Crime Town

In September 1964, nine-year-old Hannah Morley disappeared while playing at the old brickworks. Chrissie was fifteen at the time and lived through the whole sad event. Twenty-six years later, when remains are found during building excavations, she returns for the first time to the seaside town where it all happened, hoping for answers and some closure. She reunites with old friends, and memories return and gradually, piece by piece, the story unfolds. But will she find the answers she craves?

There's a dead armadillo on my sidewalk; there's a dead 'possum right behind my tire. There's a groundhog stuck behind my car's grill; there's a raccoon crawling up my wall. There's a shuffling in my attic; the squirrel must be going nuts again. There's skunk smell wafting through my windows… Oh my God! What was that hideous, twangy song? Was it some sort of country genre called "Southern Gothic Grotesque?" The man behind me hummed along cheerfully with the upbeat tune which contrasted with the bizarre lyrics. The line moved and I suddenly had something else to ponder that wiped all ...

Holt Davidson, a Kansas firefighter, hasn’t been back to his hometown of Thompsonville, Colorado, for more than two decades, but when he learns that his estranged mother has taken her own life, he returns for the funeral, hoping to make peace with her memory. He spends the night at his childhood home, rummaging through each room, exploring the past. But instead of nostalgic souvenirs, he discovers a gun, a love letter, and a Polaroid photograph of a man lying in his own blood. Who is the dead man? Was his mother the one who killed him, and, if so, why? Who sent the love letter?

For 20 years Daniel Paquette's murder in New Hampshire went unsolved. It remained a secret between two high school friends until Eric Windhurst's arrest in 2005. What was revealed was a crime born of adolescent passion between Eric and Daniel's stepdaughter, Melanie - redefining the meaning of loyalty, justice, and revenge.

“But, but, I read it on the Internet. It must be true! Right?” Do the crazies on the internet push people to violence and the edge of madness? With countless conspiracy theories at every turn, the web is a veritable smorgasbord of reasons for anyone with prejudice and envy to strike out at the focus of these insane ideas why the world is against them. In the dead of night, a soybean silo erupts into a violent fireball — and starts Detective Max Harmon’s next case off with a bang. Any hope Max has of catching up on sleep flies out the window when the deceptively sleepy Midwestern ...

Zahn can't get the missing girl he found—and the one he can't find—out of his mind. Someone in this mountain valley is collecting children, and Zahn is gradually drawn into the case while still trying to break through to his daughter. Then she disappears too.

While on a much needed camping vacation with her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, Casey hears a baby crying in the woods. The sound leads them to a tragic scene: a woman buried under the snow, murdered, a baby still alive in her arms. A town that doesn’t let anyone in under the age of 18, Rockton must take care of its youngest resident yet while solving another murder and finding out where the baby came from - and whether she's better off where she is.

When crime-fighting attorney Albert Patterson is gunned down in a Phenix City, Alabama, alley in the spring of 1954, the entire town seems to pause for just a moment—and when it starts up again, there is something different about it. A small group of men meet and decide they have had enough, but what that means and where it will take them is something they could not have foreseen.

Twenty years ago, in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas, Annie Randall took her dog for a walk. The dog returned. Annie did not. When her body was found, cruelly broken and posed like a runner, there was only ever one suspect: Annie’s husband, Frank. Now he’s served his time and come home–but the locals won’t let him forget. Especially when there’s a new ‘running girl’ murder…

Newlywed Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is awakened by an urgent midnight call summoning her to a suspicious fire in the woods. When she arrives at the scene, she discovers a charred body. According to the coroner, the deceased, an Amish man named Milan Swanz, was chained to a stake and burned alive. It is an appalling and eerily symbolic crime against an upstanding husband and father.

On the surface, Bria's Mediterranean life radiates beauty—the kind her late husband, Carlo, dreamed about when he concocted the romantic idea to start a bed and breakfast on the breathtaking Amalfi Coast. With the grand opening of Bella Bella approaching six months after Carlo's tragic death, Bria and her eight-year-old son Marco brace for a bittersweet new beginning by the sea . . . Before celebratory vino flows on opening day, a stranger appears in an otherwise pristine guest room, lifeless and covered in blood. Bria can't understand why murder would check into Bella Bella.

There were only two things that Lori enjoyed in life. One of those two things was hiking. She had been eagerly anticipating her hike in the Red River Gorge and was looking forward to the tranquility of the trail. She was unaware that a psychopath had other plans. Lori was left for dead on the trail and awakened in the hospital with serious injuries and no memory. Who was she and what was going on? As she struggles to find the answers she can only rely on the handsome young doctor whose face was the first thing she saw when she awakened in the hospital. Can she trust him? Can he save her ...

On a winding mountain road into the town of Denton, Pennsylvania, Detective Josie Quinn finds the body of a local teenage girl, Dina Hale. The sight of plum-colored bruises gathering around the girl’s neck pierces Josie’s heart, but the discovery of a second girl’s empty purse in the dirt nearby gives her a flicker of hope that one person, at least, made a lucky escape. Dina’s parents are grief-stricken as the town rallies together in a desperate search for the second girl, who waitressed with Dina. The two best friends were on their way to a shift when they were attacked.

A mystery novel set in Marsh Quay, England, during the early 20th century. In the tranquil estuary of Marsh Quay, the return of adventurer Percival Fletcher from Africa sparks intrigue and leads to a chilling murder that shakes the small community to its core. As the locals grapple with the shocking news, the investigation reveals a tangled web of deceit and hidden identities that threaten to expose long-buried secrets. Who killed Fletcher, and why? Join the quest for truth in this enthralling tale of betrayal and justice. When Hank Lark, a crew member of a coasting schooner, witnesses the ...

Caught in a deadly game, Dominic Deluca must choose between the family he leads and the family he loves, as a father's war collides with a mobster's oath. Dominic Deluca has two families. The first is his wife Maria and young daughter Isabella. The second is the Deluca New Jersey Crime Family, which he leads with an iron fist. But when a rival family kidnaps his daughter, Dominic will go to war as both a feared crime boss and a father desperate to get his little girl back. Dominic's loyalties to both families will be tested when the FBI approaches him with an offer to help. Will Dominic ...

A woman goes missing in the woods; a man from her past goes looking; he finds that people aren’t the only ones who commit murder—places do it too. Tim Kitchens can’t let things go. It’s one of the reasons the exes keep piling up in his life: ex-prosecutor, ex-husband, ex-homeowner. That last one has brought him here, back to the Pacific Northwest, back to the house he grew up in and the small town that raised him. His friends are still around, but the girlfriend he left behind is gone—missing for five years. Something about it won’t let him go. He searches for her, and the new ...

As a single mother, Annie has an especially close relationship with her son, Ben. They have always been together. Just the two of them. So, when Ben brings home his mysterious beautiful new wife, Daisy, immediately Annie doesn’t trust her. Who is this woman who has taken her son away from her? And what is she hiding? She’ll protect him with her life....

Greta Pugh is dead. The small village of Bethesda, Wales, is no stranger to tragedy. Once a thriving, prosperous community, the town has been marred by an ever-deepening class divide. But now, with rich and popular Greta Pugh found murdered in the local quarry, everyone in Bethesda is rattled, and all their secrets are at risk.

Thirteen years ago, Jori Trahan’s boyfriend vanished without a trace. Now, after moving back home to Alabama to care for her ailing grandmother and autistic brother, she comes face-to-face with the deadly mystery behind his disappearance. Jori has a rare form of synesthesia, meaning she can “hear” colors; to her, tones of voice are as unique as fingerprints. With the help of this ability and a sympathetic cop, Jori comes dangerously close to uncovering the truth. But those responsible will go to any length - including murder - to keep their dark secrets buried.

Something is terribly wrong in Gretchen Falls; and you are about to be drawn into the midst of these recent unfortunate events. A young woman is dead. No one knows who she is and, for some strange reason, local law enforcement is prohibited from investigating her death. Instead, men from the state have arrived to carry out the investigation. But who called them? Someone in this town has information but is afraid to come forward. Yes. Something is very wrong. If you enjoy this story, consider reading "Gretchen Falls-A Collection Of Short Stories". It's based on characters from An Unliked ...