Why am I passionate about this?

I have always loved crime fiction, especially those where justice is served. I love crime stories where ordinary people doing their jobs triumph over evil. But so many crime stories are riddled with profanity, sex, and gratuitous violence. Over the last few years, I’ve searched for books that satisfy my need to read about justice but do it cleanly and in such a way that the story is not compromised. Oh, by the way, I’m also a writer of crime fiction and try to stay true to both justice over evil and telling stories in a clean but realistic way.


I wrote

An Angel and a One-Armed Man

By B.D. Lawrence,

Book cover of An Angel and a One-Armed Man

What is my book about?

Lefty Bruder, a one-armed PI, searches for an eighteen-year-old girl who ran away to St. Louis but has dropped out…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Water Keeper

B.D. Lawrence Why did I love this book?

I loved Martin’s style of slowly unfolding Murphy Shepherd. Up to the last page, I was learning something new about him. There were a couple of great twists I didn’t see immediately. I found his fight scenes fascinating. No detail at all. I also love the insights that Murphy has on the world. 

The most important thing for me is the subject matter–human trafficking. I believe it’s one of the most overlooked and gravest issues we have. I found the specific method of trafficking in a specific geographical area fascinating. This book dealt with a nasty subject in a tasteful way that impacted me enough that I read the other two books in the Murphy Shepherd series. 

By Charles Martin,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Water Keeper as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A riveting story of heroism, heartache, and the power of love to heal all wounds by New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin.

Murphy Shepherd is a man with many secrets. He lives alone on an island, tending the grounds of a church with no parishioners, and he's dedicated his life to rescuing those in peril. But as he mourns the loss of his mentor and friend, Murph himself may be more lost than he realizes.

When he pulls a beautiful woman named Summer out of Florida's Intracoastal Waterway, Murph's mission to lay his mentor to rest at the end…


Book cover of I'll Be Seeing You

B.D. Lawrence Why did I love this book?

I love complex, multi-threaded mysteries that keep me guessing, and this book is one of those that was hard to put down.

This mystery kept me enthralled from beginning to end. And I did not figure it out until Ms. Clark wanted me to. Ms. Clark paints fascinating characters caught up in difficult circumstances. There are several twists, the biggest being at the end, which I immensely appreciated.

I usually have things figured out halfway or three-quarters of the way through. Not this one. 

By Mary Higgins Clark,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I'll Be Seeing You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the “Queen of Suspense” Mary Higgins Clark, a gripping and twisting mystery featuring a television news reporter who finds herself drawn into a terrifying web of treachery, where nothing is as it seems and the truth may be too devastating to pursue...

The murdered woman could have been her double. When reporter Meghan Collins sees the sheet-wrapped corpse in a New York City hospital, she feels as if she's staring into her own face. And Meghan has troubles enough already without this bizarre experience. Nine months ago, her much-loved father's car spun off a New York bridge. Now, investigators…


Ad

Book cover of Acquaintance

Acquaintance By Jeff Stookey,

As a young doctor, Carl Holman has experienced the horrors of World War I and the death of his lover, a fellow officer. Back home after the War, he befriends a young jazz musician who he hopes will become a companion he can share his life with. But this is…

Book cover of Moonlight Awakens

B.D. Lawrence Why did I love this book?

This book is raw, brutal, and a tough read, but it’s also clean, and that’s what I appreciated most about Walker’s telling of a girl’s story who is stuck in sex trafficking. Yes, it is another sex-trafficking book, but for me, it is a masterful insight from the point of view of those caught in it or caught by it.

Besides being a raw account of sex trafficking trauma, it’s also a compelling story that kept me wanting to read to find out what would happen. It’s a thriller and has many moments of high suspense. Watching Emma move through the phases of “the life” broke my heart but also opened my eyes.

I applaud Mr. Walker for this book. It could not have been easy to write, but I’m glad he did.

By John Matthew Walker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Moonlight Awakens as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

At only seventeen, Emma is used, abused, and discarded. She runs a thousand miles away from shame and judgment and falls into a stranger's arms. One careless mistake, and she plummets into the hellish world of sex-trafficking. "The life" takes everything from her, starting with her name. Deep in that darkness, Emma must find herself and find a way out. Her story is a tantalizing suspense that awakens hope.


Book cover of Calculated Risk

B.D. Lawrence Why did I love this book?

This is an intense story and kept me on edge while reading, wondering what would happen next. Shannon upped the thrills as the book went on.

I really appreciated the two main characters, Jason and Addison, who are Christians. Unlike many Christian novels, not everyone around them was also a Christian. This book was a realistic example of people who try to live a Christ-like life, but can get caught up in things out of their control.

The romance between Jason and Addison is fascinating as both come into it with so much baggage. I found myself rooting for them and Shannon does a great job building that suspense as well.

By Lynn Shannon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Calculated Risk as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

He carries the burden of his mistakes.

The wounds on Jason Gonzalez’s body are nothing compared to the ones on his heart. The former Marine avoids getting close to anyone new, especially his gorgeous next-door neighbor. Until he hears a scream coming from her house in the middle of the night.

Her enemies are too numerous to count.

Addison Foster escaped an abusive marriage and has become an advocate for others. When an intruder breaks into her home and nearly kills her, Addison is rescued by an unlikely protector. But the threats against her aren’t over and she needs help.…


Ad

Book cover of Love and War in the Jewish Quarter

Love and War in the Jewish Quarter By Dora Levy Mossanen,

A breathtaking journey across Iran where war and superstition, jealousy and betrayal, and passion and loyalty rage behind the impenetrable walls of mansions and the crumbling houses of the Jewish Quarter.

Against the tumultuous background of World War II, Dr. Yaran will find himself caught in the thrall of the…

Book cover of Save The Girls

B.D. Lawrence Why did I love this book?

This is another book that deals with the subject of sex trafficking, which is why I was drawn to it.

From the first scene, I was immediately pulled in, fascinated that the protagonist, Jamie Austen, is a lone woman in a foreign land, rescuing helpless victims of this awful scourge. Her courageous and spunky character grew on me. Toler throws in a wonderful twist with a romantic element that Jamie Austen does not want or need but falls for anyway.

This is another example of how an author can deal with difficult subjects yet keep the book clean.

By Terry Toler,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Save The Girls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Why are all the best CIA spies always men? They aren't.

Combine the spycraft of Bourne, the toughness of Reacher, and the beauty of a Charlie's Angel and you have Jamie Austen. America's beloved heroine.

The Jamie Austen Spy Thrillers must be good. They've been number one on Amazon in ten different countries.

Jamie's latest adventure takes her to Belarus. Three hundred girls are missing. She is the only one who can save them.
Award winning author, Terry Toler, tells this gripping story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Save The Girls is the first book…


Explore my book 😀

An Angel and a One-Armed Man

By B.D. Lawrence,

Book cover of An Angel and a One-Armed Man

What is my book about?

Lefty Bruder, a one-armed PI, searches for an eighteen-year-old girl who ran away to St. Louis but has dropped out of contact. Bruder discovers she’s been kidnapped from the pimp who was trafficking her. He needs to understand the kidnapper’s endgame and determine a way to rescue her. The men who have the girl rob a high-profile sex trafficker, starting a war. Bruder finds himself in the middle of the war.

Discovering who all the players are, Bruder believes he knows how to rescue the abducted girl. But the wronged gangster links the PI to his stolen cash and points his hired guns toward Bruder, demanding the meddler’s death. Bruder has no choice but to work with the girl’s kidnappers to ensure both of their survival.

Book cover of The Water Keeper
Book cover of I'll Be Seeing You
Book cover of Moonlight Awakens

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,595

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 You might also like…

Book cover of Sea Change

Sea Change By Darlene Marshall,

David Fletcher needs a surgeon, stat! But when he captures a British merchantman in the Caribbean, what he gets is Charley Alcott, an apprentice physician barely old enough to shave. Needs must, and Captain Fletcher takes the prisoner back aboard his ship with orders to do his best or he’ll…

Book cover of The Stark Beauty of Last Things

The Stark Beauty of Last Things By Céline Keating,

This book is set in Montauk, under looming threat from a warming climate and overdevelopment. Now outsider Clancy, a thirty-six-year-old claims adjuster scarred by his orphan childhood, has inherited an unexpected legacy: the power to decide the fate of Montauk’s last parcel of undeveloped land. Everyone in town has a…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in swearing, Florida, and presidential biography?

Swearing 27 books
Florida 140 books