Mr. Monk Is Cleaned Out

In the midst of a financial crisis, the SFPD fires Adrian Monk as a consultant. Monk figures he can live off his savings for a while. Then Natalie learns that Monk invested his money some time ago with Bob Sebes, the charismatic leader of Reinier Investments, who’s just been arrested on charges of orchestrating a massive $100 million fraud. All of Sebes’ clients—including Monk—are completely wiped out.

When the key witness in the government’s case against Sebes is killed, Monk is convinced that Sebes did it, but the man has been under house arrest with a horde of paparazzi in front of his building 24/7. Monk may be broke, but he’s got plenty of time on his hands to solve this latest mystery…

Mr. Monk in Trouble

Ever since a 1962 unsolved train robbery made it famous, people have flocked to the town of Trouble in California’s gold country, searching for the booty that train robbers supposedly dumped off the Golden Rail Express in a botched heist.

When the museum watchman is murdered, Monk and his assistant, Natalie, are sent to investigate. Monk quickly becomes obsessed with the unsolved robbery—and discovers that Trouble’s gold-rush-era assayer was a quirky fellow named Artemis Monk.

But that might not be the only thing that ties the past to the present, and if Monk isn’t careful, he’ll learn how the town of Trouble can live up to its name.

Mr. Monk is Miserable

Adrian Monk already ruined a trip to Germany for his longsuffering assistant Natalie. The least he can do is accompany her on a detour to France—and try not to ruin that too. In fact, Monk shocks Natalie by announcing that he wants to visit the sewers of Paris. The historic underground maze of pipes and tunnels is famous for making the City of Light sanitary, and to Monk, that’s worth paying tribute to.

The only problem is that their explorations lead them to another hidden world below the Parisian streets: the catacombs, filled with aging skulls and bones. Monk’s sharp eye catches sight of one skull that’s not so old—and that shows evidence of murder—pulling them into a case more twisted than the catacombs themselves.

Writing Crime Fiction

Writing Crime Fiction

Are you a crime fiction writer? Are you a crime fiction reader?

If your answer to either question is yes, you’ve got to have Writing Crime Fiction, the latest book from the award winning authors of the Top Suspense Group!

From Joel Goldman’s advice and tips on “going indie” to Vicki Hendricks secrets to sizzling sex scenes, Writing Crime Fiction is the must-have how-to for crime fiction writers and readers.

Dreaming of turning your crime thriller into a TV series or movie? Let Hollywood veterans Lee Goldberg and Paul Levine show you the way.

Wondering what it takes to start and finish that first novel? Stephen Gallagher and Ed Gorman tell you how to get it done.

Dying to ratchet up your book’s suspense, whether set in today’s world or in years gone by? Libby Hellmann and Max Allan Collins will tell you how to make it happen.

Ever wonder what the heck “noir” means? Dave Zeltserman has the answer.

Wish you could create the perfect amateur sleuth? Naomi Hirahara gives you all the clues you need.

Like your thrillers with a dose of zombies? Harry Shannon will show you how to bring them to life.

Want to know the secrets to writing more than a hundred thrillers? Bill Crider spills the answers.

Writing Crime Fiction has it all!

Get it now and get started on your next bestseller!

And don’t forget the Top Suspense Group’s red-hot anthologies, Top Suspense and Favorite Kills and their knockout short story, Die Lover Die!

Remaindered

Kevin Dangler is a once-famous author desperate to regain his lost glory while traveling the back-roads of middle America, selling remaindered, fifth-editions of his first book out of the trunk of his car. Along the way he meets his ultimate fan…who might be his salvation…or perhaps a novel way to die.

This story was an Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Choice Award finalist and has previously appeared in the anthologies Three Ways to Die and Top Suspense.

BONUS FEATURE: The story contains a link to a free, streaming video of the acclaimed movie version of  Remainderedwritten & directed by Lee Goldberg.

Die Lover Die

Die Lover Die

Lauren Blaine is on the run…fleeing across the country, pursued by a pack of ruthless, skilled, and psychopathic killers.

That’s because she’s dumped her husband and he hasn’t taken it well.

Of course, he might have taken it better if he wasn’t a major drug dealer with a gale-force temper… and if she hadn’t run off with all of his cash.

Now she’s marked-for-death, a moving target for every mercenary, hitman, and sadist in the midwest.

What they don’t know is that Lauren is nobody’s victim… she’s a resourceful, brave, and cunning woman who won’t go down without a fight.

This is 10,000 words of non-stop action, violence and sex…a wild ride like nothing else you’ve read before…from twelve masters of suspense, who teamed up to write this rollicking story 250 rapid-fire words at a time, tag-team style, without an outline, without knowing what was coming next. The result is a pure, literary adrenaline rush.

(Part 1 of Die, Lover, Die! was previously published in Top Suspense: 13 Classic Stories by 12 Masters of the Genre).

About the Top Suspense Group:

Whether you’re looking for mystery, horror, thriller, western or crime fiction, you can always count on the award-winning authors at TOP SUSPENSE to deliver a great e-reading experience with their dozens of highly-acclaimed books. The Top Suspense authors are established professionals whose books have been published world-wide, graced national & international bestseller lists, and sparked the imaginations of Hollywood’s top filmmakers (the Oscar winning Road to Perdition) and television producers (the Emmy-winning Monk). Top Suspense authors: Max Allan Collins, Bill Crider, Stephen Gallagher, Lee Goldberg, Joel Goldman, Ed Gorman, Libby Fischer Hellmann, Vicki Hendricks, Naomi Hirahara, Paul Levine, Harry Shannon and Dave Zeltserman.

13 Top Suspense Thrillers

Top Suspense 13

Hold on tight for a literary thrill-ride into the wickedly clever, frightening, and exhilarating world of Top Suspense, a sizzling collaboration of twelve master storytellers at the peak of their powers in thirteen unforgettable tales.

This pulse-pounding anthology – packed full of cold-blooded killers, erotic tension, shady private eyes, craven drug dealers, vicious betrayals, crafty thieves, and shocking twists – is only a taste of the thrills you will find in the breathtakingly original ebooks by these authors at www.topsuspensegroup.com.

So sit back, bite down on a piece of strong leather, and prepare to get hit by some gale-force suspense and writing so sharp it will draw blood.

Guilty

Guilty

The final, pulse-pounding book in the bloody, action-packed Jury Series. Brett Macklin faces his greatest adversary yet—a ruthless, professional hit woman, seductress and master of disguise who launches a campaign of terror and bloodshed against him, pushing the vigilante to the emotional and physical breaking point, unleashing a bloody killstorm on the L.A. streets.

This is the fourth and final book in the series, never before published in print, caught up in the bankruptcy of Pinnacle Books, the original publisher. For decades, it was considered “lost” and coveted by fans of the men’s action adventure genre…before it was finally found and, at long last, published as an ebook.

Guilty is a brutal meditation on the cost of seeking justice in an ultimately unjust world. It’s easy to imagine Goldberg grinning to himself as he penned some of this stuff, wholly anticipating the shocks it would cause his readers—shocks they were looking for, of course. Heroic fiction that appeals to the sorts of blood and guts we might expect from the men’s adventure school, this time served alongside themes of guilt and consequences. It is an effective end to the series, though it leaves the door open for another book.” Considering Stories Blog

“Goldberg holds nothing back in this one, that’s for sure. Bodies pile up real quickly, proving Macklin is not one to screw with.” Bruce Grossman, Bookgasm

Payback

Payback

The third, red-hot book in the action-packed Jury Series saga. A sadist with a hunger for victims is stalking the streets of Los Angeles—leaving a trail of destruction which threatens to engulf the city in racial violence. And he’s calling himself…Mr. Jury.

Now vigilante Brett Macklin, the real Mr. Jury, is hitting the killing ground with just seventy hours to hunt down the deadly impostor and clear his name.

All he has to do is take on an army of fanatical white supremacists, stop a news-hungry reporter from digging too deep into his past, and save a tough black cop from being buried alive. Time and luck are running out.

“Lee Goldberg spins a lean and mean tale of vigilante justice with his third entry in the action packed The Jury series. Despite being written several decades ago when Goldberg was a college student, the prose is sanded like the best hardboiled material from days past. It’s a sleek crime thriller with a racing heartbeat, a tale told with attentiveness to driving pace and character.” Considering Stories

“Goldberg is today a very popular novelist and screenwriter, but as a college sophomore, he had already demonstrated a knack for telling a crackling action story in a lean manner. The concept is a good one, and the sex and violence levels are appropriately gruesome.” Johnny LaRue’s Crane Shot

(Originally published as the third book in the “.357 Vigilante” series under the pen name Ian Ludlow)

Adjourned

Adjourned

The second, action-packed book in The Jury Series saga. After a family tragedy, Brett Macklin has sworn to take the law into his own hands and make the guilty pay. This time, Macklin’s target is Wesley Saputo, porn kingpin and murderer, who has slipped through the courts time after time, only to kidnap, rape and kill again…and again. Macklin’s mission: locate and destroy Saputo before he finds another innocent life to destroy.

“Top-shelf 80’s adventure fiction. The Mr. Jury books are probably about the most fun you can have doing so vicarious vigilanting. There’s a reason Goldberg is still a successful author. There’s plenty of smooth and fast action that builds to a nice high-energy “action-movie” finale, colorful characters, some Hollywood in-jokes, different ways to use ice cream and a lot of fun banter.” Bloody Spicy Books Blog 

The second installment in the sexy, violent, and thrilling The Jury series. The writing style is clear and concise, giving us a front row seat at an action movie for the mind’s eye. While fans of his police procedurals (e.g., the superlative Malibu Burning and the gritty Lost Hills) might find themselves somewhat shocked by the material, the storytelling remains true to Goldberg’s later styles. There’s humor, there are people worth cheering for, and villains we want to see taken down. Not a bad time, all told.” Considering Stories Blog

(Originally published as “Make Them Pay,” the second book in the “.357 Vigilante” series, under the pen name Ian Ludlow.)