Indie Crime Fiction of the Month for March 2021
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 crime fiction by indie authors newly published this month, though some February 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, craft mysteries, animal mysteries, historical mysteries, Jazz Age mysteries, paranormal mysteries, hardboiled mysteries, humorous crime fiction, police procedurals, crime thrillers, adventure thrillers, environmental thrillers, science fiction thrillers, sea adventures, police officers, amateur sleuths, private investigators, FBI agents, journalists, burglars, gangsters, organised crime, missing violins, crime-busting witches, crime-busting socialites, crime-busting maids, crime-busting knitters, criminal leprechauns, murder and mayhem in London, Dublin, Belfast, the Caribbean 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:
When Anna attends a play at a London theatre, death soon follows. Working together with Jerome Townson, Anna must locate a murderer before time runs out.
But even as she searches for the truth, Anna continues to be haunted by secrets from her past. A final revelation might just hold the answer to everything...
March 1926
When Vi and friends travel to attend the motor races, they are determined to have a fabulous time. They’re even hoping to try their hands behind the wheel. ??
They befriend one of the mechanics, so things go sideways for him, they agree to help. Perhaps, after all of this time, they should have expected the body, but they didn’t. ??
Now the race is on to find the criminals, and surely, they’re up to the task.
It’s St. Patrick’s Day and Lemmi, Charlie, and Liam are determined to have some fun before going to watch the guys play baseball.
What happens next is unexpected, to say the least, but Lemmi and Charlie are determined not to miss the baseball game. Now if only the leprechaun would tell them where Liam is . . .
This is a short story coming in at about 12,000 words.
Kate is after Vince the Fence again after he slipped through her fingers last year she's on her way to Ireland where she gets some unexpected help, she is trying to solve a twenty year old mystery and figure out what her brother is doing hint he's in trouble and needs her help.
See what Kate is up to in this quirky romantic comedy cozy mystery
There's nothing practical about magic—which is why I ditched my wand years ago.
Thirteen years, to be exact.
The day I left Silverlake.
Except now, a family emergency has called me back home, and quite frankly, I'd rather be anywhere but here.
But when my aunt raises her wand to cure a friend and he ends up dead, it becomes abundantly clear I'm not leaving anytime soon.
Welcome to Silverlake, a place where nothing is EVER as it seems... and where a witch can find, and lose, a lot more than herself.
Wanted: Cat mum to manage a yarn store, corral two curious cats, all the while being tangled up in murderous mayhem and mystery.
A smart woman would dump her cheating ex, move from the city, and give herself a chance for a well-deserved do-over. A smarter woman—smarter than me, anyway—wouldn’t jump out of that same frying pan and return to Cape Discovery, a seaside village where her family is the nuttiest of all the nut-ball residents.
I’m a former high school counsellor, middle-child peacemaker, and current curator of lots of squishy/fuzzy goodness at my granddad’s little yarn store. Temporary assistant. Until I decide what to do with the rest my life. There’s only one knotty problem to untangle first. The knife sticking out of the most unpopular man in town, and the police detective trying to pin the murder on the donkey—otherwise known as my younger brother. With a pair mischievous cats determined to be underfoot and a craft group of Serial Knitters and Happy Hookers wanting the inside scoop, a girl could lose her mind. And if the killer has their way, maybe even my life...
Tessa Wakefield has her hands full juggling a cozy craft store, her crazy family, and two men who’d rather poke out their eyes than describe themselves as cute. Which they totally are. Cute, charismatic, and occasionally on her mind when she’s not stumbling over dead bodies and using her newfound sleuthing skills to track down murderers. Lucky she’s an excellent multi-tasker because digging beneath Cape Discovery’s surface can unearth secrets that kill.
An action-packed novel in the best selling Jack Dillon Dublin Tales series!
Killian Graham is paid every month to take a beautiful lady of his choice out to dinner. He stays in a five-star hotel, eats the best food, drinks the best whiskey, and enjoys the charms of a grateful companion . . .
Meanwhile, American gangster Jimmy Dugan has been 'hiding' out in the open.
US Marshal Jack Dillon and An Garda Síochána DI Paddy Suel, assigned to a human trafficking case, have their investigation interrupted by the suspected appearance of Jimmy Dugan. But what is he doing in Ireland? And how did he get through security?
Things are about to get crazy.
He doesn’t know it yet, but Killian Graham has a target on his back.
Two American students are kidnapped… maybe.
A mob hitman has just arrived and is about to end Killian Graham’s escapades…
TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
His search for a killer will put him in the crosshairs.
The body of a college student is dumped in an alley far from campus. Is it a case of bad timing, or a drug deal gone wrong?
As the detective assigned to the case, Nathan Miller suspects something more sinister behind it. Convincing his superiors of this won't be easy, though, and following his instincts will require more than just bending the law. He may need to break it.
But when his pursuit leads him to Syria, and then London, he's forced to seek aid from the Phantoms—allies who might be enemies. Will they help the killer he's after, or join him in seeing justice served?
A Man Goes Up in Flames.
Was it an accident or murder?
Gwynn Reznick returns as a rookie private investigator…
…to find the truth.
Placed in an accounting role to watch the key players up close, she uncovers financial irregularities while delving into clues that lead her into dangerous situations. To obtain information, she becomes entangled with a tough crew of oil field workers. Their interpersonal jealousies and mysterious pasts intersect to obscure the truth.
Unraveling connecting threads that link to multiple disappearances, Gwynn discovers she’s pitted against polished criminal professionals and finds herself in the center of a devious scheme.
Money shortages and illicit affairs…
…point to several suspects.
Will her sleuthing blow her cover before her backup team arrives?
Any reader who enjoys action, adventure, murder mysteries, or just a plain good read will love Burning Water, the third book in the Gwynn Reznick series.
Jack Harker and his new wife Ivy have beaten the odds, and with that comes a little rest and relaxation. They have a two-week honeymoon planned, and the first leg involves a glamping trip down the river.
Jack has never been one for camping, and the truth is, he would’ve preferred anything but what they’ve got planned. Ivy, however, is desperate to prove that camping can be fun. What Jack wants most is for Ivy to have everything, so he gives in.
He may live to regret it. That is if he doesn’t die first.
What should’ve been an idyllic kayaking trip down the river, complete with gourmet meals and glamorous tents, turns into a mystery when one of the other guests finds blood on the ground on the second day. Jack and Ivy are instantly suspicious … but they seem to be the only ones.
There’s no body, so no reason to worry, and yet Ivy’s dreams won’t let her rest. Can you prove murder when there’s no body and nobody is missing?
That’s the plan for Ivy and Jack, although the trip will have them questioning more than their fellow travel-goers. It will have them questioning their instincts, too.
Strap in. Just because it’s a honeymoon, that doesn’t mean the ride won’t be bumpy.
Belfast. A still divided city rising from the ashes of its past.
Detective Inspector Veronica Taylor has staked her all in bringing down the corrupt magnate and paramilitary godfather, Gordon 'Monster' Beattie and the prosecution has ended in failure.
For Beattie, his exoneration has come at a price, indebted to a shadowy global organisation seeking to exploit his insidious criminal empire for their own gain.
When the murder of a ruthless criminal plunges the two opponents again into conflict, Taylor comes under increasing pressure from superiors in how to direct her case and Beattie is forced to face the consequences of his newly secured freedom.
As it becomes clear the killers thirst for murder may not be randomly orientated but an organised and brutal retribution, Beattie confronts the lie that built his empire and Taylor is forced to face her demons.
Caught between her duty to intervene and her desire to let vengeance run its bloody course she finds herself trapped between exposing a revelation that could shatter the fragile peace and plunge her city back to violence or complict in the CODE OF SILENCE.
CODE OF SILENCE is the first novel in the gripping Belfast Crime Series.
Avery Shaw never saw marriage on the menu – and when she did, she avoided it like liver and onions – but it appears her life is about to change. She simply can’t decide if it’s for better or worse.
With matrimony barreling down on her, she needs a distraction, and she gets it in the form of a warning. Apparently, she’s on the hit list for a local dealer who is trying to move in on turf she’s responsible for cleaning up, and news that she could be marked for death has her fiancé Eliot Kane in a tailspin.
Avery likes it when things line up her way. Unfortunately, very little is going how she envisioned in her life right now. Between her archnemesis Tad Ludington being fully recovered and back to his old tricks and her mother demanding a say in wedding preparations, Avery has her hands full.
The drug trade in Macomb County runs deeper than anybody anticipated, and the more Avery digs, the more she realizes that the case she thought was closed up tight is still open and ongoing. With an intern on her tail demanding attention, Avery is determined to uncover a secret so big it could blow up certain political circles within the county.
Eliot is by her side but his fear regarding the new people in Avery’s life is palpable … as is Sheriff Jake Farrell’s annoyance when he realizes what Avery is chasing. He wants her cut off from information, which isn’t something she will just sit back and accept.
It’s a war of the worlds this go-around for Avery, and the only chance she has to walk down the aisle is to figure out exactly what is going on. That’s easier said than done when she’s got a price on her head and people actively trying to thwart her every move.
She wants her happily ever after, and she’s determined nothing is going to stop her … not even death. Strap in and get ready, because Avery Shaw is taking no prisoners. Not this time.
Scout Randall has lived her life in the shadows, always wondering who abandoned her when she was a child and where the magic she boasts came from. Finally, she is about to get some answers.
It won’t be easy, though.
After a wild fight that saw shifters and vampires joining together to battle under an eclipse, things in Hawthorne Hollow are relatively quiet. Scout’s newly-found sister is locked in a cell, her grandfather is laying low, and the enemy appears to be regrouping.
That allows Scout and her boyfriend Gunner to make a trip to her childhood home. Upon their return, a shifter attacks and throws their world into a tailspin. He’s easily dispatched but appears to be suffering from a magical infection that has his body wasting and his mind collapsing.
It’s up to Spell’s Angels to figure out what’s going on, and because nothing is ever easy for Scout, the investigation is going to be harder than she imagined.
It seems there’s a new top vampire in town, and his powers are extensive for a creature who wasn’t born into his legacy. On top of that, he’s crossed paths with Scout before and knows exactly how to push her buttons.
Scout is a fighter but the world is closing in on her. She’s going to need her new co-workers and the family she doesn’t know to help her out on this one … and even then nothing is a given.
The road before her is winding but answers are finally here. Scout will finally know what she is. Whether she survives long enough to benefit from the knowledge is completely up in the air.
Trouble has a habit of finding some people.
Kitchenhand Deron thinks he’s hit the jackpot when a routine delivery of vegetables turns out to be contraband. The problem is it belongs to somebody else. And they want it back.
Financier Hamish has got involved in the arms trade and business is good. However, he’s unwittingly made a formidable foe. One who will stop at nothing for revenge.
Ken’s fed up with the nine-to-five. An illegal venture with girlfriend Laura brings the job satisfaction he craves, but also attention from organised crime. This could all go horribly wrong.
These sharp, shocking and suspenseful stories are a must read.
‘Dangerously droll crime capers’ – Adam Riley, Comedian
If you like dark humorous crime, you'll love Mangetout
Sometimes even the most carefully conceived burglary can take an unexpected turn. Florence Palmer has her eye on concert violinist Aaron Levy's priceless violin. Unfortunately, she finds it's already been stolen. Her surprise doubles when the virtuoso she'd planned to burgle offers to hire her to help him steal it back. But they're not the only ones looking for the missing violin. When Flo inadvertently becomes the prime suspect in a case of murder, she and Aaron need to clear her name. Will they find the real killer and get the violin back to its rightful owner without anyone else, especially themselves, being killed?
Henry has hit rock bottom. A fifty-year old mystery could save him – or finish him off.
Henry Lysyk’s life is a mess.
With his marriage over and his accounting career marred by scandal, he retreats to the anonymity of a rented suite in a house shared with strangers. But the trail of a decades-old crime leads a murderous treasure hunter to his doorstep, and Henry is baffled by his neighbors’ cover-up.
An unexpected visit from his adventure-hungry niece, Frieda, further complicates Henry’s efforts to lay low. With his houseguest refusing to stay away from the danger, Henry’s terrified they’re about to expose secrets someone would kill to protect. Not knowing who to trust, they must choose which parts of the past to uncover, and which to leave buried.
A real-life ransom, a shadowy past, unlikely allies, and ruthless murder. Can Henry unravel this cold case before he and Frieda become its next victims?
If you enjoy absorbing mysteries, original characters, and a dash of true crime, then you’ll love Byron TD Smith's clever “What if…” solution to the most captivating unsolved heist of the twentieth century.
Windfall is the first instalment in the Henry Lysyk Mystery series.
Murder's a pain in the aria!
Nothing ruins a night at the opera faster than a duchess falling to her death. Mrs. Ginger Reed, also known by some as Lady Gold, is at the Royal Albert Hall with her husband, Basil Reed, a chief inspector at Scotland Yard, and the two of them are immediately at the scene. Was the Duchess of Worthington’s fall accidental? Where was the duke?
And what does Ginger’s grandmother-in-law, Ambrosia, the Dowager Lady Gold have to do with the sordid affair?
Something went terribly wrong with the dowager’s "sisterhood" of friends back in the 1860s, and it's all coming home to roost.
No good deed goes unpunished.
When Martin Billings and Ugly Bill come across a yacht stuck hard on French Reef in the Caribbean, they lend a helping hand, rescuing Donna Devro, the young woman on board, and getting the boat safely into harbor.
Now the authorities have found the boat's owner dead in the cabin and Donna Devro has disappeared, leaving Martin and Bill to work out what sort of trouble she’s in (or up to), and find a way to keep from getting involved in whatever that trouble is. Fat chance.
Martin Billings left behind a shining career as an officer in the SEALs for this mess? All he wanted was a chance to make an honest living hauling cargo among the Caribbean islands on his freighter IRREPARABLE HARM.
Now, instead of hauling cargo, Martin and Bill are trawling for trouble, and Donna Devro isn't eager to simplify their lives — nor is her husband.
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