Book picks similar to
The Bad Lady by John Meany


horror
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psychological-thriller
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A Dangerous Woman


Debra Lee - 2002
    Both nicotine-and calorie-deprived, she stays busy delivering the paper she publishes in order to get closer to her customer base, craving inspiration, a smoke, and a cheeseburger. But she discovers something odd going on behind the closed doors of her trusted friend Joe Wise. Like, where is he and who is the mysterious blonde rudely blocking Fay’s entry to his house?Adding to the puzzle, Fay learns that Joe’s brother and biggest rival, Thomas, has just died under strange circumstances. Joe was Fay’s professional benefactor and her journalistic instincts kick into overdrive. But first, she has to get past Angel, Joe’s hostile and secretive new companion. And when Fay’s questions get too personal, a killer makes lethal plans to send Fay into permanent retirement….

Dead On Time


W.L. Knightly - 2021
    Two girls have gone missing from opposite sides of town, and no one is cooperating. With so many obstacles, can Whit use his keen senses to find the girls in time?

Big Numbers


Jack Getze - 2007
    We spend the book trying to guess the identity of the unknown man on the fishing boat; not an easy task because Carr's big mouth alienates about everyone he knows. "Darkly comic, with an engaging protagonist." -- T.J. MacGregor, Edgar Winner, Author of The Tango Key Mysteries "Big Numbers is a gritty, sexy, violent, and funny book." -- Liz Clifford at Reviewed by Liz "Wonderful characters...well-written, entertaining...a good read." --Connie Anderson for Armchair Interviews   "Jack Getze started his career as a newspaper reporter. As a result, BIG NUMBERS is lean and mean, with not a word wasted. A truly fun, genuinely funny read." --Lisa Guidarini for Bluestalking Reader

Pushed Too Far


Ann Voss Peterson - 2012
    Police Sergeant Valerie Ryker solved that case, putting psychopath Dixon Hess in prison for life, and becoming the first female police chief of her tiny Wisconsin town.A COP'S UNFORGIVABLE MISTAKEThen the original murder victim turns up in a frozen lake, all in one piece and only recently dead, and Val must enter a race against time. In only forty-eight hours, Hess will be set free, and he wants payback. And Val, her town, and everyone she loves are at the top of his list.A KILLER'S NEXT VICTIMBut surviving Hess's vengeance is only part of her dilemma. For there's another killer in Lake Loyal. One who may be closer to Val than she knows...Val will need all the help she can get, including a sexy firefighter, her dead sister's daughter, and a tough Chicago cop named Jack Daniels. Everyone has a breaking point, and Val has just reached hers.From bestselling romantic suspense author Ann Voss Peterson comes a page-turning thriller of police procedure, passion, and revenge. Make sure you're holding your Kindle tightly with both hands.

Through a Mother's Eyes


Cary Allen Stone - 2002
    It’s a compelling account of one woman's life, and what drove her to take the life of her six-year-old son. How everyday choices shape our perceptions, justifications, and actions. One must consider how close to the edge we all are. It’s a true story told in layman’s terms, with the hope of preventing another tragic loss.

Chop Suey


Ty Hutchinson - 2011
    He freaks.Desperate to resurrect his career at Teleco Wireless, he conjures up an international scheme filled with the promise of endless high-spending clients. It's brilliant, it's successful, and it involves doing business with organized crime.But soon those closest to him find themselves caught up in his dangerous plan and one of these unknowingly has the power to destroy him. Darby must now make a tough decision––give up on the one good idea he ever had or risk it all.

Real Dangerous Girl


K.W. Jeter - 2011
    It's been replaced by Real Dangerous Girl (Lincoln Square Books, 2018), which actually includes both this book and the original second series book, Real Dangerous Job. All of the series books now have Lincoln Square editions, but these mostly each combine two of the original books into one volume No easy answers. No big international spy secret bank accounts. No superheroes or magic. Just her wits, guts…And a very large gun.All Kim wants is the job she’s worked hard for. But when her boss McIntyre throws her out on her ear, she begins dreaming of revenge. She hires Cole, a psychotic hitman who’s also been dispensed with by the same boss. Left crippled by McIntyre’s security guards, Cole tells Kim that the only way they’ll be able to pull off this hit is if she’s there with a gun in her hand as well. Before she knows what’s happening, Kim is training to be a professional assassin, with everything – including her own life – at stake. Because she’s only going to get one chance to pull it off...Noted sf and fantasy author K. W. Jeter takes a new turn in the thriller genre, building on the dark, gritty moods of his previous science fiction and horror novels. Fans of mystery and suspense novels with smart, tough females taking the lead, from A IS FOR ALIBI to THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATOO, will find a lot to like in the new Kim Oh Thriller series.

Killer


Stephen Carpenter - 2010
    Jack is an author and former boxer who was on his way to literary success when his life was blown apart by the horrific suicide of his fiancee. Devastated, Jack went on a fifteen-month alcoholic spiral into near-oblivion before eventually working past his demons to become a best-selling crime novelist. But just as Jack is finishing his fourth book about a vicious serial killer, the LAPD interrupts his quiet routine with news of what appears to be a copycat murder from his first book. There's just one problem--the murder took place before Jack's book was published. Jack begins to investigate, using techniques he learned through his meticulous research with police and FBI investigators. To his horror, Jack discovers that each of the murders he has imagined are all real...down to the most harrowing details. And Jack is Suspect Number One. Jack winds up on the run, a fugitive haunted by his past and hunted by the very cops and FBI agents he has learned from and befriended. Jack must use every resource he has to prevent the murder of a woman he knows will be next in his series of novels. He must piece together shattered memories from the fragments he recalls during his drunken fifteen-month blackout. Fast-paced and utterly unpredictable, KILLER reads like a rapid-fire crime thriller, with hairpin twists and turns and edge-of-your seat psychological horror. KILLER eludes easy answers to the impossible puzzle Jack must solve, and takes the reader on a journey unlike any other.

The Silent Second


Adam Walker Phillips - 2015
    Only when he sets out to find a missing employee from his L.A. firm does he feel alive again. Applying his HR skills and wit to his moonlight detective work, Chuck unravels a web of crooked real estate deals and three murders, while staving off a fourth: his own.Adam Walker Phillips is an executive at a global financial services company who used his corporate experience to inspire this debut mystery. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son.

The Card Counter


James Kipling - 2013
    A homicide detective for the city, he is also a divorced Father of three kids. And his family life and work life do not mesh together very well. Yet when popular football players of the state college team start showing up murdered, Detective Walker has to put everything else aside and figure out what is going on before someone else becomes a victim of a killer the press is referring to as ‘The Card Counter’. With each victim, the case becomes more traumatic as the killer has a point to make and doesn’t hesitate to make more people pay with their lives ... until Walker and the rest of the city understand the motive of the killer.

Rise of the Iron Eagle


Roy A. Teel Jr. - 2005
    “The Iron Eagle” appears to only hunt and capture serial killers. Time is of the essence as with each passing day “The Eagle” gets more brazen. The deeper O’Brian and Hoffman dig into profiling the killer, the more they realize that this is more than a race against time – it’s a race laden with the realization that the killer may be one of their own. From the inside flap: The city of Los Angeles is no stranger to violence. It has both a colorful and grotesque history with it. Sheriff’s Homicide Detective Jim O’Brian and FBI Profiler Special Agent Steve Hoffman are also no strangers to the violence of the sprawling metropolis, but in the past decade something has changed. There’s a serial killer preying on other serial killers – some known by law enforcement, others well off radar. “The Iron Eagle,” a vigilante, extracts vengeance for the victims of Los Angeles’ serial killers. His methods are meticulous and his killings brutal. With each passing day, “The Iron Eagle” moves with impunity through the streets of Los Angeles in search of his prey. O’Brian and Hoffman create an elite task force with the sole purpose of catching “The Eagle” and bringing him to justice. But the deeper they delve, the more apparent it is that he may very well be one of their own. As the two men stare into the abyss of their search, the eyes of “The Iron Eagle” stare back.

If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood


Gregg Olsen - 2019
    Until now.For years, behind the closed doors of their farmhouse in Raymond, Washington, their sadistic mother, Shelly, subjected her girls to unimaginable abuse, degradation, torture, and psychic terrors. Through it all, Nikki, Sami, and Tori developed a defiant bond that made them far less vulnerable than Shelly imagined. Even as others were drawn into their mother’s dark and perverse web, the sisters found the strength and courage to escape an escalating nightmare that culminated in multiple murders.

The Hidden Light of Mexico City


Carmen Amato - 2011
    Expect characters who leap off the page and a chilling border scenario that could be tomorrow’s headlines. As presidential elections near, Mexico City attorney Eduardo Cortez Castillo discovers evidence of collusion between a powerful government official and Mexico's most dangerous drug cartel. Coded messages . . . A secret website . . . Clever money laundering. The conclusion is terrifying. With deep state help, a ruthless druglord is poised to buy Mexico’s presidency. As he digs for evidence and violence spills across the US-Mexican border, Eduardo is marked for death by cartel assassins. Instead of abandoning the dangerous investigation, he follows the money trail deep into drug smuggling territory where violence buys loyalty and votes are for sale. The odds are against survival. Back in Mexico City, a woman whose name means Light of Mary faces a painful choice. Wait for Eduardo or join the immigration train? But the cartel is looking for her, too. * Get your copy today * This brilliant political thriller takes you on a riveting ride through Mexico's rigid class system and the country's spiraling drug violence, to the harsh realities of the US-Mexican border. Authentic and revealing, much of the action is drawn from the author’s own experiences. "Enthralling political drama" -- Literary Fiction Review “Captivating and thrilling” – InDTale Magazine Love international thrillers by Nelson DeMille, Andrew Gross, Ken Follett, Lee Child and David Morrell? Riveted by AMERICAN DIRT or Don Winslow’s cartel and border thrillers set in Mexico? You won't want to miss THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY. Author Carmen Amato is a former CIA intelligence officer who uses her own counterdrug and espionage experiences to craft intrigue-filled crime fiction that keeps you guessing until the very end. Amato is a recipient of both the National Intelligence Award and the Career Intelligence Medal. Her award-winning Detective Emilia Cruz police series pits Acapulco’s first female police detective against cartels and corruption.

Streets of Mayhem


John W. Mefford - 2015
    A white supremacist group claims responsibility, opening old wounds, turning neighbor against neighbor--fracturing the community.   A Southeast Dallas native, Booker T. Adams couldn't be more invested in the city…in the people he'd served for the last seven years as a beat cop for the Dallas Police Department.  Without warning, it becomes personal for Booker on so many levels. And as panic grips the city, he must decide how much he's willing to sacrifice to end the chaos.   With his career called into question and his family in the crosshairs of one terrorist act after another, Booker invests every fiber of his being to protect a broken community, and to stop the brutal, senseless slayings.   If he fails, terrorism will reign in the city of Dallas.  Fans of Alex Cross and Jack Reacher will enjoy this private investigator thriller novel full of suspense, action, and crime. Q&A with author John W. Mefford: Q: What made you want to write a private investigator series? JWM: I've always had strong desire to write private investigator thriller novels. When I was young, I was drawn to books, TV shows, and movies that featured a private detective with a little bit of attitude, a rebellious streak so to speak, a determined, gritty soul who used every gift they possessed to solve the case, but for a higher purpose than just paying the rent. I enjoy private detective novels that know how to create and build suspense...and then deliver a mind-splitting thriller with plenty of crackling action. Q: What can we expect out of the BOOKER Private Investigator Thriller Series of Crime and Suspense? JWM: To put it simply -- a roller-coaster ride brimming with action and suspense. The characters are tested to their limits, Booker in particular, which adds all sorts of interesting layers to his evolution. There's always a bit of humor mixed in, along with a healthy dose of pulse-pounding thrills. Born in South Dallas, Booker is driven to do anything in his power to protect the mixed bag of people living in his city. But even with the best intentions, Booker is dragged into seedy situations, slammed into obstacles that seem insurmountable. The man's got substance, though, which make his thriller moments even more powerful. Q: How many books are you planning to publish in the BOOKER Private Investigator Thriller Series of Crime and Suspense? JWM: Six and a half. Sort of. Six full BOOKER private investigator thriller novels are planned for release in 2015. And I might have a BOOKER novella to share with my readers as well. It's in the surprise bucket that I hope to open in the next couple of months. After that, there could be more. I can envision at least two more stories. BOOKER Private Investigator Thriller Series of Crime and Suspense eBook categories include: Private Investigator Thriller Novels Private Investigator Suspense Thriller Series Private Investigator Action Private Investigator Thriller Series Private Investigator Series Private investigator Thrillers

The Gingerbread Man


Maggie Shayne - 2001
    When the FBI takes over the case, Vince agrees to take time off. Traveling to a small upstate New York town, he meets Holly Newman--a fragile woman whose sister was abducted and killed years ago. Convinced that Holly's sister's death is linked to the recent murders, he attempts to unearth clues hidden deep in Holly's mind.