Indie Crime Fiction of the Month for February 2024
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 January 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, historical mysteries, Jazz Age mysteries, WWII mysteries, 1950s mysteries, paranormal mysteries, crime thrillers, psychological thrillers, police officers, FBI agents, amateur sleuths, prisoners, missing persons, serial killers, murderous twins, murdered brides, deadly weddings, crime-busting witches, crime-busting socialites, crime-busting housekeepers, crime-busting ghosts, murder and mayhem in London, California, Lousiana, Florida, Texas 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:
Barbara Hollis has barely settled into the sleepy little town where her brother is sheriff, when a shocking crime rocks the community. Thanks to a peculiar new friend she has made and an unexpected prize she has won at a plasticware party, Barbara finds herself dragged into a dangerous mystery.
Can she uncover the identity of a murderer and track down a jewelry store thief, while navigating a confusing acquaintance with a handsome restaurant owner who is just a little too charming for anyone’s good?
Vi feels like she’s been pregnant for about 1,000 years. She’s decided it’s time to make a major change in her life. No more murders. No more mayhem. No more madness.
Except, then she meets a man and a woman, and if there was ever a pair of people who needed to be murdered it was them. Vi says so. Maybe more than once. Maybe to those who took note. Maybe, even, to a suspicious degree. So when one of them is killed, all eyes turn to the heavily pregnant Vi.
This time, Vi isn’t just investigating to right a wrong. She’s not fighting for justice. She’s saving her baby from being born in a jail cell and herself from being hanged before her child is walking. She takes up her swollen ankles, gathers round her wild friends, and the whole gang is going to find the killer, trap the killer, and then welcome a baby who really should have come already.
March 1922
If Josephine Marie West knows about anything, she knows about grief. Which is probably why she bonded so quickly with her friend, Chessie. Josephine hadn’t had a best friend as an adult before, and she’s ready to be the best best friend the world has ever seen. So when Chessie calls for help, Josephine drops everything.
It's time to uncover yet another murderer.
Things have reached a critical point in the Middle East. Carter agreed to serve as a consultant for his old Force Recon unit but for reasons unknown to his friends and family, jumped from the command center and into the field. Now he’s MIA, and Fortune is the only one who can put together a rescue mission that has any chance of being successful. But will her skills and connections be enough?
Most Sinful residents are unaware of Carter’s crisis and are going about their daily lives as they always have, including local prankster Gage Babin. Except this time, Gage’s attempt to elicit laughs leaves him on a slab in the medical examiner’s office. Everyone knows how unhealthy he was, but Fortune thinks there’s more to his death than a poorly timed prank that caused his bad heart to give out.
Unfortunately, what she knows and what she can prove are two different things. And unless she can find the evidence to support her theory, someone will get away with murder.
When the body of Nario Costa is dug up in Wyncombe's Victory Gardens, Bunch Courtney's investigations unearth far more than an escaped POW!
What at first appears to be a cold case takes a darker turn as she uncovers links far beyond her Sussex home -- and the body count begins to rise!"
When Tennessee Evans inherited a fortune, the last thing she expected was to find her absentee family on her doorstep. But that’s exactly what happened.
Quite literally, in fact. First her dad and his new wife, then her mom and her new husband. Awkward doesn’t quite cover it.
Then her stepmom is kidnapped, and the ghosts start showing up.
Which would be bad enough on its own. But Tennessee is already juggling a complicated romance, her plans to restore the town’s downtown area, and a home renovation project.
She needs to figure out what’s going on stat. Fortunately for her, the dead are on the case, and they have a few ideas…
It should be the season of joy, but one inmate has a secret he's taking to the grave…
FBI agent Blake Wilder is basking in the holiday spirit, when she receives a phone call from an old high school friend regarding a murder case.
She reluctantly agrees to visit him in prison. There he begs her to investigate his case to prove his innocence. He is currently serving a life sentence for a murder he claims he did not commit.
While glossing over his case, Blake notices that there are potential discrepancies in the original investigation.
It seems her friend, the inmate, has been keeping secrets from her.
And as Blake dives deeper into the case, she finds a trail of illicit affairs, abuse, incompetence, and a shocking twist that no one saw coming.
Lust, pride, envy, deception, and murder. Some have secrets they’d kill for.
This inmate has a secret worth taking to the grave.
The final battle is here.
Hannah Hickok had high hopes for her wedding and honeymoon, but everything changes when a local politician stops by to casually drop some disturbing news. It seems Casper Creek is going to be seized by eminent domain…and there’s nothing she can do about it.
Cooper Wyatt knows that the land can’t just be taken from Hannah willy-nilly, but stopping what’s about to happen is going to take more than the sheriff on their side. They’re also going to need some magical help.
That means it’s time for Hannah’s ultimate decision on the nexus magic. She knows she can’t risk anybody getting their hands on it, especially local witch Astra Bishop, who wants to use it for evil. That means there’s no choice but to absorb it now. Is she ready, though?
Hannah wants her happily ever after. She has to take out Astra—and those she has working for her—to make it to the other side. It’s a tall order, but she’s determined to make it happen.
Casper Creek is a place of magic and love. Hannah is willing to fight to the death to keep it that way.
Will she get her wish, or will she lose everything? You’re about to find out. The end is here.
Wedding bells are about to ring for Poet Parker and Kade Denton. They just have to knock a few things off their list in Galveston, including getting a license, and then they will be ready to pledge themselves to one another forever.
There’s just one little problem.
On their first night, right across the water, they watch the local vampires do a ritual on the beach. They don’t sweat it too much until the police show up the next morning to ask them about the body that was found in the exact same location.
It seems the vampires are up to something, and they’re not the only ones. Trouble is back and the quiet week of rest and relaxation Poet was hoping for is about to go up in smoke.
As Poet and her motley crew of paranormals dig deeper into the Galveston lore, they find more interesting tidbits than they can shake a loa at. Something magical—something dark and dangerous—has been controlling the island for a very long time. That’s why no other paranormals can get a foothold in the area. It’s also why the vampires seem to be serving a new master. Unfortunately for Mystic Caravan, that creature is now focused on them.
Poet wants her big day. She wants a honeymoon to enjoy. It seems death is on the wedding reception menu, though, and it’s going to take everybody working together to make sure Poet and Kade get their happily ever after.
Lamias, dwarves, pixies, shifters, and loas are about to unite in a big fight. Who will win, though?
Here comes the bride, all dressed in…
When the body of a "bride," clutching a bloody invitation is found in a shallow grave with flower petals scattered around, FBI agent Emma Griffin is called to the scene.
Initial reports about the victim’s disappearance were conflicting.
Some believed she had simply gotten cold feet, just a “runaway bride”.
While her family feared something far more sinister occurred.
When another “bride” is found in a similar fashion, it seems as though a serial killer is sending a message.
While the case takes on many bloody twists and turns, unraveling the final moments of these soon-to-be brides and deciphering the killer’s cryptic messages is only just the beginning.
With Bellamy’s wedding date quickly approaching, Emma juggles her duties to Bellamy and solving this mysterious case.
But there's a strange darkness looming over Bellamy's big day.
And Emma’s fears are confirmed when Bellamy is nowhere to be found...
It's the event most women have been waiting all their lives to celebrate.
As the saying goes,“Be careful what you wish for”.
A missing five-year-old girl is the key to unlocking a detective’s terrifying past…
When Detective Billie Ann Wilde receives a desperate call that five-year-old Emma Wilson is missing, she rushes to the family home. But inside the picture-perfect house surrounded by Florida marshlands, she finds no children’s clothes or toys, no photos of the innocent child Emma’s mother Marissa describes. Billie suspects Marissa Wilson is hiding from someone.
It’s a race against the clock to find Emma. But Marissa refuses to tell Billie anything about her past, and before long, she also disappears…
And then Billie realizes who Marissa is.
She’s the ten-year-old girl Billie failed to find in her first ever case fourteen years ago. The leads went cold because Billie made a fatal mistake.
As more bodies turn up in the same marshlands, Billie must revisit her past and face up to her demons to find Marissa and her child. But she is unknowingly putting herself in the path of a terrifying serial killer...
You look exactly like your twin brother. Exactly. You think like him, for him, with him, cannot live without him. Cannot. Don't want to. Don't want to. Other kids play Hide & Seek. But you and he play Hide & Be. Your parents died when you were two. The foster parents were sometimes nice and sometimes awful. They could never tell you apart because one of you would hide; the other would just be. Be bad. Be blamed. Be good. Get the Jesus Strap. Get the ice cream cone. There were always eyes on you, then him. Wondering which one you were. There were always voices in your head, his. They can't judge you because you could always be him, or you. You did not need friends because you are his and he is yours. You learn you don't need anyone else; they can't see you, just him. Or are they looking at him, not you? If one of you dies, the other will be. You.
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