Book picks similar to
2016 by James Force


suspense
armchair-chicago
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Cid


Alexie Aaron - 2016
    His colleague Jesse Holden has hooked him up with a fill-in position on a multimillion dollar renovation on an isolated 1920s southern mansion called Hidden Meadow. The job is being run by a driven female contractor, Kiki Pickles, who specializes in renovating prewar buildings. She lets Cid know right away that she’s hired him for his carpentry skills and not as a ghost hunter. But Cid is all too aware that in the renovation of old homes, sometimes you have to deal with a myriad of pests, living and dead.Lurking at the top of the stairs is a very cranky ghost. He’s been woken up by the sound of pounding hammers and screeching tile cutters. He can’t do anything about the tools themselves, so he targets his rage at the men and women working on the mansion. Jesse is attacked in one of the three attics in Hidden Meadow and left to die. Cid arrives just in time to fight a black mass, and he surprises it with a good salting. Jesse is saved, but the ghost isn’t finished with them yet, nor is he the only entity that has been released to cause havoc in the first of the “Cid Garrett P. I.” novels.“Cid” is a standalone book written in the “Haunted Series” universe.

Whisper Me This


Kerry Anne King - 2018
    The only thing Maisey’s sure she’s gotten right is her relationship with her twelve-year-old daughter, Elle…until a phone call blows apart the precarious balance of their lives. Maisey’s mother is in a coma, and her aging father faces charges of abuse and neglect.Back at her childhood home, Maisey must make a heartrending life-or-death decision. Her confused father has destroyed family records, including her mother’s final wishes. Searching for answers, Maisey uncovers one unspeakable secret after another when she stumbles upon a shattering truth: a twin sister named Marley.Maisey’s obsession with solving the mystery of her sister forces her to examine her darkest memories and triggers a custody battle with Elle’s father. Will Maisey’s love for her daughter be strong enough to break a cycle of abuse and create a new beginning for them all?

The Forgotten Hours


Katrin Schumann - 2019
    Katie’s life fell apart almost a decade earlier, during an idyllic summer at her family’s cabin on Eagle Lake when her best friend accused her father of sexual assault. Throughout his trial and imprisonment, Katie insisted on his innocence, dodging reporters and clinging to memories of the man she adores.Now he’s getting out. Yet when Katie returns to the shuttered lakeside cabin, details of that fateful night resurface: the chill of the lake, the heat of first love, the terrible sting of jealousy. And as old memories collide with new realities, they call into question everything she thinks she knows about family, friends, and, ultimately, herself. Now, Katie’s choices will be put to the test with life-altering consequences.

The James L. Rubart Collection: Rooms, Book of Days, and The Chair


James L. Rubart - 2012
    Rubart burst onto the scene with his best-selling debut novel Rooms, quickly becoming one of the most acclaimed Christian fiction writers in recent memory. Hailed as “a master storyteller” by Examiner.com, Rubart creates stories that engulf readers and make it “impossible to think of anything else until finished.” (Terri Blackstock, New York Times best-selling author) For the first time, you can now get all three of Rubart’s novels together at once. Rooms, a profound spiritual tale spun with imaginative flair, transports you to rainy Seattle where software tycoon Micah Taylor receives a cryptic note telling of a beachfront home he inherited from an uncle he hasn’t seen in twenty-five years. Micah soon discovers there is more to this home than what is on the surface—it is in fact a physical manifestation of his soul, which God uses to heal Micah’s darkest wounds and lead him into an astonishing new destiny. Book of Days, a fast-paced and thought provoking allegory (and “a great read, why people buy books” according to award-winning author Dan Walsh), explores the power of memories and the lengths some will go to just to keep them alive. Cameron, struggling to remember his wife who was killed two years earlier in an accident, seeks an ancient book to save his mind. But others want to claim it for more nefarious purposes. The Chair, a dynamic fast paced thriller, tells the story of a chair claimed to have been made by Jesus Christ himself. Antique dealer Corin Roscoe, who skeptically bought the chair from an elderly lady, is forced to reconsider its authenticity after a young boy is miraculously healed after sitting in it. Word quickly spreads of the chair’s power, and Corin’s life begins to shatter as he searches for the truth about the artifact and the unexplained phenomena surrounding it. And he's not the only one willing do almost anything to possess the power seemingly connected to the chair.

We Were Mothers


Katie Sise - 2018
    Devoted mother Cora O’Connell has found the journal of her friend Laurel’s daughter—a beautiful college student who lives next door—revealing an illicit encounter. Hours later, Laurel makes a shattering discovery of her own: her daughter has vanished without a trace. Over the course of one weekend, the crises of two close families are about to trigger a chain reaction that will expose a far more disturbing web of secrets. Now everything is at stake as they’re forced to confront the lies they have told in order to survive.

Bought By Three Hard Devils


Myra Brightholme - 2018
     They decided a wagon-load of goods was fair trade for their adult daughter – and now I belong to the de Villes. Everyone says they’re devils, that they’re bloodthirsty and ruthless, and…who knows! – possibly even cannibals. There’s three of them, and the way they’re eyeing me off I can’t help but feel their hunger, but I don’t think it’s for my flesh, at least not in the way the stories tell. My parents always taught me how important it is to share – I just never imagined three guys at once, sharing my body, giving me pleasure like I’ve never experienced in my whole life… This is a full-length novel with an HEA. 18+ Only. Enjoy!

The I-94 Murders


Frank F. Weber - 2018
    A tryst of bondage.  A lover's murder.  Investigator Jon Frederick returns in a search to uncover the identity of a killer creeping through communities along I-94 in Minnesota, targeting couples who store their fetish photos online.  The killer taunts Jon with hidden messages embedded  in local media that lead him to Sonia, a young woman with a terrible secret.  A fast-paced thriller based on the profile of a true-life serial murderer, The I-94 Murders  guides the reader with an insider's light along the dark road of a killer.

Final Price


J. Gregory Smith - 2009
    Neighbors know one another, and businesses cater to the needs of the citizenry. But what happens when the local car salesman suffers one lost sale too many, when one more customer decides to buy from the competition because the price is too high, interest rates aren't friendly, or that shade of blue just won't work? In J. Gregory Smith's electrifying thriller, Final Price, Shamus Ryan's frustration works like a thorn under his skin until psychotic urges take over and he commits murder—serial murders, in fact—his victims chosen from prospective clients who dared to walk away. With Smith's chilling scenes of massacre, readers are pulled into the vortex of a warped mind, one man justifying heinous acts, and two detectives running a race against time, trying to solve seemingly random killings. Paul Chang, a Chinese-American homicide detective, is struggling to understand why these murders are taking place. Assisted by his neurotic partner, Nelson Rogers, Chang goes after the killer with logic, tenacity, and no small measure of fear. Written from the perspectives of Detective Chang and Shamus Ryan, readers quickly find themselves seeing the world in unique—and often disturbing—ways they never expected. With dark humor and gritty suspense, Smith has crafted a refreshing and surprising thriller.

The Cuckoo's Gift


Anne Steinberg - 2014
    Her last visit here was twelve years ago when, through whispering mangroves, past flocks of exotic birds, skirting bobcat trails and precious mounds of turtle eggs, four children played in this earthly paradise – as explorers, naturalists, boat-builders... and eventually, as lovers. Over the intervening years, Carrie has tried to forget those summer idylls and the children who were her friends – Phoebe, who believed herself to be a mermaid, her aloof older brother Bradley, and Tristan, son of the Native American wisewoman, Tanta. Now two of them are dead and gone. In the cemetery, however, there is only one grave; in Tanta’s backyard, a mourning cradle hangs, stuffed with black raven feathers; and over at Bud’s Landing lives a small boy who has mysteriously been struck dumb. Legend says that pirates buried treasure on a sister island, but here on Sanibel, where a great storm is gathering, Carries is about to unearth some treasure of her own.

Fetch a Pail of Murder


Constance Barker - 2017
    While the hunt has twists and turns, the girls never lose sight of their goal...to outwit the local Police Department and form their own sleuthing group...The We're Not Dead Yet Club. Join the fun as this mismatched group of friends and their men cohorts search for clues and almost end up in the hoosegow and the local cemetery.

The Arwain Chronicles: Book II


Iceheart Phoenix - 2016
    Death is only just the beginning...

Tips for Living


Renee Shafransky - 2018
    With the help of her best friend, she fled New York City for a small resort town, snagged a job as the advice columnist for the local paper, and is cautiously letting a new man into her life. But when Hugh and his perfect new family move into a summer house nearby, Nora backslides. Coping with jealousy, humiliation, and resentment again is as hard as she feared. It’s harder still when Hugh and his wife are shot to death in their home.If only Nora could account for the night of the murders. Unfortunately, her memories have gone as dark as her fantasies of revenge. But Nora’s not the only one with a reason to kill—and as prime suspect in the crime, she’d better be able to prove it.

The Fall


Evie Hunter - 2021
    Now, with her life in tatters, she is determined to bring those who framed her to justice.Out for revenge…Journalist Nate Black is intrigued by Lauren’s story. Is she the innocent victim she claims to be or is there more to her past? Eager to learn more he offers to help Lauren clear her name and bring the real villains to justice.And running out of time.But with millions of pounds still missing, Lauren remains the prime suspect…and the main target in an increasingly deadly game. And as Lauren’s plan with Nate reaches its shocking climax, no one knows who will ultimately take the fall…A nail-biting revenge thriller, perfect for fans of Gemma Rogers, Heather Atkinson and Caro Savage.'A brilliant read that hooked me from the outset. The Fall is a tale of sweet revenge that I couldn’t tear myself away from!' Bestselling author Gemma Rogers.

The Sarah Roberts Series Vol. 1-3


Jonas Saul - 2011
    Prophecies. Dark Visions. Future events with dire consequences only she can avert.Sarah is an Automatic Writer who suffers from a rare obsessive-compulsive disorder called trichotillomania. She has dealt with kidnappings before, so when she receives a message that details a kidnapping, when it is to take place, and what she can do to stop it, she's ready. But things go wrong fast when the kidnappers recognize her from a previous intervention on her part. People are killed. Witnesses place Sarah at the scene. The police find her notebook riddled with prophecies of accidents and crimes from her automatic writing episodes and they want answers.Sarah is in a fight for her life with no one to trust. Her Dark Visions have brought her into the hands of a kidnapping ring who will do anything to find out how she knows so much about them.While the police hunt Sarah for the wrong reasons, her parents think she is at a sleepover. Her life is in her own hands and whether she makes it out of this mess alive or not depends on how many people have to die.The Warning (Sarah Roberts Book Two)At the end of Dark Visions (Sarah Roberts Book One), Sarah had spent the last four years saving people and averting serious accidents using the messages she receives from the dead.In The Warning, Sarah has learned the whereabouts of her sister's murderer. It is time to exact justice for the gruesome murder of Vivian Roberts, whose killer has never been found. When Sarah receives the warning, a message that tells her to stand down and let it go, she refuses. Against sound advice, Sarah enters a heavily guarded compound where the odds are stacked against her.In The Warning, Sarah Roberts becomes the hunted rather than the hunter.How many people have to die to catch one murderer? Sarah must face the reality that has become her life as an Automatic Writer. The Warning begins as a flame, ignites to a fire and explodes in an inferno of violence over a girl who receives messages from the dead to help the living.The Crypt (Sarah Roberts Book Three)Sarah Roberts is in Budapest searching for a weapon. During her time there, she notices a strange man wearing a fedora following her. Before she can find out who he is, she gets arrested. After her release from the Hungarian jail, she is ordered out of the country.The man in the fedora shows up at her Budapest hotel before she has a chance to leave for the airport. He is from a psychic research organization and he wants to take her back to the States with him to further understand her automatic writing abilities. When Sarah refuses to go, she is informed that she does not have a choice because she is now property of the United States government.While Sarah remains in Hungary after her deadline and then travels to Italy in a struggle to locate Armond Stuart, she has to keep the fedora-wearing American and his ten-man team off her back. The only way to escape their reach is to fake her own death. Convinced that is her only option, Sarah concocts a plan that will deal with Armond and have herself killed in the process.