J. L. Butler is the pseudonym of a British author whose background in law and magazine journalism informs their compelling narratives. Their work often delves into the complexities of human relationships and moral ambiguities. Butler's writing is characterized by its engaging style, drawing readers into intricate plots and character studies. The author offers a keen insight into the intricacies of the human psyche and societal dynamics.
"Sarah Calhoun has taken her father's throne and ascended into her goddess's presence in Unfallen Eden as her father never did. But the queen may be dying. Forces are allied against her, from without as well as from within. To survive, Sarah must enact an ancient rite that will propel her beyond mortality and lend her strength to fight. The Queen may be dying, true. But if she is, she will go down fighting for the only thing that matters."--Back cover
A merciless killer who will stop at nothing. And a detective with nothing left to lose. When Detective Karen Hart hears a scream echoing out of beautiful Lincoln Cathedral one snowy evening, she is the first officer on the scene. In the chapel a man lies murdered, a bloody cross carved into his forehead. The twisted killing sends this close-knit community into shock. And a note to the police from the murderer, signed by 'The Cleanser', confirms their worst fears: this sadistic slaying is the first of many. The ritual killings will never stop until Hart uncovers the murderer's ungodly motive. When early leads become dead ends, Karen starts to wonder if there's a link to a rumoured conspiracy within police ranks--particularly when an abrasive new officer is assigned to the case. Could the key to catching 'The Cleanser' be dangerously close to home? Meanwhile, she is battling her own demons as she struggles to come to terms with the deaths of her husband and daughter. In her toughest case yet, Karen will come closer than ever before to a dangerous truth. Can she put the pieces of the puzzle together before she's stopped in her tracks?
You can cover up the truth but it won't stay buried forever. A man is found bludgeoned to death in woodland by the village of Canwick, and the close-knit community is sent into shock. Detective Karen Hart, still haunted by the tragic loss of her husband and daughter nearby, is brought in to investigate the horrific murder. It soon becomes clear that dark secrets lie behind Canwick's unspoiled appearance. When Hart begins to suspect that a modern-day slavery ring has been hiding in plain sight among the villagers, she faces a race to find proof before the culprits slip from her grasp. But when key witnesses start disappearing, it's obvious that there's a deep-rooted conspiracy to keep prying eyes away from the truth. But in a village where everyone knows everyone, who knows more than they are letting on--and who can Hart really trust? She's in deep and she's never been more alone. She must confront the tragedy of her own past if she wants to catch the killers before it's too late. Because one thing's for certain--there's no turning back...
1859. War is coming. In the mounting tention all eyes turn west, to the Kingdom of Deseret. The Madman Orson Pratt's perfection of air-ship technology already has every power scrambling to get Deseret's Brigham Young into the war as its ally, or sidelined permanently. The stakes only rise with the rumors that Pratt's newest invention is a working, deadly, phlogiston cannon. Sam Clemens of the United States Army rides into Deseret on his amphibious steam-truck, the Jim Smiley. Racing against him on the land-ferry Liahona comes Captain Richard Burton, explorer, linguist, soldier, and hard-headed man of science. Edgar Allan Poe, a master spy presumed dead for a decade, travels in disguise as an exhibitor f Egyptian antiquities, doing his dirty work for the clandestine confederate leadership with flesh-eating clocksprung scarab beetles and a hypnotic hypocephalus. The rivals fight each other tooth and nail and clash with the Kingdom's loyal but eccentric defender, the Deseret Marshal Orrin Porter Rockwell.
A dark secret. A haunted past. And a house full of lies. When two teenage girls vanish without a trace from an educational retreat at Chidlow House in Lincolnshire, the students and teachers are put on high alert. Called in to investigate, Detective Karen Hart questions everyone who came into contact with the two girls, Cressida and Natasha, in the days leading up to their disappearance. Stories of Chidlow House being haunted abound, but Hart--still coming to terms with the suspicious circumstances surrounding the tragic loss of her own family--knows that while the house might be otherworldly, the crime is grimly real. But nothing is quite as it seems at Chidlow House. When it becomes clear that someone at the estate must know more than they're letting on, Hart faces a race against time to find the culprit and save the girls. While there is no shortage of suspects, Hart comes up against one dead end after another. And when she too begins hearing eerie whispers in the walls, she is forced to wonder: was she too quick to dismiss Chidlow's supernatural reputation?
Beneath a quiet village, dark crimes lie buried. When decomposed human remains are discovered in a suitcase behind a locked door in the home of an elderly man, Detective Karen Hart thinks the facts speak for themselves. That is, until she finds the warning: It's time to pay for your crime. The body belongs to a former teacher, Oliver Fox, who vanished from the village thirty years earlier. Hart's instincts tell her there is something untoward about this rural Lincolnshire community--especially when she uncovers evidence suggesting that, although Fox was a victim, he certainly wasn't innocent. As the extent of Fox's crimes becomes apparent and the web of lies continues to unravel, almost nobody in the village is above suspicion. When there are whispers of child abuse in connection with the case, it's clear someone is willing to do anything to keep the sinister truth buried. Can Hart find the culprit before more lives are lost?
Welcome to your new obsession... PRAISE FOR J.L. BUTLER: 'Sexy, dark and addictive. Don't read if you value your sleep!' TAMMY COHEN 'Gripping, intelligent, thrilling' Adele Parks 'Intelligently written. Compulsive. I defy you to put this down.' Jane Corry A FATAL attraction... Rachel Reeves has it all. The perfect family, a rich husband, and a gorgeous home. But when her only child flies the nest, Rachel feels lost - and succumbs to a mind-blowing one-night stand. With a DEADLY twist... Instantly regretting her infidelity, Rachel cuts ties with Chris. But he won't let her go that easily. She erases him from her life - until a text changes everything. And an UNFORGETTABLE end... Someone knows what she did. And they're ready to destroy her entire life because of it.
A darkly gripping psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Teresa Driscoll, K.L Slater and Shalini Bolland.
An unflinching and heart-racing thriller from the author of Between the Lines. Perfect for fans of M. W. Craven and Robert Bryndza.
A MAN AT THE END OF HIS ROPE MUST UNRAVEL A MYSTERY IN A FAR-FLUNG SECTOR OF THE GALAXY. THE WEB OF CONSPIRACY IS TIGHTLY WOVEN, AND JOHN ABBOTT IS BUT ONE MAN FIGHTING THE DARKNESSJohn Abbott is all in.He's up to his eyeballs in debt to pay for school, and he just moved his small family forty light-years from Earth for a plum job with the wealthy interstellar corporation The Sarovar Company. John's first assignment is to discreetly investigate possible corruption at the remote Arrowhawk Station, where Company traders buy the famous Sarovari Weave from the three-sided, crablike Weavers.John finds evidence of theft and worse, but when the guilty parties realize he's getting close, they come after him and his family. Can John catch the thieves and end their corrupt trade? Can he head off a war between the Company and the Weavers? Can he make a life for his family in this remote wilderness without corrupting himself?With no way back to Earth, the only direction for John Abbott and his family to go is forward—into danger.