Short Crime Thriller

When Edward Townes - famed writer of novels about knights and maids, and castles and conquering - attends a medieval launch party for his latest book, he arrives ready to do more than celebrate. But party night brings a blizzard, a once-in-a-century storm that sees Townes staggering home, alone ... only to be found dead the next day. With Cherringham cut-off and the blizzard still raging, Jack and Sarah start investigating. Their questions reveal that many of those still stranded in the dark village have secrets. And Townes' killer is still in the village.

Ever wondered what early experiences shaped Reacher's explosive career as butt-kicker supreme, the one-man guided-missile battler for justice? In this original new short story, Lee Child looks back on an incident in his hero Jack Reacher's teenage years as the younger son of a tough career US Marine, on a faraway military base in the Pacific.

Where Family Ties Are Rooted in Murder A crumbling vineyard. A long-buried letter. And bones that refuse to stay hidden. When graduate student Addison Lane joins a forensic anthropology practicum in the Ozarks, she expects dirt, science, and maybe a few local legends. What she doesn’t expect is to unearth a string of shallow graves—and the key to a mystery that connects her past to a decades-old murder. As Addison, Dr. Svoboda, and their unlikely ally Alexander dig deeper into the overgrown rows of Reznik Vineyard, secrets begin to surface—ones tied to Viktor Reznik’s final diary, a...

YOU CAN NEVER BE CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE TRUTH This is not the story of a disappearance. It's the story of what happens after a happy ending. A suspense novel. An addictive psychological thriller about love, betrayal, and the consequences of our decisions, that will hook the reader from its very first pages. Popular actress Anna Guirao was never known for being a victim, despite being forcibly taken and locked in an underground hideout on the afternoon of April 19, 2019. Thirteen months later, when everyone assumed she was dead, she's found lost in a forest near the town of Portella, Lérida, ...

A Vanished Masterpiece, a Sun-Worshipping Noble, and a Mystery Full of Twists! Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James are called to the crumbling mansion of a bankrupt aristocrat whose only salvation—a priceless painting—has vanished. If the masterpiece isn’t recovered, the bank will foreclose, leaving the family ruined. But instead of helping, the eccentric nobleman is obsessed with his bizarre sun-worshipping rituals. Then the case turns deadly. Two men are found murdered in the mansion’s decaying halls, and the nobleman’s spinster sister confesses, convinced she’s guilty. The police ...

While staying with the Kingston Bruce family, Mrs. Hamilton Betts discovers that her valuable pink pearl is missing. Presuming it to have been stolen by another houseguest, the concerned host contacts the Beresfords for help.

C. J. Box, #1 New York Times best-selling author of the hugely popular Joe Pickett series, selects the best short mystery and crime fiction of the year in this annual “treat for crime-fiction fans” (Library Journal).

Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch accompanies his old friend and mentor, retired bush pilot Charley Stevens, as he pays a visit to a mysterious woman, the widow of a Vietnam vet, living in isolation in the Maine wilderness. Many years earlier, she had called Charley, then a young game warden himself, for help. She claimed that her badly bleeding husband had been attacked by a rabid bat. But in the succeeding days, despite her husband's increasingly erratic and aggressive behavior, his wife resisted Charley's attempts to help, arousing his suspicions that more was going on than met the eye.

When Maine game warden Mike Bowditch discovers a bullet-ridden bald eagle in the Maine woods, he is surprised by the memories it brings back for his mentor, retired warden pilot Charley Stevens. Decades earlier, Charley briefly teamed up with Mike’s father, the notorious poacher Jack Bowditch, on an unsettling case that has haunted Charley for years. The two enemies, both war veterans, found common cause over the senseless shooting of a magnificent eagle. But what started as a tentative alliance over a wildlife crime soon became something bigger and more terrifying.

THE CICADAS ROAR For all of the years of his young life, Jackson had been told never to go near the river. It was just a fact of life. If he called out to his mother saying he was going out into the yard to play, she would always call out behind him, ‘Don’t you go near that river.’ He would feel dejected and upset. He always hoped that one day she would forget to tell him. Then that day came. OTHER TALES OF TERROR AND TORMENT Hide under the covers and keep the light on as you go on a journey into the darkness and evil of the human mind.

'Fans of L J Ross and Elly Griffiths will love this.' A sinister and systematic crime – the hunt for a meticulous and elusive villain. Isobel McKenzie, a psychotherapist, discovers the body of a young woman along the banks of the Shannon. She has been raped and strangled. As the news spreads, other rape victims contact Isobel confidentially. Their stories are so shockingly similar that it is clear a serial rapist is at large. Garda Detective Inspector Eoin Ryan and Sergeant Alanna Finnegan are on the case. As Isobel shares the details of the unreported rapes with them, they realise that a...

When a divorced writer is tailed by a Mexican gang member, he and his twelve-year-old daughter are forced to defend themselves. But when it’s discovered that the young lady is capable of some professional grade bad-assness, Dad realizes he not only has a special child on his hands, but that she’s an absolute killing machine. Twists and turns, surprises and thrills from New York Times bestselling, Thriller and Shamus Award winning mystery author, Vincent Zandri.

When Ed Finnlay - computer programmer and devoted father of two - goes missing, there's not a lot the local police can do. After all, Ed himself told them he would be gone... for quite some time. As the weeks go by with no news, his wife reaches out to Jack and Sarah for help. But they soon learn that there are odd secrets about this missing husband and that he might not only be gone, but also in serious danger. Can Jack and Sarah do what seems impossible.

Toni West is a recent college graduate looking to make her way in the big city when she gets a call that her beloved aunt has passed away. Toni must return to a town she hates to say goodbye to the one family member she loved. When she gets there, she's surprised by an enticing new friend, Jenna Styles, and an unexpected inheritance that causes additional unwanted friction within an already broken family. Fire and romance don't always mix - Will Toni and Jenna find a way to be together? Or will their desire for one another not be enough to keep the flames burning? **This book is an intimate...

Hot on the heels of Best Cases of the Continental Op comes Honest Gain: Dicey Cases of the Continental Op, another original compilation from Skyboat Media. The Continental Op is back on the case, tracking down thieves and murderers from the steep streets of San Francisco to the rough and tumble Wild West in Arizona. These six stories featuring the Continental Op show that this private eye is not afraid to get his hands dirty in order to get the job done right, or get himself hurt in the process.

When the boss of the big local DIY outlet is murdered on a moonlit night, all the evidence points to the store's junior manager. And when police retrieve the murder weapon from the Thames, the manager goes on the run. But Jack and Sarah are not at all sure of his guilt. Can they uncover the real killer before it's too late for the runaway suspect? Cherringham is a serial novel à la Charles Dickens, with a new audio episode released every two weeks. Set in the sleepy English village of Cherringham, the detective series brings together an unlikely sleuthing duo.

Samantha Moon is back and fighting crime! Hired for what seems like another cheating spouse case, Samantha couldn’t be more surprised when the target of her surveillance seemingly walks in on a bank robbery. Is he somehow involved? Sam doesn't know, but a few twists and turns later, she soon finds herself hanging from a helicopter’s landing skid... and heading out to sea. Turns out, this is no ordinary cheating spouse case. Luckily, Sam is no ordinary private eye. Click BUY NOW or READ FOR FREE today!

After ageing hippy Bill Hogan is taken hostage during a bank heist in Brooklyn, his captors demand a million-dollar ransom for his safe return. The problem is no-one knows who the hell Bill Hogan is. Does he even exist? All is not what it seems in this fast-paced, short story.

Every morning at the same hour on the golf course, Jack Hartington hears mysterious cries for help coming from a cottage. He speaks to the resident and learns that she has unsettling dreams of a woman with a blue Chinese vase. Believing that the cries for help are from the late Mrs. Turner, the former resident of the cottage, Jack hires a psychic investigator to spend a night in the house, a night which proves to have startling results.

Two bloody brilliant short stories from number-one best-selling crime writer Stuart MacBride, featuring DS Logan McRae and his boss, DI Steel. 'Stramash': something fishy is happening on the isle of Jura. DS Logan McRae gets a phone call from DI Steel ordering him to come to the island at once. One freezing night's sleep in a hatchback and two storm-battered ferries later, Logan arrives - but there's no sign of Steel. She's lumped him in the middle of a policing nightmare, with bodies and bullets and tiny, wee boats.