One Shot


Louise Voss - 2015
    But was it murder or an unfortunate accident? Carmella's career will be in ruins if she gets it wrong... Louise Voss and Mark Edwards are co-authors of six thrillers as well as having many successful solo novels to their names. The third installment in their popular DI Lennon series, following FROM THE CRADLE and THE BLISSFULLY DEAD, will be out in 2017. You can find them at www.vossandedwards.com, or come and join their lively Facebook group: www.facebook.com/vossandedwards, for news and competitions.

Columbus Noir


Andrew Welsh-Huggins - 2020
    Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city.Brand-new stories by: Lee Martin, Robin Yocum, Kristen Lepionka, Craig McDonald, Chris Bournea, Andrew Welsh-Huggins, Tom Barlow, Mercedes King, Daniel Best, Laura Bickle, Yolonda Tonette Sanders, Julia Keller, Khalid Moalim, and Nancy Zafris.From the introduction by Andrew Welsh-Huggins:Today, Columbus is an epicenter of the opioid epidemic, awash in heroin and the even deadlier fentanyl as dealers flood the city with their wares . . . The wealth gap in the city is growing, and Columbus is now one of the deadliest places in the state for babies trying to make it to their first birthday, even more so if their mothers are African American. These days, Columbus is a place forensic investigators are moving to. Overdoses, homicides, infant mortality: at long last, we’re finally as lethal as any big American city.In that light (and darkness) I’m pleased to present Columbus Noir, a collection of shadowy tales from the city’s best storytellers set in neighborhoods across the metropolis. Sexual passion drives many of the stories, appropriate for a genre marked by protagonists striving for things out of their reach. Racism makes an appearance or two, as do those twin pillars of noir, greed and pride. Still, a deep appreciation of Columbus runs through the book as forcefully as the swath cut by the Olentangy after a couple of days of hard rain.

Blind Switch


John McEvoy - 2004
    A two-time loser at the marriage game as well, Doyle, usually ultra-confident, fishes himself out of a bottle to take stock, realizing, “with a thumping finality, that Life sure as hell did have his Number and was crunching it.”At loose ends, Doyle accepts a most unusual offer from an acquaintance, Moe Kellman, to fix a horse race. The context of making the deal, a Cubs game at storied Wrigley Field, sets the tone for the drama that follows. Thus begins a chain of events that will lead the FBI to Doyle’s door where they “coopt” him into a quest after people who are maiming or killing thoroughbred horses for their insurance values. Their number one target is a loathsome media mogul who can’t bear to lose…at anything.Built upon recent factual events, spiced with satire and peppered throughout with engaging loonies, Blind Switch is a noteworthy first novel with a hero forced to ask in its ultimate line, “Where have I gone right?”

Striking Back


Mark Nykanen - 2011
    These men like to hurt women. Now it's payback time for an unknown murderer who's slaughtering the abusers in ways that mirror the ugly violence they forced upon the women in their lives. As the death count grows-and media interest explodes-innocent people could get caught in the killer's revenge. Los Angeles therapist Gwyn Sanders keeps her ugly family history to herself. More than twenty years ago, when she was still a teen, her violent stepfather died a grisly, mysterious death. Gwyn knows all the secrets but she's not talking about the past-she's too busy trying to change the future by breaking the cycle of domestic violence. The men she counsels aren't saints, but maybe she can change the mindset that makes their lives-and the lives of the people closest to them-so miserable. But when someone starts killing her controversial clients, Gwyn becomes LAPD's primary suspect. After all, there's the unsolved mystery of her stepfather's bizarre death. Maybe Gwyn has a hidden desire for justice that's far from therapeutic. Mark Nykanen is an Emmy-winning former NBC correspondent and the author of acclaimed thrillers HUSH, SEARCH ANGEL, THE BONE PARADE, PRIMITIVE and, writing as James Jaros, BURN DOWN THE SKY. Visit him at www.MarkNykanen.com.

Gone Girl: by Gillian Flynn -- Review


Expert Book Reviews - 2013
    After losing their writing jobs in New York City, Nick and Amy Dunne discover that their perfect relationship is not as solid as it seems. Nick decides to move to Carthage, Missouri to care for his ill parents, and Amy figures out that her parents have been depleting her trust account to recover from their own financial hardships. Despite her resentment, Amy purchases a bar for her husband and his twin sister with the remaining money from her trust fund. The suspense in Gone Girl revolves around the disappearance of Amy Dunne and the accusations against her husband. This literary review of Flynn's novel Gone Girl covers the good and the bad to give you a comprehensive view of the story. Readers enjoy a suspenseful mystery while witnessing the complications of marriage from the two narratives of husband and wife. This review explains what you can gain from reading Gone Girl, and describes the type of reader who will enjoy this novel. Discover secrets kept by Amy Dunne as you encounter unexpected plot twists and surprising outcomes in Flynn's latest novel.

The First Kill


Darcia Helle - 2010
    His first kill defined the man he became. This is a short story based on characters from the Michael Sykora Novels, and includes an excerpt from No Justice, the first book in the series.

The Highway Kind


Patrick MillikinKelly Braffet - 2016
    Like fiction, cars take us into a different world: from the tony enclaves of upper crust society to the lowliest barrio; from muscle car-driving con men to hardscrabble kids on the road during the Great Depression; from a psychotic traveling salesman to a Mexican drug lord who drives a tricked-out VW Bus. We all share the roads, and our cars link us together. Including entirely new stories from Michael Connelly, C.J. Box, George Pelecanos, Diana Gabaldon, James Sallis, Ace Atkins, Luis Alberto Urrea, Sara Gran, Ben H. Winters, and Joe Lansdale, The Highway Kind is a street-level look at modern America, as seen through one of its national obsessions.

React


Jack Harding - 2021
    A crowded fairground. A simple sequence of numbers that appear over and over again... and a horrible feeling that something is very, very wrong.Nina Vogel is haunted by a recurring nightmarish vision - but what does it mean?In this powerful short story by Jack Harding, step into this nerve-racking, fast-paced fever dream that blurs the lines between the real and the unreal.

Micah Goes On a Date: A Micah Reed Thriller Short Story


Jim Heskett - 2018
    Beef Stroganoff? Micah Reed finds himself in a fancy restaurant, in a suit and tie, waiting on a blind date. Should be in for a good time, right? A nice, quiet evening? If you know Micah Reed, you know things usually aren't what they seem. Micah might not survive the night... A FREE short story in the award-winning Micah Reed series. Grab this quick, fun thriller now to read it all in one sitting!

First Impressions


David DeLee - 2010
    But what if those first impressions are wrong? When Grace deHaviland chases a bail jumper to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, a long way from her home turf of Columbus, Ohio, she may discover the answer -- with deadly consequences."A fascinating point of view character." - Kristine Kathryn Rusch"Grace deHaviland is one tough cookie." - Suspense MagazineThe pulse-pounding first short story in the Grace deHaviland bounty hunter seriesBy the author of Crystal White and Amber Alert

The Escape Artist


Mark T. Sullivan - 2012
    Monarch is a world-class thief and a highly skilled operative––a man with skills, a rigid code of honor, powerful friends and implacable enemies.In ‘Escape Artist,' Monarch's abilities––and his nerve––are both tested when he's sent deep into the jungles of the Congo, into the encampment of an army of boy-soldiers under the leadership of a man calling himself Lieutenant Zed. He's undercover as a black market diamond dealer. His job is to steal the largest, most perfect diamond yet seen before Zed is able to sell it and use the proceeds to continue waging war. But as any thief could tell you, getting in is the easy part. Getting out, however, from the heart of an unfamiliar jungle with a hostile ‘army' at your back, requires more skill and luck that even Robin Monarch can count on.Robin Monarch––called "one of the most compelling heroes since Jason Bourne" (Lisa Gardner)––is introduced in this chilling, nerve-wracking story. Presented with a special excerpt from Rogue, the first Robin Monarch novel, coming in Fall of 2012.

Twinkle Toes: A Dev Haskell Short Mystery


Mike Faricy - 2014
    Years back he knew her as Twink, the hottest girl in high school with pink hair. Now, she's vanished after a supposed photo shoot with Tom Cruise and it's left up to Dev to find her. He enlists the help of failed NFL tight end, Luscious Dixon who suffers from an anger management 'disability'. From there things seem to plummet downhill. Faricy is at it again, this time with a zany short mystery that's at once hilarious and somewhat chilling. Twinkle Toes is yet another fast paced crazy tale from Minnesota's Master of the Bizarre, Mike Faricy.

Too Late to Call Texas


Trent Zelazny - 2012
    Or the dead guy. Or the steamer trunk. Or the rag doll. If only he hadn’t found any of these things, everything might have been okay. But he had found them. All of them. Now Carson Halliday is on the run, trying his damnedest to keep one step ahead of a dangerous gang of outlaws and mad men. A run leading him from town to town in the dry wasteland of the southern New Mexico desert, over dark hills and dangerous plains, through shantytowns and city streets, and, most frightening of all, into the mysterious depths of the human heart."One of the best of the new breed of writers." —Joe R. Lansdale"A powerful and good writer." —Neil Gaiman"Trent Zelazny is the best hard-boiled noir writer of this generation!" —Sarah L. Covert, Editor of She Never Slept

Midnight Haul


Max Allan Collins - 1986
    The tiny New Jersey town she lived in has seen a rash of suicides lately, with the unlikely coincidence that everyone who has died worked for Kemco, the chemical factory company that fuels the town’s economy.As Crane digs deeper, he encounters Boone, a local woman writing a book about the environmental destruction that has come at the hands of the local chemical giant. The two team up to unravel the conspiracies surrounding the factory—which soon makes them the next targets for those aiming to keep Kemco’s shady dealings under wraps.The pair races to expose the illegal operations poisoning the town and bring Kemco to justice—before either of them becomes the latest in the growing list of “suicides.”

SCANDALOUS AFFAIRS


LADY LEGACY - 2017
    Maceo has overlooked the vow of “forsaking all others”, so it’s hard for him to stay faithful. Maceo is extremely sexy, and women are always throwing their goodies at him. He loves his beautiful wife Chrissy, but he keeps a hot thot on standby. He has a weakness for fine, freaky women. Their marriage seems to be perfect from the outside looking in. However, everything that glitters ain’t gold. Big trouble is brewing and Maceo is creeping out the bed to meet up with different mistresses. It’s just sex to him and nothing more; but, what happens when one of his side chicks fall in love? She’s willing to do whatever it takes to make Maceo her man. Chrissy has overlooked her husband’s cheating over the years; but, after learning of a particular mistress, Maceo might have crossed a line she can’t forgive. Maceo is scandalous, but he’s not the only one hiding secrets. Chrissy’s past ain’t pretty, and both of their secrets will be exposed. ​When life changing secrets are revealed…..can Maceo and Chrissy forgive each other? Or will the cheating, lies, and secrets be too much to save this troubled marriage?