Suspense Mystery Twist

Whether you’re plotting your first whodunit or revising your tenth thriller, this comprehensive guide is your trusted partner in crime. Packed with practical advice, real examples from bestselling mystery novels, and a touch of wry humor, Writing Mysteries That Matter walks you step-by-step through the entire writing process—from crafting a gripping opening to planting clues, building suspense, and delivering a twisty, satisfying ending. You’ll learn how to: • Structure your story for maximum tension • Create complex, compelling protagonists • Plant clues (and red herrings) that...

Dr. Christopher Kellan spends his days at Loveland Psychiatric Hospital, overseeing a unit known as Alpha Twelve, home to the most deranged and psychotic killers imaginable. His newest patient, Donny Ray Smith, is accused of murdering ten young girls and making their bodies disappear. But during his first encounter with Donny, Christopher finds something else unsettling: the man looks familiar.

After a betrayal that sent their marriage into freefall, Hannah and Sam are desperate for a fresh start with their eight-year-old daughter Lily—and where better than picture-perfect Owl Cottage in beautiful Cornwall. But something about the holiday home stirs dark memories for Hannah… When she finds dead creatures on the doorstep and hears mysterious knocks at the door, Hannah can’t help wondering whether someone is messing with her—or whether the past she’s been running from has finally claimed her sanity.

When young Josie Vance vanishes from Cove Park, California leaving behind her light-up sneakers, Special Agent Emily Ray leads the investigation to find her. She is the very best at finding abducted children. Twenty-eight years ago she was one of them. As she leads the hunt, the kidnapper sends a drawing. It depicts a little girl in pink leggings, standing before a brick house, clutching silver balloons. The address scrawled in the background is identical to where Emily was held captive.

Holed up in prison, Mike Regan is offered a deal - his freedom in exchange for his firm taking down the gang that is supplying a new dangerous drug that has hit the streets. What starts as a game soon becomes a shocking revelation with devastating consequences. Meanwhile, Mike’s fiancé, Zara Ezra, has her own firm to run. But when the so-called Governor is out to take her down, she has her own decision to make - either fight, run, or write her own rule book....

Sometimes, some things are beyond your control... While staying at a secluded Airbnb, the easygoing Edoardo Fallini discovers that his eccentric host is not who she seems to be. Soon bodies start to pile up--and to Edoardo's horror, the blood of each death is on his hands.

At an elite private school nestled in the Colorado mountains, Natalie, an office assistant, dreams of having a life like the school moms she deals with every day. Women like Brooke—a gorgeous heiress, ferociously loving mother and serial cheater—and Asha, an overprotective mom who suspects her husband of having an affair. Their fates are bound by the handsome assistant athletic director Nicholas, whom Natalie loves, Brooke wants and Asha needs.

A small white plane hurtles from the sky, vanishing into the wilderness. Hiker Maggie Roby watches its final descent, certain that no one could have survived. But to her shock, a fifteen-year-old girl emerges from the wreckage, wounded but miraculously, impossibly alive. Maggie approaches with trepidation; she has secrets of her own, a past she can’t escape. Saving the girl means risking her future, but she can’t just abandon her, can she?

That bullet wasn't meant for me. Or was it? Who would want to kill me? I make friends, not enemies. I live in the coziest, sweetest town on Earth, and I own a yarn store. I’m a knitter for goodness sake! Knitters are like the Golden Retrievers of humankind. Everybody loves us. At first, I was sure it was a case of mistaken identity. Now I’m not as sure. My friends and family are rallying around me to keep me safe. Does someone really want me dead? Who? Why? Is it someone I know? The police think it might be. Can I follow my instincts and unravel the clues before they try again?

A wave of apparent suicides hits a string of seaside resorts, but when a police officer is named as the latest to die, DI Amy Winter suspects there may be more than mere coincidence to these tragic deaths. But what dark motive could cause someone to throw themselves into the cold depths of the North Sea? Someone in the community knows more, but Amy’s questions are met with resistance. A group of mysterious teenagers might hold the key, but why are they so afraid to talk? Meanwhile, after the release from prison of her serial killer mother, Amy is fighting her own demons.

Her missing daughter was just the start of the nightmare. Twenty years ago, Christine Donovan took a call she should have ignored while shopping. In those few seconds while her back was turned, her toddler, Heidi, was kidnapped. She's never been seen again. Despite having two other children with husband Greg, Christine remains guilt-stricken that her neglect caused her child to be stolen, while haunted by a secret that consumes her.

I’ve never felt welcome in my husband Dominic’s family home. His parents make it clear I’m a poor comparison to his perfect first wife, Carla. But we’re here for Christmas, so it’s important to pretend everything is fine. Until Dominic’s mother bustles into our bedroom. Smiling thinly, she blindsides me: ‘You won’t mind, will you. Carla is coming for the holidays. She’s still one of the family to us, and she can’t get home because of the storm.’ My eyes widen—did she and Carla plan this on purpose? I know Dominic won’t say a thing. He never stands up to his parents.

Immerse Yourself in the Dark Enigma of "Fatal Belief" Unravel the chilling narrative of "Fatal Belief," the third installment in The Kanke Killings Series—a twisted murder mystery that leaves no room for escape. As an Indian detective grapples with gut-wrenching serial killings, the stakes have never been higher. Prepare for a journey that will challenge your perception of reality, as deep and mysterious layers of intrigue are peeled away, one page at a time. The Third Chapter in a Captivating Series Dive into the darkness of "Fatal Belief" after embarking on gripping journeys through...

Murder, jealousy, and deceit underscore three interlocking mysteries as Holmes and Watson take on a high-profile case at Windsor Castle, a boy drowned in the Serpentine, and a crusading women’s rights activist who suspects a traitor in her organisation. The cases send them into danger into locales as varied as the palace itself, a dockland cannery, an arts and crafts atelier, and a gypsy encampment. But is there peril underfoot as well – right at 221B Baker Street?

The drive should’ve taken three hours. Four, if he stopped for coffee. Cal Morrin stared out at the two-lane road stretching endlessly before him, the kind that seemed to unravel like old ribbon through the forest. His hands rested loose on the steering wheel, eyes flicking between the trees and the dashboard clock. He was supposed to be at the cabin by now. The cabin. A quiet retreat deep in the woods—no cell service, no meetings, no expectations. He'd booked it on impulse during a sleepless night. A last-ditch attempt to clear the fog in his mind before Monday. Behind him: the city. ...

A suspenseful novel full of twists about a girl striving to reconcile with her mother--a rich senator--who abandoned her at birth, set against the backdrop of a city caught in the grip of an unprecedented crime wave. When Amber Faulkner strives to honour her dying adoptive mother's last request to be reunited with her birth mother—the universally reviled politician Joan Simmons—she has no idea of the anguish and pain that lie ahead. What dark secrets lie behind the reason her birth mother abandoned her when she kept and raised her twin sister? Why does her mother tell her that she ...

Ex-crime reporter Leonard Blaylock spends his days on an unusual hobby, developing strangers’ forgotten and discarded rolls of film. He loves the small mysteries the photographs reveal to him. Then Leonard finds something no one would ever expect, or want, to see captured on film—the murder of a young woman. But that’s impossible, because the woman is already dead. Leonard was there when it happened five years earlier.

A time to mourn. A gruesome find. A race for the truth. After her husband and son are killed in a tragic car accident, Carolyn goes to stay with her mother in a quiet, rural town. She hopes the break will help her cope with her loss. Soon, Carolyn discovers that the small town holds unforgivable secrets. One she stumbles upon when she discovers the body of a young boy down a well – only to find he has disappeared when she returns with the police. The local residents, including Carolyn’s mother, doubt her discovery and blame it on her current state of mind. Rumours begin to spread. With ...

Piper makes a gruesome discovery while remodeling the old farmhouse. The second location of their bakery must open in a month or risk losing all of their new customers. Can she solve this mystery in time?

When a dead fisherman rolls up on shore, Madison cannot resist jumping into her new role as Private Investigator. But she soon discovers the people in The Cove who normally gossip about everybody's business are unusually tight-lipped. With the bad tenant radar still not working, the cottages continue to be full of riffraff. Madison gets arrested, shot at, and outsmarted. She teams up with her best friend, the Glock-carrying Fabiana. Together, they take on cases no other investigators would ever touch!