Category: Crime

The Night She Vanished by Wendy Dranfield

Posted March 13, 2023 by Marsha in Author ARC, Bookouture, Crime, Mystery, NetGalley, Thriller / 0 Comments

My parents seem to be the perfect couple. But no one knows what I know…

Everyone in the small Midwestern town of Henderson looks up to my perfect parents. With dependable jobs as a midwife and the town sheriff, they help this close-knit community feel safe. 

But the locals didn’t grow up in my parents’ house. They don’t know what I know. And they wouldn’t believe me if I told them…

After my best friend vanished when we were just fifteen, I left town and never looked back. I couldn’t prove it, but I think my parents killed her.

Now, years later, my little sister has vanished. I have no choice but to go home and play happy families again. Because I have to find out what my parents have done to her. I have to try to save her.

But when bones are discovered on a local farm, and all the evidence leads back to our front door, I realize I was wrong about absolutely everything. And that coming back was the deadliest thing I could do…

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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A Dark and Snowy Night by Sally Goldenbaum

Posted March 9, 2023 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Crime, Kensington Books, Mystery, NetGalley, Series / 0 Comments

Winter in Sea Harbor is a feast for the senses. This year, the Seaside Knitters have a sackful of obligations in addition to their usual Christmas preparations. Izzy is so overloaded with knitting classes that she hires an extra salesperson. Cass, juggling the stresses of running her lobster fishery, has finally found a nanny for her active toddler. Molly Flanigan seems practically perfect in every way—until she suddenly disappears, taking Cass’s beloved rescue mutt with her . . .
 
Meanwhile, the holidays are kicking off in style at the mayor’s holiday party, with a celebrity chef catering the event. An additional treat for Ben and Nell Endicott at the festive affair is reconnecting with a dear college friend, Oliver Bishop. But it’s not just reunions and the appetizers that are to die for. Before the partygoers can toast the beginning of Sea Harbor’s festive season, the chef—and young wife of the Endicotts’ old Harvard friend—is found dead in the snow . . .
 
Izzy, Birdie, Nell, and Cass must uncover the pattern to these mysteries to remove suspicion from those they love, bring a murderer to justice—and keep Sea Harbor’s holiday magic from vanishing into the chill winter air . . .

Titles in the A Seaside Knitters Society Mystery series include — Murder Wears Mittens —◊— How to Knit a Murder —◊— A Murderous Tangle —◊— A Crime of a Different Stripe —◊— A Dark and Snowy Night —◊—

There are eleven (11) titles in the A Seaside Knitters Mystery series, a connecting set of stories to the “Society” mysteries.  Some sites combine them all, while others do not.  Yet they all are in the same “world,” so you make that judgment for yourself. 🙂

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Encore in Death by J. D. Robb

Posted February 9, 2023 by Marsha in Crime, NetGalley, Owned, Police Procedural, Series, Sexual Content, St. Martin's Press, This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

It was a glittering event full of A-listers, hosted by Eliza Lane and Brant Fitzhugh, a celebrity couple who’d conquered both Hollywood and Broadway. And now Eve Dallas has made her entrance—but not as a guest. After raising a toast, Fitzhugh fell to the floor and died, with physical symptoms pointing to cyanide, and the police have crashed the party.

From all accounts, he wasn’t the kind of star who made enemies. Everyone loved him—even his ex-wife. And since the champagne cocktail that killed him was originally intended for Eliza, it’s possible she was the real target, with a recently fired assistant, a bitter rival, and an obsessed fan in the picture. With so many attendees, staff, and servers, Eve has her work cut out determining who committed murder in the middle of the crowd—and what was their motivation. As one who’s not fond of the spotlight herself, she dreads the media circus surrounding a case like this. All she wants is to figure out who’s truly innocent, and who’s only acting that way…

Encore in Death is the fifty-sixth (yes, 56th) title in the long, ongoing …in Death series.  For a complete listing of all the titles (along with novellas) in this series please visit our J. D. Robb page.

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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Honor ‘N’ Duty by Tee O’Fallon

Posted February 7, 2023 by Marsha in Crime, Entangled Publishing, NetGalley, Romantic Suspense, Series, Sexual Content / 0 Comments

Two years after his brother’s murder in jail, Department of Homeland Security K-9 Officer Kade Sampson is still haunted by guilt. No man should ever have to arrest his own brother, even if he is laundering money for a drug cartel. Fortunately, Laia Velez—his brother’s gorgeous widow—never learned the truth about Kade’s involvement. But when she asks him for help, he knows that trouble with the cartel is far from over…

Kade is the last person Laia wants to call. But between her house being thoroughly trashed and the uneasy sense that she and her young daughter are being watched, Laia isn’t taking any chances. The cartel wants something from her. And Kade and his K-9 partner, Smoke, are her only chance to survive whatever fresh hell is coming their way…

Now Laia and Kade are trying to stay one step ahead in a game that’s growing more deadly by the minute. But what the cartel wants, the cartel gets. And Kade is running out of time to save the woman he loves from the same fate that killed his brother…

Titles in the Federal K-9 series include — Lock ‘N’ Load —♦— Armed ‘N’ Ready —♦— Dark ‘N’ Deadly —♦— Trap ‘N’ Trace —♦—Serve ‘N’ Protect —♦— Honor ‘N’ Duty —♦—

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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Stolen Angels by Rita Herron

Posted February 2, 2023 by Marsha in Bookouture, Crime, NetGalley, Series / 0 Comments

Twisting her hands together, she bites back a sob. She only turned her back for a second, and then her daughter was gone. Every mother in town would be hugging their children tighter tonight.

Lara is baking cupcakes when her six-year-old daughter Ava runs to catch the school bus just one block away. Chasing after her, Lara sees the bus tumbling past, and waves. But Ava never turns up at school.

Detective Ellie Reeves is in a race against time to find her––in missing child cases, every second counts. Searching the small town of Crooked Creek, she finds the girl’s bunny in the local park, the toy Ava carried around everywhere. Did Ava ever get on the bus?

While Ellie works around the clock, a local reporter gets a message: There are other missing girls out there. Digging into previous cases, Ellie discovers that another girl went missing on the same day the previous year. How many more could there be?

Ellie is certain that the date means something––and that the person who sent the message is the key. But the community is up in arms, everyone worried that their daughter will be next, and blaming Ellie. The pressure is mounting, and time is running out to bring little Ava home. Can Ellie solve the toughest case of her career––and save Ava––before it’s too late?

Titles in the Detective Ellie Reeves series include — The Silent Dolls —♦— Wildflower Graves —♦— The Burning Girls —♦— Frozen Souls —♦— Stolen Angels —♦— Hidden Bones —♦— The Girl in the River —♦— Widow Lake —♦—

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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Desperation in Death by J. D. Robb

Posted September 19, 2022 by Marsha in Crime, Mystery, Owned, Police Procedural, Series, Sexual Content, St. Martin's Press / 0 Comments

New York, 2061: The place called the Pleasure Academy is a living nightmare where abducted girls are trapped, and trained for a life of abject service while their souls are slowly but surely destroyed. Dorian, a thirteen-year-old runaway who’d been imprisoned there, might never have made it out if not for her fellow inmate Mina, who’d hatched the escape plan. Mina was the more daring of the two—but they’d been equally desperate.

Unfortunately, they didn’t get away fast enough. Now Dorian is injured, terrified, and wandering the streets of New York, and Mina lies dead near the waterfront while Lt. Eve Dallas looks over the scene.

Mina’s expensive, elegant clothes and beauty products convince Dallas that she was being groomed, literally and figuratively, for sex trafficking—and that whoever is investing in this high-overhead operation expects windfall profits. Her billionaire husband, Roarke, may be able to help, considering his ties to the city’s ultra-rich.

But Roarke is also worried about the effect this case is having on Dallas, as it brings a rage to the surface that she can barely control. No matter what, she must keep her head clear–because above all, she is desperate for justice and to take down those who prey on and torment the innocent.

Desperation in Death is the 55th title in the “in Death” series.  A complete list of all the titles in this futuristic police procedural mystery series can be found on our J. D. Robb page.

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

 

 

 

 

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Overkill by Sandra Brown

Posted August 16, 2022 by Marsha in Crime, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), NetGalley, Romantic Suspense, Sexual Content / 1 Comment

Former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Zach Bridger hasn’t seen his ex-wife, Rebecca Pratt, for some time—not since their volatile marriage imploded—so he’s shocked to receive a life-altering call about her. Rebecca has been placed on life support after a violent assault, and he—despite their divorce—has medical power of attorney. Zach is asked to make an impossible choice: keep her on life support or take her off of it. Buckling under the weight of the responsibility and the glare of public scrutiny, Zach ultimately walks away, letting Rebecca’s parents have the final say.
 
Four years later, Rebecca’s attacker, Eban—the scion of a wealthy family in Atlanta—gets an early release from prison. The ludicrous miscarriage of justice reeks of favoritism, and Kate Lennon, a brilliant state prosecutor, is determined to put him back behind bars. Rebecca’s parents have kept her alive all these years, but if her condition were to change—if she were to die—Eban could be retried on a new charge: murder.
 
It isn’t lost on Zach that in order for Eban to be charged with Rebecca’s murder, Zach must actually be the one to kill her. He rejects Kate’s legal standpoint but can’t resist their ill-timed attraction to each other. Eban, having realized the jeopardy he’s in plots to make certain that neither Zach nor Kate lives to see the death of Rebecca—and the end of his freedom. 

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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Abandoned in Death by J. D. Robb

Posted February 9, 2022 by Marsha in Crime, Mystery, Owned, Police Procedural, Romantic Suspense, Series, Sexual Content, St. Martin's Press / 0 Comments

The woman’s body was found in the early morning, on a bench in a New York City playground. She was clean, her hair neatly arranged, her makeup carefully applied. But other things were very wrong—like the tattoo and piercings, clearly new. The clothes, decades out of date. The fatal wound hidden beneath a ribbon around her neck. And the note: Bad Mommy, written in crayon as if by a child.

Eve Dallas turns to the department’s top profiler, who confirms what seems obvious to Eve: They’re dealing with a killer whose childhood involved some sort of trauma—a situation Eve is all too familiar with herself. Yet the clues suggest a perpetrator who’d be roughly sixty years old, and there are no records of old crimes with a similar MO. What was the trigger that apparently reopened such an old wound and sent someone over the edge?

When Eve discovers that other young women—who physically resemble the first victim—have vanished, the clock starts ticking louder. But to solve this case she will need to find her way into a hidden place of dim light and concrete, into the distant past, and into the cold depths of a shattered mind.

Abandoned in Death is the 54th title in the “in Death” series.  A complete list of all the titles in this futuristic police procedural mystery series can be found on our J. D. Robb page.

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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You Can Run by Rebecca Zanetti

Posted January 26, 2022 by Marsha in Crime, Kensington Books, Mystery, NetGalley, Series, Thriller / 0 Comments

Laurel Snow wouldn’t call hunting a serial killer a vacation, but with a pile of dead bodies unearthed near her Genesis Valley, WA, hometown, she’ll take what she can get. Yet something about this case stirs her in unexpected ways. Like the startling connection she feels to Dr. Abigail Caine, a fiercely intelligent witness with a disturbing knack for making Laurel feel like she has something on her. Then there’s Laurel’s attraction to Huck Rivers, the fish and wildlife officer guiding her to the crime scene—and into the wilderness…
 
A former soldier and a trained sniper, Huck’s thirst for blood is rivaled only by his fierce pursuit of Laurel. He’s been burned by love, wounded by the government, and betrayed before, and to say he has trust issues is the ultimate understatement. Plus, he might be closer to this killer than anybody knows…
 
Once in the heart of darkness with Huck, Laurel must negotiate her distracting desire for him, her complex rapport with Abigail—and her mission to find a serial killer among a growing list of suspects and a danger that’s far too close to home. So close, in fact, Laurel fears she will never find her way back to the woman she once was…

Titles in the A Laurel Snow Thriller series include — You Can Run

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane

Posted January 20, 2022 by Marsha in Crime, Mystery, Owned, Romantic Suspense / 0 Comments

Elisa Wright is a mom and wife, living a nice, quiet life in a nice, quiet town. She’s also convinced her brother-in-law is a murderer. Josh has one dead wife and one missing fiancée, and though he grieved for them he starts dating someone new. Elisa fears for that woman’s safety, and she desperately wants to know what happened to her friend, Josh’s missing fiancée.

Searching for clues means investigating her own family. And she doesn’t like what she finds. A laptop filled with incriminating information. Other women.

But when Elisa becomes friends with Josh’s new girlfriend and starts to question things she thinks are true, Elisa wonders if the memories of a horrible incident a year ago have finally pushed her over the edge and Josh is really innocent. With so much at stake, Elisa fights off panic attacks and a strange illness. Is it a breakdown or something more? The race is on to get to the truth before another disappearance because there’s a killer in the family…or is there?

 

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The Girl in the Mist by Kristen Ashley

Posted January 8, 2022 by Marsha in Crime, Mystery, Owned, Romantic Suspense, Series, Sexual Content, Small Town Romance, Thriller / 2 Comments

Renowned author Delphine Larue needs a haven. A crazed fan has gone over the deep end, and she’s not safe. Her security team has suggested a house by a lake. Secluded. Private. Far away. In a beautiful area of the Northwest close to the sleepy town of Misted Pines. It’s perfect. So perfect, Delphine has just moved in, and she’s thinking she’ll stay there forever.

Until she sees the girl in the mist.

After that, everything changes.

Delphine quickly learns that Misted Pines isn’t so sleepy. A little girl has gone missing, and the town is in the grips of terror and tragedy. The local sheriff isn’t up for the job. The citizens are up in arms. And as the case unfolds, the seedy underbelly of a quiet community is exposed, layer by layer.

But most importantly, girls are dying.

There seems to be only one man they trust to find out what’s happening.

The mysterious Cade Bohannan.

Titles in the Misted Pines series include — The Girl in the Mist –

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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