Mystery Reads

Featured Book: A Fiery End by Diana J Febry

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Driving home late at night, DI Fiona Williams comes across a vehicle engulfed in flames. The driver is at the wheel, oblivious to the inferno surrounding him. There is no explanation for why the vehicle was on the road or why the quiet tradesman was murdered in such a macabre way. The only witness to the fire, claims she saw nothing. Whatever she did see goes to the grave with her when she is brutally strangled. Frustration grows when the driver’s daughter disappears. With time running out to find the daughter alive, Fiona is drawn into a web of powerful men determined to keep their deadly games secret. Juggling a family crisis and a growing suspicion her boss is corrupt, her judgement is hampered by her attraction to the man central to everything.o

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Hostile Witness by Rebecca Forster

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Hostile Witness by Rebecca Forster

Once a hotshot attorney, Josie Bates swore off the legal limelight until her college roommate came calling. Her daughter, sixteen year-old Hannah Sheraton, is accused of murdering a judge and no one in the legal community will represent her. Josie, abandoned by her own mother as a teenager, can’t turn her back. Josie’s best hope is to get the girl sentenced to a a juvenile facility but when the D.A. decides to try her as an adult, Josie knows conviction would be as good as the death penalty. Digging deep to build a defense, Josie finds that within a tangled web of family relations, politics, and money, a teenage girl’s life is worthless — except to Josie.

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

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.

50 States by Richard R. Becker

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50 States by Richard R. Becker

An Idaho farmer who aches for absolution after a tragedy is given one more chance at redemption. Two runaways cross paths in a Tennessee bus station with only one ticket between them. A family sees looters racing toward their home as they escape an Oregon wildfire. A young couple takes a reckless turn off a state highway in Utah and find themselves in a nightmarish government biohazard area.

These and 46 more shorts make up an anthology that will surprise readers with each new thought-provoking story as they skip effortlessly across different genres, moods, and states of mind. Together, they provide a character-driven sampling of the American experience over the last 60 years — the kind and the cruel, the heroic and criminal — in unpredictable and exciting ways.

50 States is a debut collection of short stories that captures the human condition and reveals how perception shapes destiny. The book spans several literary genres with each short story set in a different state across America. It is soon to be released as an audiobook, narrated by a 5-time Emmy winner.

Taken, A Detective Al Warner Novel by George A Bernstein

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Taken, A Detective Al Warner Novel by George A Bernstein

The corpse of a Miami hooker is discovered in the Everglades. As Detective Al Warner investigates, he learns other streetwalkers also have disappeared, and this homicide is now a case of human trafficking. Nicki, a female undercover cop, goes as a streetwalker, hoping to be taken so she can use a tracking device, but it’s stripped from her before she can activate it.
Meanwhile, Maggie is offered a lucrative deal as a birth surrogate for a secretive, wealthy couple. She’s living nine months in luxurious seclusion but begins to worry when another surrogate disappears a month before her term. Maggie discovers her fetus is a tool of extortion, and fears for her life. She attempts to flee the mansion, but her “hosts” refuse to let her go. Her life is trivial to them, but they need the child she carries.
Trapped at the bordello on a remote ’Glades island reached only by airboats, Nicki embarks on daring foray to find and activate the tracker. If she fails, she’ll become a sex slave like the other women imprisoned there, with little hope of rescue. Warner and his team eagerly await Nicki’s signal. Without that, there’s no clue to her location, and no idea of the deadly confrontation that awaits them. Warner is thrust into danger as he seeks to free the sex slaves and also rescue Maggie and a second infant before it’s too late. Lives are on the line, and only Al Warner can save them.

Featured Book: When Murder Comes Home by Shana Frost

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Get the free starter novel to Aileen and Callan Murder Mysteries…

Drawing out his gun, he pushed open the door. A dark abyss glared back.
He took out his torch and flashed it around…
Callan’s broad shoulders slumped, and he let out a breath between clenched teeth. Death had dipped its claws into Dachaigh again.

Ten guests, two murders, one inn. Who is responsible?
 
Aileen Mackinnon ditched spreadsheets and a steady salary for the adventurous shores of Loch Fuar in the Scottish Highlands.
 
Now she’s an amateur innkeeper to ten guests. But when one is murdered in his bed and an heirloom goes missing, can Aileen save the inn?
 
DI Callan Cameron won’t have her nosing about, but with another body he has little choice in the matter.
 
Tension sizzles as Aileen and Callan step into a world of murders, deceit and heists. They might not always see eye to eye, but can they agree whodunnit?

If books by Jullian Scott, Paul Austin Ardoin, DK Hood and Fiona Grace keep you up all night, When Murder Comes Home is the perfect puzzling mystery for you!

What readers are saying about this book:

“Shana Frost spools a great whodunnit with fun characters in When Murder Comes Home!”
-Joshua Grant, Bestselling Author and the Diabolic Shrimp 

“This makes for the perfect weekend read!”
-Mia Counts Lynch, Bookbub Reviewer

“I felt like I was part of the story. I could not put the book down.”
-Eileen Townsend, Goodreads Reviewer

Buy When Murder Comes Home Here

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Featured Book: Flight of the Tarantula Hawk by Michael Allan Scott

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$0.99 for a limited time!

An investigative reporter, she’s tough and smart. Her husband, a hardnosed homicide detective who won’t give up. The first corpse, a Realtor found murdered in a vacant house, her body decomposing, her mind adrift. A freelance crime scene photographer, who saw it through the eyes of a Tarantula Hawk.

Outside the box of King and Koontz, it’s one of a new breed of mystery thrillers. As seen on NBC. Dark. Different. A serial killer thriller or a ghostly murder mystery, you decide.

An IndieReader Best Book of the year, with action and characters you won’t soon forget, it’s one of the stand-alone Lance Underphal mystery thrillers. Hard to put down, this one may keep you up nights guessing. Take your imagination on a dark trip – Flight of the Tarantula Hawk.

Buy Flight of the Tarantula Hawk Here

The Fleeing Pursuer by Aman Ahmed

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A Homage to Classic Noir

The Englishman, clean shaved, wearing a suit and having wounds on his face, is sitting in front of the police officer. The Officer takes out a roll of money, two passport sized photos of a woman, a torn piece of female clothing, some bottles of beer, a bottle of chloroform and a screw driver out of the Englishman’s bag. With each item connected closely to the Englishman and his tale, what is he going to tell the officer which may be able to prove him less accountable?

This story is influenced by the classic noir fiction and noir films. It also points out some ambiguities that come in a human mind and the path of self destruction due to the toxic values and morals. If you are an admirer of tales related to crime, mystery, thriller, and non-linear storytelling, this book is definitely for you.

Targeted Age Group:: 16+

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
I have been experiencing crime fiction for many years. Then, my interest diverted a little towards the noir sub genre. I thought why not explore it. When I found myself enjoying the noir fictions and the themes they have, I thought about writing one. It took me a year to learn all about the writing stuff and finishing my novel and now here it is.

The Creators by Rick Moskovitz

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The Creators by Rick Moskovitz

A teenaged Natasha Takana seeks to decode the remainder of the hidden DNA code that became the basis for a new religion reviving Creationism in A Stand-in for Dying. Her quest takes her on a voyage to a parallel dimension to learn the fate of the Creators’ civilization. In the course of successive visits to their watery world, she finds herself transformed, a bridge between our world and theirs.

The conflict between Ganymede and Mandala, the warring factions of Brink of Life is rekindled, sweeping Natasha into the middle of it in a pursuit that crosses the boundaries of worlds and time.