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….

Special Circumstances


Sheldon Siegel - 2000
     Debut author Sheldon Siegel bursts into the legal thriller arena with a riveting courtroom drama, exposing the world of big-time law firms and lawyers in a fresh, sharp-witted, wonderfully sardonic page-turner. Meet Mike Daley. Ex-priest. Ex–public defender. And as of yesterday, ex-partner in one of San Francisco's most prominent law firms. Today he's out on his own, setting up practice on the wrong side of town. Then his best friend and former colleague is charged with a brutal double murder, and Daley is instantly catapulted into a high-profile investigation involving the prestigious law firm that just booted him. As he prepares his case, Daley uncovers the firm's dirtiest secrets. It doesn't take long for him to discover that in this trial, ambition, friendship, greed, and long-standing grudges will play just as important a role as truth and justice. Brilliantly paced, crackling with energy and suspense, Special Circumstances reminds us why we love to hate lawyers — but can't get enough of courtroom drama when it's done this well.

Stateline


Dave Stanton - 2013
    The groom is dead. When a tycoon’s son is murdered the night before his wedding, the grief-stricken father offers private detective Dan Reno a life-changing bounty to find the killer.Reno, nearly broke, thinks he’s finally found himself in the right place at the right time. But when a band of crooked cops get involved, Reno finds himself fighting for his life.Who committed the murder, and why? Which cops can he trust, if any?Haunted by his murdered father and a violent past, Reno wants no more blood on his hands. But a man’s got to make a living, and backing off is not in his DNA.Traversing the snowy alpine winter in the Sierras and the lonely deserts of Nevada, Reno must revert to his old ways to survive. Because the bounty won’t do him much good if he’s dead.

Not One of Us


Debbie Herbert - 2021
    Now, after moving back home to Alabama to care for her ailing grandmother and autistic brother, she comes face-to-face with the deadly mystery behind his disappearance.Jori has a rare form of synesthesia, meaning she can “hear” colors; to her, tones of voice are as unique as fingerprints. With the help of this ability and a sympathetic cop, Jori comes dangerously close to uncovering the truth. But those responsible will go to any length—including murder—to keep their dark secrets buried.Soon, it seems that no one in the sleepy bayou town is safe, and after Jori’s brother is kidnapped, she knows she must drop the investigation or risk losing her family. But when protecting them means letting an evil deed go unpunished, putting family first may be the last thing she’ll ever do.

Motion To Kill


Joel Goldman - 2002
    Will Lou be the next victim? Find out in Motion to Kill.

Bone Music


Christopher Rice - 2018
    If only the nightmare had ended when she was rescued. Instead, her real father exploited her tabloid-ready story for fame and profit—until Charlotte finally broke free from her ghoulish past and fled. Just when she thinks she has buried her personal hell forever, Charlotte is swept into a frightening new ordeal. Secretly dosed with an experimental drug, she’s endowed with a shocking new power—but pursued by a treacherous corporation desperate to control her.Except from now on, if anybody is going to control Charlotte, it’s going to be Charlotte herself. She’s determined to use the extraordinary ability she now possesses to fight the kind of evil that shattered her life—by drawing a serial killer out from the shadows to face the righteous fury of a victim turned avenger.

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?

Speak No Evil


Tanya Anne Crosby - 2013
    But a killer is making headlines, and Caroline may have unwittingly stepped into the crosshairs. Even as she mends the tattered bonds of sisterhood, a sinister force beyond their control may tear them apart forever…Reading order for The Oyster Point ThrillerBook 1: Leave No TraceBook 2: Speak No EvilBook 3: Tell No Lies

Bone Maker


D.F. Bailey - 2015
    A woman mourns alone. A reporter works a single lead. If you have an appetite for organized crime series, you’ll love this new crime trilogy. Add a slice of noir novels, the juice of steamy PI mysteries, the zest of a financial thriller series. Soon you’ll be stewing in this new technothriller trilogy — and begging for more. Following a family tragedy that has broken his spirit, crime reporter Will Finch returns to his news desk in San Francisco eager to reboot his career and renew his lease on life. When he’s assigned to cover the grisly death of a witness to a multi-million dollar bitcoin fraud, Finch discovers some troubling complications: A Mercedes-Benz abandoned in the wilderness. A wounded bear. A cop who rules a remote town with an iron fist. And the witness’s fiancée — a US senator’s daughter — knows there’s something mysterious about her lover’s death. But what? Inspired by true events, Bone Maker is the first thriller in this series of noir crime new releases — a new crime trilogy that races from coastal Oregon to San Francisco, Moscow, Honolulu and Washington DC. It intersects the worlds of international finance, cryptocurrency software algorithms, and corruption that reaches from the US Senate to Turk Street in the Tenderloin District. Fans of contemporary noir novels will love this technothriller trilogy. Be sure to read this gripping financial thriller series in order: Bone Maker, Stone Eater, Lone Hunter. All three books are available now. Author Interview with D. F. Bailey Q. The first page of Bone Maker states that the novel is “inspired by true events.”* Tell us more. DFB. Two events inspired these books. The first involves a massive bitcoin theft. In the spring of 2014 the bitcoin equivalent of over $450,000,000 simply disappeared from a bitcoin exchange called Mt. Gox. Solving this crime drives the plots of all three novels. At heart, the books are an organized crime series in the form of a technothriller trilogy. Q. What was the second true event? DFB. A few years ago I came across a news article about a convicted murderer — 53-year-old Rory Nelson Wagner — whose corpse was discovered outside his car in a mountain wilderness. Apparently he died of a heart attack and a bear had dragged him from his vehicle and partially devoured him. Horrible as it seems, I was drawn by the notion of some sort of natural justice at play. Early on in Bone Maker, the sheriff handling a similar case refers to the attack as “Murder by Nature.” I considered using that for the book title at one point. Q. Sounds like one of Agatha Christie’s PI mysteries. DFB. Granted, there’s an element of PI mysteries to the trilogy. However, I’m not the sort of writer who likes to create a maze or puzzle with red herrings and hidden clues to fool or mislead the reader. Bone Maker is a crime thriller with a strong noir flavor. Readers learn about the crimes one step at a time, just as our hero Will Finch uncovers the facts of each case. Q. So who is Will Finch? DFB. Finch is a 35 year-old crime reporter working for the San Francisco eXpress. Before becoming a journalist, he served in Iraq, at Abu Graib, in military intelligence. Like all noir heroes, there is an irredeemable quality to him, but he’s not completely lost. He senses that he can find his way back to a normal life, yet he’s not sure how to do it. Q. Tell us about the title, Bone Maker. DFB. Each of the three titles in the trilogy uses the nickname of a bad guy — the antagonist.

White Lies


Jeremy Bates - 2012
    Fearful for her safety, she lies about her destination in order to get him out of the car. But when she later discovers that he is a teacher at the same school, she finds herself feeding that initial lie with more lies.Then Katrina meets Jack Reeves. Handsome, charismatic and strong, he is exactly what she needs to extricate her from the expanding network of lies. She falls fast and hard for him. But when Jack lands himself in the middle of a grisly murder, she must decide whether to turn him in--or tell yet another lie.

Dangerous Habits


Susan Hunter - 2014
    When she links the two deaths to a shocking scandal, the story she uncovers could be her last byline. Dangerous Habits is the first standalone book in the Leah Nash series of complex, fast-paced murder mysteries featuring quick-witted dialogue, daring female characters, and plots with lots of twists and turns. ___________________________ What readers are saying about Susan Hunter and DANGEROUS HABITS: ★★★★★ "Highly recommended! I can't wait for the next Leah Nash novel!”★★★★★ “This was a great read! The intricate plot is woven together with intrigue, well-crafted settings and complex characters, all of which draw the reader into the story and keep one engaged until the very end. I look forward to the next Leah Nash mystery thriller.”★★★★★ “I started to read this to help me go to sleep, but the sun just came up. I couldn’t put it down even for a short break. Surprise after surprise. I guarantee you will not see the end coming. Enjoy!”★★★★★ “Ms. Hunter’s whole Leah Nash series is as good as, maybe better than, most of the bestselling books I’ve read. Do you ever find a book that’s so good you just have to have all the books by that author? This is it .... Get these books, you’ll love them.”

Cold Around the Heart


Michael Prescott - 2013
     Bonnie Parker is a small-town private detective on the Jersey shore who just happens to be named after America's most notorious female outlaw, the distaff half of Bonnie & Clyde. And though no one can prove it, she's an outlaw in her own right, willing to supplement her PI duties by acting as a professional assassin. For a price, and when circumstances warrant it, she'll take extreme measures to solve her clients' problems - permanently. Bonnie is experienced and tough – but she's never gone up against a man like Pascal, a globetrotting hit man who has raised murder to the level of a fine art. During a turbulent summer night, while Bonnie struggles to untangle a web of deception that stretches to the jungles of South America, she and Pascal face off in a blistering battle for survival - a battle only one of them can win. Michael Prescott is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 23 thrillers.

Ransom Road


Anya Mora - 2021
    So I locked us away, safe inside the gates of our island home. Or so I thought.I knew it was a bad idea to let anyone in, but I needed help. And Nanny Bexley was a dream come true: an excellent resume and tons of energy.But just one week after she came into our lives, the dream turned into a nightmare. And there was no one I could trust.If I wanted to see my daughter again, I would need to step outside and find her myself.Welcome to Liar’s Island… a stand-alone series of interconnected, novella length domestic thrillers set in the picture-perfect community of Liars Island. Here, nothing is quite as it seems.On this island, families and friendships are more than meets the eye … secrets, deceptions, and jealousies threaten to ruin everything these influential people have built. But it isn’t only the rich that live here … and power comes in all shapes and sizes. Everyone here is a liar … just how far would you go to get what you want?

Hanover House


Brenda Novak - 2015
    Why do psychopaths act as they do? How do they come to be? Why don’t they feel any remorse for the suffering they cause? And are there better ways of spotting and stopping them?After having been kidnapped, tortured and left for dead when she was just a teenager—by her high school boyfriend—she’s determined to understand how someone she trusted so much could turn on her. So she’s established a revolutionary new medical health center in the remote town of Hilltop, Alaska, where she studies the worst of the worst.But not everyone in Hilltop is excited to have Hanover House and its many serial killers in the area. Alaskan State Trooper, Sergeant Amarok, is one of them. And yet he can’t help feeling bad about what Evelyn has been through. He’s even attracted to her. Which is partly why he worries.He knows what could happen if only one little thing goes wrong...

The Company of Demons


Michael Jordan - 2018
    -- Cleveland Sun News"Jordan is a cross between John Grisham and Stephen King."-- Cleveland SceneThe brutal murder of a friend leaves lawyer John Coleman stunned and sends shockwaves through the city of Cleveland. The technique of the killing recalls memories of the Torso Murderer, who dismembered at least twelve people decades ago and then vanished—eluding even legendary crime fighter Eliot Ness. Jennifer, the victim’s beautiful daughter, hires John to handle her father’s estate, and romantic feelings for her soon complicate his already troubled marriage. When John finds himself entangled with a cold-blooded biker gang, an ex-cop with a fuzzy past, and the drug-addicted son of the dead man, he struggles to make sense of it all.But there is no escaping a growing sense of dread."A well-written and complexly plotted crime thriller." --Caroline McCullagh, Mensa Bulletin''The terror of the Torso Murderer returns in this gritty, Cleveland-centric tale. Jordan delights with crackling dialogue, true-to-life characters, an intensely paced plot, and an explosive finale. A must-read for fans of Lecter, Dexter, and the Ripper.'' --John Keyse-Walker, Author of Sun, Sand, Murder and Beach, Breeze, Bloodshed; winner of Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award''Michael Jordan brings characters and scenes to life in this emotionally gripping and compelling breakout novel. Brilliantly crafted.''--Rick Porrello, author of To Kill the Irishman (adapted into a major motion picture), Superthief!, and The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia Corn, Sugar, and BloodThe Company of Demons by Michael Jordan is a wonderful blend of crime and mystery, a riveting story with sophisticated characters. [...] Michael Jordan is a great storyteller and he has the ability to keep the narrative emotionally intense and psychologically disturbing. The Company of Demons is a real page-turner.-- Reader's Favorite