Trust No One


Debra Webb - 2020
    She’s locked in a bitter struggle with her ex-husband and teenage daughter, and her reckless new partner is anything but trustworthy.Still, she has a job to do: there’s a killer at large, and a pregnant woman has gone missing. Once Devlin and her partner get to work, they quickly unearth secrets involving Birmingham’s most esteemed citizens. Each new layer of the investigation brings Devlin closer to the killer and the missing woman, who starts looking more like a suspect than a victim.But just as answers come into view, the case twists, expands, and slithers into Devlin’s personal life. There’s a much more sinister game at work, one she doesn’t even know she’s playing—and she must unravel the truth once and for all to stop the killer before she loses everything.

No Game For a Dame


M. Ruth Myers - 2011
     Moving through streets where people line up at soup kitchens, Maggie draws information from sources others overlook: The waitress at the dime store lunch counter where she has breakfast; a ragged newsboy; the other career girls at her rooming house. Her digging gets her chloroformed and left in a ditch behind the wheel of her DeSoto. She makes her way to an upscale bordello and gets tea – and information – from the madam herself. A gunman puts a bullet through Maggie’s hat. Her shutterbug pal on the evening paper warns her off. A new cop whose presence unsettles her thinks she’s crooked. Before she finds all the answers she needs, she faces a half-crazed man with a gun, and a far more lethal point-blank killer. If you like Robert B. Parker's hard boiled Spencer series and strong women sleuths, don't miss this one-of-a-kind Ohio detective from a time in United States history when dames wore hats -- but seldom a Smith & Wesson.

Last Gasp


Robert F. Barker - 2015
    Now they want him to do it again, only this time the 'victim' is a Dominatrix. As if he hasn't enough on his plate: there's a brutal killer poised to strike again, shadows of the past that still haunt his dreams, an investigation under mounting pressure to succeed, and a beautiful woman whose bizarre lifestyle may be the key to finding the killer. That's not counting the young girl whose life he's trying to save from ruin, or the ambitious colleague scheming to bring him down. As the kill-count mounts, signs point to a link with Carver's first serial killer case - that of the notorious Escort Killer, Edmund Hart. But Hart is dead, having hung himself in prison, so how can that be? This is just one of the mysteries Carver must solve in this gripping first outing for the detective who knows his reputation as, "The UK's Foremost Serial Sex Crime Investigator" is built on sand. And when the killer strikes at the heart of the investigation, he knows that in order to protect those closest, he must confront what he most fears - his own failings. The first in the DCI Jamie Carver Series, and Book One of The Worshipper Trilogy, LAST GASP is a novel of murder, deception, sexual intrigue, and human weakness. It is a story about one man's struggle to put the past behind him, and save those he loves. ROBERT F BARKER is a former, British Senior Police Detective. LAST GASP is the first in a series of gritty crime thrillers set mainly in and around England’s Northwest featuring his resourceful but sometimes conflicted murder detective, DCI Jamie Carver.

Dead Wood


Dani Amore - 2011
    A disgraced ex-cop turned private investigator is hired by the dead woman’s father and immediately becomes the target of a violent ex-convict. An enigmatic music star performs damage control on her links to the dead woman. And a professional killer who idolizes Keith Richards is brought into town by a mysterious employer. Dead Wood is what great mysteries are all about: love, hate, faith and vengeance, all wrapped up in an explosive story that simply refuses to let up.

Back to Lazarus


Judy K. Walker - 2014
    He beat and choked her to death. I'm told that he was found hanging from a homemade noose in his cell. I want to know why he waited so long to do it." Sydney Brennan isn't sure how to answer her client's question, short of holding a séance, and the Tallahassee detective has some questions of her own. Why does Noel Thomas remember so little about her childhood? Why is she delving into her father's suicide now? And, most importantly, why isn't Noel telling her the truth?Sydney crisscrosses the Florida Panhandle, reconstructing the tragic Thomas family history. The violence that destroyed the Thomas family connects to a present-day web of deceit and corruption through a desperate man willing to do anything to keep his secrets safe. To discover his identity, Sydney must go Back to Lazarus, back to the town where Noel's beautiful but troubled mother began her inevitable descent over twenty years ago. But by following in the footsteps of the murdered woman, does Sydney risk sharing her fate?Rooted in bars and back roads and Panhandle prisons, forgotten towns and forgotten people, at its heart Back to Lazarus is about stories: the stories people tell us, the stories we tell ourselves, and what happens when we realize it's all a lie.

Blood Orchids


Toby Neal - 2011
    On a routine patrol she finds two murdered teenagers—one of whom she’d recently busted. With its echoes of her own past, the murdered girl’s harsh life and tragic death affect Lei deeply. She becomes obsessed—even as the killer is drawn to Lei's intensity, feeding off her vulnerabilities and toying with her sanity.Despite her obsession with the case and fear that she's being stalked, Lei finds herself falling in love for the first time. Steaming volcanoes, black sand beaches and shrouded fern forests are the backdrop to Lei's quest for answers—and the stalker is closer than she can imagine, as threads of the past tangle in her future. Lei is determined to find the killer—but he knows where to find her first.

Lies Come True


Emerald O'Brien - 2015
    Ten years later... The body of a young woman is discovered along the path of a park in the same town. The killer is cunning and ruthless, but even the best killers make mistakes. Fiona Wolfe, the second woman to be attacked, survives and reveals a potential link between the current killer and the attack on Avery Hart. Noah Cotter, an ambitious new inspector, becomes drawn to the case when his curiosity combines with his attraction to Avery. The dangerous search for truth appears to be muddied with each shocking secret brought to light, as Avery, Fiona, and Noah realize that when someone is deceived for too long, sometimes... Lies Come True*Free with sign up to Emerald O'Brien's newsletter http://eepurl.com/4YHaX

Murder in the Manor


Fiona Grace - 2019
    She needs to quit her job, leave her horrendous boss and New York City, and walk away from the fast life. Making good on her childhood promise to herself, she decides to walk away from it all, and to relive a beloved childhood vacation in the quaint English seaside town of Wilfordshire.Wilfordshire is exactly as Lacey remembers it, with its ageless architecture, cobblestone streets, and with nature at its doorstep. Lacey doesn’t want to go back home—and spontaneously, she decides to stay, and to give her childhood dream a try: she will open her own antique shop.Lacey finally feels that her life is taking a step in the right direction—until her new star customer turns up dead.As the newcomer in town, all eyes are on Lacey, and it’s up to her to clear her own name.With a business to run, a next-door neighbor turned nemesis, a flirty baker across the street, and a crime to solve – is this new life all that Lacey thought it would be?

Death Report


Erik Racker - 2019
     And hers is just the beginning. The killer wants to be noticed, he wants his handiwork in the spotlight, and he needs his name known. The man’s motivation is something only a fractured mind could imagine. For Sergeant Braun, each step closer to his culprit pushes the killer another step closer to the edge. The man is already capable of murder, so what can possibly happen if he’s pushed too far?

Girl in Trouble


Stacy Claflin - 2017
     Alex Mercer is no stranger to kidnappings. The emotional scars still run deep from his sister’s disappearance years earlier. His daughter Ariana remains safe long after her adoption, and he cherishes the few times a year he gets to see her. The joy is palpable when he takes her on their first one-on-one outing. At least until he pauses to answer a text and Ariana disappears… Wracked with guilt and determined to find answers, Alex teams up with an unlikely ally at the police department. As the clues reveal a pattern of missing girls, the kidnapping case becomes a race against time to save Ariana. What cost is Alex willing to pay to keep his daughter alive? Girl in Trouble is the first book in a series of thrilling stand-alone novels spun off from the USA Today bestselling Gone Trilogy. If you like heart-pounding suspense, page-turning action, and characters you’ll never forget, then you’ll love Stacy Claflin’s engrossing new series.

Sign Off


Patricia McLinn - 2012
     TV journalist Elizabeth “E. M.” Danniher will tell you she committed two sins — she didn’t stay young, and she made an enemy of a powerful news executive — her ex. She used to break national news. Now her top story as the “Helping Out!” reporter at dinky KWMT-TV in Sherman,Wyoming is getting a refund for a defective toaster. Tough, funny and determined, Elizabeth wrestles with isolation, keeping a professional edge, and an evolving self-image. Is Wyoming — the land of cattle, cowboys, tumbleweeds, and fewer than six people per square mile — her new home or a road to permanent obscurity? Soon she’s in a battle of wills with ex-football player turned journalist Mike Paycik, who sees her as a handy rung on his career ladder. And there’s the matter of a deputy sheriff—missing or murdered? Elizabeth finds herself investigating at the insistence of a girl who’s set on proving her father’s innocence. Not that enigmatic rancher Thomas David Burrell makes investigating easy. But Elizabeth won’t fade to black without a fight, no matter how final some might want to make her SIGN OFF. Don’t miss any of the Caught Dead in Wyoming series by USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn:Sign OffLeft HangingShoot FirstLast DitchLook LiveBack StoryCold OpenHot Roll

The Girl From Paradise Hill


Susan Lund - 2018
    With no crime scenes, no leads and no suspects, the cases have gone cold.Until today.The remains of one missing girl are discovered in a burned-out cabin at a remote campsite, reopening the case and suggesting the worst may be true – a ruthless child killer is operating in Washington State.TESS MCCLINTOCKCrime reporter and amateur cyber-sleuth Tess is obsessed with the cold cases of missing girls in Washington State. As she works to settle her father's estate, she's shaken to her core when she uncovers evidence pointing to his involvement. FBI SPECIAL AGENT MICHAEL CARTEROn leave after solving a particularly heartbreaking case of child abduction and murder for the FBI's Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force, Michael is back in Paradise Hill to recover and visit with family. Despite doctor's orders to stay clear of police work, Michael's drawn back in when Tess asks for his help understanding the secrets found in her father's attic.A RUTHLESS CHILD KILLER Having escaped justice for decades, he's bored and deliberately stirs the pot, revealing one of the dead girl's bodies. Despite hiding in plain sight, no one suspects that he's really a wolf and not the sheep he pretends to be. He sees Tess and Michael's involvement in the case as a challenge and views Tess as a temptation he can't resist.AN EIGHTEEN-YEAR OLD COLD CASEFor Tess and Michael, the cases are personal: Tess's best friend in public school, Lisa Tate, was one of the missing girls from Paradise Hill. Michael was babysitting the night little Lisa vanished. The guilt they harbor over their role in her disappearance drives them both. Desperate for answers, Tess and Michael join forces to track a killer and uncover the secrets Tess finds in her father's attic. Will the answers bring Tess peace or shatter her?THE GIRL FROM PARADISE HILL is the first book in the McClintock-Carter Crime Thriller Series.

Murder in the South of France


Susan Kiernan-Lewis - 2011
    Along the way, she finds handsome Laurent Dernier, a sexy if nefarious Frenchman who it's not clear is there to help or hinder Maggie's search for the girl. Meanwhile, her sister's murderer sets his sights on the little girl — and Maggie.The first book of the Maggie Newberry Mystery Series, Murder in the South of France was originally titled Murder on the Côte d’Azur.

Entangled


Barbara Ellen Brink - 2010
    One summer of her childhood is a mystery she intends to solve. But digging up her past also lays bare the skeletons of others, including her mother’s. Entangled between what she once believed and a new reality, will she be able to live with the consequences of full disclosure?

The Gingerbread Man


Maggie Shayne - 2001
    When the FBI takes over the case, Vince agrees to take time off. Traveling to a small upstate New York town, he meets Holly Newman--a fragile woman whose sister was abducted and killed years ago. Convinced that Holly's sister's death is linked to the recent murders, he attempts to unearth clues hidden deep in Holly's mind.