The Bone Jar


S.W. Kane - 2020
    An abandoned asylum. Will a mysterious former patient help untangle the dark truth?The body of an elderly woman has been found in the bowels of a derelict asylum on the banks of the Thames. As Detective Lew Kirby and his partner begin their investigation, another body is discovered in the river nearby. How are the two murders connected?Before long, the secrets of Blackwater Asylum begin to reveal themselves. There are rumours about underground bunkers and secret rooms, unspeakable psychological experimentation, and a dark force that haunts the ruins, trying to pull back in all those who attempt to escape. Urban explorer Connie Darke, whose sister died in a freak accident at the asylum, is determined to help Lew expose its grisly past. Meanwhile Lew discovers a devastating family secret that threatens to turn his life upside down.As his world crumbles around him, Lew must put the pieces of the puzzle together to keep the killer from striking again. Only an eccentric former patient really knows the truth—but will he reveal it to Lew before it’s too late?

Borrowed Time


Edie Claire - 2011
    But in some cases, it's worth a try. Sarah Landers’ parents were killed in a plane crash when she was seventeen; her only sister committed suicide days after. Now, nearly a decade later, Sarah assures everyone she is perfectly fine -- never mind her quiet aloofness, her intensity at work, her seeming neglect of any social life. Only Sarah knows the whole story. Only she is aware of the dark memories that plague her with guilt -- of the fear of discovery that paralyzes her soul.But when an enigmatic illness forces the normally self-sufficient Sarah to depend on someone -- namely the charming do-gooder of a neighbor, Adam, whom she has been trying desperately to avoid -- her carefully built cocoon begins to crumble. Her family’s home in Alabama, left vacant since the tragedy, still holds the grim evidence of her nightmares and is slated for imminent demolition. With the horror of her past swiftly catching up to her, Sarah’s malady begins to look less like a catastrophe -- and more like her only way out.But the (rather irreverent) reverend Adam Carmassi refuses to let Sarah go -- not when she is the first woman who has ever truly touched his heart, and not when he is so certain he can help her. With the end of Sarah's life looming in more ways than one, Adam wages a desperate campaign to convince her that no matter what tortured secrets she insists on hiding, her life is worth living -- and their chance of a future together, however slim, is a dream worth fighting for.

Firefly


Cory Toth - 2013
    Tortured by his inability to end his own life, the man is forced to face his strange connection to a series of bizarre murders. The homicide investigator assigned to the case races against time to learn the truth...but fate has something much greater in store for everyone involved.

Suicide Forest


Jeremy Bates - 2014
    Legend has it that the spirits of those many suicides are still roaming, haunting deep in the ancient woods.When bad weather prevents a group of friends from climbing neighboring Mt. Fuji, they decide to spend the night camping in Aokigahara. But they get more than they bargained for when one of them is found hanged in the morning--and they realize there might be some truth to the legends after all.

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...

Those Who Wish Me Dead -- Free Preview -- The First 10 Chapters


Michael Koryta - 2014
    The plan is to get Jace off the grid while police find the two killers. The result is the start of a nightmare. The killers, known as the Blackwell Brothers, are slaughtering anyone who gets in their way in a methodical quest to reach him. Now all that remains between them and the boy are Ethan and Allison Serbin, who run the wilderness survival program; Hannah Faber, who occupies a lonely fire lookout tower; and endless miles of desolate Montana mountains. The clock is ticking, the mountains are burning, and those who wish Jace Wilson dead are no longer far behind.

Vow of Silence (The Jill Shannon Murder #2)


Chris Patchell - 2018
     Five years after the brutal slaying of her husband, software executive Jill Shannon is ready to take the next step in her life. But with her wedding to prosecuting attorney Conner Manning just eight weeks away, her future father-in-law’s political ambitions for her fiancé threaten all her hopes. Jill’s past holds dark secrets. Secrets she can’t afford to have exposed under the relentless lights of a political campaign. When Phoenix Detective David Shaw turns up at Jill’s door asking questions about a reporter's murder, he has no idea what a lethal Pandora’s Box he’s just opened. Was the womanizing reporter killed by a jealous husband, or was it related to his drug use? Or did it have something to do with the secret expose the reporter was working on? Jill Shannon looks like a dead-end lead but Shaw can’t shake the feeling the beautiful widow has secrets she’s not sharing. Jill is caught between the sins of her past and the shattered hopes for her future. Shaw finds himself drawn deeper into a twisted labyrinth of lies and danger. One thing is clear: some vows are made out loud in front of witnesses. But some vows are made in silence, and witnesses can’t be left alive.

Diamonds and Cole


Micheal Maxwell - 2013
    In the past, Cole a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, worked for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Time Magazine. Now, he’s returned to the paper where he started his career, The Chicago Sentinel. Instead of writing the big stories, he’s doing the work of a rookie reporter. His “big story of the day” is a cat caught in a tree. During its rescue, the cat’s owner takes her Good Samaritan neighbor hostage. Cole witnesses something so disturbing it reawakens the journalist’s desire to write again.Returning to the paper, Cole finds a desperate message asking for help from Ellie, one that got away. The one that has continually haunted his life. Cole drops everything and flies to California. He must find what would make her so desperate, she would call him after so many years. Cole finds her terminally ill, and abandoned by her husband. He discovers while Ellie was heavily medicated, she mistakenly signed a Power of Attorney. Now her estranged daughter Erin’s inheritance, won’t go to her, but her abusive step-father. Cole vows to find the girl and right the situation.The path to keeping his word is blocked at every turn by the husband who abandoned her, his shady real estate deals, violent con men, street thugs and the lure of a fortune in diamonds that unite them. The anger, sorrow, and crippling guilt of twenty years fires Cole's drive to keep a promise, that in the end, will heal and return the soul to the great journalist.Beaten, bloody but determined, Cole Sage conquers greed and hatred with a strength that only love, and a will as hard as diamond, can achieve.

Shadow Kill


David Caris - 2021
    Betrayed by his employer and left for dead, Kovac decides to lie low in Tokyo.His plan? Revenge...But when a young woman asks him to protect her from the yakuza, Kovac feels duty-bound to help. She’s a victim of abuse, and long experience tells him if he doesn’t step in tonight she’ll be a corpse before dawn.As Kovac works to uncover the truth of his last job, he finds himself drawn into a conspiracy which goes well beyond the yakuza to a new and terrifying multinational cartel. One that will stop at nothing to control the global drug trade.The kingpins are certain they’ve covered all bases. They're well-funded and utterly ruthless. But they’ve failed to account for one man – John Kovac.SHADOW KILL is the first in a fast-paced, unflinching thriller series that won't in any way shortchange you on action. Perfect for fans of Lee Child, Mark Greaney and Mark Dawson.

Faultlines


Barbara Taylor Sissel - 2016
    Her nephew, Travis, was also in the car, along with Travis’s girlfriend. All three are alive—but barely. The car was smashed against a tree along a remote and winding road, beautiful but deadly, in their rural Texas Hill Country town.In the wake of the car crash, the close-knit family is tested like never before. Jenna, Travis’s mother, blames Jordan—as well as her sister, Sandy—after reports surface that Jordan had been driving. As the young adults struggle to survive, tension between their parents escalates. But when trust is broken and a shocking family secret is exposed, it creates a perfect storm of harrowing consequences. Rumors in the small town spread like wildfire. When details of the accident are questioned, Sandy and Jenna wonder if their family has been destroyed beyond repair.As always, there’s much more to the story…if the family is to survive, they will have to come together to confront the terrible truth and overcome their pain. But are some betrayals unforgivable?

Storberry


Dan Padavona - 2014
    Across town, teenager Jen Barrows is frightened by the strange noises which come from her garage crawlspace after nightfall, despite the assurances of friend Tom Kingsley that there is nothing to fear. When a strange storm cripples the town's communication systems, something hideous begins stalking the people of Storberry. Tom and Jen align themselves with Evan and a tiny group of survivors who suspect the horrible truth behind the evil loose in the night. Together they must overcome personal tragedy and find a way to survive until sunrise. In the darkest pit of night, before the faintest strip of blood red is on the eastern horizon, it seems the sun will never again rise in Storberry.

Perception


Lee Strauss - 2012
     Zoe’s carefree life takes a traumatic turn when her brother Liam is murdered.The only one who can help her find out what happened is Noah Brody, the last guy on earth she should trust.  Noah Brody is a natural who lives on the outside. He leads protests against the GAPs and detests the widening chasm they’ve created between those who have and those who don’t. He doesn’t like girls like Zoe and he has good reason not to like her specifically. He's not sure why he's agreed to help her, but what he finds out when he does, will change his life forever.PERCEPTION is a near-future mystery that can be read alone. ​

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.

Cognition


Jacques St-Malo - 2019
    When research suggests how to harness brain evolution, a hunt ensues for a missing link―one that allows to design humans with skills that prodigies of old would have envied.As germline engineering and biological enhancement have become routine, ancient doubts have emerged under new guises: Who are we? Is there a purpose to life? Why is there so much suffering? When faith and science fail to answer these questions, personal greed and national interest quickly fill the void. But gene selection is expensive, and many are excluded from its benefits. The stage is set for tribalism and social discontent on a scale without precedent, and those caught in the fray, whether by choice or by chance, must play roles not always to their liking in the struggle of all creatures against the arbitrariness of existence.

The Honeymoon Cottage


Barbara Cool Lee - 2012
    But when she arrives in Pajaro Bay, she finds a village full of cute cottages, quirky characters... and a killer on the loose who's somehow linked to her, the young boy, and the darling little house known as The Honeymoon Cottage. The Pajaro Bay stories are filled with light and breezy, heartwarming fun, and always leave you with a happy ending.