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...

Everyone thinks Luther and Dominic are happily married, that is, until Luther is convicted of his husband's murder. Four years after Luther is sent to prison, his brother contacts Ray Lawless, the defense attorney on the case, with evidence of a wrongful conviction. As he faces reopening the case, Ray pulls in his daughter, Jane, to help attain justice for a grieving widower and find the real killer.

He has to catch a serial murderer who knows his deadly secret. A year after a cunning serial killer slaughtered Detective Hudson's daughter, Liz, a man named Ed Roth confesses to the murder to an informant. For some reason, Hudson is convinced Roth is lying. Why did Roth confess to a murder he didn't commit? What's his agenda? Is Hudson wrong about Roth? When another woman is killed the same way as Liz, Roth becomes the prime suspect. Despite all their efforts, detectives find no evidence linking him to the crime. They try to get him to confess on tape but fail. As he digs into Roth's past,...

When Congressional staffer Ben Walsh receives this cryptic text from his wife he initially doesn’t think much of it. But while waiting to hear from her again, Ben discovers that the text came an hour before a shooting that occurred along her daily running route. Veronica won’t pick up her phone, and when she doesn’t return home, he knows she is somehow involved. If she isn’t one of the victims, then where is she, and what did she know? While Ben searches for his wife, he stumbles upon another violent death, with clear connections to the shooting.

Diverse, provocative, eerie, and twisted, this collection of Jeffery Deaver's best crime stories exhibits amazing range and the signature plot twists that have made him a perennial best seller. With nods to O. Henry and Edgar Allen Poe, these beautifully crafted pieces are suspenseful spoonfuls of Deaver at his best. Listeners will be surprised by the subtlety of some of these stories and, as always, by the plot surprises.

When June Kato visits Tokyo, it's with sightseeing in mind. Little does she realize that she is in for a lot more than temples and gardens. Taking one last stab at her past modeling career, June helps her sister open a new fashion company in Japan by doing some posing. Neighborhood crime bosses don't like the idea of foreigners moving into their turf, and quickly take matters into their own hands. When June finds the body of a troublesome coworker in an alley, she takes it as a message from one family to another. Everybody denies knowing anything about the death of the man, but there are ...

Some call it a myth. Others call it a legend. As far as Kannon McCarthy is concerned, it's a theory waiting to be proven right. According to the slew of fact- and fiction-based data on the subject, the lost city of Atlantis was once a thriving metropolis. Kannon McCarthy has spent years gaining the necessary backing and funding to launch an intensive investigation that will show the naysayers that the Atlantean Theory is firmly rooted in truth. Unfortunately, there are multiple roadblocks in his way. He just hasn't met them yet. Fans of The Life of Pi and lost world fantasy/adventure ...

“Twisted Shadows” contains five tales of horror, suspense, and mystery, where idyllic rural retreats hide dark secrets. Enter a world where a coven of witches attempts to take over a small town. An unsuspecting couple stumbles into the clutches of a sadistic, revengeful family. The jealous daughter of a famous author terrorizes the author’s new wife. A biographer uncovers the sadistic world of a famous literary family. A retired couple looking for a simpler life learns of the horrors hidden in their new house. In each of these tales, fear and danger lurk in the twisted shadows of a ...

Dallas Hayes muscled her way through army ranger training only to be considered a curse on her all-male unit in an operation in Syria. When half the team is killed, she's left injured, losing the lower portion of her leg and is medically discharged from the life she loved in the Army. Retired delta force soldier Vince "Viper" Van Cleave did his time in the Army but hasn't managed to fit into the civilian world. A widower, his first assignment is to masquerade as the groom of a former Army Ranger female and stage a wedding to smoke out a wedding saboteur.

When investigative journalist Cindy Peterson boards a Boeing 747 flight from London to San Francisco, she expects the usual turbulence of travel, not the bewildering enigma of a passenger vanishing mid-air. As the plane soars through the clouds, seat B22 becomes the epicenter of a mystery that defies explanation. Who was the passenger, and how could they simply evaporate from existence? Fueled by her determination to uncover the truth, Cindy embarks on a gripping investigation. With each clue she uncovers, the stakes rise, revealing the lengths to which people will go to protect their ...

Detective Ryan Boone just can't let this case go. While the mystery behind the robbery and murders in Twisted was uncovered a few months back, there is still a very large loose thread that Boone desperately wishes to tie up. He convinces his superiors to allow him to travel to Ottawa, where he's uncovered a lead into a conspiracy that hints what happened in Toronto has nationwide, and horrific, implications. Former detective Cora Porter has moved to forensics, but when a strange case hits close to home, she squeezes her way into the investigation.

Even with money, good looks, a loving husband and a beautiful stepdaughter, Ella Dalton suffers from severe anxiety and self-doubt. But, when her husband is the prime suspect in a murder investigation, she must find the courage to uncover the truth—no matter where it might lead. Living on their six-hundred acres of land in southwest Minnesota, all Ella wants is to enjoy a quiet and secluded life with her husband, Matthew, and his daughter, Ava. However, with Ava's mother and stepfather living close by, Ella is forced to contend with hostility, fear, and harassment on her own property. ...

In the heart of Amblewood’s bustling downtown, Café Cozy is the go-to spot for warm conversations, freshly brewed coffee, and a touch of autumn magic. Owned by Emma Blake, the café is more than just a place to grab a latte—it’s a community hub where friends gather, secrets are shared, and the espresso is always made with love. But when ruthless food critic Derrick Matheson collapses after sipping the café’s newest seasonal drink, the cozy atmosphere turns cold. Whispers of poisoning spread through the town like wildfire, and business drops as suspicion swirls around Emma and her ...

2017 Silver Falchion Award Nominee ​"He's first. You're next." That's the message someone scribbled on a photo of Stacy May Charms' six-year-old son, two days before her release from prison. Stacy knows why. She doesn't know who. And she's not waiting around to find out. Her plan is to grab her child and run. Elizabeth McClaine has no idea why Stacy ran, but she intends to find out. Contracted to oversee the governor’s early release program for young incarcerated mothers, she is responsible for the program’s first successful applicant. But when Stacy May breaks parole only two hours ...

Cleo knows she should be happy for her brother Mark. He's managed to find someone new after the sudden death of his first wife - but something about Evie just doesn't feel right...When Evie starts having accidents at home, her friends grow concerned. Could Mark be causing her injuries? Called out to their clifftop house one night, Sergeant Stephanie King finds two bodies entangled on blood-drenched sheets. Where does murder begin? When the knife is raised to strike, or before, at the first thought of violence?

While on vacation in Europe babysitting Tess, their grand daughter, so her parents can spend a week volunteering at a music festival, FBI agent Trevor Montgomery's fatherly instincts kick in wanting to protect his son and daughter in law when they find themselves in a bind after a very odd discovery while cleaning up after the festival ends. It doesn't take long before his curiosity into what has happened takes over. From that point on he and his partner Samantha Kaufman are drawn into an emotional roller coaster ride trying to make sense of what has and is happening as they follow all the ...

Steph spent months planning her perfect birthday celebration. Five days in an idyllic setting with her best friends. Long lazy lunches, crisp white wine by the pool and a climb up the beautiful Mont Ventoux. She couldn't wait. They’ve been there for each other through the good times and the bad. This was the break everyone needed. After their first night partying, they begin their hike. But as the lavender-scented air turns acrid from local wildfires, fierce winds whip up smoke – and tensions in the group. They become separated.

The Canadian embassy are visiting a remote Icelandic island and the great and the good have gathered to welcome them. But beneath the glamour, tensions are bubbling. When the deputy Canadian ambassador is poisoned at dinner, suspicion falls on everyone present, but particularly on the ambassador himself. Jane, the ambassador's wife, knows that she has to solve the murder if she is to save her husband and her marriage. But Jane knows better than anyone that, when it comes to protecting scandalous secrets, there are no lengths to which people won't go.

Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, Ronnie and Ahli have been raised to do the unthinkable to survive. With their father setting up all of their dangerous hits, the two have easily stolen over $200,000 over the years. Still, they feel a void. They want to live normal lives while they still can. Before they can perform their last job, which their father has promised will get them out of the game for good, a prior hit comes back to haunt them. It leaves their father with his throat slit and the girls in fear for their lives. With no money and no safe place to go, the girls have no choice but to agree to do one last hit.

Penny Küfer's past unexpectedly collides with the present when an old acquaintance reappears in her life, offering her a unique assignment: At the de-luxe mountain hideaway of a controversial space magnate Penny is supposed to reinforce the security team. This time, will she be able to stop a cold-blooded murderer before he strikes?