwin novels brim with intrigue and fully fleshed characters from cops and criminals to hit men, oddball family and unexpected allies.

Hose Monkey


Reed Farrel Coleman - 2011
    Having lost his career to charges of corruption, his family to divorce, his partner to suicide, and his fireman brother to the tragedy of 9/11, Serpe's world is nearly empty but for his cat, Mulligan. Living in a basement apartment in a blue collar town on Long Island, Joe spends his days filling tanks with home heating oil and his nights filling his belly with vodka.But when a young retarded man who worked for Joe's oil company is cruelly murdered, Joe Serpe rediscovers purpose and grasps for a last chance at redemption.Along with his former Internal Affairs Bureau nemesis, Bob Healy, and Marla Stein, a brave and beautiful, group home psychologist, Joe wades into the world of street gangs, anti-immigration organizations, and the Red Mafia.Hose Monkey is a rough and tumble ride through a violent, often cruel world--a world where it's hard to tell the bad guys from the good guys without a scorecard. It is a world of murder and extortion, but one in which an innocent Down Syndrome girl may hold the key that unlocks the mystery. At the same time, Hose Monkey is a story of salvation and forgiveness. . . a tale of justice done.

Resurrection


Ken McClure - 1999
    He is picked up by a British patrol and found to have suffered a rare reaction to the smallpox vaccine. But why are the Iraqis innoculating their population against a disease which has been wiped out for twenty years?A young Iraqi student at the Institute of Molecular Science in Edinburgh, Scotland kills himself for no apparent reason. Nobody links these incidents until Adam Dewar, investigating the movement of smallpox virus fragments between UK research institutes, stumbles on the horrific possibility that the student had been under pressure from the Iraqis to reconstruct the virus. And with the continued presence of the Iraqi secret service in the city, Dewar can only conclude that they are waiting for someone else to finish the job.And then smallpox breaks out on the Muirhouse Estate, one of the poorest and most densely populated areas in Edinburgh. The priority is to contain the virus, but with the death toll rising, riots breaking out on the estate and the iraqis still waiting, Dewar is in a race against time to discover the source of the disease and prevent it falling into the hands of a hostile nation. A nation that would only be too willing to hold the world to ransom.Ken McClure is the internationally bestselling author of over twenty medical thrillers such as The Lazarus Strain, The Gulf Conspiracy, White Death and Dust to Dust. His books have been translated into twenty-three languages and he has earned a reputation for the accuracy of his predicitions. McClure's work is informed by his background as an award-winning research scientist with the UK's Medical Research Council.

The Jury Series


Lee Goldberg - 1985
    Over 160,000 words/550 pages of non-stop action, wildly erotic sex, and wicked humor. And as a special bonus, this edition includes "Hot Sex and Gory Violence," Lee Goldberg's Newsweek essay about the writing of the series.

You Only Die Twice


Christopher Smith - 2012
    A violent act killed her, but heroics brought her back. Now, if she can't save herself from two serial killers hunting her in the Maine woods, she's about to die again, this time from two men armed with a Bible, guns, a deep belief in God, and their twisted interpretation of his word.Fueled by their righteous fury, they are determined to find Cheryl and murder her for what they perceive as her "life's worth of sins." What they don't know is what Cheryl knows. She's a Maine girl, born and raised--and she knows how to use these woods in ways that might, if she's lucky, turn them against each man.From the #1 international best-selling author of many thrillers, including "Fifth Avenue," "You Only Die Twice" is a blistering page-turner first, and a comment on Biblical interpretation second. It's Christopher Smith's most controversial and gripping novel to date.*Warning: "You Only Die Twice" is not for the faint of heart. This is a story of madness and the fight for survival, and it depicts realistic adult situations without hesitation.

Sin and Vengeance


C.J. West - 2005
    The fallen college superstar joins the family winemaking business, but working alongside his parents is not the future he had planned. He escapes work whenever he can and soon finds a new friend named Randy Black. Randy is part stunt-pilot, part Casanova, and part drunken Pied Piper. Randy introduces Charlie to Deirdre Deudon, the provocative wife of a French farmer. They come together in an ill-conceived stunt that explodes into consequences that chase Charlie and Randy back home to Massachusetts and change Deirdre's life forever. The after-effects of this tragic mistake bind the three of them together and threaten everything they hold dear.

The Jackpot


David Kazzie - 2011
    She's been passed over for partner at her law firm, she's coming down with the flu, and she's just learned that her parents' business is teetering on the brink of failure. But when she discovers that her financially desperate boss has stolen their new client's gigantic winning lottery ticket, she realizes her day is just getting started. Now, to return the ticket to its rightful owner, Samantha must stay one step ahead of her nothing-to-lose boss and a homicidal mercenary who's been hired to hunt down the ticket at all costs. And as her pursuers close in, Samantha can’t help but think about showing up at lottery headquarters, smiling for the camera, and walking away with one of the richest lottery jackpots in American history.

The Long Fall: A Novel of Crime


Lynn Kostoff - 2003
    In sunbaked Phoenix, Arizona, this never-predictable tale tosses into its antic mix a dead father, his two sons—one a small-time ex-con with a consistent genius for sabotaging his own best interests, the other a straight, uptight solid citizen with a moneymaking chain of dry-cleaning stores and a restive ex-stewardess of a wife named Evelyn—and a sicko cop with a twisted worldview. Recently released from prison—twenty-four months for possession of a truckload of black-market saguaro cacti—and in deep debt to an unforgiving crank dealer, Jimmy Coates returns home only to discover that his brother has cut him out of his inheritance. A not-unjustifiable desire to settle old scores and new sends Jimmy on a robbery spree that wipes out four of his brother's dry-cleaning establishments. But when he finds himself tumbling for a mutinously sexy Evelyn, the impulse to vengeance reverses itself. Unwittingly, however, Jimmy has already set in motion a series of dangerous consequences—adultery, blackmail, love, betrayal—that culminate in a blueprint for murder. And it could be Jimmy himself who is taking the long fall.

Wireman


Billie Sue Mosiman - 1984
    He waited in the shadows, a dark and deadly presence. He was no novice at this terrible trade--he had struck before and he would strike again. And with each new killing he became less human...and more vicious. He stood patiently, a wire garrote in his strong hands, ready to claim yet another victim. Soon he would have one more to add to his growing list unless they could stop him. But how could they when they didn't know who he was? What he was? To a terrified city he was known only as the Wireman. Set in the 1970s, two brothers return from the Vietnam war with blood on their hands. Learning to kill the enemy wasn't something that would go away when they returned home to Houston, Texas. Could one of them be the serial killer, Wireman? Could the other stop him? Loosely based on true crimes which occurred in Houston, Texas in 1978-80. A suspense thriller by Edgar-Nominated author, Billie Sue Mosiman.

Dark Reckoning


J.E. Taylor - 2010
    With bodies piling up and rumors of the murders being part of sacrificial hazing rituals, the FBI plants Special Agent Steve Williams in a fraternity at Brooksfield University. His investigation takes a ninety degree turn into the bizarre when he’s introduced to Jennifer, a clairvoyant co-ed who swears the killer isn’t human.Steve considers the plausibility of the extraordinary, the unspeakable, even the inconceivable, when his notebook starts bleeding cryptic messages. Messages that indicate Jennifer is at the heart of the darkness in Brooksfield.When she describes her latest vision, a trail of violent deaths, including his, Steve asks the million-dollar question:Is Jennifer trying to help... or is she actually the one responsible?

A Shot in the Bark: A Dog Park Mystery


C.A. Newsome - 2011
    Neither do her friends at the Mount Airy Dog Park. When the apparent suicide of Lia's deadbeat boyfriend draws the attention of Detective Peter Dourson, he decides to adopt the dead man's dog to infiltrate the tight group he's certain conceals Luthor Morrissey's killer. As his investigation uncovers secrets, a grieving Lia fights her growing attraction to the laid-back detective. Meanwhile, Luthor's killer lurks, desperate to stay ahead of the investigation--no matter who has to die... If you like believable characters, a multi-layered plot, and a compelling sense of humor with your intrigue, pick up this can't-put-down whodunit for a romp through the dog park with Lia and the gang. This extended edition includes new and expanded scenes. (69,000 words)

Hope Road


John Barlow - 2011
    A fascinating study in dark and evil... The stuff of Great British grit and dark, dark humour … Barlow provides plenty of twists and turns before the truth is revealed. But what is most enjoyable about Barlow's writing isn't his story archs or plotting, but his characters, dialogue and sense of place... Beautifully cinematic… far more cinematic than a McDermid or a Rankin. Crimefictionlover.comBarlow throws in plenty of twists before everything is untangled, since of course nothing in the case is exactly what it seems to be, and he spins the yarn in fast-paced, very readable prose. He also does a good job with the setting, the English city of Leeds, and made me feel like I'd been there. HOPE ROAD is a fine novel, the first in a series, and I look forward to reading the others.Rough EdgesHOPE ROAD: a crime thriller - You can't change your past. But what about your future?John Ray, son of crime boss Antonio 'Tony' Ray, is the straight one of the family. With a successful business and a lifestyle to match, he wants nothing to do with his father's criminal world. But what does that world want with him?A young prostitute is found dead in John's car, and Freddy Metcalfe, his best friend and employee, is framed for her death. Freddy denies everything but it's an open and shut case: he's going down for murder. John sets out to find the real killer.But things get complicated. A stash of counterfeit money was also found in John's car, and the police seem more interested in that than in the dead girl. Then Lanny Bride turns up; one of the north's most ruthless criminals (and an old friend of the Ray family), Lanny is desperate to know who killed the girl. But why? Meanwhile, Freddy is too scared to talk to anyone, even his lawyer.John's police detective girlfriend, Denise Danson, has been warned off the case by her boss. But she doesn't believe Freddy is guilty, and secretly helps John look for the murderer. The problem, though, is that uncovering the shocking truth about the girl's death will force John to confront his own criminal past and risk destroying his future, as well as losing the only woman he's ever loved. A novel set in Leeds, this is the first crime-mystery in the LS9 series.