At Risk


Patricia Cornwell - 2006
    His boss, the district attorney, attractive but hard-charging, is planning to run for governor, and as a showcase she's planning to use a new crime initiative called At Risk; its motto: "Any crime, any time." In particular, she's been looking for a way to employ cutting-edge DNA technology, and she thinks she's found the perfect subject in an unsolved twenty-year-old murder—in Tennessee. If her office solves the case, it ought to make them all look pretty good, right?Her investigator is not so sure—not sure about anything to do with this woman, really—but before he can open his mouth, a shocking piece of violence intervenes, an act that shakes up not only both their lives but also the lives of everyone around them. It's not a random event. Is it personal? Is it professional? Whatever it is, the implications are very, very bad indeed ... and they're about to get much worse.Sparks fly, traps spring, twists abound—this is the master working at the top of her game.

The Other Daughter


Lisa Gardner - 1999
    Gifted with a loving family, Melanie has always considered herself lucky. Until tonight.Tonight, a has-been reporter turns up investigating her past. Tonight the first note arrives, saying, "You Get What You Deserve." And tonight, Melanie has her first, horrifying vision of the past.Melanie has no memory of her life before the adoption. Now someone wants to give it back, even if it includes the darkest nightmare the Stokes family ever faced: the murder of their first daughter in Texas. As Melanie desperately searches for her real identity, two seemingly unrelated events from the past will come together in a dangerous explosion of truth.

The Conspiracy Club


Jonathan Kellerman - 2003
    To escape the pain, he buries himself in his work at City Central Hospital --- only to be drawn deeper into a waking nightmare when more women turn up murdered in the same gruesome fashion as Jocelyn. As the suspicion surrounding Jeremy intensifies, the only way for him to prove his innocence and put his torment to rest is to follow the deadly trail of a modern-day Jack the Ripper.

Endangered


RaeAnne Thayne - 1996
    Though Carly wants nothing to do with the man she once loved and now despises, she has to stop a vicious poacher and she needs Ryder’s help. As their journey takes them into the Wyoming wilderness, she can’t help but surrender to the lightning storm of passion between them, but can she find a way to forgive the man she had loved first and best? In this story revised from her debut novel originally published by Bantam Loveswept as The Mating Game, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne tells a touching story of intrigue and heart.

The Valkyries; The Fifth Mountain; Veronika Decides to Die


Paulo Coelho - 2003
    Three Novels by Paulo Coelho published by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers

Killing Time


Linda Howard - 2005
    In 1985, with much fanfare, a time capsule was buried under the front lawn of a small-town county courthouse, to be reopened in 2085. But just twenty years later, in the dead of night, the capsule is dug up, its contents stolen. That same night, one of the contributors to the capsule is brutally slain in his home–with no sign of forced entry or indication of a struggle. One by one, others who had placed items in the time capsule are murdered.Besides his suspicions about the sudden, mysterious appearance of Nikita Stover, the chief investigator, Knox Davis, has absolutely no leads. And while Nikita’s no murderer, she seems to be hiding plenty of secrets. With more at stake than anyone else realizes, the smart-talking Nikita is determined to catch this cunning killer–while at the same time battling her own deepening feelings for a man and for a world in which she doesn’t belong. When readers crave a seductive novel of unrelenting suspense with a paranormal twist, Linda Howard delivers time and again . . . make that Killing Time–a captivating, character-rich story that races along on a breathless plot full of action and intimacy, romance and danger, thrills and intrigue.From the Hardcover edition.

City of the Lost: Part Four


Kelley Armstrong - 2015
    And where a hunter has now come to play.A sadistic killer is loose in Rockton, and whip-smart detective Casey Butler is on the job. Meanwhile, her best friend, Diana, has fallen so far in with the wrong crowd that Isabel, the owner of the local bar and brothel, accuses Diana of “freelancing.” Then evidence ofanother horrific murder shocks the town. Casey feels herself ever more drawn to the difficult, brooding sheriff, Eric Dalton—until his startling confession turns her world upside down…

Magic Hour


Susan Isaacs - 1991
    His prime suspect is Sy's ex-wife Bonnie, a strangely appealing and energetic woman both in and out of bed. As the case against Bonnie builds, so does Brady's obsession with her. Before long, he's laying the case and his career on the line for her, ignoring all the rules, all the evidence, and all common sense

Three Weeks To Say Goodbye


C.J. Box - 2008
    Finally their dream has come true with the adoption of their daughter, Angelina. But nine months after bringing her home, they receive a devastating phone call…Angelina's birth father, a teenager, never signed away his parental rights—and he wants her back. Worse, his father, a powerful Denver judge, will use every trick in the book to make sure it happens. The McGuanes attempt to meet face-to-face with the father and son…but soon it becomes clear that there's something sinister about their motivations—and that love for Angelina is not one of them.A horrifying game of intimidation and double crosses begins that quickly becomes a death spiral where everyone is suspect and no one is safe. Now Jack and Melissa will stop at nothing to protect their child—even though time is running out…

The Virgin of Small Plains


Nancy Pickard - 2006
    Then he makes a shocking discovery: the naked, frozen body of a teenage girl, her skin as white as the snow around her. Even dead, she is the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. It is a moment that will forever change his life and the lives of everyone around him. The mysterious dead girl–the “Virgin of Small Plains”–inspires local reverence. In the two decades following her death, strange miracles visit those who faithfully tend to her grave; some even believe that her spirit can cure deadly illnesses. Slowly, word of the legend spreads.But what really happened in that snow-covered field? Why did young Mitch Newquist disappear the day after the Virgin’s body was found, leaving behind his distraught girlfriend, Abby Reynolds? Why do the town’s three most powerful men–Dr. Quentin Reynolds, former sheriff Nathan Shellenberger, and Judge, Tom Newquist–all seem to be hiding the details of that night? Seventeen years later, when Mitch suddenly returns to Small Plains, simmering tensions come to a head, ghosts that had long slumbered whisper anew, and the secrets that some wish would stay buried rise again from the grave of the Virgin. Abby–never having resolved her feelings for Mitch–is now determined to uncover exactly what happened so many years ago to tear their lives apart. Three families and three friends, their worlds inexorably altered in the course of one night, must confront the ever-unfolding consequences in award-winning author Nancy Pickard’s remarkable novel of suspense. Wonderfully written and utterly absorbing, The Virgin of Small Plains is about the loss of faith, trust, and innocence . . . and the possibility of redemption.From the Hardcover edition.

The Cellar


Natasha Preston - 2014
    No family or police investigation can track her down. Spending months inside the cellar of her kidnapper with several other girls, Summer learns of Colin’s abusive past, and his thoughts of his victims being his family…his perfect, pure flowers. But flowers can’t survive long cut off from the sun, and time is running out….

A Candle for the Bag Lady


Lawrence Block - 2012
    The first novel, The Sins of the Fathers, appeared in 1975, and A Drop of the Hard Stuff - the 17th and most recent - was published in 2011. Over the years Scudder has also been featured in 11 short works of fiction; A Candle for the Bag Lady, which first appeared in AHMM in 1977, is the second of them.Out the Window and A Candle for the Bag Lady kept Scudder alive for me after Dell failed to sell the first three books effectively. There seemed little point in trying to interest another publisher in a series that had already proved unsuccessful, but I couldn't abandon Scudder, and wrote the two novelettes for magazine publication. Then I wrote the fourth novel, A Stab in the Dark, and Don Fine published it at Arbor House, and Scudder was back in business.If you catch me in a weak moment, you might persuade me to sing the title song...A Candle for the Bag Lady was briefly retitled Like a Lamb to Slaughter in order to serve as the title story of a collection; it's original was subsequently restored. It is included in The Night and the Music, my collection of all 11 Matthew Scudder short stories, available for Kindle or as a handsome trade paperback.

Chains of Darkness


Victor Methos - 2011
    . . A killer stalks the city of San Diego, brutally slaying women on the fringes of society. The body of a young woman torn apart in her bedroom makes even the hardened detectives of the San Diego PD's Homicide Unit tremble with disgust and rage. A Detective With a Troubled Past. . . For SDPD homicide detective Jon Stanton, the young woman is more than just another case. His former partner, Eli Sherman, was the original detective assigned to the case; before he was discovered to be one of San Diego's most ruthless serial killers. A Final Chance at Redemption. . . Stanton was unable to see Eli Sherman for what he was and blames himself for the murders he committed while on the force. Near death, Stanton swears that he will never wear the badge again. But with a depraved killer eluding the best San Diego PD has to offer, he must once again fight to uncover a killer that leaves no evidence behind, and that has turned his attention to new prey. . .

Dead on the Dance Floor


Heather Graham - 2004
    Dead on the Dance Floor by Heather Graham released on Jan 25, 2005 is available now for purchase.

The Blue


Lucy Clarke - 2015
    A yacht. And a disappearance-at-sea that turns paradise into a chilling nightmare. Lana and her best friend Kitty leave home looking for freedom—and that’s exactly what they find when they are invited onto The Blue, a fifty-foot yacht making its way from the Philippines to New Zealand. The crew is made up of a group of young travellers bitten by wanderlust, and it doesn’t take long for Lana and Kitty’s dream of sea-bound romance to turn into reality.Both women fall under the hypnotic spell of The Blue, spending their days exploring remote islands and their rum-filled nights relaxing on deck beneath the stars. But when one of their friends disappears overboard after an argument with another crewmember, the dark secrets that brought each of them aboard start to unravel.At turns gorgeously scenic and entirely haunting, The Blue is a page-turning thriller about friendship, freedom and wanting to leave the past behind.