Book picks similar to
Balustrade by Mark Henry


erotica
reviewed
limbo-found
speculative-fiction

The Abyss Beyond Dreams


Peter F. Hamilton - 2014
    Nigel Sheldon, one of the founders of the Commonwealth, receives a visit from the Raiel—self-appointed guardians of the Void, the enigmatic construct at the core of the galaxy that threatens the existence of all that lives. The Raiel convince Nigel to participate in a desperate scheme to infiltrate the Void.Once inside, Nigel discovers that humans are not the only life-forms to have been sucked into the Void, where the laws of physics are subtly different and mental powers indistinguishable from magic are commonplace. The humans trapped there are afflicted by an alien species of biological mimics—the Fallers—that are intelligent but merciless killers.Yet these same aliens may hold the key to destroying the threat of the Void forever—if Nigel can uncover their secrets. As the Fallers’ relentless attacks continue, and the fragile human society splinters into civil war, Nigel must uncover the secrets of the Fallers—before he is killed by the very people he has come to save.

Convictions


Caro Land - 2020
    Jack Goldman’s estranged son Julian has been arrested for attempted murder and he wants Natalie to find out why.With the help of fellow solicitor Gavin Savage, Natalie sets out to investigate, but with a series of red herrings ahead, will she ever discover the truth? And can Natalie avoid her personal problems interfering with the case? Convictions is the first book in a gripping new legal, crime suspense series written by bestselling author Caroline England, writing as Caro Land. It will appeal to fans of authors like Diane Jeffrey, Samantha Hayes and K.L. Slater. “A brilliantly crafted novel. I was totally engrossed in the characters and plot from start to finish. I couldn’t put it down.” - Amanda Robson, Sunday Times bestselling author of Obsession, Guilt and Envy

Kissyman and the Gentleman


Scott Sigler - 2007
    

The Immortal Circus: Act One


A.R. Kahler - 2012
    But like most things under the big top, nothing is what it seems. With a past she can't quite remember, Vivienne finds that running away forever might not be as appealing as it once sounded—especially not when she realizes the devilishly attractive ringleader, Mab, is the Faerie Queen of legend—and that she and the rest of the troupe are locked in an age-old rivalry between the otherworldly Courts. Aided by her friends Kingston—a feisty stage magician whose magic is quickly stealing her heart—and his smart-ass assistant, Melody, Vivienne finds herself racing against the clock to discover the culprit behind a series of deaths that should be impossible. However, the answer she seeks might reveal more about her own bloody past—and future—than she bargained for. The show's just beginning. Step right up...

The Jake Grafton Collection: The Intruders, The Minotaur, Under Siege, and The Red Horseman


Stephen Coonts - 2018
      Navy pilot Jake Grafton took the fight to the enemy in the Vietnam War, winning the Congressional Medal of Honor and becoming a legend in the military community. But now he must navigate life both in the cockpit and in the halls of power as he finds himself on the front lines of a new kind of war . . .  The Intruders: In this sequel to Flight of the Intruder, Grafton is stationed in the South Pacific on the USS Columbia, where his new mission is to educate an unruly group of Marines in the art of flying from an aircraft carrier. They better be fast learners, because they’ll have to work together to survive against an enemy unlike any they’ve ever faced.   “In the realm of today’s military fiction, Mr. Coonts’s The Intruders is as good as they come.” —The Dallas Morning News  The Minotaur: Grafton is heading up a top-secret stealth bomber program at the Pentagon when a series of mysterious deaths occurs, leading him on a manhunt within the US government for a Soviet mole code-named the “Minotaur.” If he can’t find the traitor, Grafton could lose far more than just his career . . .   “Wildly inventive.” —Ocala Star-Banner  Under Siege: In this New York Times bestseller, when a vicious drug lord is captured and brought to Washington, DC, for trial, his fanatically loyal private army prepares to launch an attack on the United States—and its president. The only man who can stop the bloodshed and take down the assassins is Jake Grafton.   “Will keep you glued to your seat on a roller-coaster ride of adventure.” —USA Today  The Red Horseman: As the USSR falls, newly appointed intelligence chief Jake Grafton knows that even as one threat falls, several more are waiting to get their hands on the former Soviet nuclear arsenal. And as he tries to stop a possible Armageddon, someone who is supposed to be on Grafton’s side is working to make sure he fails.   “Quick-firing excitement, plot, and action . . . Coonts at his best.” —The Dallas Morning News

The Sun Never Rises in the Big City


Jeremy C. Shipp - 2011
    A hard-boiled tale of gritty dystopian noir. "The Sun Never Rises in the Big City" received an honorable mention in Best Horror of the Year, Volume Three."The Sun Never Rises in the Big City" is a short story of 5100 words.Jeremy C. Shipp is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of books such as CURSED, SHEEP AND WOLVES, VACATION, and FUNGUS OF THE HEART. ----------------------Praise for Jeremy C. Shipp:"This is intriguing, challenging, literate, provocative....I recommend it to those who find reality boring; it may make them see it in new ways."—Piers Anthony, the Xanth Series"Jeremy Shipp is a very good drug. I hope this book gets banned in high schools soon!"—John Skipp "This is an unforgettable work—a must read you’ll savor long after the final page."—Lisa Mannetti, Bram Stoker Award winner"A diverse, unpredictable, and intelligent read. Two thumbs up!”—Midwest Book Review

The Long Way Down


Craig Schaefer - 2014
    When an old man comes seeking vengeance for his murdered granddaughter, what looks like a simple job quickly spirals out of control. Soon Daniel stands in the crossfire between a murderous porn director; a corrupt cop with a quick trigger finger; and his own former employer, a racket boss who isn't entirely human. Then there's Caitlin: brilliant, beautiful, and the lethal right hand of a demon prince. A man named Faust should know what happens when you rub shoulders with demons. Still Daniel can't resist being drawn to Caitlin's flame as they race to unlock the secret of the Etruscan Box, a relic that people all over town are dying -- and killing -- to get their hands on. As the bodies drop and the double-crosses pile up, Daniel will need every shred of his wits, courage and sheer ruthlessness just to survive. Daniel Faust knew he was standing with one foot over the brink of hell. He's about to find out just how far he can fall.

Malevolent


Jana Deleon - 2015
     Everyone wondered about Shaye Archer’s past. Including Shaye. Shaye Archer’s life effectively began the night police found her in an alley, beaten and abused and with no memory of the previous fifteen years, not even her name. Nine years later, she’s a licensed private investigator, with a single goal—to get answers for her clients when there aren’t supposed to be any. And maybe someday, answers for herself. Emma Frederick thought her nightmare was over when she killed her abusive husband, but someone is stalking her and tormenting her with mementos from her past. With no evidence to support her claims, the police dismiss her claims as post-traumatic stress, but Shaye is convinced that someone is deliberately terrorizing Emma…playing a cat and mouse game with only one goal in mind. To kill Emma.

Rise of the Dragons


Morgan Rice - 2014
    As she struggles to understand her special skills, her mysterious inner power, she realizes she is different than the others. But a secret is being kept from her about her birth and the prophecy surrounding her, leaving her to wonder who she really is.When Kyra comes of age and the local lord comes to take her away, her father wants to wed her off to save her. Kyra, though, refuses, and she journeys out on her own, into a dangerous wood, where she encounters a wounded dragon—and ignites a series of events that will change the kingdom forever. 15 year old Alec, meanwhile, sacrifices for his brother, taking his place in the draft, and is carted off to The Flames, a wall of flames a hundred feet high that wards off the army of Trolls to the east. On the far side of the kingdom, Merk, a mercenary striving to leave behind his dark past, quests through the wood to become a Watcher of the Towers and help guard the Sword of Fire, the magical source of the kingdom’s power. But the Trolls want the Sword, too—and they prepare for a massive invasion that could destroy the kingdoms forever.With its strong atmosphere and complex characters, RISE OF THE DRAGONS is a sweeping saga of knights and warriors, of kings and lords, of honor and valor, of magic, destiny, monsters and dragons. It is a story of love and broken hearts, of deception, of ambition and betrayal. It is fantasy at its finest, inviting us into a world that will live with us forever, one that will appeal to all ages and genders.

25 Gates of Hell


Brian KeeneAlex R. Knight III - 2020
    A group of storytellers banded together to chronicle the tsunami of evil that ensued. Their scribblings depicted events so horrific, the manuscript was hidden away.Now, dear reader, you seem to have stumbled upon it.And you have opened it.You must reap what you have sown.Come, step into the pages. See firsthand what hell is capable of.Of course, just know, you won’t last long enough to scream.

The Black Elfstone


Terry Brooks - 2017
    Through forty years of New York Times bestselling Shannara novels, Terry Brooks always had an ending in mind: a series that would bring it all to a grand conclusion. Now that time is here. The Four Lands has been at peace for generations, but now a mysterious army of invaders is cutting a bloody swath across a remote region of the land. No one knows who they are, where they come from, or what they are after—and most seem content to ignore these disturbing events. The only people who sense a greater, growing threat and wish to uncover the truth are society’s outcasts: an exiled High Druid, a conflicted warrior, a teenage girl struggling to master a prodigious magic . . . and a scrappy young orphan, improbably named Shea Ohmsford.

Star Wars: Classic Trilogy


Ryder Windham
    Become entranced with the basic struggle of good vs. evil as you travel to a galaxy far, far away.

The John Connolly Collection #2: The White Road, The Black Angel, and The Unquiet


John Connolly - 2012
    It's a case that nobody wants to touch, deeply rooted in old evil—and old evil is Charlie Parker's specialty. He's about to enter a living nightmare, a dreamscape of sorrow haunted by the murderous specter of a hooded woman, by a black car waiting for a passenger that never comes, and by the sinister complicity of both friends and enemies in Larousse's brutal death. Soon, all will face a final reckoning in an unearthly realm where the paths of the living and the dead converge. A place known only as the White Road. THE BLACK ANGELWhen a young woman disappears from the streets of New York City, ties of friendship and blood inevitably draw ingenious, tortured detective Charlie Parker into the search. Soon he discovers links to a church of bones in Eastern Europe, a 1944 slaughter at a French monastery, and to the myth of an object known as the Black Angel—considered by evil men to be beyond priceless. But the Black Angel is not a legend. It is real. It lives. It dreams. And the mystery of its existence may contain the secret of Parker's own origins. THE UNQUIETDaniel Clay, a once-respected psychiatrist, has gone missing. His daughter insists that he killed himself after allegations surfaced surrounding the harm done to patients in his care. Now, a killer obsessed with finding the truth about his own daughter’s disappearance is seeking revenge—and private investigator Charlie Parker finds himself trapped between those who want the truth about Clay’s disappearance to be revealed, and those who will go to any length—no matter the cost—to keep a deep, dark secret about a local town hidden.

All the Breaking Waves


Kerry Lonsdale - 2016
    The art history professor crafts jewelry as unique and weathered as the surf-tumbled sea glass she collects, while raising her daughter in a safe and loving environment—something Molly never had. But when Cassie is plagued by horrific visions and debilitating nightmares, Molly is forced to return to the one place she swore she’d never move back to—home to Pacific Grove.A riveting exploration of love, secrets, and motherhood, All the Breaking Waves is the poignant story of a woman who discovers she must confront her past, let go of her guilt, and summon everything in her power to save her daughter.

Girl in Trouble


Stacy Claflin - 2017
     Alex Mercer is no stranger to kidnappings. The emotional scars still run deep from his sister’s disappearance years earlier. His daughter Ariana remains safe long after her adoption, and he cherishes the few times a year he gets to see her. The joy is palpable when he takes her on their first one-on-one outing. At least until he pauses to answer a text and Ariana disappears… Wracked with guilt and determined to find answers, Alex teams up with an unlikely ally at the police department. As the clues reveal a pattern of missing girls, the kidnapping case becomes a race against time to save Ariana. What cost is Alex willing to pay to keep his daughter alive? Girl in Trouble is the first book in a series of thrilling stand-alone novels spun off from the USA Today bestselling Gone Trilogy. If you like heart-pounding suspense, page-turning action, and characters you’ll never forget, then you’ll love Stacy Claflin’s engrossing new series.