24 Mystery, Thriller and Suspense Books You Must Read

1. No Cure for Murder (Brier Hospital Series)

Death at Brier Hospital is routine, a perfect opportunity to murder and get away with it. After fifty-five years practicing medicine, Dr. Jacob Weizman is disappointed, but not surprised by several patients’ deaths, even the unexpected ones. Soon, however, it becomes clear that a killer is targeting Jacob’s patients. The killings mount even as the hospital and police increase security and pursue a vigorous investigation. Finally, unsatisfied with surrogates, the killer targets Jacob.

 

 

 

2. The Sixth Sense (Brier Hospital Series)

Dr. Arnie Roth awakens from viral encephalitis with a highly sensitive nose. He’s enthralled as he savors the aromatic delights of his world. Soon, however, he discovers that all smells are not sweet and many come with messages that profoundly affect his psyche and jeopardizes his sanity.

Arnie’s nose detects pheromones, the invisible chemicals that affect behavior, a sixth sense.

The novel entertains and provokes thought as we travel a world that influences us, but one that we know little about.

 

3. Rage

When normal people suddenly attack and murder, Dr. Michael Rose, a former cop turned forensic psychiatrist, and his associate, Karen Scott, will testify for them in court. The events mystify these experienced professionals, and together they seek a rational explanation. When psychiatric evaluation suggests more than spontaneous psychosis, Michael and Karen begin their own investigation.

What they uncover is chilling. Who is behind it? Can they do something before the killer strikes again?

 

 

4. The Plague Within (Brier Hospital Series)

Even in the age of bioengineering, medical progress moves too slowly for investigators and unseasoned physicians like Harmony Lane.

Her single-minded obsession to cure, leads her cuts corners. She treats a desperately ill woman with an experimental viral vector provided by an unscrupulous research scientist. She uses a similar vector on her patients with autoimmune diseases.

While the vector has remarkable curative properties, it soon becomes clear that it has devastating and lethal side effects.

 

 

5. Deadly Passage

A high-seas adventure thriller of home-grown bio-terrorism.I based the novel on my experience as a physician, and a long-distance sailor.

 

 

 

 

 

6. Tortured Memory (Brier Hospital Series)

Dr. Abbie Adler is a psychiatrist treating sexually abused girls. One evening, the police find her bruised and catatonic. When Abbie awakens, she remembers nothing. She had been treating victims of the Chabot rapist/strangler. When her memories return, they are incomplete. Soon, she suspects that an adult patient may be the strangler. When the police find Abbie’s suspect brutally murdered, everyone is befuddled. Abbie struggles to discover the identity of the strangler. Will he get away with it?

 

 

 

7. Witch Hearts

How does a witch stay safe if a killer can get through her protection spells?

Witches like Ruby and Courtney can take care of themselves. So when Courtney is murdered, Ruby’s world crashes to a halt. The only thing keeping her grounded is the return of Courtney’s brother, Cooper. He seeks revenge, but Ruby wants to help other witches stay alive. To do that, she’ll have to reunite with her old coven’s High Priest, who also happens to be her cheating ex-boyfriend.

If that wasn’t awkward enough, when the killer gets too close, Cooper temporarily moves into Ruby’s place while a police officer tails her every move. Cooper’s presence distracts Ruby as they fight their desire against their need to stay safe. Then Courtney begins to haunt Ruby’s dreams and secrets are spilled, things from Cooper’s past that could get them both killed. The killer continues to stalk Ruby and the more she discovers, the more she fears she won’t be able to keep her heart in her chest.

8. The Mortal Religion (Psychological Thriller)

A dark, thought-provoking psychological thriller that explores the effects of social exclusion, THE MORTAL RELIGION takes you deep inside the soul of self-discovery, desperation, and obsession. Unique and perceptive, it will grab you from the first page and not let you go until the last.

Described by readers and reviewers as ‘gripping’, ‘fascinating’, and ‘original’

Chalk Cutter was spitefully nicknamed Moonface as a child, and lives a life of torment because of his unusual appearance. Rejected by everyone, he seems destined to live his life in agonising solitude.

After meeting young, popular, and beautiful Elizabeth, life takes an unsuspected turn. She openly ridicules Moonface, ignorant to his inner torment, and he realises that only a revolution could induce change.

Moonface kidnaps Elizabeth and intends to re-educate her – and ultimately mankind – in an attempt to lead a narcissistic society to treat even the lowliest people as equals. But progress is slow. Subjecting her to a humiliating, filthy existence fails to elicit the compliance Moonface demands. Only when he temporarily disables her senses does Elizabeth finally succumb to his brainwashing.

But Moonface hadn’t anticipated his own emotional backlash, and as he and Elizabeth begin to think alike, and discuss ways to combat society’s evils, he is forced to face increasing self-doubt and sexual urges that could jeopardise his vision. While he struggles to resist his desires, he is haunted by flashbacks of Victor Spinney the most vicious of the bullies that ruined his childhood.

As he loses self-control, Moonface finds his old nemesis living in squalor as a bitter vagrant, and can’t resist revealing his pivotal role in Victor’s downfall. Consequently, Victor embarks on a furious attempt to clear his name, and stumbles across Moonface and Elizabeth’s world, which leads to the shocking creation of The Mortal Religion, the revolution Moonface is certain will breed universal contentment

9. Bosom Bodies (Mina’s Adventures)

Italian-born Mina Calvi has a way of finding trouble, but when she offers to help a friend by moonlighting at Bosom Bodies restaurant, it’s trouble that finds her. The body of the restaurant manager is discovered on the beach, a hit and run victim, and Mina’s VW Bug is impounded as the vehicle used in the crime. Stunned beyond belief, Mina is suddenly up to her ears in assault, betrayal, smuggling and murder. Now the police are watching her. The mob is targeting her. And who comes riding to her rescue on a metal steed—none other than the cook at Bosom Bodies, the mysterious Diego. Is he more than a bad cook and a good lover? Is he protecting her, or setting her up? Scared, clueless and on her own, Mina struggles to reclaim her life and stay two steps ahead of those stalking her, but it’s a treacherous path and she’s losing ground fast.

 

10. Dear Crossing (The Ray Schiller Series)

11. Infernal Gates

Ethan Freeman, ex-Special Forces Ranger, wakes up to discover he is the sole survivor of a fiery commercial airline crash that killed his entire family.  His nightmare is only beginning when he becomes the FBI’s prime suspect.  Only Ethan knows he’s not a cold-hearted murderer, but he has no idea what happened to him–and why he alone survived.

He finds an unlikely ally in Sam Weaver, the NTSB Chief Investigator.  An ex-military pilot, Sam senses Ethan is innocent.  She tries to remain dispassionate in her investigation of the crash even as she finds herself attracted to the man who may be America’s worst homegrown mass-murderer.

Neither Ethan nor Sam realize that shadowy spiritual forces are at work which will alter their lives forever.

A monstrous evil, imprisoned since the time of the Pharaohs, has been released by The Nine, a sinister group of powerful men and women who believe they are the direct descendants of the Anunnaki, ancient Sumerian gods. The demon they have unleashed intends to free The Destroyer from The Abyss, the angelic prison referred to in the Book of Revelation, and unleash a worldwide reign of terror and annihilation.

Facing impossible odds, time is running out for Ethan and all of humanity as he is drawn into an ever-deeper  conspiracy–millennia in the making–and learns that he is the key to stopping The Nine.

12. Drop Out

What would you do you if you knew you had a limited amount of life left? Would you freak out? Would you waste it in self-pity, resentment, or denial? Or would you go do everything you’ve ever wanted to do?

Nearly a decade had passed since Nathan stood inside someone’s home, since that terrible September morning when he lost everything he ever loved. Outside, a hurricane sounded like it was beating palm trees against the siding. Nathan didn’t know the sickly woman who’d rescued him from the throes of the epic storm. Her name is Miriam and she is about to change everything he ever thought about the meaning of life and what lies beyond.

Nathan discovers the strength of love can piece his shattered world back together and heal wounds that cut deep into his soul. With the clock ticking toward the end of Miriam’s life, he never figured the perils he and this dying woman were about to face by knowing the most horrible knowledge one can know.

13. Saving Grace (Katie & Annalise Series)

Saving Grace kicks the Katie & Annalise series off with voodoo, laughs, and suspense.

Katie Connell is a high-strung attorney whose sloppy drinking habits and stunted love life collide hilariously during a doomed celebrity case in Dallas. She flees Texas for the Caribbean and escapes professional humiliation, a broken heart, and a wicked Bloody Mary habit, but ends up trading one set of problems for another when she begins to investigate the suspicious deaths of her parents on the island of St. Marcos. She’s bewitched by the voodoo spirit of an abandoned house in the rainforest and discovers that she’s as much a danger to herself as the island’s bad guys are.

See why this series won contest after contest.

2011 Winner of the Houston Writers Guild Mainstream Novel Contest
2010 Winner of the Writers League of Texas Romance Contest
2012 Winner of the Houston Writers Guild Ghost Story Contest

Once Upon A Romance Calls Hutchins an “up and coming powerhouse writer.”

If you like Josie Brown or Janet Evanovich, you will love Pamela Fagan Hutchins. A former attorney and native Texan, Pamela lived in the U.S. Virgin Islands for nearly ten years. She refuses to admit to taking notes for this series during that time.

The reviews are in, and they’re good. Very, very good:

“A lively romantic mystery that will likely leave readers eagerly awaiting a sequel.” Kirkus Reviews

“A riveting drama with plenty of twists and turns for an exciting read, highly recommended.” Small Press Bookwatch

“An exciting tale that combines twisting investigative and legal subplots with a character seeking redemption. An exhilarating mystery with a touch of voodoo.” Midwest Book Review MBR Bookwatch

14. Leaving Annalise (Katie & Annalise)

Leaving Annalise picks up the Katie & Annalise series with more romance, hilarity, and thrills.

One unexpected and hotly fought-over little boy, two dead bodies, and a series of home vandalisms throw Texas attorney turned island chanteuse Katie Connell into a tizzy. Juggling all of this, Bloody Mary cravings, baggage, and the bad guys too, she waffles between the jumbie house that brought her back from the brink and the man she believes is the love of her life.

See why this series won contest after contest.

2011 Winner of the Houston Writers Guild Mainstream Novel Contest

2010 Winner of the Writers League of Texas Romance Contest

2012 Winner of the Houston Writers Guild Ghost Story Contest

Once Upon A Romance Calls Hutchins an “up and coming powerhouse writer.”

If you like Josie Brown or Janet Evanovich, you will love Pamela Fagan Hutchins. A former attorney and native Texan, Pamela lived in the U.S. Virgin Islands for nearly ten years. She refuses to admit to taking notes for this series during that time.

The reviews are in, and they’re good. Very, very good:

“Taut suspense.” Midwest Book Review

“Quick, entertaining read.” Kirkus Reviews

“Fantastic mystery.” Once Upon a Romance

15. 3 Wild Thrillers (My Casino Caper, Justice is Mine, Wicked Players)

Included in this 3 novella book, is a free download of the 77 min.
audio-book My Casino Caper, performed by Edd Byrnes, Alan Young, David
Hedison, Michael Callan and Henry Silva.

My Casino Caper, (also included as a novella) happened in 1977 when EDD
Kookie’ BYRNES, (Grease, 77 Sunset Strip) won three million dollars in Las
Vegas. Immediately, he was stalked by a thug for his winnings. In this
memoir, Edd finally reveals what actually happened.

Justice is Mine, by Paul Kyriazi, concerns a bizarre Hollywood studio
accident that leads a man to a mysterious woman. In Wicked Players, also by Kyriazi, two women team up to scam a casino blackjack game.

16. CIA Fall Guy: A Spy Thriller

When Beth Parsons is summoned to CIA headquarters for the bogus purpose of identifying someone from her past, she realizes she must find out what is really going on. Forced to partner with the man who may have been responsible for her husband’s death, she has to unmask the real traitors or end up as the fall guy.After the CIA driver who brought her to D.C. is shot and killed, Beth escapes her CIA “babysitter” and sets off to discover why she is suddenly once again in the world of spies and double agents.

Her quest takes her to Europe and then back to the U.S., and pairs her with a mysterious man who may or may not be on her side.

If you like espionage stories and tales of intrigue — especially ones with a dash of romantic suspense, CIA FALL GUY is for you!

17. Cast the First Stone: A Rebecca Stone Mystery

Cozy mystery CAST THE FIRST STONE introduces Los Angeles business reporter Rebecca Stone:

When asked to investigate the murder of a Wharton professor spending the summer term at UCLA, Rebecca Stone must also grapple with partnering with her former fiancé who broke off their engagement to pursue a career on Wall Street.

 

 

 

18. Lt. Commander Mollie Sanders

For those who love sea adventures (including submarines) and technothrillers:

Lt. Commander Mollie Sanders is a U.S. Navy officer who has striven to be the best even if it earns her enemies. A graduate of the Naval Academy, she is an electronic weapons officer tasked with coming up with new weapon designs.

When she gets assigned to an aircraft carrier as a Navy fighter pilot’s backseater, a missile attack on her plane leads to a mission to try to save the port of Los Angeles from a suspected terrorist attack.

She must channel her overwhelming competitive drive in order to work as a team with other Navy personnel and the Coast Guards to find a needle in a haystack. From there a twist in the mission takes her to Alaska, where the anti-missile defense site may have been compromised.

Next she bulldozes her way into being the first female assigned to a sub smaller than a boomer. She wants to be the one to test the new defensive weapons system she designed as the sub undertakes a reconnaissance mission to the hotly contested South China Sea.

She is unaware that her past is about to catch up to her present in a bizarre situation she could never have foreseen.

This U.S. Navy submarine sea adventure is a fast-paced thriller.

19. Joshua’s Revenge

Joshua is a world renowned Martial Arts expert working as a Yosemite Park Ranger. He is assigned the task of finding and eliminating a Chinese gang that is killing and eviscerating Yosemite Park bears for Chinese medicine and that have killed his Ranger partner. The chase ranges from the back woods of Yosemite to the back alleys of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Kidnappings, murders, gang warfare and treachery challenge Joshua’s Ninja and Karate expertise as well as his mental creativity. It’s one man against several gangs. Twists and turns abound as Joshua tries to solve the case and save his own hide.

 

 

20.  Agent of Influence

Unrest in Cairo, The Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, A Mysterious Potus, and a CIA Agent With Knowledge of His Deadly Secret

Before there was a debate over a birth certificate there was Agent of Influence, the first novel from Russell Hamilton. Originally published in 2009 after working on it for eight years, it is now available as a paperback or 3.99 on kindle. For more information on Russell and the novel check out agentofinfluence.org.

Cairo, Egypt, 1953 – A secret sect calling itself the Brotherhood of the Caliphate splinters off from the Muslim Brotherhood as the storm clouds of revolution gather.
Louisville, KY, 1973 – Political power broker and multi-millionaire Aman Kazim’s Derby contending thoroughbred is slaughtered just hours before the race.
Las Vegas, Nevada, 2004 – An unusual joint FBI/CIA operation goes horribly wrong as CIA agent Anna Starks vanishes in the glittering lights of sin city while attempting to track down a potential threat to the country.
Washington DC, 2005 – Zachariah Hardin, a politician with a mysterious past has reached the zenith of his power as the first foreign-born president.
From the back alleys of ancient Cairo, to the glitzy nightlife of Vegas, to the corridors of power in DC, Agent of Influence is the thriller ahead of the news cycle.

Find out why reviewers are saying :

“Hamilton delivers a taut political thriller that moves with speed and agility. A fast-paced thriller with an imaginative premise.” Kirkus Indie Reviews.

“Agent of Influence is an action-packed mystery/thriller that is certain to entertain.” City Book Reviews.

“This is one roller coaster ride readers won’t want to get off.” Foreword Clarion Reviews.

“Hamilton has written as tightly plotted an international spy story as you are going to find in this genre…If you are into Muslim conspiracy theories, this is a particularly timely book.” Bookreview.com

“Crackling with insights and rife with adventure.” Chuck Morse; talk radio host, former candidate for the US House of Representatives, and author of The Nazi Connection to Islamic Terrorism.

21. Life After Death – A Tale of Two Journeys

Ed Williams and Tim Edwards were born into very different worlds. Ed grew up on the family farm – sheltered and loved. Tim grew up on the streets of a Chicago ghetto with abusive and mostly absent parents. Yet, after the breakout of World War II both found themselves in the Army and thrown together in a POW camp. After being liberated and returning home, both re-enter their respective life styles. Finally, both in their 80s, they die. One goes to heaven, the other to hell. And that, dear reader, is the story. Whether you believe in life after death or not, you will be intrigued by this story.

If there is life after death, what will happen at that last breath?

In our story, one character is meet by a huge angel assigned to introduce him to heaven.
The other is met by a slobering demon who drags him around hell.
Will you know your friends and family members who have preceeded you there?
Will you have duties to perform?
Remember, this is a work of fiction (or is it). I write – You decide!

22. Truth’s Blood

It hadn’t seemed possible that a president whose policies had impoverished millions could be reelected. It was the waning years of the American empire and the liberties represented in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were a fading memory. The government monitored every aspect of American life, and the drones buzzing overhead served as a constant reminder, but it was the governments reckless spending that brought the nation to its knees.

Now, the economy is in ruin, and the president’s European style welfare state stands at the brink of collapse. The United States is unable to repay its debts. China has come seeking payment in real assets, and they mean business. Chaos reigns; power has been cut; select cities have been decimated by nuclear bombs; and burned out houses occupy neighborhoods like rotting teeth in the mouth of a crack addict. What was new is now old and what was old is now new again.

Cliffson Lang’s son attempts to escape the fires and mobs overrunning the city of Seattle. When Cliffson is called away to help, his other son is kidnapped by occupying forces and placed in a work camp. Truth’s Blood is the Lang family’s story of survival at a time when government dependency must be replaced by self-reliance. As the United States experiences the disintegration of society and foreign occupation, their challenge verges on the impossible.

23. School of the Assassins

The Ghost Writer meets A History of Violence in this evocative thriller about a half-American, half-South African refugee pitted against an international gauntlet of obstacles while seeking justice for his murdered and displaced family.

When Pieter Durant’s widowed American mother is killed during an invasion of their South African farm by genocide fomenter Govan Seme, he vows to avenge her murder and recapture his farm. But his younger sister, Jessie, is about to leave for America to attend her freshman year at Princeton, and he must shoulder her tuition costs. The twenty-one-year-old farmer joins the exodus of South African mercenaries heading to Iraq in 2007 for lucrative private security jobs. When an injury forces a visit to Los Angeles three years later, to the home of his American relatives, Pieter shortly finds himself the catalyst of a crime-syndicate coup. The FBI sting that follows, along with the faith of his American lover, provide the unexpected keys that finally free him for his quest…and his most harrowing challenge yet.

24. Danny Calloway and the Puzzle House (Danny Calloway Series)

Thirteen-year-old Danny Calloway thinks he’s just a weird kid. His ability to solve complex mathematical equations and decipher cryptic messages in the blink of an eye has made him a school outcast, and recently he’s grown more and more certain that someone is following him around — someone who dodges out of sight whenever Danny tries to spot them.

But when he inherits the deed to a long-forgotten estate of his grandfather’s, wheels are set in motion that change the course of his life forever. Danny is soon swept into an exciting tapestry of hidden passageways, secret codes and head scratching riddles, and his race against time may just be a race for his very life. In order to come out of his adventure unscathed, Danny must solve the mystery of the Puzzle House before it’s too late.

Appropriate for adults, teens, and children, “Danny Calloway is the next Harry Potter – without the wizards and quidditch it still holds just as much magic.”