Bøker av Jada Ryker

* Take a Walk on the Dead Side is the exciting and hilarious sequel to the Kindle Scout winner, and goofy thriller, Take the Body and Run * Macey Malloy and Wikket, her cantankerous cat with a nose for crime, plunge headlong into danger when a stalker targets an innocent college student. Terrified for the girl, Macey tries to help her, only to be trapped in the web of deceit with tangled links to missing women. Dodging stalkers and investigating disappearances doesn't allow Macey much time for her love life . . . which is a hot mess. With good intentions, her detective boyfriend crosses the thin blue line from good to evil. A charismatic and dangerous man from her past keeps popping up in her present. Her almost-boyfriend employs his fart machine in matters of life, love, and death. A handsome stranger makes her shiver . . . with both attraction and the fear that he may be following a secret, deadly agenda connected with the cold cases of the women who'd vanished when Macey was a young girl. As if she doesn't have enough on her plate, Macey contends with Stan Glee. The popular YouTube host is determined to cash in on her notoriety. Glee is convinced he's marvelous, while she's certain that he has issues. Even with her grumpy cat's help, will Macey solve the mysteries before it's too late? Macey Malloy Mysteries with a Chick-Lit Twist Series Sassy Macey Malloy and her grumpy cat Wikket debuted in Take the Body and Run. The Kindle Scout winner is about a hunted woman, a handsome lawman, a have fart machine-will travel doctor, and a crime-solving cat. "TAKE THE BODY AND RUN is a fast-paced ride with a sparkling character and written in a new, original voice. This is a don't-miss debut." -Carolyn Haines, USA Today bestselling author of Pluto's Snitch and Sarah Booth Delaney The series is fun to read in any order. Here's the list in chronological order. #0 - Prequel: Two Tickets to Paradise Macey risks her life when she's embroiled in a brutal murder, and meets her feline, crime-solving partner. The novelette appears in the Kindle Scout winners' anthology, Winter Solstice. It's permanently free on Amazon in a digital format. It's also included in Gone Cat and Other Stories. #1 - Take the Body and Run The Kindle Scout winner is a "goofy thriller" about a hunted woman, a handsome lawman, a fart machine-will travel doctor, and a crime-solving cat. #2 - Take a Walk on the Dead Side Macey and Wikket, her crabby cat with a nose for crime, plunge headlong into danger when a stalker targets an innocent college student. Terrified for the girl, Macey tries to help her, only to be trapped in the web of deceit with tangled links to missing women. #3: Take Her to the River Macey has to solve a murder, and find her missing friend, Leila. The investigation hurtles Macey and Wikket into a desperate killer's path. Will they survive, even with Wikket's unusual brand of help? #4: Gone Cat and Other Stories In the prequel novelette Two Tickets to Paradise, Macey risks her life when she's embroiled in a brutal murder and meets her feline, crime-solving partner. The novella Runnin' with the Devil Cat resumes the story right after Take Her to the River. The action continues with the short story "What the Cat Dragged In," and the novelettes Cat Scratch Fever and Gone Cat.

Fantasy and reality clash when the members of an online group meet in person. Behind the glitter of the profiles, true identities entwine with deadly secrets. "You can't tell him." Sarah's pretty face hardens, the dimples fading like a whimsical daydream. Her fingers claw Marisa's arm. Marisa is furious. "I won't let you get away with it. You're trying to trick my friend into a relationship." Her gaze rakes the bulky sweatshirt and boxy jeans camouflaging the lush figure. "You're a stripper with a volatile boyfriend. You're not a high school teacher looking for love." Later, Sarah dies in the middle of her exotic routine, stabbed to death by the brazen killer. Marisa and her devastated friend are among the suspects. To solve the murder, Marisa joins forces with unlikely allies. Parvis, an attractive investigative reporter, will do anything for a story to shock his online followers. Handsome accountant Alex is accustomed to saving money and cutting expenses. Now he's focused on helping Marisa save lives and cut off a desperate murderer. Clara, a retired lunch lady fearless to the point of foolhardiness, uses her own version of "slay-dar" to hunt the murderer. Marisa's feline friend leaps into the fray. Laithe is the part-Abyssinian cat who uses his wedge-shaped head and nose for trouble to force his furry way into Marisa's investigations. In the past, Marisa lived a reckless double life. She was a conservative administrator by day. After hours, she partied the nights away in a notorious club. Now she finds herself back in shadowy, forbidden places as she and her friends track down a killer. The twisted trail to the murderer leads to explosive, decades-old secrets, including a vigilante-style killing. Marisa and her friends follow the clues to a twisted killer. Can she solve the mystery before her online account is deleted . . . permanently?

Tempers flare as the owners of the Carr-Maah Consulting Agency clash and their ideologies collide. Practical Celeste embraces technology, logic, and order. Esoteric Ericka wields a fountain pen filled with blood, writes mysterious messages on disturbingly skin-like parchment, and burns the icky paper in an ancient brazier to find answers in the smoke. Celeste retaliates with a fire extinguisher and a lecture on fire codes. The women call a cease-fire when an elderly woman storms the office. The stranger demands help in finding her missing grandson. She also claims that someone tried to kill her on her way to the agency. Celeste explains that Carr-Maah is a human resources consulting company, not a detective agency. Celeste grits her teeth when Ericka overrules her, forcing her to take the old lady's missing person case. Celeste is convinced the old woman lied about the murder attempt in order to elicit sympathy and help. She's dead wrong. She doesn't get the chance to apologize. The killer rectifies the earlier error, brutally murdering Constance as she leaves the agency. Several hundred miles away, Jose is a restaurant manager and former agency employee. He helped Sonora escape her abusive husband by giving her a job and an apartment. After she unexpectedly flees, Jose finds a hefty online reward for a lost dog. The posting shows Sonora in the photograph with the missing dog. Jose follows Sonora's trail back to his hometown and the Carr-Maah Consulting Agency. Celeste, Ericka, and Jose, assisted by Hobart, the mysterious homeless man forced by Ericka to become the agency's office manager, investigate Constance's murder and Sonora's disappearance. The clues lead them to a surfeit of viable suspects. With a voice heated by the South African sun, Christoph Metre is the charismatic head of the rival consulting agency. Obsessed with the exotic Ericka, Christoph appears with his entourage in unexpected places, including the murder scene. Lovesick Mrs. Grant, in a one-sided relationship with Mr. Crispie, hated it when Constance offered the spry widower lemonade with a Twist. Dr. Britta Spartan, head of the domestic violence shelter, writhes around Hobart like a predatory boa constrictor around a juicy mouse. If Celeste and her friends can't solve the mystery in time, they'll be the next victims.

* Take Her to the River is the third installment in the Macey Malloy series, which began with the Kindle Scout winner and goofy thriller Take the Body and Run * Macey Malloy has hit rock bottom. Never a serious contender for Miss Congeniality, Macey is persona non grata on campus. Macey was tried in the court of social media for her employee's murder and found guilty, even though the real killer is in custody. Her boss teeters between barely tolerating Macey, and threatening to fire her. Her mask, her dead friend's identity, was ripped off, exposing Macey as the daughter of a notorious cult leader.Macey finds that rock bottom was just a sightseeing jaunt on her trip to the depths of despair. Kayla, a delusional nurse, sings "Take Me to the River" when Macey confronts her. The girl is killed, and the murder weapon is found in Macey's coat pocket. When Macey's best friend, Leila, hears about the meeting and the song, she collapses. Leila disappears without a trace, leaving only the song and the dead nurse in her wake.While she investigates the murder, searches for Leila, and tries to hang onto her job, Macey has even more problems. Harlan is the compelling man from her past and her father's cult. He's breaching the defenses to her heart, body, and soul, but he's also keeping an explosive secret from her. Handsome and ruthless, Jeremy wants Macey as badly as the grand prize in a scavenger hunt. He'll wield any weapon in his quest to win her, including Harlan's devastating secret.With time running out, Macey and Wikket, her feline partner in crime, have their backs to the wall. Macey joins forces with an oddball group. She's not sure if they're helping her, or hindering her. The investigation will hurtle them into a desperate killer's path. Will they survive, even with Wikket's unusual brand of help?Macey Malloy Mysteries with a Chick-Lit Twist SeriesSassy Macey Malloy and her grumpy cat Wikket debuted in Take the Body and Run. The Kindle Scout winner is about a hunted woman, a handsome lawman, a have fart machine-will travel doctor, and a crime-solving cat."TAKE THE BODY AND RUN is a fast-paced ride with a sparkling character and written in a new, original voice. This is a don't-miss debut."-Carolyn Haines, USA Today bestselling author of Pluto's Snitch and Sarah Booth DelaneyThe series is fun to read in any order. Here's the list in chronological order.#0 - Prequel: Two Tickets to Paradise Macey risks her life when she's embroiled in a brutal murder, and meets her feline, crime-solving partner. The novelette is included in Gone Cat and Other Stories.#1 - Take the Body and RunThe Kindle Scout winner is a "goofy thriller" about a hunted woman, a handsome lawman, a death doctor with fart machine-will travel, and a crime-solving cat.#2 - Take a Walk on the Dead SideMacey and Wikket, her crabby cat with a nose for crime, plunge headlong into danger when a stalker targets an innocent college student. Terrified for the girl, Macey tries to help her, only to be trapped in the web of deceit with tangled links to missing women.#3: Take Her to the River Macey has to solve a murder, and find her missing friend, Leila. The investigation hurtles Macey and Wikket into a desperate killer's path. Will they survive, even with Wikket's unusual brand of help? #4: Gone Cat and Other StoriesIn the prequel novelette Two Tickets to Paradise, Macey risks her life when she's embroiled in a brutal murder and meets her feline, crime-solving partner. The novella Runnin' with the Devil Cat resumes the story right after Take Her to the River. The action continues with the short story "What the Cat Dragged In," and the novelettes Cat Scratch Fever and Gone Cat.

Can Kirbie trust the hot guy who's also hot on her missing sister's trail? Frantic, Kirbie searches for Laken, her missing party-girl sister. She collides with Evan, who's also hot on Laken's trail. He's convinced that Laken crashed her car, dumped his brother's body in the river, and fled. He's determined to find the girl, mowing down anyone who's unwary enough to get in his way, and throttle the truth about his brother's disappearance out of her. Out of options and time, Kirbie joins forces with the attractive and mysterious Evan. She can't trust the man who's determined to make her sister pay for a crime Kirbie is sure Laken didn't commit. At the same time, her treacherous heart melts like sweet chocolate in Evan's heated presence. She vows to keep her traitorous heart safe, even though it's determined to throw itself into Evan's flames. She forces herself to concentrate on finding her sister . . . and saving Laken from Evan's vengeful wrath. The unlikely allies track Laken to The Amazing Erase, a secret, underground show with desperate misfits as the performers. Does The Amazing Erase represent hedonistic depravity, or does it hide an even darker, final performance?

* Kindle Scout Winner * Macey's first day in the college employee relations department ends with a knife at her throat. Macey is certain things can't get any worse. She's wrong. An angry employee vows to put her on an online hit list. When he turns up dead, she's a suspect-and on the hit list. To keep her secrets and her life, Macey partners with two unexpected allies who cause her pulse to race with steamy attraction-and exasperating annoyance. Vince, a handsome, driven lawman, digs up more than just clues to the brutal murder. Brett, a fun-loving pathologist with a deadly sense of humor, drives everyone crazy with his fart machine-will travel. Macey's supersized black cat Wikket, possessing courage, curiosity, and crankiness in equal portions, assists in his own grumpy, feline fashion, golden eyes open and claws extended. Macey Malloy Mysteries with a Chick-Lit Twist Series Sassy Macey Malloy and her grumpy cat Wikket debuted in Take the Body and Run. The Kindle Scout winner is about a hunted woman, a handsome lawman, a have fart machine-will travel doctor, and a crime-solving cat. "TAKE THE BODY AND RUN is a fast-paced ride with a sparkling character and written in a new, original voice. This is a don't-miss debut." -Carolyn Haines, USA Today bestselling author of Pluto's Snitch and Sarah Booth Delaney The series is fun to read in any order. Here's the list in chronological order. #0 - Prequel: Two Tickets to Paradise Macey risks her life when she's embroiled in a brutal murder, and meets her feline, crime-solving partner. The novelette appears in the Kindle Scout winners' anthology, Winter Solstice. It's permanently free on Amazon in a digital format. It's also included in Gone Cat and Other Stories. #1 - Take the Body and Run The Kindle Scout winner is a "goofy thriller" about a hunted woman, a handsome lawman, a have fart machine-will travel doctor, and a crime-solving cat. #2 - Take a Walk on the Dead Side Macey and Wikket, her crabby cat with a nose for crime, plunge headlong into danger when a stalker targets an innocent college student. Terrified for the girl, Macey tries to help her, only to be trapped in the web of deceit with tangled links to missing women. #3: Take Her to the River Macey has to solve a murder, and find her missing friend, Leila. The investigation hurtles Macey and Wikket into a desperate killer's path. Will they survive, even with Wikket's unusual brand of help? #4: Gone Cat and Other Stories In the prequel novelette Two Tickets to Paradise, Macey risks her life when she's embroiled in a brutal murder and meets her feline, crime-solving partner. The novella Runnin' with the Devil Cat resumes the story right after Take Her to the River. The action continues with the short story "What the Cat Dragged In," and the novelettes Cat Scratch Fever and Gone Cat.

"I've gotten myself in too deep-" Jonah's last words are an epitaph to a life spent on the wrong side of the law. Marisa Adair is shocked when Jonah, a former friend from her chaotic past of drinking and partying, surfaces, only to be murdered. She must solve the crime before the killer destroys her new life. To find the murderer, Marisa partners with unusual collaborators. Dithering Russell is focused on ferreting out secrets, including her colorful past. Childhood friend Alex is a chief financial officer and the chief pain in her . . . neck. Esther is the daughter of a former agent in the FBI's controversial "Dickless Tracy" program for women. She learned to disable an opponent in hand-to-hand combat around the same time she learned to spell and throw the quintessential tea party. Marisa's strangest ally is Laithe. The part-Abyssinian cat with a big personality and even larger attitude has his special part to play in the life-or-death investigation. Marisa must revisit her dark past of childhood deprivation and adult struggles with addiction. The clues point to the shadowy underbelly of a notorious club, the setting for the glittering fool's gold of her old double life. Can Marisa and her friends solve the mystery before the murderer strikes again?

The body was found. Meet me at the Bloated Body Bridge on the Dixie Dieway under the next Blue Moon at midnight. If you don't, I'll post your dirty secrets. Tell no one.Gina's new life is built on lies and secrets. To keep it from crashing and burning, she has to meet the shadowy person behind the email at the Bloated Body Bridge. Locals gave the Kentucky bridge the grisly tag due to so many motorists spinning off the bridge and into the murky depths of the Ohio River. The infamous bridge spans a remote section of Dixie Highway, known as the Dixie Dieway.On the way to the meeting with the blackmailer, Gina is attacked. The shadowy driver is intent on hurling her into the water.An unexpected knight on a steel steed roars to her rescue. Convinced he'll disappear into the mist, she insists on his name. The man on the powerful motorcycle answers, "They call me The Guardian Angel of the Dixie Dieway, but I'm more devil than angel." Feeling the heated stirrings of more than gratitude for her mysterious rescuer, she vows to unearth his identity.With the blue Kentucky moon on the rise, Gina must meet with the blackmailer. He's a no-show. She discovers that he had the best excuse in the world. He was dead before the rendezvous. He's ostensibly a victim of the Dixie Dieway, the latest to join the road's impossibly high body count.Was his death really an accident? Or was he silenced? What about the sudden uptick in fatal accidents on the Dixie Dieway? Are they accidents, or is a shadowy figure manipulating events?Gina crashes a party at the notorious Mountain Lions biker club in the remote town of Dead Horse Holler. It triggers events with tendrils that reach back to the past and hold deadly consequences in the present. Is Klaws, the charismatic biker leader, a heartless criminal, or the key to Gina's heart? What about the blackmailer's handsome attorney, determined to prove she's a cold-blooded adventuress involved in his client's death? Does he want to prosecute her? Or does he want to protect her? Is the handsome, small-town doctor hiding explosive secrets as he wages a war on her defenses? As Gina grapples with her feelings, she can't forget the mysterious Guardian Angel. Is he a hero, helping people in danger, or a villain, helping them to their deaths?Her lies exposed and accused of murder, Gina faces the Mountain Lions' special brand of Dead Horse Holler justice. Will she solve the crimes in time? Or will the man she loves risk everything to rescue her?SPECIAL BONUS: As a reader appreciation gift, "Two Tickets to Paradise" is included FREE at the end of the book. In the fun Macey Malloy Mysteries prequel, Macey risks her life when she's embroiled in a brutal murder and meets her feline, crime-solving partner.

A runaway bride, swathed in silk, stuck in the church window . . .Christmas bride Megan Trent's fairy tale wedding turns into a nightmare. The church is packed to the historical rafters with family and friends. The majestic sound of the wedding march swells. If she walks down the aisle, she'll save herself, fiancé, friends, and family embarrassment. She knows she'll pay for her mistake with heartache, the most expensive coin of the romance realm.It began on Thanksgiving Day with a surprise proposal. University statistician Megan, intent on checking off the items on her Christmas shopping list, asked her new boyfriend what he wanted for Christmas. Handsome and sexy Ryan answered that he wants her. He blinded her with holiday romance and the sparkling diamond in the vintage setting. Despite her qualms-she hasn't known him long, he might have eyes for her identical triplet sister, Emily, he refuses to discuss his mysterious past-she plunged into hasty plans for a formal church wedding.Megan shimmies out of her gorgeous wedding dress, dons her bridesmaid sister's street clothes, and grabs her sister's purse. Emily's cell phone buzzes, and displays a text message. Flight 1307 for Fairbanks, Alaska is on time.Megan decides it's fate, and she'll be on that flight. She climbs out the window. She leaves behind her frothy wedding dress, her antique engagement ring, and a tear-stained note for her fiancé. An identical triplet takes her sister's place at the altar . . .Emily can't believe her sister is jilting her fiancé at the altar. Emily realizes her purse, along with her plans for a new life, is gone.She presses the discarded gown to her cheek. Dare she take her sister's place in the wedding? She's secretly in love with Ryan, but could never betray her sister. She'd planned to start a new life in the remote wilderness in Alaska as an eMail Order Bride, and marry an eccentric, reclusive prepper for the apocalypse, a man she'd never met.She shoves away the question clamoring in her whirling mind as she joins the wedding procession. What will the handsome groom do when he finds out he married the wrong triplet?Hiding behind a secret identity, a stalker watches . . .Everyone in the church, including the groom, is waiting on tenterhooks for the tardy bride to appear. The stalker clenches his fists. He can't bear to watch one-third of his obsession, the Trent triplets, get married. He slips out of the church.He's shocked as he watches the girl climb out of the church window. Before he can stop her, she disappears from the snowy parking lot.He'll find her. Wherever she goes. She'll be his. And then he'll concentrate on adding the other two sisters to his collection.

An obscenely rich lottery winner tricks Marisa Adair into joining forces with a famous Florida private detective to investigate her daughter's twenty-year-old murder. During a serial arsonist's reign of terror, Mayla died in a fiery inferno. The newly wealthy mother wants to dedicate her considerable resources to finding her daughter's killer and bringing him to justice. Marisa is busy with problems of her own. After the death of her troubled brother, she discovers a vicious stalker targeted him online. The stalker is the bully who had made their childhood a living hell. She decides to track down the bully, confront her, and hold her accountable for her crimes. Alisa was a beautiful girl. She was also the ringleader of a gang of bullies. Now, as an adult, she seeks out the weakest of the herd to torment through the anonymity of her computer. She also holds the key to dark secrets, with the chilling tendrils reaching from her childhood to the present. After Alisa's brutal murder, Marisa is the number one suspect. When she's arrested, her friends rush to help her. Although her antics drive him mad, Alex is determined to clear her. Althea, her friend and former teacher, is combat ready after decades of teaching elementary school. Her support group, as ruthless as they are loyal, goes to great lengths to help their fellow member. Tara, her best friend and in need of her own twelve-step program for her shoe addiction, demands hard choices of her boyfriend, the lawman who put Marisa behind bars. Marisa's cat joins the investigation. Laithe, the part-Abyssinian cat whose sense of fun and mischief lands him-and Marisa-squarely into danger, has to use all of his feline skills to save her from life behind bars. Marisa once lived a chaotic life of drinking and partying. Hitting bottom left her existence in shambles. Like a phoenix, she rose from the ashes. Now she's a savvy and respected Human Resources administrator. Accused of a murder she didn't commit, Marisa faces losing her hard-won new identity . . . and possibly her life.

Anthropologist Olivia West is determined to find her missing best friend. As children, she and Emma Martin wandered into Heaven's Bottom, an isolated Kentucky community cut off by the Ohio River and mountainous terrain. The two women share strange memories of the traumatic experience. Emma is convinced they witnessed a blood sacrifice and moon magic, surrounded by zombies. As a scientist, Olivia believes there's a logical explanation. Detective Steven Lewis pursues his own investigation of the mysterious town. A social worker, his wife fought her way into The Bottom to investigate suspected child abuse. She didn't make it out alive. Haunted by grief and regret, Steven is obsessed with finding her killer. He's convinced the murderer is hiding in the wild forest, camouflaged by the swirling mist. Olivia and Steven enter into an uneasy partnership to find Emma and solve his wife's brutal murder. They contact Sheriff Noah McCracken, who holds the local law enforcement role that's been passed down through his family for centuries. Like his ancestors, the sheriff ignores the chilling events in Heaven's Bottom. Can Olivia and Steven convince Noah to "release the McCracken" in time to save their lives? SPECIAL BONUS: As a reader appreciation gift, "The Hand of Karma" horror short story is included FREE at the end of the book.

In the second stand-alone adventure in the Carr-Maah Consulting Agency paranormal mystery series, Celeste Carr and Ericka Maah, business partners and friends, face a powerful and ruthless adversary. Celeste and Ericka are held hostage by Toni Rae Yelton, a self-centered party girl. Toni Rae is desperate. She orders the mysterious Ericka to use her alleged supernatural powers to call off the police and the reporters, who are all convinced Toni Rae is the sinister force behind her little girl's disappearance. Adding to Celeste's angst, Hobart has vanished. The mysterious drifter was forced off the streets some months ago, when Ericka used a combination of her unusual talents and blackmail to coerce Hobart into working for her firm. He reluctantly agreed. More enthusiastically, he was also Celeste's boyfriend . . . until he disappeared. Now Celeste fears he's back on the streets. Celeste is forced to not only investigate but also navigate the landmines in her life, while Ericka duels with her archenemy and business rival, handsome and charismatic Christoph Metre. An odd little dog, curiously attuned to Celeste and using his teeth, claws, and smell for protection, attaches himself to her. When she's in danger, a devilishly handsome stranger materializes to save her . . . and makes her less eager to find her missing boyfriend. As the sinister cords of the mystery tighten around Celeste's throat, she must find the person behind the mask in time to save not only herself, but others. With the fine Machiavellian hand leaving few clues, but many deadly traps, Celeste will have to solve the mystery before it's too late. SPECIAL BONUS: As a reader appreciation gift, the short story "Winner Takes All" is included FREE at the end of the book.