Dark Crime Thrillers

Monsters are real. When I was five years old, I watched my mother take her last breath—a breath three monsters stole from her. I never chose this life. My father says it's my birthright, but all I see is a curse. It's because of the Kelly name my mum was slain by the Doyles—our enemies in Dublin, the fellas livin' on borrowed time. All of Belfast fears my family, especially me. I'm Puck Kelly, otherwise known as Punky; the lad ye don't want to double-cross. I don't do feelings or emotions. I never have . . . until she walks into my world.

When movie producer Cody Ziegler goes missing from The Homestead’s Millionaires’ Row, his wife, retired actress Olivia, immediately claims there’s foul play afoot. A million-dollar ransom demand soon follows, with clear instructions not to involve the cops. In desperation she enlists the help of Moira, Rick, Philip and Lizzie, aka the Retired Detectives Club. Racing against the clock, the four retirees set to work.

Seth would follow Domenico to the depths of hell. He promised to always be at Domenico’s side. But hell becomes all too real when they infiltrate the world of Toro—a notoriously security-obsessed arms dealer, who has eyes and ears everywhere. Seth becomes unable to steal even a moment of intimacy with Domenico, and the tension grinds them down each day. Beyond the deceptive paradise of Toro’s villa, violence is an everyday occurrence, and the swimming pool could just as well be filled with blood.

In the secret heart of London, under the cover of endless darkness, is the Nightside. But enter at your own risk. The party animals who live here may be as inhuman as their appetites. My name is John Taylor. The Nightside is my home, and I've got a brand new full-time job there (in addition to my private eye work) as Walker—the Voice of the Authorities. I'm also marrying the love of my life, Suzie Shooter, the Nightside's most fearsome bounty-hunter. But nothing comes easy here. Not life. Not death. And for certain, not happily-ever-after.

I didn't ask for her as my bride. I just made her mine. Her father had to be taught what happens when you cross a King, but that isn't why Genevieve Rossi is sore, well-used, and waiting for me to claim her in the only way I haven't already. She's sore because she thought she could embarrass me in public without being punished. She's well-used because after I spanked her I wanted more, and I take what I want. She's waiting for me in my bed because she's my bride, and tonight is our wedding night.

The crime fiction canopy's a broad one, with room to give shelter to writing of all sorts, as editor Lawrence Block shows with At Home in the Dark.

Vincenzo King thought I knew something about a man who betrayed him, but that isn't why I'm on my way to New Orleans, well-used and sore with my backside still burning from his belt. When he bared and punished me, maybe it was just business, but what came after was not. It was savage, it was shameful, and it was very, very personal. I'm his toy now, and not the kind you keep in its box on the shelf. He's going to play rough with me. He's going to get me all wet and dirty. Then he's going to do it all again tomorrow.

On a frigid February day, Anchorage Detective Cara Kennedy stands by the graves of her husband and son, watching as their caskets are raised from the earth. It feels sacrilegious, but she has no choice. Aaron and Dylan disappeared on a hike a year ago, their bones eventually found and buried. But shocking clues have emerged that foul play was involved, potentially connecting them to a string of other deaths and disappearances.

New Year's Eve should be a time for celebrating. A chance to spend time with loved ones and look forward to the year ahead. For DSI William Lorimer, however, this New Year's Eve will be one that he will never forget. Called to a house after gunshots are reported, the carnage he finds there will have a powerful impact on his life - leaving him questioning his future with Police Scotland.

Maui is sacred places, ancient artifacts, and the dark lava of deepest passions.

Nothing ever goes easy for detectives Lei Texeira and Michael Stevens. An investigation into heiau desecrations must take a backseat to the emergence of an enemy who targets those closest to them, leaving shrouds as a calling card. Lei and Stevens face challenges of the body, mind, and heart in this seventh in the best-selling Lei Crime Series.

Things have gone from bad to worse for T.J. Peterson. The cops have kicked him off the force, his girlfriend called it quits, his best friend and former partner won't speak to him, and his estranged 20-year-old daughter, Katy, continues to torment him with photos of the hellholes she is living in. Add in a shrink's diagnosis of PTSD, and Peterson is barely holding it together. When he receives an anonymous text message with an online link to a video of a young journalist being tortured, Peterson does the only thing he knows how to do - he sets out to save her.

In the glamorous yet gritty world of New York City, Katrina Donovan is a celebrated ballet dancer by day and a cold-blooded serial killer by night. Her life is a dangerous balancing act between the spotlight and the shadows. As her bloodlust grows, so does the suspicion surrounding her. Detective James Ryder, haunted by a personal vendetta, is determined to unmask the mysterious killer terrorizing the city. Amidst the intricate pirouettes and the deadly schemes, Katrina's worlds collide in a suspenseful tale of deceit, danger, and the darkest corners of the human psyche.

Bea's beloved husband mysteriously disappears without a trace, she becomes fixated on one man: Lucas Cohen. The man caught on a traffic camera fleeing from her husband's last known location. In an unexpected twist of fate, a life-or-death situation brings Bea and Lucas together.

Former assassin Leine Basso is fresh off an assignment rescuing an American teenager from a terrorist group in Libya, when she thwarts the murder of a street kid in Tripoli. Leine agrees to help the girl, but she must first visit a refugee camp to uncover the reason behind a rash of mysterious abductions. Leaving the camp, Leine comes under a surprise attack, but only a handful of people knew her true mission.

Two envelopes. Two holocaust survivors. Two anonymous bearer bonds - each worth one million pounds. Corporate forensic investigator Cydney Granger, with help from beyond the grave, enters a world previously unknown to her to unravel the truth behind a web of secrets, lies, corruption, blackmail, and hidden Nazi loot, as new horrors of the Third Reich come to light.

Gavin Cain, an SFPD homicide inspector, is in the middle of an exhumation when his phone rings. San Francisco's mayor is being blackmailed and has ordered Cain back to the city; a helicopter is on its way. The casket, and Cain's cold-case investigation, must wait. At City Hall, the mayor shows Cain four photographs he's received: the first, an unforgettable blonde; the second, pills and handcuffs on a nightstand; the third, the woman drinking from a flask; and last, the woman naked, unconscious, and shackled to a bed.

When 89-year-old Emyr Isaac is found dead in his home, Drake and his team initially suspect a burglary gone wrong. Isaac was old, and his death was a tragedy, but it’s not a murder case...is it? But as the investigation develops, Drake uncovers more suspicious deaths, but with one connection: Each victim received care from the same healthcare professional. Drake must do all he can to ensure no more lives are lost...even if it means putting members of his own team in harm’s way.

Acclaimed crime fiction writer Jim Nisbet sets forth a noir gem that lays bare the foibles of modern-day America with tremendous force. Banerjhee Rolf, a bright, levelheaded Indian American scientist, is content to spend his days with his wife, tending his garden and studying his beloved astronomy. When Rolf ’s relationship with Toby Pride, his seedy, drug-dealing neighbor, and Pride’s stoner girlfriend takes a weird turn, Rolf’s placid world is shattered, and he becomes a fugitive from justice.

Detective Douglas Brown transferred to Hong Kong to forget his past and the dark memory that still haunts him - Richard Blythe. Now, the detective's worst fear has come true: Blythe is free from prison to wreak havoc and lead Brown in a deadly cat and mouse game in the city of Hong Kong.

Summer 1989: Gunther Fahnstiel, once a tough cop who wasn't averse to taking a little side money from a certain madam, has just escaped the dementia ward of his Wichita nursing home. He's not exactly sure where he wants to go, but wherever it is, it has to do with the bag full of cash belonging to the man he accidentally backed over with his RV in 1979. During his search, Gunther begins to relive the violent fallout of that madam's sex lottery 40 years ago. As Gunther's memories unravel, his past and present will collide in a devastating reckoning.