Book picks similar to
Tell Him He's Dead by Tony Parsons


short-stories
crime
thrillers
tony-parsons

The 7th Victim


Alan Jacobson - 2008
    His brutal murders confound the local task force, despite the gifted profiling skills of Special Agent Karen Vail. But along with Vail’s insight and expertise comes considerable personal and professional baggage. On leave pending a review of her assault on her abusive ex-husband, Vail must battle forces determined to bring her down, as she fights to find Dead Eyes before he murders more young women. But the seventh victim is the key to all that stirs this killer...the key that will unlock secrets perhaps too painful for Vail to bear. These are secrets that threaten to destroy her, secrets that will bring down her storied career. For Karen Vail, the truth rests at the heart of a lie. And uncovering it could get her killed...With material meticulously researched during seven years of study with the Bureau’s vaunted profiling unit, Alan Jacobson brings refreshing realism and unprecedented accuracy to his pages.The 7th Victim is a page-turner as only Alan Jacobson can write, with a stunning twist of an ending that will satisfy even the most discerning thriller reader.

Seven Ways to Die


William Diehl - 2012
    There are seven basic ways to die. In 1969 Dr. John C. Cavanaugh catalogued them all in his Primer of Forensic Pathology-Cast Studies for the Novice M.E. Micah Cody is a 30-something NYPD captain of homicide, who’s founded a special unit known as TAZ with city-wide license to take over any investigation at all, with special focus on serial killers. Now its ultimate challenge is on the loose in Manhattan, with three victims already whose causes of death seem like intentional defiance of TAZ’s existence—and four to go in four deadly days leading up to Halloween. Chronicling it all with great amusement is the Capote-like award-winning crime writer Ward Hamilton who, egged on by his sexually voracious socialite bedmate, is determined to bring TAZ to its knees journalistically. Captain Micah Cody's Nez Perce name is “Youngest Wolf” from his ability to communicate with the animals and read nature's signs. As all hell is breaking loose in Manhattan, the wolves in Central Park howl, the peregrine falcons shriek their warnings—and Micah is listening. Seven Ways to Die is a non-stop, sexy read with Diehl doing to the end what he did best throughout his bestselling career. Grand Prize Winner of the 2012 Beach Book Festival, which honors the summer’s hottest reads!

Chameleon


Ken McClure - 1994
    They are dying at an alarming rate from post-operative wound infections which are resistant to antibiotics and the authorities cannot find the source of the problem. As the situation threatens to get out of control, the hospital staff are under mounting pressure and nerves are stretched to breaking point.The Home Office send an outsider, surgeon Scott Jamieson, to investigate and Jamieson soon finds himself in a maelstrom of accusation and counter-accusation. Is this outbreak the result of deliberate contamination or just a freak strain of bacteria? As he tiptoes through a minefielf of explosive personalities, Jamieson begins to suspect that the truth might be far more horrific than anyone could have imagined in their worst nightmares.Ken McClure is the internationally bestselling author of over twenty medical thrillers such as The Lazarus Strain, The Gulf Conspiracy, White Death and Dust to Dust. His books have been translated into twenty-three languages and he has earned a reputation for the accuracy of his predicitions. McClure's work is informed by his background as an award-winning research scientist with the UK's Medical Research Council.This book was first published by Simon & Schuster Ltd. (UK) in 1994Author's note : -This title introduced the concept of the Sci-Med Inspectorate - a small investigative unit located in the UK Home Office - which was to become the basis for my Dr Steven Dunbar series of novels.

Gone the Next


Ben Rehder - 2012
    He's working a routine case, complete with hours of tedious surveillance, when he sees something that shakes him to the core. There, with the subject, is a little blond girl wearing a pink top and denim shorts—the same outfit worn by Tracy Turner, a six-year-old abducted the day before. When the police are skeptical of Ballard's report—and with his history, who can blame them?—it's the beginning of the most important case of his life.

Thread of Hope


Jeff Shelby - 2011
    Now he’s been brought back to San Diego by the news that this friend has been arrested for beating up a teenage girl—a girl not much older than Elizabeth would be now.Joe is convinced Chuck Winslow is innocent, but Chuck is in a coma and can’t explain what happened. And the more Joe hears about what Chuck’s been up to in the years he’s been gone, the less Joe recognizes his old friend. To find out the truth, he will have to face his ex-wife, his former bosses, and a hometown full of wealth, lies, and illicit privilege. When Chuck’s accuser goes missing, Joe must decide where his loyalties truly lie.

His Last Bow (single story)


Arthur Conan Doyle - 2012
    Holmes is lured away from retirement to help his country on the eve of World War I and employs one of his most successful disguises to penetrate a German spy ring.

Con Law


Mark Gimenez - 2013
    He rides a Harley and wears jeans and cowboy boots and his hair too long to suit the conservative dean. He’s thirty-five, handsome and unmarried but seldom without a female companion. He teaches karate and Con Law, law school vernacular for Constitutional Law. He is a recognized constitutional law expert, debates senators on political talk shows and reduces them to blithering fools, writes scathing op-eds, and is often mentioned as a possible Supreme Court nominee. He is famous for taking on lost causes and winning. Consequently, when he arrives at the law school each Monday morning, hundreds of letters await him, letters from lost causes around the country seeking his help. Some letters are funny, others are sad, most are hopeless. But every now and then, one letter captures his attention. Then, with only his latest law school intern in tow, Professor Bookman takes off on yet another adventure—not in search of ancient artifacts like Indiana Jones, but in search of truth and justice—"or as close thereto as the law allows." In this first installment of a new series, Book investigates a murder in the world of art and fracking in Marfa, Texas.Daily Mail (UK): "There cannot be any dispute. Gimenez has taken over John Grisham's mantle. This is his seventh legal thriller, and his work is now faster and fresher than Grisham, his characters are stronger, and his plot lines reek of tomorrow's headlines. This one centres on 'fracking'; the removal of gas from shale oil deposits, which is now the subject of fierce political debate in Britain as well as America. . . . It takes a positive delight in the intricacies of the law, but with a good helping of action thrown in, and it underlines just how much Gimenez has taken over Grisham's territory."Weekend Sport (UK): Same brilliant storyteller, brand new character to follow. Gimenez does law mysteries every bit as good as John Grisham, and this latest effort won't disappoint fans of that master. . . . Gimenez is a great and growing writer who hasn't let his readers down yet, and doesn't look likely to."

The Spookshow


Tim McGregor - 2014
    Drab even. That all that changed after an accident left her in a coma for three days. That's when the spookshow really began, when Billie realized that she could see the dead.And the dead could see her. Now, they won't leave her alone. Accompanying two friends through a haunted house, Billie uncovers a terrible secret that brings, not only the police, but the homicide detective responsible for putting her into the hospital in the first place. He's also the one man she sworn to stay away from.

False Memory


Meli Raine - 2018
    Not the best way to wake up, right? I work in a flower shop. I know a funeral arrangement when I see one. I know a killer when I see one, too. And one is standing in my hospital room right now, straight behind the man who saved my life. I can’t tell anyone the truth, because that’s the fastest way to really die. So I do the next best thing. I “lose” my memory. I fake my amnesia. Pretending not to remember a brutal attempted murder has its perks. The killer is backing down, spending less time around me, loosening the noose. The less I claim to recall, the more my rescuer, Duff, works to help me “remember.” I hate lying to him. But he doesn’t understand that my memory is dangerous. To me. And to him. Fooling everyone isn’t easy. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Except it’s starting to look like I’ve been fooling myself. In more ways than one.

Watchlist


Jeffery DeaverJames Grady - 2009
    Rozan, Lisa Scottoline, and Jeffery Deaver, who conceived the characters and set the plot in motion. In turn, the other authors each wrote a chapter and Deaver then completed what he started, bringing each novel to its startling conclusion.The Chopin Manuscript Former war crimes investigator Harold Middleton possesses a previously unknown score by Frédéric Chopin. But he is unaware that, locked within its handwritten notes, lies a secret that now threatens the lives of thousands of Americans.The Copper Bracelet Harold Middleton returns in this explosive sequel to The Chopin Manuscript as he’s drawn into an international terror plot that threatens to send India and Pakistan into full-scale nuclear war.Note: Print edition of the two original audio serialized novels,The Chopin Manuscript and The Copper Bracelet.

Ties That Bind


Carolyn Arnold - 2011
    The rest of the world thought she was going crazy—until it was too late.When Laura Saunders is found strangled in her home with a man’s necktie, Detective Madison Knight is assigned the case. Her sergeant at the Stiles Police Department wants her to conclude it was an isolated incident and move on with the investigation, but Madison’s not the type to cave under pressure. She’s haunted by certain unexplainable clues at the crime scene, including the presence of a mysterious photograph. Madison believes the picture may somehow tie into the murder, but before she can dig into it, another woman’s body is discovered in a local park. Heather Nguyen was also murdered with the same brand of necktie that had been used on Laura.On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be anything beyond the way they were killed that connects the women. But as Madison delves into the lives of the victims, she unravels a web of deceit and betrayal and lays bare decades of deadly family secrets. Edging closer to the truth, Madison’s quite sure at least one more woman is slated to die. But can Madison piece together all the clues in time to save her?A gripping crime thriller full of heart-pounding twists. Perfect for fans of Robert Dugoni, J.D. Robb, and Lisa Regan.Readers love Ties That Bind:“Arnold has written one of the best female cops that I’ve ever read… Madison is just one of those characters that will stay with you.” –Harlie’s Books, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“A good detective story with lots of twists and turns and an unexpected ending.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“This is one heck of a mystery!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Brace yourself for the ending! I didn't see that one coming.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“I loved Madison Knight and her sassy dialogue.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“I found myself unable to stop reading this book.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“A must-read for the mystery fan.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“So many twists and turns I never saw the ending coming!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“A solid police procedure mystery.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“If you like true suspense, this is a book to read.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Like watching an award-winning police drama in my mind.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Intriguing, suspenseful, and full of surprises!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Well-written and researched on police procedures.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“It was very difficult to set this book aside to do something else.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“From the moment I began reading this book, I was hooked.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Blood Tears


Michael J. Malone - 2012
    For Glasgow DI Ray McBain, the killings are strangely familiar... and then the dreams begin. The first in a series of books featuring DI Ray McBain, a Glasgow detective who has too many friends in the underworld for his own good, but enough to support him when he goes on the run, the main suspect in a murder case. Scottish noir at its best.

Fallen Idols


Neil White - 2007
    Who is behind this apparently motiveless killing, and who's next in the firing line? It is up to crime-beat reporter Jack Garrett and single mum DC Laura McGanity to find out.

The Girls Across The Bay


Emerald O'Brien - 2017
    A bond stronger than blood. A connection that could end it all. Madigan Knox and Grace Sheppard became sisters the day they entered their foster home. After living through a childhood nightmare, one brave act set them free, but split them apart into different homes.As adults, they are reunited in the small coastal town they dreamed of living in as children, but the reality of life in Tall Pines is far from what they had imagined.When a woman is found dead​ in her home​, Madigan reports on the crime while Grace investigates. A dark connection to the victim is discovered, pulling them both closer to the crime and the traumatic past they are desperate to move on from. With old wounds ripped open and dark secrets threatening their bond, the sisters must rely on each other more than ever before to survive.

Broken Glass


Alexander Hartung - 2019
    Both are almost identical. Detective Nik Pohl has seen every shade of darkness in his career. Not used to playing by the rules, he finds himself frozen out by his superiors. What’s worse, now he’s being blackmailed by a shadowy businessman into investigating a seemingly crimeless disappearance.A young woman, Viola, left her home months ago, leaving a letter to her parents saying she wouldn’t be coming back. With a little digging Nik discovers the case of an almost identical-looking woman, who went missing in similar circumstances. There’s one important difference: that woman is dead. Viola may still be alive… but perhaps not for much longer.When Nik is viciously attacked, it becomes clear that whoever is behind Viola’s disappearance has some high-level connections, and they will stop at nothing to shut him down. But he’s in too deep and the clock is ticking. He has to find Viola, and her captors, before it’s too late. From million-copy bestselling German author Alexander Hartung