Showing results by author "Mary Stone" in All Categories

Six months ago, on the night Winter Black and her fellow agents took down The Preacher, a mall massacre occurred. Today, one of the gunmen responsible for taking 15 innocent lives that night is killed - with a well-placed bullet fired from nearly a mile away. Clearly a professional, either military or law enforcement, the sniper leaves zero evidence, other than a note.

Armed with fleeting clues as the number of victims pile up, Autumn is sure of only one thing...unless she and the team can stop her, their spider will suck her sweethearts fatally dry. And this time, as the team goes undercover, it could be one of their own. Autumn’s Break, the second book in Mary Stone’s Autumn Trent Series, is a riveting psychological murder mystery that will leave you second-guessing every single person you meet.

Sheriff Rebecca West knows she’s being watched. She’s seen the same car parked along the road—always at a distance, always watching. Even more concerning, the man with damning evidence against the senator tied to her parents’ deaths claims he’s being followed too.

Dr. Autumn Trent returns to Virginia after successfully assisting the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit yet again. Part of her heart remains in Florida with her long-lost sister whose trail has evaporated, but she moves forward to focus on her work as a forensic and criminal psychologist. Intent on doing just that, she heads to Virginia State Hospital, where the prodigy of The Preacher awaits her return. Justin Black becomes the least of her worries when a new case practically falls in Autumn’s lap.

Dr. Autumn Trent hasn’t even finished the paperwork from her first official case as a federal agent before she and the rest of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit are called to Washington, DC to investigate a series of home invasions. The six victims have very little in common other than they’re all wealthy couples brutally slayed just hours before hosting a dinner party. Who targeted them, and why?

Former FBI agent Rebecca West came to Shadow Island to relax and clear her head, not step into a dead sheriff’s long worn shoes. Here she is, though, Interim Sheriff over a small department grieving for their boss and friend. But not for long. Before she can resign from the unwanted position, a little girl goes missing. On vacation with her parents, the eight-year-old was last seen outside her family’s vacation rental drawing on the sidewalk with a box of chalk.

Dr. Autumn Trent returns to Virginia after successfully assisting the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit yet again. Part of her heart remains in Florida with her long-lost sister whose trail has evaporated, but she moves forward to focus on her work as a forensic and criminal psychologist. Intent on doing just that, she heads to Virginia State Hospital, where the prodigy of The Preacher awaits her return. Justin Black becomes the least of her worries when a new case practically falls in Autumn’s lap.

A local man has fatally overdosed on fentanyl at the ice cream parlor after polishing off a salted caramel cone. No history of drug use, no needles, no signs of addiction—only a body filled with poison. Rebecca suspects something far worse than a tragic accident. But how does fentanyl find its way into a dessert? When a father and his two children are poisoned by fentanyl after eating at a local diner, Rebecca comes to a startling realization. A sadistic killer is playing a dangerous game of chance, turning routine moments into fatal traps.

Twelve hours earlier, Interim Sheriff Rebecca West was enjoying a casual lunchtime burger. Now she’s preparing for a hurricane headed straight for Shadow Island. While hauling sandbags and calming town officials, the last thing she needs is a stunned man stumbling into the sheriff’s department. Covered in blood.

The late Sheriff Alden Wallace has barely been laid to rest when another body is found on Shadow Island. Once again, former FBI agent turned interim sheriff Rebecca West’s vacation plans will have to wait. This time, the victim is the son of one of Shadow Island’s privileged elite. Found gruesomely posed at a picnic table in the park—suffocated, choked, and shot, with a cryptic note shoved in his pants—his death is as personal as it is disturbing.

Shadow Island lore insists that anyone who steps in the shadow cast onto the old witch’s cottage is cursed. But when two bodies are discovered inside the cottage, their heads arranged in a ghastly tableau, Rebecca is more concerned about the real monsters—the human ones who’d commit such an atrocious murder.

Less than twenty-four hours after Hurricane Boris ravages Shadow Island, it delivers one final blow. Two corpses, lashed together, wash up on the shore. Some of them, anyway. With no primary crime scene, no witnesses, and barely any human remains, Sheriff Rebecca West has precious little to work with. Are these victims connected to the seemingly untouchable Yacht Club, or did Boris’s awesome power simply push them onto her beach?

There’s never a dull moment on Shadow Island, especially for its small but growing sheriff’s department. This time, Sheriff Rebecca West, along with new deputy Viviane Darby, discover a man hanging from the rafters of the caretaker’s shed at Oceanview Cemetery.

Following the incident that brought justice to her parents’ killers but ended her career, former FBI Special Agent Rebecca West needs a fresh start. Hoping to find peace, she decides to spend a few months in the sleepy beach town of Shadow Island, where she spent idyllic summers as a kid. However, her vacation is cut short when a seventeen-year-old goes missing with no leads or clues. When the girl’s body is found in a nearby marsh with strangulation marks around her neck, Rebecca can’t say no when the overworked sheriff asks her to help investigate.

Just a few short months ago, Sheriff Rebecca West thought her toughest battles were behind her. But nothing could have prepared her for the turmoil she’s faced since coming to Shadow Island. Attempts on her life. Heartbreak. Betrayal. And that’s just the beginning. The worst is yet to come. Still reeling from the shocking discovery of who’s behind Shadow Island’s exclusive and depraved "men’s" club, Rebecca is determined to take them down. There’s only one problem. One by one, the members end up dead. Tongues cut out, hands chopped off—the message is clear...

The path to power is paved with blood. In the wake of a landmark election on Shadow Island, the tide of power is set to turn. Newly elected Sheriff Rebecca West stands ready to dismantle the Yacht Club’s ruthless grip over the island. And she isn’t alone. She has her team as well as the newly elected chair of the Select Board by her side. But victory comes at a perilous cost. The ballots have barely been counted when tragedy strikes. The new Select Board Chair’s life hangs by a thread after a deliberate sabotage turns her victory drive into a fight for survival.

Every clue is a countdown. A typical morning at Sandpiper Bank turns into chaos when an armed man in a clown costume storms in, shattering the calm. He trashes the lobby and executes the bank manager, even after securing the money, hinting at a motive beyond mere robbery. Maybe money isn’t the root of all evil, after all. Puzzled by the senseless violence, Sheriff Rebecca West is drawn into a labyrinth of mystery and danger as the bank’s connections to the Yacht Club are revealed. The arrival of the FBI, led by Rebecca’s former instructor, offers a mix of relief and renewed tension.

Special Agent Amelia Storm, a seasoned FBI veteran, thought stepping away from the Organized Crime Unit and its mafia entanglements would lead to less complex and dangerous cases. She was wrong. Now in the Violent Crimes Division, Amelia is haunted by a chilling pattern that mirrors mob brutality. Murder as a message. How else can she explain why this serial killer murders everyone in the home but leaves the victim alive...and horrifically disfigured by acid? Four victims in two years. All women with dark-brown hair. All social media influencers with a substantial following.

Not all prizes are gifts...Special Agent Dr. Autumn Trent is relishing the moments after waking up next to Aiden Parrish when their romantic Sunday morning is cut short by a call from a friend. His niece has disappeared...along with two other teens in a picture-perfect Connecticut community in a case that's as perplexing as it is concerning. The teens are all strong students with privileged upbringings on the verge of graduating high school. Who would want to hurt them? And why? More importantly...who’s next?

Less than twenty-four hours after yet another near-death experience, forensic and criminal psychologist Dr. Autumn Trent should be resting and recovering, not back at work. But she has no choice. Her best friend, Special Agent Winter Black, is missing. So is Winter’s baby brother, Justin...a brutal serial killer.