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When the Stars Go Dark


Paula McLainPaula McLain - 2021
    When tragedy strikes her personal life, Anna, desperate and numb, flees to the Northern California village of Mendocino to grieve. She lived there as a child with her beloved foster parents, and now she believes it might be the only place left for her. Yet the day she arrives, she learns a local teenage girl has gone missing. The crime feels frighteningly reminiscent of the most crucial time in Anna's childhood, when the unsolved murder of a young girl touched Mendocino and changed the community forever. As past and present collide, Anna realizes that she has been led to this moment. The most difficult lessons of her life have given her insight into how victims come into contact with violent predators. As Anna becomes obsessed with the missing girl, she must accept that true courage means getting out of her own way and learning to let others in.Weaving together actual cases of missing persons, trauma theory, and a hint of the metaphysical, this propulsive and deeply affecting novel tells a story of fate, necessary redemption, and what it takes, when the worst happens, to reclaim our lives--and our faith in one another.From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife comes a novel of intertwined destinies and heart-wrenching suspense: A detective hiding away from the world. A series of disappearances that reach into her past. Can solving them help her heal?

Everyone Pays


Seth Harwood - 2016
    She thinks she’s seen the worst things people can do—until she’s assigned to investigate a particularly ruthless serial killer.As the body count rises and a pattern emerges—each victim is known for his brutal abuse of women—Donner follows the killer’s trail across the city. In spite of a nagging sense that the world may be better off without these men, she pursues every lead. When Donner finds a damaged girl with links to both the killer and his prey, she wonders if this new witness is the key to unraveling these murders or another victim left in the killer’s wake.From bestselling author Seth Harwood comes a new psychological thriller set in the dark underbelly of San Francisco.

The Syndicate Six Murder


Geoffrey Osborne - 2020
    These two men had history. Ashington never forgave Blade for marrying his former girlfriend, Julie, and he was convinced that Blades’ son was his own.Now Ashington is dead, murdered at the world-famous Police Staff College in the heart of rural Hampshire. And Julie can’t explain why she had planned to meet him on the night he died.HAS A FORGOTTEN LOVE TRIANGLE TURNED DEADLY?But Ashington was a bully and a blackmailer, and widely disliked. There are plenty of other suspects — and all of them are either senior police officers or closely connected to the force.Then Blade’s prime suspect and one of his team are brutally attacked and left for dead.CAN BLADE AND HIS NEW SECOND-IN-COMMAND DETECTIVE DOROTHY FRASER UNCOVER WHO HAS MOTIVE, MEANS AND OPPORTUNITY?

Matters of Doubt


Warren C. Easley - 2013
    prosecutor, he now lives in solitude in an old farmhouse overlooking the Oregon wine country.  When a scruffy, tattooed kid shows up asking for help in solving his mother’s cold case murder, Cal wants to say no:  times are tough, and he’s no private eye, anyway.  But the kid, who calls himself Picasso, has ridden a bike all the way from Portland in the rain, and something about his determination touches Cal.It turns out Picasso is homeless, joining the legions of kids who are drawn to Portland’s Old Town.  He is also a gifted artist painting a mural on the side of a health clinic operated by an idealistic doctor named Anna.  Things take an ugly turn when Picasso is charged with the murder of a prominent Portland businessman. The evidence against him is overwhelming, but, at Anna’s urging, Cal steps in to defend Picasso. Suddenly Cal finds himself pitted against the police, the media and some of Portland’s most powerful citizens.Is Picasso being framed?  And if so, is there a connection between the two murders?  As he peels back the layers of truth, he realizes too late that he has put both himself and Anna in the crosshairs of a ruthless killer.

Hunting the Five Point Killer


C.M. Wendelboe - 2017
    Retired detective Arn Anderson never thought he’d be broke enough to take on a cold murder case. Or desperate enough to team up with a TV reporter. Or pathetic enough to go back to his rundown childhood home after he swore he’d left Cheyenne for good. But here he is, hunting a serial killer who also appears to have come out of retirement. On the anniversary of the Five Point Killer’s crimes, Arn’s only option is to survive the carnage of a murderer who may be too twisted—and too brilliant—to catch.

In Safe Hands


J.P. Carter - 2019
    The community in the surrounding area in shock. How could this happen right under their noses? No one in the quiet suburban street saw anything – or at least that's what they're saying.But DCI Anna Tate knows that nothing is impossible, and she also knows that time is quickly running out. It’s unclear if the kidnappers are desperate for money or set on revenge, but the ransom is going up by £1million daily. And they know that one little boy in particular is fighting for his life.It’s one of the most disturbing cases DCI Anna Tate has ever worked on – not only because nine children are being held hostage, but because she’s pretty sure that someone close to them is lying…

The Girls Weekend


Jody Gehrman - 2020
    . .June Moody, a thirty-something English professor, just wants to get away from her recent breakup and reunite with girlfriends over summer break. Her old friend and longtime nemesis, Sadie MacTavish, a mega-successful author, invites June and her college friends to a baby shower at her sprawling estate in the San Juan Islands. June is less than thrilled to spend time with Sadie--and her husband, June's former crush--but agrees to go.The party gets off to a shaky start when old grudges resurface, but when they wake the next morning, they find something worse: Sadie is missing, the house is in shambles, and bloodstains mar the staircase. None of them has any memory of the night before; they wonder if they were drugged. Everyone's a suspect. Since June had a secret rendezvous with Sadie's husband, she has plenty of reason to suspect herself. Apparently, so do the cops.A Celtic knot of suspense and surprise, this brooding, atmospheric novel will keep you guessing as each twist reveals a new possibility. It will remind you of friendships hidden in the depths of your own past, and make you wonder how well you really know the people you've loved the longest.

Trust Me When I Lie


Benjamin Stevenson - 2018
    So says Curtis Wade, the subject of Jack’s new true crime docuseries, convicted of a young woman’s murder four years prior. In the eyes of Jack’s viewers, flimsy evidence and police bias influenced the final verdict…even though, off screen, Jack himself has his doubts.But when the series finale is wildly successful, a retrial sees Curtis walk free. And then another victim turns up dead.To set things right, Jack goes back to the sleepy vineyard town where it all began, bent on discovering what really happened. Because behind the many stories he tells, the truth is Jack’s last chance. He may have sprung a killer from jail, but he’s also the one that can send him back.NOTE: This was first published in Australia with the title Greenlight, reissued UK: She Lies in the Vines, US: Trust Me When I Lie.

Snatched


Gillian Jackson - 2017
     How do you keep hope alive when your worst nightmare becomes reality? Eleven-year-old Danny Stone is brutally snatched from the street on his way home from school. He finds himself imprisoned in a semi-derelict building, alone, cold and terrified of what might happen to him. Danny’s parents, Martha and Richard, are thrust into an unimaginable nightmare. With their only child missing and a ransom demanded, they are forced to meet the kidnappers’ demands or lose their son forever. As family secrets bubble to the surface, the Stones' marriage is put under strain. Will Danny make it out alive? Can his parents save him? Or will one horrific moment cause irreparable damage to all three of their lives…? SNATCHED is a page-turning kidnapping thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat. This emotional psychological thriller will stay with you long after the pages have turned.

13 Steps to the Cellar


Teresa Mathews - 2019
    They were steep and they were narrow—but was a fall down them enough to have caused the twenty-seven deep lacerations to her aunt’s head? Callie Harris travels from her home in Alabama to her aunt’s former mansion in Maine to unravel the haunting forty-year-old mystery of Dr. Laverne Harris Doss’ brutal death. Why wasn’t a murder weapon found? Was her uncle justly convicted of the killing? Was his mistress involved? Or was the murderer the bearded stranger rumored to have arrived by train that night? In the charming town of Richmond, located on the banks of Maine’s historic Kennebec River, Callie uncovers the community’s darkest secrets—a botched police investigation, a betrayed widow’s lie, a dead woman’s blackmail, and a wealthy philanthropist’s shame. The web of intrigue extends far beyond Callie's suspicions and its connection to her personal story pierces her to the core.

Notorious


Allison Brennan - 2014
    A nationally renowned investigative reporter with her own TV show and a tough-as-nails reputation, Max tackles cold cases from across the country and every walk of life. But the one unsolved murder that still haunts her is a case from her own past.When Max was a high school senior, one of her best friends was strangled and another, Kevin O'Neal, accused of the crime. To the disgrace of her wealthy family, Max stood by her friend, until she found out he lied about his alibi. Though his guilt was never proven, their relationship crumbled from the strain of too many secrets.Now Max is home for Kevin's funeral―after years of drug abuse, he committed suicide. She's finally prepared to come to terms with the loss of his friendship, but she's not prepared for Kevin's sister to stubbornly insist that he didn't kill himself. Or for an elderly couple to accost her at the airport, begging her to look into another murder at Max's old high school. Max is more interested in the cold case at her alma mater than in digging around Kevin's troubled life, but she agrees to do both. As Max uncovers dark secrets, she finds herself caught in a complicated web of lies that hit far too close to home. And it's becoming increasingly clear that someone will do whatever it takes to make sure the truth stays buried.

Warped Ambition


Debbie S. TenBrink - 2016
    Investigating with her partner, Detective Lynae Parker, Jo uncovers secrets, loyalties, and ambitions that give motives to a surprising number of suspects , including a boyfriend from the wrong side of the tracks.While immersed in her current case, Jo is battling her own personal demons. After two years, she is still grieving over the loss of her husband, who was killed in the line of duty. New information that could help solve his murder, and let her move on with her life, is within her grasp.Barricading her heart, Jo is determined to solve both cases and bring the killers to justice.

The Good Kind of Bad


Rita Brassington - 2015
    She spent her whole life being the perfect daughter, the perfect girlfriend, and was all ready to become the perfect wife. But after ditching her fiancé at the altar and escaping to Chicago, she marries smouldering stranger Joe Petrozzi three weeks after meeting him in a bar. At least this time, there’s no chance of cold feet. Married life starts out great: there’s the new job, a gorgeous, enigmatic husband and money's no issue. So what if she’s kept a few secrets from Joe – like where all her money came from. Joe’s been keeping secrets from her, too. But his might just get her killed.

All the Missing Girls


Megan Miranda - 2016
    Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched.The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter, Nic’s younger neighbor and the group’s alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Then, within days of Nic’s return, Annaleise goes missing.Told backwards—Day 15 to Day 1—from the time Annaleise goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbor’s disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago.Like nothing you’ve ever read before, All the Missing Girls delivers in all the right ways. With twists and turns that lead down dark alleys and dead ends, you may think you’re walking a familiar path, but then Megan Miranda turns it all upside down and inside out and leaves us wondering just how far we would be willing to go to protect those we love.

Unsympathetic Victims: A Legal Thriller (Ashley Montgomery Book 1)


Laura Snider - 2021
    Following the verdict, a protest breaks out — and the hated defense attorney quickly finds her life in danger.But little does Ashley know, things are about to get worse — much worse. One of her clients turns up dead, and Ashley is arrested for his murder. As local investigators Katie Mickey and George Thomanson dive into the case, they start to suspect that Ashely is being framed — but by whom?With Ashley’s freedom at stake, Katie and George are desperate to find out the truth. And soon, they uncover a sinister plot born of corruption, greed, and misplaced loyalty that will leave the whole town reeling — and questioning their faith in the people they trusted most.