Dark Crime Thrillers

Having recently split up from the father of her baby, Lilly is not in a happy place, matters being complicated further by the arrival of her ex-husband, needing a sofa to crash out on, having been thrown out by his girlfriend. In the midst of all this Lilly is asked by a child psychologist if she will help one of her patients: a girl currently sectioned having stolen a car while extremely drunk. While Lilly visits her she is introduced to Chloe, another unstable teenager who slips Lilly a note saying: "Help us". And then Lilly's client is killed and Chloe accused of her murder. Her case is not helped by the fact that the words "Help us" have been carved on the dead girl's stomach....

When David left home three years ago, he never looked back. Now the only connection to his tiny New England hometown is his grandmother Maggie, whose mind is unraveling as she slowly succumbs to dementia. But when her best friend turns up dead and she witnesses the crime, David has no choice but to return to a place that never accepted his trans-identity, only ever wanting him gone.

Jake Cantrell tried to put his past behind him and settle down after suffering an unjust disgrace as an army officer. He works as a campus security officer at a small college in upstate New York. But things aren’t so placid in his leafy new environs. A mass opioid crisis threatens to devastate the campus. When two football players on the new drug attack Jake with bats, Jake is fired for the excessive force he has to use to subdue them. Newly unemployed, Jake is retained to find missing college student Deborah Chapman, a gifted young jazz vocalist who has performed at Carnegie Hall.

After receiving an unexpected gift following her college graduation, aspiring journalist Adele Plank returns to the Pacific Northwest’s beautiful and isolated sea and shores landscape of the San Juan Islands, where she soon finds herself immersed in the shocking mystery of a young woman’s brutal murder. The deathly discovery rocks the island community, stirring doubts about their new sheriff and turning old friends into new rivals. Adele must determine who she can trust and who she cannot, even as a mysterious stranger provides her a critical clue.

What an exotic way to die in Chicago. When esteemed historian Elizabeth Lawrence is found in her car, killed by a cobra’s bite, only a brilliant professor of semiotics, Dr. Evan Wilding, can see the signs around her strange death. As he helps homicide detective Addie Bisset decipher the scene, the puzzles left behind offer Evan chilling passage into the mind of a killer.

Almost one year has passed since the earth shook up Matt Horning and his coastal village. Now, the world’s foremost scientists have flocked to the remote town to study the aftereffects on the sea and land. Turns out, one of them isn’t a nice man. Famous geologist British Lord Phineas Stuart goes missing. As the investigation into Stuart’s disappearance gets underway, Matt and his colleagues quickly realize they’re not hurting for suspects who wish the geologist harm. Has Stuart just taken off somewhere, or is a jealous competitor responsible for the missing scientist?

As a young girl, Donna Thomas tragically lost her mother and sibling. Her wealthy father has been emotionally absent ever since. As an adult, he refused to help, insisting she had to find her own way in life. When he dies, Donna’s convinced this is her chance to get what she deserves. After all, there is no other family. But then, his will deals her an unexpected blow.

After the “accident” that takes his parents’ lives, young Daemon Ultrecht escapes into the nightmarish stories of Edgar Allan Poe. His obsession intensifies, inking his body with the inhabitants from his “mentor’s” macabre tales—until he becomes “Poe,” a psychotic killer, penning his own terrifying stories born from the ashes of his murderous deeds.

Private investigator Heredia spends his days reading detective novels; commiserating with his cat, Simenon; and peering out over the Mapocho River from his Santiago apartment. The city he loves may be changing, but Heredia can't stop chasing the ghosts of the past. This time, they've come to him...

Psychologist Susan Pulaski, who has a near-empathic gift for understanding the thought processes of criminals, is a consultant for the Las Vegas police force. When the city is galvanized by a brutal murder case, stemming from the death of a young woman who has been buried alive, Police Chief Robert O'Bannon calls on Susan's services.

Everyone always says love will find you when you’re not looking. Well, they’re not wrong. Except, the man my heart stupidly fell for was more interested in playing his own twisted game of catch and release. Claiming me for himself, then pushing me away when I got too close, but there was an aura of darkness clouded around him. A darkness that beckoned to me. A darkness I was grateful for when those he thought he could trust ripped me away in the middle of the night to be a pawn in their own sick, twisted game.

Independence, a small town and county on the banks of the Hudson River, is a typical, all-American community with a proud history dating back to Colonial times. When the body of Judy Sterling, one of Independence's most prominent councillors, washes up on the bank of the Hudson, the first assumption is suicide. With her car abandoned near the county's main bridge and a suicide note left inside, it seems that Judy willingly jumped to her death. However, Amanda's intuition tells her that there is far more to Judy’s death than first appears.

My name is Nora Logue. You’ve probably heard of me – most people have. I am the mother of Daisy Logue. Seven years ago, I took her for a walk in the woods. Only I came out. I have no memory of what happened that day. I have tried to rebuild my life. Met a man, had another child – Luca. But I can’t let go of Daisy, or give up hope of seeing her again. And now, I have the chance to find out what happened to her. But what if pursuing the truth about my daughter risks my son’s life?

In der Einsamkeit nördlich von Westerhever wird eines Morgens in einem Graben eine männliche Leiche gefunden. Schnell kann die Gerichtsmedizin Unfall oder Selbstmord ausschließen. Tammo Olsen war ein umgänglicher Typ und–was angeblich niemand aus seinem Umfeld wusste–seit eineinhalb Jahren arbeitslos. Hatte seine Witwe die Knauserei satt und es auf seine Lebensversicherungen abgesehen? Als sie untertaucht und kurz darauf ein Freund verschwindet, erhärtet sich der Verdacht, er könnte ihr Komplize sein.

Stay-at-home mom Yvonne Landis enters her kitchen one day to meet a huge surprise: Seated on a chair is her son, Gabe. He went missing when he was ten years old, more than three years ago. It turns out he was abducted by pedophiles who made his existence a living hell. Yvonne is determined to heal Gabe. Her husband Ben is not completely on board with that idea, especially since Gabe stabbed him with a fork shortly after they were reunited. Then disturbing things happen to their younger son, 9-year-old Joseph, and Gabe may be behind those, too....

He's a successful billionaire with a secret. She's a skilled artist and will stop at nothing to save her father from dying in prison. Caught between the mob and his conscience, he vows to break the grip they have on his family. He is desperate to find a painter to perfectly reproduce a priceless piece. But nothing is picture-perfect. The mob is watching their every move. Can he trust her? Can she trust him?

High above the beach, a drone fitted with a long-range lens and camera lofted over the Estrella resort. It had a mission, but that would only be known by its owner. If it was taken down, there would be no trail, no identity. It was programmed to identify a specific set of facial features, and once identified, the drone would fly out over the Gulf of Mexico and self-destruct, having sent the images it sought by satellite to home base. Perhaps the most unique feature of the drone was that it wore a disguise.

Recently divorced, and with two young children, Ellen Sutherland is up to her elbows in professional and personal stress. When she's invited to travel all the way to Cheltenham to hear the content of an old woman's will, she's far from convinced the journey will be worthwhile. But when she arrives, the news is astounding. Eudora Nash has left Ellen a beautiful cottage worth an amount of money that could turn her life around. There's just one problem: Ellen has never even heard of Eudora Nash.

When a boarding school master at an exclusive boys' school is shot dead, it is deemed accidental. A lazy and usually drunk detective is sent to write up the report. Cardilini unexpectedly does not cooperate, as he becomes riled by the privileged arrogance of those at the school. He used to have instincts. Perhaps he should follow them now...With no real evidence he declares the shooting a murder and puts himself on a collision course with the powerful and elite of Perth. As he peels back layers, the school's dark secrets begin to emerge.

From this “master of the genre,” Christina Dodd, comes three suspenseful short stories of this “remarkable, mesmerizing series” (Library Journal starred review) set in the quaint—and deadly—coastal town of Virtue Falls.