Dark Crime Fiction

Los Angeles burglar Junior Bender has a rule about never taking a job that pays too well: In the criminal underworld, if you’re offered more money than a job is worth, someone is going to end up dead. But he’s bending his rule this one time because he and his girlfriend, Ronnie, are in desperate need of cash to hire a kidnapper to snatch Ronnie’s two-year-old son back from her ex. The whole thing is pretty complicated and has Junior on edge.

A ruthless gang. A corrupt government. A detective in search of the truth. A vigilante with a few screws loose…okay, maybe more than a few. Alex Wagner didn’t come to Hampton looking for trouble—but it sure as hell found him the day he crossed paths with Randy. Randy isn’t your ordinary vigilante. He’s a lethally trained ex-intelligence operative on a mission from God—that is, according to him, anyway. By day, he goes undercover as a drifter in threadbare disguise. By night, he lurks in Hampton’s shadows, pursuing his own warped version of justice.

Vincenzo King thought I knew something about a man who betrayed him, but that isn't why I'm on my way to New Orleans, well-used and sore with my backside still burning from his belt. When he bared and punished me, maybe it was just business, but what came after was not. It was savage, it was shameful, and it was very, very personal. I'm his toy now, and not the kind you keep in its box on the shelf. He's going to play rough with me. He's going to get me all wet and dirty. Then he's going to do it all again tomorrow.

William "Kid" Collins was once a respected boxer. Now he's a drifter, on the run after escaping from a mental institution. One afternoon he meets Fay, a beautiful young widow. She is smart and decent - at least when she's sober. Soon Collins finds himself involved in a kidnapping scheme that goes drastically wrong almost before it even begins. Because the kid they've picked up isn't like other kids: He's diabetic and without insulin, he'll die. Not the safest situation for Collins, a man for whom stress and violence have long gone hand-in-hand.

The night world of Old Town, Portland, Oregon, has gone mad in the grip of gentrification, and at the center of it all is Lucky Supreme, a seedy tattoo parlor, whose proprietor is a street-bred artist with a unique approach to problem solving. Darby Holland has enough on his radar, but when some flash (tattoo artwork) stolen from him resurfaces in California, he can't help himself. His efforts to reclaim it set him on a dangerous path, dragging along his delightfully eccentric colleagues.

Maeve has everything. A high-powered job, a beautiful home and a string of uncomplicated one-night encounters. She’s also an addict - a functioning alcoholic with a dependence on sex and an insatiable appetite for killing men. When she can’t find a support group to share her obsession, she creates her own. And Psychopaths Anonymous is born. Friends of Maeve. Now in a serious relationship, Maeve wants to keep the group a secret. But not everyone in the group adheres to the rules.

In the gripping narrative of Louis's life, a chance encounter with Sarina, a seductive and mysterious woman, awakens a desire he never knew existed. Struggling to lead a lawful existence after exiting the world of organized crime, Louis becomes entangled in a fiery affair. However, as an ex-kingpin, the specter of his past with Steve and Thomas looms, and it's only a matter of time before secrets unravel, unleashing chaos and hell upon his newfound life.

Seth would follow Domenico to the depths of hell. He promised to always be at Domenico’s side. But hell becomes all too real when they infiltrate the world of Toro—a notoriously security-obsessed arms dealer, who has eyes and ears everywhere. Seth becomes unable to steal even a moment of intimacy with Domenico, and the tension grinds them down each day. Beyond the deceptive paradise of Toro’s villa, violence is an everyday occurrence, and the swimming pool could just as well be filled with blood.

Dive into the chilling depths of "Crushed Devotion," the riveting sequel to "Ruptured Hearts." As the compelling saga of Raven, Damon, Rosie, and Oscar reaches its gripping conclusion, a new chapter unfolds—the heart-wrenching love story of Lily and Zayn, a narrative just beginning to unfurl.

When hordes of people descend on the picturesque village of Nasely for the annual celebration of its most famous resident, murder mystery writer Agnes Crabbe, events take a dark turn as the festival opens with a shocking death. Each year the residents are outnumbered by crowds dressed as Crabbe’s lady detective, Millicent Cutter. The weekend is never a mild-mannered affair as fan club rivalries bubble below the surface, but tensions reach new heights when a second Crabbe devotee is found murdered. Though the police are quick to arrive on the scene, the facts are tricky to ascertain as the witnesses, suspects and victim are all dressed as Miss Cutter.

Meet Cherry, a bandit queen on the run, driving a pink soft-top convertible through the Badlands of Southeast England. She's never felt more Thelma and Louise in her life - except there are three of them in the car and one of them is dead. How did a head nurse and mother of two end up driving a handcuffed policeman and the corpse of a murdered refugee on a journey to find justice? Pursued by a racist, roid-raged, shaven-headed officer of the law - not to mention by her husband and daughter - what else can a woman with a conscience do in modern Britain?

After years of abandonment, Raven Hall has been restored to its former glory. For one night only, it is playing host to an evening of murder mystery. The guests have gathered. The roles have been cast. But someone is playing a sinister game, one with devastating consequences. And as the guests are about to discover, the truth is much darker than fiction.

Fred Van Lente's brilliant debut is both an homage to the Golden Age of Mystery and a thoroughly contemporary show-business satire. As the story opens, nine comedians of various acclaim are summoned to the island retreat of legendary Hollywood funnyman Dustin Walker. The group includes a former late-night TV host, a washed-up improv instructor, a ridiculously wealthy "blue collar" comic, and a past-her-prime Vegas icon.

Something magical is just what I’ve been looking for. I’ve never felt good enough amongst my husband’s richer friends, but a Valentine’s weekend in a stunning new hotel in Finnish Lapland is our chance to shine. The staff promise perfection by recreating our fondest memories—the happiest moments of our lives.

The early years of the killer's life unfolded in a seemingly ordinary environment, yet beneath the surface simmered a darkness that would later manifest in unimaginable ways. Born into a family that projected a façade of normalcy, the killer's childhood was marked by neglect and cruelty. The seeds of violence were sown in a household where love was scarce and anger was abundant. Each moment spent in this toxic atmosphere nurtured a growing resentment and a thirst for control, laying the groundwork for a future steeped in horror.

Vigilante heiress Gia Santella has finally put her dark past behind her. Unfortunately, the past isn't done with her yet. Under the sultry Mediterranean skies, Gia thinks that she’s finally escaped the dark cloud that has hovered over her most of her life, but she is wrong. When tragedy strikes and she is left reeling, she is thirsty for vengeance. But in her efforts to see revenge and justice, she stumbles across a complex Sicilian underworld and finds herself face-to-face with a tangled web of deep dark secrets that threaten to destroy everything she ever believed was true.

DCI Boaz Matthias isn't a Christmas person. He never has been. Not since he discovered the truth when he was seven. Christmas is a lie and a con, and nothing is ever going to change his mind. Being given a temporary six-week assignment isn't helping his mood either - as it means Christmas with the family. The only good thing is the accidental meeting of someone he thinks he could grow very fond of.

This was supposed to be my last hush money payment to a dirty cop for a crime I didn't commit. I've been tethered to danger since I was a little girl because of my last name. Of course, when I see the light at the end of the tunnel, it's stripped from me… by him, a ruthless up-and-coming mob boss with no business being this hot. Donny's the guy they call to kill the hitmen. And now he's trapped me for the rest of my days. I scheme and plan and try to escape, but he's always one step ahead of me. He's been hunting prey since I've been hiding from mobsters.

Maggie is torn between loyalty to her sister and supporting her new partner, Ash, as he works from the inside to prove Neil's innocence. Is this Maggie's final fight, and if so is she willing to win at any cost? Full of twists and turns, "Always The Love of His Life" will keep you guessing until the very end, questioning whether Neil is a cold-blooded killer or the victim of a set-up that runs deeper than he ever could have imagined.

In Still the Love of His Life, death stalks the corridors at Maggie’s hospital, and serial killer ex, Rob, begins to send her threatening letters from behind bars. As if that wasn't enough, someone is also killing her patients at the hospital where she works.