Book picks similar to
Behold the Child by Harry Shannon
horror
ebook
thriller
mystery
Merrie Axemas: A Killer Holiday Tale
M.R. Sellars - 2010
R. Sellars, author of the best selling Rowan Gant Investigations series. Merrie Axemas: A Killer Holiday Tale was written specifically to be published as a free ebook, as a gift from M. R. Sellars and his publisher to his fans.
The Legend of Devil's Creek
D.C. Alexander - 2012
More abductions and killings soon follow. Justin Riddley, recently transferred to the island’s small college, faces growing evidence that one of his new friends and fellow students may be the murderer. John Marshall, redemption-seeking captain of the local police force, leads the frantic murder investigation and struggles to figure out whether the killings are tied to the island's dark and violent past. Tormented by tragic wartime memories, and more convinced with each day that it is humanity’s fate to destroy itself, Marshall races against both the murderer and the specter of his own mental breakdown. As blood continues to spill, Riddley and Marshall wonder whether there may be a dark, universal force that drives evil deeds great and small, and whether the nature of one’s childhood might sometimes, in the end, be all that separates the saint from the psychopath.
Still Coming
Joseph Flynn - 2011
But what might happen if a large number of them refused to take no for an answer?One morning, Shepherdton College receives 437 envelopes from twenty-eight states. Each contains the same two-word message: Still coming.That’s just the beginning. The college president’s house burns down; the water in the country club swimming pool turns red; the ghost of a local war hero appears.Another message is received: We’re Here.Nerves fray, and if the “comers” aren’t trouble enough, a Peeping Tom turns into a home invader, and shows signs of becoming a full-blown sexual predator.The town fragments and people take up arms after one last message is received…Won’t Be Long Now.Still Coming is a psychological thriller for anyone, student or parent, who’s ever sweated a college admission decision.
The Disembodied
John Grover - 2011
In the mist.An apprentice mortician moves his family to the small town of Sotherton to provide them with a better life. Little did he know the dark secret the town and its people harbored. The town sat on the edge of a mist-shrouded forest with a deadly secret. Something lives in the trees, in the mist and it’s jealous. Jealous of all those who have flesh.Disembodied is a preview story from the author’s upcoming collection Creatures and Crypts due out in late 2011. Creatures of the living and the dead gather in a volume of over 70,000 words to stalk their prey…humans. 20 stories set the scene for a cast ranging from the Grim Reaper, shambling zombies and restless spirits, to unimaginable monsters that only inhabit the shapeless darkness and the author’s imagination. Join them as they wreak havoc on their unsuspecting victims and celebrate with a victory dance on hollowed bones.
When the Devil Whistles
Rick Acker - 2010
Now, it’s their turn. And the price could be their lives.“I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t.” That’s what Allie Whitman tells herself every night as she lies awake. Sometimes she even believes it. But mostly she knows deep down that her inability to make a hard choice has put millions of lives at risk, including her own. Now the only one who can help her is her lawyer, Connor Norman. Unfortunately, Allie’s actions have destroyed Connor’s trust in her—and may destroy much, much more.
THE ROAD TO HELL
Paul Levine - 2011
Levine's heroes travel dark and dangerous paths as they confront devilish and powerful villains. The journeys are by land, by sea, and in one case, perhaps only in the mind. In "El Valiente en el Infierno," (The Brave One in Hell), a 13-year-old Mexican boy tells his own story as he makes a treacherous midnight crossing into California in search of his father. The boy's courage is tested when he runs into two gun-toting American vigilantes, and the confrontation will change all of them forever. "Development Hell" imagines a pitch session in which a bedraggled Edgar Allan Poe squares off with a slick Hollywood producer who wants to make a cheesy slasher flick out of "The Pit and the Pendulum."Bookgasm praised the story as "going straight to the funny bone." In "A Hell of a Crime," a prosecutor prepares for a homicide trial while being pestered by his domineering mother, a famous lawyer herself. Just what role did she play in the murder? And how is the prosecutor's enigmatic wife involved in the case? Two of the author's best-loved characters, mismatched law partners Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord, appear in "Solomon & Lord: To Hell and Back." Steve says he's going fishing with Manuel Cruz, a sleazy con man. Victoria knows that Cruz is an unlikely fishing buddy. So just what is Steve up to now? Something between mischief and murder.The book also contains an excerpt from "Solomon vs. Lord," the first novel of the bestselling series of legal thrillers. A quick synopsis: Victoria Lord follows all the rules. Steve Solomon makes up his own. When they defend an accused murderer, they'll either end up in ruin, in jail...or in bed. Here's what number one bestselling author Harlan Coben had to say: "Hiaasen meets Grisham in the court of last retort. A sexy, wacky, wonderful thriller with humor and heart."Finally, an excerpt of "Mortal Sin," one of the award-winning Jake Lassiter novels, is also included in the collection. This time, the linebacker-turned-lawyer has a dangerous conflict of interest. He's sleeping with Nicky Florio's wife...and defending the mob-connected millionaire in court. One false move, and Jake will be gator bait. "Recalling the work of Carl Hiaasen, this thriller races to a smashing climax." - Library Journal. PRAISE FOR THE FICTION OF PAUL LEVINE
"Mystery writing at its very, very best." - Larry King, USA TODAY"Irreverent...genuinely clever...great fun." - The New York Times Book Review"Just the remedy for those who can't get enough Spenser and miss Travis McGee terribly." - St. Petersburg Times"Genuinely chilling." - Washington Post Book World "Take one part John Grisham, two parts Carl Hiaasen, throw in a dash of John D. MacDonald, and voila!" - Tulsa World"Wildly entertaining blend of raucous humor and high adventure."- St. Louis Post-Dispatch"Cracking good action-mystery...funny, sardonic, and fast-paced." - Detroit Free Press ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Midnight Harvest
Elias Anderson - 2014
As clues begin to surface, Coe starts to wonder about the exact nature of the killer he’s after. In a game of cat and mouse that could make or break his career, he’s forced to follow a trail that will lead him to places darker than he could have ever imagined...
Sledge
Ernie Lindsey - 2013
He left Officer Mary Walker alive, but he crushed her leg, her confidence, and her spirits.Now a private investigator, Mary takes sleuthing work as it comes and keeps a watchful eye over her shoulder. But, during a routine surveillance job on a chilly October night, a ghost from her past leaves her future uncertain.***SLEDGE is a fast-paced, suspense thriller short story from the author of SARA'S GAME.
Just Evil
Vickie McKeehan - 2011
No one cared. But a stranger, bent on revenge, is out to change all that. Kit Griffin has finally overcome a painful childhood at the hands of her mother, former actress Alana Stevens. No longer living in the grasp of the cold, tyrannical woman, Kit has found a new life tucked away in little San Madrid, California, running a business she loves, surrounded by friends she considers family. For the first time her life is on track. That is, until Alana is found brutally murdered on Mother’s Day, pulling Kit back in to the dark horrors of her past. To make matters worse, the police consider her the prime suspect.Jake Boston, an old family friend and the man Kit has loved since she was a teen, is fighting his own demons as a suspect in his wife’s murder two years earlier. Despite his past, he’s determined to win Kit over once and for all. But before that can happen they need to convince the police there’s a killer working his way down a list with cold-hearted vengeance in mind. Forced to delve into Alana’s dark past, it becomes clear someone is out to settle a score. When Jake and Kit uncover a forty year old double murder that leads them straight to the door of a legal dynasty, they soon find out just how far the heirs will go to keep the past buried and eliminate all the loose ends to protect their empire. Will Jake and Kit become the next victims or will they find an unexpected guardian angel?
Superbia
Bernard Schaffer - 2012
After Frank O'Ryan gets shot, his first assignment is working with the most disliked man in his police department, Detective Vic Ajax. Ajax isn't like the other cops. He doesn't like them and they don't like him. He hunts drug dealers and pedophiles. Now, Frank will enter a world where being real police means laying so much of your soul on the line, you might not make it out. But as Vic explains, if it keeps a little girl from having to testify about what some monster did to her, it's worth it. Together, they'll resort to any means necessary to take down the scumbags, even if it means employing the interrogative services of a man in a six-foot bunny costume called The Truth Rabbit. Readers the world over have called Superbia's author the 21st Century Ed McBain novel and the successor to Joseph Wambaugh. Both a best-selling author and career police officer, Bernard Schaffer's experience in patrol, narcotics, and investigations has filled the pages with a degree of accuracy and bold, raw, truth that cannot be found in any other work of literature. Often compared to The Wire, the Superbia books have been called the "Most subversive" account of law enforcement since Serpico.
Extreme Malice
R.E. Swirsky - 2011
Eighteen year old Josh Anderson, the college boy from next door, is charged with her murder. It was his guitar string around her neck. His footprints are found inside her house. Her earring found under his bed. Donna Gardner's husband Jack was hundreds of miles away on business. Was it the perfect Murder?
Other People's Bodies
Amy Cross - 2013
Soon, however, she discovers that the hotel is haunted by a tragic past. Five years ago, a woman vanished, and now the Bannister family is being torn apart by guilt, fear and intrigue.Elizabeth Bannister was supposed to signal a bright future for the family. Instead, she was torn apart by two brothers who were unable to satisfy their lust for power. Did Elizabeth simply run away from the hotel, or are her remains buried somewhere nearby? And what is the horrific truth that binds Laura and Elizabeth together forever?Other People's Bodies is a romantic thriller about love, betrayal and control, and about two women whose lives are torn apart by a lie that echoes through the years.
Courage Begins: A Ray Courage Mystery Novella
R. Scott Mackey - 2015
Until Tiffanie is killed in a suspicious accident. Neither the police nor the insurance investigators can prove she was murdered and the case turns cold. Two years later the insurance company asks an intern—former college professor turned private eye Ray Courage—to reopen the investigation. He uncovers little new evidence to support suspicions that Garrett killed his wife for the insurance money. Garrett has the perfect alibi—hundreds of witnesses that place him more than two hours from the scene of Tiffanie’s death. Ray knows he’s missing something. But what? As his search for the truth unfolds, Ray’s life is put in jeopardy and he realizes his adversary is someone who’ll kill before he’ll be caught. In this prequel to Courage Matters, Ray Courage begins his private investigation career, displaying the skills, abilities and sense of humor that have made him a fan favorite around the world.
The Ghosts of Varner Creek
Michael Weems - 2007
Left with his alcoholic and abusive father, Sol lived his life believing the story he'd been told, the story all the people of Varner Creek believed about what happened that summer. But in a plot of twists and family secrets that will leave the reader reaching for their jaw upon the floor, Sol is taken back to his childhood by the spirits he knew in life when he passes away so many years later . . . it is only then he learns what secrets The Ghosts of Varner Creek have been keeping so many years. "Very well written . . . this debut novel is a real page turner with some very interesting characters."-Jani Brooks, Romance Review Today This was a wonderfully woven story about an American family, their secrets, tragedies, love lost and redeemed. - Goodreads 5 Star Review from Robert Stadnik, author of Exodus Of The Phoenix, Phoenix Among The Stars, and Tales Of A Former Child Superhero. Terrific book! This story was haunting and chilled me to the core. I couldn't read fast enough to find out what happened to the characters. I was definitely hooked from the very beginning. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a great mystery. - Nook 5 Star Review Never anything but page-turning . . . I was hooked on this book right from the start. - Dr. Jon P. Bloch, Professor, Author, and Reviewer for The Kindle Book Review, blog website.
Ben's Story
Andrew M. Stafford - 2015
Ben’s body lay alongside Liz, who was unconscious and barely alive at the bottom of Mill Tut, a Bronze aged burial mound in the beautiful Badock’s Wood in Bristol. DCI Markland Garraway, who at the last moment is brought in to lead the investigation into Ben’s murder has a reputation of being a maverick detective who thinks outside the box. The mystical powers of the ancient burial mound begin to influence Garraway’s attitude towards the case and soon he is alienated by his colleagues. Mill Tut, or The Hill as Garraway refers to it, opens up a Pandora’s Box of supernatural happenings which infiltrate his waking and sleeping life, creating a host of mental demons which the Scottish detective must learn to deal with. Daniel Boyd has fled Bristol to evade capture for the crime he has committed. To those who know him, he’s vanished off the face of the earth. But can he escape the mystical powers of The Hill? The power of The Hill does not only affect Garraway. It reaches out to many, including Christopher Jameson, who was born at the precise moment Ben’s life ended. The Hill reveals to Garraway and the others who are affected by its influence, the world for what it is; a place where the impossible is real, and the dead speak with the living.