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Signs of Life Series
Book #1
Cries of Grief and Revenge Ring Out in the City of Portland
When tragedy strikes Portland's Pioneer Square, high school teacher Tyson Cooper races to the scene, only to find his beloved Kim lies among the fallen. Shattered and seething, Cooper vows vengeance against the 19-year-old suspect, Rogan Sneed, no matter what the cost.
Veteran police detective Wayne Deetz has nearly closed the book on his long career when he's handed the case of a lifetime. As Deetz peels back the layers of mystery surrounding the odd and belligerent Rogan Sneed, he finds himself and his family dragged into a vortex of threats and danger that will change their lives forever.
With Cooper bent on exacting justice outside the law and Rogan Sneed's sinister agenda threatening to unleash more chaos on the city, Deetz faces impossible choices that involve breaking his oath and protecting his family—at whatever the cost.
Step into the crosshairs of a city under siege in this explosive thriller where faith, family, and the law hang in the balance.
— Read now in ebook, print, or audio --
Book #2
The Nightmare is Far From Over
Rogan Sneed rots in prison for the massacre he unleashed on Portland's Pioneer Square. The copycat is dead. The city's wounds have healed. But then, a blip on the screen. A teenage girl vanishes without a trace, her diary hinting at a third conspirator in the heinous attack that claimed 21 lives.
Portland police veteran Wayne Deetz should be coasting toward retirement. Instead, he's careening into a harrowing underworld, the likes of which he’s never encountered before. A local plumber emerges as a person of interest in the girl's disappearance, but Deetz believes a far more sinister force is at work.
Still struggling to tame the demons of his anxiety, Deetz is out of time and up against an evil that hits disturbingly close to home. He races to connect the dots before another strike triggers catastrophic carnage.
From the blood-stained streets of Pioneer Square to the murkiest depths of the American underworld, join Deetz's pulse-pounding quest to stop a mastermind intent on finishing what was started and delivering a city to its knees.
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Book #3
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.
— Read now in ebook, print, or audio --
Book #4
Octavius Hunt: Refined & Talented Artist--
or Something Much More Sinister?
After surviving the aftermath of a terrorist attack in Portland, grappling with the kidnapping of their daughter, and narrowly escaping a life-threatening domestic violence case, Portland Police Investigator Wayne Deetz and his wife Joanie yearn for respite. Seeking solace, they embark on a long-overdue vacation in the enchanting landscapes of Sedona, Arizona, hoping to make crucial career decisions and rebuild their shattered lives.
However, their peaceful retreat takes a chilling turn when Joanie's childhood friend, Suzanne, displays an unsettling combination of euphoria and distance. Suspicion mounts as Deetz and Joanie become suspicious of Suzanne's mysterious boyfriend, the charismatic 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.
Brace yourself for a heart-pounding journey into the shadows of intrigue, where danger lurks behind every picturesque facade in Charm Artist, the latest thriller from Creston Mapes.
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Book #5
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.
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Book #6
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.
— Read now in ebook, print, or audio --
Book #7
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?
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