American Detective Fiction

“A stellar novel of action, adventure, and intrigue.” —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author The presumed president-elect has been assassinated. The fate of the United States is at stake. And Detective Jim Murphy of the Chicago PD is to blame. Serving as extra security in a parade for the apparent presidential winner, he succumbs to a moment of distraction. That indelible lapse allows an assassin to take down the president-elect. His shame is made even more profound now that Bryan, his rivalrous brother from the Justice Department, has come to Chicago to investigate the ...

Previously published as Deadly Secrets: Hidden Guilt by Madalena Melchior. SECRET GUILT London, 1905. Under the pretext of retrieving some books he has left behind at Number 221B, Sherlock Holmes temporarily trades his small farm upon the Downs, five miles from Eastbourne, and his beehives, for Baker Street. Before he has time to unpack his Gladstone, however, there's already a client at the door asking for his help with a case. So much for retirement...

NBA superstar Merlin Miller is all set to marry his beautiful bride, Raven, but on the morning of their wedding, he wakes up to a gruesome crime scene. Merlin is shocked and doesn’t have clear answers to how this crime occurred. Their wedding day is doomed, and Merlin doesn’t know how to explain what happened. Merlin’s freedom may be on the line and there is certain information he hopes Raven never finds out. Raven Clark is overjoyed on the day of her wedding. She is ready to marry Merlin and start their life together, but their wedding is put to a halt. When Raven finds out the ...

An impoverished spinster in love with a man who’s married to his job…and the twist of fate that makes it his job to protect her… Madeleine Caruthers has been madly in love with her pastor for over a year, but (despite her conviction that the attraction is mutual) he’s made it clear he’s married to the church. So, when her friends summon her to Texas, she doesn’t think twice about signing on as a Pinkerton agent to help bring a dangerous cattle rustling gang to justice. As far as she’s concerned, women can marry their jobs, too. Pastor Josh Michaelson hates the fact that he’s...

"Beneath a Buried House is a wonderful book, full of twists and turns and surprises." –Crime-Spree Magazine Things aren't always what they seem. Tulsa Police Detective, Kenny Elliot's quest to uncover the truth behind the death of a transient, makes him a target—from whom or what, he isn't sure. When he brushes the dirt from the surface of an apparent John Doe overdose case, he finds a labyrinth of misdirection and deception, and a trail, which leads him to an encounter with an aberration in human nature, the likes of which he's not prepared to deal with. Drawing on his strength of ...

A wedding and a murder...Star football player and NFL hopeful, Michael “Bumper” Hackett is getting married. Word’s going around that it’s a shotgun wedding, and there just might be some truth to it, seeing that the bride-to-be is showing a baby bump. But before the ceremony can even get started, the poor groom collapses from what appears to be an asthma attack. Unfortunately, things aren’t always what they seem. Romaine knew it was a bad idea to have a wedding at the funeral home, but newly elected justice of the peace and sole proprietor of the Ball Funeral Home & Crematorium, ...

A gang war is looming. A young boy is caught in the middle. A young black teen, Kamal, approaches Detective Linn McFarland with the offer to help her and the chief-of-police bring down his uncle, a crime lord. Hesitant at first, Linn agrees when the boy threatens to get involved with or without her. She takes the boy and his family under her wing, determined to protect them at all costs. Even if it means her life is forfeit. A gang new to Upton Falls is pitting one rival member against another and using teens from the homeless park to do their dirty work. Danger rises to a new high as Linn ...

Along the ever-changing border of gentrifying Los Angeles, 17-year-old Monique Darson is found dead at a condominium construction site, hanging in the closet of an unfinished unit. Homicide Detective Elouise "Lou" Norton's new partner, Colin Taggert, fresh from the comparatively bucolic Colorado Springs police department, assumes it's a teenage suicide. Lou isn't buying the easy explanation. For one thing, the condo site is owned by Napoleon Crase, a self-made millionaire...and the man who may have murdered Lou's missing sister, Tori, 30 years ago.

A matriarch murdered in her bedroom. Four wholesome nieces and nephews sat in the living room. Seventeen million dollars at stake. Which one did it?Lyric Adler has been keeping devastating secrets. Now that the one person who made her keep the secrets is dead, she is ready to tell it all. When she stood before the casket of her wealthy ninety-eight-year-old aunt, Gretchen Prescott, and whispered, “I kept the secrets, but now it’s time to tell,” she was convinced her aunt had been murdered. The two hadn’t liked each other yet couldn’t stay apart, and behind their contentious ...

In Alaska, people disappear every day. In Aleut detective Kate Shugak's Park, they've been disappearing a lot lately. Hikers head into the wilderness unprepared and get lost. Miners quit without notice at the busy Suulutaq Mine. Suicides leave farewell notes and vanish. Not only are Park rats disappearing at an alarming rate, but so is life in the Park as Kate knows it.

If he loves her, he loves her – career woman or addict – despite what they say about her value. They can’t speak for black women. They can’t speak for the man who has found his one. No man ever fell in love with a table; he doesn’t much look at that table if his heart is full. This black love, romantic thriller is a testing ground for the statements above, as its plot applies pressure from all sides. Lulu, a depressed, kept-wife disappears. When she returns to her husband, Russ, back to the confines of their mansion and their cold-war marriage, the scare of her disappearance leads...

It’s another murder in the little town of Roble. But not to worry, Romaine and Auntie Zanne are on it! It’s the 100th Boule of the Distinguished Ladies’ Society of Voodoo Herbalists. They’ve gotten together to eat, drink, be merry and vote for the next Lesser Mambo, a lifetime appointment second only to the Most High (bet you’ll never guess who holds that position). But the second in command spot keeps becoming vacant—that’s because the women who fill it keep dying off. This time though, it looks like murder. During an alcohol-infused dinner and a tall glass full of absinth, a...

A fake bride, a groom who’s not the man he claims to be, and their highly inconvenient spark of attraction… Lorelai Woods is convinced she's engaged to the perfect man, until she discovers he’s part of a cattle rustling gang trying to steal her blind. In a desperate bid to regain control of her family’s ranch, she applies for a job as a Pinkerton agent. Unfortunately, they need her to serve undercover as the fake bride of a fellow agent for a few weeks before launching an investigation into her family’s troubles. John Langston was pressed into sailing on a pirate ship when he was ...

The residents of Alaska’s largest national park are stunned by the death of one of their oldest members, 87-year-old Old Sam Dementieff...even private investigator Kate Shugak. Sam, a lifelong resident, dubbed the “father” of all of the Park rats - even though he had no children of his own - was especially close to Kate, his niece, but even she is surprised to discover that in his will he’s left her everything, including a letter instructing her simply to, “find my father".

Dr. Sandra Tanner is an award-winning author. What is the significance of a dislocated shoulder, an upcoming family reunion, and cellophane wrappers? They all interweave to solve a four-year-old murder. But how? When private investigator Kadence McKnight learns of her family’s strong adverse reactions to the upcoming quinquennial family reunion, she realizes she has a problem on her hands. She knows the backlash is because the murderer of Satrine Campbell has not been captured. Satrine’s body was found four years ago, a few feet beyond the back fence of the McKnight family cemetery, ...

A young black woman, Jamila Mosely, is killed, but slain even worse by media coverage that refuses to let her be an innocent victim. Per usual, they air her most questionable photo, and hint at sketchy associations to portray her as a victim to her own devices. Detective Sawyer takes it personal. Sawyer becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth and restoring dignity to the name of a young lady not much older than her daughter Star. And yet there is still the unresolved issues with Chosen, Travis, Duke, and even her struggling marriage to contend; Sawyer has a full plate. Under the ...

A small boy and a young girl make a contract to kill. A school girl and her young brother arrive at private detective Jack Hamma's office. They scatter coins over Jacks desk, the contents of their piggy bank, and ask Jack to shoot dead two men. They want to save a forest and take revenge for the murder of their parents. Murder, revenge and retribution combine with Jacks wry humor to make this a great read. ‘The same fast paced action we've come to expect from a Jack Hamma story.’ ‘Flows well as we travel with Jack across the world, from the wilds of Yorkshire to the depths of the ...

Alaska aviation entrepreneur Finn Grant died in the fiery crash of his Piper Super Cub. Someone sabotaged his engine, and virtually everyone in southwestern Alaska has a motive, including his betrayed wife, his bullied children, and Liam’s wife, bush pilot Wyanet Chouinard. With few places to turn, Liam asks his former mentor Niniltna post commander Sergeant Jim Chopin, for help, and Jim quickly brings Kate onto the case. Working undercover as - of all things - a waitress at Bill’s Bar and Grill, Kate learns over beer and burgers that Grant’s business had expanded meteorically over the last two years.

Maura Donovan discovers a body in the ravine behind her pub. And then the Irish gardai reveal that the victim's face has been battered beyond recognition. Who is the faceless victim? Who wanted him dead? And why was his body dumped in the backyard of Sullivan's Pub? Even after the dead man is finally given a name, nobody admits to knowing him. In the tight-knit world of Leap, no one is talking - and now, it's up to Maura to uncover the dark secrets that lurk beneath the seemingly quiet town.

On the dusty, sun-baked lands of the Navajo Nation reservation in Arizona, a veil of mystery and suspicion hung thick in the air. A month prior, a daring payroll heist had taken place, leaving the tribal coffers reeling from the loss. In a brazen act, the perpetrators had even made off with a helicopter, which seemed to vanish into thin air along with the stolen money. The Navajo Nation police force, woefully understaffed, scrambled to investigate this audacious crime. At the heart of their efforts were three officers - Joe Nez, Jim Cly, and Ajei Johnson. Jim, however, was no ordinary ...