Indie Crime Fiction of the Month for June 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 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, small town mysteries, historical mysteries, Jazz Age mysteries, fantasy mysteries, paranormal mysteries, urban fantasy mysteries, crime thrillers, psychological thrillers, adventure thrillers, horror thrillers, noir, police officers, FBI agents, private investigators, amateur sleuths, vigilantes, serial killers, country house murders, missing children, biker gangs, grim reapers, vampires, crime-busting witches, crime-busting socialites, murder and mayhem in London, Lois Angeles, Detroit, Florida the Cotswolds 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:
The gentle waft of sewers emanating from Uncle Albert is not the only thing troubling Lady Caroline. From lost rivers and secret tunnels to Elizabethan lore, what unsavory matter has Uncle Albert walked into? Join Lady Caroline and Uncle Albert on a Voyage of Discovery through the secrets of London.
London, 1926
The members of the Royal Society for Natural History Appreciation have always felt they were built for greater things. Now, as they take a wrong turn, they stumble upon a secret of mythical proportions. To discover the truth, they need to go on a modern-day Voyage of Discovery and descend into London’s underworld of lost rivers, Tube tunnels, and secret passageways.
But as a thick fog settles over London, and as the Royal Society digs deeper into London’s secrets, what they uncover could have disastrous consequences for Lady Caroline’s family, and even the Government.
Up until now, the only monsters the LAPD had ever seen were of the human variety…
When two down-on-their-luck detectives are forced to work together on a series of cold cases, they slowly begin to uncover a common thread that may hold the key to solving some of their town’s grizzliest unsolved murders.
Little do they know that the same key will unlock secrets from a different dimension; one filled with monstrous creatures that should never be disturbed…
Aunt Anne’s house parties are to die for. Sometimes, literally.
When heiress Meredith Thatch accepted an invitation to a house party on her aunt’s country estate, she expected an exciting weekend for herself and partner Alec.
The worst storm in decades wasn’t in the cards, though. Neither was murder. Then a guest winds up dead in suspicious circumstances – and the only road in the area washes out.
Trapped in the manor, with every guest a possible suspect – and everyone harboring secrets – Meredith and Alec race to find the murderer.
Before their own secret comes out – or the killer strikes again.
While the town prepares for the annual local festival, Spenser helps with the festivities while chatting with the residents. Unfortunately the pleasantry is interrupted when Spenser runs into Rafe Johnson, the man beginning his campaign to unseat her as sheriff.
The standoff between them is tense with Spenser deciding to walk away. Fortunately, when she arrived home to Ryker, she was able to drop down her guard, as he works on his fields, planting an apple orchard for his new apple cider business.
The semi-peace is short-lived when the lead singer of a local band drops dead on stage. Initially, it seems to be an open and shut case of overdose. But when the toxicology reports find poison in the victim, no one, not even Spenser, would have ever expected the troves of victims, or the illicit and depraved turn the case would take.
It seems life at Sweetwater Falls has a way of keeping everyone on their toes. Sex, drugs, murder, and rock & tumble. It’s just another gorgeous day here in the Falls.
Spells, hexes and curses.
Curses are falling on this town like rain in London. Just when I think I’ve found a link between the hexed victims, someone else shows up who’s been jinxed. It feels like the devil is playing darts with my paranormal town and if the dart hits you, you get whammied with a curse.
To be honest, I haven’t a clue how to find the perpetrator. My sole lead is pointing at the travelling black market that has just arrived in Portlock. That would be all fine and dandy —ifI could find it. Weirdly, no one is willing to direct the cops to a highly illegal market. I’m obviously persona non grata – though being a slightly-less-than-undead vampire, I’m kind of used to that.
On top of everything, my overbearing British mother has come to visit. Stuck in my shoebox of a house together, we might actually have to deal with some of our issues. Thank goodness I have Connor Mackenzie, vampire leader and sexy lumberjack, to run to when the going gets tough.
I’m juggling things—badly—when I discover my dog is cursed. What am I willing to do to save my hound? Anything and everything.
The world can burn for all I care, as long as I can save my pup…
Jenna solves real crimes; Rhiannon has prophesied one. Can Jenna thwart a murder that hasn’t happened yet?
Book 9 in the popular Lessons in Murder series, by award-winning, best-selling author Edale Lane.
Blissful about her upcoming marriage to Jenna, Dr. Randi McLeod accepts her friend’s invitation to visit a spiritualist for a fun reading. Skeptical at first, Randi reconsiders when her practitioner Rhiannon becomes terrified, envisioning her own murder during their session.
Jenna Ferrari, Randi’s fiancée, is buried in multiple investigations while squeezing in wedding planning. Add helping her little sister, and the practical detective has no time for a quack psychic who foresees her own death.
But when a malicious perpetrator tries to kill Rhiannon for real, Jenna and her team roll into action. Can they catch the shadowy would-be killer before it’s too late, or is the clairvoyant destined to die?
It all comes down to this.
Charlie Rhodes has come a long way.
She started out as a young woman trying to find a reason for her magic, going as far as to hide in the one place they were looking for her.
Now the final battle is here.
Charlie is in Detroit, surrounded by new faces, and looking for the final piece of the puzzle. Between the reapers, zombies, mages, brujas, loas, and gods, she has her hands full. Death is barreling toward her and taking no prisoners.
Sybil wants to kill her to prolong her life. Charlie just wants to be free to live hers.
This war has always been written in the stars. Now it’s finally here. Who will win?
Stormy Morgan is flying high. She’s engaged. She’s used to her new routine. She’s even learning about being a witch. All of that changes when a local podcaster’s house goes up in flames and a body is found inside.
Carl Winslow was not a nice man. He spent his time stalking local family vloggers so he could cast aspersions on their life choices. One family in particular draws his ire, and he fights with them the night of the fire. Are they to blame for the podcaster’s death, though?
Stormy and her fiancé Hunter Ryan are on the case, and the further they dig into Carl Winslow’s life, the more they realize that nothing in Shadow Hills is as it seems.
Stormy was already working against forces she didn’t see coming. There’s a conspiracy of people who were apparently waiting for her to manifest her powers working against her, though. They have plans for her. They also had plans for Carl.
As evidence begins mounting, it points to one particular person. Only Stormy is convinced it has to be someone else. She’s determined to get to the source of the death and destruction wreaking havoc on her once quiet small town.
She has to survive to find her answers, though, and that’s not a given.
It’s a race against the clock. Either Stormy finds what she’s looking for and stops Shadow Hills’ most recent threat, or everybody suffers in the wake of yet another bout of magical mayhem.
Who will survive? You’re about to find out.
Marooned after a garden party turns sinister, Lady Ellen finds herself in the midst of an unsettling mystery.
An unexpected summer storm leaves occupants and visitors, including Ellen, Lottie and Captain Hamilton, contained within Moor House and grounds after it is cut off from the outside world. When a priceless Egyptian artefact is stolen, the thief leaves the man guarding it brutally maimed. Tasked by the artefact's secretive owner to recover the relic, Lady Ellen must sift through a web of secrets and motives. As she delves into the lives of both the family and staff at Moor House, the question arises: Who is truly capable of such a betrayal?
With her companions Lottie, Captain Hamilton and her faithful dog Prince by her side, will she be able to locate the treasure and discover the thief before they escape? Or will the artefact be lost forever?
When life keeps throwing you grenades, you don’t stop running.
From having a criminal mastermind as a father, to losing his mother when he was young, PI Dean Steele has had to overcome many tragedies in life. After leaving the military, he was determined to continue living a life of service. Since then, he has solved many brutal and shocking cases as a private investigator.
Called in to investigate a strange case with missing EMTs dispatched to 871 Ridge Port, he never expected to find the many gruesome twists in the case. What happened to the EMTs or the people who lived in 871?
Nothing is adding up and every new clue only leads to more deaths. Now, the question on everyone's mind is what happened to the woman in the attic?
The life of a teenage girl is a roller coaster of emotions.
Did Luisa Sinclair really run away from home?
With a troubled home life, many in town speculated that Luisa Sinclair ran away. It’s been years since her sudden disappearance and all hopes of finding her are gone. Until a fisherman pulled up an ominous drum barrel. It contained human remains and the DNA comes up as a match for Luisa.
While FBI agent Emma Griffin attempts to track down the culprit responsible, she stumbles upon a trail of missing young girls in that area. Cases that may be linked to Luisa’s disappearance and murder. There’s a cunning and wicked predator on the loose. It's only a matter of time before the killer takes another life.
Trust the wrong person and it might cost you your life…
The prettiest flowers can be deadly…
Detective duo Mrs Jameson and Marjorie Swallow are called to investigate when a renowned garden designer suspects that someone is sabotaging her priceless Himalayan Sapphire Lilies, ahead of the 1923 Chelsea Flower Show.
But soon it’s not just the flowers that are dying. Rival gardeners, intrepid plant hunters and even King George V himself are caught up in a poisonous bouquet with its roots deep in the mountains of Tibet.
The third in the Marjorie Swallow 1920s murder mystery series requires all her wit, charm and pluck to solve.
The city of Astreiant is full of magic, danger and bureaucracy, and never moreso than when something or someone is making guild apprentices disappear without a trace. Philip Eslingen has just been discharged from his mercenary company and as a Leaguer and a stranger, makes an ideal suspect. Fortunately for him, Pointsman Nicolas Rathe from the Point of Hopes station doesn’t agree, but he knows the only way to prove that is to find the missing children and the real culprits. Together they must follow a twisted trail of deceit and magic in a city on the brink of exploding into violence. If they can’t learn to work together, the results could be catastrophic, even fatal. And if they can’t trust each other, the price could be higher than either of them realize.
It’s been three months since Jesse McDermitt had any time off to go back home to Florida. When two surprise openings on the leave roster open up, he and his friend Rusty Thurman jump on it, and head back to the Keys for some scuba diving.
The husband of a local reporter’s friend has nearly been killed. Not once, but four times in less than a month. The reporter is Jesse’s new girlfriend and they become curious. How does a man survive four attempts on his life?
Meanwhile, the man Jesse helped put away is doing time in Florida State Prison, hundreds of miles to the north. But Bear Bering isn’t completely cutoff. His cousin, Chuck, is still working the tourist crowds in Key West and has learned that Jesse and Rusty are back in town.
Suddenly, Jesse and his friends are in danger, and once again they are forced to leave. A biker gang, under Chuck Bering’s direction, comes after Jesse and his friends. The leader, a mountain of a man named Sideshift, served time with Bear and both he and Chuck want to see Jesse and anyone around him crushed.
Jesse and friends sail to Key West to find out who the bungling would-be murderer is, and everything comes to a head on Mallory Square, when the bikers, the murderer, and Bear’s family all come at Jesse as one.
Justice reigns, no matter the cost.
Justice Hall’s carefully constructed life as Elmaeder County Sheriff’s Office’s own caped crusader is spiraling out of control. His girlfriend is pregnant with his baby, Justin Black’s insane fan club of serial killer wannabes are threatening to come for him, and the bodies of the criminals he’s killed in the name of justice are piling up on his ranch.
Worst of all? He suspects his boss—the county sheriff—is onto him.
If he can’t restore her faith in him, he’s going to lose everything. His job, his freedom, and the life he so desperately wants with the woman he loves.
Redemption comes in the form of the decaying corpse of a missing young man who was garroted with fishing line, his body tossed near a creek in the middle of nowhere. If Justice can find the killer and play this one by the books instead of taking matters into his own hands, he just might get away with murder.
But can a vigilante killer who’s developed a taste for blood change his ways? And when his darkest secrets are uncovered, how will justice/Justice be served?
Fade to Black 's stories present characters you might see on any street in any town anywhere. Or maybe you wondered about the guy at the end of the bar brooding over his drink. What's he thinking about? Or the woman who cut her eyes away from you as you passed her on the street. What's on her mind? And then you went about your day not giving another thought to that stranger. Here's your opportunity to see what lurks beneath the surface, and it's not pretty--malignant intentions, murderous plans, festering hatreds, and dark secrets never meant to come to light. Have fun exploring the depths of human behavior; you won't be disappointed.
Comments
Post a Comment