quick thriller reads

There are no grown men in our village. When girls turn 18, they participate in a coming-of-age ceremony in the ancestral hall. Dressed in ceremonial clothes, they line up to enter, and when they come out, their faces show a mix of pain and joy. When my eldest sister turned 18, Grandma forbade her from attending. However, one night, she snuck into the hall. When she came out, she was limping, and blood was dripping between her legs.

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Who would have thought that Echi, an average man in a village would ever have anything to do with the mistake of an ancestor?Isiewu, a diviner and Chief priest of Umuolu, a ruthless man who pretends to be a saviour lures the village into a war they were not meant to partake in. In the end, we find the torn heart of a young boy as he begins his search for the truth. Will he find the truth? Will more difficulties face him? This 19th century masterpiece is set in a small Igbo village in present day Nigeria and features love, mistakes, disaster and most of all, mysterious events.

As a child Thea always heard about the story of sleeping lycans from her grandma. Her grandma told her how the King of lycans was cursed and put to long life sleep because of his cruel and brutal nature. For her it was just a story, a story which her grandma told her but that is until she mistakenly awake the king of lycans. All it took was a drop of her blood for the king of lycans to break the curse. Nothing made sense to her when suddenly a man named Ares came in her life and claimed her as his mate. What Thea didn't knew that Ares was none other than the King of lycans and she was his human mate. And hell would break loose if Ares, the King of lycans would let go of her. Join Thea on her journey with a over possessive mate who happens to be the infamous lycan King.

Morgan loved him with her entire heart. She sacrificed everything for him, her life, her family, her career, her dignity, all in the hope that he would love her back. "What are these?" Morgan whispered her voice shaky, staring at the papers tossed on the table. She looked up at her husband of three years. "Dante, what is this?" "Sign the papers. We're getting divorced." He said with a straight face. Just like that, all the years of her life spent loving him and pining after him wasted like that. The baby in her stomach she had planned to tell him about weighed heavily on her mind. But a divorce? She hadn't seen that coming. "I was with you only because you looked like her." He proceeded to say. "Sign the papers and get out of my house." Once his first love returned, he was quick to cast her away like used trash. Morgan, determined to move on with her life, left him. He had no idea who she was. It was time for her to come back home. After the breakup, fate brought them back together. But the Morgan of now was no longer the sad girl in love with him. Now the CEO is the Rosewood Enterprises, she vows to reclaim her life back. Dante realized he was in love with her, and tries to get her back. But there's a new man in her life now. Will she forgive Dante, or will she move on from him completely? How will she handle the challenges thrown at her? How will she continue to rise to the top and overthrow her enemies? Or will she succumb to the voices? Read to find out.

On the day of her wedding, Ariana Montenero found her husband sleeping with another woman in their newlywed bedroom. When she ran out of the room in a daze, she was caught by a mysterious man and had a gun held to her head. Before she could grasp what was happening to her, a group of gunmen ambushed her wedding and started shooting everyone on the scene. The last thing she saw before she was taken by her kidnapper was her husband turning away to save himself. Follow Ariana's journey of survival as her story unravels from past to present in my first Thriller/Suspense/Romance - Animal Instinct.

Ava Monroe is struggling to pay for her college fees. After a terrible loss in business when her family went bankrupt overnight, Ava saw all her dreams shatter right in front of her eyes. It doesn't help that her family is obsessed with becoming wealthy again. The shock of being poor had turned them into something Ava could no longer recognize. However, eager for some quick money, Ava works as an escort over the summer before college begins. The money is good, and she hasn't had any strange experiences yet. That has to be worth something, right? Brian Reinhold is rich, successful and soon turning forty. But his home is anything but happy. After losing his sixteen-year-old daughter in a car crash, Brian doesn’t know how to go on with life anymore. Nothing makes sense. Nothing makes him lively. His friends believe Brian needs a break. A long pause in his hectic life so he could grieve and make amends for the sadness that is dousing him from inside. But instead of packing his bags and moving to his hometown, Brian thrusts himself more into work and pretends that moving on is a choice, not binding. But life takes a toll when the next client on Ava’s list turns out to be Brian Reinhold. The dear daddy of Valerie. Ava’s best friend. Now, Ava doesn’t know why the idea of sleeping with a man double her age is electrifying. Brian Reinhold might be forty soon, but he looks anything but old. His arms are a thing of beauty and his charming grey eyes can suck you in so deep that reality gladly withers away. But this arrangement has cons of its own. And truth has the power to destroy the lives they both care for.

Luna Masterton sees demons. She has been dealing with the demonic all her life, so when her brother gets tangled up with a demon named Sparkles, ‘Luna the Lunatic’ rolls in on her motorcycle to save the day. Armed with the ability to harm demons, her scathing sarcasm, and a hefty chip on her shoulder, Luna gathers the most unusual of allies, teaming up with a green-eyed heroin addict and a snarky demon ‘of some import.’ After all, outcasts of a feather should stick together...even until the end. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

"I'm coming for you. No matter how far you think you can run, I can assure you that you can't hide and I'm closer to you than you think." Cassandra receives this letter from her mailbox. It's the millionth time she's been receiving these threats on a regular basis and her entire life is at stake and the tragedy of her life puts not only her but her husband, Mustafa on the edge as well, as Sandra is curious as to who is planning to desperately to put her in bondage again. Who could want to put her in captivity? Could it be her ex boyfriend, Dan? No. He didn't love her. He only broke her heart and cheated on her severally so there was no way on earth that he would want her. Could it be the loan shark that enslaved her when she was nine? Or could it be her mother placing yet another risky gamble over her life?

Alice, Xander and Logan are trapped in an unknown rut of figure games. They continue to be given terror, starting from the serial killing of their classmates. No one knows who the culprit's motive is. But every time there is tragedy, a paper will be given to Xander, Alice and Logan. It contains not only paper, but a red rose. The contents of the letter wanted Alice to remember what the girl had done in the past. If not, then all of Alice's friends will experience the same thing. Including Xander and Logan.