Bücher veröffentlicht von Black Rose Writing

"The murder of Joseph Gatto captivated Los Angeles. Many veteran journalists still wonder how and why it happened. The details of this horrible crime and those affected by it continue to fascinate." -Robert Kovacik, Anchor and Reporter, NBC Los AngelesMike Gatto was an up-and-coming young lawmaker when his father was brutally murdered.The act sucked him into the world of noir: wild theories, intransigent detectives, and unimaginable violence.This true crime story reads like a thriller, offering insight into the world of politics and the seedy underbelly of crime investigation in modern Los Angeles.Gatto shares his experiences with incredible candor and raw emotion, detailing every clue, and how he came to learn every tragic detail of his father's murder. With the case still unsolved, see if you can piece together the clues to solve the mystery.

"Deep Cover delivers a twisty, action-packed story of deep-cover Russian spies that plays on long-time fears and rumors. As the tension amps up, you won't know who to trust." -Lena Gibson, award-winning author of The Edge of LifeAre there deep cover Russian Cold War spies in the U.S.? If the answer to that question is, "Yes," what the hell are they up to?!?The Cold War, a period of history during which spycraft rules the world by substituting subterfuge and lies for actual war and mass death. The Soviet Union and the United States of America, the two major players, spend untold sums of money and put their best minds to work at attempting to gain the "upper hand," whatever that means. Two distinct ideologies. One takes the long view, while the other prefers instant gratification. They find common ground only in their willingness to utilize experimental methods and the lengths to which they are willing to go to "win," including using their own citizens in unimaginable ways.During the Cold War, the Soviets plan to infiltrate the U.S. by placing deep cover agents into the country as everyday citizens. Was the plan successful? If so, with détente and the collapse of the Soviet Union, where are they today?Lisa Jones and Jennifer Turner are two brilliant scientists working at United Genetics Research Lab, a state-of-the-art facility located outside of Washington, D.C., doing state-of-the-art genetics research. Lisa's boyfriend, Sgt. Stephan Beck, works at the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) as an interpreter of intercepted Russian language messages. One such message, intercepted by Homeland Security, piques his interest due to what he, and no one else, perceives to be a hidden message. Unable to resist the challenge, he breaks protocol in an effort to unravel the mystery, unprepared for what he actually learns: a possible connection to the people he loves and an attempt to manipulate the next presidential election, only months away, altering the fate of the U.S., and the world.Deep Cover, the second published novel by acclaimed author Jeffrey Jay Levin, author of Watching, Volume 1: The Garden Museum Heist, asks the question: Are the two countries, and the behind-the-scenes players, really all that different? Who can one really trust?If The Manchurian Candidate and The Americans had a baby, it would have been the adult action thriller Deep Cover.

Killer Shadows invade Des Moines!May in springtime. The lilacs are blooming, the grass is green... and death lurks in the shadows. After Homicide detective Harry Reznik is called to the scene of a strange pair of deaths, he meets FBI Agent Lori Campisi, who has a history of investigating supernatural occurrences. She believes the murders have been committed by creatures released in our world by a madman. Soon, the unlikely team faced more attacks. When the case turns personal for each of them, they realize they must work together to find the answer before the capital city is devastated.

An island sheltered from modern progress. Strict lines between servants and masters. Will crossing them leave her fatally exposed?Bar Harbor, Maine. 1913. Mabel Rae is smart, reckless, and naïve. So when the ambitious seventeen-year-old joins the staff at a rocky cliffside cottage, she willingly lets the boisterous estate owner's improper advances sweep her off her feet. And the slender young woman dismisses the vulnerability of her position when she discovers she's pregnant with his unacknowledged child.Brought harshly down to earth after she's caught up in the machinations of a family feud, Mabel decides it's time to take matters into her own hands. But with no money and few rights, she fears a forced marriage to the brutish gardener is her only socially acceptable option.Is her future forever stunted, or can she become a beacon of change?In a classic upstairs-downstairs tale, award-winning author Tavi Taylor Black spins an intricate web of idealism's battle against harsh reality. Set at a time when suffrage was at its height, temperance was gaining momentum, and war loomed in Europe, this spellbinding novel shines a light on inequities we still face today.Serabelle is a darkly humorous work of historical fiction. If you like intricate relationships, lyrical prose, and stories that tackle serious issues, then you'll love Tavi Taylor Black's vivid portrait of the Gilded Age. Buy Serabelle to test the limits of freedom today!

"Tough Trail Home is a delightful read about a family coming to terms with each other and their new lives." -Pamela Stockwell, author of A Boundless Place¿¿The Dunwhitty family is flying high until their carefully choreographed life falls apart during the 2008 Great Recession. Lisa's firm goes belly-up while Michael's shuts down after selling faulty heart valves. Desperate, Lisa insists they regroup by seeking refuge in rural Central Texas on land she inherits from a distant relative she barely knows.It's not the ranch Lisa remembers, but a ramshackle money pit. Michael and their teenage son, Andrew, despise the place. Only their young daughter, Jessica, is happy. After a bitter argument, Michael moves to the city. As his job search drags on, Lisa begins to plant roots; friendships develop for her and the children. With the help of Michael's parents, her neighbor, and the remains of her savings, she begins to return the ranch to its former glory. The couple continues to drift further apart, Michael turning his attention to another woman.A call from the sheriff's department that their son is in custody jolts the couple to the core. Can they repair their relationship for the sake of their son? Or is it too late?

"I did like this thriller, and I loved the way you worked supernatural with a murder mystery, I haven't quite seen it handled like this and I think you have all the right instincts for what goes where." -Maddy D., Beta Reading and Editing, Star Reviewer on FiverrAt the age of eight, Arista Kelly was frantically swept up by her parents and whisked off to an isolated town in the California redwoods. Two days later, her parents were gone.Now at the age of twenty-three, she has settled quite nicely into an eclectic lifestyle, much like her great aunt, and guardian since childhood, Bethie. She enjoys the use of herbs and crystals to help her commune with the energy and nature around her and finds pleasure in the company of her beloved pet, Royal. Usually quite satisfied with her mundane life high in the Santa Cruz Mountains, life becomes unsettling when a new recurring vision of an ominous tattoo as well as increased activity from the ghostly presence within her own cottage invade her once-harmonious existence.But life in this mountain sanctuary takes an even darker turn when the body of Arista's former classmate is found in the nearby river. As other young women fall prey to a suspected serial killer, Arista realizes that the terror is coming to her.

"A superbly written work of thriller fiction!" -Christopher Amato, author of Shadow Investigation¿¿It's February 2003. An alluring and determined CIA Case Officer, June Cohen, must flawlessly execute an unsanctioned plan of action or the U.S. will invade Iraq to search for weapons of mass destruction.She coerces Robaire Assaly, a Los Angeles based DEA Confidential Informant, to take part in her elaborate scheme. Robaire agrees, however, in doing so, he must betray his long-time DEA Agent handler, Gary Lowery, to get what she needs. Robaire soon realizes June has tricked him into taking the blame for stealing a Stinger missile, which she pulled off right under the nose of the hapless FBI.The duped FBI and Gary desperately want Robaire. He's now frantically on the run as an international fugitive with the FBI and Gary relentlessly pursuing him and the stolen Stinger before it is used against an unknown target. However, June finds Robaire first before he can reveal the CIA's involvement to the Feds.

"Gibson lays the tracks into an exciting new post-apocalyptic world where corporate greed controls the necessities of life, one ancient society's trash is today's salvation, and the heart of one heroine can save a country's soul." -D. Lambert, author of Son of No Man series¿¿In 2195, GreenCorps controls the arid western lands of the former United States. They regulate water and sell only terminator seeds-forcing ongoing dependence on the corporation.Elsa has the key to the Doomsday seed bunkers and taking it north to Canada is the only way to ensure its safety.The rebels send help, but her group is betrayed before their departure. Fleeing in the night, Elsa and her friends disappear into the mountains, only one step ahead of GtreenCorps soldiers.In Denver, Ginger, the sheltered daughter of the GreenCorps leader, hops a train, escaping her lonely existence imprisoned in her father's mansion. Encountering hardship and devastating thirst, Ginger experiences the disparity between the starving, oppressed populace, and her life of privilege.Rescued by Elsa's group, she vows to help break the corporation's stranglehold.As the GreenCorps henchmen close in, the race with the key becomes desperate. If caught, Elsa and her found family face life imprisonment, or worse, execution --their one chance to change their world, lost forever.Continue the journey from Switching Tracks, a thrilling dystopian train-hopping adventure.

"Poignant and funny, studded with characters who haunt your imagination long after you've read the final page." -Anne Hillerman, New York Times bestselling author of The Way of the Bear on Kelsey's Where the Hurt IsBurr, Oklahoma, summer, 1976: On the eve of America's Bicentennial celebration, a notorious local politician is assassinated at a campaign rally. The case seems open and shut; the killer-a young, anonymous homeless woman-is shot by police at the scene. With the death of the assassin, the lead investigator is content to write off the crime as a random act. Burr's Chief of Police, Emmett Hardy, isn't so sure. Hardy becomes convinced the killing is the culmination of something deeper and darker-a violent conspiracy that not only makes a mockery of justice but ultimately threatens his life and those around him. A tale of murder, revenge, and intrigue, Blond Hair, Blue Eyes is Emmett Hardy's most difficult and exciting case yet.

"In You'll See, Suzanne Groves explores, without excuses, the challenging relationship she had with her father. Her recollections of the minute details and reactions to her interactions with him are vivid and evocative of the deep desire she had to gain his approval. An approval she never got, no matter how hard she tried." -Katharine O'Connor, Ph.D., LPC¿My fifty-six years with my father were characterized by longing. If I could only meet his standards, ephemeral though they were, I would feel I belonged. That I was safe. That I was protected from external threats.Learning that the threats came from within-that the threats were in the form of his personality disorder and addiction-came long after I had been damaged. Make no mistake-I never lacked for food, clothing, or shelter. We took family vacations. I received a wonderful education. I enjoyed numerous achievements, academically, professionally, and personally.To an outsider, my life probably looked normal, even privileged.The truth is the permanent scars resulting from narcissistic abuse are every bit as devastating and traumatic as those borne from physical and sexual abuse. Narcissistic abuse is insidious and challenging to survive. And the effects can outlive the abuser, almost in perpetuity. This is my story... possibly yours.

"It's a fantastic thriller series that has terrific characters, lots of humor, drama, mystery, suspense, and unexpected twists and turns that will hook you from beginning to end." (Amazon Reviews)Bill McGee, former CIA Director and U.S. Navy SEAL Commander, is America's most decorated military man and is the presidential candidate to beat. But an unlikely saboteur promises to stop Republicans from ever attaining the White House again.When an Air Force pilot en route to Japan defects with an F-22 Raptor, it is a national crisis. The intelligence community confirms the jet sits in a North Korean bunker waiting for Russian or Chinese engineers to take it apart.The President is confident CIA pilot Duncan "Maverick" Hunter is the only chance to prevent the enemy from unlocking the secrets of the greatest stealth fighter ever built and bring the jet home.Will Hunter be able to rescue the stolen jet and prevent the domestic terrorists in America from destroying McGee's path to the White House?

"Dwyer's experiences as a West Point graduate, Army spouse, and mother of two combat Veterans shines through in her authentic and empathetic portrayal of military life. Highly recommended." -Bob Mayer, NYT bestselling author, West Point graduate and former Green Beret2003. The War on Terror rocks the world, but Kelly McGowan dreams only of the exciting adventures ahead with her fiancé Matt, a new Army lieutenant from West Point.When Matt deploys to Iraq, reality hits. Kelly, coping with her loneliness, questions if their love will endure. Matt returns from war aloof and sullen, forcing Kelly to deal with her emotions - and a secret from his past that could destroy their future. She seeks solace at her aunt's beach house, only to be walloped by a catastrophic hurricane.The Roof Above is the story of a young woman's journey through war, storms, and secrets to find her tribe and the love she deserves.

"A wildly original wolf-noir. This is Raymond Chandler...with fangs!" -David Buzan, award-winning author of In the Lair of LegendsA mysterious figure stalks Chicago's Paranormal community, and the only person who can stop it is Johnny Lupul, the Werewolf PI.First, he must cope with a 400-year-old witchfinder, rampaging demons, and a journalist threatening to reveal Johnnys dark, hairy secret.As if that's not enough, his boss has been kidnapped and the clock is ticking.Packed with non-stop action, humor and twists, Johnny Lycan & the Last Witchfinder will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Don't miss the heart-stopping conclusion to the Werewolf PI series.

"A small coterie of retired cops jumps at the chance to solve the mystery of the neighbor's missing granddaughter. A thoroughly engaging and clever read where the senior sleuths encounter a network of dastardly characters involved in drugs and human trafficking. Two thumbs up!" -Sherry Hobbs, author of Bird of Passage and Mac-The Wind Beneath My WingsFour retired detectives are living out their golden years on the same cul-de-sac in an idyllic planned community called Peace River Village in Sunland, Florida.¿¿When the neighbor's seventeen-year-old granddaughter goes missing, the local police conclude she's a runaway and dead file the case. Dissatisfied with the official police response, the girl's grandmother is desperate to find her and seeks counsel from her detective friends.Upon hearing of her plight, the cadre of retirees reach a different conclusion and decide to launch their own investigation. But they could never imagine the evil they would encounter or the danger they would confront.Will the retirees' combined experience be enough to solve the mystery before the teen is sold into the lurid underground sex trafficking world?Christopher Amato, who spent a career as a federal agent, is back with his latest thriller in Peace River Village. It's time to buckle up your seat belt and get ready for a wild ride that careens from tension to hilarity to horror!

"It will throw curves at you that are never seen coming. When Rosalee reunites with a lover from her youth, her life changes, finding joy in the person she once was, years earlier." -Stephen W Briggs, author of Beside Us¿¿¿The summer before her senior year of high school, Rosalee fell in love with George. By the next summer, George had broken her heart, and Rosalee was sure she'd never see him again.Forty years and a lifetime later, Rosalee's quiet, predictable life is turned upside down when she runs into George at a restaurant and discovers he's moved to town. George wants to reconnect, and while Rosalee's head isn't so sure that's a good idea, her heart is saying something different.It's a story about first love and second chances, family, friendship, and living life to the fullest.

Modern Meets Ancient. Tropical Paradise Meets Paranormal Terror.In the year 620, a young Polynesian man named Kaimi arrives on the virgin shores of Hawaii. He is among the first people there, though quickly realizes they aren't alone. Strange company watches on from the trees and shorelines: elemental beings only Kaimi can perceive. Like the dark presence in one particular bay, in the verdant island that will become Kauai.Fifteen-hundred years later, a Mormon mother named Marilyn Toomey-secretly harboring her own sensitivity to such beings-finds herself whisked away with her husband to the remote Huna'ia Resort on Kauai. Though hesitant, Marilyn feels compelled to go-if only because something seems to be calling her there.As their lives drift closer across the centuries, and as they come to fully embrace their talents, Kaimi and Marilyn must pull away from their communities and former beliefs in the face of an empowered and malevolent entity-and the looming threat of utter catastrophe.A thoughtful and beautiful eco-fantasy, Ancient Tides Ashore explores human kinship across time, culture and belief, as well as our relationship to the unknown within-and among-us.

"If you loved The Thomas Crown Affair, then The Esposito Caper is a must read." -Cate Masters, award-winning author of Angels, Sinners, and MadmenCrime is easy. Family is what's tough. And for Gino Esposito, family obligations could be the end of him. His grandfather wants to prove he's the genius behind another artist's works. All he needs is for Gino to steal a diary that's currently in the possession of the Mafia.Gino will do almost anything to work an angle, but he's thinking this task could be his last. He needs help, but all he's got is Cousin Carla, an exotic dancer with aspirations of opening a ballet studio, and girlfriend Francesca, whose boss has got her framed for embezzlement. It's a recipe for family problems only faith, luck, and some really good mojo will solve.

"A beautifully engaging fantasy teeming with dragons, fae, magic, and the importance of family and friendship. A joy to read from beginning to end!" -Julie Boglisch, author of the Elifer Chronicles, the Requiem of Stones series¿¿Jemma Avalon is the daughter of a gentle part elf-fae mother and a father with fiery dragon blood, an unusual combination even in the magical world.Ten years after her mother's sudden death, Jemma is working at a major museum in DC, where magic is all but outlawed. Her father wants her to assimilate and live without magic, but Jemma is determined to fully embrace her heritage. She longs to return to Everland Bay, the enchanting world where her Grandmother Annalyn lives, and find a way to join the renowned magical research institute there, like the women in her family before her.An ordinary day at the museum takes an extraordinary turn, rocketing Jemma to an Everland Bay Institute under violent siege, where dark-arts mages threaten everything important to her. She and her companions work feverishly to overturn their foes, knowing that it may already be too late.

"From the cover to the opening pages, Price of Vengeance grabs the reader and takes them on a wild ride. Fasten your seat belts for this book." -S. J. Francis, author of Shattered LiesWhat is the Price of Vengeance? One could understand why Liam was angry. He was orphaned at the age of two by a group of giant carnivorous insects called the chitin. Taken in by High Councilor Marcus and his wife, Lidia, Liam was raised with their older son, Randolf in New Olympia, the last remaining city on the planet Etrusci.As an adult, Liam becomes a soldier. After being cut off from the city, Liam finds that there is an alien intelligence behind the chitin. To defeat it, he must discover who he is and how to use his powers. Then, Liam discovers that a traitor, responsible for his birth parents' deaths, had murdered his beloved foster parents. Will the price he has to pay in his quest for vengeance prove to be an even more unbeatable foe?

"Beers delivers a tense cat-and-mouse game between a determined fire investigator and a wily arsonist. You won't want to miss this suspense-filled tale!" -Pamela Beason, award-winning author of the Sam Westin Wilderness MysteriesLakota beauty Kinton Brulee just snagged an Oregon state deputy fire-marshal job.She thinks she can handle PTSD, and doubters in her male-dominated profession while raising a disabled son and at-risk niece. But when she investigates a hemp farm blaze near home, she races to outwit a killer burning to destroy her. Never mind letting herself fall in love-and get burned-again.

"A wonderful, moving story about love and loss, focusing on two generations: grandmother and granddaughter." -Marie W. Watts, author of the award-winning trilogy, Warriors for Equal RightsA beloved home. Matters of the heart. Can an elderly woman find the key to saving her precious heritage?Asheville, North Carolina. Elizabeth has a dilemma. After celebrating a milestone birthday, the feisty ninety-year-old anxiously contemplates a developer's lucrative offer for her Blue Ridge Mountain farmhouse. Worried her adult children will pressure her to sell, the lively senior recalls how her journey to this forever home began back in the 50s when she met the man who would become her husband...Present day. Amanda yearns to stop wasting time. After ending a dead-end, three-year relationship and moving in with her spirited grandmother, the thirty-four-year-old nurse sees her dream of marriage and kids vanishing. But when she meets a handsome widower at a hospital summit, she cautiously lets down her walls.As Elizabeth's memories take her back to when she was a hopeful young woman, she reveals how a horrific accident led to the ER and a charming doctor. While Amanda fears the worst when she overhears the enigmatic man she's fallen for talking on the phone with another woman.Do both women's stories lead to a grand legacy and a lifetime of love?In an emotional rollercoaster that interweaves the two women's chance at a future, their parallel romances illustrate the power of resilience and hope despite heartbreak. And as one story comes to its twilight years while the other is just beginning, readers will fall hard for this poignant inheritance of happiness.Elizabeth's Mountain is an enchanting women's fiction novel. If you like relatable characters, dual timelines, and multi-generational romance, then you'll adore Lucille Guarino's touching tale.Buy Elizabeth's Mountain to believe in tomorrow!

"An irreverent, offbeat crime thriller featuring a memorable protagonist and a quirky cast of gangsters." -Best ThrillersAfter his brother Sterling disappears one too many times, Monk is asked to find him. But what starts as a simple case of a man cheating on his wife, becomes more problematic when a detective shows up asking questions, piquing Monk's curiosity, but is later found murdered. Complicating matters, the detective, like Sterling's lover, is black and transgendered. A world Monk knows little about. He knows Aisha, Sterling's lover is out there, feeding him clues, but unwilling to come out in the open. Sterling claims he doesn't know where she is but offers to seek counseling from a famous LA pastor, whose name has come up before along with someone named Flavius. Monk starts to believe the pastor, like his brother, isn't being honest. This concern only deepens when he finds that three other women tied to both Aisha and the pastor are missing.To make things worse, government figures and Russian interests are asking questions about a dead assassin Monk had confronted the year before, wanting answers and threatening violence.

A LONELY SERIAL KILLER.A BORED VAMPIRE NURSE.WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A DEVILMAKES A DEAL WITH ANOTHER DEVIL?¿¿Timothy is a serial killer. He's also very lonely. He's a walking contradiction, and his psychological predicament doesn't escape him.Lynnette is a vampire. She's also a nurse. She, too, is a walking contradiction.When she unexpectedly answers his desperate call for company, they realize they could be perfect partners in crime, engaging in a few kinds of bloodwork at once, bringing out the worst and the best in each other.With Timothy, Lynnette starts to feel more like the dangerous bloodsucking demon she was always meant to be, without having to worry about saving lives. With Lynnette, Timothy's loneliness starts to feel like nothing more than a shadow from a distant and depressing dream, and he can savor the presence of someone so inhuman that they're not bound to disappoint him like other people have.The little deal the two outcasts make with each other should keep them both quite happy and satisfied with life-that is, assuming that Lynnette doesn't decide to make Timothy her dinner and Timothy doesn't decide to murder Lynnette for sport...And when they are both capable of being predator and prey to each other, that's a hell of an assumption to make.

"A well-crafted, fast-paced medical crime thriller that will put you in the middle of the ER, holding your breath. The plot will unfold and suck you right in. And, as a bonus, there's a great dog!" -Jeffrey Jay Levin, author of Watching¿¿AJ Docker (Doc) and his guard dog, Banshee, move to a small town in the mountains for a slower-paced lifestyle. Doc settles into the idyllic setting with a rewarding job and enriching colleagues, as well as with a romantic interest who leads him to contemplate marriage. His new life seems perfect until he begins to uncover the town's dirty secrets. A serial killer hunts in the woods, and dirty money flows throughout the town.Doc and Banshee win allies in their search for truth, but they also make powerful enemies. These sophisticated figures who control the town's economy will stop at nothing to end Doc's threat to expose them. Doc must fight for his freedom, and even for his life to escape.Faulty Bloodline, a fast-paced thriller, continues the adventures of Doc and Banshee that began in Last Patient of the Night. Gary Gerlacher's writing will keep you up late into the night as you want to keep reading the next page.

Everyone wants to fall in love. And those who run... are running from the intensity of love. It's all consuming. It burns you alive and resurrects you. I didn't want to lose myself in Aria. But the truth is, I had. Every part of me desired to merge with her. Terror and beauty go hand in hand with opening your heart. It's a paradox, really. I couldn't reveal the darkest parts of my past to her. It was bad enough that I had pulled her into hellfire when I moved her to California with me and my wife... Los Angeles: the city of fallen angels.From the second our eyes had locked in that courtroom in NYC, I knew. I fucking knew, and I lied to myself. It was an ugly truth I didn't want to face... a shameful one. My undeniable attraction to Aria was endless spiritual warfare. It didn't matter that I was older. It didn't matter that I was meant to be her protector and nothing more. I... craved her. Every. Fucking. Day.I had battled addiction before. But this was so much worse. Loving Aria had pushed me into purgatory all over again. It was my curse. I thought I could protect her from my brother Evan. The irony was that I needed to protect her from myself. Our love is... forbidden.

"Full of plot twists, laugh-out-loud humor, and romantic trysts, Final Transaction is a wonderful debut." -Kim McCollum, author of What Happens in MontanaLara Maxwell, a promising, yet naive realtor in Houston's number one boutique real estate company, Drake Properties, is suddenly thrust into the darker side of success when she finds her preeminent broker shot dead following a public open house. The murder propels Lara into Houston real estate's full-throttle underworld of sex, drugs, and explosively spiraling secrets.No one at Drake Properties is beyond suspicion, including Lara, as Houston police detectives dig into the lies, jealousies and twisted relationships that lie beneath the surface of the firm.When detectives determine that Lara is innocent, they convince her to assist them as a mole in her office. Determined to live up to the trust the detectives have put in her, she dives headfirst into her new role. The deeper she probes, the darker the world around her becomes. Secrets are exposed that not only involve the entire office staff, but her best friend as well as her current boyfriend.Lara has a secret of her own that ultimately leads to a deadly confrontation with the unhinged killer.Final Transaction is a fast-paced take on how human relationships, if held together by closeted behavior, can lead to lethal consequences.