Today's Featured Books— Mystery Thriller Crime and Horror

"Masterful." ~Publisher’s Weekly BookLife Prize. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Emery Merrick presses a pistol to his temple. Then there's a knock at the door. Billionaire Thaddeus Drake hires Emery to write his biography. But Emery soon discovers Drake heads a secret society that aims to fulfill prophecy and sacrifice the Earth to a bloodthirsty God. Can a suicidal reporter save humanity...and himself? Recognized by the Hoffer Awards, Writer's Digest, Literary Titan, Readers' Favorite, and more. Book 1 in the series. 4.3 stars, 81 ratings. From $0.99 - SHOP NOW / 

On sale through April 12: Get the Lancashire Detective Mysteries Boxed set for only 99 cents! That's three complete novels featuring DCI Jonathan Walker, senior detective for the Lancashire Constabulary in North West England: The Ice House, The Pike, and The Tower. Currently a #1 Best Seller in Traditional Detective Mysteries on Amazon. 4.3 stars, 262 ratings. From $0.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

It's been years since fourteen-year-old Dean has seen his Gran. But now Dean's mom is desperate to have someone watch him over the summer, which means Dean will be spending his summer with Gran on her tomato farm. Dean expects his time to be filled with hard work. Instead, events lead him to believe something otherworldly is wrong with Gran. Something evil. 4.6 stars, 21 ratings. From $2.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

Danny Coogan, a freshly minted Montana Fish and Game Officer, and recent Afghanistan veteran, hopes to bury his demons in a simple life in the wilderness around the small town of Darwin. But his life becomes a nightmare when he is shot and left injured and alone in the freezing countryside to struggle for survival. His assailant? A local he had considered a friend. 4.4 stars, 1800+ ratings. From $3.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

No evil acts alone. After a brutal truth is revealed, Detective Aaron Remalla finds solace as a stranger in a quaint town where he can drink instead of think—only to find himself accused of a crime he didn’t commit. With the help of his partner, Detective Gordon Daniels, Remalla looks for answers and uncovers even darker mysteries that involve deception, murder, and haunted woods that (according to town lore) harbor an evil responsible for the disappearance of four people. 4.6 stars, 372 ratings. FREE - SHOP NOW / 

It’s been five years since CIA agent Travis Bishop walked away from his career. But then a man shows up on his doorstep claiming a female agent has gone dark and is nowhere to be found. Worse yet, the CIA believes her to be a traitor. Now it’s Travis’s mission to find the agent and uncover the truth. Perfect for fans of authors like Steven Konkoly, Jason Kasper, and J. B. Turner. Book 1 in a series. 4.4 stars, 1900+ ratings. FREE - SHOP NOW / 

Join Beckett Monahan in her small hometown in 1985. The 28-year-old is a church secretary, and she has one ear on the local grapevine and the other on the rotary phone. She’s working a wedding with the local lothario as the best man, when she stumbles upon his dead body, leading Beckett to attempt to clear her aunt of the crime and uncover the real killer. Is it one of the man’s many conquests? The town busybody? A former friend? Beckett is determined to find out! 4.6 stars,72 ratings. FREE - SHOP NOW / 

When Jason Miles is accused of masterminding a massive tax fraud scheme, he is forced to go on the run—jeopardizing everything he knows and everyone he loves. As his pursuers close in, a shocking betrayal leaves Jason alone to either win or die. Book 1 in the Cigar City Thriller series. 4.6 stars, 56 ratings. From $0.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

"A fast-paced thriller with bags of tension." ~Mark Edwards, best-selling author. She was never safe. No one is. Will Hattie survive the claustrophobic clutches of the male-dominated British classical music scene, or has she played her last recital? 4.5 stars, 20 ratings. From $0.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

On Valentine's Day 2013, Olympian Oscar Pistorius heard a sound from his bathroom. Fearing someone was about to harm him and his girlfriend, Reeva, he grabbed his pistol and fired four shots into the bathroom. But it wasn't an intruder; instead, he killed his lover, and he was convicted of murder. Clinical psychologist Brent Willock brings a new perspective to bear on these horrific events: that Oscar's horrific actions occurred while he was in a state of paradoxical sleep. Willock uses scientific scrutiny and legal precedence to resolve the crucial anomalies surrounding the Pistorius trial. From$0.99 - SHOP NOW / 

Everything in Detective Morgan Foster’s life is a secret. Living in West End, West Virginia, wasn’t part of the plan, but the murders of her husband, Peter, and her partner, AJ Roth, forced her into hiding. For a while, everything seemed fine, but two dead bodies at her waitressing job tell a different story. Book 1 in the series. 4.4 stars, 800+ ratings. From $1.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

Special Sale! Get the first three books of the DCI Walker Crime Thrillers Series (aka, the Lancashire Detective Mysteries) for 99 cents each through March 14. On sale are The Icehouse, The Pike, and The Tower. Also available is The Dune, and coming soon is The Castle, Book 5 in the series. "The best of both police procedurals and twisted mysteries." ~SPR Editorial Review. From $0.99. SHOP NOW / 

Juliette Valentine is a cunning, complex, and pathological child prodigy. At just fourteen years old, this elite gymnast manages to weaponize the family dog, create a rabies panic in her small town, initiate a CPS investigation into her own mother, and successfully hunt, capture, trap, and tame the boy next door. "Captivating and thought-provoking." ~Goodreads Review. 4.8 stars, 10 ratings. From $0.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

“What have I done?” Navy SEAL Jack Thibideaux thinks as he stands over the shepherd girl he has just accidentally shot in Afghanistan. Thus starts Jack’s perilous journey to save the girl, and himself. Years later, in his new life as a bookstore owner in the small town of Port Townsend, Washington, Jack seeks solace from PTSD and a new life. But his bloody past is sinking its teeth into him. 4.6 stars, 250+ ratings. FREE - SHOP NOW /

She thought she was safe, but even a continent away is not far enough to hide her from her enemies. "Dalrymple’s works always hang together in the most thrilling and satisfying ways, and Snakes and Ladders is no exception—it should be at the top of everyone’s reading list.” ~Robert Blake Whitehill, bestselling author of The Ben Blackshaw Series. 4.6 stars, 68 ratings. From $2.99 - SHOP NOW / 

Today, LitNuts is shining a spotlight on the Lancashire Detective Mysteries of the DCI Walker Crime Thrillers series from author J.J. Richards:

• The Icehouse, Book 1 in the Series
• The Pike, Book 2 in the Series
• The Tower, Book 3 in the Series

★★★★½ "A gripping pastoral thriller...deeply nuanced, packed with allusion and detail, summoning a vivid world to life, expertly combining the best of both police procedurals and twisted mysteries." ~SPR Editorial Review

Sale! 
E-book editions of all three books are on sale March 7-13 in the United States ($0.99) and the United Kingdom (£0.99), and free via Kindle Unlimited!

The Icehouse
Book 1 in the Series
Genres: Detective Mysteries, Police Procedurals, Murder Thrillers
4.1 stars, 1360 ratings
Currently on sale in the US & UK (Regularly from $2.99)

A Murderer on the Loose. A Detective Haunted by the Past. A Race Against Time.

DCI Jonathan Walker is a senior detective for the Lancashire Constabulary in North West England. He’s haunted by events of the past and hell bent on redemption, if he can stay healthy for long enough that is.

After a body turns up in the sleepy village of Rufford, Walker returns from his leave of absence early. When he learns the crime may be linked to a decades old cold case involving the murder of his sister, things become personal.

When more people go missing and bodies turn up with the same bizarre signature, Walker and his team realize they have a serial killer on their hands. But time is running out, and Walker has to consider breaking the law himself to make things right, once and for all.

Perfect for fans of Ian Rankin, JD Kirk, Matt Brolly, Patricia Gibney, and Michael Connelly.

"A moody, enveloping crime thriller." ~SPR Editorial Review

The Pike
Book 2 in the Series
Genres: Mysteries, Police Procedurals, Psychological Thrillers
4.3 stars, 1007 ratings
Currently on sale in the US & UK (Regularly from $3.99)



Not everything is what it seems, and not everyone is who they appear to be.

A young girl is found dead at the Pike Tower on Winter Hill near Chorley, and DCI Walker and the newly promoted DC Briggs are drafted in to investigate. But what they find extends far beyond the Rivington Pike. What seems like a party gone wrong or a sickening group attack, transpires to be much more, and threatens not only the local community, but Walker and his team, too.

After identifying who’d taken the deceased to the Pike, a cat-and-mouse chase ensues, taking them to Manchester and back. When more women are attacked and left for dead, Walker gets reinforcements. But if they don’t find the attacker soon, more women will almost certainly die.

★★★★★ "Authentically written, patiently penned, and satisfyingly dark...a top-flight crime thriller." ~SPR Editorial Review

The Tower
Book 3 in the Series
Genres: Detective Mysteries, Police Procedurals
4.2 stars, 500+ ratings
Currently on sale in the US & UK (Regularly from $3.99)



A seaside town on its knees. A group hell bent on making it a better place...by KILLING.

When the Head Clown at Blackpool Tower Circus turns up dead in suspicious circumstances, a criminal investigation ensues, headed by DCI Walker. But when another body turns up just days later, with the same modus operandi, the double homicide becomes the talk of the town. The murderer, calling himself The Defender, wants people to be kinder to each other, and he’s prepared to kill to make it happen.

★★★★★ "An unsettling but highly entertaining thriller." ~SRP Editorial Review

JJ Richards is a bestselling author based in Lancashire, England, where he lives with his wife and young son. Writing under multiple pen names, he has published eight novels and a collection of short stories, with his ninth book, The Castle, currently in the works. Though his stories are works of fiction, he often finds himself questioning where the boundary between imagination and reality truly lies. So far, he has yet to locate it, plant a flag, and chart it for future explorers. Learn more and sign-up to his mailing list at J-J-Richards.com.

The recently married Hippolyta Napier is making a new life amidst Aberdeenshire’s dark woods and pure, flowing waters. But suspicion, intrigue, and death await at her new home, and the forces of nature take few prisoners. Book 1 in the Hippolyta Napier series. "Excellent series of historical whodunits." ~Amazon UK Review. 4.2 stars, 358 ratings. FREE - SHOP NOW / 

"An outrageously enjoyable romp through the meaning of story and authorship and the nature of reality itself." ~Chronogram Magazine. A man's life is upended by a mystery manuscript. What would you do if private stories from your life were published as fiction, but the writer can't be found? Can a book exist without an author? Where do stories come from, anyway? "One-third sleuth story, two-thirds philosophical expedition, A Book with No Author aims to worry the threads of appearance. The novel is a meditation on paradox." ~Dactyl Review. 4.8 stars, 12 ratings. From $4.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

"I love a book with dark humor, sarcasm, dog bonding, and a twist of the paranormal. Your book delivered on all of these." ~Writer's Digest Self-published eBook Contest, Reviewer 1. Bridgette Ampersand—dog mom, coffee addict, and optometrist—is confronted with the demons of her past as she fights to save the people who matter most in the present. Book 1 in the series. 4.5 stars, 46 ratings. FREE - SHOP NOW / 

Journalist Cleo Krol relocates to Washington, D.C. and is drawn into a real-life mystery when her friend and neighbor, Rae, suffers a psychotic break and takes her own life. Cleo's search for the truth leads her into the tangled web of Rae’s love life and a covert Chinese spy program. With Detective Scott Fisher as an unexpected ally, Cleo follows the trail of secrets, hoping to solve the mystery of Rae’s death while also revising her own career. Fans of slow-burn mysteries will be hooked on this gripping investigation. From $2.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

When the rules turn deadly, winning is everything. Effie and Ben May have everything. Success. Beauty. Glamour. But beneath the charming smiles and expensive clothes, a twisted game is in progress. While they scheme and manipulate those around them, they fail to notice their carefully cultivated façade crumbling away. The perfect couple soon turn the game on each other, breaking all the rules. But when the stakes are life and death, losing isn’t an option. 4.3 stars, 190 ratings. From $0.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

Miss Congeniality meets The Golden Girls in this hilarious mystery set in southern Louisiana. Assassin Fortune Redding, with a price on her head and a CIA leak, takes on her toughest mission yet in Sinful, LA. Equipped with her skills and two feisty ladies known as The Geritol Mafia, Fortune sets out to solve a murder. Book 1 of the Miss Fortune Mysteries. 4.5 stars, 41K+ ratings. FREE - SHOP NOW / 

When the daughter-in-law of a real estate mogul dies, Philadelphia Detective Joe Booth suspects her husband. But taking on the son of a powerful man is dangerous without solid proof. Desperate for answers, he turns to psychic-for-hire Ann Kinnear, whose abilities may be the key to uncovering the truth. As Ann becomes entangled in a web of deception, betrayal, and restless spirits, she risks everything to bring justice to the dead, even if it means putting her own life on the line. Book 1 in the series. 4.4 stars, 1200+ ratings. From $2.99 - SHOP NOW / 

U. S. Marshall Danny Coogan returns to his roots in Montana to settle into the sleepy town of Darwin with his pregnant wife. But as Danny races into town ahead of an early blizzard, the storms of his past threaten his future. Not only have the ambitions of the Ghost Buffalo Society set some of the local Indians on a path toward insurrection, but Danny's best friend, Edmund Goodrunner, working undercover for the Tribal Council, has gone missing. 4.6 stars, 143 ratings. From $3.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

In the summer of 1943, Brooklyn detectives Maeve O’Shaughnessy and Vic Marino are hired to find a missing man, pulling them into a dangerous web of gang wars, black market dealings, and FBI intrigue. As World War II rages on, Maeve juggles her role as guardian to her teenage brother while navigating a corrupt police force, old flames, and the weight of a soldier boyfriend overseas. Against a backdrop of rationing, war bonds, and fleeting moments of jazz and Coney Island escapes, the detectives must unravel dark secrets before the city’s underbelly consumes them. 4.4 stars, 750+ ratings on Goodreads. $2.99 - SHOP NOW /