Showing titles in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

“If you’re reading this, you’ve likely thought that the world would be a better place without you.” A single line of text, glowing in the darkness of the internet. Written by Ashley Lutin, who has often thought the same—and worse—in the years since his wife died and his young son disappeared. But the peace of the grave is not for him—it’s for those he can help. Ashley has constructed a peculiar ritual for those whose desire to die is at war with their yearning to live a better life.

This is the first of box sets covering the complete Nick Williams Mystery series of novels! The four complete books in this set include: The Unexpected Heiress, The Amorous Attorney, The Sartorial Senator, and The Laconic Lumberjack.

Former LAPD cop turned private investigator Yolanda Ávila blames herself for her mother's death. If she'd only followed her cop instincts instead of the juju—her random prophetic dreams—the perpetrator would have been off the streets and her mother would still be alive. The only salve against her guilt is Yolanda's vow to reject that juju crap, and to solve cases using only good solid detective work. But when her godson is kidnapped and his parents are suspected of murder, Yolanda finds herself caught between what she feels and what she knows.

Rick Wendell's ranch is far from town. A remote, dusty hideaway, its only inhabitants are Rick, his aging mother, and her horses. One night, Rick's mother returns from the movies to find Rick lying on the floor, stark naked and with a gaping bullet wound in his chest. Standing over him is his lover, a mustachioed hippie, who swears he did not fire the gun that he's holding. The case seems open-and-shut, but Dave Brandstetter is not satisfied.

Seattle teacher and part-time blogger Hayden McCall wakes up sporting one hell of a shiner, with the police knocking at his door. It seems that his new crush, dancer Camilo Rodriguez, has gone missing, and they suspect foul play. What happened the night before? And where is Camilo?

It doesn’t take Jane long to figure out that someone has spiked the food at the party, most likely with hallucinogenic mushrooms. As the police arrive, the groom takes an unfortunate dive off a diving board and Jane realizes that if she can’t figure out exactly what has happened the blame will fall squarely on her own shoulders.

Romance and Murder Mix in the Latest Story Featuring Sheriff Mel Crane and Special Agent Dana Rossi! Customs Special Agent Dana Rossi is down but not out after being shot and seriously injured during her previous assignment. Will romance blossom or will sparks fly when she agrees to shack up in Morelville with the beautiful butch Sheriff Melissa ‘Mel’ Crane and her extended family while she recovers? Will murder get in the way of love? If murder doesn’t, will life in a house with children or a political campaign keep them apart? Can Mel solve two major crimes and keep her former job ...

While out looking for illegal trotlines, Jackson and Sawyer find the body of a man by a campsite, dead from an apparent shotgun blast to the chest. After a brief investigation and the arrest of a notorious Head Rock Harbor resident, Chief Bucksworth is happy to close the investigation. However, Detective Jeremy Morrison isn't so sure that his boss has the town's best interests at heart.

Noah Valentine, the owner of Pinx Video in Silver Lake, notices the fires have taken their toll on fellow shopkeeper Guy Peterson's camera shop. After the riots end, he decides to stop by Guy’s to pick up his overdue videos, only to find Guy’s family dividing up his belongings. He died in the camera store fire, or did he?

Paige’s disappearance makes deep incisions in the women’s lives, impacting friendships, relationships, and careers. Joy retreats. Paige’s older sister, Alice, seeks solace in alcohol. Dani vows to leave no stone unturned, feeling guilty and conflicted after 17-year-old Paige revealed her crush to her shortly before she vanished. More than a decade later, Dani uncovers the shocking truth.

The first of the dead is wealthy Belle Dumont, who vanished from her home in the Minnesota woods only hours before she was to reveal startling news to her three grown children. The kids and Belle's lover deny any knowledge of this mysterious bombshell, but amateur sleuth Jane Lawless, Belle's old friend, suspects these charming folk of being less than forthright. In fact, Jane suspects coldhearted murder....

When ex-CIA agent Vera Kelly loses her job and her girlfriend in a single day, she reluctantly goes into business as a private detective. Heartbroken and cash-strapped, she takes a case that dredges up dark memories and attracts dangerous characters from across the Cold War landscape. Before it's over, she'll chase a lost child through foster care and follow a trail of Dominican exiles to the Caribbean. Forever looking over her shoulder, she nearly misses what's right in front of her: her own desire for home, connection, and a new romance at the local bar.

By day, Joe is a hotel accountant, invisibly sitting behind their desk and playing by the rules. By night, donned in sequins, they take to the stage as Misty Divine, a star of the London drag scene. But when Misty’s drag mother, Lady Lady, is found dead in her dressing room beside a poisoned box of chocolates, Misty and her fellow performers become the prime suspects.

Sloane West is an ex-New York City cop turned private investigator, Irish whiskey aficionado, and untrained witch in an emotional slump. Her mother just died, and her ex-best friend and ex-lover have sent her an invitation to their upcoming nuptials. Thankfully, a solicitor arrives and distracts her faster than a night of drinking Jameson neat with news that Sloane has inherited her late grandparents'—who she didn't know existed—island estate.

After I try a little off-the-books interrogation to locate my selkie almost-boyfriend’s nearly-ex-husband (don’t ask, it’s complicated), I’m in the doghouse again with my bosses, who bust me back to surveillance. Ugh. So when another human inexplicably storms into Quest Investigations—something our security spells ought to prevent since I’m supposed to be the only human admitted to our offices—I’m reduced to staking out local fast food restaurants to check out the guy’s alleged sighting of a giant, glowing-eyed, dumpster-diving spectral hound.

Three years after running away from home, Olivia is stuck with a dead-end job in nowhere town Chapel Hill, Pennsylvania. At least she has her best friend, Sunflower. Olivia figures she’ll die in Chapel Hill, if not from boredom, then the summer night storm which crashes into town with a mind-bending monster in tow. If Olivia’s going to escape Chapel Hill and someday reconcile with her parents, she’ll need to dodge residents enslaved by the storm’s otherworldly powers and find Sunflower.

Busy concentrating on family issues, Jimmy hasn't taken a new case in nearly three months, and when a call comes in from Philip Connelly, who wants proof that his wife, Myra, is cheating, Jimmy is torn. Take the case or say no. He rejects it, only to learn a week later that Philip has been found dead in a park on Staten Island. The police believe it was suicide, but Myra - a self-admitted adulteress - is convinced he was murdered.

A former police officer turned private investigator, Nick Nowak is haunted by his abrupt departure from the department, as well as, the traumatic end of his relationship with librarian Daniel Laverty. In these three stories set in Chicago during the early eighties, Nick locates a missing young man for a mysterious client, solves a case of arson at a popular nightspot, and goes undercover to prove a dramatic suicide was actually murder.

Damon Thorne, former CIA operative, is now living with Jude Chenoweth, his new boyfriend. The sexy graphic designer is handsome as hell, and Damon can’t get enough of him. Unfortunately, his life as a “cleaner” always seems to get in the way. At least Jude is at his side these days, helping out on an odd job here or there.

A different place - another time - and where the city’s streets keep secrets and shadowy mysteries, SFPD Inspector Spencer Ricci needs to dig through after he finds himself on a case involving a dismembered, mummified man in a restaurant’s locked storage room. Spencer drags around a lot of baggage, including an ongoing battle with the bottle and a long career as an LAPD detective he’d set fire to in a blaze of booze-soaked mistakes.