Book picks similar to
The Death of Mr. Lomas by Francis Vivian
mystery
classic-mysteries
mystery-read
genre_classic-crime
Recoil
Jim Thompson - 1953
Fifteen years on the inside for a victimless crime, under the care of a warden whose penchant for violence is legendary -- surely nothing could be worse. But when an unbelievably Samaritan act by a psychologist he's never met places Cosgrove in the care of Roland "Doc" Luther, Cosgrove's not so sure he hasn't traded the frying pan for the fire after all. On the one hand, Doc claims that Cosgrove owes him nothing, and seems at times like the most decent man alive. But at other times, Doc's potential for cruelty seems unimaginable. As it turns out, freedom's not as freeing as he thought it would be -- especially when it might end up getting him killed.
Do Not Exceed the Stated Dose
Peter Lovesey - 1998
"Passion Killers" will make your toes curl for the hapless Mrs Palmer, and "The Odstock Curse" may well induce goosebumps as a Gypsy curse is repeated in the present. Among the fifteen tales are two featuring Peter Lovesey's forthright police detective, Peter Diamond, and two with the amateur sleuth, Bertie, Prince of Wales, in rumbustious form. The collection also include "The Pushover," winner of the Mystery Writers of America's Golden Mysteries short story prize, and "Quiet Please—We're Rolling," both nominated for Britain's Crime Writer's Association Short Story Dagger. **
Salt in the Wounds
Mark Richards - 2020
Going back to his old life.The one that cost him his wife…Michael Brady was a high-flying detective, working on a high-profile case.And much too close to the truth.Someone arranged a hit-and-run.But they missed Brady. And hit his wife.And after six months sitting by her bed, he took the only decision he could take. He turned the machine off.Now he’s back home in Whitby. Trying to rebuild his life. And be a good dad to his teenage daughter.But when his best friend is murdered Brady – unwillingly at first – is drawn into the investigation.And when the only people he has left are threatened, he finds there’s only one answer.Going back to his old life…
The Alchemist
Ken Goddard - 1985
A beautiful undercover agent and her partner are brutally murdered in Southern California. A special task force of highly trained police officers go underground to find out why. What they discover is a billion-dollar criminal conspiracy--and an elusive mastermind known as the Alchemist.The Alchemist is a respected chemist who has conjured up a substance worth its weight in gold: a synthetic "designer" drug as potent as cocaine or heroin and twice as dangerous--because its unique chemical formula is perfectly legal!Caught in the crossfire between a desperate Mafia chief and two ruthless drug lords, the task force must step outside the law to crush the impending crime war, risking being lured so far out from behind the protection of their badges that there is no turning back.
Nineteen Seventy Four
David Peace - 1999
Crime correspondent for the Evening Post. He didn't know it was going to be a season in hell. A dead little girl with a swan's wings stitched to her back. A gypsy camp in a ring of fire. Corruption everywhere you look.In Nineteen Seventy Four, David Peace brings passion and stylistic bravado to this terrifyingly intense journey into a secret history of sexual obsession, greed and sadism.
Calendar of Crime
Ellery Queen - 1952
Contents: The inner circle --The President's half disme --The ides of Michael Magoon --The Emperor's dice --The Gettysburg bugle --The medical finger --The fallen angel --The needle's eye --The three r's --The dead cat --The telltale bottle --The dauphin's doll.
The Secret of Chimneys
Agatha Christie - 1925
Little did Anthony Cade suspect that an errand for a friend would place him at the center of a deadly conspiracy. Drawn into a web of intrigue, he begins to realize that the simple favor has placed him in serious danger. As events unfold, the combined forces of Scotland Yard and the French Sûreté gradually converge on Chimneys, the great country estate that hides an amazing secret.
The Power House
John Buchan - 1916
But a series of strange events that follow Pitt-Heron’s disappearance convinces Leithen that he is dealing with a sinister secret society. Their codename is ‘The Power-House’. The authorities are unable to act without evidence. As he gets deeper involved with the underworld, Leithen finds himself facing the enemy alone and in terrible danger.
The Man Who Bought London
Edgar Wallace - 1915
This morning he is on his way to buy shops in Oxford Street. Elsie Marion is late for work when she falls into conversation with him. Suddenly two shots ring out. They miss, but King Kerry seems to know his attacker. From a high office window a man shakes his fist: someday, the man vows, 'I will find a bullet that goes to its mark - and the girl from Denver City will be free!'
A Celestial Affair (Trengillion Cornish Mystery Series Book 6)
Daphne Neville - 2016
Twelve years have passed since Trengillion was covered in a deep blanket of snow and since then much has changed. Ned Stanley, the village school's headmaster, has retired and the inn is, yet again, under new ownership. Throughout Cornwall, businesses are making final preparations for the half a million extra tourists predicted to visit the county in August for the much hyped solar eclipse. An event which, unbeknown to the residents of the peaceful fishing village, will bring in its wake far more than a large influx of holiday makers. A Celestial Affair is the sixth book in a series of seven set in Cornwall on the beautiful Lizard Peninsula. The books cover a timespan of sixty years.
An Invitation To Murder
Norman Russell - 2021
Even if that means marrying his daughter off to a rich American.Unfortunately for him, she is already in love with a penniless nobody named Alan Lavender — to the glee of Alan’s greedy uncle Guy.He’s been nosing into the Renfields’ murky past, and he says he’s uncovered a secret. Something so shocking it casts a shadow over Frank’s entire legacy.Tensions run high at the hall, until Guy Lavender turns up dead.A convenient coincidence for Frank?Detectives French and Edwards are on the case. But in a town full of secrets, the truth can be hard to find.And Guy’s won’t be the only body to fall before their work is done . . .Who will be next to die under the Renfields’ roof?
Free to Steal (Katie Freeman Mysteries Book 7)
Julie Mellon - 2019
When called to the scene of a bank robbery that leaves a young mother dead, Katie Freeman and Michael Powell are confronted with their most perplexing case yet. The trail connects a series of unsolved bank robberies from across the country dating back more than a decade – yet the investigation suggests that money was never the motive. But if not money, what are the thieves seeking? And is the death of the young mother related? As Katie and Michael follow the case’s many twists and turns, they uncover a motive more sinister than they could have imagined.
Serious as a Heart Attack
Louisa Luna - 2004
After getting fired from her job at a calendar company for botching Daylight Savings, she is informally hired by a wealthy acquaintance to track down his girlfriend, a stripper named Trigger Happy. But Queenie's seemingly good luck turns hard when she finds Trigger dead in her apartment.Now Queenie's daily routine of being a drunk smart-ass is put on hold as she becomes both a suspect for the murder and the target for an unknown predator. Hopping from bar to bar, from Coney Island clam stands to the Waldorf-Astoria, she inadvertently lands on the trail of Trigger's killer and puts herself in the line of fire.Along the way she meets Rey, a private eye with a soft spot for tough-talking ladies; Detective Olds, the stuttering cop who thinks Queenie's the culprit; and a dozen New York denizens, among them a cult recruiter, a hit man, a thief, and even Rip Torn -- some strange, some sad, some sweet, and some deadly, every one dropping in and out of Queenie's life as she searches for each fragile piece of the puzzle that may eventually lead her to the truth.With danger closing in on her, Queenie can't help but realize the precariousness of her own mortality. As she stares out of the window at an old lady on the corner, she thinks, "There is nothing separating you from that old lady right now -- maybe something, maybe time is all, but that's really nothing when you think about it." After all, thinks Queenie, it's just days. But unless she can find the killer before the killer finds her, Queenie's days are seriously numbered.
Suedehead
Richard Allen - 1971
Phased out. Home had never appealed. All his life he had dreamed about a plush flat somewhere in the West End of London. So now he would make the leap from poverty street into the affluent society. In one gigantic jump.
Fresh out of stir after kicking a police sergeant’s head in, former skinhead Joe Hawkins is heading for the big time – a job in a firm of stockbrokers, a swanky flat and (hopefully) plenty of money. A whole new style is called for – so Joe becomes a Suedehead. The hair is a few millimetres longer, the uniform a velvet-collared crombie coat, bowler hat and neatly-furled umbrella – with razor sharp tip. For while Joe might be playing the establishment pet, he remains the unrepentently vicious, cunning hooligan from Skinhead, intent on pulling women, stealing and putting the boot in. It’s not long before he finds some other Suedes willing to commit mayhem under cover of respectability... but can Joe and respectability ever really get along? Suedehead is the second of Richard Allen’s era-defining cult novels featuring anti-hero Joe Hawkins. First published in 1971, this new edition features an introduction by Andrew Stevens.