Book picks similar to
Cedardale Court by Nathan Lee Christensen
mystery
mystery-thriller
suspense
fiction
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?
The Bridgeman
Catherine Astolfo - 2005
The murder of caretaker Nathaniel Ryeburn brings back memories she'd rather forget and plunges Emily into a mystery that involves a secret diary, an illegal puppy mill and a murderer innocently disguised as an ordinary citizen.As fear rips through the traumatized town, Emily's investigation inadvertently leads the police to her door, and to her husband Langford, who is hiding a secret of his own. It becomes clear to Emily that many of Burchill's residents are merely wearing masks. And it's time for those masks to be ripped away…and for a killer's identity to be revealed."A story rich in detail with unexpected twists and turns." —Meredith Henderson, actress, film producer, poet"Love and depravity, rebirth and rot, veneer and the real wood underneath—Astolfo brings these opposing forces into play." —Garry Ryan, author of the Detective Lane Mysteries"Master storyteller Cathy Astolfo pulls out all the stops as old secrets come back to kill…in this chilling story of twisted desires." —Lou Allin, author of She Felt No Pain
The Forgotten Girls
Alexa Steele - 2014
That doesn’t happen in Greenvale, with its immaculate lawns, exclusive yacht clubs and multi-million dollar mansions. But behind its perfect façade, its trimmed hedges and luxury cars, a darkness lies. Girls, dependent on Adderall, outmaneuver each other to get into top colleges, while the mothers’ need to live vicariously only makes it worse. Bella DeFranco is one of the Bronx’s top SVU detectives. At only 37, she disarms everyone with her stunning good looks, yet she is as tough as most men—and a lot smarter, too. Yet when is summoned to Greenvale, she finds herself getting lost in a case that even she can’t comprehend. She stumbles into a land of secrets, a place where husbands hide their pasts from their wives, where friends are not what they seem, and where no one wants to know too much. As she digs deeper into layers of suburban dysfunction, she comes to learn that, behind all the fake smiles, there is a subtle violence--rivaling even her crime-ridden streets of the Bronx. With a killer on the loose, time running out, and a new partner who never recovered from his washed-up alcoholic days, the odds are stacked against Bella. She is determined, though, to save these girls, whatever the cost. Yet as she gets close, the depth of psychosis she discovers shocks even her….
The Profiler
Chris Taylor - 2014
. . Federal Agent Clayton Munro, a criminal profiler with the Australian Federal Police (AFP), has been called upon to assist in hunting down a vicious murderer who is intent upon carving up his victims while they’re still alive. Guilt-stricken over his wife’s suicide, Clayton’s forced to set aside his personal issues in order to focus on the case. Detective Ellie Cooper is also no stranger to heartache. Pregnant and abandoned at the altar by a fiancé intent on pursuing a career with the AFP, her opinion of the elite body of officers is anything but favorable. Angered when her boss orders her to partner with the Fed, she’s determined not to cut him any slack. But women are dying on the streets of western Sydney and the pressure is mounting to find the person responsible. Will Clayton and Ellie be able to put aside their animosity and work together to catch a killer before it’s too late? And what about the special fascination the killer seems to have with Ellie . . .
I, Spy?
Kate Johnson - 2007
All she has on her side is sarcasm, blonde hair and a small cat called Tammy, but that’s not going to keep her from saving the day...once she’s figured out who to save it from. Sexy spies, plane crashes, firebombs and multicoloured cocktails: they’re all in a day’s work for Sophie. Roll over Bond, there’s a new bombshell in town! This is a new edition of the beloved book, containing brand new material.
Follow the Money
Fingers Murphy - 2011
GET READY TO LOSE SOME SLEEP!"ALWAYS ASSUME PEOPLE ARE LYING, BUT NEVER ASSUME YOU KNOW WHY."Oliver Olson went to law school to help people.But when one of the world’s most prominent law firms offers him a high paying summer job, he thinks he’d be crazy not to take it. He soon finds himself enthralled by a world of wealth, privilege, and power. Blinded by his gilded new world, Ollie is slow to see that something is not right with the case he is assigned to work on - a case with no chance of winning, given to a "summer associate" merely to keep him busy. Are people following him? Is he imagining things? Are they listening to his conversations? Why are people coming out of the woodwork with a sudden interest in a twelve year old murder case? And is it really possible that the wrong man went to prison?Ollie wants to succeed, but when he sacrifices his own moral standards for a shot at the big time, he winds up staring down the barrel of a gun.When you’ve sold out and can no longer follow your heart, you can only FOLLOW THE MONEY.This novel is 75,000 fast-paced words.About the Author: Fingers Murphy is the pen name of a well known international criminal defense attorney.
Blood Ties
Lori G. Armstrong - 2005
Lack of public interest in finding his murderer, or the killer of several other transient Native American men, has left Julie with a bone-deep cynicism she counters with tequila, cigarettes, and dangerous men. The one bright spot in her mundane life is the time she spends working part-time as a PI with her childhood friend, Kevin Wells. When the body of a sixteen-year old white girl is discovered in nearby Rapid Creek, Julie believes this victim will receive the attention others were denied. Then she learns Kevin has been hired, mysteriously, to find out where the murdered girl spent her last few days. Julie finds herself drawn into the case against her better judgment, and discovers not only the ugly reality of the young girl’s tragic life and brutal death, but ties to her and Kevin’s past that she is increasingly reluctant to revisit. On the surface the situation is eerily familiar. But the parallels end when Julie realizes some family secrets are best kept buried deep. Especially those serious enough to kill for.
The Choice
Lorhainne Eckhart - 2011
Marcie is crazy in love with Dan who has been using her and promising his love in return. And she'll do anything for him, which is fast becoming a one way ticket to trouble. But in a freak accident she loses her memory landing in the path of sexy DEA Agent Sam Carre. Two Men...For DEA Agent Sam Carre when this attractive stranger lands in his path he just can't resist helping her, even though he's haunted by a past that gives him no peace. But as the sparks fly so do questions of what she's really involved in.And a choice that could kill her...This complex case pushes them both to explain the unexplainable bringing them face to face with generations-old evil and a haunting question. Sam's forced to make a choice: walk away from the attraction connecting them or risk losing everything.
Irrefutable
Dale Roberts - 2011
Now he is raising his teenage daughter alone. The demands of his job and the fact that his wife’s case remains unsolved have been a strain on both of them, but now a new case threatens not only what’s left of their fragile relationship, but their very lives. When three local women are brutally raped, the case consumes Alex. His daughter, feeling abandoned, unknowingly befriends a looming shadow from Alex’s past. DNA evidence found on the first two victims leads Alex to his suspect. It looks like an open and shut case until DNA from the third victim is matched to Alex. Now, to clear his name he must face the demons from his past and reveal a long kept secret that could disprove the evidence against him, but doing so would not only devastate his daughter, it could destroy them both.
Birdsongs
Jason Deas - 2009
Fired from the FBI for inadvertently sleeping with the perp in a murder case, he tries to disappear to a houseboat and retirement. Not having what it takes to relax, Benny starts a service offering discreet investigations. That is until a body is found crucified near his marina. The local police department requests Benny’s help and he knows if he can catch the killer, redemption is his. The Chief gives Benny and the department ten days to solve the crimes before he promises to request the help of the FBI. As the case grows, grabbing national attention, and the murders continue, the media soon fills the normally quiet town. Media goddess, Rachael Martin arrives and adds spice to an already flavorful mix. A few newcomers straggle in as well. An ex-convict fresh out of prison from a thirty year murder rap slinks in unnoticed with revenge on his mind. Days later, a Greyhound bus delivers a strange young man raised by deaf-mute parents from deep within the Ozark Mountains. An old newspaper clipping and a dark secret pulls him to town. Whatever is going on has something strange to do with birds. At each murder site, dead birds are displayed in disturbing ways—the killer arranging them as an artist might. All the strange occurrences and unexplained visitors to this quiet town press Benny James to his max as he vehemently struggles to solve the most important case of his life.
To Kill For
A.J. Carella - 2014
do you trust yours?Money and a handsome fiancé from a good family. What more could a girl want?Jamie McKay appears to have the perfect life, but things suddenly start to go horribly wrong. A sudden death and a run-in with a would-be killer leave her alone, afraid and a long way from home.Kat McKay, long estranged from her family, returns to the small town she hasn't been back to since she walked away as a teenager. Determined to find out what happened to her niece, she must face the demons from her past and enlist the help of the man she left behind.Can the McKays survive the explosive results?
A Circle in the Woods
Winston Emerson - 2012
What do you want from me? Why don't you just take it and leave me alone?"In a place where people have been disappearing for years, a little girl gets lost in the woods. Meet the man who saves her life.On a late summer morning in 1958, Phil Stapleton discovers and rescues five-year-old Brittany Duncan after she spends two days lost deep in the Kentucky woods. Two months later, when a tree branch crashes through the rickety trailer where Brittany lives, Phil takes the girl and her mother under his roof. What follows is a decade of mystery, terror, violence, and tragedy, with no escape in sight.A Circle in the Woods is a novel that lulls and charms its reader while quietly drawing a knife.
Highwater
T.J. Brearton - 2014
He needs a blood transfusion and only one person matches. But first Milliner must solve the mystery at the Kingston house, where Liz Goldfine may have committed a heinous crime, and the dark depths of the lake harbor teenage secrets.Groups of strange young men are gathering on the roads, the old house holds many mysteries, and the waters are rising fast. What lurks deep in the lake and can anyone stop it?
Miranda Warning
Heather Day Gilbert - 2014
The Glock-wielding, knife-carrying housewife knows how to survive whatever life throws at her. But when an anonymous warning note shows up in her best friend Miranda’s mailbox—a note written in a dead woman’s handwriting—Tess quickly discovers that ghosts are alive and well in Buckneck, West Virginia. Hot on a cold trail, she must use limited clues and her keen insight into human nature to unmask the killer...or the next victim might be Tess herself.Tinged with the supernatural and overshadowed by the mountains' lush, protective presence, this twisting psychological mystery is the first in A Murder in the Mountains series.
Death by Inferior Design
Leslie Caine - 2004
The prize? A big feature in Denver Magazine, showcasing their interior design business. Who could have dreamed the uproar to ensue in a neighborhood full of eccentric homeowners, jealously hidden secrets and a few marriages in need of total makeovers. Trapped together in the midst of chaos, could the charming Steve turn out to be a…friend? But between her custom, cushy pillows and dramatic drapery, Erin uncovers a very undecorative dead body, too many suspects, and a killer who seems to have designs…on her!