The Only Thing More Dangerous Than the Secret is the Person Keeping It.
Two bullets.
One token.
A lifetime of secrets.
Detective Maria Varela has spent her career fighting whispers that she only made detective because of her father — a now retired Las Vegas legend. But her arrests speak for themselves, and her reputation as one of the city’s best homicide detectives is hard-earned.
Then her brother is murdered.
The killer is someone the city thought was gone forever: the Desert Saint, a serial killer who terrorized Las Vegas in the early ’80s before vanishing without a trace. Five victims. Two bullets each. One haunting calling card.
Now he’s back. And he’s chosen Maria’s family to target.
As Maria hunts through decades-old case files and long-buried evidence, she uncovers a web of secrets connecting the past to the present — and discovers that her brother’s death may be part of something far more sinister.
To catch the killer, Maria will have to decide how deep she wants to dig. Because in Las Vegas, some crimes are best left unsolved.
Fans of Michael Connelly, Tana French, and Lisa Gardner will love this gritty, emotionally charged female detective thriller set in the dark underbelly of Las Vegas.
“Noirish, hard-edged, and memorable.” — Booklife
“An emotionally charged, brilliantly written crime thriller.” — BestThrillers.com
The Desert Saint — a pulse-pounding mystery with complex characters, shocking twists, and a detective you’ll root for to the last page.
A hurricane-shattered hometown.
A murdered best friend.
An unputdownable debut mystery.
After tragedy leaves both of Jimmy Miller’s parents dead, he spends his teenage years in juvenile detention before escaping to a new life in Costa Rica. But when his childhood best friend, Dillon, tracks him down—and later turns up murdered—Jimmy is forced to return to the New Jersey town he’s spent years trying to forget.
Back home, the place is nearly unrecognizable. Hurricane Sandy has torn the town apart, leaving behind wreckage, grief, and suspicion. When police arrest a childhood classmate for Dillon’s murder, Jimmy is convinced they’ve got the wrong man.
As he searches for the truth, Jimmy uncovers a web of secrets that threatens to destroy everything he thought he knew about his friends, his family, and himself. The closer he gets to the real story behind Dillon’s death, the more he realizes the past never stayed buried — and that even his mother’s death may not be what it seemed.
“Costa is especially skilled in showing the gray layers in flawed men and women.” — BookLife
The Day My Mother Died is a gripping literary mystery and psychological crime thriller about guilt, redemption, and the hidden darkness of small-town America. Fans of Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman, and James Lee Burke will be captivated by its emotional depth, vivid setting, and unforgettable characters.
Perfect for readers who love:
Small-town murder mysteries
Emotional psychological thrillers
Hurricane or storm-driven suspense novels
Gritty, character-driven crime fiction
Sometimes finding a person who isn't hiding is the hardest thing.
How do you catch a killer when he’s the one driving the patrol car?
Detective Jacqueline Withers is at her breaking point. Thirty-three, divorced, and back in her childhood bedroom, she’s spent her Monday night nursing a drink and a sense of failure. But a sudden explosion and a hail of gunfire on her quiet street change everything.
Jacqueline arrives at the scene to find a neighbor dead and a stolen car vanishing into the night. She doesn’t know that inside that car was her partner, Rick—the one man she trusts to have her back.
While Jacqueline throws herself into the hunt for the stolen vehicle, Rick is playing a much more dangerous game. From the inside of the precinct, he’s steering the investigation toward a dead end and framing an innocent man to protect his best friend, Darren. But Darren isn't just a petty criminal; he’s a powder keg looking for an excuse to start a war.
As the lies pile up, Jacqueline realizes the truth is closer than she ever imagined. Now, she’s in a race to unmask the killer before Darren’s next target becomes her own family.