Book picks similar to
Devil's Briar: The Complete Series by Amy Cross
horror
ebooks
historical-fiction
cross-amy
Big Easy
Eric Wilder - 2006
More than just simple acts of murder, voodoo is involved, the killer likely an actual Vodoun deity. Homicide detective Tony Nicosia seeks the help of gumshoe, and Big Easy insider Wyatt Thomas. Wyatt enlists Mama Mulate, Tulane English professor, and actual voodoo mambo. Together, they try to unravel the strangest mystery to hit the venerable City since the era of Marie Laveau.
The Reincarnationist
M.J. Rose - 1999
Equal parts modern-day thriller, historical fiction, and love story, with one foot in present-day Rome and New York City, and the other in Rome some 1600 years ago.Photojournalist Josh Ryder survives a terrorist's bomb, only to be haunted by near-hallucinatory memories of a past life in Rome as a pagan priest whose dangerous congress with Sabina, one of the Vestal Virgins, poses a transgression so serious the lovers will face a certain death if exposed. Scents of jasmine and sandalwood and images of furtive liaisons and violence descend on Josh at will, pulling him to an ancient yet strangely familiar Roman burial chamber harboring the remains of a woman clutching a wooden box.A trail of present-day murders takes the reader deeper into a labyrinth at whose heart lies the enigma of a collection of ancient gems, or memory stones, whose origins trace back to both ancient Egypt and India. The stones' promise to "assist the wearer in reaching his next incarnation" sets the ancient and modern worlds on a collision course.The question of who we are cannot be asked without first asking who we were, according to the author. Rose attempts to answer that question based on her own reincarnation research and on the writings of others, spanning thousands of years.
The Unearthed
Evan Ronan - 2014
Only the youngest son, Eamon, survived that horrific night. Now the Rossellis, the family currently living in the home, are experiencing strange phenomena. The phone rings randomly, a bloodlike stain continually reappears in the dining room, and their son, Billy, is talking to someone. Someone nobody can see and only Billy can hear. The Rossellis hire Tim and Eddie McCloskey, local ghost hunters, to investigate. As the case quickly develops, their investigation takes dark turns as they race against time to find a missing boy. And as Tim and Eddie discover some terrifying similarities between the Moriartys and the Rossellis, they realize another massacre might be around the corner, and only they can stop it.
The Secrets of Moonshine
Denise Daisy - 2011
She longs to write a compelling novel, a story striving to emerge from deep inside of her as far back as she can remember. However, she is suffering from a lack of inspiration, resulting in the most severe writer's block ever. The reason -- her fiancé, Ryan Reese, the fastest rising star in Hollywood, broke off their engagement, leaving her cynical, bitter and not at all thrilled about scripting any more love stories. To add to the wreckage of her life, her touring bus breaks down on the way to one of the biggest venues of the summer leaving her stranded in the peculiar town of Moonshine and at the mercy of the town's most prominent resident, the mysterious Travis Colton. During her stay Bronwyn discovers a shroud of secrecy surrounding the small town and the eerie similarity of the people living in Moonshine to characters she created in a tragic story years ago. What she wrote in the past, is now reality that exist far beyond her imagination. As the days pass, she discovers that there is something quite disturbing at play in this peculiar town; something secretive and mystifying lurking beyond the borders of the woods. Secrets the town has kept hidden for over two-hundred years. Thus, her true adventure begins, as she sets out to uncover The Secrets of Moonshine realizing that the forbidden Travis is the guardian of the town's secrets and the only key that can unlock the mystery.
Grounded
Sarah Hualde - 2020
Dark roast with a side of Death Omens.It's just another workday for Penny Nicols.Penny is haunted by a secret.One that forces her, and her snarky cat, to move around in her tiny house on wheels.As Penny settles into a new town, she realizes something much darker is afoot.The Raven, her nemesis, has tracked her down once again.She finds herself in a race against time to vanquish the darkness and save those around her.This case is like nothing she has faced before.To solve it, she enlists the help of two Podcasters of the Paranormal.Will Penny ever be able to outrun her secret?What will she discover along the way?One thing is for sure; nothing will ever be the same again.★Jump into the first Paranormal Penny Mystery and hang on tight.★This fast-paced series will captivate you from start to finish.
Blood, Smoke and Ashes
Bradley Convissar - 2012
It was also the last time. Molly Blackburn, nicknamed Jane the Ripper by the Las Vegas press after killing eleven men while posing as a prostitute, was strapped to the chair without incident. The switch was flipped.Everything after that went horribly wrong.Since that day, a copycat Jane the Ripper has appeared almost every decade in a different city, mimicking Molly's choice in victims as well as her methods of murder. She kills eleven men then disappears, never to be found. The similarities between the bodies left behind each decade is uncanny. As if they are all the victims of the same murderer, not a copycat.But that's impossible, of course, because Molly Blackburn is dead, her execution witnessed by a dozen people.FBI Agent Jack Shaw, the lead investigator in the Jane the Ripper cases since the seventies, finally catches a break in 2009 when the intended fifth victim manages to turn the tables on the newest copycat . Everyone believes that the horror has finally ended with her capture. Shaw is not so sure, though, wondering if someone else will take up the mantle and kill seven more men to complete the cycle. But when no more bodies with her distinctive markings show up over the next two years, Shaw allows himself to believe that maybe he has seen the end of the Jane the Ripper murders.As it turns out, what he thought was the end was only the beginning.His hunt will take him across the country, and even when he thinks he's finally discovered the truth, he quickly learns that not everything is as it seems.That not every monster is created equal.That the nature of good and evil is not as black and white as he has always believed.That not everything that is broken can be put back together.That not every fractured soul can be saved.When blood, smoke and ashes rise, no one comes out the same on the other side.Blood, Smoke and Ashes is a 115,00 word supernatural thriller/horror
Ella, The Slayer
A.W. Exley - 2015
Except it wasn't flu, and death gave them back.Seventeen-year-old Ella copes the best she can; caring for her war-injured father, scrubbing the floors, and slaying the undead that attack the locals. Vermin they're called, like rats they spread pestilence with their bite. Ella's world collides with another when she nearly decapitates a handsome stranger, who is very much alive.Seth deMage, the new Duke of Leithfield, has returned to his ancestral home with a mission from the War Office -- to control the plague of vermin in rural Somerset. He needs help; he just didn't expect to find it in a katana-wielding scullery maid.Working alongside Seth blurs the line between their positions, and Ella glimpses a future she never dreamed was possible. But in overstepping society's boundaries, Ella could lose everything - home, head and her heart...
Clovenhoof
Heide Goody - 2012
Forced to live as a human under the name of Jeremy Clovenhoof, the dark lord not only has to contend with the fact that no one recognises him or gives him the credit he deserves but also has to put up with the bookish wargamer next door and the voracious man-eater upstairs.Heaven, Hell and the city of Birmingham collide in a story that features murder, heavy metal, cannibalism, armed robbers, devious old ladies, Satanists who live with their mums, gentlemen of limited stature, dead vicars, petty archangels, flamethrowers, sex dolls, a blood-soaked school assembly and way too much alcohol.Clovenhoof is outrageous and irreverent (and laugh out loud funny!) but it is also filled with huge warmth and humanity. Written by first-time collaborators Heide Goody and Iain Grant, Clovenhoof will have you rooting for the bad guy like never before.F Paul Wilson: Clovenhoof is a delight. A funny, often hilarious romp with a dethroned Satan as he tries to adjust to modern suburbia. The breezy, ironic prose sets a perfect tone. If you need some laughs, here's the remedy.
Devoted
Dean Koontz - 2020
Not when his father died in a freak accident. Not when his mother, Megan, tells him she loves him. For Megan, keeping her boy safe and happy is what matters. But Woody believes a monstrous evil was behind his father’s death and now threatens him and his mother. And he’s not alone in his thoughts. An ally unknown to him is listening.A uniquely gifted dog with a heart as golden as his breed, Kipp is devoted beyond reason to people. When he hears the boy who communicates like he does, without speaking, Kipp knows he needs to find him before it’s too late.Woody’s fearful suspicions are taking shape. A man driven by a malicious evil has set a depraved plan into motion. And he’s coming after Woody and his mother. The reasons are primal. His powers are growing. And he’s not alone. Only a force greater than evil can stop what’s coming next.
The Doorknob Society
M.J. Fletcher - 2012
When she was young Chloe’s mother vanished. Wracked by feelings of abandonment and anger she lost herself traveling with her father's magic act, where illusions were part of her everyday life. Yet everything changes when they are pursued by a mysterious man in black out to kill her father. Touching a doorknob activates abilities she never knew she had and she finds herself thrust into a world of ancient societies and secrets.When her father disappears it is a race against time to find answers before she loses what is left of her family. Now Chloe must choose who to trust, the man who will do anything for her or the one she can’t stop thinking about.
In the Beginning
Elle Klass - 2013
She has no other family which she is aware of, and in order to survive she leaves her home and lives on the streets. She meets interesting characters and gets into amusing predicaments all in the name of survival, such as jumping trains, being chased through the woods by a crazy man with a loaded shotgun and witnessing an unspeakable crime. After a few months on the streets she runs into another group of kids, Einstein is the oldest and a leader in the group, and they form a family of sorts. For survival and money they lean towards a life a crime which inevitably breaks up their family and sends Cleo and Einstein spiraling into their own adventure. Eventually they settle into a “normal” life however their pasts can’t be hushed forever …
Gateway
Christina Garner - 2011
Ember's want her dead.Ember has always known she doesn't belong in this world, but when she takes matters into her own hands, she winds up in a mental institution. There she draws the attention of Taren, a mysterious boy with a dangerous secret. When demons attack and they are forced to flee together, Ember learns her secret might be the deadliest of all. With a gateway to hell about to open in Los Angeles, Ember must choose--will she save the world... or end it?
Embers
Karen Ann Hopkins - 2014
Ember is one of them.Embers is an epic paranormal adventure/romance about a seventeen year old girl who discovers that she's immune to fire and any other injury when she’s in a horrific car crash that kills her parents. Following a violent episode with her aunt's boyfriend, Ember flees Ohio to live with an old relative in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Ember's exuberance at escaping a bad home life soon turns to trepidation when she learns that she's a Watcher, a descendant of angels. While Ember is instructed about her heritage and the powers that go along with it, she strikes up friendships with two teenagers who live in a frightening walled compound in the forest. Inexplicitly drawn to one of the young men in particular, an impossible romance develops. But it's cut short when Ember discovers that her new friends are fighting on the opposite side of a war that's been raging between two factions of Watchers for thousands of years. When the compound’s inhabitants threaten the townspeople, Ember takes action, sealing her fate in the ancient battle of good versus evil, and the grayness in between. Ember is up to the challenge, until she realizes that she isn’t only fighting for the lives of the locals and the souls of her new friends. She may be one of the few champions willing to make a stand for all of mankind as the rapture approaches and the end of days begin.Embers is the first novel in the dark and gritty YA paranormal romance series, The Wings of War.“An impending apocalypse provides a compelling backdrop for romance in this page-turning first installment of a new YA series. Hopkins expertly weaves her plotlines together in this compulsively readable teen romance story…Hopkins delivers many successful elements of young-adult romance—appealing lead characters, high-voltage chemistry, repressed sexuality—which will win her ardent followers." Kirkus Reviews“Embers is the start of an action-packed paranormal YA series. Ms. Hopkins draws the reader immediately in with her richly drawn prologue that introduces the lurking evil in a breath-taking manner. A must read for YA, paranormal, fantasy and suspense fans. Make that a delight for any reader!" Morgan Stamm, Ind'Tale Magazine
Out of Time
Monique Martin - 2010
When a mysterious accident transports Simon and his new assistant, Elizabeth West, back in time, Simon finally finds both the proof that he's been looking for, and the romance that he hasn't.In 1920s Manhattan, they find that are more than mobsters vying for power in the city's speakeasies. Will Simon and Elizabeth's developing relationship survive the vampires' teeth? Will they survive to make it back? Or will they be forever out of time?From the AuthorDon't miss the sequel,"When the Walls Fell", now available for Kindle. Look for more books in the Out of Time Series coming in 2012.
The Einstein Prophecy
Robert Masello - 2015
Shipped to Princeton University for study, the box contains mysteries that only Lucas, aided by brilliant archaeologist Simone Rashid, can unlock.These mysteries may, in fact, defy—or fulfill—the dire prophecies of Albert Einstein himself.Struggling to decipher the sarcophagus’s strange contents, Lucas and Simone unwittingly release forces for both good and unmitigated evil. The fate of the world hangs not only on Professor Einstein’s secret research but also on Lucas’s ability to defeat an unholy adversary more powerful than anything he ever imagined.From the mind of bestselling author and award-winning journalist Robert Masello comes a thrilling, page-turning adventure where modern science and primordial supernatural powers collide.