Category Archives for Mystery-Thriller

While the town of Harding grapples with a catastrophic and unexpected flood, a young businesswoman is found dead, beaten to death on the steps of her father’s mansion.

Detective Kyle Villante gets his first call after coming off a two-year undercover stint that ended in a bloodbath and marred his reputation with the brass. But he doesn’t get to work the case alone. Detective Solomon Aduwo of the State Police has arrived in Harding to assist with the investigation. Villante bristles at the perceived leash around his neck, but he and Aduwo set out to work the case, all while Villante struggles to keep secrets and ghosts of the past from coming back to haunt him. Meanwhile, Aduwo has come to Harding with secrets of his own and an agenda that could doom Villante’s future.
Murder Upstream is a thrilling mystery, full of vivid characters, puzzling questions, action and suspense.

The Dying Hour introduces Jason Wade, a rookie crime reporter with The Seattle Mirror, a loner who grew up in the shadow of a brewery in one of the city’s blue-collar neighborhoods. At The Seattle Mirror, he is competing for the single full-time job being offered through the paper’s intense intern program. But unlike the program’s other young reporters, who attended big name schools and worked at other big metro dailies, Wade put himself through community college, and lacked the same experience.

Wade struggles with his haunting past as he pursues the story of Karen Harding, a college student whose car was found abandoned on a lonely stretch of highway in the Pacific Northwest. How could this beloved young woman with the altruistic nature simply vanish?

Wade battles mounting odds and cut-throat competition to unearth the truth behind Karen Harding’s disturbing case. Her disappearance is a story he cannot give up, never realizing the toll it could exact from him. The Dying Hour is a bone-chilling, mesmerizing page-turner that introduces readers to an all-too-human young hero who journeys into the darkest regions of the human heart to confront a nightmare.

The International Thriller Writers (ITW), selected The Dying Hour as a finalist for a Thriller Award for Best Paperback Original, 2006.

Rick Mofina is a former journalist who has interviewed murderers on death row, flown over L.A. with the LAPD and patrolled with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police near the Arctic. He’s also reported from the Caribbean, Africa and Kuwait’s border with Iraq. His books have been published in nearly 30 countries, including an illegal translation produced in Iran.

His work has been praised by James Patterson, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen, Jeffery Deaver, Sandra Brown, James Rollins, Brad Thor, Nick Stone, David Morrell, Allison Brennan, Heather Graham, Linwood Barclay, Peter Robinson, Håkan Nesser and Kay Hooper.

The Crime Writers of Canada, The International Thriller Writers and The Private Eye Writers of America have listed his titles among the best in crime fiction. As a two-time winner of Canada’s Arthur Ellis Award, a three-time Thriller Award finalist and a two-time Shamus Award finalist, the Library Journal calls him, “One of the best thriller writers in the business.”

“There are some secrets darker than witchcraft.” – Dora Maddock

Deep in the forests of Oregon is a small town called Dark Root, a town steeped in magick, mystery, secrets, and witchcraft. But for Maggie Maddock, Dark Root is also a prison – a place where she is forced to work in her mother’s Magick Shoppe while the rest of the world moves forward without her. When a mysterious stranger offers to take Maggie away from it all, she leaves without looking back.

Seven years later, Maggie is called home. There she is confronted with a renewed sibling rivalry, a mother suffering a mysterious illness, and a town that’s lost it’s literal magick. Now Maggie must decide if she will use her newly discovered abilities to aid those she loves or run from her responsibilities once again.

In the tradition of Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic and Rebecca Wells’ Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, The Witches of Dark Root seamlessly weaves the past with the present, the magickal with the mundane. It is a tale of family, forgiveness, and the healing power of love that will leave readers believing in magick long after the story ends.
Magick, mayhem and heart-racing paranormal mystery await you in this supernatural suspense series featuring real-life witches.
Welcome to Dark Root. We’ve been expecting you.

Books in the Daughters of Dark Root series in order:
The Witches of Dark Root (2014)
The Magick of Dark Root (2014)
The Curse of Dark Root: Part One (2015)
The Curse of Dark Root: Part Two (2016)
The Shadows of Dark Root (2017)
Additional Dark Root Novellas and Short Stories:
The Council of Dark Root: Armand (A Companion Novella) (2015)
Christmas in Dark Root: Merry’s Gift (A Companion Novella) (2016)

USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith takes you into the world of his acclaimed novel Dead Money with a new series about a group of retired Las Vegas Police detectives playing poker and solving cold cases.
Retired Detective Bayard Lott hosts the weekly poker games at his home. The group calls themselves the Cold Poker Gang. And they succeed at closing old cases.
Lott’s very first homicide case as a brand-new detective had gone cold more than twenty years earlier. But retired Reno detective Julia Rogers, new to the Cold Poker Gang, suggests they look at that case again for personal reasons.
From that simple suggestion spins one of the strangest and most complicated murder mystery puzzles the gang has ever seen.

Read the whole riveting series!
Cold Call
Calling Dead
Bad Beat
Dead Hand
Freezeout
Ace High
Burn Card

“Dean Wesley Smith does for poker what James Patterson does for serial killers.”
—Sheldon McArthur, former owner of Mysterious Books in Los Angeles

“[An] exhilarating political poker thriller.”
—Genre Go Round Reviews on Dead Money

After the death of her grandfather, Lin Coffin returns to the island of her birth, Nantucket, Massachusetts, to make a new start in life, but things don’t begin smoothly. After not seeing one for twenty years, a ghost appears in her back yard and her cousin, Viv, becomes a suspect in a murder. Lin and Viv, with the help of several others, work to solve the crime before the killer strikes again.
This story has ghosts and some mild paranormal elements.

On a crisp, fall night, Serena Westwood wakes to the faint stirs of her crying baby.

Bottle in hand, she tiptoes to the other side of the house, sneaks up to the crib, looks in. A wave of panic grips her as her real nightmare begins. Inside the crib, there is no baby.

If you’re a fan of Sue Grafton and Mary Higgins Clark, you’ll love these suspenseful mysteries.

A New York Times bestselling mystery series.

“Bradshaw is a great storyteller.”

“The suspense is consuming!”

“A fantastic, fast-paced detective novel.”

JUST 99 CENTS FOR A LIMITED TIME!

Prepare for the release of Book 5, Weddings & Wine Cake, on June 27th with this brand new Box Set! It contains the first 4 books from Nancy McGovern’s popular “Comfort Cakes Cozy Mysteries” series and will introduce you to Rachel Rowan & the rest of the gang in Swaddle, California so you’re up to speed when their new whodunit hits Amazon!

INCLUDES:
Book 1: Murder & Marble Cake
Book 2: Guilt & Galaxy Cake
Book 3: Strangulation & Strawberry Cake
Book 4: Weddings & Wine Cake

PLUS, you can sign up for Nancy’s newsletter inside and receive a FREE Cozy Mystery story as a Thank You for joining the family!

From Book 1, Murder & Marble Cake:
Rachel Rowan yearns for a new start. So, ready for change and up for a challenge, she has decided to relocate to the beautiful coastal town of Swaddle, California to pursue her lifelong dream of opening her very own bakery! And, as a self-professed “Queen of Cakes”, she can’t wait to show the world what she can do!

Sadly, not everyone shares her enthusiasm.

While the majority of the locals are thrilled with her new Comfort Cakes Bake Shop, Rachel soon learns that the owner of a local café is determined to ruin her. Of course, business is business, and a bit of competition may even make things interesting. But when Rachel finds a dead body in her kitchen just before the Grand Opening and she is accused of the murder, she quickly realizes that this is more than a little friendly rivalry!

From Book 2, Guilt & Galaxy Cake:
Rachel’s newest assignment is to create an enticing galaxy cake to celebrate the latest release from popular science fiction author, Stan Stickman. But when the legendary scribe is killed in a manner eerily reminiscent of a murder found in his own book, Rachel finds herself sucked into a vortex of mystery & deceit from which she seems unable to escape.

Now, if she hopes to get out with her own life intact, she must figure out who is to blame for the deadly deed. And with a cast of suspects including an astronaut-turned-senator, an obsessed fan and even her own ex-boyfriend, she is in for a wild ride!

From Book 3, Strangulation & Strawberry Cake:
When Rachel is hired to bake a special strawberry cake for Sheriff Scott’s grandmother’s 90th birthday, she works extra hard to make it as perfect as possible. After all, the sharp-eyed millionaire is known to have a hot temper & a short fuse. But, despite all of her hard work, there’s no way Rachel could have prevented this party from going awry.

Not when someone is murdered right before dinner!

Grandma Mallory’s accountant is the victim. It seems he’d learned something that someone wished to keep secret and, with nobody at the party other than members of the family, one of them must be the killer.

Unless, that is, it’s the ghost in the attic…

From Book 4, Weddings & Wine Cake:
How exciting!

Rachel is off to spend a weekend serving as a judge for a baking contest! She’s ready to fill her belly with delicious desserts and clear her mind of everything to do with work. But there’s just one problem…

Someone has just been murdered and one of the contestants just may be the killer! And there’s reason to believe that one of Rachel’s closest friends may be next on the criminal’s list!

Now, all thoughts of selecting the most talented baker have been replaced by trying to catch the culprit before he or she strikes again!

And the clock is ticking…

Grab your copy now and join Rachel on her 1st four cozy mystery adventures as she proves she can hang with the best…in and out of the kitchen!

The ghost may be the least of her problems… When vivacious actress Sybil Ingram becomes a widow on her wedding night, her only legacy is a Gothic revival manor in the wilds of the Hudson River Valley. However, the eerie mansion comes with two tenants. One is a hostile ghost. The second, and far worse, is the most insolent, dangerous, maddeningly gorgeous man she’s ever met–former violinist Roderick Brooke.

As Sybil and Roderick engage in a battle of wills–and wits–an even greater threat arises: the mysterious queen of local society, Mrs. Lavinia Dove. For reasons that Sybil can’t imagine, Mrs. Dove is determined to have Brooke House and Roderick for herself…if necessary, by deadly means.

Nocturne for a Widow is a delightful fusion of gothic romance, mystery, and romantic comedy, perfect for readers who love Victorian women sleuths like Anna Lee Huber’s Lady Darby, Penny Richards’s Lilly Long, Deanna Raybourn’s Lady Julia Grey, and Elizabeth Peters’s Amelia Peabody. And be sure not to miss Sybil’s continuing adventures in The Last Serenade, A Haunting Reprise, and the short story “Christmas at Gravesend”!

The first instalment of the Campbell and Carter mysteries

When the body of a young woman is discovered in the cowshed of Cricket Farm, the tranquility of the British countryside is shattered. Inspector Jess Campbell is on the case, but with few leads, a grumbling partner, and the new Superintendent Ian Carter piling on the pressure, she’s beginning to wonder why she chose to be a detective in the first place.

The shifty land-owner Eli Smith seems to have something to hide, and as Campbell delves into the gruesome past of the dilapidated farm, the mystery deepens. A flashy Mercedes spotted fleeing the scene of the crime leads to a suspect, but when another body turns up, it looks as though Campbell’s lead is nothing but a dead end…

Book one in the Campbell and Carter Mysteries, Mud, Muck and Dead things will thrill fans of M C Beaton, Joy Ellis and The Midsomer Murders.

Praise for Ann Granger:

‘Characterisation, as ever with Granger, is sharp and astringent’ The Times

‘The story just gets more complex, mysterious and chilling’ Good Book Guide

‘For once a murder novel which displays a gentle touch and a dash of wit’ Northern Echo

‘A clever and lively book’ Margaret York

“Thriller writing at its best. Thriller enthusiasts who relish the precise execution of an international thriller, but who seek the psychological depth and believability of a protagonist who simultaneously fields professional and personal life challenges, will find this a gripping story that’s hard to put down.”
–Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Any Means Necessary)

“One of the best thrillers I have read this year. The plot is intelligent and will keep you hooked from the beginning. The author did a superb job creating a set of characters who are fully developed and very much enjoyable. I can hardly wait for the sequel.”
–Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Any Means Necessary)

When nuclear waste is stolen by jihadists in the middle of the night from an unguarded New York City hospital, the police, in a frantic race against time, call in the FBI. Luke Stone, head of an elite, secretive, department within the FBI, is the only man they can turn to. Luke realizes right away that the terrorists’ aim is to create a dirty bomb, that they seek a high-value target, and that they will hit it within 48 hours.

A cat and mouse chase follows, pitting the world’s most savvy government agents versus its most sophisticated terrorists. As Agent Stone peels back layer after layer, he soon realizes he is up against a vast conspiracy, and that the target is even more high value than he could have imagined—leading all the way to the President of the United States.

With Luke framed for the crime, his team threatened and his own family in danger, the stakes could not be higher. But as a former special forces commando, Luke has been in tough positions before, and he will not give up until he finds a way to stop them—using any means necessary.

Twist follows twist as one man finds himself up against an army of obstacles and conspiracies, pushing even the limits of what he can handle, and culminating in a shocking climax.

A political thriller with heart-pounding action, dramatic international settings, and non-stop suspense, ANY MEANS NECESSARY marks the debut of an explosive new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.

Book #2 in the Luke Stone series is also now available!