Book picks similar to
When Butterflies Cry by Ninie Hammon
mystery
fiction
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Oathkeeper
Troy Grice - 2015
Beleaguered Sheriff Bear Ellison finds himself outnumbered, over-matched, and increasingly isolated as he is forced to decide between risking his life protecting a local hero, or reneging on his oath and handing him over to federal prosecutors.
Tangled: A Southern Gothic Yarn
Phyllis H. Moore - 2016
Twenty-one years old and Annette Roberta Randall is searching, looking for herself. The perception and sensitivity she relied on to bolster her through an isolated childhood have disappeared and with them her sense of self. Nettie also seeks the truth, information about her dysfunctional family and the mysteries that whisper to her in their eccentric family home. She receives glimpses in the alcohol induced monologues of her mother, Delores Cecelia, “DeCe”. However, DeCe lost herself long before Nettie was born, and she buried her secrets so deep, even the spirits haunting her cannot unlock her soul. Pup, Nettie’s peculiar uncle, may have witnessed the most recent chaos, but he cannot communicate what he knows for sure. Nettie’s struggles are apparent to her extended family and neighbors, but only she can resolve to overcome the pull of the notorius Kirkland family and Berclaire mansion. The secrets fester and DeCe clings to them like the neglected ivy tendrils on the shadowed side of the mansion. Slowly, the truth will unfold, but will it be enough to free Nettie, or the undoing of her mother, DeCe? Nettie believed it was possible her grandfather, Old Nate, was responsible for the hauntings at the Berclaire mansion, but the more she learns of her great grandmother, Roberta, she decides he might have been a victim, also. DeCe had been taking pills and drinking alcohol from before the time she was a teenager, attempting to numb herself to her dysfunctional family. Nettie could only guess at a history during her drunken orations about DeCe's childhood. Nettie knows she is the seventh child born to DeCe, the others gone before Nettie was born. Some would filter back into her life, but would they help her learn more about her identity, or bring more pain?
All the Shiny Things
Robin Mahle - 2013
That is, until she discovers it was all a lie. Now, her desperate search for the truth begins.After learning of the terrible events that forever altered her childhood, Katie is compelled to dig into a past no one wants to relive. A past her parents kept hidden from her at all costs.A decades-old investigation is reluctantly unearthed when Katie discovers her role as the lone survivor. It is Detective Marshall Avery who lends her the resources needed to hunt down the person responsible. When that search breathes new life into an old monster—one who has left a trail of innocent blood in his wake—it is too late to turn back.Katie’s desire for retribution places her in great danger and costs her dearly. So when the tables are turned, and the hunted becomes the hunter, will Detective Avery be able to keep Katie from going too far?
Trouble in Paradise
Lyle Howard
How better to live out his dream then to open a peaceful little bar in the Florida Keys? Far from the madness of war, Mackey lives his life on his own terms, mixing umbrella drinks for his customers and maintaining his anonymity.But even in Paradise things change”...Out of the darkness a mysterious ship docks behind The Paradise Shack and patrons begin to disappear.What is the horrific secret that this vessel is carrying?Now Mackey must rely on the set of skills he so desperately has tried to disavow. The conspiracy he will uncover will have more profound ramifications than just a few missing tourists. The ship’s purpose is more complex than he could ever imagine. A mission that is so unprecedented that Mackey will end up doubting his own loyalties.No matter which side you find yourself rooting for, Trouble in Paradise will leave you wondering “what if?”
Cicada Spring
Christian Galacar - 2015
. .On a warm May evening in the spring of 1979, the people of Heartsridge, Massachusetts, are living the American dream. Families are gathered for barbecues. Kids are playing in front yards. Gardens are being kept. Meanwhile, Kara Price stumbles home through the woods, raped and beaten, her life shattered by a wicked act of violence, perpetrated by one of the town’s most beloved and public figures. Surrounding Kara is a cast of compelling and nefarious characters—a violent-tempered mayor who can do no wrong in the eyes of the town, a sheriff bound by the rules and plagued by a guilty conscience, a father bent on revenge, a serial killer in the midst of an identity crisis. And at the center of it all there's Kara, who just wants to move on with her life and forget everything that happened to her. But how can she do that when everyone thinks she is a liar who is only out for attention? With plot and emotion braided together by a careful hand, this haunted group of people all acting on behalf of their own interests begs the question: How far would you go to protect your own?
Above the Bridge
Deborah Garner - 2012
However, it's not long before her instincts tell her there's more than a basic story to be found in the popular, northwestern Wyoming mountain area. A chance encounter with attractive cowboy Jake Norris soon has Paige chasing a legend of buried treasure, passed down through generations.From the torn edge of a water-damaged map to the mysterious glow of an antler arch, Paige will follow clues high into the mountainous terrain and deep into Jackson's history. Side-stepping a few shady characters who are also searching for the same hidden reward, she will have to decide who is trustworthy and who is not.
Celilo's Shadow
Valerie Wilcox - 2017
No matter how much time has passed, it’s always there, ready to punch you in the chest when you least expect it. All it takes is something ordinary—a brief glance, a certain food, or a melody on the radio—and regret strikes hard and fast. For Odessa Feldman, the trigger is a Pacific Northwest storm. When the muddy bones of a murder victim buried over fifty years ago are discovered in the storm’s aftermath, Odessa overcomes her long struggle with guilt to finally reveal the truth. But her overdue confession comes with a difficult price—reliving her role in the tragic summer of 1956 and worse, betraying the best friend she’d ever had. Dessa and Ellie Matthews were both fourteen-years-old when they met that summer. Ellie’s father was a foreman at the dam under construction on the Columbia River. At least that’s what he said. But, like murder and the motives behind it, some things in life are rarely as they seem.
The Lake House Secret
Debra Burroughs - 2013
When human remains are discovered not far from town, Jenessa is assigned the story, throwing her into the thick of town drama.Caught between her old boyfriend, with whom she shares a sordid past, and her new love interest, who offers her something she has desperately been wanting, Jenessa is embroiled in a homicide investigation that ends up pointing the finger at someone she cares very much about. Can she uncover the truth of this murder before it destroys her family and any chance she has for a happy life?
The Illegal Gardener
Sara Alexi - 2012
Her boys have grown and she has finally divorced her bullying husband. This is her time now.Whilst making her new home habitable, Juliet discovers she needs a sturdy helping hand with the unruly and neglected garden. Unwilling to share her newfound independence with anyone, but unable to do all the work by herself, she reluctantly enlists casual labour.Aaman has travelled to Greece from Pakistan illegally. Desperate to find a way out of poverty, his challenge is to find work and raise money for the harvester his village urgently need to survive.What he imagined would be a heroic journey in reality is fraught with danger and corruption. Aaman finds himself in Greece, and with each passing day loses a little more of himself as he survives his new life as an immigrant worker; illegal, displaced, unwanted and with no value. Hungry and stranded, how will he ever make it back home to Pakistan?In what begins as an uncomfortable exchange, Juliet hires Aaman to be her gardener, but resents the intrusion even though she needs the help. Aaman needs the work and money but resents the humiliation.In spite of themselves, as the summer progresses, they get to know one another and discover they have something in common. Pieces of their lives they have kept hidden even from themselves are exposed, with each helping the other to face their painful past.Will Juliet and Amaan finally let each other in? And what will be the outcome of this improbable conjoining of two lost souls?
Suspicion on Sugar Creek
Susannah B. Lewis - 2016
She hoped to work on her novel, play Rook with the old lady next door and spend some lazy time with her husband and daughters. But when a new neighbor winds up dead, Tessa and her Rook partner find themselves jumping to suspicious conclusions. Add a young hippie named Rusty to the mix, and these three seem like an unlikely trio to solve an alleged crime. When you’re not laughing at the humorous rhetoric in Suspicion on Sugar Creek, you’ll be on the edge of your seat wondering how it will all play out.
The Partnership
Steven J. Harper - 2010
A twenty-first-century legal thriller with a twist, "The Partnership" reveals what happens to rich and powerful insiders as the business school mentality extends its tentacles across a once-noble profession. The themes resonate; "The Bonfire of the Vanities" still burns.Albert Knight has reached the pinnacle of power as one of the “magnificent seven”— leaders of the international legal powerhouse Michelman & Samson. Only one step remains: Knight and his archenemy Ronald Ratkin are front-runners to replace the Executive Committee’s retiring chairman.Knight and Ratkin were once best friends, but that was long ago. Despite their twenty-year animosity, each has embraced the firm’s transformation to a bottom-line business and the stunning wealth it produces. As the price of success, they endure and inflict profound personal damage along the way.When gifted trial lawyer Ronald Ratkin’s $100 million client defies protocol by interrupting the sacrosanct Executive Committee meeting, all seven attorneys are suspicious. The news, Ratkin suspects, could upset his ongoing billion-dollar trial, send stocks plummeting, and destroy his client, his law firm, and his personal wealth. But the wily Ratkin has a foolproof plan. Or will his own greed and that of his fellow partners undo him?***Praise for "Crossing Hoffa" One of the "BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR" -- Chicago Tribune "Gripping, tender, and intriguing" -- Scott Turow "A tale of mystery and intrigue" -- Booklist "Tightly woven and gritty" -- American Lawyer "Fascinating and moving" -- Bloomberg News "Riveting eyewitness history...Bravo!" -- Charles Brandt***About the AuthorSteven J. Harper is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University and the author of two non-fiction books: true-crime award winner "Crossing Hoffa: A Teamster’s Story" and "Straddling Worlds: The Jewish-American Journey of Professor Richard W. Leopold."He is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. For thirty years, he was a litigation attorney in a large law firm that he joined upon graduation from Harvard Law School. He received combined B.A. and M.A. degrees in economics from Northwestern.He and his wife have three adult children and live in suburban Chicago.Visit his website at: www.stevenjharper.com
Spare Change
Bette Lee Crosby - 2011
A boy running for his life. A town defending them both.From award-winning USA TODAY Bestselling Author BETTE LEE CROSBY, the first book of a gritty, small-town, family saga in the tradition of the finest Southern fiction.Small-town gossip never much bothered Olivia Westerly. As a single career woman, she's weathered her share. It's easy to ignore the raised eyebrows over her late-in-life marriage to Charlie Doyle. But after he drops dead on their honeymoon, the whispers are salt on her raw grief. Especially when an orphaned, eleven-year-old-boy shows up on her doorstep, looking for the grandfather he never met.Behind Ethan Allen Doyle's wary blue eyes lie heavily guarded emotions that unexpectedly tug on Olivia's heart, and she finds herself wanting to win his trust. But when his murderous secret comes looking for him, the entire town embraces the lonely widow and desperate child to show its true heart when danger threatens one of its own.A heartwarming tale of love, loss and unexpected gifts, featuring a woman you'd like to call friend, a boy you will ache to hug, and a town you wish you could call home. USA TODAY BESTSELLER AND WINNER OF FIVE LITERARY AWARDS - Royal Palm Literary Award, Reviewer's Choice Award, FPA President's Book Award, IAN Outstanding Fiction Award, Eadon Contemporary Fiction Award
Tune Up: The Secrets of Mylin - Book I
Joe Klingler - 2017
Hit and run. By a motorcycle. The victim is an elderly Asian woman. A young witness in a nearby dry cleaner and a truck driver suggest all “accidents” aren’t created equal. Then the Captain drops a new assignment on their desk: an affluent Bay Area lawyer is missing. The man’s wife stomps into their office screaming about a contract she found hidden in the backups of their home computer. A contract with a seven-figure payout, and an incriminating Exhibit A.Following the trail of both the motorcycle rider and the lawyer with Kandy complaining, “We’re homicide detectives, there should be a body,” leads to a vintage motorcycle club called the Ton Up where lips are sealed, a yacht harbor on the coast where riddles run deep, and a midnight roadside confrontation that ends with a splash. As the trails twist they soon find that these people and places have one thing in common:A violist named Mylin. Who plays in an all-female orchestra called The Girls of the Orient. And, unbeknownst to her, is the subject of a fine-art photographer’s latest collection.From San Francisco to Mexico, the treacherous cliffs of the Pacific coast to the desolation of Nevada’s high desert, Tune Up moves like Kandy’s turbocharged Mini through a foggy landscape of false identities, fake romance, and frenzied chases, as Qigiq realizes one picture really can reveal more than 1,000 words.
Eli's Town
Amy Cross - 2015
This time around it's Holly's turn to make the journey, but when she arrives she discovers that not only is Eli missing, but the locals appear to be hiding something. Meanwhile, a strange curse seems to have struck the town. Every day, at exactly noon, one resident drops dead. Is the string of sudden fatalities just a coincidence? If it's something more sinister, why does no-one seem to be trying to uncover the truth? And what do these deaths have to do with the disappearance of Eli Denton, a strange old man who has barely even left his house in more than a decade? Eli's Town is a horror novel about an eccentric but seemingly harmless man who discovers a new way to live, and about his niece's desperate attempt to uncover the truth before she too succumbs to the town's mysteries.
Succession
Steven Veerapen - 2020
She has yet to nominate an heir.The crown looks set to fall to James of Scotland.But it is far from inevitable.Gowrie, a sinister Scottish traitor, has arrived in England. On him is a document containing a shocking secret that will compromise King James.Languishing in prison, artful thief Ned Savage is freed by his patron, the queen’s principal secretary, Sir Robert Cecil. His mission is to find the document before it can be made public. If he succeeds, his life will be spared.But he is not alone in seeking Gowrie.On his trail are a ruthless gang of conspirators. The Red Cross Plot aims to prevent any foreigner from taking the English throne. And the Knights of the Red Cross will kill to secure the document.In a journey that will take him from London to Derbyshire and Scotland, Savage must foil the Red Cross Plot, protect King James’s darkest secret, and keep himself safe from execution.And he must do it all before the curtain falls on Elizabeth’s reign.