Indie Crime Fiction of the Month for March 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 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, culinary mysteries, historical mysteries, Jazz Age mysteries, 1950s mysteries, paranormal mysteries, parnormal thrillers, crime thrillers, legal thrillers, action thrillers, adventure thrillers, police officers, FBI agents, amateur sleuths, lawyers, assassins, serial killers, sinister campgrounds, crime-busting witches, crime-busting socialites, crime-busting realtors, crime-busting housekeepers, murder and mayhem in London, Florida, Michigan, South America 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:
A violent assault on a door-to-door salesman leaves the man’s life hanging in the balance as Barbara, Craig, and Deputy Elwood search for answers. Was it the victim’s estranged wife? A business competitor? A dissatisfied customer?
Meanwhile, Barbara has a chance at a new romance, but she has barely begun to pursue it when yet another mystery rises up. Can Barbara solve two different crimes before either of the perpetrators catches up to her?
Denny has accepted that the investigatory life is not for him. He’s not very good at it, and every time he goes it alone, he ends up bruised from his head to his toes. Or thereabouts.
Still, when an old chum from back when he was in short pants needs him, what can he do but help? It seems everything is askew, his life is about to be ruined, and he can’t go to Victor and Vi for help. Denny tries pushing his friend off on Smith, but old Snakey won’t be pushed.
With a desire for armor, a certainty that things are about to go awry, and a willingness to flee like a rabbit, Denny tries to help. No one, least of all him, will be surprised if things only get worse.
In this final short mystery, Sam and Mia have returned home after their last caper and delved back into their lives. Everything is the same busy usual until Sam’s boss calls her for help.
He’s got a secret, one worth killing over. And, he’s very afraid that death is, in fact, at the door. Calling in Griffin and Jonah for help, it’s time to solve this mystery before all is lost.
When an escaped killer stumbles upon a secluded campground, the perfect hideaway becomes a sinister hunting ground…
True-crime podcasters Ariana and Damon Jones seek respite from their rough year with a camping trip in the wilderness. But the solace they hoped would bring peace soon twists into a sinister stage for a deadly game of terror.
A shadowy figure infiltrates the campsite, masquerading as just another camper. The group shrinks as people vanish or show up dead. Cut off from civilization, Ariana and Damon realize they're trapped with a monster, their every move watched by a predator hidden in plain sight.
With suspicion corroding and trust a mere illusion, their professional skills may be their only chance to unmask the predator. But as the body count rises, they must tread carefully, for one wrong decision could mean the difference between life and death. Can Ariana and Damon survive the untamed darkness...or will they become the killer's final trophies?
The end is here, and judgement has come.
FBI agent Cora Pratt came to Storyville searching for the crazed Postcard Killer.
A killer that has taunted her all over the USA.
When she arrived in this quiet town, nothing could have prepared her for the supernatural mysteries that would unfold.
Orphaned as a young child, Cora did not know about her family’s background. Let alone her shocking connection to this strange place.
Until now, the truth of her unusual past has been kept secret to almost everyone.
But as the end draws near, it’s now time for Cora to learn of her special purpose.
It's a tale as old as time. The battle of good versus evil.
Salvation or eternal condemnation.
The world as we know it will never be the same.
The big day has arrived. Hali Waverly is finally getting the surgery she so desperately needs. Her boyfriend Gray Hunter is determined to be by her side for it. She thinks she’s ready for it. Is she, though?
The surgery itself goes off without a hitch. Hali’s recovery is another story. Ceding control of her beloved tiki bar to her brother and her boyfriend’s brother only amps up her anxiety. Things get worse when a storm hits, and it’s of the magical variety instead of the natural. When a body is found in the aftermath, things are bad.
Things get worse when the body is identified as belonging to a local pack member, and the last person seen with the woman is Gray’s mother. Helene, of course, denies being up to anything nefarious. Unfortunately for her, Hali is in on her big secret, and it’s time to share it.
Hali thought the hardest thing in the world would be the surgery. She was wrong. Now she has to tell the man she loves about his mother’s betrayal and keep him from cutting his parents out of his life forever because of it.
It’s not just the pack closing in, though. The dark merrow are also making their move. Hali’s small sliver of beach is about to become very crowded.
Even though this is the exact worst time for a war, Hali finds herself embroiled in one. One side will fall forever. Hali wants to be on the winning team because if she’s not, they’ll all die.
The big battle is here.
In a small town known for its picturesque landscapes and quaint charm, Stella O’Neil eagerly arranges a showing for Dude Ranch. The property, nestled amidst rolling hills and vibrant green pastures, has attracted potential buyers from far and wide.
As the day of the showing arrives, a select group of interested buyers and enthusiasts gather at the horse farm. Little did anyone know that this showing would soon turn into a chilling mystery.
After a chance encounter at the funeral of an old mentor, small-town lawyer Cass Leary finds herself at the center of a murder trial no one believes she can win.
Cass is stunned when a man she hasn’t seen or spoken to in twenty years wills his law practice to her. His client list contains a single name. Farrah Sibley. Accused of murdering her boss, Farrah has femme fatale written all over her. Beautiful. Smart. Cunning. But is she capable of such a cold-blooded killing?
Shot once through the heart, the victim, prominent lawyer Terrence Dowd only had one enemy. His mistress, Farrah is on record threatening Dowd’s life and had the motive and opportunity to turn their relationship into a fatal attraction. She was also the last one to see Dowd alive. Two things drive Cass to take the case despite the skepticism of her team. There’s no physical evidence tying Farrah to the crime and someone Cass revered believed in her innocence until the day he died. Cass takes a leap of faith and mounts a defense.
A killer with no conscience…
Assassin Tom Maverick is an old-school tough guy. He’ll kill anyone, for any reason, no questions asked. His life has been one terrible mistake after another, but that has only hardened him more.
After being falsely accused of executing an innocent family, Tom is on the run. And now no questions mean no answers as to why he’s been framed.
When he scarcely escapes a car bombing in South America, Tom realizes his enemies have found him. What’s worse, the hitmen have also found his son… a continent away.
Ready to fight, he discovers a conspiracy spanning the globe. But can Tom determine who’s hunting him, foil their plan, and keep his son out of the firestorm?
Winter has descended on Hawthorne Hollow like a chilly blanket, and all Scout Randall wants to do with her days is snuggle in bed with her gas station chicken and wait for spring to arrive.
Nothing in her life ever goes the way she planned, however.
There are gods afoot, as if Scout didn’t have enough to deal with. The Nordic goddess Skadi is in town, and she has something specific on her mind.
With the new lamia apex down for the count—whether she’ll survive her ultimate transition, nobody can say—Scout thinks she has some breathing room to get to know the family that’s only recently come to town. Instead, she’s got a god to deal with, and Skadi means business.
Scout’s magic is ever-evolving but is she strong enough to face a god?
When another god arrives hellbent on fighting it out with the first god, Scout thinks things can’t get worse. She’s wrong. Things can always get worse.
A god fight is not what Scout was anticipating it. It’s upon her, though. Worse, it seems one of the gods might be partnering with the lamia apex with domination on their minds. What does that mean? An end for them all.
Scout has been reticent about facing her new reality. She’s out of time, though. She either has to agree to take on the mantle of the pixie apex, or Hawthorne Hollow—and ultimately the world—will fall into ruin.
It’s time for a war. Is Scout ready?
A discovery of bones on a windswept beach, the disappearance of a young woman, and a detective whose secrets are about to come out…
Summoned to a crime scene swarming with people, Detective Billie Ann Wilde is devastated to find a woman’s broken bones abandoned in a suitcase on the sand of a popular Florida beach. And Billie’s blood runs cold when she reads the name “Danni” handwritten on the luggage tag in black ink: the name of Billie’s own best friend.
Rushing over to Danni’s home, Billie is relieved to find her alive, preparing dinner for her two young daughters. So whose bones are in the suitcase? And why was Danni’s name at the scene?
For years, Billie has worried that the dark secrets in her past might put her loved ones in danger, and soon her connection to the case is confirmed. Another set of bones is found at a busy local mall. With shaking hands Billie reaches out to read the luggage tag where another name is written in black ink: but this time, it’s Billie’s own name. And now, Danni has gone missing…
Can Billie face up to the past and unravel her connection to this twisted killer? Or, with two young women already gone, is it too late for Billie to save Danni’s life?
Things in the Middle Florida Keys aren’t as idyllic as they seem. If one looks closely, there’s a layer of dirt just below the surface. The butt-ugly kind of dirt that’s hard to get off.
Things move slowly in the Keys—locals call it island time—but there are some for whom it seems that time is at a standstill; whose clocks revolve only around the tides, fish migrations, and the rising and setting of the sun and moon.
Jesse McDermitt remembers the Keys the way he’d first found them as a young man. He’s lived on his little island in the Content Keys for a long time and he’s learned to adapt to some of the change. But not all of it has been positive, and it seems the dirt has a way of finding Jesse, sticking to his feet like Everglades mud.
Is it finally time to go away? To completely disappear? He has the means and there are places in the world where the dirt hasn’t settled. Places he’d like to show his wife and family.
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