Book picks similar to
Mass Murder by Lynn Bohart
mystery
crime
ghosts
paranormal
Loose Screw
Rae Davies - 2011
She even lets a cat shove her around.When Lucy trips over the body of a buckskin-clad relics trader, her ex-boss asks her to cover the story. She tries to tell him no, but old habits die hard and soon she finds herself directly in the path of a killer and the exasperating, if attractive, detective in charge.Can Lucy catch a killer or is this the last confrontation for her—period?
Hush
Anne Frasier - 2002
None haunts her dreams more than the killer who took her son's life sixteen years ago, then silently disappeared into the dark. Now an urgent request for help from the Chicago police has reawakened Ivy's greatest nightmare. The Madonna Murderer has returned to fulfill his calling. This time Ivy understands the killer instinct. She knows what man is capable of. This time she's ready to confront her deepest fear, face-to-face. For the very last time...
Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes
Denise Grover Swank - 2011
She’s had plenty of visions, usually boring ones like someone’s toilet’s overflowed, but she’s never seen one of herself before. When her overbearing momma winds up murdered on her sofa instead, two things are certain: There isn't enough hydrogen peroxide in the state of Arkansas to get that stain out, and Rose is the prime suspect.Rose realizes she’s wasted twenty-four years of living and makes a list on the back of a Wal-Mart receipt: twenty-eight things she wants to accomplish before her vision comes true. She’s well on her way with the help of her next door neighbor Joe, who has no trouble teaching Rose the rules of drinking, but won’t help with number fifteen-- do more with a man. Joe’s new to town, but it doesn’t take a vision for Rose to realize he’s got plenty of secrets of his own.Somebody thinks Rose has something they want and they’ll do anything to get it. Her house is broken into, someone else she knows is murdered, and suddenly, dying a virgin in the Fenton County jail isn’t her biggest worry after all.
Unforeseen
Nick Pirog - 2008
After all, it was his case, and he doesn t need to be reminded of the gruesome details. The book dubbed the serial killer, Tristen Grayer, The MAINEiac. Grayer is allegedly dead, but only Prescott knows the truth, Grayer is alive and lurking in the shadows. On October 1st, the anniversary of the first murder, Tristen resurfaces, killing someone special from Prescott's past. Suddenly, it s deja vu for Prescott except this time the women closest to him begin to fall victim at the hands of Grayer. With the help of former flame, medical examiner Dr. Caitlin Dodds, and Eight in October author, Alex Tooms, Prescott must race against the clock to stop Tristen from completing his encore.
The Eldridge Conspiracy
Stephen Ames Berry - 2010
The ship invisibility project ends.Nuremberg, 1946: Nazi death camp doctor Martin von Kemnitz is hanged.The Pentagon, 1999: A dying hand gifts Angie Milano and Jim Munroe with the deadly legacy that is the Eldridge Roster, the long-lost crew list of the Philadelphia Experiment. The two are soon on the run from the vicious killers sent for the roster. Without it, Project Telemachus, perversion of a wondrous meld of genetics and physics, will fail. And mankind may survive.As the conspiracy unfolds, Jim and Angie go on the attack, gathering strength from each other as they battle Telemachus and the undying evil at its heart. Old foes of Telemachus, allies with very Different skills, join them. But only by together mastering the secret torments of their pasts can Jim and Angie defeat the Project and crush the dream of its brilliant, diabolical architect.All allegiances unmasked, all powers unleashed, battle is joined as Project Telemachus launches its final experiment, its success signaling humanity's brief but anguished twilight.
The Prophet Motive
Eric Christopherson - 2010
As a boy he'd lost his parents to cult-instigated mass suicide. The memories come flooding back when he investigates the bizarre suicide of a former member of Earthbound, a New Age cult--and suspects murder instead. To uncover the truth he infiltrates the group, along with police psychologist Marilyn Michaelsen.The new recruits find themselves pushed to their physical and mental limits by a series of sophisticated brainwashing techniques as well as by a cult leader, known only as The Wizard, who appears to possess psychic and paranormal powers. Even the psychologist's expert knowledge of cults can't explain The Wizard's feats, and it isn't long before John, like his parents before him, surrenders his independence to another . . .
Knighthorse
J.R. Rain - 2010
Parker's Spenser and Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, Dark Horse and The Mummy Case introduce a hard-hitting, wise-cracking hero with a modern twist.DARK HORSEWhen high school student Derrick Booker, the only black student at a posh Orange County high school, is accused of killing his white girlfriend, ex-college football hero and detective Jim Knighthorse is hired to dig a little deeper into the murder. It doesn't take long for Knighthorse to realize that not all is as it seems at tranquil Huntington High, from a band director who preys on the innocent to a vice-principal with a secret agenda of her own. Not to mention someone's hired a professional killer to keep Knighthorse permanently off the case. As the investigation continues, Knighthorse's personal life is shattered by the discovery of new evidence relating to his mother's unsolved murder, a murder dating back twenty years. Reeling from the discovery, a determined Jim Knighthorse sets out to bring two killers to justice.THE MUMMY CASEPrivate investigator Jim Knighthorse takes on a very, very cold case. When historian Willie Clarke dies of mysteriously of dehydration in the California deserts, ex-football hero Jim Knighthorse is hired to dig a little deeper―and discovers a shocking connection to one of the West's oldest mysteries. Over a hundred years ago, an unnamed cowboy was murdered in the California desert and, due to freak weather conditions, would become mummified within twenty-four hours. Now known to the world as Sylvester the Mummy and displayed in a creepy curiosity shop, Sylvester and historian Willie Clarke will be forever linked in mystery. That is, unless private investigator Jim Knighthorse can survive long enough to untangle one of the West's greatest unsolved murders. **Acclaim for the Novels of J.R. Rain**"Gripping, adventurous, and romantic―J.R. Rain's The Lost Ark is a breakneck thriller that traces the thread of history from Biblical stories to current-day headlines. Be prepared to lose sleep!"―JAMES ROLLINS, international bestselling author of Altar of Eden and The Doomsday Key"Dark Horse is one of the best books I've read in a long time! A great classic detective story with a modern twist. Unique and interesting characters (I think I'm half in love with Jim Knighthorse now!), a great plot that kept me guessing until the end, and some of the funniest lines I've read anywhere."―GEMMA HALLIDAY, author of Deadly Cool and Play Dead"Impossible to put down. J.R. Rain's Moon Dance is a fabulous urban fantasy."―APRIL VINE, author of The Midnight Rose and Blindfolded by Lust"Moon Dance is absolutely brilliant!"―LISA TENZIN-DOLMA, author of Understanding the Planetary Myths and The Dolphin Experience"Moon Dance is a must read. If you like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, be prepared to love J. R. Rain's Samantha Moon, vampire private investigator.
Gone With The Ghost
Erin McCarthy - 2017
Except that’s exactly what happened. Ryan is very much dead, having shot himself with his own police-issued gun. Guilt and grief shouldn’t cause hallucinations though, but six months after Ryan went into the ground, Bailey is freaking out and swearing his ghost is standing in her kitchen. Which he is… Ryan claims he didn’t commit suicide, but was murdered, and he needs Bailey to help him find his killer so he can earn his ticket out of purgatory. Ryan’s counting on a stairway to heaven, as opposed to wings, since that might be a little unmanly for a cop, even a dead one. An expert in home design, with her own staging business, Bailey can tell you where to place a couch to improve flow and comfort, but solving a crime? Not her area of expertise. But with help from Ryan’s former partner, Marner, she is unraveling the mystery of what happened to Ryan that day… and unwittingly putting herself in grave danger. Murder By Design Series Book 1- Gone With The Ghost Book 2- Silence of The Ghost Book 3- Once Upon a Ghost Bestselling author Erin McCarthy offers her signature humor in this fun series about an uptight fashion-conscious home stager who finds herself stiletto-deep in murder...
Chill Waters
Joan Hall Hovey - 2004
It is the one place where she had always felt safe and loved. Devasted and lost, Rachael longs for the simplicity of her childhood. But Jenny’s Cove has changed. From the moment of Rachael’s arrival, a man watches. He has already killed, and mercilessly will do so again. Soon Rachael becomes a target for a vicious predator whose own dark and twisted past forms a deadly bond between them. And sets her on a collision course with a crazed killer. "...Joan Hall Hovey is a female Stephen King... a stunning, multi-layered, modern-day gothic, told with the unforgettable style and grace of a true master of suspense..." Rendezvous Magazine * * * Bloody Dagger Award Winner MIDWEST REVIEW by Cynthia Penn Chill Waters Joan Hall Hovey Evil stalks the unsuspecting --Recommended. Memories of idyllic summers spent with her grandmother motivate Rachael to buy the house in Jenny's Cove. Tired of the arguments and silences, she had tried to breath fire back into the dying embers of her marriage, only to discover her husband warming someone else's bed. Now at age forty-five and in the process of a divorce, Rachael longs for the simplicity of her childhood. Iris Brandt recognizes the arrival of evil, chilled by the malevolent energy that follows Rachael. The practical, no nonsense proprietress of local gas station feels compelled to warn her. Indeed, Iris would be correct, because from the moment of Rachael's arrival, a man watches. He has already killed, and mercilessly will do so again. And his stalking of Rachael has only just begun. Author Joan Hovey creates a taut thriller in CHILL WATERS. Woven with an uncanny magic, CHILL WATERS is rich in sensory imagery and dense with the darkness that lies in the heart of a madman. Hovey creates a rich cast of characters, each uniquely realized and memorable. At age forty-five, heroine Rachael provides a refreshingly mature viewpoint who still manages to grow and change with the flow of the novel. She has raised her children and fled a failed marriage to take control of her life only to confront a madman. With believable vulnerabilities
The Last Call
George Wier - 2011
She has taken a North Texas quarter horse racer and liquor baron named Archie Carpin--the last of a dynasty of criminals from the 1920's--for a ride and cleaned him out of a neat two million bucks. And thus begins the adventure of Bill’s life.Ensues a chase north across Texas to recover the money and shake the pursuit of a couple of rednecks with a penchant for rifles and rigged explosives. Yet, through all this action the compelling tale of yet another mystery—an 80-year old missing person’s case—begins to unravel.
The Blood Banker
David Prever - 2012
And something about the tube death doesn’t add up… When a second banker takes his life, then a third, he’s certain of wrongdoing.In a race to reveal the truth, Lightfoot uncovers a laundered money trail that leads, via Hong Kong and the world’s largest online criminal cartel, to the heart of British government: Number Ten Downing Street – and a man who will stop at nothing to achieve the power he craves.But with a hired killer watching his every move, can Lightfoot banish his demons and face down the evil that threatens his life?
Tangled Web
Ken McClure - 2000
Used to the sleepy tranquillity of village life in rural Wales, the residents of Felinbach are shocked by the brutal killing of a local baby, Anne-Marie Palmer. None more so than GP Tom Gordon, the only friend left to John Palmer who, faced with irrevocable evidence, stands accused of his daughter's murder. Just days later Tom is co-opted to investigate the disappearance of the body of a three-month-old cot-death victim from Caernarfon General's Pathology Department. But the hospital is anxious to keep publicity firmly on their upcoming symposium on in vitro fertilisation, headed by world-renowned specialist Professor Carwyn Thomas, so Tom's investigations seem thwarted at every turn. That is, until he makes the chilling discovery that Professor Thomas has more than just a passing interest in the murder of little Anne-Marie Palmer...and seems prepared to go to any lengths to stop Tom finding out why. Suddenly a disturbing link between the murder of the Palmer baby, the missing body of a child and the IVF clinic at Caernarfon General begins to emerge. And with John Palmer about to be tried for a murder Tom is sure he didn't commit, things are starting to look desperate -- and dangerous -- for all of them.
Scraps of Paper
Kathryn Meyer Griffith - 2003
It’s made her sympathetic to the missing and their families.Starting her new life, Abigail moves to small town and buys a fixer-upper house left empty when old Edna Summers died. Once it was also home to Edna’s younger sister, Emily, and her two children, Jenny and Christopher, who, people believe, drove away one night, thirty years ago, and just never came back.But in renovating the house Abigail finds scraps of paper hidden behind baseboards and tucked beneath the porch that hint the three could have been victims of foul play.Then she finds their graves hidden in the woods behind the house and with the help of eccentric townspeople and ex-homicide detective, Frank Lester, she discovers the three were murdered. Then she and Frank try to uncover who killed them and why…but in the process awaken the ire of the murderer. ***
The Legend of Devil's Creek
D.C. Alexander - 2012
More abductions and killings soon follow. Justin Riddley, recently transferred to the island’s small college, faces growing evidence that one of his new friends and fellow students may be the murderer. John Marshall, redemption-seeking captain of the local police force, leads the frantic murder investigation and struggles to figure out whether the killings are tied to the island's dark and violent past. Tormented by tragic wartime memories, and more convinced with each day that it is humanity’s fate to destroy itself, Marshall races against both the murderer and the specter of his own mental breakdown. As blood continues to spill, Riddley and Marshall wonder whether there may be a dark, universal force that drives evil deeds great and small, and whether the nature of one’s childhood might sometimes, in the end, be all that separates the saint from the psychopath.
Dark River Road
Virginia Brown - 2011
Unchallenged, until now.Like everyone else in Cane Creek, Mississippi, Chantry Callahan grew up in the shadow of town boss Bert Quinton. Quinton held the lives of local people in his harsh grasp, never letting go. He knew where all their secrets were buried, along with the bodies of anyone who had dared to defy him.As a boy, Chantry couldn't best Quinton. Couldn't protect the people he loved, including his own mother. But now Chantry is grown. He's come back for answers.And for justice.