Book picks similar to
Ruthless by Charlie Gallagher
crime-thriller
fiction
netgalley
crime-mystery-suspense
Before I Found You
Daisy White - 2018
A child found alone on the beach, shouting into the waves. A mother who served ten years for a crime she says she didn’t commit. Ruby Baker is back with another seaside mystery. When she and her friends rescue a child from the beach in a storm, police are baffled. Nobody has reported a child missing, and the girl seems so traumatised that she is unable to speak. In Johnny’s hairdressing salon, the notorious Beverly Collins makes an appointment with Ruby, but it soon becomes clear the woman wants more than a haircut. Beverly has just been released from Holloway Prison after serving ten years for child cruelty. The body of her missing daughter was never found, but Beverly insists she is innocent, and she wants Ruby Baker’s Investigation Bureau to prove it. This isn’t going to be an easy investigation. Opinion is divided on Beverly’s innocence. Reporters Kenny and James are keen to uncover a big story, while Ruby’s best friend, Mary, is distracted and struggling to deal with motherhood. As Ruby tries to unravel the past, she discovers that Beverly Collins’ release seems to have triggered a bizarre chain of events. Was she really framed, and if so, where is her daughter Ella now? And who is the mystery girl on the beach? What readers are saying about BEFORE I FOUND YOU “A cracking read.” Olga “A good mystery, set in Brighton, which will keep you guessing until the end.” Barbara “An entertaining and satisfying read which I recommend to others who enjoy crime fiction.” Paromjit Hayers “The story is so good I had a hard time putting the book down.” Hannelore Cheney “Great book. Brilliant storyline and excellent main characters.” Stephanie Collins Discover a gripping new mystery writer today. Great for fans of Agatha Christie or LJ Ross. This is the second book in a mystery series set in 1960s Brighton, a tumultuous time of change and opportunity. RUBY BAKER SERIES Book 1: BEFORE I LEFT Book 2: BEFORE I FOUND YOU
The Wrong Kind of Clouds
Amanda Fleet - 2016
Deep trouble. Someone wants him dead. In fact, lots of people want him dead, but one of them has taken him hostage. As he’s being bundled away, he manages to call his ex-lover, Summer Morris, and begs her for help.Summer Morris, an award-winning photographer with synaesthesia, hasn’t spoken to Patrick for months. With good reason. But, he begged her for help, so she’s trying to help. Along with an off-duty police officer, Detective Sergeant LB Stewart, she gets swept into Patrick’s world of lies and deceit, in a desperate race against time to find him alive. Trying to unpick the knot of Patrick’s life takes them from an affair that could help bring down a government, to the dust and heat of Malawi, and a whole heap of trouble in between. If only they knew who wanted him dead, they might find him alive.The trouble is, almost everyone wants Patrick dead.
Her Dark Path
Ken Ogilvie - 2017
Rebecca was only eight years old. The killer has never been caught. Growing up, Rebecca vowed that one day she would track him down and make him pay. Now Rebecca is a young police woman in Ontario. She wants to become a homicide detective. Her first investigation is the cold case of a woman who vanished for 16 days and then was found dead in her own home. The brutal crime shocks the remote Canadian town of Conroy. The puzzling case has uncanny similarities to the murder of Rebecca’s mother. Both victims were found strangled in their own kitchens. Can Rebecca keep her emotions together as she closes in on a killer with connections to her family and tragic past? And will she finally get justice for her mother?
I Will Make You Pay
Caroline Bale - 2019
He is watching Connie Taylor in the café. He has befriended the waitress over the previous months and gained her confidence. Her coarseness disgusts him and he muses to himself about pouring acid on her face. He is going to torture Connie that evening to get the final information he needs and then he will kill her. Connie Taylor’s head is found on the doorstep of a house in upmarket Heworth Green in York. DI Ellen McClure finds herself embroiled in a complicated murder investigation that pits her against colleagues and family. Her boss thinks that ex-prostitute Connie was killed by one of her former clients, but Ellen thinks there is more to it. Vicky is on the run with her five-year-old daughter, Kallie. Her life is in danger. ELLEN MUST FIND HER BEFORE HE DOES. Desperate to save Vicky, Ellen drags her own young daughter, Zoe into the path of a deadly psychopath who will stop at nothing on his murderous rampage. A RACE AGAINST TIME TO STOP A PSYCHOPATH ON A MISSION
Flashpoint (Thomas Bladen #5)
Derek Thompson - 2018
His department is taken over by MI5, his girlfriend’s gone, and he’s “lost” a handgun during unofficial surveillance of a politician. When two key SSU personnel disappear, Thomas Bladen chooses loyalty over protocol. Forced into a pact with an old adversary, what he discovers could change the rules forever.The latest kindle edition includes a glossary of British slang used in the book.Here’s a YouTube review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNmjP...
Pendle Fire
Paul Southern - 2018
That’s on a good day: things are about to get a whole lot worse.
Two fourteen-year-old girls are found wandering Aitken Wood on the slopes of Pendle Hill, claiming to have been raped by a gang of men. With no female social workers available, Johnny is assigned to their case. But what, at first, looks like yet another incident of child exploitation takes a sinister turn when the girls start speaking of a forthcoming apocalypse.When Johnny interviews one of the girls, Jenna Dunham, her story starts to unravel. His investigation draws him into a tight-knit village community in the shadow of Pendle Hill, where whispers of witchcraft and child abuse go back to the Middle Ages.One name recurs, The Hobbledy Man. Is he responsible for the outbreaks of violence sweeping across the country?
Is he more than just myth?
Pendle Fie is a dark and absorbing thriller, it does contain scenes which some readers may some find disturbing.
Carpenter Road
N.M. Brown - 2018
After traffic officer Leighton is called to an altercation in a used car lot he is confronted by a prostitute rambling on about a girl who stole her coat. He thinks nothing off it. That is until the body of a Jane Doe shows up, matching the prostitute's description. What is the link between the fight in the car lot and the dead woman?Leighton proceeds to gather evidence, which he attempts to pass onto the lead Homicide detective, Slater. However, Slater tells Leighton to back off, and that a suspect has been arrested. Fearing there is more to the case than he first thought, Leighton is driven to keep digging and soon ends up on the trail of a serial killer. But Leighton might be out of his depth this time ...
Divine Poison
A.B. Morgan - 2017
But how are they connected? And why?When it becomes obvious that she’s unwittingly stepped into a trap set for someone else, Monica’s career, her own sanity and her life are placed at risk. But where can she turn to for help?AB Morgan is the author of the acclaimed psychological thriller A Justifiable Madness. Divine Poison will appeal to fans of authors like LJ Ross, Joy Ellis, Faith Martin and Ed James
The Angels
Alex Kane - 2020
As the top performer at Angel Silk gentleman’s club, she’s seen it all, been forced to do things she never wanted to do. She’s tired of this life… but can she escape it?Lizzy. To the women at Angel Silk, she’s the strong queen bee, mother to the girls. But she’s hiding her own dark secrets - and if they come to light, her life could be destroyed.Jade. The newest dancer at Angel Silk, she’s innocent, beautiful… and trapped. She’s in over her head – but does she have the strength to break free?Three women, all under the control of feared gangster, Marcus. To take back their lives, they need to come together. But will he let them go – or will finding freedom mean paying the ultimate price?A completely addictive, gripping and gritty gangland thriller that will have you hooked. If you like Martina Cole, Kimberly Chambers or Jacqui Rose, you will love this nail-biting read.
Dead and Gone (DI Annie Parker)
D.L. Michaels - 2018
Paula Smith could have had it all. Hugely successful in her fashion business, she lives the kind of life she could never have imagined. Her world should have been an idyllic one if it weren't for her husband Danny who is resentful of her success and increasingly prone to alcoholic rages. Paula knows she should leave him but she if she did, he would pick up the phone to the police and her life would come crashing down around her. Sarah has found the kind of happiness with Martin she never thought possible. He is everything she could have wished for in a man. Caring, sensitive and loving, yet he has a secret that could threaten everything they share. But he is not the only one with a secret... DI Annie Parker, mother, grandmother and widow, has plenty of baggage of her own, but she's still determined to be the best police officer she can be. When she and her sergeant Nisha Patel hear about a 20-year-old murder that nobody knew about, nothing will stop them from tracking down the killer, even if it brings them up against one of the most dangerous crime families in the country.
Red Rider
Gerrit Steenhagen - 2018
Masquerading as a substitute teacher, he tracks down the killer – a high school senior – and methodically builds a web to entrap him. Teacher does not desire simple justice or death for the killer; he wants the killer to endure what his son endured. But Teacher’s plan takes a life-shattering turn when he must save his son’s former girlfriend from the clutches of the brutal MS-13 gang. A taut, suspenseful thriller, Red Rider explores the depths of revenge and the strength of human bonds.
The Runaway
Ali Harper - 2019
There should be an outcry. But the police rule it a suicide, and move on. A case where nothing is as it seems…Private investigators Lee and Jo, owners of No Stone Unturned detective agency in Leeds, are tasked with looking into the case. Who was the woman? Did she really kill herself? A world where danger lurks around every corner…As they investigate, Lee and Jo uncover shocking secrets. And when they see links between this case and another they are working on, they are forced to question – is any woman ever truly safe in this world? And are they risking their own lives by delving too deep?
Daughters of Bad Men
Laura Oles - 2017
Well deserving of earning a place as a Killer Nashville Claymore Award finalist, Daughters of Bad Men is a solid tale, well told, and a promise of more to come from Jamie Rush." Killer Nashville "Compelling and deeply moving, Daughters of Bad Men is a study of the tangled family ties that bind. An absolute page-turner." Gretchen Archer, Bestselling author of the Davis Way Crime Capers. Jamie Rush understands what it takes to disappear because her parents taught her that long ago. Leveraging her knowledge of why and how people run from their own lives, Jamie has built a business based on bringing those in hiding back to answer for their actions. She takes pride in using her somewhat shady skills to work both inside and outside the law. When her estranged brother, Brian, calls and says his daughter is missing, Jamie initially turns down the case. Kristen has always been a bit wild, frequently dropping off the grid then showing up a few days later. But Brian swears this time is different, and even though Jamie vowed years ago to keep her conniving sibling at arm’s length, she can’t walk away if Kristen could be in real trouble. As Jamie begins digging into Kristen’s life, she uncovers her niece’s most guarded secrets. Uncovering the truth will put a target on Jamie’s back and endanger the lives of those she loves.
In The Blood
Lesley Welsh - 2018
But when a violent spree killing in the neighbourhood sees Grace come to the rescue, she is catapulted into the limelight as a local heroine. However, her fame spreads much further than the local town, bringing her to the attention of someone in Britain who is very keen to meet her. But what does this person want? And can they be trusted? As Grace travels to England to discover her true heritage, she is about to learn the real meaning of danger.Lesley Welsh is the author of The Serial Killer's Daughter and Truth Lies Buried. In The Blood is her final novel and is published posthumously by Bloodhound Books. Her books will appeal to fans of authors like K.L. Slater, Rachel Abbott and Claire Mackintosh
Our Wicked Lies
Glede Browne Kabongo - 2021
With a gorgeous, successful husband who whisks her away on romantic trips, a beautiful home in one of the country's richest zip codes, and two wonderful daughters, life couldn't be better. However, she'll soon discover that an enviable marriage comes at a deadly cost. Who is Faith, and why are dozens of emails between her and Alicia's husband hidden in his draft folder? Why were the messages never sent? As Alicia embarks on a desperate quest to uncover Faith's identity, a shocking death hits close to home and sends her reeling. Was it a tragic accident or cold-blooded murder? In this beautiful town of wealth and privilege, nothing is as it seems, and everyone has something to hide. As Alicia struggles under the weight of dark secrets from her own past, someone knows more than they're saying--someone who knows the truth will come at a devastating price. Emotionally gripping and expertly plotted, this heart-pounding, compulsive read is the perfect domestic thriller for fans of The Wife Between Us, The Husband's Secret and The Couple Next Door.