Book picks similar to
Waking Iceman by C.R. Wahl


sci-fi
science-fiction
thriller
first-reads

Sleep Martyrs


C.A. Wittman - 2019
    But navigating around their controlling stepfather and their aloof new siblings becomes the least of their worries.There is a vague sense of menace in their state of the art lavish smart home with its cutting edge calm technology. And something is not quite right with the bright, cheerful kids at Santomon’s private school where the girls are enrolled. Undergrads from prestigious universities and ivy-league colleges are vying for the coveted internships within Santomon Village. The mega-corporation is the darling of the tech world and a philanthropic superstar when it comes to awarding educational scholarships to low-income families who require rehabilitative services for their teens at Santomon’s troubled youth program called Salinger House.But not everyone is singing Santomon praises. A growing number of parents whose children have returned home from the program are voicing concerns that at first seem vague, while a social activist group called The Disruptors has been investigating a cash-for-kids scandal in South Dakota that involves Santomon. For Tori, she can feel that something ominous, something evil is afoot, and as her mother begins to have doubts about her marriage and there is talk of divorce, Tori yearns to return to Inglewood and the simple life they had. But her sister, Laila ‘s not so sure leaving the village will be easy because what she has discovered is a treacherous web of lies unfathomable in their scope. What Laila wonders is if they can get away from Santomon before it’s too late.

Unstolen: You can steal, but you can't hide


Tony Batton - 2018
    Almost.
 He returns stolen items to their rightful owners.
 For a price.

 A man has to make a living, and Jake more than most. Because he's still paying for mistakes made a long time ago. And they weren't even his.

Another Five Patients


Melissa Crickard - 2019
    When one of the resident physicians, Dr. Kip Paiva, becomes a critically ill patient herself, the team is forever changed. This suspenseful story of medical fiction traces foreign medical graduate Dr. Kip Paiva, an emigrant and survivor of human trafficking in post-apartheid South Africa. Her refuge from a Zulu militant captor comes to an end, as his brutal violence has finally tracked her across the ocean. While her past catches up to her, Dr. Paiva also becomes the scapegoat of a malpractice suit. Frightened for her and her son’s lives, Dr. Paiva begins a journey fueled by bottomless resiliency and a mother’s love. Her story intertwines through five others, all riveting, and all taking place in the busy Spectrum General Hospital in New York. Debut author Melissa Crickard uses this microcosm to illustrate larger aspects of modern medicine. Another Five Patients combines international intrigue and hospital politics with individual human stories involving hospital staff, patients, and their families. The result is a captivating, at times satirical, experience that reminds us that, whether doctor, mother, or child, we are all people, with flaws and emotions in a world of uncertainty.

The Redemption of Charlie McCoy


C.D. Wilsher - 2016
    But he gets the drop on his partner, and he manages to escape with his life and a bag full of CD-ROMs that incriminate some dirty politicians. Now both the mob and the FBI are in hot pursuit. He’s on his way out of town when his ex-wife unexpectedly saddles him with Amy, his smartass, know-it-all thirteen-year-old daughter. He barely knows Amy, and there are things he’s not telling her, such as how he makes a living; but she seems to understand Charlie better than he does himself--such as how he could be better than what he is. When the mob tortures and murders his ex-wife in an effort to locate Charlie, he realizes he’s all that Amy has left. Now time is running out for him to engineer an escape while insuring neither of them ends up dead.

The Fringe Series: Books 1-5


Rachel Aukes - 2018
    Too far away to be governed under Earth law, the Collective was formed. Several hundred years later, the Collective has expanded to a system of six worlds. Power struggles and unequal rights have made interplanetary war all but inevitable. With rebellions arising across the Collective, three captains launch near-suicidal missions to free the oppressed fringe and reset equality across the stars. A galactic war is coming, and only an old mail runner, a space pirate, and their ragtag crews can prevent it.

The Navigators


Dan Alatorre - 2016
    SOME SECRETS AREN'T MEANT TO BE KNOWN! A freak landslide at a remote mine site uncovers a strange machine to a group of paleontology grad students. Wary of corrupt school officials, team leader Barry takes the machine home to study it in secret, reaching only one realistic, and unbelievable, conclusion: it was designed to bridge the time-space continuum. It’s a time machine. Testing delivers disastrous results, sending one team member to the hospital and nearly killing another. When word leaks about the discovery, the ultimate power struggle ensues: the university wants it for funding, the power company wants its energy regenerating abilities kept under wraps, and a rival group wants to steal it for themselves. No one cares if Barry's team comes out alive. Fleeing for their lives, the students must fight the school, the police, and each other if they want to learn the truth about what they've discovered, a truth with more severe consequences than any of them can predict..

Divinity Complex


P.H. Figur
    Drake and his brother Dominic chase the serial killer across the country. When the case goes cold, Drake breaks down and succumbs to the unbearable grief. He escapes reality and enters a secretive drug study run by the largest pharmaceutical company in the world. What Drake doesn’t know, is the small town in Wyoming is a front for a dangerous experiment – and all the residents, including himself, are pawns in a deadly game. When Drake comes face-to-face with his fiancé’s killer, only one will make it out alive. The Divinity Complex is a psychological thriller about a vicious serial killer, a grieving widow’s quest for revenge, and a CEO with a god-complex who brings them together in a fatal conflict. If you like flawed heroes, brutal crime scenes, vigilante justice and shocking twists you won’t see coming, start reading this gripping crime novel today.

Mass Destruction (Nuclear Threat, #1)


Carolyn McCray - 2014
    Tracking down rogue spears, broken arrows and suitcase nukes, add in Brandt's team's tendency toward explosive action, and you've got quite a thriller.

Breaking Destiny


Mitty Walters - 2019
     A quiet businessman—known by most as Joe Kettleman—narrowly survives an attempt on his life. While recovering from surgery to remove a bullet, imaging reveals a lethal tumor. Unwilling to spend his final days under chemical bombardment, he returns to a remote cabin in New Mexico to die in peace. But when death takes its time and Joe outlives his supplies, he’s forced to take a perilous journey through the deserts of the Bisti Badlands. Two days into what was supposed to be a five day trek, Joe comes across a town. A small city, really. Right in the middle of nowhere. And it’s not on any map. That’s when Joe’s fate collides with that of a beautiful young woman, desperate to escape the strange city and making wild claims about a genetically enhanced pandemic that will soon wipe out most of humanity. Clearly she’s delusional. But something has her genuinely terrified. To unravel the mystery, Joe will have to put his death on hold.

Hunting Nora Stone


Colin Weldon - 2017
    Her body, now a mixture of sophisticated bioengineering, has become a lethal weapon. A weapon that has disappeared. Eddie Conrad, an Ex Navy seal turned military analyst, is counting the days to when he can be officially discharged. His nightmares, following a year in captivity in Syria, the only survivor of a mission gone wrong, are growing worse. When the bodies of a tactical team sent in to find Nora Stone show up horribly mutilated, Eddie is coerced into going back into the field to find her. But Nora wants to be found, is waiting to be found. And is ready to take revenge

Biohack


J.D. Lasica
     Kaden Baker, an elite hacker who dabbles in covert ops, finds her life turned upside down when she discovers her parents were not who she thought they were. Where does she come from? Who’s been financing her high-stakes secret missions? The answers lead back to the same sinister biotech firm. As Kaden and Valerie become allies, they make one startling discovery after another about the company’s intentions. But each step closer to the truth puts their lives at greater risk. The stakes couldn’t be higher—for Kaden’s freedom, for Valerie’s fate, and for the future direction of humanity itself.

Impermanent Universe: A Sci Fi Thriller


Vern Buzarde - 2021
    I highly recommend it to Sci-Fi fans." - Pikasho Deka...Readers' Favorites.When NASA computer scientist Tess Carrillo watches Ryan Quinn die in a spaceship seventy million miles away, her life becomes a blurry web of misery and vodka.But when a mysterious visionary recruits her to lead a team of eccentric experts in a top-secret effort to create the mind of the first sentient artificial intelligence, her life starts to change in unfathomable ways.And now the machine is waking…But there’s a problem.It’s networking… With another dimension.As the AI evolves, dimensional lines start to blend and fray, opening a door to another world… One with him. Only in this reality, Ryan is in a rock band, and Tess is an artist, both on the cusp of fame.As Tess finds herself moving back and forth between separate realities, she starts to question if either is real. And if so…which one?The answer lies in secrets more terrifying than anything she could imagine.Equipped only with clues scattered throughout her consciousness, time, and space, she struggles to make sense of the separate realities that seem to be colliding.As the puzzle pieces fall into place, a terrible threat is revealed, and she’s forced to face a shocking truth before both worlds end.If you love face-paced page-turners with unforgettable characters and real science, Impermanent Universe will keep you reading well beyond your self-allotted time.Join the adventure.“Outstanding Science Fiction....one of the best things I’ve read in a long time. And I read a lot." - Amazon Reviewer"Both Impermanent Universe and The Navigator are exquisitely crafted novels that will keep you reading well beyond your self-allotted time. Creative beyond belief, they give one a sense of truth regarding the immortality of Being through multifaceted forever-regenerative Consciousness." - Amazon Reviewer"This book is a treasure for those who love in-depth philosophical science fiction material" - Amazon Reviewer

Spindown


Andy C.F. Crawford - 2018
    Medallion Honoree ***Cyrus Konami is the Chief Inspector on the first colony vessel, Aotea, to leave Earth's solar system. Deep within the machinery of the ship, a suspicious death upends the routine on board. Mysterious signals from deep space add to the confusion, along with a series of debilitating malfunctions.Cy and Lieutenant Beatriz Mattoso dig into the deceased crewman's background. The first signs point to a tragic accident. Ship scuttlebutt points to the deep-space signals -- is a mysterious force trying to prevent humanity from spreading into deep space? Or are the radical pacifists and cultural separatists who funded the journey somehow involved?With an increasingly uncooperative populace, a shocking assassination attempt, and a spaceship falling apart around them, Cy and Bea must unravel secrets that threaten the lives of thousands before it's too late...

Waypoint: A Game of Drones


C.F. Waller - 2017
    She finds herself clutching a handgun, searching for a sign that tomorrow will be any better than today. At this auspicious moment her cell phone rings, bringing an offer that may postpone her soul searching. The discovery of an airplane graveyard containing a dozen commercial airliners is shocking. When the deep-sea salvage camera’s reveal them to be virtually undamaged under six-thousand feet of water in the Indian Ocean, theories abound. Who put them there? How are they still in one piece? What reason could there be? Stacy is about to learn the answers to those questions, as well things she’d prefer to forget. Along the way, she’ll have to solve this puzzle, and many more to prevent an even larger disaster from happening. This book contains the following: tiny robots, falsified government identification, autonomous drones, ATM malfunctions, mid-air collisions, fear of sharks, Australian bar pranks, pointing guns out the window of a moving plane, video games, Area-51, milk shake do’s and don'ts and everyone’s possible need of at least one good friend. Read at your own risk. C. F. Waller is best known for his award winning science fiction novel Tourists of the Apocalypse. His work has been recognized by Shelf Media Magazine, Indie Excellence, Readers Favorite, McGrath House and recently in the 2017 BGS Pitch Contest. His other Award Winning novels include, South Face (Paranormal), Waypoint (Mystery/Thriller) and Free Dive (Tecno-thriller).

The Wall


Joseph Hayes - 2018
    His charisma and his accomplishments have made him a media darling and paved the way for his explosion onto the national political scene. But he is not who he purports to be. He is the nation’s most high-profile illegal immigrant, a secret known to almost no one other than his shadowy handlers. Together, they have an agenda – punish America for its past sins and undermine this country’s prosperity and way of life. Since childhood, Sanchez has been conditioned to believe in that cause and to do whatever it takes to see that mission through. Now he is on the cusp of acquiring the power to do exactly that.Bobby Rivera is the son of Mexican parents who raised him in South Texas, where they were employed under temporary work visas. Although he grew up living in constant fear of the government and deportation, he loves America and the opportunities it has afforded him. He and Miguel share a past – a close friendship as teenagers that was marred by tragedy and dark secrets as well as Miguel’s sudden and unexplained disappearance. Bobby’s peaceful life as a funeral director in San Antonio is thrown into turmoil when Miguel unexpectedly reenters his life. Bobby realizes that he is the only person outside Miguel’s circle who knows Miguel’s secret and his hidden agenda. Bobby’s loyalty to his old friend conflicts with his loyalty to his country, not to mention his conscience. Will this young man who has spent his entire life looking over his shoulder and running from trouble have the courage to confront it head-on? How far will Miguel go to protect his dark secret? Will the life of fame, fortune and accomplishment Miguel has achieved change his heart and cause him to embrace rather than attack his adoptive country?The Wall is an intelligent, fast-paced thriller that combines page-turning suspense with a thought-provoking exploration of one of the most controversial, sensitive and far-reaching issues of our time – immigration. It examines the opportunities, fears and challenges of recent immigrants and their children. It portrays the changing complexion of America in a way that is sensitive and hopeful. It contrasts life on opposite sides of the border wall, but more importantly, it vividly depicts the walls that exist in the minds and hearts of those trying to assimilate and those who resist.