Indie Crime Fiction of the Month for November 2017

Welcome to the latest edition of “Indie Crime Fiction of the Month”.

So what is “Indie Crime Fiction of the Month”? It’s a round-up of speculative fiction by indie authors newly published this month, though some October books I missed the last time around snuck in as well. The books are arranged in alphabetical order by author. So far, most links only go to Amazon.com, though I may add other retailers for future editions.

Our new releases cover the broad spectrum of crime fiction. We have cozy mysteries, small town mysteries, paranormal mysteries, historical mysteries, holiday mysteries, police procedurals, legal thrillers, crime thrillers, private eyes, vigilante angels, cops in free fall, evolving serial killers, dangerous women, missing children, troubled foster kids, telepathic detectives, lawyers, security guards, search and rescue teams, chupacabra catastrophes, murder on Times Square and much more.

As always, I know the authors at least vaguely, but I haven’t read all of the books, so Caveat emptor.

And now on to the books without further ado:

Hell to Pay by Rachel Amphlett:

When a road traffic accident on a dark autumn night uncovers a disturbing conspiracy, Detective Sergeant Kay Hunter’s investigation exposes a ruthless serial killer exploiting vulnerable young women.

With her enemies unmasked and her career spiralling out of control, Kay’s determination to seek vengeance for the victims brings her dangerously close to those who want to silence her.

Undeterred, she uncovers the real reason behind a plot to destroy her career and sets in motion a terrifying chain of events.

Could Kay’s need for revenge be her undoing, or will she survive to see justice served?

Hell to Pay is a gripping fast paced crime thriller, and the fourth in the Detective Kay Hunter series:

Rose City Free Fall by D.L. Barbur:

Detective Dent Miller hunts killers on the rain soaked streets of Portland. Sometimes he puts them in prison. Sometimes he puts them in the ground.

Dent doesn't have faith in much, but he believes in justice. One night he is called to investigate another tragic, but routine homicide. Soon, he realizes everything he believed was a lie.

Framed for trying to kill his partner, he isn't sure who to trust as he confronts a shadowy human trafficking ring that is willing to kill to hide the truth.

Dent Miller is a man in free fall. He must identify and close with his enemy before they destroy him

This thriller from debut novelist DL Barbur is chock full of gritty, realistic action. The tension builds non-stop until the final, explosive ending.

The Evolution of a Serial Killer by Daniel and Sean Campbell:

Sidelined and alone, DCI David Morton is relegated to the role of teacher. His task is to train the bright young things that will one day put him out of a job.

But hiding among the eager faces of the next generation is a talented student with murder in mind.

When Morton sets his class the challenge of showing how they would commit the perfect murder, the exercise results in his hardest case yet as he has to hunt the killer he helped to create.

The Evolution of a Serial Killer is the sixth stand-alone DCI Morton crime novel.

Finding Justice by Kathi Daley:

Rescue Alaska is the eighth series by USA Today Bestselling Author Kathi Daley. It is a warm yet fast moving mystery series with a light paranormal twist.

Rescue Alaska is a small town in northern Alaska where visitors come to hike and ski. Harmony Carson is a lifelong resident who volunteers as a member of the local search and rescue team.

Harmony has a unique gift which she often considers a curse. She is able to 'see' the individuals she is meant to help rescue, and more often than not she can feel their fear and their pain as well. When she isn't aiding in a rescue, Harmony works at Neverland - the bar owned by her brother in law Jake, and volunteers at the local animal shelter. Harmony lives in a rustic cabin with six dogs, four cats, six kittens, eight rabbits, and a blind mule named Homer.

In this first book in the series, a longtime local, Tim Maverick, sends his old friend, Harley Medford, a letter with a photo stating that if he should turn up dead at some point in the near future, the man in the photo is the one who killed him. When Tim is found dead only two weeks later, Harley comes to Rescue to find the man he is convinced killed Tim. He hears that Harmony has a reputation for finding people so he enlists her help. The journey to find the truth behind Tim's untimely death, will take Harmony on a journey of discovery she never saw coming.

Vigilante Angels Trilogy: The Complete Boxed Set by Billy DeCarlo:

A hateful, divisive presidential candidate, a pedophile priest, and a corrupt cop cross paths with a vigilante former Marine who has nothing to lose.

It's said the wheels of justice turn slowly. Screw that. He enlists the help of an unlikely cast of fellow cancer patients to target his hit list.

It's said that in the end, everyone gets what they deserve. Who will die and who will live?

This is a boxed set of the complete Vigilante Angels trilogy. A dark, gritty, noir crime novel series, available in paperback, Kindle ebook, and audiobook. Read for free on Kindle Unlimited!

Tommy, a retired cop and former Marine, has cancer. He realizes he can kill without consequences, and he's got a list.

Pedophile priest, corrupt cop, fascist political candidate--where to start? He enlists the help of an unlikely cast of unusual fellow patients to target his hit list.

The hardest battles, the ones he hadn't counted on, are right in his own home: an alcoholic, unfaithful wife and bringing himself to accept his son's sexuality.

In book one of this trilogy, Tommy befriends a black ex-con who is a fellow patient. As both seek redemption for their past misdeeds, and with nothing to lose, they set their sights on a priest who is accused of molesting children.

Will his fight for good come closer to home than he imagined?

In book two of this trilogy, Tommy finds himself under investigation by a racist, corrupt cop who torments Tommy and his family until the unthinkable happens. Tommy partners with a one-eyed Korean martial-arts expert and a black motorcycle gang to seek revenge.

Will justice be served?

In the exciting conclusion of the Vigilante Angels trilogy, Tommy finds himself on the run and hiding in the Florida Keys. He's prepared to let his disease claim him and die in peace.

That is until he finds love and a mysterious rejuvenation. He begins to follow the meteoric rise of a politician that stands for everything he despises and sees one last chance to make the world a better place before dies.

He battles alcoholism, love, cancer, FBI investigators, neo-Nazis, and many unexpected obstacles to complete one last mission.

In the race against time, which will prevail?

The Girl Before by Cassandra Jamison

Miley has only one year left in the foster system and is sent to finish it in the home of an older couple, Anne and Clive Winchester, who are still coping with the death of their sixteen-year-old daughter. Miley is soon drawn into deadly mind games and deception that make it clear that they have their sights set on more than just replacing their deceased daughter. Hidden secrets within the home and chilling revelations about their past bring Miley’s worst nightmare to life.

Morbid Curiosity by Nick Keller:

BOOK 3 IN THE ERTER & DOBBS SERIES

William Erter's true nature has reared its nasty head and the world has turned against him. His partnership with Bernie Dobbs is over. He’s lost his standing in society. And Dr. Oaks has him committed to the Napa State Institute for the criminally insane. Getting out will require help from a mysterious friend.

Bernie Dobbs has hit rock bottom. Dismissed from the L.A.P.D. and caught in a web of depression and hopelessness, he needs a change… bad.

And then William Erter disappears.

Having been on the trail of a missing cop, William finds himself abducted by his most demented adversary yet. Now, trapped in "the monster's lair," he is forced to undergo a sadistic style of torture, forcing him to confront the secrets of his past that have molded him into the man he is today.

Meanwhile, a familiar face coerces Bernie Dobbs into picking up William’s trail. Reunited with the spastic Jacky Lee Hobar, Bernie's investigation culminates into a desperate manhunt for his old partner that could bring them back together… or spell the end of William Erter forever. Thus, the race for William's life begins.

The Chupacabra Catastrophe by Amanda M. Lee:

Charlie Rhodes has a new life and it’s not exactly what she thought it would be.

She’s psychic, telekinetic and eager to learn from her knowledgeable co-workers at The Legacy Foundation. She’s also nervous, frightened and on edge … mostly because she’s exactly the sort of oddity the group is looking to study and she’s desperate to keep her secret from the very people who are searching for her.

When word comes down that a chupacabra may have been sighted in Texas – perhaps even killing a man in an old abandoned mining town – Charlie is eager to show her worth. She’s part of the first team that descends on Hooper’s Mill, and there’s definitely an air of danger lingering over the town.
Charlie can feel it. She can sense … something. It’s lurking in the town and watching. Unfortunately for Charlie, she can’t get a handle on whether she’s looking for a human or animal. She just knows that it’s dangerous … and it wants to kill anyone who crosses its path.

When one member of the team goes missing, Charlie realizes she’s running out of time to solve a mystery in the present that has ties to the past. All the while she’s trying to ensure her own future as the jaws of death – in the form of a mythical creature – snap at her heels.

It’s all hands on deck for another adventure, and this time the stakes might be so high not everyone survives.

The Seasons of the EmmaLee by Michael Lindley:

A classic story of historical fiction and suspense, The Seasons of the EmmaLee takes the reader back to the idyllic resort town of Charlevoix, Michigan in the years before and after World War II. It was the summer of 1941, and when Jonathan McKendry first saw the beautiful new “summer girl”, Emily Compton on the deck of her father’s magnificent yacht, the EmmaLee, he could never imagine the betrayal, heartbreak, death and destruction that was about to come into his life and those he loves.

Jonathan is the son of a local boatyard owner. His small-town life seems in fine order with good friends, a local girl who loves him and college on the horizon to fulfill his dream of becoming an engineer and designing boats. When he finds himself suddenly caught up in the elite summer enclave of the wealthy families who come to this northern resort town every year, and he’s accused of a brutal murder that he’s not even sure he didn’t commit, his dreams and relationships will be shattered.

In a parallel story in present day, Sally Thomason is a descendant of the Compton family who first owned the great ship, EmmaLee. When a new owner returns with the ship decades later, Sally is caught up again in the overwhelming emotions of a past family tragedy, and torn between her love for her current partner and her attraction to the boat’s new owner, Alex Clark.

The Seasons of the EmmaLee plays out against a beautiful scenic backdrop and enduring historical context. It explores the deep and complex emotions of class differences, family betrayal, unexpected love and shattered dreams.

A Mind Reader's Christmas by Al Macy:

Eric Beckman, a mind-reading private investigator, is spending Christmas in snowy Vermont with his wife and daughter. He needs a break from solving cases, but the townspeople convince him to look into the village mystery: Every holiday season, someone switches the baby Jesus with one of the other figures in the town's Nativity scene.

With the help of his ten-year-old daughter, also a mind reader, he soon learns that some of the residents of the small town are not who--or even what--they seem to be. There's something supernatural going on in Newburn, Vermont.

His investigation causes an escalation of strange happenings, and soon, swapped manger figures are the least of the town's worries. If Beckman can't adjust his view of the world--force himself to believe in things he never thought possible--the Christmas vacation could turn out to be his family's last.

A Mind Reader's Christmas may be read as a standalone book or as Book Four in the Eric Beckman series.

Footfall at Follies by C.D. Noir:

On a sizzling July night on a side street in Times Square, private investigator Mac Moynahan is tracking his usual quarry of cheating spouses when a chance encounter in a doorway plunges him into a grotesque and baffling murder case.

As dead end trails spiral off in every direction, Mac pushes his way deep inside the treacherous world of Broadway dancers. He reconnects with the colorful characters from his former life as a homicide detective, takes on a flamboyant genius hacker with the worst set of pipes in Gotham, and experiments with doing a little cheating of his own.

Tainted drugs, prime real estate, double-dealing, fabulous bodies, fragile egos, fancy bar drinks, vicious thugs and shattered dreams confound Mac’s legendary sleuthing skills. The tragedy he uncovers exposes the cracks in his own careful facade and puts his love and his life at risk.

Knock Knock by Debra Purdy Kong:

The latest attack in a string of violent Vancouver home invasions kills senior Elsie Englehart.

Security officer Casey Holland is devastated. She is supposed to be watching over elderly bus riders in an affluent, high-risk area, but she’s let Elsie down.

Determined to keep others safe, Casey escorts an elderly man home, but an armed intruder attacks them both. Hospitalized and angry, Casey struggles to regain control of her life, despite interference from family and colleagues—and the postponement of her long-awaited wedding.

Yet another home invasion compels Casey to take action, but at what cost to her health and her relationships? In Knock Knock, Debra Purdy Kong’s fifth installment of the Casey Holland series, the risks have never been higher and the consequences more deadly.

The Alibi by Rachel Sinclair:

Damien Harrington is fresh off his come from behind victory when he's thrust into yet another
harrowing scenario. Gina Degrazio, wife to Vittorio Degrazio, notorious gangster, stands accused of Vittorio's murder. Gina's a tough-talking native New Yorker who was transplanted to Kansas City. She swears she didn't do it. She was with her boyfriend, Enzo Degrazio, Vittorio's twin brother, at the time of the murder. Or so she says. However, bit by bit, her story falls apart. Damien doubts that Gina was anywhere near Enzo at the time of the murder, yet he must use that alibi excuse if he is to win Gina's case.

In the meantime, Damien and Harper together work several wrongful death suits that were the result of toxic mold in various homes on the East Side. The plaintiffs are all poor and minority, the landlords are all slumlords and scummy, and Damien works these cases with a passion that he has not felt for the law in many years.

With all the hairpin curves and twists you've come to expect from a Rachel Sinclair legal thriller, this first installment featuring Damien Harrington in the lead is not to be missed!

Deadly Tide by Brian Spangler:

A Murder. A Kidnapping. The tragic loss of his wife. Jericho Quinn is in the fight of his life to save a missing child and prove his son's innocence.

Sheriff Jericho Quinn's life in the Outer Banks of North Carolina is shattered following the mysterious death of his wife. A broken man, Jericho is forced to emerge from the depths of his despair when his only son is suddenly accused of an unspeakable crime. Murder.

With his son shrouded beneath a cloud of suspicion, Jericho finds himself deeply immersed in the investigation and connects the murder with the recent disappearance of a child. A crab pot and a sunken duffle bag lead Jericho to the gruesome discovery of a second missing child. He soon untangles a string of kidnappings and murder, revealing a chilling timeline--a deadly tide, a cycle that is set to repeat.

Peeling back the layers of deception and cruel betrayal, his wife's mysterious secrets begin to surface and have a disturbing connection to the case. Time is running out, and Jericho is in the fight of his life to prove his son's innocence and to unmask the killer before another child dies.

Dangerous Women - Stories of Crime, Mystery and Mayhem by Robb T. White:

Violence, they often say, is a male prerogative. But someone forgot to tell women like “Baby” Frontanetta in the first story of the collection, or Francie, for whom robbing an armored car isn’t that big a deal, if only her lover will “man up” to assist her. Even parricide isn’t beyond the pale for her. There are the twins Bella and Donna, aptly named, as the narrator of “the Birthmark” will discover. There’s semi-literate Bobbie from West Virginia, a gorgeous lap dancer in a sleazy club in Cleveland, who knows what price men will put on owning beauty like hers. Come meet them all—the hustlers, con artists, thieves, and all-around trouble-makers; you’ll see what the women in these pages are capable of—but beware: they are not your mother’s “ladies.”