Rural Thriller

Big secrets run deep. Former FBI agent Jack McBride took the job as chief of police for Stillwater, Texas, to start a new life with his teenage son, Ethan, away from the suspicions that surrounded his wife's disappearance a year earlier. With a low crime rate and a five-man police force, he expected it to be a nice, easy gig; hot checks, traffic violations, some drugs, occasional domestic disturbances, and petty theft. Instead, within a week he is investigating a staged murder-suicide.

Andrea Brafford’s life is nearly perfect. A passionate marine biologist happily married to Craig, the man she loves, she has recently moved into a home commensurate with their success to enjoy a life many others only dream about in one of Houston’s most desirable suburbs. But only a few months later, a trial that dramatically polarizes their town names Craig Brafford as a defendant in the murder of his young wife, shattering the serenity of the peaceful community. Andrea’s life remains a mystery that investigators and public opinion equally fail to solve.

As if baking holiday cookies, knitting a sweater for her husband, and making her daughter’s angel costume for the church pageant weren’t enough things for Lucy Stone’s busy Christmas schedule, she’s also working nights at the famous mail-order company Country Cousins. But when she discovers Sam Miller, its very wealthy founder, dead in his car from an apparent suicide, the sleuth in her knows something just doesn’t smell right.

A collection of stories capturing what it means to be a cowboy.

You are cordially invited to a murder… Judith Spears was looking forward to a quiet retirement in her picture-perfect English village. Unfortunately, peace and quiet were never really her thing. When a loud-mouthed local media celebrity is accused of murder on his country estate, Judith finds herself dragged back into the business of uncovering the truth. He insists he’s been framed — and for reasons she’d rather not explain, Judith is uniquely qualified to help. As lies unravel and secrets surface, Judith’s sharp instincts prove invaluable… though she’s far less keen on the ...

In the days of the frontier West, it was not unusual for desperadoes and fugitives from justice to seemingly disappear from the face of the earth. Shadow on the Trail by Zane Grey, one of the best-selling authors of all time, is the story of one such man who returned to reestablish himself in a law-abiding society. In Texas, young bank robber Wade Holden, once the toughest, fastest trigger man in the notorious Simm Bell gang, makes a promise to his dying mentor that he will go straight. But with the Rangers on his tail, he struggles to find sanctuary.

There will never be another Western writer like Louis L’Amour. A legendary author and indisputably the greatest storyteller in his genre of all time, L’Amour captivated millions of readers and has sold well over three hundred million copies of his works, which includes nearly ninety novels and countless short stories. Mistakes Can Kill You highlights an essential selection featuring nine of L’Amour’s earlier short stories, sometimes written under the pen name Jim Mayo, that exemplify the rugged morality of the best Western writing.

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.

Grace Evans, an overworked New Yorker looking for a total escape from her busy life, books an Airbnb on a ranch in the middle of Wyoming. When she arrives at the idyllic getaway, she’s pleased to find that the owner is a handsome man by the name of Calvin Wells—and he’s eager to introduce her to his easygoing way of life. But there are things Grace discovers that she’s not too pleased about: A lack of cell phone service. A missing woman. And a feeling that something isn’t right with the ranch.

CHLOE MORRAND HAD TURNED HER LIFE AROUND She’d been taking her meds. She’d kicked her drug abuse. And she loved her new job at Yellowstone National Park Life was looking up. Her father, Rick Morrand—local attorney—is hopeful that Chloe is finally on the right track. But on the morning she fails to show up at his house to pick up her nine-year-old daughter, Abby, alarms ring in his head. His greatest fear becomes reality when Chloe’s body is found at the base of the Sawtooth in Montana’s rugged backcountry. Authorities assume suicide— for good reason. But Rick doesn’t buy it....

Cormac McCarthy, best-selling author of National Book Award winner All the Pretty Horses, delivers his first new novel in seven years. Written in muscular prose, No Country for Old Men is a powerful tale of the West that moves at a blistering pace.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A real giggle that shows age makes us have more fun! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you love Thursday, you'll enjoy Friday's murder club ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A fast moving, water tight plot ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A huge amount of cozy fun A visit to the doctor can be a worry – but when Judith Spears is around, you know it will be murder. When an unidentified body is found in Little Pickton’s doctor’s office, it opens a can of worms with feuding colleagues, squabbling siblings, and a locked door mystery that has DS Collins and DC Eastly bamboozled. Luckily, poking her nose in where it ...

Bristol detective DS George Cross, champion of the outsider, the voiceless and the dispossessed. DS George Cross can be rude, difficult and awkward with people. But his unfailing logic and dogged pursuit of the truth means his conviction rate is the best on the force. An outsider himself, having been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, DS Cross is especially drawn to cases concerning the voiceless and the dispossessed. Now, Cross is untangling the truth about a young woman who died three days ago.

When the world crumbles, a broken man finds hope where he least expects it in the grit and quiet strength of a small Montana town. Cole Ramsey thought he’d left rural life behind for good. He poured his soul into big tech solutions for a cutting-edge smart city, only to be cast out as a scapegoat amidst corruption and scandal. He's blacklisted and adrift when a letter about his grandfather’s death pulls him back to the family ranch he had long abandoned. What he finds in Bridger’s Pass isn’t a simple homestead in disrepair. It’s a community clinging to old ways. Neighbors who ...

A historic western that opens in 1873, a time when recession is forcing thousands westwards to recoup their fortunes. The West is tough, brutal and the Indian is the enemy. But when a white woman is raped, it is a half-breed Cheyenne who comes to the rescue. From the author of Jake and Upland Passage.

“Sharks are as timid as rabbits,” says a superintendent of the Coast Guard, dismissing the possibility that a shark could be the culprit in an unprecedented fatal attack at the Jersey Shore. It’s July, and swimming in the sea is a popular new pastime, but people up and down the East Coast are shocked and mystified by the swimmer’s death. A prominent surgeon at the shore, Dr. Edwin Halsey is the one who examines the victim, and the only one who believes the perpetrator was a shark—and that it will strike again.

One buried body. Many hidden secrets. When the body of an unknown teenage girl is discovered following a storm, the community of Birkbury closes ranks to protect their secrets. As a seasoned detective, DCI Peter Hatherall’s expectation of solving the historic case is low. No local girls were reported missing twenty years ago, and she was buried in a field easily accessible from a major road. Beneath the villagers’ good manners and polite smiles, he discovers deep-seated resentments and family feuds spanning decades, but little interest in what happened to the girl. With only two ...

Winner of the 2024 Audie Award for Thriller/Suspense! "Lazarre-White masterfully portrays people of multiple races, old and young. He also delivers Cosby's reflections on family, grief, and faith with genuine introspection and without distracting from the tense plotlines...This is a gripping...

The basis for the hit series "Shetland" now airing on PBS. Winner of Britain's coveted Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award, Ann Cleeves's Raven Black introduces a dazzling suspense series to U.S. mystery readers. It is a cold January morning and Shetland lies beneath a deep layer of snow. Trudging home...

Southern historical fiction novel of drama and intrigue set on the Blue Ridge of the Appalachian Mountains in Western North Carolina. Excerpt from Chapter Nine: She hid in the woods all night long. Didn’t even come out to milk the goat or feed her mother’s chickens. The goat was starting to bleat to be milked by the next morning, but she was too afraid to take a chance on being out in the open long enough to milk her. By the time the sun started going down, she gathered enough determination to slip close enough to the cabin to see through the open door. There was enough light left in ...