Showing results by author "Dan Padavona" in All Categories

When a criminal defense attorney is stabbed in her home, the police name her disturbed son, Shawn, their top suspect. But, no one can find Shawn. In a last-ditch effort to locate his son, Shawn’s father convinces PI Raven Hopkins to take the case and prove his son’s innocence. When Sheriff Thomas Shepherd takes over the investigation, the evidence against Shawn mounts. As hope of saving Shawn dwindles, another dead body surfaces. The victim’s shocking link to the criminal defense attorney wreaks havoc on the case.

The night holds dangerous secrets. And a girl who cried wolf is caught in a murderer’s crosshairs. Only 12 hours have passed since Violet saw her teenage boyfriend. Now his body lies in the morgue, riddled with stab wounds. And the evidence points to a mythical serial killer Violet invented to scare her friends...The Halloween Man.

Ex-FBI agent Darcy Gellar saved her family from two murderers avenging the Full Moon Killer, the man she put in prison. But now the serial killer is loose, and the terror is just beginning. Darcy has no allies. Her neighbors blame her for bringing the horror to their idyllic village beside the ocean. The FBI can't protect her. And the police just discovered another dead girl linked to the Gellar family.

Hannah never takes her eyes off her son around strangers. So when her child vanishes at an amusement park, Hannah fears the worst. Working beside Chelsey Byrd and her team of private investigators, Thomas Shepherd looks into the potential abduction. But when disturbing evidence surfaces, the team suspects Hannah isn't telling the truth. With suspicion growing that Hannah is involved in her son's disappearance, the distraught mother will stop at nothing to prove her innocence and get her child back. But can she face the shocking truth surrounding her son's kidnapping?

How far would you go to save a child in need? Jadyn is a promising inner-city student. But his community is terrorized by gangs and a series of grisly unsolved murders. When the boy stops coming to school. his teacher, Annelise, determines to find out why. Now she is trapped on the wrong side of town, and something evil is stalking her.

He's cheating on her. Marissa tracks Tristan's lovers to their addresses, trying to catch them in the act. But Tristan's women are ghosts who don't seem to exist, and now someone is stalking her. After a series of bloody murders follow in Marissa's wake, she doesn't know who to trust. Marissa must stay ahead of a bloodthirsty killer if she is discover the horrible truth of her marriage. If she fails, she dies.

Small town sheriff Thomas Shepherd is recovering from a traumatic encounter with a vicious killer. His psychiatrist urges him to avoid kidnapping and murder cases, until his mind processes the nightmarish battle. But when another girl disappears, Thomas has no choice but to lead the investigation. Challenged by Asperger's syndrome, the sheriff must balance his duty and mental wellbeing.

In the shadowy corners of Wolf Lake, a small town filled with secrets, a series of chilling murders paralyze the community. Women who live alone are found dead, each with an ominous calling card beside their bodies—a dead crow. Sheriff Thomas Shepherd zeroes in on a suspect, while Raven Hopkins, a private investigator with an instinct for truth, becomes entangled in the investigation. She's the only person who believes in the suspect's innocence, putting her at odds with Thomas and the sheriff's department.

FBI agent Scarlett Bell feels abandoned. Her supervisor doesn’t trust her to work with a partner, and the agency watches every move she makes.

The Thriller Author's Mindset is perfect for readers who love chills and writers searching for motivation, passion, direction, and an entrepreneurial mindset. In this podcast, bestselling thriller author Dan Padavona discusses thriller books and movies, and helps authors develop the skills to write gripping novels.

A nine-year-old girl vanishes from Wolf Lake without a trace, and Agent Neil Gardy with the FBI believes the disappearance is related to a potential kidnapping case in Michigan.

After the police discover a ritualistic murder in South Carolina, Agent Scarlett Bell notices the killing is eerily similar to a case from seven years ago. Is the new murder linked to the assassination of a popular congresswoman? When the serial killer abducts another woman, Scarlett battles government officials who wish to silence her investigation and aligns herself with fugitive Logan Wolf.

A murderer stalks a lake community in Virginia. Three women missing. Vanished from the face of the earth. And local law enforcement can't stop the serial killer. The police call upon Special Agent Scarlett Bell, the FBI's talented profiler, to hunt the murderer. When a pattern emerges with the victims, Scarlett and her partner, Neil Gardy, close in on the killer. But someone is hunting Scarlett Bell. A deadly sniper who wants her dead. The problem is...nobody believes the gunman exists except her.

When Special Agent Scarlett Bell investigates a gruesome murder in a small farming village, she discovers a murderer like none she's previously encountered. Brilliant and insane, he taunts the FBI, who are powerless to stop him. A schoolteacher disappears, and now Scarlett must discover the link between the two women before the killer claims another victim. But the FBI won't give Scarlett the support she needs, and her own partner turns against her, forcing Scarlett to go rogue if she hopes to rescue the teacher.

The authorities claim the serial killer doesn’t exist. Only Darcy has the unwavering courage to follow his deadly trail. One dead girl at a popular campsite. A second woman’s corpse tossed along a running trail. And unexplainable spider bites on both victims. After the medical examiner concludes both women died from venomous spider bites, the police want to close the case. Then a third woman goes missing, and Darcy discovers a dangerous man linked to the three victims. Is a murderer stalking the darkness?

The serial killer who murdered Scarlett’s childhood friend terrifies the country. Referring to himself as “God’s Hand”, the killer threatens one of Washington’s most powerful congresswomen, a woman who can destroy Scarlett’s career if she doesn’t solve the case. Now God’s Hand kidnaps the congresswoman’s daughter. It’s up to Scarlett Bell to rescue the girl before the madman claims another victim. But not everyone is who they seem, and a dark figure tracks Scarlett. Friend or foe? Solving the mystery is key to apprehending a vicious serial killer.

Twenty-three years ago, someone murdered Scarlett Bell's childhood friend. And now, the killer is back. When the police discover another child's body along a small-town Georgia creek, Scarlett notices the similarities between the latest killing and the murder 23 years ago. But Scarlett's boss won't allow her to rejoin the FBI until her doctors clear her for duty. Now another young girl goes missing. Alone and without her partner, Neil Gardy, Scarlett defies the FBI and stalks the killer on her own. Is Scarlett the killer's next victim?

Darcy only wants to live a peaceful life with her family. But the past won't stop following her. And now the FBI has a message for Darcy.... A new serial killer hunts the night. And he kidnapped a girl with Down syndrome. Darcy leaves Julian and her children to pursue a vicious killer, but the idyllic community of Veil Lake is a death trap. Too many shadows and hidden dangers. Aided by Agent Ketchum of the FBI, Darcy sets out to rescue Faith, a girl the local police can't locate.

The FBI sends BAU profiler Scarlett Bell to investigate a series of shocking murders in a tropical Florida paradise. But the local detective is a former BAU agent who doesn't like Scarlett Bell and wants her off the case. Good thing Scarlett doesn't play by the rules.

A murderer the tabloids call The Skinner stalks Great Plains farmland, a twisted killer the authorities can't capture. The bones of the victims are buried behind his house in a shallow mass grave. He won't stop killing until he's caught. When Agent Scarlett Bell arrives in Kansas to hunt fugitive Logan Wolf, she stumbles upon The Skinner. Why is Logan Wolf stalking the same village as The Skinner? Are the serial killers working together?