Murder Before Dawn

The justice system is just a system, not a just system.

Sentenced to fifteen years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Ethan Rafferty has one thing on his mind - payback! With his time up, the ex-con is free to pursue his mission of revenge. The District Attorney, Mariana Clark, who, during the trial suppressed evidence that would've exonerated him, is the focus of his vengeance. Intent on making her life miserable, Ethan employs a variety of tactics to antagonize and torment the woman.

Unable to retaliate through the courts, considering her role in the previous trial, Mariana decides to fight fire with fire. Soon, their feud escalates to a point where neither imagined it would go.

Which one will prevail, Ethan or Mariana? Who will win? Can either? Or, are both of them bound to a destiny produced by a Miscarriage of Justice?

Thanks to the feed back on my novel I've uploaded a new version. Keep up the reviews.

Detective Alan Kendal is on the trail of a kidnapper who ships young girls overseas to join the sex trade. He has to uncover the person and fast when his stakeout goes horrib;y wrong. He was positive evrything would go to plan, but then both his crime partner and his daughter are kidnapped. Clock is ticking.

   Two teenage hockey players brutally murder their parents in an unexpected altercation after a close friend and teammate commits suicide. The town's people believe the suicide was another tragic result of bullying, but the two boys have learned the true reason their friend took his own life, and the boys decide to take matters into their own hands.

   Detective Dean Daly is called in to investigate the brutal murders and believes there is much more to the murders than it first appears.
   Not far away, a young housewife, Sarah, is in a very bad place. Her husband Gerald finally crosses the line from verbal abuse to physical abuse and breaks her arm.  She takes flight in the middle of the night, and Gerald vows he will track her down to the ends of the ends of time, and insists she can never leave him.
   Detective Daly soon becomes involved in both events, not knowing that he will soon be caught in the middle as the two stories collide. 

   This is a story about courage, strength, and standing up for what you believe

Stockbroker Jack Skinner has worked hard to make a good life for his wife and newborn daughter. But the diaper changes, long commutes and pressures of the job have worn him down. The chance to sneak away to Las Vegas to party with an old friend seems like the perfect way to recharge.

A world away from manicured lawns and two-car garages, Rob Hollister is in deep. Real deep. In love with a prostitute and hooked on drugs, he knows walking away is not in his cards. These guys kill for amusement as much as business, and they don’t believe in new beginnings.

In this fast-paced thriller, a suburban family man in pursuit of a weekend getaway finds himself trying to get away with his life. In the grip of evil men with dangerous connections, it’s a party that could come at the price of his family.

A computer programmer, a casting director, a call girl. The victims have nothing in common except the manner in which they spent their last night--wrapped in their own bed sheets in a bloody ritual of slow, agonizing death.

For NYPD Captain Thomas Horn, this adversary is unlike any he has met before. Methodical and highly skilled, the killer is always one step ahead, able to enter buildings without detection and leave no trace behind. To stop this deadly rampage, Horn must unlock the secrets of a cunning enemy who is saving his most shocking surprises for last. . .

"John Lutz knows how to make you shiver." --Harlan Coben

"Lutz ranks with such masters as Lawrence Block and Ed McBain." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch

In the posh suburbs and the gritty streets of Atlanta, children are being stolen, taken in broad daylight. A madman, with the audacity to call himself Angel, toys with police. This stealer of children, delusional and misunderstood, reaches out to his own “personal” reporter. He has story to tell.

Christopher Lance is a young and ambitious beat writer for a second rate newspaper. A chronic insomniac, Christopher is always available when the stealer calls. Though prone to taking reckless chances, soon it's clear that the young reporter with something to prove is the only one who can save the taken.

Tom Grayson returns home from an errand to discover that his family has mysteriously disappeared. Prior to this discovery, he has been tormented with guilt by a secret that only he and a former lover share. In a desperate search to find his missing family, Tom embarks on a journey that can only be described as surreal as he becomes an unwitting detective with a mission: to set the record straight.

Everyone has warned new-minted realtor Savannah Martin that real estate is a cutthroat business. But Savannah doesn’t think she’s supposed to take the warning literally ... until an early morning phone call sends her to an empty house on the ‘bad’ side of town, where she finds herself standing over the butchered body of a competitor, face to face with the boy her mother always warned her about.

Rafe Collier is six feet three inches of testosterone and trouble; tall, dark, and dangerous, with a murky past and no future—not the kind of guy a perfect Southern Belle should want to tangle with. In any way. But wherever Savannah turns, there he is, and making no bones about what he wants from her.

Now Savannah must figure out who killed real estate queen Brenda Puckett, make a success of her new career, and avoid getting killed—or kissed—by Rafe, all before the money in her savings account runs out and she has to go back to selling make-up at the mall.

*** Contains an excerpt from HOT PROPERTY, Savannah Martin mystery #2

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:

"With a dose of southern charm and a bad boy you won't want to forget, A CUTTHROAT BUSINESS has enough wit and sexual chemistry to rival Janet Evanovich."
-----Tasha Alexander, bestselling author of DANGEROUS TO KNOW

"VERDICT: The hilarious dialog and the tension between Savannah and Rafe will delight fans of chick-lit mysteries and romantic suspense."
-----Jo Ann Vicarel, Library Journal

"... mixes up a frothy girl drink of houses, hunks and whodunit narrated in a breezy first person ... If you love an umbrella in your drink ... grab A Cutthroat Business for a quick beach read."
-----Lyda Phillips, Nashville Scene

"A delicious and dazzling romantic thriller ... equal parts wit and suspense, distilled with a Southern flavor as authentic as a mint julep."
-----Kelli Stanley, Bruce Alexander award winner, NOX DORMIENDA

"... equal parts charming and sexy, with a side of suspense. Hero and heroine, Savannah Martin and Rafe Collier, are a pairing of perfection."
-----Paige Crutcher, examiner.com

"...hooks you in the first page and doesn't let go until the last! ... There's something for every reader: tricky plot twists, rich description, and some villainous characters you'll love to hate."
-----Lynda Coker, Between the Pages

"A lighthearted Southern romp with plenty of steam beneath the surface ... prose is crisp, and protagonist Savannah Martin is a flawed but likeable heroine."
-----Jaden Terrell, author of RACING THE DEVIL

BIO:

Jenna Bennett/Jennie Bentley writes the New York Times bestselling Do It Yourself home renovation mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime and the Cutthroat Business mysteries for her own gratification. She also writes a variety of romance for Entangled Publishing, from contemporary to futuristic and from paranormal to suspense.

ALSO IN THIS SERIES:

A Cutthroat Business - Savannah Martin mystery #1 (May 2011)
Hot Property - Savannah Martin Mystery #2 (June 2011)
Contract Pending - Savannah Martin Mystery #3 (July 2011)
Close to Home - Savannah Martin Mystery #4 (October 2011)
A Done Deal - Savannah Martin Mystery #5 (December 2011)

ALSO FROM THIS AUTHOR:

Tall, Dark and Divine, Bagging a Greek God #1 - (July 2012)

Fortune's Hero, Soldiers of Fortune #1 - (November 2012)

Fatal Fixer-Upper - DIY #1 (November 2008) - written as Jennie Bentley
Spackled and Spooked - DIY #2 (August 2009) - written as Jennie Bentley
Plaster and Poison - DIY #3 (March 2010) - written as Jennie Bentley
Mortar and Murder - DIY #4 (January 2011) - written as Jennie Bentley
Flipped Out - DIY #5 (October 2011) - written as Jennie Bentley
Wall to Wall Dead - DIY #6 (September 2012) - written as Jennie Bentley

When he stumbles across his only daughter's corpse in a deserted beachfront bungalow, devastated Ezekiel Cooper vows to find her murderer. What the former NYPD detective doesn't know is that there have been other victims. Women in Queens, Sarasota, Seattle. Women who seemingly had nothing in common, aside from a grisly fate at the hands of a chillingly clever stranger.

The flesh traders kidnap daughters of the wealthiest people in the world, ship them secretly to Australia, brainwash and terrorise them before selling them as sex slaves in an exclusive underwater resort. Parents are forced to make regular ransom payments, or have their daughters killed. Only ex-detective Ben Hood (desperately attempting to take a relaxing holiday) could accidently stumble into an operation so sinister and dangerous. They know he knows. They have engaged the most bizarre and deadly hit man in Australia to take him out. Only a crazy person would attempt to smash this operation and try to rescue any of these girls. Then again, this is Ben Hood and they say he is a little crazy.