Recommendations based on "Summer of Fear"

In his sleek, visceral novels Deviant Way, Kiss of Evil, and The Violet Hour, Richard Montanari slammed into the suspense field like a force of nature. Now Montanari has written an astounding novel that pits two besieged detectives against a fiercely intelligent serial killer.Sprawling beneath the statue of William Penn, Philadelphia is a city of downtrodden crack houses and upscale brownstones. Somewhere in this concrete crazy quilt, one teenage Catholic girl is writing in her diary, another is pouring her heart out to a friend, and yet another is praying. And somewhere in this city is a man who wants these young women to make his macabre fantasy become reality. In a passion play of his own, he will take the girls–and a whole city–over the edge.Kevin Byrne is a veteran cop who already knows that edge: He’s been living on it far too long. His marriage failing, his former partner wasting away in a hospital, and his heart lost to mad fury, Byrne loves to take risks and is breaking every rule in the book. And now he has been given a rookie partner. Jessica Balzano, the daughter of a famous Philly cop, doesn’t want Byrne’s help. But they will need each other desperately, since they’ve just caught the case of a lifetime: Someone is killing devout young women, bolting their hands together in prayer, and committing an abomination upon their otherwise perfect bodies.Byrne and Balzano spearhead the hunt for the serial killer, who leads them on a methodically planned journey. Suspects appear before them like bad dreams–and vanish just as quickly. And while Byrne’s sins begin to catch up with him, and Balzano tries to solve the blood-splattered puzzle, the body count rises. Meanwhile, the calendar is approaching Easter and the day of the resurrection. When the last rosary is counted, a madman’s methods will be revealed, and the final crime will be the one that hurts the most.Relentlessly paced and vividly told, The Rosary Girls is a smart, emotionally complex, fiercely gripping thriller from an author who takes chances, breaks new ground, and leaves readers haunted and moved long after the last page is turned.

From the 2017 winner of the Harper Lee Prize for legal fiction comes a powerful and timely story of race, politics, injustice, and murder as shocking and incendiary as today’s headlines.   When the body of Jamal Cousin, president of the pre-eminent black fraternity at the Florida's flagship university, is discovered hogtied in the Stygian water swamps of the Suwanee River Valley, the death sets off a firestorm that threatens to rage out of control when a fellow student, Mark Towson, the president of a prominent white fraternity, is accused of the crime.   Contending with rising political tensions, racial unrest, and a sensational media, Towson’s defense attorney, Jack Swyteck, knows that the stakes could not be higher—inside or outside the old Suwanee County Couthouse.  The evidence against his client, which includes a threatening text message referencing "strange fruit" on the river, seems overwhelming. Then Jack gets a break that could turn the case. Jamal's gruesome murder bears disturbing similarities to another lynching that occurred back in the Jim Crow days of 1944. Are the chilling parallels purely coincidental? With a community in chaos and a young man’s life in jeopardy, Jack will use every resource to find out.   As he navigates each twist and turn of the search, Jack becomes increasingly convinced that his client may himself be the victim of a criminal plan more sinister than the case presented by the state attorney. Risking his own reputation, this principled man who has devoted his life to the law plunges headfirst into the darkest recesses of the South’s past, and its murky present, to uncover answers.   For Jack, it's about the truth. Traversing time, from the days of strict segregation to the present, he’ll find it—no matter what the cost—and bring much-needed justice to Suwanee County.  

The Women's Murder Club returns for another thrilling crime investigation. Will their skills be enough to take down a brutal madman?A brutal madman sprays bullets into a crowd of children leaving a San Francisco church. Miraculously-or was it intentionally?-only one person dies. Then an elderly black woman is hung. Police homicide inspector Lindsay Boxer senses a connection and together with medical examiner Claire, assistant D. A. Jill, and Chronicle reporter Cindy, finds a link that sends a chill through the entire nation. This killer's motives are unspeakable.In this "inventive" installment of the Women's Murder Club, James Patterson proves once again why he is the #1 master of the murder mystery (Sunday Times).

In Murder One, bestselling author William Bernhardt thrusts idealistic Tulsa, Oklahoma, attorney Ben Kincaid into the most controversial courtroom challenge of his career . . . an explosive murder case that Kincaid will confront not only as a lawyer--but as a defendant.The crime is remarkably heinous: veteran police detective Joe McNaughton is found savagely slain, mutilated, and hung from a public fountain in downtown Tulsa. Scrawled across his chest in blood is the word FAITHLESS. The accused is a tabloid reporter's dream: stunning, nineteen-year-old Keri Dalcanton, a stripper involved in a kinky affair with the married McNaughton . . . and now cast by media, police, and public alike as a vengeful woman scorned. Powerful circumstantial evidence and the prosecution's deftly orchestrated attacks on the defendant's character have Kincaid's client all but convicted. Until a major technical blunder by overzealous cops overturns the case--and sets Keri Dalcanton free. Amid a firestorm of outrage, Ben maintains his client's innocence. But angry comrades of the victim are convinced otherwise--and vow to see "justice" done, by any means necessary.When a police raid on his office uncovers the bloody murder weapon, Ben gets a first-hand taste of the infamous Blue Squeeze. And as a new trial of Keri Dalcanton is launched, Ben faces his own day in court, charged with conspiracy and murder. What follows is a breathlessly twisting battle of legal wits--and lethal surprises--in which no holds are barred, no secrets are left unexposed, and ultimately, nothing is what it seems.With Murder One, the author of Silent Justice and Dark Justice breaks loose and surpasses his own acclaimed reputation for legal thrillers that are "engrossing" (Associated Press), "throat-grabbing" (New York Daily News), and "richly drawn" (Chicago Tribune). This is William Bernhardt's electrifying entrée into the front ranks of crime fiction.

A chilling short story featuring DS Sean Corrigan from Luke Delaney, ex-Met detective and author of Cold Killing. Perfect for fans of Mark Billingham, Peter James and Stuart MacBride. FIVE WOMEN HAVE BEEN MURDERED...All prostitutes. All with dark, straight hair. Snatched from the shadows of London’s red-light districts, their mutilated bodies left out in the pouring rain. ENTER DS SEAN CORRIGANHe’s been drafted in to assist the Streatham Police Department – much to the displeasure of the existing DI. But Corrigan has no time for petty squabbles – he has one mission only: find the one they call ‘The Reaper’, even if it means entering the dark and twisted mind of a cold-hearted killer. THE KILLER STRIKES AGAINA sixth victim is found and suddenly Corrigan knows what he must do to catch him. But is it worth risking yet another life?

Paris Minton doesn't want any trouble. He minds his used bookstore and his own business. But in 1950s Los Angeles, sometimes trouble finds him, no matter how hard he tries to avoid it. When the nephew of the wealthiest woman in L.A. is missing and wanted for murder, she has to get involved--no matter if she can't stand him. What will her church think? She hires Jefferson T. Hill, a former sheriff of Dawson, Texas, and a tough customer, to track him down and prove his innocence. When Hill goes missing too, she tricks his friend Fearless Jones and Paris Minton into picking up the case. Paris steps inside the world of the black bourgeoisie, and it turns out to be filled with deceit and corruption. It takes everything he has just to stay alive through a case filled with twists and turns and dead ends like he never imagined. Written with the voice and vision that have made Walter Mosley one of the most entertaining writers in America. FEAR ITSELF marks the return of a master at the top of his form.- The return of Easy Rawlins in Bad Boy Brawly Brown brought unprecedented attention to Mosley's mystery writing, was selected as a USA TODAY reading club pick, and has more than 175,000 copies in print.- Fearless Jones charted on bestseller lists nationwide, received rave reviews, and has sold over 230,000 combined copies to date.- Reviews prove time and again that Mosley is one of the most dazzlingly brilliant thriller writers at work today.

"Bernhardt is a master legal tour guide, taking the reader through the labyrinth of the judicial system of America's heartland."--Mostly MurderBen Kincaid is not a superstar attorney. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, there are only a few lawyers who win headlines and big bucks. So when the notorious Apollo Consortium offers Ben a job as their in-house counsel, he takes it--for the money.The violence in the streets outside the Apollo is nothing compared to the backstabbing politics of the firm. And when Ben wins his first case, he unwittingly sets up some bitter rivalry with his colleagues--rivalry that will culiminate in a fellow lawyer's dead body and Ben charged with murder."Ben Kincaid is a refreshing change from the omniscient, holier-than-thou attorney/investigators whose courtroom acrobatics and aerial law displays are more show than substance."--Tulsa World

The Republicans' "golden boy" -- and a loyal, unquestioning tool of the powerful special interests -- handsome, unthreatening, Florida governor-by-default Marlon Conrad seems a virtual shoo-in for re-election. That is, until he undergoes a radical personality shift during a bloody military action in the Balkans. Now it's just three weeks before the election and Marlon is suddenly talking about "issues" and "reform" as he crosses the length and breadth of his home state with an amnesiac speechwriter and a chief of staff who turns catatonic in the presence of minorities. The governor's new-found conscience might well cost him the election, though. And it appears that pretty much everybody from Tallahassee to Miami Beach is trying to kill him...

Lately, Key West is not quite the laid back place that occasional freelance crime-scene-photographer Alex Rutledge prefers. It's bad enough that the discovery of two dead ex-Navy men one morning?both found swinging on boat lifts twenty miles apart?means grisly work at the indecent hour of 7AM. It's worse that Alex's run-in with a chest-thumping new deputy turns out to have ominous consequences when his wayward younger brother turns up in town...and becomes the prime suspect.Alex knows Tim has messed up his life, but he just can't believe his brother isn't a killer. As Alex digs deeper, he starts to make connections the cops have missed?but he's baffled when he finds one of the deceased owns a picture of a young girl who turned to Alex for help many years ago. And when a third man is found swinging on the docks, he knows time is running out for his brother. But what he doesn't know is that facing the killer may turn out to be the least of his problems...

Big Dreams. Silas Tucker, Jr. grew up in Cross Rivers, North Carolina loving God, his family, his hometown, and sports. Big Breaks. In baseball and football, Silas's right arm unleashes thunderbolts. His record-breaking 109-mph fastball forever earns him the nickname "109" and his perfect passes make him a #1 NFL draft pick. He's bound for fame and glory--until a deadly accident derails his bright future. Big News. Back home in search of a new game, Silas finds himself at the center of a law-enforcement task force targeting the Southern Mafia when local teenage girls start disappearing. Big Question. ​What will it cost to get back on the field for one more game? For the local-hero-turned-amateur-detective, it's the biggest gamble of his young life.