Book picks similar to
Pure Justice by Linda L. Barton


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crime-fiction
mt2-mystery-thriller

Full Blast / Target Zero / Fury


Jack Patterson - 2018
    This digital box set contains the fourth, fifth and sixth books in this thriller series: Full Blast: Hawk embarks on a mission to Prague to stop an attempt on the life of Jordanian Prime Minister Yaseen Abbadi. Meanwhile, Firestorm leader J.D. Blunt uncovers another Al Hasib plot to kill thousands of innocent Americans—and he needs Hawk’s help. Target Zero: As alliances begin to crumble, Firestorm agents Brady Hawk and Alex Duncan are requested to help a lone CIA operative thwart Al Hasib from getting their hands on Sarin gas at the Somalian port city of Berbera. The mission gets complicated when Emily Thornton re-enters the scene and tries to convince Hawk to join forces with Searchlight as secrets about Alex’s past come to light. Fury: World-famous hacker Black Wolf has extracted a list of intelligence operatives embedded in terrorist organizations around the world—and he's selling it to the highest bidder at an exclusive event in Vienna. When the Firestorm team gets wind of the sale, Hawk and Alex travel to Austria to infiltrate the event and prevent the list from falling into the hands of Al Hasib and dealing a devastating blow to the security of agents and innocent civilians alike. What readers are saying: ★★★★★ “R.J. Patterson is up there with Baldacci.” ★★★★★ “First Strike delivers excitement, intrigue and action from the first page to the last.” ★★★★★ “This story was imaginative, but certainly came across as realistic.” ★★★★★ “This is a first rate action thriller!” ★★★★★ “If you are looking for some adrenalin packed action, don’t think twice, just grab a copy and start reading, you won’t be sorry.” ★★★★★ “A well crafted page turner.” ★★★★★ “Brady hawk is the next Jack Reacher!” ★★★★★ “Another great book by R.J. Patterson! I liked that way he makes his characters so real.” ★★★★★ “This book is in the vein of Brad Thor and Vince Flynn with a bit of Ian Flemming.” ★★★★★ “R.J. Patterson's short chapters and fast moving plot render this novel impossible to put down.”

Payback


William Coleman - 2019
    Making things worse, the man responsible walks on a technicality.Shortly after, Alex is recruited into a secret organization that targets criminals who manage to skirt the system and remain untouchable despite their obvious guilt. He becomes one of their best operatives, making a comfortable living supplemented with the satisfaction that he is ridding society of some of its worst elements.A hack into the organization’s personnel files and an assigned target, who is not a criminal, changes everything. Alex survives an attempt on his life but learns the rest of the team, with the exception of their receptionist, has been eliminated.With both the FBI and assassins on his trail, it is up to Alex to protect the receptionist while searching for whomever pulled the plug on the organization. Encountering challenges every step of the way, he follows any clue that will lead him to a chance for PAYBACK.

Fatal Fall (A Miranda and Parker Mystery Book 18)


Linsey Lanier - 2021
    

The Woman Who Wore Roses (Joe Court Book 5)


Chris Culver - 2019
    Her purse has no ID, cell phone, or car keys, and her room is registered to Benjamin Franklin. She’s no drifter, though. She has two thousand dollars cash in her wallet, a ten-thousand dollar watch in her purse, and a six-thousand dollar dress on a hanger on the bathroom door.  Detective Mary Joe Court catches the case and identifies the woman as the estranged spouse of a wealthy investment advisor from St. Louis. The victim had been trying to create a new life for herself with someone she loved. Now, that will never happen.  But some seemingly innocent victims are anything but innocent. Sometimes, they’re downright dangerous.  The woman with the beautiful, rose-patterned dress carried her secrets to her grave. To find her killer, Joe has to unearth them…or risk being buried alongside her.   The Woman who wore Roses is the fifth mystery in New York Times’ bestselling author Chris Culver’s gripping Joe Court series. If you like James Patterson, David Baldacci, or Karin Slaughter, you’ll love this series.

Loving a Heartless Queen


Annitia L. Jackson - 2018
    She was burned by love and has made a career out of destroying others’ relationships. She is a media queen (known as the Queen of Mean) that hosts a show that exposes cheaters to their significant others. She has made a lot of enemies, and now, one of them wants her dead. In steps Arkell (Ark) Watson, a former savage turned legit. After watching the woman that he loved die because of his profession, he decides to run a security service that becomes one of the best in the country. After a run in with Valentine and subsequently saving her life, Ark starts to see another side of Valentine that makes him want to tear down the walls that she has built around her heart. As their bond grows stronger, so does the enemy’s lust for revenge. Can Ark save Valentine? Not only from her would-be killer, but from herself? Ever Moore, Valentine’s best friend, is the opposite. Everything is going well in her life, a thriving practice and new love, until something starts happening to her patients. As she starts to investigate, she uncovers a lot more than she bargained for. She receives help from an unlikely source that she thought she had left in the past. Will she be able to save her patients? Or will saving their lives mean giving up hers?

Angels (Nevada James #3) (Nevada James Mysteries)


Matthew Storm - 2016
    Back then he promised he'd resume their deadly game of cat and mouse soon. But since then...he's done nothing. Out of leads and with nothing to go on, Nevada has nothing to do but wait. But in the meantime, she learns one of her old criminal informants has been tryingto get in touch with her. Krystal Harris, a former gang member, has information about a series of murders that she wants to pass on in exchange for enough money to leave town. But Krystal is murdered before Nevada has the chance to discover what information her informant wanted to give her. Now Nevada has a new crime to solve, and a score to settle. Four people are dead, and Nevada is determined to find out why.

Past Imperfect: First book of the 2nd TAKEN! Series. (Mr. White, #1)


Remington Kane - 2020
    

Trust No One


L.J. Breedlove - 2013
    Mac Davis likes being a reporter.No one shoots at him, he eats real meals regularly -- what's not to like? Then someone kidnaps his friends, and tries to kill him. Mac doesn't know who or why, but he plans to find out. And make them pay.First book of the Mac Davis thrillers.

The Final Strain: A Post Apocalyptic Survival Thriller (Surviving the Virus Book 9)


Ryan Casey - 2020
    

The Disappearance of Dakota Logan


James Hunt - 2022
    But even after five years, Kira’s past keeps catching up with her. Hoping to distract herself with a new case, Kira realizes the disappearance of a young college student might be a part of a larger conspiracy.

Echo Killers: A Dickie Floyd Detective Novel


Danny R. Smith - 2021
    A vehicle carrying seven soldiers was swept away in a flash flood. Four were killed, three were never found. Los Angeles, 2018. A runaway boy claims to have witnessed a murder. The story seems farfetched, but Floyd takes the case. Unsure, he turns to his old partner for a second opinion.But Dickie has problems of his own. He has been assigned a new partner, a good cop but one with a checkered past. It’s the last thing Dickie needs, regardless of how sexy she happens to be. When the two are sent to investigate a murder in Compton, Dickie recognizes the similarities to Floyd’s new case.Army investigators descend on South Los Angeles in search of AWOL soldiers, while Dickie and Floyd close in on the killers. Are their paths set to collide? In an exciting, action-packed police drama replete with perilous twists and snaky turns, this murder mystery will drag you beyond the yellow tape and into the minds and souls of killers and those who hunt them."A fast-paced novel filled with colorful characters and dialogue reminiscent of vintage Elmore Leonard. Brimming with true-to-life details that can only come from the pen of an experienced homicide investigator, Echo Killers has an authenticity which is rare among murder mysteries." - Phil Jonas"To say that I thoroughly enjoyed the book would be an understatement. Like his previous novels, this book was riveting for me. Hence the reason that I was determined to finish it in one sitting. It had me on the edge of my seat a couple of times so I just had to keep turning pages." - Moon Mullen"I am also a Michael Connelly fan and read all of his books. Connelly has a book out called Dark Sacred Night, which is currently number 2 in the best-selling list. Echo Killers is far superior." - Bud Johnson"Although I love the dynamics of the Dickie Floyd duo, I really liked the introduction of Dickie’s newest partner, Josie, who possesses both brains and beauty. I have thoroughly enjoyed the Dickie Floyd Detective Novel series, and I must admit this one is my favorite so far." - Michele C.

The Disappearance Of A Fearless Hero: A Historical Western Adventure Book


Henry McConley - 2021
    

You Are Mine (Detective Stella Carrigan Book 1)


Lisa Kent - 2021
    A nail-biting hunt for a serial killer.For over twenty years, Detective Stella Carrigan has managed to bury the nightmare of being kidnapped from her foster family. Her traumatic childhood motivated her to stand up for others and climb the Chicago Police Department ladder by storm. But when Stella is called to a series of murders of women in the sleepy small town of Vandalia, the past abruptly catches up with her - and brings her to the edge of the abyss.The killer leaves seemingly unrelated clues with each body: A lock of hair, rosebuds, sewing thread - none of the investigators can make sense of any of it. But with each victim, Stella pieces together a picture of horror that brings a terrible suspicion to light: Is this all the handwriting of her tormentor from her childhood? Are the crime scene clues hidden messages that only she can decipher?Stella must not only face the biggest case of her career, but also the demons of her own past. In the process, one thing becomes clear: the small town of Vandalia has its very own secrets. Dark, murderous secrets. And everyone who tries to uncover them finds themselves in great danger...

Nomads and Warriors (book 1 of 3)


Solomon Carter - 2021
    Potts has been Eva’s therapist for years – and his sudden disappearance leaves plenty of questions. As the detectives uncover the old man’s secrets, Eva realises she may have never known Potts at all. When a ransom letter is printed in a local newspaper, Eva and Dan must do whatever it takes to track the kidnappers down before the villains can carry out their threat to right past wrongs.The detectives face demons old and new as they peel through the layers of history, discovering that the old man’s wealth is going missing - and many dark secrets besides.Many people have motive to wish Potts harm, but without an obvious suspect the mystery deepens... and time is running out. The case gets more dangerous by the hour…And Eva’s life is about to take a dramatic turn…

Man Found Dead in Park


Margaret Coel - 2017
    I love Margaret Coel’s writing because there’s never a misplaced step. She balances two opposing cultures with little room for compromise, which is good because this chick works without a safety net. It’s human nature, or certainly the nature of writers, to analyze another’s work when reading it, in an attempt to take the story apart like an acrobatic trick—kick off your shoes and try it out. Every once in a while you second guess them and follow them out onto that tightrope just to find where they might’ve slipped up, but Margaret never does and just when you think she has she’ll turn and wink, so keep reading. Like Catherine McLeod, the reporter protagonist of Man Found Dead in Park, Margaret embraces both the mainstream and native cultures, all the while maintaining the aspect of her writing that transcends the genre with a deep understanding of human nature. When a man is found dead in an Indian section of Denver where no one is talking, McLeod finds herself in conflict with Mexican drug cartels and an investigation that leads north into Wyoming's Wind River Reservation and what turns out to be her roots. Transformative for both McLeod and the reader, the width and breath of the story is easy to miss, because Coel’s writing has a heady narrative that holds a sense of wonder and romance—a place that a lot of other writers fear to tread. I sometimes wonder if she knows how good she is, but I think probably not. The humility of a few artists is what keeps them grounded, and even when she’s out there flying high, I’m pretty sure she has her head up but is feeling every twitch of the story through the soles of her feet. Navigating with the finesse of a Flying Wallenda, Coel never misses a thing, because the devil is in the details, and like her character, Detective Nick Bustamante, Margaret knows that these indiscernible little slights of hand are the thing that makes for great drama under the Big Top. So join Margaret Coel out onto that high wire where she works without a safety net. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out there will be moments of insecurity, thoughts that will disconcert, and you might be tempted to look down, but don’t. If things get too hairy just reach out and take this daredevil performer’s hand, and she’ll grin that signature smile and make sure you make it back to safety. --Craig Johnson