Stand-alone Thrillers
His Heart Was Right . . . Until It Wasn’t
Pastor Neil Gentry embarked on his ministry with genuine intentions, unwavering passion, and undeniable charisma. He had a gift for drawing people in and teaching profound truths that resonated deeply with the masses. As his influence grew, so did his fame.
Vine & Branches Church became one of the fastest growing in the world, with campuses in Atlanta, LA, Austin, NYC, and a TV ministry spanning the globe. Soon, Pastor Gentry and his wife Becky resembled royalty, enjoying fame and power—and basking in the adoration of their devoted followers.
Beneath the glitz and glamor, however, whispers of misconduct began to surface.
Accusations ranging from coverup and manipulation to corruption and sexual harassment cast a shadow over the once-glowing reputation of Vine & Branches. Was Pastor Gentry leading his flock above reproach, or was he using them to fuel his own ambitions? Could the rumors of emotional manipulation and abuse of power within the church’s inner circle possibly be true?
As the allure of popularity and power consume the Gentrys, they find themselves plummeting into the abyss of moral compromise. With the weight of their actions threatening to shatter everything they’ve built, one dire question remains: can anything or anyone break the spell before the unthinkable happens? Find out in the latest tension-filled thriller from acclaimed suspense novelist Creston Mapes.
"Little Do They Know, I Can See and Hear Everything!"
Eighteen-year-old Hale Frodele is presumed braindead from a tragic church bus accident in which he lost his younger brother, Nate.
Little does anyone know—Hale hears and understands everything with crystal clarity.
Hale remembers when his mom died at age 44 of pancreatic cancer and his dad turned his back on God.
Hale understands that the unbeliever his dad remarried whispers bitterly that Hale is ‘pitiful’ and ‘ruining’ her marriage.
Hale knows his father has borrowed a large sum of money from a deranged loan shark named Sebastian and the payback is due in 48 hours.
Hale believes in his best friend Gilbert, who still visits him weekly, prays for his healing, and is beginning to realize something is very wrong in the Frodele household.
Hale is in here . . . and he has a mind-blowing story to tell.
Murdered Vegas Homeless Man a Millionaire in Disguise?
Reporter Hudson Ambrose hears an early morning call on his police scanner about an injured person at a bus stop on Las Vegas Boulevard and rushes to the scene. His world is blown off its axis when he discovers a murdered homeless man with a bankbook in his pocket showing a balance of almost one million dollars.
Should Hudson wait for the police, knowing the case will get lost in reams of red tape, or swipe the bankbook and take the investigation—and perhaps a chunk of the money—into his own hands?
With sirens bearing down on the scene, Hudson makes an impulse decision that whisks him on a frantic search for answers.
Uncovering bizarre links between a plane crash, a Las Vegas pit boss, a dirty cop, and a widowed Atlanta business mogul, Hudson is forced to find out: who was Chester Holte, what was he doing on the streets, and why are his homeless friends convinced he was an angel in disguise?
Signs of Life Series
Rogan Sneed . . . Portland's Worst Nightmare
High school teacher Tyson Cooper is just dismissing his class when a student flashes his phone. "Another shooting, Mr. C." And this one is too close to home. Tyson races to Pioneer Square . . . but he's too late. The light of his life has been snuffed out—and so has his faith.
Veteran Portland Police Investigator Wayne Deetz, two years shy of retirement, is charged with leading the interrogations. When he meets 19-year-old shooter Rogan Sneed face-to-face and slowly unravels the mysterious and twisted plot, Deetz's life—and his family—are changed forever.
Will Tyson settle for anything less than the death penalty in the case against Rogan Sneed? He's bent on justice and will do anything to make Rogan pay for the pain he inflicted on Tyson and the entire city of Portland that haunting May day.
And what of Investigator Deetz and his family? Will their faith weather the storm spun in motion by Rogan Sneed and his minions?
Everyone Thought the Mass Shooting was Over . . .
Rogan Sneed is spending life in prison for the mass shooting he committed at Pioneer Square in Portland, Oregon. The copycat shooter who attempted a similar attack on the anniversary of the event is dead. Time has passed. Wounds have healed.
But then, a blip on the screen.
A teenage girl is kidnapped in Portland. Her diary says there may still be someone out there who helped plan the original attack that killed 21 innocent people.
A local plumber is a person of interest in the girl’s disappearance, but Portland Police Detective Wayne Deetz believes something much more catastrophic is simmering beneath the surface.
Close to retirement and still struggling to tame the demons of his anxiety, Deetz is forced to explore the chilling underworld to which he vowed he’d never return.
There Are Some Bad Seeds You Never Want to Meet
A year from retirement and still reeling from daughter Leena’s kidnapping, Portland Police Investigator Wayne Deetz is called upon to check on a domestic violence case. From the moment Deetz and his friend Callie Freeland show up to help Sunny Carlisle, they are blindsided by a lawless toxic steamroller named Blaine Milligan.
At a breakneck clip, things go from bad to worse as Callie is stalked and her fiancé Tyson is lured into Blaine’s web of evil and madness. While the city of Portland is being burned and dismantled by rioters, Deetz must race against the clock to protect Sunny, Callie and Tyson, and possibly even his own family.
Octavius Hunt: Refined & Talented Artist— or Something Much More Sinister?
After the Portland terrorist attack, the kidnapping of his daughter, and the domestic violence case that almost killed him, Portland Police Investigator Wayne Deetz and his wife Joanie escape for a long overdue vacation in Sedona, Arizona, to make some monumental career decisions. When Joanie’s childhood friend, Suzanne, acts euphoric and distant, Deetz and Joanie become suspicious of her boyfriend, the beguiling millionaire artist Octavius Hunt.
The more Deetz and Joanie dig into Octavius’s corrupt and scandalous past—and his shady partnership with Mayor Marsden Maddox and entrepreneur Timmy Kondore—the darker and more twisted Suzanne’s reality becomes. When Wayne and Joanie dare to venture one step too far into Octavius’s sinister world of drugs and pleasure to find answers, they find themselves square in the madman’s crosshairs.
Father-Son Police Duo Battles Demons in Disguise
In his final year behind the badge, beloved Portland Police Investigator Wayne Deetz and his wife Joanie are shocked to learn their youngest son, Brandon, 23, has signed up to follow in Deetz’s footsteps by joining the Portland Police Bureau—especially amidst the city’s recent riots, violence, and cancel culture.
When Deetz goes back in uniform to ride with Brandon during his field training, the father-son duo is dealt a harrowing, demonic case involving an unlikely gunman and a brash corporate executive. As they interview witnesses, discover shocking new evidence, and dare to search for bones in locked closets, they learn not only are their lives in peril, but the devil is out for their loved ones as well.
A Spellbinding Story of Greed, Corruption, Hope, and Undying Friendship
Portland Police Detective Wayne Deetz and son, Brandon, a rookie officer, are investigating a vicious drug ring that may have ties to notorious gangster Sidney Grimaldi. With each startling piece of evidence the Deetz boys uncover, Grimaldi’s noose rachets tighter and someone else turns up dead.
Meanwhile, the life of Police Sergeant Dolby Tidwell is unraveling before his eyes. His adult son is a walking time-bomb. His longtime wife appears to be seeking a relationship outside the marriage. His best friend was shot and killed amidst shady circumstances in a mysterious cold case. And Tidwell is turning to the bottle to make it all go away.
When Deetz is sidelined and bad boy cop Harold Rickert is forced to partner with Deetz's son, Brandon—matters plummet to unthinkable depths.
Signs of Life: The Final Chapter?
Portland Police Investigator Wayne Deetz is a mere three weeks from retirement. It’s almost Christmas, and his son, Brandon, is getting married. But when Brandon’s fiancée, Kristen, is confronted by a figure from her shadowy past, their joyous plans take a dark turn.
As Deetz trains his gruff and unpredictable replacement, Howard Googan, they delve into a disturbing missing-person case that hits closer to home with each new piece of evidence.
Meanwhile, unsettling events plague the Deetz household. Personal belongings vanish. Cryptic gifts appear. And a distressing discovery makes one thing terrifyingly clear—someone is watching. And listening.
As chilling “coincidences” and brazen encounters escalate, Deetz and his loved ones must unravel the truth before it’s too late. Who are the mysterious neighbors lurking next door? And what twisted endgame are they playing?
The Crittendon Files
A Haunting Name From the Past
Granger Meade. He was mentally scarred as a boy by his religious zealot parents. He was bullied at school for his quiet, oafish appearance, which naturally made him a loner and outcast.
But one girl treated him differently—Pamela Wagner. Pamela talked to Granger, took an interest, listened, made him feel like a human being. She cared when no one else did, and Granger loved and respected her for it; and still does 20 years later.
So Granger goes back to their Ohio town. Back to Pamela.
But she is happily married to reporter Jack Crittendon, who's embroiled in a time-sensitive story about a pastor who's disappeared and left a suicide note; a case swirling with suspicion and scandal. When Granger crosses paths with Pamela, he snaps and does the unthinkable, putting Pamela's life in the balance, and sending Jack on a death-defying quest to save his wife.
People Are Sick And Dying in an Ohio Town.
Rumors Are Swirling Like the Poison in the Air . . .
Some claim chemicals leaking from a manufacturing plant are causing the cancer that’s crippling people on the poor side of Trenton City, Ohio. Yet nothing at the plant appears amiss. The problem remains a mystery until reporter Jack Crittendon’s long-time mechanic falls ill and Jack investigates.
Soon Jack becomes engulfed in a smokescreen of lies, setups, greed, and scandal. The deeper he digs, the more toxic the corruption he uncovers. As he faces off with the big-time players behind the scenes and tries to beat the clock before more people die, he realizes the chillingly unthinkable—he knows way too much.
A Political Rally on U.S. Soil.
A Mounting Terrorist Threat.
A Nightmare of Cataclysmic Proportions.
Jack and Pamela Crittendon have hit the breaking point. After months out of work as a reporter, Jack is playing Mr. Mom and working part-time at Festival Arena with his survivalist friend Brian Shakespeare.
With financial and family pressures boiling, Jack reports for duty at a rally for controversial presidential candidate Martin Sterling where he expects a mindless night on the job. But when Homeland Security picks up intel about a potential terrorist threat, Jack and Shakespeare are thrust into a life-or-death battle to save themselves—and the lives of thousands of innocent people.
Rock Star Chronicles
Millionaire Rock Star Everett Lester Had It All . . .
His heavy metal band DeathStroke played bars and honkytonks until a NYC record label discovered them and the band experienced a meteoric rise to the top of the record charts — and super-stardom.
Despite Everett’s unfathomable popularity and riches, he was spiraling out of control, falling into a state of unhappiness and depression, with drugs and alcohol his only comfort.
When Everett began to rely on the services of a personal psychic from L.A. for guidance and solace, he found a sinister form of evil seeping into his fractured life that threatened to end his career — and destroy his existence.
Through it all, he received uplifting notes from a young lady in Topeka, Kansas, who claimed she was not a fan, but a friend who was praying for him.
A murder trial ensues and the eyes of the world are watching courtroom B-3 in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
You Can’t Outrun Your Past, Even If You Were A Superstar
Everett Lester, former front-man for the heavy metal band DeathStroke and one of the world’s most recognized celebrities, has turned over a new leaf. The Living Water Tour will take Everett back on the road as he performs his music for a new cause — but he quickly learns that outrunning his dark and tumultuous past will be impossible.
Everett’s wife, Karen, has received news that has rocked their world. Everett’s gambling-addicted brother Eddie and the rest of his deteriorating family greet Everett’s new ambitions with hatred and disdain. And when the Mob closes in on Eddie, Everett and Karen are dragged into a nightmare-like world of unthinkable threats and diabolical intentions.
As if that wasn’t enough, Eddie’s son Wesley blames Everett for his brother’s death. When Wesley hooks up with psychotic Tony Badino, the two meth-heads and their gang will stop at nothing to bring Everett down — and whoever else stands in their way.
