Can murder ever be justified?

When a prominent judge is found stabbed to death on Valentine's weekend in what appears to be a crime of passion, Florida homicide detective Maggie Novak knows her skills are about to be put on trial.

Bobby Russell is everybody's favorite judge, and at first Maggie is hard-pressed to find anyone with anything bad to say about him, let alone someone harboring a hatred so deep that they will kill him over it. But as she peels back the layers of his life, and the eyewitness to his murder goes missing, Maggie is faced with the very real prospect that beneath the judge's perfect surface deadly undercurrents lurk.

To uncover the truth, Maggie must first expose the judge's darkest secret, one that reaches deep inside his private life and into the death of his daughter several years ago.

A child's life hangs in the balance and a coldblooded killer is at large. Will the scales of justice tip in Maggie's favor in time for her to save the day?


The next book in the series 'HER ONLY REGRET' is OUT NOW
as well as the MAGGIE NOVAK SERIES companion guide.


Titles by Keith Houghton -

The Gabe Quinn Thrillers

KILLING HOPE
CROSSING LINES
TAKING LIBERTY
CHASING FAME

Maggie Novak Thriller Series

DON'T EVEN BREATHE
A PLACE CALLED FEAR
THE OTHER CHILD
HER ONLY REGRET
MAGGIE NOVAK SERIES COMPANION

Stand-alone Psychological Thrillers

BEFORE YOU LEAP
NO COMING BACK
CRASH

Standalone Mystery Thrillers

TOLEDO BEND


All books are included in Kindle Unlimited. Audiobooks available.
For more information: keithhoughton.com

When cops turn on each other, who can you trust?

Florida homicide detective Maggie Novak should be celebrating: it’s the start of a new year, and her boyfriend has just proposed. But all she can think about is the alarming news she received earlier that evening—her teammate Detective Clayton Young is missing.

With few leads, Maggie heads to the supermarket where Clay was last seen. To her horror, security footage reveals a devastating scene in the parking lot: her colleague has died in fearful circumstances. As the investigation begins, Homicide Squad is rocked by the news that Clay might not be the only intended target, and that any one of them could be next on the killer’s agenda.

Clay’s partner, Detective Andy Stucker, is refusing to answer calls, and Maggie suspects he has a part to play in their colleague’s death. Scanning through Clay’s phone, she finds a message to Stucker with the words “they know.”

Who are “they”? And what do they know? As more secrets come to light, Maggie has good reason to believe the killer is just getting started. She needs to uncover the truth fast. But is it already right in front of her eyes?

Also available in the Maggie Novak Thriller series:

DON'T EVEN BREATHE

THE OTHER CHILD

HER ONLY REGRET

From the bestselling author of Crash comes a riveting thriller rife with murder, misdirection, and ghosts from the past.

Florida homicide detective Maggie Novak has seen hundreds of brutal murder cases, but when she is called out to investigate the charred remains of a young woman, in what appears to be a Halloween prank gone wrong, she is confronted with a twenty-year-old secret. The body is formally identified as that of school counselor Dana Cullen, but a distinguishing mark makes Maggie look again. She believes it is the body of her school friend Rita, who perished in a fire twenty years ago.

Maggie’s hunt for the truth behind the murder takes her back to a cruel high school trick she’s desperate to forget. And when another body turns up, Maggie realizes she too may be the target of a sinister plot creeping toward its final act.

Maggie needs emotional distance to do her job, but she’s so close to this case that she can’t even breathe. Will Maggie be able to uncover the truth of who wanted Rita dead? Or will her past mistakes catch up with her first?

Also available in the Maggie Novak Thriller series:-

A PLACE CALLED FEAR

THE OTHER CHILD

HER ONLY REGRET