Winner of the 2025 Colorado Authors League Award for Best Amateur Sleuth MysteryShe survived the battlefield.The truth might kill her.When a covert mission to capture a high-value Al Qaeda target collapses in Iraq, U.S. Army Sergeant Amber Downing disappears behind enemy lines, taken captive and presumed dead. Her military working dog, Razor, is left broken beside her—another casualty of a war that doesn’t forgive mistakes.Amber does survive. But captivity leaves scars no rescue mission can erase.Now a disabled veteran trying to rebuild her life in rural Colorado, Amber works at a VA Medical Center while battling PTSD, survivor’s guilt, and the loss of her fiancé in combat. With the help of her highly trained service dog, Nikita, she keeps the darkness at bay—until her job pulls her into something far more dangerous than therapy sessions and paperwork.A disturbing pattern of veteran suicides lands on Amber’s desk. What first looks like tragedy soon reveals signs of manipulation… and a conspiracy hiding in plain sight.When powerful forces realize Amber is asking the wrong questions, the hunt begins again.With enemies closing in, buried trauma resurfacing, and Nikita as her only constant, Amber must rely on skills forged in war and captivity to expose the truth—before she becomes the next name on the list.The Suicide Detective is a gritty, emotionally charged military thriller that blends action, mystery, and heart—honoring veterans, service dogs, and the unbreakable bond between them.Perfect for readers who love:Military and veteran-led thrillersStrong female protagonistsK9 and service-dog storiesHigh-stakes investigations with emotional depthFor readers who enjoy the emotional depth of Kristin Hannah, the investigative tension of Michael Connelly, and the high-stakes suspense of David Baldacci.

"Intense, suspenseful, and completely gripping from start to finish." BookBub reviewerA young woman is found dead in the pond behind Denise’s new home.The police call it suspicious. The town calls it tragic.Denise Little calls it a warning.She and her husband Justin moved to Vermont for a fresh start—a quiet town, a beautiful house by the water, and one last attempt at IVF after years of heartbreak. But only a week after they arrive, twenty-year-old Lesley Bowman is found drowned less than a mile from their front door.Then the autopsy changes everything.It wasn’t an accident.As the investigation unfolds, Denise becomes obsessed with the pond—watching, waiting, searching for answers the police don’t seem to have. But the deeper she digs, the more Justin begins to question her sanity.Is Denise unraveling under the pressure of infertility and isolation?Or is she the only one who sees what’s really happening?Because someone in this quiet town is hiding the truth.And the pond isn’t done claiming its victims.

A California D.A. handles a case of a baby lost and another found in this classic hard-boiled mystery by the author of the Perry Mason series."The bestselling author of the century . . . a master storyteller." —The New York TimesA late-night hit-and-run accident claims an infant's life on a steep mountain road outside Madison City. What puzzles District Attorney Doug Selby is that the other car was stolen, driven out of town and back, and returned to the same spot . . .Then Selby receives a phone call from the bus depot. A woman claims she and her baby are in danger. When Selby and Sheriff Rex Brandon arrive at the depot, they find the child, but her mother is nowhere in sight. Their investigation leads to a hidden treasure in the cabin of a hermit, whose sister and brother-in-law own the stolen car.But when a body is found and more questions arise, Selby deduces the best way to catch the killer is to stop looking. Instead, he will make the killer come to him . . .Originally published in 1942.

‘Guaranteed to blindside even the most experienced thriller reader.’ Booklist Starred ReviewMeet troubled criminologist Dr Will Traynor. He doesn’t play by the book, but his dark past helps him capture killers by getting inside their minds.Three years agoDr Will Traynor arrives home to find his nine-year-old daughter locked away in a cupboard and his wife missing.NowA clumsily decapitated body is found abandoned on Blackfoot Running Trail in Birmingham. A sickly, metallic smell hangs in the heavy air . . . but the head is nowhere to be seen.With the investigating team getting nowhere, Detective Bernard Watts is reluctantly forced to call in expert criminologist Dr Will Traynor.Traynor is a loose cannon and no team player, but his unorthodox methods unearth a gruesome clue. Two human skulls buried in a shallow grave just a stone’s throw from the murder scene.The team is now looking for a serial killer.And it’s only Traynor who can get inside the killer’s mind to unlock the terrifying truth.This unputdownable crime mystery full of twists is perfect for fans of Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs, Karin Slaughter, Angela Marsons and Helen H. Durrant.Please note this book was previously published as Dark Truths.WHAT EVERYONE IS SAYING ABOUT A.J. CROSS:‘Outstanding . . . Cross, herself a forensic psychologist, plays fair with the reader right up to the surprising conclusion.’ Publishers Weekly Starred Review of The Coldest Death‘Cross pulls no punches in a shocking tale of crime and punishment.’ Kirkus Reviews????? ‘A perfectly dark and riveting thriller that will keep you hooked from the first thrilling page!’ Cathy T.????? ‘Exceptional.’ Jay????? ‘Brilliant, full of twists and turns.’ Joanne????? ‘The author has a way of drawing you into the story and putting you into the passenger seat of the investigation.’ Erica????? ‘It takes a real talent with words to write a story in this way . . . This was a FIVE STAR read for me!’ Cloud Lake Literary????? ‘A well-written and cleverly-plotted crime novel.’ The Quick and the ReadTHE DETECTIVEEver since that night three years ago, Dr Will Traynor has been obsessed with finding his wife’s body and identifying her killer. Now the expert criminologist is back to working on the darkest murder cases. It’s perhaps not the best profession for someone diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress, but Traynor’s dark past makes him perfect for hunting down depraved killers . . .THE AUTHORLike her main character in the Dr Kate Hanson Mysteries, A.J. Cross is a forensic psychologist who draws on her professional knowledge from twenty years’ experience to create shockingly realistic villains that will chill you to your core.

NEW 'STAND-ALONE' STORY"I can’t imagine a teenager without her phone.“Harrison encounters a mystery when he joins Jennifer for Piper’s graduation in Switzerland. Why does Piper’s sailing teammate abandon her phone when she disappears the day before graduation? Madison’s teammates are worried—she hasn’t reached out to anyone.A simple inquiry spirals Harrison into a dangerous international conspiracy. His quest disrupts plans to sail the coast of Maine and leads him into the foggy world of anonymous offshore accounts. Harrison must navigate a quagmire of deception to solve the mystery of Madison’s disappearance.

London, 1968: The body of a teenage girl is found just steps away from the Beatles' Abbey Road recording studio.The police are called to a residential street in St John's Wood where an unidentified young woman has been strangled. Detective Sergeant Cathal Breen believes she may be one of the many Beatles fans who regularly camp outside Abbey Road Studios. With his reputation tarnished by an inexplicable act of cowardice, this is Breen's last chance to prove he's up to the job. Breen is of the generation for whom reaching adulthood meant turning into one's parents and accepting one's place in the world. But the world around him is changing beyond recognition. Nothing illustrates the shift more than Helen Tozer, a brazen and rambunctious young policewoman assisting him with the case. Together they navigate a world on edge, where conservative tradition gives way to frightening new freedoms -- and troubling new crimes.