Tim McBain

L T Vargus

Her body is broken. Wrapped in plastic. Dumped on the side of the road. She is the first. There will be more. The serial killer thriller that "refuses to let go until you've read the last sentence." The most recent body was discovered in the grease dumpster behind a Burger King. Dismembered. Shoved into two garbage bags and lowered into the murky oil. Now rookie agent Violet Darger gets the most important assignment of her career. She travels to the Midwest to face a killer unlike anything she's seen. Aggressive. Territorial. Deranged and driven. Another mutilated corpse was found next to a roller rink. A third in the gutter in a residential neighborhood. These bold displays of violence shock the rural community and rattle local law enforcement. Who could carry out such brutality? And why? Unfortunately for Agent Darger, there's little physical evidence to work with, and the only witnesses prove to be unreliable. The case seems hopeless. If she fails, more will die. He will kill again and again. The victims harbor dark secrets. The clues twist and writhe and refuse to keep still. And the killer watches the investigation on the nightly news, gleeful to relive the violence, knowing that he can't be stopped.

Dead End Girl

Nestled in the autumn leaves, her hair tangled in thick brambles, the girl looks like she could be sleeping amongst the wild roses. But the trail of red across her delicate throat means this is a slumber she will never wake from... When a search party trawling Salem Island find a girl's body curled on the damp earth, the hunt for missing waitress Emma Jacobis grinds to a devastating halt. The day before, Emma had come to Detective Charlie Winters convinced someone was watching her. In her trembling hand she held a sketch of herself sleeping peacefully with the stuffed rabbit she'd had since she was a child. On the back, scrawled in black ink: You will be mine... A box containing handwritten letters found under Emma's bed is Charlie's first lead. But the handwriting isn't a match to the note left for Emma. With the help of her new assistant, a troubled girl eager to learn the ropes, Charlie's only hope is to canvas the bar where Emma worked. There, she finds a woman with fear in her eyes and a terrifying story to tell about an encounter with a dangerous stranger. Is someone in this small town targeting vulnerable girls as prey? Certain she's found a twisted killer's hunting ground, and with time running out before he strikes again, Charlie has no choice but to use her new assistant as bait to lure him out into the open. But when a scream pierces through the night, will Charlie survive the consequences? She has to, or there's no knowing how many more innocent girls will die... An absolutely nail-biting and completely jaw-dropping crime thriller. Fans of Kendra Elliot, Robert Dugoni and Lisa Regan will be left reeling after reading in one sitting! Readers love L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain: 'Stayed up far too late devouring this absolutely gripping and unputdownable crime thriller. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book. A definite five-star read.' Little Miss Book Lover 87, 5 stars 'Leaves you on the edge of your seat until the wee hours of the morning. Kept me enthralled from cover to cover. Heart-stopping suspense.' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

A Completely Gripping Crime Thriller Packed with Suspense

Watch Her Sleep

Down the beach, she can just make out the rusting hulk of the Ferris wheel through the dawn mist. The hairs prickle on her neck as she drags her focus back to the chestnut hair fanned out in the shallow water at her feet, to the grains of sand decorating the beautiful girl's white cheeks like freckles. Private Detective Charlie Winters never thought she'd find herself back on Salem Island, but she's forced home re-open the wound that never healed: her sister was abducted from the small town when they were teenagers. For Charlie, her sister's voice in her head--pushing her to risk everything to seek justice for the innocent--is a painful and constant reminder of what she lost. And never has that voice been louder than when a family friend comes to Charlie begging for help to find her missing daughter, Kara. Searching Kara's messy, poster-covered bedroom, Charlie finds more questions than answers. Did Kara run away, or was she snatched? She's clearly been keeping secrets from her family--but don't all teenagers? A little black matchbook hidden in a jewellery box is Charlie's only lead, but the seedy nightclub it comes from proves to be nothing but a dangerous dead end. Until Charlie is approached by a second distraught mother whose daughter has also vanished. Forced at every turn to relive the trauma she ran away from, Charlie's blood runs cold when a girl's body is discovered in the exact spot on the water's edge where the last trace of her sister was found. It's clear someone is taunting Charlie, but with other innocent girls' lives at risk, she has no choice but to take the bait... An absolutely unputdownable crime thriller that will leave you gasping for breath. Fans of Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Lisa Regan will need to sleep with the lights on! Readers adore First Girl Gone 'Leaves you on the edge of your seat until the wee hours of the morning. Kept me enthralled from cover to cover. Heart-stopping suspense.' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars 'A great start to a new series. It is a true page turner and I was truly blind-sided by the reveal. Lots of potential and promise in this series.' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars 'Wow...This is so much better than the majority of crime books out there. Suspenseful, engrossing... All of the characters are believable... I want to read the next one please pretty please.' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars 'Stylish, taut and addictive... One of the masterpieces of 2020... I was drawn in from the very first word... kept me hooked until I read its wonderful and satisfying ending. I completed it in one night.' NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars 'Stayed up far too late devouring this absolutely gripping and unputdownable crime thriller... I absolutely cannot wait to read more... kept on the edge of my seat... there's absolutely no way I could've predicted where this was going. This is extremely well-written and fast-paced... completely addicted to this book . A definite five star read.' Little Miss Book Lover 87, 5 stars

An Absolutely Addictive Crime Thriller with a Twist

First Girl Gone

Her numb fingers scrabble over upholstery, over metal, over glass, searching for a way out. Water stings her eyes as she's dragged downward, clinging to her last breath as she's absorbed into the cold dark below... When Gloria Carmichael's body is found broken and bleeding on the sidewalk just days after knocking on Detective Charlie Winters' door begging for help to locate her father's will, Charlie's instinct is confirmed: her latest case is about more than just a simple family feud. The Carmichaels are famous in Salem Island for their large family and charitable work, but, moments before she died, beautiful, trustworthy eldest daughter Gloria called Charlie to say she had uncovered a terrible secret that would break the mystery of her father's death wide open. With the voice of her murdered sister ringing in her ears-pushing her to risk everything to bring justice to the innocent-Charlie takes matters into her own hands. She won't let another family break apart like her own, and she knows the answers she needs are hidden somewhere inside the Carmichael home. But as Charlie races to confront her main suspect-a file containing evidence that will devastate the Carmichael family on the car seat beside her-she's rammed off the road and over the edge of a nearby cliff. Fighting for breath in a sinking car, Charlie has to survive or other innocent lives will be taken. Everyone involved is keeping secrets, but only one twisted soul is prepared to kill to keep theirs... An addictive crime thriller with twists at every turn, you won't know what hit you after you've finished Girl Under Water. A perfect read-in-one-sitting rollercoaster ride for anyone who adores Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Mary Burton. Everyone is talking about L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain: 'Leaves you on the edge of your seat until the wee hours of the morning. Kept me enthralled from cover to cover. Heart-stopping suspense.' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars ﻿ 'Wow... This is so much better than the majority of crime books out there. Suspenseful, engrossing... All of the characters are believable... I want to read the next one please pretty please.' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

L T Vargus

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