Mystery Reads

Silver Lining by A.L. Long

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Silver Lining by A.L. Long

A.L. Long is an Award-Winning author and recipient of the National Indie Excellence Award.

“It seemed like all I did lately was make poor decisions. Even my decision to marry Spencer instead of telling my parents the truth about the real reason behind the marriage was a mistake. I should have never listened to my college professor, who convinced me to take Alistair Nolan’s offer and marry his son Spencer in exchange for saving my parents’ restaurant.”

Lainey thought she had done everything right until now. Her life had turned inside out and upside down because of her choice to save the two people who mattered to her the most. Having control over her future was no longer her own, and even though she would never regret helping her parents keep their restaurant, she regretted listening to her college professor. Keeping her promise to marry Spencer Nolan, Lanie loses more than her freedom; she leaves behind a future with the one man who could make her happy.

White Jade by Alex Lukeman

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White Jade by Alex Lukeman

White Jade spins a web of deceit and murder across the globe, against the backdrop of a deadly international power game.

Former Recon Marine Nick Carter is a man with a dark history of emotional and physical scars. He works for the PROJECT, a covert counter-terrorism team that reports only to the U.S. President. Selena Connor is a beautiful, strong, skilled linguist. When her wealthy uncle is murdered by someone looking for an ancient book about the elixir of immortality, she is thrown into Nick’s dangerous world.

Elizabeth Harker runs the PROJECT. She assigns Nick to protect Selena and recover the missing text. It’s the beginning of a life and death adventure that spans the globe. Someone is determined to take over China and attack America–and Nick and Selena are right in the line of fire.

International intrigue, terrorist acts, and the threat of nuclear war form the core of this fast paced thriller, the first volume in an award winning series featuring Nick, Selena, and the PROJECT.

The Deadlands by Minerva Hart

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The Deadlands by Minerva Hart

In a world ravaged and reshaped by a monstrous virus, an unlikely pair attempt to save a girl from a Jhingoist cult.

Thirty years ago, the Splicer’s Sickness swept across the globe, turning all it infected into vicious, half-animal creatures and leaving everyone else to fend for themselves. Since then, life has adapted. That goes doubly for Karl Gearhart, a former soldier in the Alpine Safe Zone who has since deserted his group and gone to live in an abandoned factory. He is happy to live the same day over and over and spend his time tinkering.

But one day, after his home is compromised, he meets Nessa Shirokuma, a charming young archer on her way to New York City. The cult that lives there, the Lightbringers, have kidnapped her sister as part of their deluded mission to reestablish the pre-Sickness USA. Karl is convinced it’s a lost cause, but Nessa will not be dissuaded. Thus, they form a deal: He will accompany her to New York, and she in turn will help him find a new home.

It will be a dangerous journey, fraught with monsters of both the splicer and human persuasion. They will come across religious zealots, angry mobs, cannibals, and many more perils. All the while, they will learn to lean on each other as their partnership blooms into something more. But will it be enough to keep them alive?

Broken Cowboy by Jamie Schulz

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Broken Cowboy by Jamie Schulz

From an Award-Winning author & 2022 RONE Award Finalist

Addie needs a capable ranch hand for her rundown ranch. Cade needs a job and a little TLC.
When the violence stalking Addie escalates and Cade’s past returns, can their newfound love survive or will they both be destroyed?

“…Do not miss a fantastic start to what promises to be an awesome series.”
Lynn-Alexandria McKendrick
~ InD’tale Magazine

“…The storyline is great…the plot twists and turns are absolutely crazy good; and the HEA was totally kick ass!”
~Amazon Reviewer

When Push Comes to Shoot by Rena Koontz

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When Push Comes to Shoot by Rena Koontz

Emma Hunter’s tyrannical brother deserved to die, even if the manner of his murder was horror-movie gruesome. As a police lieutenant, she’s duty-bound to provide whatever assistance she can in hunting down her brother’s killer, but she doesn’t mourn his loss. Business acquaintances, former friends, and even his relatives agree the world is better off without the despicable bully.
With no clues and too many suspects, it looks like the murderer might be home free—until tenacious Detective Jared Jones’ suspicions turn to Emma’s sweet sister-in-law. Emma knows for a fact that her brother’s mentally and emotionally abused wife is innocent, but conflicting loyalties prevent her from speaking up and turning the investigation in the right direction. What’s best for her brother’s widow could cost Emma everything she values—her career, her reputation, even her freedom.

Hollow Stars by Lauryn Dyan

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Hollow Stars by Lauryn Dyan

Discover the dire side effects of partying like a rock star.

As lead singer of popular, emerging rock band, Tracing Stars, Kennedy has the swagger of a badass, or at least she used to. While caught up in the booze, passion, and chaos of her first major rock tour, her dreams are erased by a string of ever-worsening blackouts. Now, the instability of her mind has landed her in a psychiatric hospital. Despite being convinced one of her tour mates sabotaged her, she lacks any evidence. Trapped in the asylum, she alternates between the past and the present determined to recover her lost memories so she can return to her band before she’s just a footnote in their rise to fame.

Walk the Plank by Marilyn Barr

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Walk the Plank by Marilyn Barr

Branko learns he will be sold into slavery when they dock in Charles Town, so he doesn’t hesitate to jump ship onto a neighboring sloop in the harbor. This boat will weigh anchor with him at the helm–once he decides what to do with the lady chained in the cargo hold who claims she’s a vampire.

Magda Dashkovari’s body has been given to science while she’s still living in it. Her prayers are answered when a pirate boards her boat, but she should have asked for her rescuer to be less bloodthirsty than she is…

Scientists hunt her in town, plantation owners hunt him from the north and south, Blackbeard blocks Charles Town Harbor to the east, and a war rages between settlers and natives to the west. These unlikely allies will have to link together to escape a life in chains…but will their trust in each other endure their journey to freedom?

Running with the Enemy by Lloyd Lofthouse

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Running with the Enemy by Lloyd Lofthouse

A US Marine is framed for a crime he didn’t commit. He has a choice to make, save the woman he loves, or prove his innocence. He can’t have both.

“Obviously drawn from the author’s first-hand experiences as a Marine serving in Vietnam … a rough but occasionally heartfelt war story … is quite good and has a lot to say about the nature of the conflict.”
— Judge’s comment from 21st Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards.

When Push Comes to Shoot by Rena Koontz

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When Push Comes to Shoot by Rena Koontz

With no clues and too many suspects, it looks like the murderer might be home free — until tenacious Detective Jared Jones’ suspicions turn to Emma’s sweet sister-in-law. Emma knows for a fact that her brother’s mentally and emotionally abused wife is innocent, but conflicting loyalties prevent her from speaking up and turning the investigation in the right direction. What’s best for her brother’s widow could cost Emma everything she values — her career, her reputation, even her freedom.

All the Colors of My Soul by Leta McCurry

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All the Colors of My Soul by Leta McCurry

What could drive a loving wife and mother to commit cold-blooded murder?

Growing up in the 1930s Santa Clara Valley, California, Neva Holiday wanted nothing more than to reach eighteen, have a beau, get married and mother a houseful of kids. Simple, quiet, peaceful.

As she blossoms into a young woman during high school, she finds herself torn between a life-long bond with the boy next door and her growing love for a handsome newcomer escaping the destitution of Dust Bowl Oklahoma. Before she can discover the desire of her heart, WWII tears her world apart, plunging her into years of fear and dread of receiving the telegram beginning, “We regret to inform you.”

A son brings joy, purpose and focus to her life until an insidious influence creeps into the family unawares, creating an unspeakable tragedy, forever shattering Neva’s dreams of quiet happiness, and forcing her to confront whether she will turn the other cheek or deliver cold-hearted retribution.

In a dizzying exposé of the human spirit, Leta McCurry weaves a riveting tale of a young woman’s descent into darkness. Emotionally gripping and magnificently crafted, this rich and heart-wrenching novel will keep you on the edge of your seat as you race to its extraordinary conclusion. — Heidi Thomas, Award-winning author of the “Cowboy Dreams” series.

All the Colors of My Soul is a sweeping twentieth-century historical fiction. If you like captivating character studies, poignant moral quandaries, and vivid snapshots of the past, then you’ll love Leta McCurry’s mesmerizing story. — Sally Bates, Award-winning author of Western fiction and poetry.

Targeted Age Group:: 18+
Heat/Violence Level: Heat Level 4 – R Rated

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Two tragic family incidents. The situations were similar but the responses of the individuals involved were vastly different. All the Colors of My Soul is not the story of either of those incidents, but was inspired by the different reactions of the human spirit to an unspeakable tragedy.

How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
Characters are always influenced to some degree by people we have known, particularly in childhood for me. Additionally there are those people who appear for an instant and then are gone, the slouched old man sitting on a park bench, his face a road map of life, the thin woman with a smelly infant slung on her hip, the child with the haunted eyes. They speak to me on a primal level and I remember them. I don't pattern characters after any one person, but exposure to all these are the bits and pieces of the mosaic that becomes a new identity in my stories. Beyond that, the stories themselves are a big factor in character development – kind of like the character rises to the occasion.

Book Sample
Inside my chest, my heart slowly expanded until it pushed against the constraints of my ribs and into my throat as if it would flow out and fill the room with something sparkling and golden, but warm and soft. I held my breath, wanting to extend the moment, to fill my hands with the manifestation of my love for him, to smear it on my face and arms, and his, where it would forever color our skin with a lasting testimony of my unspeakable love for him.

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