Thirteen-year-old Julie Whitaker was kidnapped from her bedroom in the middle of the night, witnessed only by her younger sister. Her family was shattered, but managed to stick together, hoping against hope that Julie is still alive. And then one night: the doorbell rings. A young woman who appears to be Julie is finally, miraculously, home safe. The family is ecstatic—but Anna, Julie’s mother, has whispers of doubts.  She hates to face them. She cannot avoid them. When she is contacted by a former detective turned private eye, she begins a torturous search for the truth about the woman she desperately hopes is her daughter.
 
Propulsive and suspenseful, Good as Gone will appeal to fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, and keep readers guessing until the final pages.

‘Wow this book blew my mind!... Utterly fantastic, I loved it. It kept me hanging on the edge of my seat unable to put it down. A huge 5 stars.’ Bonnie’s Book Talk, 5 stars

When Isabelle Coleman, a blonde, beautiful young girl goes missing, everyone from the small town of Denton joins the search. They can find no trace of the town’s darling, but Detective Josie Quinn finds another girl they didn’t even know was missing. 

Mute and unresponsive, it’s clear this mysterious girl has been damaged beyond repair. All Josie can get from her is the name of a third girl and a flash of a neon tongue piercing that matches Isabelle’s.

The race is on to find Isabelle alive, and Josie fears there may be other girls in terrible danger. When the trail leads her to a cold case labelled a hoax by authorities, Josie begins to wonder is there anyone left she can trust?

Someone in this close-knit town is committing unspeakable crimes. Can Josie catch the killer before another victim loses their life?

Utterly gripping crime for readers who adored Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott and Robert Dugoni. You will be sleeping with the lights on once you discover the first in this unputdownable new crime thriller series.
 

What readers are saying about Vanishing Girls:

‘Brilliant just absolutely brilliant!! From the minute you turn the first page you're hooked!! Such twists and turns that keep on coming right to the last page!!! Definitely a must read!!’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

‘Anyone who knows me gets that I really like a strong, female, kickass main character and that’s exactly what I got in Josie Quinn… The plot motors along at breakneck speed often leaving me holding my breath. I’ll be waiting impatiently for the next instalment.’ Angela Marsons, no. 1 bestselling author of Silent Scream

London, 2044. Britain is a Republic. President Jan Polak has vanished overnight from Buckingham Palace, just weeks before an election. Has he been kidnapped? Killed? Or just overdone it with the vodka? One man is determined to find out - as soon as he's eaten his breakfast. His name is Pond. Howie Pond – the President’s official spokesperson and wannabe secret agent.

With only a love of James Bond films and London pubs to guide him, Howie sets out on a mission to solve the missing-President mystery, while consuming at least three meals a day. But with his journalist girlfriend, Britt, soon onto the story, the race is on to see who gets to the truth first..!

Amazon #1 Best Seller in British Humor & Satire, Comedy, Dark Comedy and Political Humor

This debut comedy-thriller novel from English author Paul Mathews is packed with sharp British humor, crazy characters, dynamic dialogue and a mystery that will keep you guessing from beginning to end. You'll be transported to a low-tech, high-comedy, post-revolution Britain where the royals aren't welcome and Buckingham Palace is now the centre of government. As well as painting an intriguing vision of the future, the story also casts an eye to the present – mixing satire with traditional British comedy around the trials, tribulations and absurdities of everyday life.

What The Reviews Say:

"If you like British humor and still love a good suspense story, that's the book you are looking for. I'd say it has a very 'Douglas Adams meets John Grisham in a pub' kind of plot."

"So much fun! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is well written, laugh out loud funny, and keeps you wanting more."

​The Memory Watcher has been optioned by NBC Universal's UCP with Escape Artists attached to produce.

Press, tap, refresh...

When Autumn Carpenter stumbles upon the social media account of the family who adopted her infant daughter years ago, she finds herself instantly drawn into their picture-perfect existence.

From behind a computer screen, Autumn watches Grace's every memory, from birthdays to holidays to bedtime snuggles. But what starts as an innocent fascination soon spirals into an addictive obsession that comes to a screeching halt the day the McMullen family closes their Instaface account without so much as a warning.

Frantic and desperate to reconnect with her daughter, Autumn applies for a nanny position with the McMullens, manipulating herself into Grace's life under false pretenses. And it's only then that Autumn discovers pictures lie, the perfect family doesn't exist, and beautiful people? They have the ugliest secrets.

"I'm calling it. THE MEMORY WATCHER is 2017's GIRL ON THE TRAIN! Couldn't put it down. Couldn't go to bed until it was over. And that twist in the end! I will buy anything and everything Minka Kent writes." - Romy, The Riveted Reader Blog 

"Autumn's stalking of the family who adopted her child is a gut-wrenching and heart-pounding exploration of a very disturbed woman's psyche. Is she a forlorn mother desperate to reconnect with her child? Is she a delusional woman obsessed with a non-existent perfection? Autumn's bizarre fascination and Daphne's constant struggle to maintain her family create the perfect blend of mystery, suspense, and intrigue. The author keeps you guessing, and I never saw the twist coming!" - Book Lover, Amazon Reviewer

SECRETS OF THE PAST ARE UNRAVELING IN PINEAPPLE PORT...

"Amy is one of my favorite authors. I highly recommend all of her books. No matter what genre she writes in, she manages to create books that demand that the pages be immediately turned to find out what happened,because you really care about the characters." - Dianne Harman, USA Today and Amazon Chart #1 Bestselling Author

Humor, thrills and mystery abound in the SIXTH Pineapple Port Mystery. Charlotte, the 55+ community's young female sleuth is thrust into a thrilling struggle to survive when her friend Jackie's underground "mature" disco is infiltrated by violent criminals intent on claiming the club as their own.

Even more frightening --- the ridiculously vengeful Gloria is back and on the warpath after a playful suitor goes missing.

Charlotte must search for the connection between the two cases with the help of Declan, whose own secret past with crazy, serial killer-spawn Stephanie is beginning to show...

Fans of female-sleuth authors like Jana Deleon, Lilian Jackson Braun, Gina Lamanna and Janet Evanovich will love the Pineapple Port series' abundant humor and clever plots --- as well as Charlotte's sharp intellect and the love and loyalty she holds for the wacky 55+ community who raised her.

Absolutely nothing stands between a woman and her beloved dog… not even the malevolent force of a voodoo curse.

Kendell Summer, lead guitarist for Polly Urethane and the Strippers, has always been interested in the unexplained. So when she sets off on a paranormal research romp with Myles, a former classmate, to explore his skills in psychometry, she’s ready for a little adventure. But she gets more than she bargained for when her Lhasa apso, Cheesecake, is dognapped. Kendell will do whatever it takes to get her dog back.

While rescuing the pup, Kendell and Myles learn that the touristy glitz of New Orleans’ voodoo shops hides a dark history few understand—a truth that some in the city plan to use for their own gain.

Soon they uncover more than they ever wanted to know about New Orleans’ unsavory past and a curse that threatens to change everything. Only Kendell can prevent the evil they’ve uncovered from doing more damage, but she’ll need Myles’s support and psychometric abilities—and the vigilance of the ever-watchful Cheesecake.

When the dead body of a legendary photographer is discovered on a manor rooftop during a tropical wedding rehearsal dinner, each guest becomes a murder suspect. Confusion abounds, as there was no apparent weapon, opportunity, or clear motive for his killing.

But the first clue is obvious. His camera is missing.

The victim, Antoine Talon, returned to Oahu, Hawaii to make amends with the groom, his best friend in college. Talon betrayed him and others just prior to his meteoric rise to fame as a celebrity photographer.

The bride had a famous guest too. Adventure film actress Isabelle Jade, falling in love with the island and contemplating life outside of Hollywood, rejected Talon’s supposed contrition. Hosting the enchanting dinner celebration in the enclosed courtyard of her manor home, she directed her bodyguard to stop the photographer from humiliating her, once again, with unflattering candid pictures.

Other attendees also hide deep secrets, which are concealed and disguised in the dark. Amateur sleuth Pari Malik breaks these secrets free so they rise from the depths, reach the light, and help her solve puzzling mysteries.

“Lurking on the Paradise” is the third book in the Pari Malik mystery series, following “Lurking on the Tightrope: Mystery at Diamond Head” and “Lurking on the Precipice.” It can be read as a stand-alone book or as part of the series.

Kidnapping. Murder. Grass-roots justice.

When her father is shot down on the street in front of his office, college journalism professor Sarabeth Bingham abandons the world of academia to take over the weekly newspaper he left behind, and she soon discovers that marijuana-growing has corrupted the idyllic little Kentucky town where she grew up.

In the same way selling booze during Prohibition built organized crime empires, the easy riches of dope-growing has bred evil and greed like a fly breeds maggots. Sarabeth’s own cousin grows weed. She even finds herself falling for a handsome bourbon distillery owner she’s convinced is financing his business with an illegal fortune.

But after a kidnapping and brutal murder rock the community, Sarabeth heeds the words on the plaque that has hung above her father’s desk for as long as she can remember: “Don’t mess with a man who buys ink by the barrel!” In a blazing front page editorial, Sarabeth declares war on the marijuana-growing industry. Now, the growers have to shut her up—fast, before she brings the feds down on them. And the meanest dog in the dope-growing junkyard knows just how to do it. 

The fictional Home Grown is based on the real Cornbread Mafia, a criminal empire that sprung up in picturesque Marion County, Kentucky and grew into the largest illegal marijuana-growing operation in U.S. history. The novel is as tough, gritty and real as what actually happened to that little community because Ninie Hammon was the editor of the newspaper there, and was the target of intimidation, harassment and death threats when she broke the Cornbread Mafia story that made headlines all across America. Now, she’s turned that true story into a run-away-train fictional tale with neck-snapping twists and turns, ever-tightening suspense and an unforgettable ending that will have you flipping pages long into the night.

THIS SERIES CAN BE READ IN ANY ORDER.
 

Want to Mingle with Hollywood Stars?

Ollie Stratford isn't comfortable mingling with movie stars and television celebrities, but that’s exactly where she finds herself when a mysterious Portuguese film producer hires her event center.

Ollie thinks everything is going to be fun and games... until the brawling and fisticuffs amongst the Divas break out. When one of the celebrities ends up dead, and the Sheriff and his deputy leave town for Vegas, Ollie decides justice can't wait.
But the more Ollie digs, the deeper the confusion. Who didn't want this person dead?

If you love action-packed cozy mysteries with a feisty protagonist, you'll love Creek Crisis, the second in a fun series of Ollie Stratford Murder Mysteries set in a small Texan Hill Country town, with all its quirky inhabitants.
Pick up this page-turner today!

A woman is found dead in a supermarket parking lot, the serial killer's trademark "S" carved into her wrist. 
 
Sloane Monroe has solved every case except one - the brutal murder of her sister Gabrielle. Three years have passed without a trace of the killer until today, when a young woman's body is discovered in front of the local supermarket. Now Sloane is faced with the most difficult challenge of her life - finding the man who is a master at concealing his identity before he strikes again.
 
If you love exciting mysteries, Murder in Mind will keep you reading until the very last page.
 
A New York Times and USA Today bestselling series. 

Hazel Hart feels like a walking shadow.

When the Shakespeare festival consumes Cedar Valley, Hazel is hired to photograph the performances and the actors, but she catches something through her lens that no one expected to see live on stage—a murder!

The lead in Macbeth is the victim, and the list of suspects is as complicated as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, including everyone from the actor’s diva wife to the sheriff’s own niece. Good thing Hazel is there to suss out the truth. 

But as she creeps closer to the killer, accidents plague the production at every end. Will Hazel unmask the murderer before another life is claimed?

A feel-good, cozy mystery about a quirky photographer and her black cat solving mysteries in Cedar Valley, a small lake-front town in the Sierra Nevada mountains. This book does not contain any cliffhangers, gore, graphic scenes, or foul language. It can be read as a standalone or as part of a series.

What’s done in the dark will be brought to the light…

The silhouette stood at the edge of the woods like a spider watching a fly enter its carefully crafted web. Only a few more steps and she’d be within its grasp.

Stacy Shaw has her whole life ahead of her. New job, new house and now a baby on the way—everything she’s ever hoped for is finally coming true. But on a warm summer night on the way home from work, she vanishes. The police race to find her, but the clues don’t add up. Conflicting facts emerge as her story twists and turns, sending the trail spiraling in all directions.

A hometown hero with a heart of gold, Jack Stratton was raised in a whorehouse by his prostitute mother. Jack seemed destined to become another statistic, but now his life has taken a turn for the better. Determined to escape his past, he's headed for a career in law enforcement. When his foster mother asks him to look into the girl’s disappearance, Jack quickly gets drawn into a baffling mystery. As Jack digs deeper, everyone becomes a suspect—including himself. Caught between the criminals and the cops, can Jack discover the truth in time to save the girl? Or will he become the next victim?

Journalist Vivian Thomas is known for her coverage of war-torn Africa. When she abruptly abandons her career, everyone is stunned. No one knows the reason for Vivian's hasty decision: a devastating confession from Leo, the man she loves, that destroyed their five-year relationship and marred her zest for life.

Disillusioned, Vivian moves to a beautiful Caribbean island for a fresh start. When paradise isn’t mending her broken heart fast enough, Vivian is thrilled that her best friend, Amal, visits for a girlfriend’s getaway. In one night of revelry, Vivian loses track of her best friend and loses her heart to Leo once again. The passion between Vivian and Leo is as strong as ever, and Vivian succumbs to his seduction.

When days pass without any contact from Amal, Vivian fears the worst. Determined to find out what happened to her best friend, Vivian reluctantly turns to Leo for help. Together, they follow a trail of crafty lies, cunning actions, and corrupt enemies to a tragic realization. As Vivian unravels the truth about Amal's real reason for coming to the island, she gets caught in the crosshairs of a desperate killer. Can Leo save her before it’s too late?

Set against the backdrop of turquoise waters, palm trees, and pink sand beaches, Reunion Island is an exciting romantic suspense mystery about secrets, lies, and second chances at love.

Discover the Murder in Paradise Series Today!

The Murder in Paradise Series books are stand-alone, no-cliffhanger romantic mysteries set in the Palmchat Islands -- a fictional beautiful, tropical archipelago inspired by the amazing islands of the Caribbean. The books can be read in any order.

REUNION ISLAND
TEMPTATION ISLAND

AN IRRESISTIBLE TREAT FOR FANS OF JOHN GRISHAM

Move over, Jake Brigance. No-nonsense, world-weary Minneapolis lawyer Marc Kadella shines through gritty, street-wise narrative in Dennis Carstens’ action-packed legal thriller series, sure to please fans of courtroom drama and classic noir alike.

Marc takes the proverbial road less traveled, going from life as a frustratingly floundering defense attorney to that of a celebrated criminal lawyer, while representing a handful of colorful clients running the gauntlet from vigilante to psychopath. And Marc deftly adapts to each of them. But the hero’s journey is only part of the fun. You can almost see the men sporting fedoras, and the babes would stop traffic even without the cleavage Carstens makes their standard attire. And there’s a contemporary angle sure to please fans of both sexes—the toughest guy in the series is gorgeous investigator Maddy Rivers.

BOOK ONE – THE KEY TO JUSTICE

Financially embarrassed, getting a divorce, living in a shabby apartment, and distinctly short of clients, Marc Kadella’s beginning to question why he ever went into the law when a friend brings him the case all Minneapolis is watching--defending an accused serial killer. If he wins, it could turn his life around— if he blows it, he better go into sales.

BOOK TWO – DESPERATE JUSTICE

After winning the case of a lifetime, Minneapolis criminal defense lawyer Marc Kadella welcomes the infusion of energy his career is receiving. Another lawyer asks him to represent the co-defendant in a murder trial resulting from a petty crime that spiraled out of control—the somewhat “accidental” murder of the nephew of Vivian Corwin, grande dame of the influential Corwin family.

BOOK THREE – MEDIA JUSTICE

An adorable—and photogenic—two-year-old girl is kidnapped, and, when her remains are found, her twenty-two-year-old widowed mother Brittany is charged with her murder. But before she can even be charged she’s been tried and convicted by the media—with tragic consequences.

BOOK FOUR – CERTAIN JUSTICE

Marc was torn about representing oft-assumed psychopath Howie Traynor—his first homicide case—but even he was relieved when Howie was put away for forty years… Until, a decade later, his case is re-opened. And now not only Howie, but a handful of wrongfully-accused felons are back out on the streets.

BOOK FIVE – PERSONAL JUSTICE

In Dennis Carstens’ fifth hard-boiled legal thriller, we meet the classic black widow. All of Mackenzie Sutherland’s late husbands were millionaires. Each died suddenly and quite mysteriously of massive heart attacks (in spite of no history of heart trouble). And each left their children with nothing—and their young, beautiful bride (of about a year or so) with millions.

No one can resist Mackenzie’s charm. Not her current family attorney, not even sharp, successful lawyer Marc Kadella.

BOOK SIX – DELAYED JUSTICE

Maddy’s new beau, investment analyst Rob Judd, is found brutally murdered in his home—with an unconscious Maddy at the gruesome scene of the crime, clutching the murder weapon. Convinced she was framed, Marc decides to take on the case in spite of his close connections to the client. He finds he must delve deep into the complex money laundering schemes of Rob’s employer to save Maddy from false imprisonment. Or worse.

Carstens’ realistic take on the law as a nuts-and-bolts, often rickety way to make a living blends nicely with his worldly-wise portrayal of backroom deals, crooked cops, and conniving judges and politicians. Now bundled as a page-turning box set in an offer legal drama fans can’t refuse!

LAPD Detective Gabi Longoria returns home one night to a nasty surprise—her husband has been brutally killed. Her captain refuses to let her join the murder investigation, so Gabi decides to do her own. Convinced the reason for her husband’s death can be found at the New York health club where she met him, she goes undercover as a trainer there. 

As she seeks the truth, she befriends a handsome, mysterious man who claims an evil corporation killed her husband. What’s worse, he also claims they’ve developed a master race to replace all of humankind. Before Gabi knows it, finding her husband’s killers is the least of her problems. Not only is someone trying to have her killed, too, but people around her are mysteriously killed. And she strongly suspects the stranger has something to do with it...

NOTE: GIRL UNDERCOVER was previously published in serial format and has been edited into a thriller. There are three more books in the series, DENIAL, THE TRUTH, and SHOWDOWN, which are available October 4th, 2017.

"Dead men do tell tales--the kind that'll kill you."

If you like "unputdownable" reads, then you'll love this clean, gripping "mystery-within-a-thriller" full of suspense, secrets--stunning twists and turns--a 2017 Amazon international writing competition winner. Some readers (see below) say it's just as good as a John Grisham novel. Some say it's better. Others compare it favorably to books by Lee Child, Michael Connelly, or David Baldacci. Readers of Scott Pratt and Robert Dugoni also enjoy Killdeer. Here's the story line:

It could happen to anyone. You're in the wrong place at the wrong time. You become a suspect in a friend's murder because the law has nobody else to pin it on. Then when that friend is linked to a possible terror plot, the law thinks you're a terrorist too. What would you do?

David Thompson is a burned-out lawyer and family man just trying to make ends meet when he stumbles into the crosshairs of the law. He's in a race with the clock to find his friend's killer before he's thrown in jail and railroaded all the way to the lethal injection table.

Thompson must desert his family and seek out a secret society of bird-watchers in a desperate search for the truth behind the killing. Who really was his murdered friend? What family secrets was he hiding? Did he lead a double life?

But when Thompson gets too close to the truth, the real killer goes on the hunt. It seems everyone wants a piece of Thompson. His family just wants him back home.

Thrust on a riveting thrill ride through the oil fields of North Dakota, Thompson's quest to save his own skin suddenly explodes into a race to save both his family and the nation from a deadly tidal wave of terror. But he may be too late . . .

**Get a copy instantly and join the thrill ride now.**

**The paperback version with its awesome cover makes a great gift!**

***The standalone prequel to The Killdeer Connection is Saving Babe Ruth. Check it out!***

Here's what readers are saying about Killdeer: 

"I never saw the end coming. The book was hard to put down to go to sleep the night I started it. It's as good as any Grisham novel I've ever read." - Mountain Mom

"Unputdownable. This book absolutely draws you in and makes you feel as if you're there. Lee Child meets John Grisham."- Robann

"This is a new legal writer who deserves to be viewed with Grisham and Baldacci. From page one word you are drawn in until the last word on the last page." - Ken

Nothing can keep the doctor away...

Each man kills the thing he loves…

Edward Marsham is admitted to the Royal Infirmary having hung himself in his prison cell.

As predicted, he dies.

In the wake of several unexpected deaths at the hospital, however, Dr. Claire Woodforde suspects there is a killer amongst the staff. As Detective Chief Inspector Beverley Wharton and her new sergeant Tom Bayes begin to investigate Marsham’s death, they too start to wonder if it was natural or whether someone…

helped him along.

But as they start to make headway on the case, something much more sinister comes to light.

A body is found in an empty house.

A body without its limbs. And head.

Dr. John Eisenmenger is tasked with examining the torso to uncover clues which will lead to its identity and cause of death; a grisly job even for the most hardened of pathologists.

But as the investigation unfolds, the team discovers that there is much, much worse to come, and in addition, there is growing suspicion that there is a link between the two cases.

This not-for-the-faint-hearted crime thriller shines a light into the darkest recesses of the human soul.

Fans of Patricia Cornwell, Tami Hoag and Tess Gerritsen will be hooked on A Kiss Before Killing.
 

Praise for A Kiss Before Killing

‘Pacey, well-written medical thriller ... the suspense built so that I had to finish it in a sitting’ – Andrew Puckett, bestselling author of Sisters of Mercy

‘Dark and disturbing. Sharp and deliciously violent. A must read’ – Robert White, bestselling author of Breaking Bones

Enter the sordid world of aspiring and often desperate actors and actresses in the no-holds-barred scramble to make it to the big time, where sex is a currency—and a price—way before they reach Hollywood. 

Melanie Upton is an ambitious actress stuck searching for her big break. She’s got the talent, but so do thousands of other actresses. She needs an edge, and she’ll do anything to get it.

Lenny Gruse sees himself as a celebrity photographer. All he needs is one great photo to catapult himself into the big time. Melanie, with her sultry good looks, is just who he needs, his ticket to fame. Together, they can blow past the hungry competition.

Detective Robert Winter has a knack for solving seemingly random crimes, yet even he is tested in a world where the players will stop at nothing to succeed and have the ability to con even the most seasoned cop.

FROM THOMAS FINCHAM, THE NEW VOICE IN CRIME AND SUSPENSE GENRE.  A THRILLER THAT WILL KEEP YOU TURNING THE PAGES TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED NEXT. 

Can a father murder his only child?

Kyla Gardener’s dead body is found in her bed one early morning. She had been stabbed multiple times. Her father, Paul, has blood stains on his shirt and his fingerprints are all over the murder weapon. Paul has no memory of what happened.

Kyla’s mother, Sharon, was not at home when the murder occurred. She was having an affair with her yoga instructor. Private Investigator Lee Callaway was also at the Gardener residence on the night of the murder. He had been following Sharon at the behest of his client, Paul.

When all evidence points to Paul as the murderer, Callaway takes on the case to prove his innocence. As he searches for answers, he uncovers a web of lies, secrets, and deceit.