Jefferson Parker

Merci Rayborn, the Orange County homicide investigator, is finally pulling her life together after the death of her partner and father of her child. But then she faces the challenge of a lifetime - a high-profile murder case that points to her lover and fellow officer as the main suspect. "Solidifies his status as one of the most entertaining tough-guy writers." — Esquire "An excellent thriller." — Booklist

Where Sergeant Merci Rayborn is concerned, opinion within the sheriff's department is sharply divided - a hero to some, she was prepared to implicate father and lover in her last case. Soon another, even more controversial, case transpires - a murder/suicide, or a framing?

The gripping new standalone thriller from the critically acclaimed, award-winning author of ‘California Girl’ and ‘The Fallen’. Funny how different lives can suddenly collide. A TV weatherwoman gets a stalker – and hires private detective Matt Stromsoe. Matt is a man in recovery. His best friend became a gang warlord and tried to kill him… but Matt's wife and son ended up dead instead. Now he's hoping his first case since he quit the police force will help him move on. But his old life has unfinished business. His former friend still calls the shots from behind the bars of the US's toughest jail. And it's looking like the stalker case is more than just the usual celebrity obsession. A lot more…

Stunning new thriller from the award-winning Jefferson Parker, author of The Blue Hour, Red Light, Black Water and Cold Pursuit. In 1968 Southern California was a tumultuous and at times seriously weird place to be. Jim Morrison was on the radio, Nixon was headed for the White House, Charles Manson was on the prowl and Dr Timothy Leary was introducing his followers to the wonders of LSD. It was also the year Nick Becker investigated his first homicide. The victim had been a beauty queen till they took away her crown for posing in Playboy. But Nick’s memory of her went back way before that, to a five-year-old in a tutu and cowboy boots. It gave him an added incentive to find the man who cut off her head and dumped her in an old packing house amid the orange groves. Four decades on, Nick discovers that the man he arrested for the murder, the man the court convicted despite his ‘not guilty’ plea, may indeed have been innocent after all. But in order to unearth the truth, Becker will need to dig deep into his own family’s darkest secrets.

In this title, when vengeance runs in the blood, only murder can stop it dead. This thriller is by the author of 'Black Water'.

Winner of the 2002 Edgar Award for Best Novel With horrible remnants of a childhood trauma forever visible across his otherwise handsome face, Joe Trona is scarred in more ways than one. Rescued from an orphanage by Will Trona, a charismatic Orange County politician who sensed his dark potential, Joe is swept into the maelstrom of influence and intimidation that surrounds his adoptive father's illustrious career. Serving as Will's right-hand man, Joe is trained to protect and defend his father's territory—but he can't save the powerful man from his enemies. Will Trona is murdered, and Joe will stop at nothing to find out who did it. Looking for clues as he sifts through his father's life—the acquaintances, deals, enemies, and girlfriends—Joe comes to realize how many secrets Will Trona possessed, and how many people he had the power to harm. As Joe deepens his investigation, a figure from his past emerges, forcing him to confront the painful events of his troubled childhood. This intricate, intelligent mystery will satisfy the mind as well as the heart—and reveal yet again the impeccable attention to detail, vivid characterizations, and emotional complexity that make a T. Jefferson Parker novel impossible to resist. "...a dark, sexy gem. A complex mix of seemingly unconnected plot lines, vivid characterization, and real mystery merge to form a truly satisfying thriller." — Library Journal ""It's too bad there are no book awards for originality. If there were, this year veteran crime writer T. Jefferson Parker would win hands down thanks to the title character of his latest book SILENT JOE, a brilliantly conceived and boldly innovative hero who makes this Parker's best work yet." — Providence Sunday Journal

‘Parker has only one competitor – Thomas Harris’ Washington Post … At once horrifying, tense and lyrical, The Blue Hour is a beautifully written novel that probes the darkest recesses of the human psyche. He takes the women from shopping malls. They are beautiful, sophisticated, but he treats them like animals, and when he’s done he leaves only his grisly signature to taunt the Orange County police – a purse full of entrails. Where are the bodies? How can these women disappear so completely? Whatever the Purse Snatcher has done to them, it surely cannot be worse than the imaginings of a shock-hardened police force…but they don’t know the sick mind they’re dealing with. Detective Hess has given his life to the police, but now lung cancer is looking to claim him. Merci Rayborn is at the beginning of her career and she’s determined to get to the top, whatever it takes. Assigned to the case by a boss with a hidden agenda, Hess and Merci at first agree on just one thing: they want to catch the Purse Snatcher and see him fry. But as another woman disappears, and then another, they become united through their obsession with a case that will change both their lives forever.