suspense
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The Dream Jumper’s Promise by Kim Hornsby
Without a recovered body Tina Greene can’t accept the surfing death of her husband, Hank. She pulls herself from the emotional wreckage months after signing the death certificate and trades mourning for saving her Maui dive shop from bankruptcy. When Jamey Dunn walks back into her life things take a strange turn. Dreams of Hank have the dive instructor questioning her sanity and leaning heavily on Hank’s best friend, Noble. Jamey and Noble clash at every turn, both desperate to help Tina. When Jamey discovers the dreams hold clues to Hank’s disappearance he reveals his strange ability to enter dreams. Trusting the man who betrayed her years before, doesn’t come easily for Tina when the decision to let Jamey enter her subconscious has a price. As Tina, Noble and Jamey decipher the mystery of Hank’s disappearance, danger sets in to reveal that one person is flirting with insanity, one is a traitor, and one is an imposter.
A Love Thang by Gisclerc Morisset
George is an ordinary guy whose world has collapsed beneath him. He’s ruined his relationship with his girlfriend, and to his credit, wants to come clean. Sadly for him, karma never plays along with our best made plans. Carol, George’s girlfriend discovers his deceitful act of betrayal before he can confess and she is out for revenge. Will George learn from his indiscretion. And most importantly, will he be able to save his relationship with the woman he loves.
The Spirit Keepers by J. S. Winn
Can you escape the wrath of the Spirits?
One of Sandy Jacobs’ ten year old students and his family are accused of witchcraft. Blamed for the mysterious deaths of two San Anselmo Pueblo children, they’re terrorized by “Boogeymen” Kachina, fierce-looking impersonators of the spirits. Sandy rushes to their aid, but her actions inflame the perpetrators and arouse the opposition of Native born faculty member, Ben Rush. Sandy and Ben clash over the issue while struggling against the attraction growing between them until the harassment culminates in violence. Together they risk their lives to uncover the truth and, in the process, learn lessons as valuable as any they have taught.
Fatal Embrace by Aris Whittier
Cosmopolitan Magazine “Red-Hot” Read
High-spirited horse trainer Jessica Stanson stumbles into the perfect job on one of the most elite ranches in Montana. Or at least it would be if her boss, ex-detective Michael Carven, stopped acting like he didn't want her there. Jessica has to prove herself to him on the ranch, and also try to penetrate his armor to get to the man inside. Michael Carven is a man who has left a difficult past behind him, and now works at his dream job raising horses under the Montana sky. But he knows that the past has a way of coming back to him, and soon enough, it does. A wave of violence hits the nearby small town of Riverside, nestled deep in the mountains, as a cunning serial killer preys on the population. Against his will, Michael finds himself both drawn into the case and coming to care for his independent new trainer. And if having a killer on the loose wasn't enough, his two worlds collide when Jessica becomes the only material witness in the case. Before it is over, Michael and Jessica will put everything they know and hold dear on the line to catch a vicious, cunning killer – and to protect each other as well.
Kindred Killers by Gary Starta @scifiauthorGary
Homicide Detective Stanford Carter uses Zen meditation to deal with the gruesome crimes of humanity. But his composure is severely tested when an unfaithful husband and stripper are not only murdered but showcased for their immoral lives. To test his mettle further, department policy is jeopardizing his romance with his CSI colleague Jill Seacrest. Marrying colleagues is prohibited and Carter must either end his romance or have Jill put in for transfer. The private detective hired by the family of the victims becomes the only suspect. Carter theorizes someone with knowledge in law enforcement is responsible for leaving clean but disturbing crime scenes. Further investigation leads him to believe a pair of killers might be working as serials. As Jill goes undercover to investigate the PI’s social life, Carter fears he might not only fail to stop the vigilante killings but lose the love of his life.
Alzabreah’s Garden by Gary Starta @scifiauthorGary
Falling in love shouldn’t be against the law, but it is on the island Alzabreah, where a high priestess genetically engineers men to be nothing more than love slaves. When a disciple Mavra breaks the rules and falls in love with one of the drones, she soon discovers the high priestess has committed murder to cover illegal genetic experiments. Now Mavra must fight for their lives.
Myopic by Gary Starta @scifiauthorGary
When aliens contact suspense author Wilfred Diamond demanding he spread a message to his fellow humans to go green – or else-he confides in his new love interest, EPA scientist Sonja Hoffs. Learning a technology is available which would cure the earth’s pollution woes, Diamond urges Hoffs to help him bring it to the light of day. But there are many who want the technology to remain in the dark and these people are just as dangerous as any alien invader. Knowing the risks, Hoffs lets her heart-and not her brain-guide her to take the plunge into not only a new romance but the perilous waters of political conspiracy.
Gods of the Machines by Gary Starta @scifiauthorGary
Detective Sam Benson, a native New Yorker, is brash, opinionated and candid. Transplanted to work on Earth’s first colonized planet, he envisions a relatively peaceful job. But Benson’s ruthless nature might bring it to the brink of annihilation when a series of murders begins. He suspects a non-human is responsible-an android who once shared engrams with a psychopathic human. However, the detective doesn’t know other non-humans once called his new world-theirs. And as Benson obsesses with making a case against the android, he is oblivious to their return and the reason why they consider machines to be their gods.
Extreme Liquidation by Gary Starta @scifiauthorGary
Black magic threatens humanity with Extreme Liquidation. The only thing preventing occultist Aleister Crowley from ascension is reincarnation. Trapped in human form again, he’s manipulating political events to bring about the End Times and achieve what he believes to be his true destiny. FBI Agent Caitlin Diggs has a secret gift that could stop him, but Crowley’s no ordinary enemy. He knows something she doesn’t, and tampers with her ability, twisting it to serve his own agenda. Will she uncover the truth in time to save all mankind?
Sunspots by Karen S. Bell @KarenSueBell
Sunspots follows the healing journey of a young woman thrown into the horror of losing a spouse. It is a story of loss and redemption and the ghosts that haunt our lives and our houses. A love story, a romance, and a mystery of sorts, Sunspots, is above all an exploration into the psyche and emotional arc of the MC and it follows no formula.
Snapshot:
“One can never be, and should never be, smug about life,” says Aurora Goldberg. An aspiring New York actress who has never realized her dreams, Aurora keeps herself afloat by doing odd temp jobs where her rich fantasy life helps her get through the day. Aurora sees the world through the lens of characters in literature and film and these fictionalizations are woven into her interpretation of reality. On one of her temp assignments she meets Jake Stein, a man who could “charm the skin off a snake” and she decides to follow her destiny as his wife in Austin, Texas. But Jake’s sudden death after two short years disintegrates her world and Aurora must reevaluate her life and let go of a love that has become an obsession.
Sunspots takes the reader on a journey of high emotion as Aurora uncovers Jake’s secret life and her own internal conflicts as she matures to self-awareness. Narrated by Aurora, the novel’s tone vacillates from irreverent humor to solemnity as she relates her previous life with Jake and her present challenges. The title refers to the solar maximum which became the backdrop for Aurora’s conception when her hippy parents went to Canada to observe the Aurora Borealis. In name and in spirit, Aurora is connected to the observable and unobservable energy around us.
With the help of friends, family, and the ghost of Viola Parker (her home’s original owner), Aurora accepts her fate and the secrets revealed about Jake’s true character. She realizes that in this life she will finally break the cycle of pain caused by her love for this man, Jake Stein, through the centuries.
Embedded in the novel is the question of the afterlife and paranormal events abound. The incidents are left vague enough so the reader is not certain if they are external events witnessed by Aurora or exist only in her own mind. My approach to the extraordinary has always been with keen interest and skepticism. Just as we cannot see unaided that at the quantum level solid objects consist of vast spaces and swirling particles, so too, we define our human existence with only our limited five senses, three dimensional orientation, and our perceived space/time continuum. So then, what can one say with any certainty is reality?
