The Program

 Fiction by Gregg Hurwitz

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is apparently #2 in the Tim Rackley series, which I wasn't aware of when I picked it up. I didn't need to have read The Kill Clause (the first book) to understand this one; however I do think reading this one might have ruined the prospect of reading the first one by giving everything away...

In this story ex-state trooper Tim Rackley is tasked with trying to rescue a girl called Leah from a cult. It's kind of upsetting to read; I don't like to think that a cult could really suck normal people in like that.

This was an exciting story but very dark.

I also read by this author: The Survivor

Destructive Reasoning

 Fiction by Scott Meyer

https://www.audible.com

This is the second book in the "Authorities" series (see below), and it is as funny and interesting as the first. In this story, Detective Rutherford and the other members of the Authorities travel from their native Seattle to Los Angeles, trying to catch a killer who is targeting actors.

I also read recently by this author: The Authorities

The Reaping

 Fiction by Jess Louery

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This the second book by this author featuring cold case detective Evangeline "Van" Reed and investigator Harry Steinbeck and it is as creepily exciting as the first. (see below for #1)

This case takes the duo to a small insular town in rural Minnesota called Alku, where everybody is related to everybody else and the main industry is a secure mental hospital for the criminally insane. Like I said, creepy....

This was an exciting story with some surprises and good characters. The conclusion did stretch plausibility a bit, but not too much. 

I also read by this author: The Taken Ones

The Taken Ones

 Amazon Prime Kindle Fiction by Jess Lourey

https://www.amazon.com

This is the first book in the "Steinbeck and Reed" series and it's definitely hooked me to read the next one.

Detective Evangeline "Van" Reed works in the cold case division of the Minnesota BCA (Bureau of Criminal Apprehension) and volunteers at the animal shelter in her spare time. Van is a former Minneapolis police officer who operates strongly on hunches, many of which are uncannily correct. In this story she is assigned to reopen the case of "The Taken Ones," a pair of little girls who disappeared in the woods of suburban Minneapolis in 1980. She enlists the help of colleague Harry Steinbeck, who is a by-the-book man opposite her in temperament. Surprisingly, they work well together.

This was an exciting mystery with good characters and several surprises.

I also read recently (FREE!) from Amazon Prime Kindle: Don't Let Her Stay

A Thief of Time

 Fiction by Tony Hillerman

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In this story, apparently #8 in a series, Lieutenant Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee are looking for missing archeologist Dr. Eleanor Friedman-Bernal, and at the same time trying to solve the mystery of tribal relics being sold illegally.

This was a pretty good story, although It was a little slow. It did have a surprising ending.

I also read by this author: The Blessing Way

The Authorities

 Audible Original Fiction by Scott Meyer

https://www.audible.com

Sinclair Rutherford is new to the Seattle police force, but he's sharp. He hopes to become a homicide detective, but for now, as a rookie, he has to settle for being needled and hazed by the current detectives. But then he gets a lucky break and is noticed by someone important... or is it so lucky after all? Time will tell.

This was a hilarious and exciting story with great characters. I highly recommend it!

I also listened to recently from Audible Originals: When the Moon Hits Your Eye

I also read recently by this author: That's Not Right

Thirteen

 Fiction by Steve Cavanagh

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Attorney Eddie Flynn has a strict policy: he will only defend clients that he genuinely thinks are innocent. In this story, he's given the opportunity to gain a major paycheck by defending Bobby Solomon, a Hollywood star accused of murdering his wife and her bodyguard, but he needs to be convinced that Bobby is truly not guilty, and the actor is definitely lying about something. 

And then there's the crazy guy who has infiltrated the jury, who may be the real killer....

This was an exciting thriller with several surprises. I will look for more by this author; this is apparently #3 in the Eddie Flynn series.

Secrets to the Grave

 Fiction by Tami Hoag

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is book two in the "Oak Knoll Series" (see below for the first one). It begins with a woman brutally murdered in her kitchen beside her four-year-old daughter. The child is alive, but just barely. It's up to Detective Tony Mendez to find out who is responsible for this terrible crime, but this time his mentor Vince Leone has retired from the FBI and will be available to help full-time. 

This was an exciting mystery with a surprise ending.

I also read recently by this author: Deeper than the Dead

Deeper than the Dead

 Fiction by Tami Hoag

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

It’s 1985, and a serial killer is stalking the small town of Oak Knoll, California. Detective Tony Mendez is sure of it, but his supervisor Sheriff Dixon is hesitant to label the murders that way and possibly bring in the FBI. But Tony has a friend in the Bureau who takes an interest in the case, and Agent Vince Leone comes to town on an unofficial basis. Will they be able to solve the case and stop the killer before he strikes again?

This is the first book in the Oak Knoll series, of which I recently read the last.(See below.) It was an exciting mystery thriller with several surprises. Now I have to find the book in between!

I also read by this author: Down the Darkest Road

Criminal

 Fiction by Karin Slaughter

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In this story, number six --#5 was Fallen-- in the Will Trent series, Will and Sara have finally gotten together but face trouble from Will's past. The reader learns a lot more about Will's origins than has ever been reveled before.

Also there's a serial killer to stop, of course...

I also read by this author: Fallen

The Surgeon

 Fiction by Tess Gerristen

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This book is listed a the first in the Rizzoli and Isles series, and I suppose it is; however, it actually just features detective Jane Rizzoli before she teams up with the other woman. 

This story is about a serial killer called "The Surgeon" who kills women and then removes their wombs. Ewww....

It's a pretty good mystery, but there's a bit more ick (and also more boring parts) than I like. I've read a few by this author and some I like better than others.

I also read by this author: Playing with Fire

End of Watch

 Fiction by Stephen King

https://www.audible.com

This is the third book in the Bill Hodges series. (I read the first two a while ago.) 

I just found out this one existed, and I was pleased to fill in what happened between the book Finder's Keepers and the beginning of the Holly Gibney series in the book The Outsider.

It was an exciting thriller with great characters.

I also read recently by this author: If It Bleeds

Fallen

 Fiction by Karin Slaughter

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This book is the fifth in the Will Trent series, and the sequel to Broken. (see below)

At the beginning of this exciting story, Will's partner Faith Mitchell goes to pick up her baby from her mother's house and finds the baby hidden in the shed and a bloody handprint on the front door. Faith's mother Evelyn, a former police chief, is nowhere to be found.

I was definitely intrigued by this book.

I also read recently by this author: Broken

Broken

 Fiction by Karin Slaughter

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is the fourth book in the Will Trent series, which has recently been made into a successful TV show.

The story overlaps into the "Grant County" book series that I just finished reading, incorporating many of those characters as Will is called to investigate trouble in the police department of Grant County.

This was a good story but not great.

I also read recently by this author: Beyond Reach

Beyond Reach

 Fiction by Karin Slaughter

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is book number six in the Grant County mystery series, in which detective Lena Adams goes to the rural town of Reese, Georgia, to check on her Uncle Hank and gets accused of murder. Soon her boss, Police Chief Jeffery Tolliver, and his wife Sara Linton show up, but can they help? Or is Lena a lost cause this time?

This was an exciting story but very dark. The ending was a surprise.

I also read recently by this author: Faithless

Love You More

 Fiction by Lisa Gardner

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In this story, detective D. D. Warren has to solve a mystery involving Tessa Leoni, a woman who has apparently shot and killed her abusive husband after a severe beating. But she is more concerned about her nine year old daughter, who is inexplicably missing from the house.

But the picture doesn’t add up: Did Tessa’s husband actually beat her? And where is her little daughter?

This was a pretty good mystery story. 

Faithless

 Fiction b y Karin Slaughter

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is book number five in the Grant County series (see below). In this novel, county coroner Sara Linton and police chief Jeffery Tolliver investigate the case of a girl buried alive. Ugh.

It's a pretty dark story but it does hold surprises, along with a bit of a cliffhanger that means there's at least one more book in the series...

I also read by this author in this series: Indelible, A Faint Cold Fear, Kisscut, and Blindsighted

Head On

 Audible Original Fiction by John Scalzi

https://www.audible.com

This book is a sequel to Lock In, which I just listened to. Both are listed as "only from Audible," which I think qualifies them as Audible Originals; however, I know that at least the first book is also available in print, and at my local library. So that's why I didn't list that one as an "original," although may be I should have?

Anyways, this book is set in the same future universe as Lock In, and also features FBI Agent Chris Shane. In this story, Agent Shane and his partner Agent Vann are faced with an athlete who inexplicably drops dead while competing in the exciting new sport Hilketa, played in robot bodies and involving... decapitation? (Just go with it; it will make sense inside the story framework.)

This was as interesting and original as the first story, and the ending is a surprise.

I also listened to recently by Audible Originals: We Are Legion (We Are Bob)

A Faint Cold Fear

 Fiction by Karin Slaughter

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is the third book in the "Grant County" book series; the last book I read in that series was Kisscut.

At the beginning of this story, pediatrician and small-town coroner Sara Linton is called to the scene of a possible homicide and accidentally puts her pregnant sister in danger. The mystery ensues from there, and the ending is surprising. 

The story was exciting. It's dark and gory though.

I also read recently by this author: Undone

Think Twice

 Fiction by Harlan Coben

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This book is number twelve in the Myron Bolitar series. (Number one was Deal Breaker; number eleven was Home) It's pretty rare for me to still be interested in a detective-type character for that long, but with this one, I still am. I actually still like Myron, and the mysteries haven't gotten stale or impossible.

In this story, one of Myron's clients is a suspect in a murder. Now this has happened before --Myron is a lawyer and sports agent-- but this time, the client in question is supposed to be dead. But is he?

This was a good story with lots of surprises.

I also read recently by this author: The Match