The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion
Author's Corner
>
Tell us about your books: Police Procedural/Forensic Crime
date
newest »
newest »
I'd like to share about my upcoming debut novel "A Cry From the Dust." As the saying goes, write what you know. I'm a forensic artist, so my protagonist also has that profession. Drawing (no pun intended) upon my 30+ years in the field, I've written about forensic art from an extensive knowledge base. It also delves into the LDS (Mormon) church history, beginning with the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857, then fast forwarding to the present day. If you're not familiar with this historical event-a wagon train of pioneers were camping in Southern Utah when they were attacked and slaughtered over 120 unarmed men, women, and children, with only 17 surviving children, all under the age of eight. The killers? Mormon fanatics calling themselves "Avenging Angels." The date? September 11. It was the largest domestic terrorist attack on US soil until the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995.The publishers are HarperCollins Christian (Thomas Nelson) with a release date of August, 2014.
Three-Ways is the fourth volume in the Detectives Seagate and Miner Mystery series.When grad student Austin Sulenka is found strangled, nude on his bed, the first question for Detectives Seagate and Miner is whether it was an auto-asphyxiation episode gone wrong. Evidence strewn around his small apartment suggests that he spent his last night with a number of different women. One was Tiffany, a former student who still resented the injustice of getting a C in the course when he promised her a B if she slept with him. Another was Austin’s beautiful girlfriend, May, who had never before encountered a man she could not totally beguile. Then there was his thesis adviser, Suzannah Montgomery, who might have inadvertently revealed to Austin some information about her past that could ruin her own career. These three women and their other partners had plenty of reasons to kill the philandering graduate student. As Detective Karen Seagate and her partner try to unravel the complicated couplings, she finds herself in a three-way relationship that threatens to destroy her own fragile sobriety.
Hello Nancy and Goodreads members,My name is Jon Kurtz, and I write "Pragmatic Police Novels." My intent is to provide procedurally correct crime fiction that portrays criminals and cops in a realistic manner. I base much of my work on general persons and situations encountered during a 27 year career in law enforcement.
Book #1, A Choice of Darkness, examines two sides of a complicated homicide investigation. An unnamed serial killer stalks his prey in the hopes of answering questions formed in a mind damaged by nature and a traumatic childhood. A diverse group of investigators struggles to decipher his actions and the clues left behind, while hampered by the physical and psychological scars from years of battling criminals, comforting victims, and living life. Two trains running on parallel tracks, they eventually meet to provide the reader with insight into the grave effects of choices.
Book #2, Right to Bear Arms, is slated for release in December 2014. As the title implies, the book is a work of fiction that examines the lives and deaths of those involved in the emotional debate regarding the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
For more information on the author or projects, please navigate to: www.jondkurtz.com.
Excerpts may be found at: https://www.goodreads.com/story/list/... and https://www.smashwords.com/books/view....
My best regards,
Jon D. Kurtz
Mod
Mod
It's true. I really wish I did have tons of time. My prime reading time is 5 a.m. until 7 or 7:30 a.m. before the noise starts.
Mod
LOL - I fought it at first, but now I really like the quiet.
According to 'avid reader' on Amazon.com this is 'an excellent holiday read, VERY funny in places & topical, it keeps one guessing ... The author has developed the central characters ... Inspector No is as impossible as ever and hilariously vulgar.'
Set in St Andrews, it features golf, crooked bankers and humour, with the odd ethical question thrown in.
It will be available to bloggers and reviewers on NetGalley for the next five weeks.
In my first novel in the Amsterdam assassin Series there's a multiple murder executed by the protagonist and the resulting carnage is investigated afterward by the Dutch police and the DEA, and despite their scrutiny, their conclusions still differ from what really happened because the perpetrator took pains to change the situation so forensic evidence would be misinterpreted.From a review of
:It’s an impressive set of writing, plot, and suspense. If you like foreign settings, police procedurals, and insight into the criminal mind, then this is a definite plus. This story would most interest:
1) Fans of police procedurals and investigations. This book shows the story from all sides: the authorities, the drug ring, and the killer all have their POV shown and fleshed out. So if you’re into “crime” stories, this would be your piece of cake.
2) People who enjoy the crazies. If you like reading or watching stories about the psychos, then this is for you. Katla is beautifully twisted, and there are also a number of other characters who deserve to be in therapy. Not that therapy might help them, though…
3) People who like thrillers and suspense. There wasn’t much mystery in the story–it was told from everyone’s POV, so we know who did what and why–but this did not lower our suspense any. We cared enough about the characters to worry when something happened to them, and were still surprised whenever they did something unusual, which was cool.
Read the whole GoodBadBizarre review here:
http://goodbadbizarre.com/2014/04/01/...
Deep White CoverJoel W. Barrows
3:27 a.m., Wednesday, May 6th, along the Texas/Mexico border, southeast of Laredo.
It had been a long, grueling journey to get this far. And now, the harsh terrain of the South Texas desert lay before them. Still, Enrique Reynado-Pinales had to turn to his sister, Isabel, and smile. They had finally reached the Promised Land. They had reached El Norte.
But what Enrique doesn’t know is that a small band of men await their arrival, men with no intention of providing a warm welcome.
As America struggles to gain control of its borders, extremist anti-immigrant groups and white-supremacist hate-mongers have begun to combine resources, and ideologies. These new hybrids of hate pose a rising threat, not only to the country’s immigrants, but also to national security. Among the leaders of these groups is one man who reigns supreme: Royce Lundgren, the charismatic founder of the country’s most virulent anti-immigrant organization, The Nation.
Deep White Cover introduces Special Agent David Ward, ATF’s most successful undercover operative. Ward lives life on the razor’s edge. His work is his calling, and has already cost him a marriage and any semblance of a normal life. Still, he knows that there is real evil in world, truly bad people who need to be dealt with, and he has the skills and commitment to do something about them.
Posing as Ed Maddox, a disgruntled veteran of the Army’s Special Forces, Ward works his way into The Nation, befriending its leaders and learning its secrets . . . or so he thinks. In truth, the organization’s reach exceeds anything that the seasoned agent could have possibly imagined, something he will learn only when it seems too late to stop them.
The story also follows Jacob Meade, a young man who has embraced The Nation’s ideology. In an attempt to impress Lundgren, Meade attempts to arrange a transfer of drugs in exchange for high-powered weapons, those that the organization is beginning to hoard for the coming revolution. Little does Meade know that his source, Ralph “Rogue Beast” Baker, a biker with connections to arms traffickers, is actually ATF undercover operative, Joe Slater.
Meade’s arrest forces him into cooperation with the Feds and lands him in the Witness Protection Program. It also provides the ATF and Special Agent Ward with the opportunity and motive to infiltrate The Nation. Intelligence shows the group amassing a dangerous arsenal and taking up its own war against the illegal aliens. But what ATF doesn’t know is that the leaders of The Nation have planned much more, including an event that will provoke the revolution they seek.
Deep White Cover is a unique and timely story that will entertain, as well as challenge readers from across the political spectrum to re-examine their views on immigration issues. It offers a warning of what could happen if the United States fails to secure its borders, allowing these groups take matters into their own hands.
The author’s considerable experience in state and federal law enforcement contributes to the accuracy of both dialogue and investigative techniques described. The reader is now an “insider.”
A compelling dual narrative of one man facing the challenges of the Witness Protection Program while another faces the everyday threat of discovery as an undercover agent. The result: a powerful suspense drama that drives the story forward.
Mod
Joel W. Barrows
3:27 a.m., Wednesday, May 6th, along the Texas/Mexico border, southeast of Laredo.
It had been a long, grueling journey to get t..."
Sounds awesome. I'm noting down the title for my husband who loves this stuff! Thanks for sharing!
Mod
No thanks necessary. It helps me out a lot because he's always on the look out for new books!
Scent of a Killer is my fourth novel, the first in the crime drama genre. I have fourteen years of law enforcement experience and I have brought that experience to this story. The events are fictional but the legal concepts and procedures are accurate to the best of my ability.
The novel is available today on Amazon in Kindle and paperback versions. I have also posted a read for review giveaway in this group that can be found here:
http://goo.gl/KjCfX0
Synopsis:
On a warm evening in a tranquil San Francisco, Katherine sits patiently on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean. In a house on the same hill, a husband is kissing his wife goodnight for the last time. For reasons known only to Katherine, this loving husband is the focus of Katherine’s current project, and all of her projects end in the same way – death.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Sebastian Giustina and his partner Basilio Machin are two of the best homicide detectives the NYPD has. Some give credit where credit is due, but others say that Sebastian has an unfair advantage that has gotten him to where he is today. Sebastian has an extremely heightened sense of smell known as hyperosmia; together with an unheard of photographic scent memory, Sebastian can detect evidence at crime scenes that would otherwise go unnoticed.
When Katherine targets a project in the great city of New York, she unwittingly leaves her victim to be found by the one detective in the world who may be able to put together the evidence and bring her serial killing to an end.
Jay Korza
@TheGuyWriting
www.1393Productions.com
Hi everyone. Just released a new book yesterday called Murder for Justice. I am introducing my readers to a new detective out of San Diego. The synopsis is below. Enjoy. Kendall Harris never thought this would be his last 4th of July he’d celebrate with his daughter.
San Diego Homicide Detective Scarlett Fry is called to a home in the middle of the night on 4th of July. What awaits her is a brutal killing that causes everyone to be a suspect, but something doesn’t seem right. With a lot of motive and little evidence, Scarlett is up against one of the most twisted killers in her career.
She and her partner, Trey Carr, spend weeks tracking down evidence to convict a killer that they are convinced is right in front of their face. Just when it seems like Scarlett has found her “man” the case takes a turn for the worst and becomes a cold case.
When her main suspect ends up dead, Scarlett and Carr are confused more than ever. They must hunt down a serial killer that’s attacking families with a motive even Scarlett can’t understand.
Murder for Justice is the first book in a page turning series that introduces readers to a fire, red head detective that will stop at nothing to protect and serve her city.
It is available on amazon, ibooks and in paperback.
www.author-dominiquelwatson.com
I've just published the first two books in my Larry Macklin mystery series. I finished the third book in the series a couple of weeks ago and hope that it will go live toward the end of July. I'd be glad to hear what you all think about them. I'll also mention that they have a Great Dane, a Pug, a cat and several horses in them. My life is filled with animals, and I wouldn't know how to write a story without including them.
Cheers
http://www.aehowe.com/
https://www.facebook.com/aehowe/
Larry Macklin Series:
November's Past
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FC92AKG/...
The job of criminal investigator in a rural Florida county is never easy, but it’s even harder when your father is the sheriff.
When Larry Macklin investigates the murder of a mutilated stranger, the search for the victim’s identity intersects with an arson investigation. The common thread is a small group of people who were in high school together in the ’70s, including Larry’s own father. Before Larry can rule any of them out as the killer, one of them turns up dead.
Why is the murderer targeting this particular group? What past secrets could be worth killing for now? Larry is running out of time and suspects, and his search for the truth may make him the next victim.
December's Secrets
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FC9OWTI/...
Still smarting from his disastrous last date with Cara Laursen, criminal investigator Larry Macklin is nevertheless thrilled to get a call from her. But when he arrives at her house, he finds the chief suspect in his latest murder case sitting in her living room—her father, Henry.
Henry claims he is being framed and Larry wants to believe him, but evidence suggests otherwise. And when another murder occurs with direct links to Henry, Larry can’t stop him from being taken into custody.
For Cara’s sake, Larry will do anything to prove Henry’s innocence, but will he have to sacrifice his own ethics and risk obstructing justice in order to do it?
I've published six novels in my Sticks Hetrick series (number seven coming in September).Daniel 'Sticks' Hetrick is widowed, retired police chief of a small community near Harrisburg PA. He previously served with the State Police. In the first novel, out of boredom, he offers himself as consultant to his less experienced successor. That status continues until book five when he accepts a job as county detective and begins a romance with an assistant DA.
The books have had good reviews. You can read some of those here: http://www.amazon.com/J.R.-Lindermuth...
This is my fourth novel, and my first police procedural / mystery. I wrote it with extensive help from local police officers, and so it's realistic in its portrayal of a small-town patrol officer's experience on the job.
Amazon review: 5 Stars – Michael Connick is an outstanding story teller! HPD is an awesome adventure in the life of a small town patrol officer Ethan Miller. Factual and fast-paced I couldn’t wait to see what was on the next page. Great story!
Facebook review: Excellent reading! Fascinating from cover to cover.
Here are two TV interviews of me discussing the book:
https://youtu.be/5D8BGWHHqh4
https://youtu.be/Gru8WbRTJtE
Here's a link to the novel:
https://amzn.to/30fdoEI
I hope you enjoy it, and would love to hear what you think of it. Thanks!
Michael Connick
http://michaelconnick.com
I love keeping readers on the edge of their seat and I think I have accomplished that with my first two novels in my trilogy.The first one Redemption, garnered me a Georgia Author of the Year nomination. The second one, Retribution was released this past June.
Check out the reviews. I guarantee you won't stop turning the page!
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=stephanie+...
The gritty sidewalks, crumbling tenements, and trash-strewn alleyways of the Bronx have become dumping grounds for the bullet-riddled bodies of known drug dealers. Behind the carnage, one vicious drug gang is empire building. Led by a complete sociopath, they are cornering the crack-cocaine market. The madman's lust for fortune and power expands as he produces and directs the ingenious kidnappings of competitors for huge ransoms and, aided by tentacles into the NYPD, is riding free. Detective John McGuire is catching all these cases, but is he being smothered by them? World-weary and on the verge of drowning in Johnny Barleycorn, the once superstar of the detective bureau now finds himself the target of an Internal-Affairs witch hunt. McGuire must throw off his baggage, re-focus, and find the redemption he so needs within The Job that is his whole life. He must go to war on two fronts against two raging monsters. One that comes in a bottle, and one that is painting the sidewalks of the Bronx red with blood.The first book by award winning writer, 32 year NYPD veteran, Bob Martin, is based on an actual case he supervised with the Bronx Homicide Squad in the early 90s
The Shaman's Daughter is the first book in my Jimmy Hong detective series set in Pusan, South Korea during the Korean War.
It's August 1950. The corrupt, crime-ridden city of Pusan is surrounded by the Communist North Korean People’s Army and completely cut off. Hong, a naïve, young investigator, is struggling to make a name for himself finding missing persons, etc. while stuck in the city and trying to make the best out of the desperate living conditions caused by the siege.
One morning, two fishermen find the body of a sixteen-year-old girl washed up on the bank of the Nakdong River. The only clue to her identity is a pendant with a strange symbol. Hong, having lost his own unborn daughter when his pregnant wife died of cholera several years earlier, becomes obsessed with finding the girl's killer. With little to work with and operating in a city that may be overrun at any moment, Hong is in over his head…and about to cross paths with a dangerous man from his past.
This is the second book in my detective series set during the Korean War.
Jimmy Hong, a small-time private investigator scratching out a living in war-torn Pusan, South Korea in the summer of 1950, is on the trail of the yakuza thug who killed his father years earlier.
One day, a strange woman appears on his doorstep claiming to be the widow of Hong’s one-time Japanese partner who was killed while working a case with Hong in Japan. She carries with her a secret that binds the two in a desperate and dangerous search for revenge.
Two of the most powerful Hispanic criminal organizations in the nation are constantly vying for territory with blood and violence. One organization is stationed in Northern California, the other in Southern California. Near the center of California is Salinas, a sleepy farming community that grows more lettuce than the entire world combined. It is also known as the Youth Homicide Capital of the country. Here is where these two rivals meet. The dividing line. The war. More young gang members are murdered here per capita, than almost anywhere in the country. Migrant takes place here where the wrong-colored T-shirt can get you killed. I grew up in Salinas for half my life and was long gone before it got bad. Unless you are a fan of John Steinbeck, or world-famous rodeos, I doubt you have ever heard of Salinas. It’s still there, still growing lettuce, the rodeo comes once a year as planned, and the killings continue. The hero of Migrant is a Hispanic detective working within this environment, searching for a killer among killers. I am Matt Orlando, and this is for my latest book, Migrant, a crime thriller.
The Runaway ManKelley Tantau
Hi everyone! I'm a long-time Goodreads reader but have now transitioned into being a Goodreads Author and I've stumbled upon this great thread.
My debut novel 'The Runaway Man' has two main characters unknowingly connected through their poor decision making. When Nick Greene fakes his disappearance, and his missing persons case quickly turns into a manhunt, he'll begin to question whether his efforts to disappear were really worth it.
Meanwhile, the tired cop from his hometown is chasing his scent, determined to redeem himself after his first and only missing persons case back in 1997 ended in disaster.
I'd say the book isn't too 'crime heavy', focusing more on the humanity of the characters; their strengths and weaknesses and the consequences of their past decisions.
I'd love to connect on Goodreads or other socials! My website is kelleytantau.com if anyone would like to get in touch!
Suicide in Suffolk"Suicide in Suffolk" is a gripping debut novel that delves into the depths of mystery and suspense. Set against the backdrop of the idyllic town of Lowestoft, Suffolk, this cozy mystery follows Cecil Whitford, a compassionate funeral director who becomes embroiled in a dark and twisted tale of intrigue.
When Cecil stumbles upon a death that is initially deemed a suicide, he can't shake the nagging feeling that there is more to the story. Driven by a relentless pursuit of truth and justice, he becomes convinced that the tragedy may, in fact, be a carefully disguised murder.
Despite facing skepticism and indifference from the authorities and the community, Cecil refuses to abandon his quest. Seeking an ally in his search for answers, he forms an unlikely partnership with Keeley Cooper, a young and determined police constable who shares his suspicions.
Together, Cecil and Keeley delve into the shadows of Suffolk, navigating a web of secrets, cover-ups, and hidden motives. As they uncover a sinister plot lurking beneath the surface, they find themselves caught in a dangerous game where the lines between ally and adversary blur.
"Suicide in Suffolk" is a captivating cozy mystery that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. With its evocative setting and well-drawn characters, this debut novel offers a thrilling exploration of deception and the relentless pursuit of truth. Prepare to be immersed in a world where darkness conceals secrets, and unravelling the truth may come at a grave cost.
The gritty sidewalks, crumbling tenements, and trash-strewn alleyways of the Bronx have become dumping grounds for the bullet-riddled bodies of known drug dealers. Behind the carnage, one vicious drug gang is empire building. Led by a complete sociopath, they are cornering the crack-cocaine market. The madman's lust for fortune and power expands as he produces and directs the ingenious kidnappings of competitors for huge ransoms and, aided by tentacles into the NYPD, is riding free. Detective John McGuire is catching all these cases, but is he being smothered by them? World-weary and on the verge of drowning in Johnny Barleycorn, the once superstar of the detective bureau now finds himself the target of an Internal-Affairs witch hunt. McGuire must throw off his baggage, re-focus, and find the redemption he so needs within The Job that is his whole life. He must go to war on two fronts against two raging monsters. One that comes in a bottle, and one that is painting the sidewalks of the Bronx red with blood.Based on an actual case!
The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group
Books mentioned in this topic
Bronx Justice: A Novel Straight from the NYPD Files (other topics)Suicide in Suffolk (other topics)
The Runaway Man (other topics)
Migrant (other topics)
The Okinawan Woman: A Jimmy Hong Novel (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Kelley Tantau (other topics)Matt Orlando (other topics)
Jay Korza (other topics)
Joel W. Barrows (other topics)
Joel W. Barrows (other topics)
NOTE: any advertising you'd like to do should be done in the appropriate thread under "In the Press, Blogs and Sites" here.