Small Town Thriller

The True: True stories from a small town are true stories from that place. From my childhood up through my adulthood. Some heartfelt, some heart rending, some the horrible truth of the life I lived at that time... (Based on a true story from my life. Names have been changed, but truthfully almost all of them are dead now so it doesn't matter.) The feeling of being thrown from the car, the jarring impact, the dizzying disorientation – these were moments etched indelibly into my memory. The world seemed to spin wildly, colors blurring, sounds distorting, creating a distorted kaleidoscope of...

Every year, Úna prepares for her father to leave her. He will wave good-bye early one morning, then disappear with seven other men to traverse the Irish countryside. Together, these men form the Butchers, a group that roams from farm to farm, enacting ancient methods of cattle slaughter.

Lieutenant Ethan Hendricks greatest nightmare just also happens to be his grandfather’s newest business venture. Logan Hendricks is thrilled about his brand new detective agency’s first case, but things weren’t turning out the way they were supposed to, including the attempted murder of one of his brand new employees. But he figures their next case, which involves finding a missing sister, should go a lot smoother. How dangerous could it be? Ethan Hendricks wasn’t quite as confident about his grandfather’s new hobby, or that the supposedly straight-forward case of finding a ...

When construction workers uncover preserved human remains at Kingfisher Station—a luxury resort development in rural Australia—Detective Maya Thorne is called back to the hometown she fled as a teenager. The discovery is eerily similar to a case she solved months earlier, but this time it's personal: the development borders her childhood home, which she abandoned. The victim is identified as Elaine Mercer, an environmental consultant who disappeared eight years ago while investigating water rights during the region's worst drought in decades. Maya quickly discovers that Elaine had ...

Joe Talbert, Jr. has never once met his namesake. Now out of college, a cub reporter for the Associated Press in Minneapolis, he stumbles across a story describing the murder of a man named Joseph Talbert in a small town in southern Minnesota. Full of curiosity about whether this man might be his father, Joe is shocked to find that none of the town's residents have much to say about the dead man - other than that his death was long overdue....

INTRODUCING FIVE GRIPPING THRILLERS BY S.K. WINTERS What readers are saying about S.K. Winters’ books: “I have read a number of books by this author and they don't disappoint. I strongly recommend.” “A really good series that keeps you turning pages until the end.” “Well-written, engaging and entertaining reads. Highly recommended!!!!” IN THIS FIVE-BOOK BOX SET: THE SHADOWS WHISPER LOCAL GIRL ABDUCTED Bellview is a small town with many hidden secrets. Those secrets were able to remain hidden until the night Emily Jackson was taken. The abduction of Emily formed an unlikely ...

In 1998 an Alku, Minnesota, family of five was brutally murdered in their sleep. The event shook the insulated community but, without any solid leads, was relegated to the cold case files, where it moldered for twenty-five years. Until today. Agent Harry Steinbeck hoped never to return to the northland, a place that holds terrible memories of his sister’s abduction. But when a recent homicide is connected to Alku’s unsolved mass murder, he and cold case agent Evangeline Reed have no choice but to investigate.

How could things have gone so wrong between Syl Jameson and Viola Harrison? Syl and Viola are like sisters growing up in the small, stifling town of Love Hill. Though they are as different as light and dark, they connect. And for Syl, Viola’s family is a warm refuge away from the unaffectionate place that Syl calls home. But the reality is Syl can get a little needy and jealous. Viola can get a little toxic. And, like everyone in Love Hill, they have secrets. Eventually their friendship is bound to snap.

One Sip Too Fatal As Murder Brews at The Book Nook! At a charming book club gathering in the storybook town of Willow Creek, murder isn't on the menu—until sharp-tongued Madeline Prescott keels over, poisoned mid-sip. Enter Harper Lane: sarcastic, sharp-eyed, and owner of the quaint bookshop, The Book Nook. With a trusty cup of tea and her gossip-loving parrot, Edgar, Harper prefers plots on the page—until real murder lands in her lap. When the police chalk it up to a tragic accident, Harper isn’t convinced. After all, Edgar won’t stop muttering, “Not mine! Not mine!” Between ...

Leland Gaunt opens a new shop in Castle Rock called Needful Things. Anyone who enters his store finds the object of his or her lifelong dreams and desires: a prized baseball card, a healing amulet. In addition to a token payment, Gaunt requests that each person perform a little "deed", usually a seemingly innocent prank played on someone else from town. These practical jokes cascade out of control, and soon the entire town is doing battle with itself. Only Sheriff Alan Pangborn suspects that Gaunt is behind the population's increasingly violent behavior.

In a tale inspired by real events, pregnant journalist Joan Harken is cautiously excited to follow her fiancé back to his Minnesota hometown. After spending a childhood on the move and chasing the screams and swirls of news-rich city life, she’s eager to settle down. Lilydale’s motto, “Come Home Forever,” couldn’t be more inviting. And yet, something is off in the picture-perfect village. The friendliness borders on intrusive. Joan can’t shake the feeling that every move she makes is being tracked. An archaic organization still seems to hold the town in thrall.

Madeline Brimley left small-town Georgia many years ago to go to college and pursue her dreams on the stage. Her dramatic escapades are many, but success has eluded her, leaving her at loose ends. But then she gets word that not only has her beloved, eccentric Aunt Rose passed, but she's left Madeline her equally eccentric bookstore housed in an old Victorian mansion in the small college town of Enigma. But when she arrives in her beat-up Fiat to claim The Old Juniper Bookstore—and restart her life—Madeline is faced with unexpected challenges.

The first body should have been a warning. The second, a cry for help. By the third, Deputy Sue Calhoun knows a killer is hunting in Willow Creek—and she's running out of time. Then he arrives. Pastor Will Hayes has eyes that see straight through her defenses and a smile that makes her forget she's sworn off charming men. When he takes her hand during Sunday service, Sue feels something she thought was dead—hope. But as she falls deeper under his spell, the bodies keep piling up, and a horrifying pattern emerges. Is he the salvation her broken heart desperately needs—or the predator ...

When a body turned up at her last catering gig it certainly put people off the hors d’oeuvres. With a reputation to salvage, Jodie’s determined that her next job for the village’s festival will go off without a hitch. But when chaos breaks out, Jodie Parker somehow always finds herself caught up in the picture. The body of a writer from the festival is discovered at the bottom of a cliff, and the prime suspect turns out to be the guest of honour, the esteemed painter Duncan Stovall.

Where Angels Whisper and Demons Lurk, A Battle for Sweet Mara Unfolds… Growing up in1970’s small-town Canada, Mara Howland strives to meet her mother’s impossible demands—yet the sting of failure always follows. Each punishment leaves another wound to hide, another cruelty to hush, until that dark summer evening. Now she holds a secret she must bury…if she wants to survive. But more is going on than the human eye can see. The mystery of the supernatural unfolds. Mara’s guardian angel and the sinister forces of evil battle for her well-being and her soul. In this unseen world, ...

My wedding started out as a nightmare. Now, it's turning into my darkest fantasy. My life isn't going at all like I planned. First, I give up my college dreams to care for my sick parents. Next, I agree to marry a monster to save my family from bankruptcy. And then, on my wedding day, it all goes from bad to a hell of a lot worse. I’m kidnapped. Oh, and it isn’t just any brawny biker that breaks into my dressing room and throws me over his shoulder. It’s the man I've had a crush on for years... My older brother's best friend. He says he just wants revenge on my fiance. Except I see ...

The Heritage Hall book fair was my chance to showcase my bookbinding techniques. Instead, I become the main suspect in a murder. Paper flowers and leather bindings filled my Heritage Hall book fair booth. This was my chance to showcase traditional bookbinding techniques. Instead, I found a dead authenticator in my space. Mark Henderson, known for exposing forgeries, lay sprawled among tools stolen from my exhibit. Making me the prime suspect. Book preservation is my passion - being a murder suspect, not so much. I teamed up with Fitzgerald, my Maine Coon cat and journalist Jennifer Walsh to...

Two lonely towns in Colorado: Hope and Despair. Between them, 12 miles of empty road. Jack Reacher never turns back. It's not in his nature. All he wants is a cup of coffee. What he gets is big trouble. So in Lee Child’s electrifying new novel, Reacher - a man with no fear, no illusions, and nothing to lose - goes to war against a town that not only wants him gone, it wants him dead. It wasn’t the welcome Reacher expected. He was just passing through, minding his own business. But within minutes of his arrival a deputy is in the hospital and Reacher is back in Hope.

Have you ever wished someone dead? Because Scarlett Scott really wouldn’t recommend it… Moving to a small town in the Scottish Highlands isn’t quite what journalist Scarlett expected it to be. And when local influencer Ava Valentine goes missing, things start to get even more complicated; especially when the dour new village policeman gets involved and instantly becomes Scarlett’s arch nemesis. For Scarlett and Dylan, it’s hate at first sight. But can they work together to find Ada? And can enemies ever really become friends…

Minnesota, 1977. For the teens of one close-knit community, summer means late-night swimming parties at the quarry, the county fair, and venturing into the tunnels beneath the city. But for two best friends, it’s not all fun and games. Heather and Brenda have a secret. Something they saw in the dark. Something they can’t forget. They’ve decided to never tell a soul. But their vow is tested when their friend disappears—the second girl to vanish in a week. And yet the authorities are reluctant to investigate.