CRIME FICTION (good stuff and strange stuff)
Explore a curated list of the best and strangest crime fiction books. Discover gripping tales, dark mysteries, and unique stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
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Psychosomatic
by Anthony Neil Smith
"Because Lydia didn't have arms or legs, she shelled out three thousand bucks to a washed up middleweight named Cap to give her ex-husband the beating of his life." But the beating turns to murder, and the murder into lust and desperation between Lydia and an underworld clean-up man. Meanwhile, overgrown frat boy car thieves take up cop killing as a side hobby. When these paths cross, a horror show of violence unfolds as they all slide into a hell of their own design, surrounded by the neon and noise of the casino strip on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Violent, vivid, life at hyper-speed. This debut novel from the editor of Plots with Guns is a noir nightmare that asks how much is too much in a relationship, and what is the cost of leaving? Ken Bruen calls it "the darkest song I've ever read."
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The Golden Gizmo
by Jim Thompson
Toddy Kent would be another footsore gold buyer hustling brooches from Los Angeles housewives if he hadn't been born with a 'gizmo', the sixth sense that guides him to where the easy money is. Now Toddy's gizmo has steered him to a seemingly unlimited source of pure, unadulterated illicit gold. The only problem is that his 'gizmo' has a tendency to desert him when he needs it most. An no sooner has he acquired the first sample, than Toddy's wife is dead and he himself is being stalked by a sinister man with no chin.
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Savage Night
by Jim Thompson
Is Carl Bigelow a fresh-faced college kid looking for a room, or is he a poised hit man tracking down his victim? And if Carl is really two people, what about everyone around him? Savage Night is Thompson at his best, with plot reversals and nightmarish shifts of identity.
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The Cold Spot
by Tom Piccirilli
The four-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of "The Midnight Road" returns with a taut and twisty crime novel about family secrets and the consequences of crime. Original.
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The Midnight Road
by Tom Piccirilli
From the moment he saw the girl in the snowstorm, Flynn had less than an hour to live. But he’ll remember his last fifty minutes long after he’s dead. As an investigator for Suffolk County Child Protective Services, Flynn has seen more than his share of misery, but nothing could prepare him for the nightmare inside the Shepards’ million-dollar Long Island home. In less than an hour, that nightmare will send him plunging into a frozen harbor—and awaken him to a reality even more terrifying. They’ve nicknamed Flynn “The Miracle Man” because few have ever been resuscitated after being dead so long. But a determined homicide detective and a beautiful, inquisitive reporter have questions about what really happened at the Shepard house—and why the people around Flynn are suddenly being murdered. Flynn has questions of his own, especially when one of the victims dies while handing him a note: THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT. Flynn has returned from the Midnight Road—and someone wants to send him back.
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November Mourns
by Tom Piccirilli
Returning to the Southern mountain town of Moon Run Hollow after serving time in prison for assaulting his sister's attacker, Shad Jenkins discovers that his sister Megan has been found dead of unknown causes and, tormented by the dark Blood Dreams from which he has suffered since childhood, must confront a nightmarish adversary whose evil permeates the hollow. Original.
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Headstone City
by Tom Piccirilli
Returning home to Brooklyn after two years in prison to settle his accounts with both the living and the dead, Johnny "Dane" Danetello, a man with the psychic ability to see ghosts and to enter others' dreams, is headed for a reunion or a showdown with his old friend--and nemesis--Vinny Monticelli, a man with his own terrifying paranormal talents. Original.
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The Fever Kill
by Tom Piccirilli
Seventeen years ago, a kidnapped child died at the hands of the police, and the ransom intended to save her was nowhere to be found. Now the cop accused of slaughter is dead and his son wants answers - the truth for his father and redemption for himself. But the town of Hangtree has secrets to keep and some fine lowlifes to keep them. The fever burns through Crease as he unravels the only case that means anything to him, but he has to watch his step. He's losing ground to a mentor of a more dangerous stripe with his own vendetta to see satisfied. Can Crease put it together before he's torn apart? A dusty neo-noir murder mystery, The Fever Kill expertly blends flavors of hardboiled crime and modern literature. Tom Piccirilli provides a thrill ride for pulp connoisseurs and the uninitiated mainstream alike.
