Book picks similar to
Justified Means by Chautona Havig


christian-fiction
suspense
fiction
mystery

Deadly Devotion


Sandra Orchard - 2013
    Kate knows that if it hadn’t been for Daisy’s mentorship, she wouldn’t have the job she loves or the faith she clings to. So when police rule Daisy’s death a suicide, Kate is determined to unearth the truth.Former FBI agent Tom Parker finds it hard to adjust to life back in his hometown of Port Aster. Though an old buddy gives him a job as a detective on the local police force, not everyone approves. Tom’s just trying to keep a low profile, so when Kate Adams demands he reopen the investigation of her friend’s death, he knows his job is at stake. In fact, despite his attraction to her, Tom thinks Kate looks a bit suspicious herself.As evidence mounts, a web of intrigue is woven around the sleepy town of Port Aster. Can Kate uncover the truth? Or will Tom stand in her way?

The Priority Unit


Susan Page Davis - 2017
    A mysterious computer program – Even the people constructing it don’t know what it will do.On the worst night of Harvey Larson’s life, his partner is killed and his wife, Carrie, walks out on him. Ten years later, the Portland, Maine police detective has learned to cope with his grief and depression. When he and the Priority Unit investigate the disappearance of software designer Nick Dunham, he meets a young woman who will change his life. Jennifer Wainthrop was the last person to admit seeing Dunham alive.Harvey and his partner, Eddie Thibodeau, stay a step ahead of a bomber and put together the clues that tell the truth: Dunham’s kidnapping and the bombings are one case, and Jennifer is caught in the middle. News that Carrie has committed suicide may plunge Harvey back into despair. Harvey turns to God for help untangling his complicated life. He finds strength in his faith as he attempts to save Jennifer from the same grim fate that claimed Nick. But Jennifer must depend on her own wits and God alone when the killer gets too close.

Lightning on a Quiet Night


Donn E. Taylor - 2014
    The young veteran Jack Davis holds that idyllic vision of the town and tries to share it with Lisa Kemper, newly arrived from Indiana. But she is repelled by everything in it. While the sheriff tries to find the killer, Jack and Lisa's contentious courtship reveals the town's strange combination of astute perceptions and surprising blind spots. Then they stumble onto shocking discoveries about the true nature of the town. But where will those discoveries lead? To repentance or to denial and continuation in vanity?

Miranda Warning


Heather Day Gilbert - 2014
    The Glock-wielding, knife-carrying housewife knows how to survive whatever life throws at her. But when an anonymous warning note shows up in her best friend Miranda’s mailbox—a note written in a dead woman’s handwriting—Tess quickly discovers that ghosts are alive and well in Buckneck, West Virginia. Hot on a cold trail, she must use limited clues and her keen insight into human nature to unmask the killer...or the next victim might be Tess herself.Tinged with the supernatural and overshadowed by the mountains' lush, protective presence, this twisting psychological mystery is the first in A Murder in the Mountains series.

Hazardous Duty


Christy Barritt - 2006
    Claire dropped out of school and started her own crime scene cleaning business. Now, when a routine cleaning job leads her to a murder weapon the police overlooked, she realizes that the wrong man is in jail. With the help of her new and attractively single neighbor, Riley Thomas, Gabby plays the detective to make sure the right man is put behind bars.

Refuge on Crescent Hill


Melanie Dobson - 2010
    But when she arrives in Etherton, Ohio, she discovers that her grandmother, who she hasn't talked to in years, has passed away and "home" is an empty mansion 150 years old. Not exactly the comfort Camden was looking for. What happened to the house she played in as a child, the bedtime stories that told of secret passageways and runaway slaves, and all those family memories? When antiques start disappearing and footsteps are heard, some of those memories start to creep back and Camden wonders if her grandmother's bedtime stories might actually be true. What really happened here . . . at Crescent Hill? How was her grandmother involved? Who still has access to the house? And for what purpose? As she works to uncover the past and present mysteries harbored in her home, Camden also uncovers secrets about her family that could change the town--and her life--forever.

Submerged


Dani Pettrey - 2012
    Two dead deep-water divers. One single clue.Bailey Craig vowed never to set foot in Yancey, Alaska, again. She has a past, and a reputation--and Yancey's a town that doesn't forget. She's returned only to bury a loved one killed in the plane crash, but then dark evidence emerges and Bailey's own expertise becomes invaluable for the case.Cole McKenna can face dangerous rescue dives. He can face the fear a murderer may be threatening his town. But facing the reality of Bailey's reappearance is a tougher challenge. She broke his heart...but doesn't seem to be the same girl who left Yancey ten years ago. And he's not the same guy she left behind. Racing against the clock and a rising body count, Bailey and Cole must move beyond the hurts of their pasts to work together until the truth of what is hidden in the depths finally surfaces.

Saving Hope


Margaret Daley - 2012
    But the battle brings dire consequences as Wyatt's daughter is terrorized and Kate is kidnapped. Now it's personal, and Wyatt finds both his faith and investigative skills challenged as he fights to discover the mastermind behind the ring before evil destroys everyone he loves."Through crisp writing, Daley paints life-like characters engaged in a believable struggle that kept me turning pages to the satisfying ending." Richard L. Mabry, MD, Author of Lethal Remedy and the Prescription For Trouble series

His Longing Heart


Jan Thompson - 2015
    She is a billionairess violin collector with a trust fund. Living in two different worlds, will their unexpected romance last?His Longing Heart is the first novel in USA Today bestselling author Jan Thompson’s Seaside Chapel Christian small-town beach romance series. This book is the updated second edition of the previously published Share with Me.The musician…Six years ago, Ivan McMillan was a budding crossover violinist on a world tour with his pianist sister. His career was cut short when Grandpa Otto died suddenly, leaving Grandma Yun saddled with enormous medical bills that ate up all their savings. In the midst of Ivan’s struggle to provide for his elderly grandmother and to save their family home from foreclosure, he finds himself falling in love with his billionairess friend, whose lifestyle he cannot afford.The muse…After Brinley Brooks’s ex-boyfriend abandons her due to her vow of purity, the twenty-something heiress goes home to St. Simon’s Island to spend time with her family and to accept her life as a single woman. At her sister’s birthday party, Brinley is mesmerized by a violinist friend, Ivan, when he plays one of Bach’s orchestral suites. Music therapy or not, her heart starts to seek its own second movement in her love life. Or is she just lonely? One thing leads to another, and Brinley enters Ivan’s world of material poverty and spiritual wealth.The minuet of their lives…When one of Ivan’s worst fears comes to pass, he feels obligated to show Brinley what it means to be a Christian living through adversity. However, trusting God is the last thing on his mind as the crisis affects his career, his life, his family, and his relationship with Brinley. Ivan cannot let her see how far he has sunk. What is a Christian man to do?

False Pretenses


Kathy Herman - 2011
    It seems like heaven.But it’s about to become hell. A series of anonymous notes is making her life a misery --because Zoe has a secret so terrible it could leave the business in shambles and tear her marriage apart. Can she find the courage to face her past?The first in a new series from Kathy Herman, False Pretenses is a gripping suspense novel that leaves a lasting impression about honesty and accountability.

Summer of Deception


Elva Cobb Martin - 2017
    She finds she is ill prepared to deal with the plantation’s new owner who is overflowing with bitterness and distrust. Widowed and wounded, former Marine Corps Special Forces operative, Luke Barrett, has enough to handle with his little girl and an historic property to upkeep. The last thing he needs is a feisty, stubborn woman with whom to contend. Yet, Rachel’s determined spirit awakens something in Luke that he thought died a long time ago. Luke begins to capture Rachel’s heart until the night she uncovers evidence he may be keeping his plantation solvent by allowing cocaine to be smuggled along his coastline. Devastated by the possibility, Rachel must decide whether to confront him, even while she conceals secrets of her own. Can love survive a summer of deception?

Beauty in Flight


Robin Patchen - 2019
    These days, she keeps her head down and focuses on the elderly patients in her care. Even her new wealthy east-coast boyfriend, Derrick, can't entice her away. She's trusted men before, and look where that got her. She tries to brush off the feeling that she's being watched. She won't allow a baseless paranoia to derail her life. But when she's followed home one night, her pursuer gets within a hair's breadth of grabbing her. She knows it's time to get away from Las Vegas. Maybe Derrick can be trusted. Maybe his job offer—to care for his aging grandfather in Maryland—will be the second chance she needs. But Derrick has secrets of his own, secrets that could take him down--and take Harper with him. Can there be a second chance for someone like her?  Buy Beauty in Flight today ,  Book 1 in a 3-book-series that’ll keep you guessing until the very end.

Because You're Mine


Colleen Coble - 2017
    So it should come as no surprise that in the beauty that surrounds Charleston, all is not as it seems.When her husband is killed by a car bomb while their band is on tour in Charleston, Alanna doesn’t know where to turn. Her father-in-law is threatening to take custody of the baby she carries, but the one thing she knows for sure is that she can’t lose the last piece of Liam she has left.Their manager offers her a marriage of convenience to gain her U.S. citizenship and allow her to escape her father-in-law’s control. It seems like the perfect solution . . . but her doubts begin almost as soon as she arrives at Barry’s family home, a decaying mansion surrounded by swamp.To make matters worse, Liam’s best friend survived the car bomb. She’s never really liked Jesse and now she can’t seem to get away from him. When he takes Liam’s place in their band, it’s almost more than she can bear.But then things start happening. Things that could easily cost Alanna her life—or the life of her unborn child. Are they merely coincidences? Or is there something much more sinister at work?

The Gathering Storm


Barbara Warren - 2006
    Stephanie, suspicious of her father’s motives, declines her father’s invitation. After his departure, Stephanie discovers the diamond necklace she borrowed from her aunt is missing. Racing through a raging thunderstorm, Stephanie drives to the lodge to reclaim the stolen item. But when she arrives, Stephanie finds her father dead, her aunt’s diamond necklace gone, and a pair of handcuffs fitted just for her. Stephanie’s claims of innocence fail to sway the local sheriff, who produces several pieces of evidence linking her to the murder. With a shaky alibi and a vindictive stepmother, Stephanie turns to a lodge employee for help. But will Brad Wilson’s assistance lead Stephanie to the real killer or prove to be her undoing? Like a gathering storm on a warm summer evening, Stephanie’s world darkens until she’s forced to turn to the one true source of knowledge. But what she learns about her father, family, and her own inner demons is more horrifying than the lies she’s come to believe. The truth can set you free. It can also kill you.

Injustice For All


Robin Caroll - 2011
    Now, why would someone working for the FBI need to disappear after witnessing this crime?When Remington Wyatt sees her godfather’s murder, she recognizes the killers and knows it’s only a matter of time before they come to silence her. She must do the only thing possible to stay alive . . . run.FBI agent Rafe Baxter is serious about his career, and solving a cold case involving a federal judge’s death puts him in line for the promotion he so desires. But the case leads him to the small town of Hopewell, Louisiana, where some secrets seem inextricably hidden deep within the bayou.Injustice for All explores what happens when everything a person believes in is utterly destroyed. Who can you trust?Praise for Injustice for All:"A journey into the heart of suspense and the heart of faith. Robin Caroll scores again with Injustice for All."James Scott Bell, best-selling author"Themes of personal sacrifice, betrayal and guilt, trust and temptations, fear and forgiveness permeate Injustice. Readers will be hooed from the first page. Caroll has combined murder and suspense with vivid descriptions and excellent character development." CBA Retailers + Resources