Book picks similar to
The Virgin and the Bull by Erato


dark-and-perverse
indie-self-published
noir
one-hit-wonders

The Fourth Courier


Timothy Jay Smith - 2019
    It is 1992 in Warsaw, Poland, and the communist era has just ended. A series of grisly murders suddenly becomes an international case when it's feared that the victims may have been couriers smuggling nuclear material out of the defunct Soviet Union. The FBI sends an agent to help with the investigation. When he learns that a Russian physicist who designed a portable atomic bomb has disappeared, the race is on to find him—and the bomb—before it ends up in the wrong hands.Smith’s depiction of post-cold war Poland is gloomily atmospheric and murky in a world where nothing is quite as it seems. Suspenseful, thrilling, and smart, The Fourth Courier brings together a straight white FBI agent and gay black CIA officer as they team up to uncover a gruesome plot involving murder, radioactive contraband, narcissistic government leaders, and unconscionable greed.

Break


Ty Patterson - 2020
    For those whom the system has failed.Cutter served in the world's most dangerous hotspots and sacrificed everything for his country. His military file has more redactions than words.That life is behind him. He's a fixer, now. He uses his specialist skills to help those whom the system let down.When a mother wants him to free her son from the grasp of drug dealers, it sounds like a simple assignment. Knock some heads, give a stern talking to the delinquent. Walk away.But nothing's ever that simple.When the most vicious gang in New York is involved in a conspiracy that can destroy the country's foundations, he has a choice to make.He can back off. Or, he can clean up.The decision, again, is simple.The job will be anything but…

BAD INTENT


Michael Tabman - 2013
    Douglas and his partner NYPD Detective Mark Zucarelli on the streets of New York City as they find themselves in the middle of raging drug wars.The Colombian Cartels are flooding the streets with cocaine. They are violent and ruthless criminals.The Mob has been cut out. What will they do?The FBI and the NYPD have an uneasy alliance.Who can be trusted?Does everyone have bad intent?Inspired by my years on the FBI-NYPD Drug Task Force, BAD INTENT will take you to the dark side of the drug wars.Peek into the hearts and minds of the FBI Agents and NYPD Detectives on the front lines.Do you have BAD INTENT?

The Asylum


Debra Meller - 2020
    Her infant son, already dead, lies on her chest still clinging to his mother.On the morning that is Patty found, she is not expected to survive but is taken to hospital where she eventually recovers. But, severely emotionally disturbed, Patty soon finds herself a patient at Hillside Asylum. There, Patty’s condition deteriorates, and the staff and doctors perform unnecessary experimental procedures on their patient.But when someone from Patty’s past learns about her incarceration, they vow to get her out. And those responsible for the abuse will be made to suffer . . .

The Crossing


Ted Allbeury - 1987
    The identities of several Russian agents become known to the West.The chase is on to gather the evidence needed to incriminate them.One of the leaders of the hunt is the brilliant British spycatcher Joe Shapiro, who persuades the Americans into exchanging a notorious and high-ranking KGB spy for the seemingly unimportant American spy-pilot Gary Powers.Joe Shapiro has more than a professional interest in the case, and the intricate web of lies and deception behind the exchange of spies hides secrets that must never be revealed.Inspired by historical events surrounding the infamous 1960 U-2 incident, THE CROSSING is a tense and compelling thriller by one of the genre's master storytellers.

The Forgotten Fortune


Matt James - 2020
    Many have tried, but all have failed to locate the legendary Nazi gold train.Jack Reilly mourns the loss of his grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, and an esteemed historian. In memory of her, the retired Delta operator tours the place of her imprisonment, the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, site of the infamous Nazi concentration camp.Suddenly, the crowded complex is taken over by a well-armed force. They’re led by a woman on a personal quest. The mercenary commander yearns to uncover the lucrative haul with the help of a journal that once belonged to Heinrich Himmler, leader of Adolf Hitler’s ruthless paramilitary organization, the Schutzstaffel. She shanghaies Jack into service after she learns of his past.With innocent lives on the line, Jack agrees to help. If he fails, people die. But if he succeeds, and he unwillingly helps resurrect the Nazi party, even more people will die. Never in his life has Jack been stuck between a bigger rock and a harder place.The Forgotten Fortune is the first book in international bestselling author Matt James’ action-packed archaeological thriller series, The Jack Reilly Adventures.

The Lost Tomb of Cleopatra


J.T. Osbourne - 2018
    Egypt is in mourning.Egypt, 30 BC. Roman soldiers storm a site rumored to be the final resting place of Egypt's Queen Cleopatra. Hiding in the shadows, a fierce patriot, Neferu watches the scene unfold. Despite observing the torture and murder of the site's priests, Neferu smiles - the soldiers will not find their coveted prize. His secret is safe. Maverick history professor Brook Burlington has devoted her life to locating the whereabouts of Cleopatra's tomb. But when Brook's ex-boyfriend Ali Rahman claims to have made a breakthrough in the case, Brook must swallow her pride and her feelings to join his expedition. In her quest to fulfill her lifelong obsession, she discovers a secret message left behind by a previously-unknown stone carver that she's convinced will help her unlock one of history's greatest mysteries: Find Me and You Will Find Him and Her.Tom Manor's Grand Tour wasn't supposed to end this way. The son of a hedge fund tsar, Tom made the decision to turn his back on the family business and Wall Street life to find his own way. Upon arriving in Egypt, terrorists raid his privately-hired felucca while it is sailing down the Nile and Tom is taken as a prisoner. When Brook's entourage crosses paths with the lost tourist, they each realize their lives have changed forever, but questions remain. Who is this beautiful adventurous professor who has taken him in and what has brought her to the desert? Who is this handsome young American, kidnapped, beaten and left for dead. And what is his connection to the Russian oligarch, Strelov, who has taken such a keen interest in her work? Find out why reviews have called The Lost Tomb of Cleopatra "An extremely entertaining combination of historical drama and action thriller" ,"Ambitious", "exciting" and "engaging".

The Lost Island - Free Preview (first 11 chapters): A Gideon Crew Novel


Douglas Preston - 2014
    When his mysterious employer, Eli Glinn, gives him an eyebrow-raising mission, he has no reason to refuse. Gideon's task: steal a page from the priceless Book of Kells, now on display in New York City and protected by unbreakable security. Accomplishing the impossible, Gideon steals the parchment--only to learn that hidden beneath the gorgeously illuminated image is a treasure map dating back to the time of the ancient Greeks. As they ponder the strange map, they realize that the treasure it leads to is no ordinary fortune. It is something far more precious: an amazing discovery that could perhaps even save Gideon's life.Together with his new partner, Amy, Gideon follows a trail of cryptic clues to an unknown island in a remote corner of the Caribbean Sea. There, off the hostile and desolate Mosquito Coast, the pair realize the extraordinary treasure they are hunting conceals an even greater shock-a revelation so profound that it may benefit the entire human race . . . if Gideon and Amy can survive.

The Letter Promised


Kevin Wignall - 2013
    Returning to the Paris hotel where he spent his honeymoon six years earlier, he decides to take what seems like the only way out - suicide. But a chance encounter with a Russian in a similar predicament leaves Nick with an unlikely obligation to fulfil, one that will take him to Italy, and offer him a chance at something like redemption. www.kevinwignall.com

Revenge at Sea


Brian O'Sullivan - 2020
    Stuck in a hospital bed on his 40th birthday, he overhears a sinister conversation.Sensing an opportunity, Quint starts his own investigation, bypassing local law enforcement in the process. His inquiries lead him to the scene of a savage murder. And a second one, even more barbaric.Then things spiral out of control. Quint becomes a suspect in the murders and believes his father’s recent death might not be an accident.Quint tries to clear his name but realizes the real murderer is above the law. To find justice, he has to resort to extreme measures: following the sadistic killer out to sea.

The Masada Complex


Avraham Azrieli - 2010
    – President Barack Obama calls America’s alliance with Israel “unshakeable.” The Masada Complex questions this assertion with a realistic political thriller taking place in Arizona, Washington and Jerusalem.The Masada Complex unveils a chilling scenario. Its hero is Masada El-Tal, a beautiful Israeli expatriate, currently an investigative reporter in Arizona. Her exposure of a bribe payment causes a disgraced U.S. senator to commit suicide. Angered by Israel’s supposed culpability, an angry Congress moves to terminate all military aid to the Jewish state. At the same time, someone repeatedly attempts to assassinate Masada, whose relentless investigation becomes a race against time, leading to a shocking discovery and a spectacular climax.

The Sphinx Scrolls


Stewart Ferris - 2016
     Mayan legends tell of a location where the secret to surviving the end of the world may be found. One part of that legend is recorded on a stone tablet in the dusty attic of Lord ‘Ratty’ Ballashiels’ crumbling manor. The other twin part disappeared from a Berlin museum when the Nazis took power. When Ratty seems about to sell his tablet to the adopted son of Josef Mengele, his friend, the archaeologist Ruby Towers, is appalled. Soon it is clear that more than archaeology is at stake. The quest to rescue historic Central American artefacts becomes a race to prevent an apocalyptic threat when Ruby discovers that the ancients have set in motion something that will threaten the world today.

Vine Street


Dominic Nolan - 2021
    SOHO, 1935.SERGEANT LEON GEATS' PATCH.A snarling, skull-cracking misanthrope, Geats marshals the grimy rabble according to his own elastic moral code.The narrow alleys are brimming with jazz bars, bookies, blackshirts, ponces and tarts so when a body is found above the Windmill Club, detectives are content to dismiss the case as just another young woman who topped herself early.But Geats - a good man prepared to be a bad one if it keeps the worst of them at bay - knows the dark seams of the city.Working with his former partner, mercenary Flying Squad sergeant Mark Cassar, Geats obsessively dedicates himself to finding a warped killer - a decision that will reverberate for a lifetime and transform both men in ways they could never expect.

Insanity (Insanity #1)


Andre Gonzalez - 2017
    Balancing school, work and plans for the future, he learns that dreams are merely far-fetch fantasies.After his college mentor emphasizes a major problem ignored by society—mental health—Jeremy grows obsessed with shedding light on this epidemic.When the corporate world and pressures of life begin to spiral out of control, Jeremy decides to carry out an experiment to save the ill who have been shunned by society. How far will Jeremy’s experiment lead him before reaching deadly conclusions? Insanity is the first novel in the gripping Insanity Series. If you like fast-paced thrillers, exploring twisted minds, and dark truths, then you’ll love this high-octane series by Andre Gonzalez!Buy Insanity to join Jeremy in his demented experiment!

Buffalo Bayou: A Noir Crime Thriller


Tom Abrahams - 2021
    His first case is a young woman found in an urban bayou. He immediately sees clues that lead him places he doesn't want to go. But his own demons may be the clue to solving the mystery of the woman's death. And as the case widens, so do his new partner's suspicions about his past and motivations.