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Reviews

Reviews

by Ace Atkins - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Shot up and left for dead, Sheriff Quinn Colson has revenge on his mind. With the help of his new wife Maggie, rehabilitation and sheer force of will, he's walking again, eager to resume his work as a southern lawman and track down those responsible for his attempted murder. But someone is standing in his way: an interim sheriff, appointed by the newly elected Governor Vardaman, the man who Quinn knows ordered his murder. Vardaman sits at the top of the state's power structure --- both legal and criminal --- and little does he know that Quinn is still working to take him down. Now, as a bustling factory shuts down, a labor leader ends up dead, and Quinn's own nephew goes missing, everything looks to be unraveling.

by Joe R. Lansdale - Fiction, Hard-boiled Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction

Ed Edwards is in the used car business. Burdened by an aging, alcoholic mother constantly on his case to do something worthier of his lighter skin tone and dreaming of a brighter future for himself and his plucky little sister, Ed is ready to get out of the game. When Dave, his lazy, grease-stained boss, sends him to repossess a Cadillac, Ed finally gets the chance to escape his miserable life. The Cadillac in question was purchased by Frank Craig and his beautiful wife Nancy, owners of a local drive-in and pet cemetery. Fed up with her deadbeat husband and with unfulfilled desires of her own, Nancy suggests to Ed that they kill Frank and claim his insurance policy. It is a tantalizing offer, but does Ed have what it takes to see the plan through?

by S. A. Cosby - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Beauregard “Bug” Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband and a hard-working dad. Bug knows there’s no future in the man he used to be: known from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast. He thought he'd left all that behind him, but as his carefully built new life begins to crumble, he finds himself drawn inexorably back into a world of blood and bullets. When a smooth-talking former associate comes calling with a can't-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice but to get back in the driver's seat. Haunted by the ghost of who he used to be and the father who disappeared when he needed him most, Bug must find a way to navigate this blacktop wasteland...or die trying.

by Stephen Graham Jones - Fiction, Horror

Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in violent, vengeful ways.

by Linda Castillo - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

While enjoying a sleigh ride with his children, Amish widower Adam Lengacher discovers a car stuck in a snowdrift and an unconscious woman inside. He calls upon Chief of Police Kate Burkholder for help, and she is surprised to recognize the driver: fellow cop and her former friend, Gina Colorosa. Years before, Kate and Gina were best friends at the police academy and patrol officers in Columbus, but time and distance have taken them down two very different paths. Now, Gina reveals a shocking story of betrayal and revenge that has forced her to run for her life. She’s desperate for protection, and the only person she can trust is Kate. But can Kate trust her? Or will Gina’s dark past put them all in danger?

by Glen Erik Hamilton - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

An invitation addressed to his long-dead mother sparks Van Shaw’s curiosity about the woman he barely knew. As he digs into young Moira Shaw's past, he uncovers startling details about her life, including her relationship to a boy named Sean Burke. Could he be the biological father who abandoned Van before he was born? Van has more immediate problems, though. His friend Hollis is in a jam, and helping him out accidentally steers Van into the path of a master extortionist named Bilal Nath. Nath demands that the talented thief mastermind a daring heist targeting a Seattle biotechnology firm, or the blackmailer will destroy the lives of people Van loves. Will Van be forced to steal a viral weapon with the potential to kill thousands?

by Jasper DeWitt - Fiction, Horror, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Supernatural Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

In a series of online posts, Parker H., a young psychiatrist, chronicles the harrowing account of his time working at a dreary mental hospital in New England. Through this internet message board, Parker hopes to communicate with the world his effort to cure one bewildering patient --- a 40-year-old man who was originally admitted to the hospital at age six. This patient has no known diagnosis, and his symptoms seem to evolve over time. Every person who has attempted to treat him has been driven to madness or suicide. Parker takes it upon himself to discover what ails this mystery patient and finally cure him. Facing a possibility beyond his wildest imaginings, Parker is forced to question everything he thought he knew.

by James Carlos Blake - Fiction, Noir, Suspense, Thriller

Rudy and Frank Wolfe are engaging in routine miscellaneous business for their family when they stumble upon a stash of high-quality pornographic films in a raid. The plot thickens when their Aunt Catalina, the family matriarch aged 115, recognizes a resemblance to her long-lost sister in one of the young performers. Catalina tasks the boys with tracking the girl down, however improbable a connection may be. Soon, Rudy and Frank find themselves moving away from the world of porn and towards the upper echelons of the Sinaloa drug cartel, where the mysterious woman has become a particular favorite of the head narco. For their aunt, the woman and themselves, Frank and Rudy must find a way to extract her from the cartel.

by Alex North - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Twenty-five years ago, teenager Charlie Crabtree committed a murder so shocking that it inspired more than one copycat. Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree and his victim were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together but comes back home after his mother, who is suffering from dementia, takes a turn for the worse. Meanwhile, Detective Amanda Beck is investigating another copycat that has struck in the nearby town of Featherbank. Paul’s mother is distressed, insistent that there's something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day 25 years ago. It wasn't just the murder. It was the fact that Crabtree was never seen again.

by David Bell - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Ryan Francis has it all --- great job, wonderful wife, beautiful child --- and he loves posting photos of his perfect life on social media. Until the night his friend Blake asks him to break into a woman’s home to retrieve incriminating items that implicate Blake in an affair. Ryan refuses to help, but when Blake threatens to reveal Ryan’s darkest secret --- which could jeopardize everything in Ryan’s life --- Ryan has no choice but to honor Blake’s request. When he arrives at the woman's home, Ryan is shocked to find her dead --- and just as shocked to realize he knows her. Then his phone chimes, revealing a Facebook friend request from the woman. With police sirens rapidly approaching, Ryan flees, wondering why his friend was setting him up for murder.