Fire Dancer: Ben Pecos Mysteries, Book 4


Susan Slater - 2018
    But Connie harbors a deep secret she has never told anyone. Ben and Julie are hardly settled when people begin dying, and they find themselves swept into the midst of another mystery. The twists and turns in this complex plot will keep readers guessing to the very end! Praise for Susan Slater and the Ben Pecos series: “Solid, suspenseful narrative and colorful glimpses of Native American life ... strongly recommend.” —Library Journal “A series to watch.” —Booklist “… Ben Pecos—raised far from New Mexico’s Tewa Pueblo—could become as lasting a fictional presence as Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.” – Chicago Tribune “… a gripping, interesting tale.” –5 stars, online review

Unknown Remains: A Novel


Peter Leonard - 2016
    Outside his office window, Jack hears a booming sound, and then the worst thing imaginable. He works in the World Trade Center, and it is September 11, 2001.His wife in Connecticut, Diane, is visited the next day by a grief counselor, and then the mob, where she learns her husband owes them $750,000. Their personal bank accounts have been emptied. She’s totally and utterly broke. Lost in grief and now shock, Diane soon learns her husband was not the loving spouse he appeared to be. But neither is she, owing to that Beretta she keeps tucked into her handbag.The perfect summer read, Unknown Remains boasts an exciting crime story, inventive plot twists, and a cast of rogues, who just might be using a national tragedy to cover up their own deep transgressions and greed.

Shadow Kill


David Caris - 2021
    Betrayed by his employer and left for dead, Kovac decides to lie low in Tokyo.His plan? Revenge...But when a young woman asks him to protect her from the yakuza, Kovac feels duty-bound to help. She’s a victim of abuse, and long experience tells him if he doesn’t step in tonight she’ll be a corpse before dawn.As Kovac works to uncover the truth of his last job, he finds himself drawn into a conspiracy which goes well beyond the yakuza to a new and terrifying multinational cartel. One that will stop at nothing to control the global drug trade.The kingpins are certain they’ve covered all bases. They're well-funded and utterly ruthless. But they’ve failed to account for one man – John Kovac.SHADOW KILL is the first in a fast-paced, unflinching thriller series that won't in any way shortchange you on action. Perfect for fans of Lee Child, Mark Greaney and Mark Dawson.

Nearly Nero: The Adventures of Claudius Lyon, the Man Who Would Be Wolfe


Loren D. Estleman - 2017
    Nearly Nero is an affectionate, tongue-in-cheek homage to Stout’s greatest creation. Claudius Lyon is a fanatic admirer of Wolfe. He has retrofitted himself and his townhouse after Wolfe’s and has hired a man named Arnie Woodbine to serve as his Archie Goodwin. However, Lyon’s naiveté and Woodbine’s larcenous nature constantly put them in jeopardy—more than Wolfe and Goodwin ever faced. Somehow the imitator manages to find a solution from every problem. But can he and his assistant keep up this pretense for long?

The Clincher


Lisa Preston - 2018
    Rainy Dale is The Clincher, a twenty-something high school-dropout turned farrier (horseshoer) who is haunted by a secret she carries. Estranged from her California d-list actress momma and her ranch hand Texas daddy, she tracked down her childhood horse in small-town Oregon—a land full of cowboys and their horses—then stayed to build a life with her tools, steel, and forge. She’s sleeping in a garage and trying not to fall for her landlord, the hapless and hopeful chef, Guy, who is determined to create the perfect soufflé while Rainy would prefer to just stuff her mouth with fuel for her physically demanding job. As the new kid in town, Rainy has an uphill battle to prove herself, especially to her male clients, but when one of her clients turns up dead, Rainy is in over her head as both a suspect and a seeker of the truth.The Clincher is the first in a series of horseshoer mysteries featuring the irrepressible, irreverent, and irresistible Rainy Dale and her loveable and unlikely side-kick (her culinarily inclined boyfriend, Guy).

Carry Yourself Back to Me


Deborah Reed - 2011
    Annie seeks refuge from an upended love affair with her producer, Owen Pettybone, by sequestering herself at home with her old dog Detour, surrounded by a lush Florida tangelo grove. There, she spends her days furiously sanding down the house’s every veneer in a vain attempt at erasing the painful memory of the love she lost. Soon, however, this quiet, small town existence—far from recording studios, ardent fans, and affairs of the heart—comes crashing down around her. A violent murder connected to her brother Calder threatens to tear her family apart and forces Annie to shore up her loyalties and uproot profound disappointments from her distant past. The evidence stacks against Calder, compounded by his lifelong affliction with Tourette syndrome that causes some in the community to cast aspersions on the soundness of his mind.As the circumstances converge to challenge lifetime ties and forge unexpected new bonds, this soulful, stirring novel shifts its narrative from an imperiled and ever-changing present, where each hour brings an unforeseen and unwelcome piece of news, to the poignant childhood days of first allegiances and life-altering loss. Like a fine and forlorn love ballad, the gifted, conflicted Annie lulls the reader into a journey through love and loss that mines the mysterious, and, at times, paradoxical rhythms of the human heart. As vibrant as Annie’s treasured tangelo grove, Carry Yourself Back to Me cultivates an always tender, sometimes tart, portrait of one family’s regret and redemption. Inflected with melancholy and redeemed by melody, this deeply affecting novel is certain to strike a resonant chord with music fans and lovers of fine fiction everywhere.

Kiloton Threat


William G. Boykin - 2011
    Out of the house churches of rural Iran, a Christian masquerading as a Muslim gains the confidence of a high-ranking leader in the Iranian nuclear program and opens his eyes to Christianity. The man’s newfound faith stirs his desire to flee to the West, taking with him intelligence that would allow Coalition forces to neutralize his nation's devastating capabilities. But no one in such a position could ever escape unnoticed. Enter Blake Kershaw, a highly trained U.S. Special Forces officer who has already made extraordinary sacrifices for his country that include faking death and losing his true identity. His mission to infiltrate Iran and extract the high-value defector strains the relationship with the woman he loves— one of the few people on earth who knows his real story. With even more intensity, it shows the price that must sometimes be paid when political correctness fails and a man has to stand up for what is right. Praise for Kiloton Threat: "This fast-paced, ripped-from-the-headlines sequel by a founding member of the elite special operations unit Delta Force is packed with danger at every turn. It is sure to appeal to fans of Don Brown, Joel C. Rosenberg, and other authors of faith-based thrillers."Library Journal"LTG(R) Boykin has extracted his story straight from future headlines as he highlights the very serious threats posed by the Iranian nuclear rogram. This book is more reality than fiction as Blake Kershaw, a courageous young Special Forces officer, enters the dark world of espionage to try and stop the madness of the Iranian fanatics before they bring the world to the brink of a global nuclear conflict. This is a story that could unfold tomorrow."Frank Gaffney, founder and president, Center for Security Policy

I Believe You


Jeanne Grunert - 2016
    Now he struggles to raise his three sons alone and run the financial empire founded by his outlandish father. One night, a mysterious stranger appears to be watching his home. The next day, $100,000 is missing from his bank account. As David untangles the knot of lies, deception and intrigue surrounding his wife's death, he threatens to shatter his close-knit family forever.

Murder Is A Bad Day To Have A Baby


Jennifer Bennon - 2011
    When her partner Doyle, and her baby’s daddy Mick send her on an innocent errand to pilfer some leftover spaghetti and meatballs from her mother’s refrigerator, Freddie’s life takes a horrifying turn. In her mother’s living room, Freddie discovers a blood soaked crime scene, but no body. Hidden deep in the woods, psychopath Sammy’s obsession with Betsy Nutter’s corpse intensifies while his relationship with his own mother strains to its final thread, and he pursues his next victim. All the while, Freddie’s grief is compounded by the tense kinship with her alcoholic, philandering father, and a convoluted affection for her addicted brother—and the histories of Freddie Nutter and Sammy Gunn intertwine not for the first time, and certainly not for the last.

It Was You


Jade Lee Wright - 2018
    Everything I did, I did for her..."When Regan Pen discovers that her long-term boyfriend has been cheating on her with over eight women, she packs her bags and leaves the sunny island in Spain that she had called home for a year. She returns to South Africa where she is given the chance to start over in life. Reassemble herself. Now is her time to be selfish. Find a new career, get a home of her own. Become whoever she wants to be... but when her best friend, Peyton, is brutally murdered, Regan is forced to put her life on hold to take responsibility for her friends thirteen year old daughter, Harley. As the police battle to solve the murder of Peyton and her unborn child, Regan becomes convinced that her Godchild is not the sweet, innocent little girl everyone seems to think she is. Could Harley have been so consumed by her jealousy and fear of not being the epicenter of her mothers universe that it lead to murder? If so, is Regan safe in her own home?

Multiple Exposure


Ellen Crosby - 2013
    Three months later she is shocked when a friend in the British government says Nick was spotted in Moscow and is now not only a suspect in his boss’s murder, but also potentially involved in illicit Russian oil deals. With her every move now closely watched Sophie moves to Washington, D.C. to be with family and friends.There, Sophie is drawn deeper into Nick’s shadowy world. While photographing an exhibit of two never-before-seen Faberge imperial eggs at the National Gallery of Art, Sophie is confronted by a Russian oil tycoon, implicating her former husband. On the run from Nick’s enemies, Sophie plays a high-stakes game of Russian roulette as she tries to determine friend from foe and prove her husband’s innocence.Weaving together political intrigue, art history, and espionage, this fast-paced story marks the start of a promising new series.

One by One


Robert Enright - 2015
    Daily Muay Thai training sessions with his best friend, a progressive career as a mechanic and married to Helen, the love of his life. All of it comes to an end on a rainy saturday night in London. When Helen is ripped from the world by the notorious Drayton family on a visit to the capital and the police, including the prodigal Officer Starling, do little to bring them to justice, Lucas embarks on a rain soaked London to put things right himself. As the body count rises and the ripple effects of the escalating violence reaches further than he could have imagined, Lucas has to confront his dark past, his continuous grief, a nationwide police hunt and, of course, the Draytons.... One by One. A riveting story of revenge and redemption with hard-hitting action and heart-wrenching grief, One by One is a must for fans of Crime Thrillers.

Chasing Shadows


Karen Harper - 2016
    The forensic psychologist has spent a lifetime fighting a neurological disorder, and her ability to conquer it is a testament to her razor-sharp intuition. Nick Markwood is used to winning in the courtroom, so when his latest case is overthrown by Claire's expert testimony, he can't help being impressed by her skill. He needs her on the team of his passion project—investigating unusual cases involving mysterious deaths. Her condition doesn't deter him, and neither does the attraction that sparks between them…even if it should. As they join forces to investigate a murder in St. Augustine, Florida, Claire is thrust into a situation far more dangerous than she'd anticipated, pushing her disorder to a breaking point. Just when she fears she can't trust her own mind, she discovers Nick's personal connection to the case—and wonders whether she can trust anyone at all.

Full Mortality


Sasscer Hill - 2010
    Evil is at work at Maryland's Laurel Park race track, and when Nikki stumbles over the body of a gunshot victim, she quickly becomes the prime suspect in a murder case. Framed and facing a possible murder rap, Nikki is ruled-off the track. Even deprived of job and income, she cannot abandon a mistreated, ill-tempered racehorse doomed to the slaughter house. Nikki and the filly wind up at a seedy stable with a motley group of felons, drunks, and drug-addicts. With unexpected help from a fashion-conscious wholesale meat-seller, a recovering addict, and an ancient groom, Nicky follows a crooked trail of insurance scam and betting fraud. But with the odds against her, can she clear her name - and put the real criminals behind bars?

The Last Kind Words


Tom Piccirilli - 2012
    Upon the razor-thin edge between love and violence lives a pair of brothers, their bonds frayed by betrayals and guilt, their loyalty to each other their last salvation.Raised to pick a pocket before he could walk, Terry Rand cut free from his family after his older brother, Collie, went on a senseless killing spree that left eight dead. Five years later, only days before his scheduled execution, Collie contacts Terry and asks him to return home. Collie claims he wasn’t responsible for one of the murders—and insists that the real killer is still on the loose.Dogged by his own demons, Terry is swept back into the schemes and scams of his family: His father, Pinsch, a retired cat burglar, brokenhearted because of his two sons. His card-sharp uncles, Mal and Grey, who’ve incurred the anger of the local mob. His grandfather, Shep, whose mind is failing but whose fingers can still slip out a wallet  from across the room. His teenage sister, Dale, who’s flirting dangerously with the lure of the family business. And Kimmie, the woman Terry abandoned, who’s now raising a child with Terry’s former best friend.  Terry pieces together the day his brother turned rabid, delving into a blood history that reveals the Rand family tree is rotten to the roots, and the secrets his ancestors buried are now coming furious and vengeful to the surface.A meditation on how love can confine a person just as easily as it can free him, juxtaposing shocking violence and sly humor, The Last Kind Words is the brilliantly inventive family saga that only a singular talent like Tom Piccirilli could conjure.