Inside Writing Mystery, Noir & Detectives

When the bell tolls midnight, it’ll be 1968.Royce Pembrook is living well in a new city, with new patrons, a new name, and a new trade. But he’s the same scam artist he’s been for thirty years. Since youth, Royce has made his money and found trouble in fraudulent séances that prey on the grieving widows of high society. Now he’s expanded his con, posing as a hypnotist, a Svengali, swindling everyone in Phoenix from scions of old wealth to a UFO cult led by a heroin-addicted visionary.Life is good. Royce has the luxury he craves. And that’s when trouble out of the past creeps into his world. Even in the domain of fake spirits, the relentless specter of murder is real, and Royce’s former life is one thing that won’t stay in the grave.When the bell tolls midnight for Royce Pembrook, will it be time to abscond? Or will he fight to keep all that he’s gained, no matter the violent cost to those around him?

Troubled ex-con Zack Taylor is haunted by the accidental death of his brother years before. Zack's guilt and anger have pushed him into a shadowy, wandering life, with little purpose and few attachments. When he hears of the death of his close friend Ben Sterling, a supposed gunshot suicide, Zack finds he now has a purpose-- to find out what happened. Then his purpose becomes an obsession. Zack goes to Maine, where Ben died, and is a fish out of water, with no connections, no information, and no credibility. People don't want to talk about Ben's death, so Zack gets ever more frustrated, making enemies, getting into fights, and breaking the law in his search for the truth. The only bright spot seems the potential for a relationship with a sympathetic nurse-- if he can control his violent streak. To draw out the killers, Zack offers himself as bait. But without a gun, he must rely on his wits and his physical skills to survive a dangerous game of drugs and death. Though managing a measure of justice, Zack is changed in the process, and must learn to live in a very different world.

Best-selling author, Jonathan Sendel has been murdered. Now, his clone must solve the mystery.In the near future when someone is murdered, a clone of the victim can be commissioned to help police solve the crime. This process is costly, tedious and not always successful. Memory lapses, mental implosions, and rouge clones are not uncommon. It's risky, but Jonathan has the money, the fans, and the means, and so his clone must navigate a treacherous labyrinth of secrets to reclaim the life stolen from him and put his murderer behind bars.Before his untimely death, Jonathan was stuck in a rut. His marriage was failing, writer's block had his Jim Starlight series at a dead-end, and his affair with a college student was about to go public. When his charred remains are found inside his remote cabin it's clear that the murderer is someone in his inner circle.His clone only has a matter of days to unravel the mystery before he loses the vast fortune he spent his entire life, the first one, building. As he uncovers his previous life's transgressions, the people he trusted most may have some unsavory opinions about clones. Jonathan must take his investigation into his own hands to have a chance at life.The Second Life of Jonathan Sendel is a twist-filled murder mystery, that examines the life of a beloved celebrity tarnished by scandal and the painful process of coming to terms with one’s own demons.

A DARK LABYRINTH OF FAMILY BETRAYALBased on a true crime, The Younger Girl, by trailblazing, award-winning writer Georgia Jeffries combines historical fiction and supernatural suspense to unravel a thrilling tale of family deception and long-denied redemption.In 1933, Chicago tabloids trumpeted the death of twenty-year-old town belle Aldine Younger."HEIRESS SLAIN, MARRIED MAN HELD."In the aftermath of Aldine Younger's tragic death, her grieving brother Owen suspects that their wealthy uncle orchestrated a sinister murder plot to cover up the theft of Aldine's inheritance. Fast forward to 1996, when an aging Owen, burdened by the weight of the past, is compelled to discover the truth before he dies. His daughter, Joanna, becomes the key to unraveling the family's twisted history.Father and daughter journey back to Pontiac, Illinois, to claim Owen's rightful bequest. They find themselves caught in a labyrinth of lies born of family greed and treachery crossing three generations. Amidst violent storms and dramatic revelations, Owen's sanity teeters on the edge as he confuses Joanna with the sister he lost. Joanna, racing against time, unearths secrets that could shatter her world and discovers a psychic bridge linking past, present, and future. But at what cost? And who will survive the revelations?

The debut novel from screenwriter and producer David List, What Are the Odds is an entertaining, binge-worthy, and addictive crime thriller.Ray Dawson, a former NYPD detective unfairly forced into early retirement, never thought he would get another chance to be with his second wife and love of his life, Stephanie. So when she opens the door to the possibility, he spends his savings on an extravagant romantic getaway at a resort in Costa Rica. But Ray is still as much a cop as he is a man, and when, in the hotel elevator, he has a chance encounter with Wilbur Bailey—a wily, neurotic, and environmentally conscious fugitive with a $5 million bounty on his head—things get complicated.IRS Special Agent Phil Dancourt is determined to bust Mika Salko, the corrupt CEO of Houston-based Amco Oil, and believes Wilbur Bailey, an Amco analyst with a conscience, is the one guy on the inside who could help bring Salko down. But in a bizarre twist, Bailey embezzles millions and disappears, putting Phil’s job on the line. Now, after Wilbur is sighted in Costa Rica, Phil is sent to retrieve him. But from the moment he steps off the plane and crosses paths with Ray and Wilbur, nothing goes as planned.The encounter propels the three men into a harrowing, death-defying, life-changing, and often hilarious journey, attracting unwanted attention from a heroin-addicted dishwasher, a powerful, corrupt CEO, bloodthirsty gangs and drug cartels, and pandering government watchdogs. Along the way, they come face-to-face, in unexpected ways, with life’s larger questions: friendship, love, loss, faith, and the commitment to values larger than oneself. What results is a trio of unlikely friends, and Ray can only hope that once it’s all over, Stephanie will still be there.

I have published before, usually on the darker side of town. Seeing as I'm Canadian, I will always wish you well.

When lifestyle blogger Emily Dalle comes face-to-face with controversial talk show host, Jackie Hunter, she’s in for the shock of her life. But this time it’s not Jackie’s words that cause a stir—it’s her dead body.Emily knows the chance of Jackie’s death being a random hit-and-run is about as low as the blows she dished out on her gossip feed. The police are doing their best but with their limited resources, Emily enlists the help of her online audience to figure out what really happened. She gets some great tips, including one from the murderer who tells her to back off.Will Emily piece together who killed the Queen of Mean or will she fall victim to the same fate?

Facing the truth can be deadlier than facing the killer.Ten days to keep a lie.Ten plagues if you deny.Ten ways to watch them die.Five years ago, when Detective Jena Campbell put the Leviticus Killer behind bars, she locked her darkest secret away with him. Something never meant to surface. Something better left to rot with the madman who had destroyed so many lives.When a strange man calling himself Azrael appears on social media with threats to unleash ten plagues, ten deaths, in ten days, unless Leviticus is released, Jena is forced to reopen that door and face her past.Unable to share what she knows, she turns to the only man who can help her find Azrael before he kills again, the man she condemned. Jena quickly learns the only thing more terrifying than facing him, is facing herself.