The Late Show -- Free Preview -- The First 5 Chapters


Michael Connelly - 2017
    A once up-and-coming detective, she's been given this beat as punishment after filing a sexual harassment complaint against a supervisor.But one night she catches two assignments she doesn't want to part with: the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in a parking lot and the killing of a young woman in a nightclub shooting. Ballard is determined not to give up at dawn. Against orders and her partner's wishes, she works both cases by day while maintaining her shift by night. As the investigations entwine, they pull her closer to her own demons and the reason she won't give up her job, no matter what the department throws at her.

A New Dawn Rising


Michael Joseph - 2013
    An opportunity to move on and make a fresh start. But when Carl is murdered, the police suspect Sam is responsible, forcing him to hunt down the real killer himself. Only someone doesn't want Sam Carlisle finding out the truth...

The Jury / Sweet Revenge / Lethal Justice


Fern Michaels - 2008
    For years, Paula Woodley has suffered the broken bones and shattered self-esteem caused by an abusive marriage. But what can she do? Her high-profile, Washington power-broker husband is not a man to be crossed. Or so he thinks. The Sisterhood may not be an organization found in any of his memos, but he’s about to take a meeting with them—and they’ll be setting the agenda.… Sweet Revenge Isabelle Flanders’ former colleague, the conniving Rosemary, did everything in her power to ruin Isabelle, from framing her for a terrible drunk driving accident to stealing her husband and her architecture firm. Now, Isabelle’s formerly lovely life is in tatters while Rosemary scoops up the spoils. It’s enough to make any friend’s blood boil. Rosemary may think she’s flying high, but she’s about to tangle with the Sisterhood. Lethal Justice Alexis Thorn, once a successful securities broker, spent a hellish year behind bars for a crime she never committed. Now she has her freedom, but she’s left with haunting memories of being hauled from her office in handcuffs…of the cell door clanging shut behind her…of her pleas going unheard. Alexis dreams of getting even. The legal system failed her, but the Sisterhood won’t.

After Dark


Beverly Barton - 2000
    Lane Noble Graham stands accused of murdering her ex-husband. The one man who can help her, Johnny Mack Cahill, vowed never to return to the town that scorned him. But one secret could make Lane and Johnny Mack the target of a twisted killer.

The Best Friend


Shalini Boland - 2016
    The Best Friend is a chilling psychological thriller from the Bestselling Author of The Girl from the Sea.They say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer ... Wrong.Louisa's new best friend has it all - the house, the status, the money. But she's also hiding a dark secret. And as Louisa is drawn deeper into her friend's life, events take a chilling turn . . ."Sit on the edge of your seat and prepare for the ride!"

Always Time to Die


Elizabeth Lowell - 2005
    Ironic, considering she a successful family historian. Recently hired by the eccentric aunt of New Mexico’s multi-millionaire governor Quintrell, the future looks bright. Until things start going wrong . . . and Carly begins to learn the true meaning of fear.Daniel Duran made a career out fighting for other people’s beliefs—principles they’d given their lives for. But now he wants some meaning of his own. Yearning for a reason to live, he’s come back to Taos, the town where he grew up.Soon, the lawyer(?) and the historian’s paths cross. While Carly’s investigation into the Quintrell family amuses Dan it also chills him, because he knows a dark truth Carly doesn’t: in New Mexico, tracing bloodlines is a deadly sport. . . .

Last Man Standing / Saving Faith


David Baldacci - 2006
    As the FBI investigates, suspicion surrounding Web deepens. Now, he needs help from an unlikely ally in his desperate search for the killer of his friends, and finds himself up against a force intent on finishing the job that began in the alley.SAVING FAITHWhen a zealous CIA Chief begins personally spying on his clients to promote a secret agenda of his own devising, the beautiful Faith Lockhard, one of Washington's greatest influence-peddlers, tells the FBI all her suspicions. Now in mortal danger, she still hopes to see justice done. Yet who will rescue Faith?

Before He Kills


Blake Pierce - 2016
    It doesn’t take long for the police to realize a serial killer is on the loose—and that his spree has just begun.Detective Mackenzie White, young, tough, smarter than the aging, chauvinistic men on her local force, finds herself called in grudgingly to help solve it. As much as the other officers hate to admit it, they need her young, brilliant mind, which has already helped crack cold cases that had left them stumped. Yet even for Mackenzie this new case proves an impossible riddle, something the likes of which she—and the local force—have ever seen.With the FBI called in, together, an intense manhunt ensues. Mackenzie, reeling from her own dark past, her failed relationships, and her undeniable attraction to the new FBI agent, finds herself battling her own demons as her hunt for the killer takes her to the darkest places of her mind. As she delves into the killer’s mind, obsessing over his twisted psychology, she finds that evil truly does exist. She only hopes it will not be too late to extricate herself from it, as her entire life collapses around her.As more bodies turn up dead and a frantic race against time ensues, there is no way out but to find him before he kills again.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, Before He Kills marks the debut of a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.

Root of All Evil


Jennifer Hayden - 2013
    Her family's car plummets into the dark, murky depths of the river on the way home from a funeral. When she recovers from the accident, she realizes she is being held at the hands of a greed driven maniac. A greed driven maniac who wants money she knows nothing about. Her will to live is shattered when she learns that her husband and daughter did not survive the accident...or didn't they? For three years, surrounded by lies and betrayal, Kate is forced to dig deep inside herself for the will to go on. And then, with the help of an unlikely ally, she finally escapes. In search of the truth, she finds her way back home. But she quickly realizes that life has gone on for the husband and daughter who were left behind that dark night, in depths of that seemingly endless river. Luke Garrison has spent three years mourning the wife who supposedly drowned the night he nearly lost his own life. He's been raising their daughter alone and dealing with deeply rooted grief ever since then. But when Kate suddenly reappears, he's not sure what to think. The once vibrant woman he married has been beaten down into a person he barely recognizes. Her story of that stormy night and the past three years is almost too unbelievable to fathom. Luke quickly realizes she didn't leave him on her own; she was taken from him. And the maniac who took her is still on her tail. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants...including murder.Updated Cover

Daddy's Little Girl


Mary Higgins Clark - 2002
    There were three suspects: Rob Westerfield, nineteen-year-old scion of a wealthy, prominent family, whom Andrea has been secretly dating; Paul Stroebel, a sixteen-year-old schoolmate, who had a crush on Andrea; and Will Nebels, a local handyman in his forties.It was Ellie who had led her parents to a hideout in which Andrea's body was found -- a secret hideaway in which she met her friends. And it was Ellie who was blamed by her parents for her sister's death for not telling them about this place the night Andrea was missing. It was also Ellie's testimony that led to the conviction of the man she was firmly convinced was the killer. Steadfastly denying his guilt, he spent the next twenty-two years in prison.When he comes up for parole, Ellie, now an investigative reporter for an Atlanta newspaper, protests his release. Nonetheless, the convicted killer is set free and returns to Oldham. Determined to thwart his attempts to whitewash his reputation, Ellie also returns to Oldham, intent on creating a Website and writing a book that will conclusively prove his guilt. As she delves deeper into her research, however, she uncovers horrifying and heretofore unknown facts that shed new light on her sister's murder. With each discovery, she comes closer to a confrontation with a desperate killer.Gripping and relentlessly compelling, Daddy's Little Girl, a portrayal of a family shattered by crime, reflects Mary Higgins Clark's uncanny insight into the twisted mind of a killer and is further evidence of why she is America's favorite author of suspense.

Mosaic


John R. Maxim - 1999
    Major Roger Grayson's official investigation into two top-secret government experiments aimed at using multiple personality disorder to create the perfect assassin leads him to the beautiful Susannah Card, a talented mosaic with the ability to control her separate personalities.

Divine Evil


Nora Roberts - 1992
    Now she’s celebrated as the artist of her generation. But no amount of success can eclipse the nightmares that haunt her—or the memories of her father’s suicide. Just as her star is shining brighter than ever, Clare leaves it all behind to face her demons.Emmitsboro sheriff Cameron Rafferty loved Clare from afar all through high school. Now that she’s back, they form a bond that grows stronger each day—fueled by an attraction that’s been simmering for years. But Clare’s past soon rises up with a vengeance, rocking the town with a sinister murder that is clearly linked to her return. As an investigation gets under way, Clare and Cameron will learn that evil can linger anywhere—even in those you love and trust the most. But it’s a discovery that may come too late to save them.…

Devotion


Alex Sinclair - 2019
    He is angry with her and careless toward Ava.Something has changed. Something is wrong.As Katherine feels her mind slipping away from her, she wonders if she has been wrong about the man she loves. Is Corey really that bad? Katherine is about to find out… Alex Sinclair is also the author of He's At Your Door. Devotion is an unmissable psychological thriller, which readers of domestic noir will love. It will also appeal to fans of authors like Cara Hunter, Lucy Dawson and Samantha Hayes.

Sudden Death


Allison Brennan - 2009
    Her investigation gets complicated fast, for the victim, a former Delta Force soldier, is just one link in a nationwide spree of torture and murder.Straight off a job rescuing medical missionaries, soldier-for-hire Jack Kincaid returns to his home base in the Texas border town of Hidalgo only to receive the news that one of his closest colleagues–also ex-military–has been brutally murdered. Faced with an inept local police force, Jack takes matters into his own hands.Now, as part of a national task force to stop the sadistic killings, by-the-book Megan and burn-the-book Jack form a tense alliance, sparked with conflict and temptation. But they struggle against more than passion, for a vicious pair of killers has only just begun a rampage of evil . . . and the primary target is much closer than Megan suspects.

The Last Kind Words


Tom Piccirilli - 2012
    Upon the razor-thin edge between love and violence lives a pair of brothers, their bonds frayed by betrayals and guilt, their loyalty to each other their last salvation.Raised to pick a pocket before he could walk, Terry Rand cut free from his family after his older brother, Collie, went on a senseless killing spree that left eight dead. Five years later, only days before his scheduled execution, Collie contacts Terry and asks him to return home. Collie claims he wasn’t responsible for one of the murders—and insists that the real killer is still on the loose.Dogged by his own demons, Terry is swept back into the schemes and scams of his family: His father, Pinsch, a retired cat burglar, brokenhearted because of his two sons. His card-sharp uncles, Mal and Grey, who’ve incurred the anger of the local mob. His grandfather, Shep, whose mind is failing but whose fingers can still slip out a wallet  from across the room. His teenage sister, Dale, who’s flirting dangerously with the lure of the family business. And Kimmie, the woman Terry abandoned, who’s now raising a child with Terry’s former best friend.  Terry pieces together the day his brother turned rabid, delving into a blood history that reveals the Rand family tree is rotten to the roots, and the secrets his ancestors buried are now coming furious and vengeful to the surface.A meditation on how love can confine a person just as easily as it can free him, juxtaposing shocking violence and sly humor, The Last Kind Words is the brilliantly inventive family saga that only a singular talent like Tom Piccirilli could conjure.