Indie Crime Fiction of the Month for June 2018

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 May 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, hardboiled mysteries, historical mysteries, international mysteries, British mysteries, paranormal mysteries, science fiction mysteries, crime thrillers, psychological thrillers, pulp adventure, noir thrillers, romantic suspense, private investigators, vigilantes, amateur sleuths, serial killers, drug smugglers, street gangs, mobsters, assassins, kidnappers, missing persons, luck thieves, innocents in prison, crimebusting accountants, revenge, murder in London, Greece, Portland, Florida, Hawaii, Bangalore and outer space 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:

Rose City Renegade by D.L. Barbur:

Dent Miller used to believe in justice.
Now all he wants is revenge.

Six months ago, his enemies took everything from him. It was the biggest mistake they ever made.

He’s been looking over his shoulder ever since, waiting for them to come.
He’s not afraid.
He just wants them back in his sights.

If you loved Rose City Free Fall and thought the tension couldn’t get any higher, buckle up, because this book cranks it up to 11.

Rose City Renegade is chock full of gritty action, believable characters, and a story that just won’t quit.

The Luck Thieves by James Beach:

Someone stole Aurelian's luck - and is coming for his life.

In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns by Elizabeth Bear:

A man has been turned inside-out.

Fifty years in the future, in the sleek modern city of Bangalore, a scientist working on revolutionary bioengineering techniques has been discovered inside his own locked home, his body converted into a neat toroidal package of meat. It's up to Police Sub-Inspector Ferron to unearth the victim's complicated past and solve the crime, despite the best efforts of the mastermind behind the murder, aliens beaming signals from the Andromeda Galaxy, her overbearing mother, and an adorable parrot-cat who is the only witness.

The Shantytown Robin Hoods by Cora Buhlert:

Latisha, Moses and Tim are three street kids eking out a living in a dystopian future. Together, they are the Shantytown Robin Hoods, a street gang that steals from the rich and gives to – well, themselves.

"The Hole" is the hottest night club in Shantytown, where the rich and the famous can party among the less fortunate. But "The Hole" is also a favourite hangout for Latisha, Moses and Tim to find marks they can rob.

But then their latest job is derailed by a mobster with sticky fingers and a prize on his head, a teen pop sensation, a trigger-happy bodyguard and a red-haired assassin.

Soon bullets are flying in Shantytown and Latisha, Moses and Tim must keep their heads down to survive and steal another day…

This is a short dystopian crime story of 2800 words or approximately 10 print pages.

Murder Breaks the Bank by Maddie Cochere:

Two weeks before Thanksgiving, a man hires the investigative firm of Two Sisters and a Journalist to protect him. Jo Wheeler accompanies him to the bank with disastrous results. Jo, Pepper, and Jackie must now scramble to find out who murdered their client before Sergeant Rorski sends the wrong man to prison.

A rash of car vandalism and a Brussels sprouts caper also keep the three women on their toes, and it doesn’t help Jo’s mounting headache that Mama is preparing a comedy routine for open mic night at a local pub.

Only the Truth by Adam Croft:

He's not the perfect husband. But he is the perfect suspect.

Dan Cooper has never been the perfect husband to Lisa. He travels for work and plays the carefree bachelor when he can. But now, on a solo business trip, in a remote coastal hotel, he’s surprised to find Lisa in his bathroom. She’s dead.

He has no idea how she got there but one chilling fact is clear: everything points to Dan having murdered her. Someone is trying to frame him. Someone who might still be watching. In a panic, he goes on the run. But even as he flees across Europe, his unknown enemy stacks up the evidence against him.

Dan is determined to clear his name and take revenge on Lisa’s killer, but the culprit is closing in. And then there’s the agony of his own guilty conscience. No, he didn’t kill her—but is it all his fault?

Ice Cream and Incidents by Agatha Frost:

A free holiday to a seaside B&B run by drag queens sounds like the perfect way to spend a relaxing week away from Peridale, or so Julia South thought. When she arrives at the quirky B&B with her family, she's determined to have a fun break, but she quickly finds herself in the middle of another puzzling mystery when a lighting rig falls on the star drag performer, Simone Phoenix.

Was it an accident, or something more sinister? Julia quickly befriends the owner, Russell, and learns that the seemingly tight-knit drag family working at Sparkles are not without their problems. With secrets and lies revolving around love, money, and revenge, each of them appears to have a motive for wanting Simone out of the way. Can Julia resist the lure of cracking yet another case for the sake of having a peaceful family holiday by the sea, or will the urge to uncover the truth take over once again?

Shallow Breeze by Jack Hardin:

Pine Island, Florida, has a reputation for being a sleepy fishing town, not a coastal waterway for drug dealers.

So when a plane loaded with cocaine crashes into an iconic pier, the locals begin to wonder if any other secrets are about to fall out of the sky.

Fresh off an exemplary career with the CIA, Ellie O'Conner has landed into a new venture with the DEA, and things are off to a blazing start.

But while Ellie secretly struggles with new information unfolding about her family, she tries to unravel the truth, wherever it leads.

And truth often rides in on the back of a lie.

Sierra Bravo by Simon Haynes:

Planet Dismolle is supposed to be a peaceful haven. So what's with all the gunfire?

A criminal gang has moved into Chirless, Dismolle's second major city. Elderly residents are fed up with the loud music, noisy cars and late night parties, not to mention hold-ups, muggings and the occasional gunfight.

Chirless has no Peace Force, so Harriet Walsh of the Dismolle City branch has to help out. That puts her up against a gang of hardened criminals with only her training pistol and a few old allies to lend a hand.

And these allies aren't just old, they're positively ancient!

Sierra Bravo is the third novel in the Harriet Walsh series. Peace Force and Alpha Minor are already available in print and ebook.

Pound to a Penny by Cynthia E. Hurst:

Gideon Young was a fast-talking con man who could convince gullible people to gamble on almost anything. But even Young wouldn’t have bet on being outwitted by a clock repairer and a thief turned housemaid, as his plans to fleece the residents of a Cotswold market town go terribly wrong. A woman with a mysterious past and a sheep shearer with a grudge add to the mix as Jacob Silver and Sarah Simm help the police solve a mystery involving love, loyalty and loaded dice.

‘Pound to a Penny’ is the sixth book in the Silver and Simm Victorian Mysteries series.

Bend the Rules by Susan Amanda Kelly:

Everyone deserves a second chance and Mary Holmes, accountant extraordinaire, is determined to make the most of hers. Sure, she'd love to get her old life back - she used to be thin, well-dressed, engaged-to-be-married, on the corporate ladder and regularly bought three kinds of lettuce. Back then, she could afford the hair products needed to keep her hair sleek. But one unused wedding cake, a regrettable public safety incident and a teensy prison record later, her life goals have shrunk to being able to afford to eat regularly. To do that, she needs to make a success of her second chance... an accounting job with Vetruvious Security.

Everything is proceeding according to Mary's detailed, color-coded, new-life plan until Vitruvious Security hires a specialist, Crash Coolidge, to work undercover to smash a truck cargo heist ring. Crash is sexy, insolent, sexy, disheveled, sexy and scarily relaxed about the prospect of killing people. Even in a tough-guy company like Vitruvious Security, Crash is the equivalent of a Rottweiler surrounded by Chihuahuas. After Mary is assigned to his team, her life-plan rapidly derails. She is targeted by the sinister and mysterious head of the heist gang and only Crash stands between her and an undignified death.

Mary finds herself doing things that most definitely were not in her employment contract like stripping the shoes from a corpse; adopting a deaf, rank-smelling guard dog; clue-hunting with Crash's crazy, supermodel sister and lurking in a biker bar to locate a specific tattoo artist. All because Mary ends up wanting a second chance for Crash Coolidge as much as she wants one for herself. And she must find the sinister and mysterious head of the heist gang before Crash does. Because she doesn't want Crash to do something reckless that lands him in prison. Not when he has become a vital part of her detailed, color-coded, new new-life plan.

*A high-octane cocktail of romance, crime and humor. Some strong language and steam.

Outta Crime by Alex A. King:

Two Godmothers. Zero Wands.

It’s not easy being dead. Just ask Kat Makris. She’s stuck in an underground bunker, watching her own funeral, where more people are laughing than crying. Being dead has other consequences, too. Her face is in all the papers, her bank is convinced she’s an identity thief, and the sexy Detective Melas is under siege by his trampy ex-girlfriend, who happens to work for Greece’s version of the CIA.

The timing couldn’t be worse; she just figured out where her missing father might be.

Escaping Grandma’s cozy bunker is the only way find her dad—a feat that would be simpler if she could access her own bank account and ride something other than the local bus. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Marika’s unborn baby is sending her psychic messages—messages that send Kat all the way to Germany, where Grandma’s oldest nemesis is cooking up some payback …

The Governess by Mary Kingswood:

The first of a brand new series by the author of Sons of the Marquess.

When Mr Edmund Winterton of Woodside dies, his daughters find themselves penniless and homeless. What can they do? Unless they wish to live on charity, they will have to find genteel employment for themselves.

Annabelle becomes governess to the daughters of the recently bereaved Earl of Brackenwood. She has no idea how to teach, but her pupils can learn all they need from books, so how difficult can it be? She’ll need all her ingenuity to cope with the rebelliousness of her charges, and the unwanted attentions of their father. But when her past returns to haunt her, she has to make a difficult decision.

Allan is slowly getting used to life as a widower, but his mother is determined that he must marry again and produce an heir. He is determined that he won’t, although the new governess is just the sort of woman he could fall in love with. But when a face from long ago reappears and stirs up suspicion, he has to consider the possibility that his wife’s death was not natural. What is worse, he himself is the obvious suspect. If he can’t prove his innocence, he may lose everything - his home, his new love and even his life.

Book 1 of the 5-book Sisters of Woodside Mysteries series, each a complete story with a HEA, but read all of them to find out all the family secrets!

The Werewolf Whoops by Amanda M. Lee:

Charlie Rhodes is back on her feet and ready for action. Luckily for her, The Legacy Foundation officially has its first job in weeks and they’re on the hunt for … werewolves.

It seems two campers have gone missing, the campsite littered with strange animal prints. Charlie is excited for adventure but sometimes wishes are more dangerous than they seem.

After meeting a woman and her daughter in the woods – and getting a gander inside her head – Charlie finds she’s on two missions. She wants to find a werewolf and, even more, she wants to find out what makes the secretive Zoe Lake-Winters tick. There’s something about the woman that sends Charlie’s curiosity into overdrive … and that’s not always a good thing.

The Michigan woods are full of dark surprises and Charlie is in for a few herself. She’s hiding a secret, but so are many others, and some of those secrets are worth killing for.

This outing may be one for the record books, especially when multiple mysteries reveal themselves at one time. Survival isn’t always easy, but in this instance, it will be more difficult than Charlie ever imagined.

Sit back and enjoy the show, because the secrets are going to be flying fast and furious … and so is the danger.

Wired Secret by Toby Neal:

Paradise is filled with deadly secrets.

What would you do if you were a killer’s loose end?

Palm trees, volcanoes, and black sand beaches are the backdrop for murder as security specialist Sophie Ang, and her dog Ginger, are swept up in a multi-layered case on the Big Island of Hawaii working with a US Marshal to protect an important witness. A ghost from Sophie’s past returns to haunt her, and a love triangle tears at her heart. Sophie will need all of her friends, lovers, tech-savvy, and skills to stay alive...and that’s just her day job.

The Sunkiller Affair by Dave Robinson:

When Vic Frank is arrested on trumped up charges while Doc Vandal and the team are searching for a kidnapped scientist, explaining it to her mother is the least of Doc’s problems.

He’s also got to deal with… Vic’s irate girlfriend Ming… Nazis infiltrating the NYPD… and whoever just broke into the 87th floor of the Republic State Building and stole the plans for a device that can blow up the Sun!

Join Doc Vandal and the team in a fight against the Technarchy’s flying commandos, the German American Bund, and the vacuum of space itself!

Enjoy a complete pulp adventure with Nazis, talking gorillas, and Zeppelins in Spaaaace!

A Lie in Every Truth by Jamie Lee Scott:

It’s spring, and yet private detective, Mimi Capurro, still hasn’t faced the proposal she received from homicide detective, Nick Christianson, at Christmas. She knows she should be making plans, but business is good, and she’s short an investigator. She’ll think about it later.

Just as things are getting on track, Mimi’s mom brings a case to Gotcha Detective Agency. Lydia’s good friend was found dead in her car almost two weeks earlier, and the police ruled it a suicide. Both Lydia and the victim’s husband think the police are wrong.

While Mimi and Lydia investigate, Charles has an investigation of his own. One he’s not sharing with the Gotcha crew.

Do Mimi and Nick have a future together, or will Charles’s investigation change their lives forever?

Stabbed in Shoreditch by Samantha Silver:

Cassie's living life on the edge of a knife...

When Violet is hired to prove the innocence of a convicted murderer, Cassie discovers that not only is an innocent man's life at stake, but also that solving a ten-month-old murder has its own unique challenges.

But what initially seems like it might be a straightforward case quickly becomes more complex with the discovery of a secret computer file, and an encryption even Violet can't crack.

Meanwhile, Cassie finds herself helping Brianne discover who's been stealing supplies from the hospital - a great distraction as Cassie avoids making a decision about going back to medical school.

As Violet and Cassie get closer to cracking the encryption, they find themselves embroiled in the middle of a conspiracy even Violet couldn't have predicted.

Will they be able to solve the case and give an innocent man his life back before they become the next victims?

After the Sunset by Mark Stone:

Dark clouds dampen bright futures and, on Florida’s Gulf Coast, you never know when you’ll be stuck in the eye of a storm.

With his wedding fast approaching, Detective Dillon Storm couldn’t be more at peace. The thing about peace though is that it can be fleeting, very fleeting in a place like this.

When Naples’ newest mayoral candidate’s wife comes to Dillon with concerns about her son’s safety, Dillon takes it seriously. When that same son is then involved in a car accident and placed in an ambulance that promptly vanishes on the way to hospital, Dillon knows he’s dealing with something much more deadly than a mother’s worry.

What he finds is a deadly game of cat and mouse that will twist everything he knows, threaten to ruin the reputation he’s built since his return to Naples, send him crashing into familiar waters, and quite possibly derail his wedding before he even has a chance to say ‘I do’.

Happy endings are hard to come by, and sometimes the most dangerous moments can happen AFTER THE SUNSET!

Taker of Lives by Leslie Wolfe:

How can you outrun a killer you won’t see coming?

Until yesterday, no one knew Miami had another killer on the loose. Special Agent Tess Winnett calls this particularly elusive one the Taker of Lives.

The crimes: bewildering
 After a well-known model commits suicide, Tess refuses to accept the findings and pushes for an investigation into the reasons behind the beautiful young woman’s decision to end her life. What she finds surpasses her wildest fears.

The evidence: disturbing
Each new crime scene brings more questions than answers. While secrets are revealed, even those meant to be kept forever in the dark, Tess can draw only one conclusion: she’s not the one in charge; the Taker of Lives controls the game, the players, even the course of the investigation.

The race: intense
With little information and even less evidence, Tess must connect the dots of a deadly scenario with a large number of potential victims. If she fails, another beautiful, young girl will die tonight, and the blood will be on her hands.

The Taker of Lives might be closer than you think. Who’s watching you sleep tonight?

Medieval to Modern: An Anthology of Historical Mystery Stories, edited by Sarah Woodbury:

Join amateur sleuths, private detectives, and feisty female protagonists in a journey through time with this anthology of historical mysteries spanning nearly a thousand years, from Medieval Wales to 1940s Ohio. This collection of eight novellas and short stories is the perfect introduction to five award-winning series in settings ranging from the back streets of Elizabethan and Regency London to the steep slopes of Victorian San Francisco.

-- Libi Astaire, the Jewish Regency mystery series.
-- Anna Castle, the Francis Bacon mystery series and the Professor & Mrs. Moriarty mystery series.
-- M. Louisa Locke, the Victorian San Francisco mystery series.
-- M. Ruth Myers, the Maggie Sullivan mystery series set in Depression-era Ohio.
-- Sarah Woodbury, the Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mysteries.