Join us on a literary world trip!
Add this book to bookshelf
Grey
Write a new comment Default profile 50px
Grey
Subscribe to read the full book or read the first pages for free!
All characters reduced
The Pawnbroker - A Mystery - cover

The Pawnbroker - A Mystery

David Thurlo, Aimée Thurlo

Publisher: Minotaur Books

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Summary

Charlie Henry is the proud new owner of the Three Balls pawnshop, having recently returned Stateside from special-ops work in Iraq. The transition back to normal life seems to be going smoothly for him and his Army buddy and co-owner of the shop, Gordon Sweeney—until Gina, Charlie's childhood friend, gets shot in a transaction for information from the previous owner of Three Balls. Gordon rushes to help Gina as she bleeds on the sidewalk, while Charlie roars off on a chase to catch the shooter.  The shooter gets away, and as they dig deeper, they find that the shooting has to do with Howard Baza, the previous owner of the pawnshop, and his rather questionable morals. The Albuquerque Police Department reluctantly lets the two ex-soldiers lend a hand with the investigation. Along the way they get tangled up in gang rivalries and led astray by false identities. They discover that nothing is what it seems, and almost no one is who they appear to be.
Available since: 08/06/2024.
Print length: 301 pages.

Other books that might interest you

  • The Final Problem - cover

    The Final Problem

    Arthur Conan Doyle

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    The Final Problem is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in Strand Magazine under the title "The Adventure of the Final Problem" in December 1893. It appears in book form as part of the collection The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. This story, set in 1891, introduced Holmes's archenemy, the criminal mastermind Professor James Moriarty. Conan Doyle later ranked "The Final Problem" fourth on his personal list of the twelve best Holmes stories.Holmes arrives at Dr. John Watson's residence one evening in a somewhat agitated state and with grazed and bleeding knuckles. Much to Watson's surprise, he had apparently escaped three separate murder attempts that day after a visit from Professor Moriarty, who warned Holmes to withdraw from his pursuit of justice against him to avoid any regrettable outcome. First, just as he was turning a street corner, a cab suddenly rushed towards him and Holmes just managed to leap out of the way in time. Second, while Holmes was walking along the street, a brick fell from the roof of a house, just missing the detective. He then called the police to search the whole area but could not prove that it was anything other than an accident. Finally, on his way to Watson's house, he was attacked by a thug armed with a cosh. Holmes managed to overcome his assailant and handed him to the police but admitted that there was virtually no hope of proving that the man was in the employ of the criminal mastermind.Famous works of the author Arthur Conan Doyle: A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Valley of Fear, His Last Bow, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, Stories of Sherlock Holmes, The Lost World.
    Show book
  • Cake Stand Conundrum The: A Cozy Mystery of Layered Lies and a Frosted Fiend - Some layers hide bitter secrets - cover

    Cake Stand Conundrum The: A Cozy...

    Hang Nguyen

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    🎂 Wedding cake artist Buttercup Bliss is preparing for the social event of the season when the bride's controlling mother is found dead, her body arranged dramatically atop a three-tier cake stand in Buttercup's own kitchen. The police suspect a simple heart attack, but Buttercup notices the cake stand has been tampered with and the victim's final bite of cake contains a mysterious ingredient not found in any of her recipes. With her reputation as the town's premier baker crumbling faster than a dry cake, Buttercup must whip up her own investigation. Assisted by her cake-decorating apprentice and the groom's suspiciously knowledgeable brother, she uncovers a multi-layered conspiracy involving blackmail, stolen inheritance, and decades-old family recipes. From coded messages written in icing to cake layers that reveal different baking techniques, every tier tells part of the story. But when Buttercup discovers the victim was systematically destroying local bakeries to eliminate competition for her own daughter's planned bakery chain, she realizes the killer might be someone she's been frosting alongside for years. With the wedding rapidly approaching and the real killer still mixing in plain sight, Buttercup must slice through the sweet deception before she becomes the next layer in this deadly confection.
    Show book
  • Possession - cover

    Possession

    William Mangieri

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Jimmy’s relationship with Diana has never been better, but then she gets control of the Southside Endowment. Jimmy starts to feel like just another possession, until a seeming ghost from the past gives him something to investigate. Possession may be nine-tenths of the law, but exactly what kind of possession are we talking about here? 
    “Possession" is a soft-boiled detective novella with some sci-fi and fantasy elements, sort of a The Rockford Files meets The Avengers (the old BBC series, not the superheroes.) It’s eighth in the Detective Jimmy Delaney series.
    Show book
  • Secret Journal of Ashford Manor The: A Gripping Mystery of Wealth Power and Deadly Deceit - A Twisting Tale of Family Secrets and Fatal Ambition - cover

    Secret Journal of Ashford Manor...

    Hang Nguyen

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    When archivist Elara Vance is hired to catalog the ancient library of the prestigious—and notoriously secretive—Ashford family, she stumbles upon a hidden journal that details a century of their darkest affairs. The journal, written by the manor's first lady, contains cryptic entries about illicit business deals, political blackmail, and a suspicious death that was never solved. But as Elara delves deeper, her investigation attracts dangerous attention. The current Ashford heirs, a powerful and ruthless bunch, will stop at nothing to protect their legacy. Suddenly, Elara finds herself at the center of a deadly game, racing against time to decipher the journal's clues before a lurking presence silences her for good. With the help of a disgraced investigative journalist who has his own reasons for distrusting the family, she must untangle a web of lies that connects the past to a very present danger. This gripping mystery is a masterclass in suspense, exploring the corrupting influence of wealth and the deadly price of uncovering the truth.
    Show book
  • Extreme Force (An Axel Strike Action Thriller—Book 2) - cover

    Extreme Force (An Axel Strike...

    Jack Mars

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    “Thriller writing at its best.” 
    --Midwest Book Review (Any Means Necessary)
    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    
    Former Airborne-turned-Homeland Security Agent Axel Strike is a special asset: he is only summoned as a last resort, when a crisis situation offers no other alternative but for an elite, daredevil agent to drop in from the sky.
    
    In EXTREME FORCE (Book #2), when a deep-sea oil rig becomes a terrorist stronghold amidst a violent storm, ex-Airborne soldier Axel Strike is the only hope to avert an ecological nightmare. Leaping from the sky into chaos, Strike must navigate treacherous conditions and overpower the enemy, or the next oil spill could be the most devastating ever witnessed.
    
    EXTREME FORCE (Book #2) is the second book in an electrifying new action thriller series from the #1 bestselling and USA Today bestselling author Jack Mars (with over 10,000 five-star reviews). The series begins with EXTREME JUSTICE (Book #1).
    
    The Axel Strike series delivers a riveting, adrenaline-fueled adventure brimming with surprising twists and exhilarating action that will hold you captive from the first page to the last. The compelling hero at the heart of this saga will keep you turning pages deep into the night. Fans of David Baldacci, Vince Flynn, and Lee Child are sure to fall in love.
    
    Future books in the series are also available!
    
    “Thriller enthusiasts who relish the precise execution of an international thriller, but who seek the psychological depth and believability of a protagonist who simultaneously fields professional and personal life challenges, will find this a gripping story that's hard to put down.”
    --Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Any Means Necessary)
    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    
    “One of the best thrillers I have read this year. The plot is intelligent and will keep you hooked from the beginning. The author did a superb job creating a set of characters who are fully developed and very much enjoyable. I can hardly wait for the sequel.”
    --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Any Means Necessary)
    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    Show book
  • One-Shot Harry - cover

    One-Shot Harry

    Gary Phillips

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Race and civil rights in 1963 Los Angeles provide a powerful backdrop in Gary Phillips’s riveting historical crime novel about an African American forensic photographer seeking justice for his jazz musician friend.  
     
    Los Angeles, 1963: African American Korean War veteran Harry Ingram earns a living as a news photographer and occasional process server: chasing police radio calls and dodging baseball bats. With racial tensions running high on the eve of  
    Martin Luther King’s Freedom Rally, Ingram risks ending up one of the victims at every crime scene he photographs. 
     
    When Ingram hears a call over the police scanner to the scene of a deadly automobile accident, he recognizes the vehicle described as belonging to his good friend and old army buddy, the white jazz trumpeter Ben Kinslow, with whom  
    he’d only just reconnected. The LAPD declares the car crash an accident, but when Ingram develops his photos there are signs of foul play. Ingram feels compelled to play detective, even if it means putting his own life on the line. 
     
    Armed with his wits, his camera, and occasionally his Colt .45, Harry Ingram plunges headfirst into the seamier underbelly of LA society, tangling with racists, leftists, blackmailers, gangsters, zealots and lovers, all in the hope of finding something resembling justice for a friend.
    Show book