Book picks similar to
The Paper Doll Museum by Abigail Padgett
mystery
fiction
fantasy
mystery-suspense
Cruel Justice
M.A. Comley - 2011
Detective Inspector Lorne Simpkins and her partner, DS Pete Childs are assigned to the case. A few days later another victim, this time a young girl, is discovered. Who could the killer be and what's the connection between the two victims?Then after a third murder, the killer contacts Lorne with a grisly surprise. It looks like Lorne has a serial killer on her hands - and one that has become fixated on her. As she tries to solve the crimes, Lorne is also coping with a failing marriage and new, unsympathetic boss with whom she has a secret past. Then, as she begins to despair at the lack of clues, help arrives from an unlikely source.
A Touch of Ice
L.J. Charles - 2011
j. Charles:
Everly Gray's fingers are a magnet for trouble. When she touches photographer Mitchell Hunt and sees the image of a dead body, she dives into the murder fingertips first. Life takes a turn for the dangerous when she discovers the body is related to a small-time crime family that accidentally stepped on the toes of notorious criminal, Delano West. Caught in a web of intrigue where nothing is as it seems, El discovers an aptitude for breaking and entering, the pain of an up close and personal meeting with a bullet, and the terror of facing a cold blooded killer. What she doesn't learn--to keep her fingers to herself. What they're saying...A TOUCH OF ICE is a suspense-filled romance that will keep you up late turning the pages. Everly and Violet make perfect partners in their sleuthing, complementing one another perfectly. The romance between Mitch and Everly is sweet and blossoms into something spicy and wonderful. The mystery twists and turns, keeping this reader thoroughly entertained, trying to figure out the clues. Romantic suspense readers won't want to miss this one! ~Romance Junkies "A fun adventure with characters who sizzle." ~ Adrienne Girodano, author of the Private Protector series
Home Grown
Ninie Hammon - 2010
In 1989, federal authorities busted what they called the Cornbread Mafia, the largest domestic marijuana growing operationin American history. They confiscated 182 tons of pot with a street value-- in 1989!--of $400 million. Federal marshals arrested 56 men in 5 states...but they all came from one small town in Kentucky. FICTION... Somebody murdered Jim Bingham, shot him dead in front of his own newspaper office in the small town of Brewster, and now his heartbroken daughter must abandon the world of academic journalism for the real world of running the newspaper he left behind. But Sarabeth Bingham soon discovers that marijuana-growing has corrupted the idyllic small town where she grew up. The sheriff can't get a marijuana conviction because the county's jury pool is tainted. Her cousin grows weed and has lost his wife and daughter to the world of drugs. Sarabeth finds herself falling for a handsome bourbon distillery owner she's convinced is financing his business with dope money. And a ruthless farmer named Bubba Jamison will do anything--absolutely anything--to protect his empire. After 3 children find dope money in an abandoned building and the dopers kidnap them to get it back, Sarabeth heeds the words on the plaque that has hung above her father's desk for as long as she can remember: "Don't mess with a man who buys ink by the barrel!" In a blazing front-page editorial in the next issue of the Tribune, Sarabeth declares war on the marijuana-growing industry! Now, the growers have to shut her up and she soon learns a terrifying lesson: dopers fight dirty. * * * Home Grown isn't the true story of the rise and fall of the Cornbread Mafia, not from a historical perspective; thrillers like this are too intricately woven to stick to the facts. But the novel is as real as what actually did happen, a mystery thrillers and suspense story with a female protagonist who grabs the reader and drags him into the action to live it with her. Sarabeth Bingham isn't the stereotypical heroine of sappy contemporary women's fiction. She is flawed, human and real. She has multiple sclerosis and a past filled with the kind of pain that's the mortar for building walls. Home Grown gives crime fiction a heart--and the face of a red-haired woman who didn't set out to be a hero.
Bad Karma
Douglas Clegg - 1997
You will never escape me.” She’s the most dangerous inmate in the hospital for the criminally insane...and she just broke out. When Trey Campbell takes his family to Catalina Island, his escaped patient leaves a trail of bodies behind as she hunts for her one true love – from a previous life.
Chasing Amanda
Melissa Foster - 2011
One child murdered, another missing. Potentially lethal small town secrets revealed. Dealing with parenting, a mother's love, and trusting one's faith--CHASING AMANDA comes at you at breakneck speed and just a touch of the paranormal. *** Nine years ago, Molly Tanner witnessed a young girl's abduction in the busy city of Philadelphia, shifting her occasional clairvoyance into overdrive. Two days later, the girl's body was found, and Molly's life fell apart. Consumed by guilt for not acting upon her visions, and on the brink of losing her family, Molly escaped the torturous reminders in the city, fleeing to the safety of the close-knit rural community of Boyds, Maryland. Molly's life is back on track, her son has begun college, and she and her husband have finally rekindled their relationship. Their fresh start is shattered when a seven-year-old girl disappears from a local park near Molly's home. Unable to turn her back on another child and troubled by memories of the past, Molly sets out to find her, jeopardizing the marriage she'd fought so hard to hold together. While unearthing clues and struggling to decipher her visions, Molly discovers another side of Boyds, where the residents--and the land itself--hold potentially lethal secrets, and exposes another side of her husband, one that threatens to tear them apart. CHASING AMANDA has the emotional draw of a Jodi Picoult book, with the family drama and suspense of Lisa Scottoline.
Soul Identity
Dennis Batchelder - 2007
but what if you could? Most people believe their souls outlive their bodies. Most people would find an organization that tracks their souls into the future and passes on their banked money and memories compelling. Scott Waverly isn't like most people. He spends his days finding and fixing computer security holes. And Scott is skeptical of his new client's claim that they have been calculating and tracking soul identities for almost twenty-six hundred years. Are they running a freaky cult? Or a sophisticated con job? Scott needs to save Soul Identity from an insider attack. Along the way, he discovers the importance of the bridges connecting people's lives.
Fractured Persona
Harry Krebs - 2013
A glimpse in a mirror and the evidence of a driver's license prove that Fornek is trapped in the body of warehouse worker Daniel Curtis. Terrified, he insists that he's Richard Fornek, but when faced with the prospect of admittance to a psychiatric hospital, he is forced to assume a new role to buy time to figure out what’s going on. Alone and confused, things go from bad to worse as he struggles to regain control of his life. A little romance, a little murder, and a whole lot of hair-raising suspense unfold as he scrambles to stay one step ahead of the mayhem.
The Remains
Vincent Zandri - 2010
Vowing to keep it a secret the two grow up struggling with their past and their belief in God. Thirty years later their attacker is released from prision. One of the twins is dead from cancer, the remaining twin must face her biggest fear and face a killer who wants her dead. The Remains will test your faith and will bring you through the question of why bad things happen to good people.
Creatures of Appetite
Todd Travis - 2013
Everyone else calls it a nightmare. Locked doors don't stop him. He leaves no trace behind. He only takes little girls. His nickname... The Iceman. A deranged serial killer roams wintry rural Nebraska with a demented purpose no one can fathom. Special Agent EMMA KANE, a former DC cop and damaged goods now with the FBI, is assigned to babysit burnt-out profiler JACOB THORNE, once the best in the business but now said to have lost his edge, as they both fly to Nebraska to catch this maniac. Thorne is erratic, abrasive and unpredictably brilliant, but what he and Kane find in the heartland is much more than anyone bargained for, especially when the Iceman challenges them personally. The clock is ticking and a little girl's life is on the line. And maybe even more with that, once they find out what he's really up to.NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: This book has frank and profane adult language within... this is often how many a law enforcement officer speaks, in my experience. Not all, but many, very many. The book also has violence and adult situations, but the profanity is the only thing that some folks have been noting, for some odd reason, so I'm warning you now that it has profanity. I totally understand that not everyone wants to read curse words. However, to write a book like this without a cop cursing would not, in my mind, be authentic. Therefore, if you can't handle HBO-style language, (a la THE WIRE, etc.) this book is not for you. If fictional bad language bothers you more than the fictional murder of young people, this book is definitely not for you, but I thank you for your time and consideration.
Exhume
Danielle Girard - 2016
Annabelle Schwartzman has finally found a place to belong. As the medical examiner for the San Francisco Police Department, working alongside homicide detective Hal Harris, she uncovers the tales the dead can’t tell about their final moments. It is a job that gives her purpose—and a safe haven from her former life at the hands of an abusive husband. Although it’s been seven years since she escaped that ordeal, she still checks over her shoulder to make sure no one is behind her.Schwartzman’s latest case is deeply troubling: the victim bears an eerie resemblance to herself. What’s more, a shocking piece of evidence suggests that the killer’s business is far from over—and that Schwartzman may be in danger. In this pulse-pounding thriller from award-winning writer Danielle Girard, a woman must face her worst nightmare to catch a killer.
Irreparable Harm
Melissa F. Miller - 2011
Downloaded by more than one million readers!Attorney Sasha McCandless has one goal: Make partner at the best firm in town. Then a plum assignment plunges her into a world of deceit and danger.When a commercial flight crashes, killing everyone on board, she's tapped to defend the airline. It's her big chance ... high-stakes litigation for an important client. But, as she digs into the evidence, people close to the case start dying.She discovers the crash was intentional, caused by a smartphone app capable of overriding the cockpit controls. But she's not sure who she can trust with the horrifying truth. She teams up with a federal air marshal, and they race to prevent another airline disaster.Soon, Sasha finds herself with a brand-new life goal: Stop a madman before he kills her.
Murder on the SS Rosa
Lee Strauss - 2017
When the ship’s captain is found dead, Ginger is only too happy to lend her assistance to the handsome Chief Inspector Basil Reed.The SS Rosa delivers a convincing array of suspects - the wife, the mistress, a jealous crew mate. To Ginger’s dismay, her name has been added to the list! With a little help from Ginger’s dog Boss, Ginger and Haley navigate the clues (those wartime operative skills come in handy.) They must solve the case and clear Ginger’s name before they dock–and oh, whatever shall she wear!
Midnight Screams
Sara Clancy - 2017
When he wakes up, he knows it’s only a matter of time before his dreams become reality. No matter how hard he tries to stop the murders, it always ends the same way – with death.After ten years of constantly relocating, his parents have decided to settle in Fort Wayward. A quiet Albertan town where Benton could focus on graduating high school and living an idyllic teenage life. That is, until he finds a dead body in his backyard. Benton’s hopes for normalcy come crashing down as something new begins stalking his dreams. Something that’s not human. And, for the first time, he’s not the only one watching. As his dreams and reality collide, Benton finds himself facing a monster beyond his understanding. In his fight for survival, Benton soon discovers why death follows him, why monsters draw close, and why he always wakes up screaming.
Hostile Witness
Rebecca Forster - 2004
Josie, once a hot-shot criminal defense attorney, left the fast track behind for a small practice in Hermosa Beach, California. But Hannah Sheraton intrigues her and, when the girl is charged as an adult, Josie cannot turn her back. But the deeper she digs the more Josie realizes that politics, the law and family relationships have created a combustible and dangerous situation. When the horrible truth of the murder is uncovered it could save Hannah Sheraton or destroy them both.
Winter's Awakening: The Metahumans Emerge
Karen Luellen - 2009
Margo Pullman goes to work for "The Institute" she hopes to change lives with her research in neurobiological studies. Instead, she is appalled to learn her research is being used to test and torture children, most of whom have died in the process. Margo goes rogue. That night, she steals away the three surviving children, changes her identity and hides them away from the world on a secluded ranch in Texas. For twelve years she raised the two boys and one girl as her own. The tests they were subjected to has altered the children's DNA, turning them into "metahumans" complete with fast reflexes, super strength, the ability to heal and unmatched intelligence. When Margo goes missing, the children--now teens--embark on a journey to reclaim their mother from the evil CEO of "The Institute" who wants them back to continue his plans for the perfect race. Begin the thrilling adventure into the world of Metahumans with Winter's Awakening, the first book in Winter's Saga.