Book picks similar to
The Last American Martyr by Tom Winton
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Blizzard Ball
Dennis Kelly - 2011
The jackpot has run up to a red-hot $750 million, the world's richest prize. A bungled convenience store heist triggers a happenstance theft of winning lottery tickets and trips up an insider's scheme to rig the results.Agent Kirchner, an old-school cop reluctantly teams up with a young tech-savvy analyst on an investigation that propels them into the world of numerical probability, conspiratorial politics, international ticket scalpers, counterfeiters, disgruntled players, and illegal immigrants looking to grab the brass ring. Caught in the crosscurrents of those in deadly pursuit of the winning ticket, the investigators are buffeted by unsolved murders, a bomb blast-and the curious giveaway of winning lottery tickets: acts of charity or criminal subterfuge?The whereabouts and redemption of the $750 million jackpot lottery ticket remains a mystery throughout, stirring anger and resentment among the lottery-playing public. The winning ticket, finally, surfaces but before the prize can be claimed a Faustian bargain puts Kirchner's job on the line.
The Patriot Paradox
William Esmont - 2010
With Amanda’s help, he uncovers a rogue CIA plot to detonate a nuclear bomb in Moscow. Meanwhile, the assassins who killed his brother launch an all-out hunt to silence him and anyone else who may thwart their plans.In a frantic sprint across Europe, Kurt and Amanda must stay one step ahead of the killers while racing against the clock to prevent the bomb from incinerating millions of innocent people.
Her Sister's Friends
Gia Pere - 2021
Evie longed to be a part of the “cool kids” that Luna ran with.Luna Laurent never saw her little sister as more than a pesky tattle-tale, which, let’s be honest, is exactly what Evie was. The kid could NOT keep a secret.Evie is all grown up now, and living with Kyle Turner, one of the cool kids. Kyle’s rebellious antics aren’t aging well, but Evie is in denial. He was her first crush, from back when he was hotter than a pre-scandal Johnny Depp.Evie goes against Kyle’s wishes and buys a house that feels eerily familiar. She remembers being there before, at a party.Kyle, Luna, and the rest of the gang swear that none of them have been to the house, but they can’t explain the evidence Evie finds. She’s definitely been there. With all of them.Now Evie’s obsessed with figuring out what happened at a house party twenty years ago, Luna’s sleeping with yet another one of her therapists, and one of the cool kids may be a stone-cold killer.The Laurent sisters are just trying to have a Hot Girl Summer, but it’s hard to be hot when someone is trying to kill you.
Final Passage
Timothy J. Frost - 2009
Twenty-five years later, Martin discovers hidden logbooks in his mother's attic, and vows to find out the truth. His quest takes him racing across the Atlantic in the Columbus Cup, the world's largest-ever regatta, an event that becomes a personal voyage of discovery and disaster. On the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, with his enemies closing in, Martin must make one desperate final sea passage to discover the shocking truth about his family - and himself.
The Broken Vows
Daniel Hurst - 2021
He broke her heart. Now she is going to break him.Alison is happily married to Graham, or at least she is until she discovers that he has been cheating on her. Her husband has broken the vows that he made on their wedding day. How could he do it? It takes Alison a while to figure it out, but at least she has time on her side. Only that is where she is wrong.A devastating diagnosis means the clock is ticking faster now, and the betrayed wife must act fast if she wants revenge on her cheating partner. Alison does just that, implementing a dangerous and deadly plan, and it's one that will have far-reaching consequences for several people, including her clueless husband.Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
The Penal Colony
Richard Herley - 1987
There are no warders. Satellite technology is used to keep the convicts under watch. New arrivals are dumped by helicopter and must learn to survive as best they can. To Sert, one afternoon in July, is brought Anthony John Routledge, sentenced for a sex-murder he did not commit. Routledge knows he is here for ever. And he knows he must quickly forget the rules of civilized life. But not all the islanders are savages. Under the charismatic leadership of one man a community has evolved. A community with harsh and unyielding rules, peopled by resourceful men for whom the hopeless dream of escape may not be so hopeless after all ...
The Basic Eight
Daniel Handler - 1999
Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they're calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It's true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it's true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she's not a murderer at all -- she's a murderess.
The Lost Journal
Chris Blewitt - 2011
Now, more than two centuries later, Seth Layton accidentally discovers the journal that will unlock its location and he is on a quest to find it. Joined by his grandfather and new female friend, Madison, they are chased by unsavory characters and some powerful people through historic Philadelphia to the streets of Washington DC. What American secret will the journal unveil and will Seth and his companions live long enough to reveal it?
Cesspool
Phil M. Williams - 2016
He was the devoted husband that didn’t know what his wife was up to. His life was a tragedy waiting to happen.After the accident, he moved to a backwoods town, content to waste away while the world burned. He was awakened from his apathy by a small girl with a big problem. It was safer to look the other way. Getting involved would place James squarely in the crosshairs of the local police.He was afraid, but he did it anyway.Adult language and content.
Capture
Roger Smith - 2012
Hidden on nearby boulders, rent-a-cop Vernon Saul watches the child die and chooses to act only when it is too late. In the days following Sunny's death, gutted by grief and guilt, Nick falls under the spell of Vernon who presents himself as a friend in time of need. When the sinister Vernon's true motives are revealed, Nick is drawn into a spiral of manipulation and murder that leaves him fighting for his sanity and his life.
Cloudburst
Ryne Douglas Pearson - 1993
Ranging from the violent assassination of the President on the streets of Los Angeles to covert action against terrorist havens in North Africa, from the halls of power in Washington to a highjacked airliner racing toward the heart of the United States, Cloudburst takes the reader on a riveting journey as FBI agents and elite counter-terrorist units fight a desperate battle to save millions of innocents, and to bring those responsible to justice.
In Memory of Greed
Al Boudreau - 2011
What if your normal day suddenly careened out of control? Imagine leaving work early for a doctors appointment only to be caught up in a potential catastrophe that you alone can avert. You spring into action but your efforts are stymied by local authorities. By nightfall you find yourself laying in a hospital bed with a gunshot wound, accused of murder. Such is the shocking reality of twenty-nine year old Murhkin Mocado. Unbeknownst to this California native, his skills as an ex-Navy SEAL have made him a target. A powerful, corrupt group of individuals have set their sights on Mocado to help carry out a nefarious scheme. Born of relentless greed and hunger for power, these men are willing to sacrifice countless lives to bring their insidious plans to fruition. However, the purveyors of evil deeds are also being watched by one Joelle Barstow, an operative well versed in the tradecraft of industrial espionage. Initially sent to gather information on the CEO of a specific corporation, Barstow rapidly gets in over her head and uncovers a web of deceit involving big business and government. Once Barstow crosses paths with Murhkin Mocado her skills are pushed to the limit, as she tries desperately to navigate this dangerous and deadly world. Mocado, expertly manipulated by his devious handlers, initiates a chain of events leading to one of the worst man-made ecological disasters the world has ever known. Will the pair escape with their lives in order to bring those responsible to justice? This mystery/thriller takes the reader on a rapid-fire adventure, beginning in the United States, racing through the breathtaking splendor of Ireland, and culminating in Kenya; one of the most exotic countries within the boundaries of Africa's "Dark Continent."
Hope Road
John Barlow - 2011
A fascinating study in dark and evil... The stuff of Great British grit and dark, dark humour … Barlow provides plenty of twists and turns before the truth is revealed. But what is most enjoyable about Barlow's writing isn't his story archs or plotting, but his characters, dialogue and sense of place... Beautifully cinematic… far more cinematic than a McDermid or a Rankin. Crimefictionlover.comBarlow throws in plenty of twists before everything is untangled, since of course nothing in the case is exactly what it seems to be, and he spins the yarn in fast-paced, very readable prose. He also does a good job with the setting, the English city of Leeds, and made me feel like I'd been there. HOPE ROAD is a fine novel, the first in a series, and I look forward to reading the others.Rough EdgesHOPE ROAD: a crime thriller - You can't change your past. But what about your future?John Ray, son of crime boss Antonio 'Tony' Ray, is the straight one of the family. With a successful business and a lifestyle to match, he wants nothing to do with his father's criminal world. But what does that world want with him?A young prostitute is found dead in John's car, and Freddy Metcalfe, his best friend and employee, is framed for her death. Freddy denies everything but it's an open and shut case: he's going down for murder. John sets out to find the real killer.But things get complicated. A stash of counterfeit money was also found in John's car, and the police seem more interested in that than in the dead girl. Then Lanny Bride turns up; one of the north's most ruthless criminals (and an old friend of the Ray family), Lanny is desperate to know who killed the girl. But why? Meanwhile, Freddy is too scared to talk to anyone, even his lawyer.John's police detective girlfriend, Denise Danson, has been warned off the case by her boss. But she doesn't believe Freddy is guilty, and secretly helps John look for the murderer. The problem, though, is that uncovering the shocking truth about the girl's death will force John to confront his own criminal past and risk destroying his future, as well as losing the only woman he's ever loved.
A novel set in Leeds, this is the first crime-mystery in the LS9 series.