Crime Town

When a young woman dies in a late-night restaurant fire, the owner, Bobby Carter, is charged with arson and murder. The evidence is stacked against him, but something doesn’t add up. And his only chance for justice rests on the shoulders of small-town lawyer Leland Munroe… Leland is convinced someone’s out to frame his client. But as the trial heats up, he realizes that he's facing more than just a legal battle.

Tainted Course Vermont. Covered bridges, craft fairs, and murder? When the new superintendent of schools moves to town, she finds the job isn't a piece of cake. When she drops dead after eating dessert, sleuthing couple Emily and Henry Fox rise to the occasion by stirring up clues and solving the case. The Muddy Course When a man falls from a roof at the Sugarbury Falls arts fair, amateur sleuths Emily and Henry Fox set out to prove it wasn’t an accident. The Sinister Course When the dear friend of the town’s beloved innkeeper is murdered, sleuthing couple Emily and Henry Fox don’t ...

Whether in Truman Capote’s detailed murder of the Clutter family or Ted Bundy’s small-town charm, criminals have always roamed rural America and towns worldwide. Featuring murder stories, criminal case studies, and more, The Best New True Crime Stories: Small Towns contains all-new accounts from writers of true crime, crime journalism, and crime fiction. And these entries are not based on a true story - they are true stories. Edited by acclaimed author and anthologist Mitzi Szereto, the stories in this volume span the globe.

Who would murder a church pastor? Furthermore, WHY would anyone murder one of the most respected pastors in the small town? The list of suspects grows as the Chief of Police, Frederick Earl investigates the shocking murder of First Church Pastor, Todd Pierce. The brutal mode of the homicide has the chief wondering what clues are hidden in the execution. The investigation leads the chief and his officers through a series of interviews including other pastors, church members, those hostile toward the church, trespassers, protestors, loyal church members and others. Will the murderer strike ...

Two brothers meet at the remote fence line separating their cattle ranches in the lonely outback. In an isolated belt of Western Australia, they are each other’s nearest neighbor, their homes a four-hour drive apart. The third brother lies dead at their feet. Something caused Cam, the middle child who had been in charge of the family homestead, to die alone in the middle of nowhere. So the eldest brother returns with his younger sibling to the family property and those left behind. But the fragile balance of the ranch is threatened.

When a body washes up on the state park beach, Deputy Tessa Black’s experience as a former Seattle detective tells her that the death was not an accident. All evidence points to another murder on the remote island. The victim is a local contractor with a shockingly long list of enemies. The more locals Tessa interviews, the more people she suspects - from the bitter ex-wife and estranged current wife to disgruntled former clients and employees. They all have different reasons to want him dead.

The area surrounding Cashiers, North Carolina, is home to people of all kinds, but the world that Jacob McNeely lives in is crueler than most. His father runs a methodically organized meth ring, with local authorities on the dime to turn a blind eye to his dealings. Having dropped out of high school and cut himself off from his peers, Jacob has been working for this father for years, all on the promise that his payday will come eventually.

With his acknowledged individual storytelling expertise, D. M. Mitchell pens yet another taut psychological thriller with a difference that twists and turns to its deliciously devious and unexpected conclusion. Discover for yourself why D. M. Mitchell is being hailed as one of the most exciting new writers of thriller and supernatural tales in the UK. From reviews of Max: "Downloaded to take on holiday and was glad I did. Different to any other mystery thriller which I've read before which was really interesting and refreshing!" "Max! A Brilliant Book. Words can't describe how good this ...

The town of Sarlat is staging a reenactment of its liberation from the British in the Hundred Years’ War when the play’s French hero, Brice Kerquelin, is stabbed and feared fatally wounded. Is it an unfortunate prop malfunction—or something more sinister? The stricken man happens to be number two in the French intelligence service, in line for the top job. Bruno is tasked with the safety of the victim’s daughter Claire, as well as her father's old Silicon Valley buddies, ostensibly in town for a reunion.

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.

A seemingly straightforward private case turns out to be much more complicated - and sinister - than Special Agent A. X. L. Pendergast ever could have anticipated. Pendergast, together with his ward, Constance Greene, travels to the quaint seaside village of Exmouth, Massachusetts, to investigate the theft of a priceless wine collection. But inside the wine cellar, they find something considerably more disturbing: a bricked-up niche that once held a crumbling skeleton.

Owning a bookstore in a small town is a dream...until murder makes it a nightmare. The victim, the new lighthouse owner, left behind more enemies than friends. The suspect list is endless, and I'm on it. I team up with my best friend, Sam, and my rescue dog, Sherlock Paws, to uncover the truth. Clues are popping up all over, and just when I think we're getting somewhere, another body turns up. With Sherlock Paws' sharp instincts for sniffing out hidden clues and her talent for squeezing into tight spaces, we're making headway—but the clock is ticking. Each new discovery pushes us closer ...

In Willowbrook, some recipes kill. Some resurrect. And some—will change everything. Amelia Hawthorne thought she knew her grandmother's cafe, until the day a forbidden cookbook unveiled a darkness brewing beneath every perfectly frosted surface. One slice of cake. One moment of truth. An entire town's destiny hanging by a thread of midnight bloom and ancient secrets. The Syndicate has been watching. Waiting. Controlling minds through every carefully poisoned pastry, every calculated crumb that passes unsuspecting lips. They thought their recipe for manipulation was perfect. They were ...

This is no meet cute. It's meet brute. My day starts perfectly. I'm offered my dream job – manager at the largest independent bookstore in the country. Lame? Not to a bookworm like me. But then my perfect day turns into a nightmare. I’m kidnapped by Russian gangsters. Turns out my family has a debt, and I'm the collateral. I'm trapped, bound and blindfolded, scared senseless and wondering if I'll make it out alive. Then I get kidnapped again. Only this time my kidnapper is the bodyguard I never knew I had. A six-foot-four mountain of muscle and danger named Hammer. He's an ex-Marine, a ...

Two gripping mysteries. One detective. Legends that refuse to stay buried. Book 1: Bigfoot Island Looking for a fresh start after the tragic loss of his partner, homicide detective Jack Lee moves to Cedar Island, WA, with his wife and takes the job of chief of police. But small-town life is anything but peaceful. A woman’s body is found, a child goes missing, and a devastating mudslide hits the town. To make matters even stranger, rumors spread of a Bigfoot sighting. Jack’s longtime friend, anthropologist Dr. Allie Chandler, arrives with a lifelong obsession with Sasquatch—one that ...

On September 13, 2016, in the small town of Ashland, Ohio, emergency dispatchers received a 911 call from a terrified woman who claimed to be kidnapped. The man holding her hostage was Shawn Grate, a serial killer whom the press later dubbed “The Ladykiller.” A key to his conviction and death sentence were Grate’s extensive recorded confessions—all extracted by one woman: Detective Kim Mager.

On the day Stockholm police officer Hanna Ahlander’s personal and professional lives crash, she takes refuge at her sister’s lodge in the Swedish ski resort paradise of Åre. But it’s a brief comfort. The entire village is shaken by the sudden vanishing of a local teenage girl. Hanna can’t help but investigate, and while searching for the missing person, she lands a job with the local police department. There she joins forces with Detective Inspector Daniel Lindskog, who has been tasked with finding the girl. Their only lead: a scarf in the snow.

She’s got one good leg. Two bad habits. And enough attitude to burn this whole town down. Nik Briscoe is an ex-Navy SEAL with a titanium prosthesis, a telekinetic secret she’ll kill to protect, and a gift for pissing off all the wrong people. After getting blamed for a New Orleans drug boss’s dead brother, Nik’s been on the run—living out of her pack, staying one jump ahead of the bounty hunters sent to collect her head. Her latest stop? Possum Trot, Alabama. She just wants a burger and five minutes of peace. What she gets is a twitchy junkie with a six-shooter, a murder rap ...

She’s my enemy. A betrayer. And the only woman I’ve ever loved. As patched member of the Steel Reapers MC, the club is my only family. My loyalty to my brothers is absolute, But then I meet her. Then everything changes. Amelia’s my opposite – highly educated, law-abiding, kind. And the most dangerous woman I've ever met. With curvy hips and chestnut curls, she burns her name on my heart From our first fiery night, she belongs to me. Until she betrays me. Then it's war – with her and my heart. But then Amelia uncovers a dark secret. A secret that makes her the target of a somone ...

After a casual weekly dinner with her brother Alex, Mackenzie’s life is shattered when a brutal ambush leaves her to believe Alex is dead—his killers connected to a notorious crime boss. Fleeing for her life, Mackenzie seeks refuge at the Rocking W Ranch with Levi, her brother’s best friend and former military police. As she struggles to cope with the trauma, Levi vows to protect her and help unravel the mystery behind Alex's murder. In the quiet town of Misty Hollow, danger lurks as secrets are uncovered. Mackenzie and Levi are thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse, where ...