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The Laura Cardinal Novels by [J. Carson Black]

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J. Carson Black

The Laura Cardinal Novels Kindle Edition

by J. Carson Black (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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For the first time in one volume, the three novels that introduced J. Carson Black's remarkable Arizona DPS investigator, Laura Cardinal, a New York Times and USA Today best seller.

Laura Cardinal: Packs a SIG Sauer P226 9mm. Investigates homicides in small towns that have limited resources. Brings justice to murder victims--and to their killers. Laura’s job description: Criminal Investigator with the Arizona Department of Public Safety. But maybe it should just say “Troubleshooter.”

DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN, Book 1
“A superb debut…Welcome to a strong new voice in American Crime Fiction”
—T. Jefferson Parker, author of THE BORDER LORDS

Used to be kids played outdoors until time for dinner, now social media’s the new game in town. These days, they play on their smartphones. But with more freedom comes greater danger. Mobile devices and computers are a conduit into a child’s life, not just for friends but for those who intend harm. This is the message of J. Carson Black’s Daphne du Maurier Award-nominated thriller, DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN.

When Laura investigates the murder of a fourteen-year-old girl left in a town’s park band shell, she knows immediately what she’s up against: a cunning sexual predator. But why is she plagued by the abduction of a schoolmate eighteen years earlier?

In a runaway case that propels Laura from a lavish Tucson estate to the secretive heart of a north Florida town, she must confront the ghosts of her own past. Then another child goes missing—and Laura must race the clock to find her.

“A dark, brilliantly-plotted police procedural.”
—Midwest Book Review

DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, Book 2
When a young couple on their honeymoon is found shot to death in a campground in Williams, Arizona, the consequences go far beyond a simple murder investigation. As the investigation unfolds, Laura uncovers a chilling portrait of the dark side of love. And when she learns of one victim’s ties to an underground organization called the Earth Warriors, she is plunged into a high-stakes conspiracy played out against the unforgiving backdrop of the Mojave Desert—where there are no second chances.

"Dark Side of the Moon takes you on a perilous descent into a shadowy underworld where light cannot reach, trust can be fatal, and the deepest truth is only another lie. Once again J. Carson Black delivers a harrowing nonstop thrill ride that will eclipse every other suspense novel you read this year!”
—New York Times bestselling author Michael Prescott

“Black never lets up the pace for an instant.”
—SF Site

THE DEVIL’S HOUR, Book 3
“J. Carson Black's THE DEVIL'S HOUR is a superior mystery novel in all respects. Fine prose, terrific suspense, believable characters, and one of the most unexpected and satisfying conclusions I've read in a long time. Highly recommended."
—John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of DAMAGE

In 1997, the disappearance of three young girls rocked the city of Tucson, Arizona. Eleven years later, one of those girls—Micaela Brashear—comes home, alive.

Detective Laura Cardinal worked homicide for Arizona DPS, but now she's been moved to the Open-Unsolved Unit. With a new job and a new partner who questions her every move, Laura pieces together Micaela's fragmented memories in the hope she will learn the whereabouts of the other two children.

When a man walking his dog finds the bones of a child in a shallow grave on the mountain above town, it becomes clear to Laura that Micaela was the lucky one.

But the killer isn't through yet, and after the fiery death of someone close to Laura, she realizes she faces an implacable enemy.

Print length

972 pages
Language

English
Publication date

September 26, 2011
File size

1511 KB
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005PYI9TA
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Breakaway Media (September 26, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 26, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1511 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 972 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #991,462 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3,782 in Ghost Thrillers
- #6,706 in Ghost Mysteries
- #12,026 in Police Procedurals (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
142 ratings

About the author

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J. Carson Black

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Hailed by bestselling author T. Jefferson Parker as "a strong new voice in American crime fiction," J. Carson Black has written fifteen novels. Her thriller, THE SHOP, reached #1 on the Kindle Bestseller list, and her crime thriller series featuring homicide detective Laura Cardinal became a New York Times and USA Today bestseller. Although Black earned a master's degree in operatic voice, she was inspired to write a horror novel after reading The Shining. She lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Customer reviews

5 star		50%
4 star		32%
3 star		14%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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GaryB

Three Super Good Novels For a Really Good Deal. Great Entertainment

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2017

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This is a list of the reviews on the novels in this book series.

Darkness On The Edge Of Town
A well done mystery suspense that draws you in quick. I enjoyed the twisted tale and all the surprising developments. Laura Cardinal is an easy to get onboard with protagonist. I'm reading this from a collection of Laura Cardinal novels, which was a good deal to get them all for a good price.

Dark Side Of The Moon
A top notch murder mystery involving homegrown terrorism and plenty of twist and turns. The lies keep compounding from multiple parties. And with multiple murders and several crime scenes. Laura and the rest of law enforcement may never sort it all out. Not to mention stop the terrorists.

The Devils Hour
A wicked wild ride of a thriller. With multiple serial killers, eerie apparitions and several cold cases. Laura Cardinal has all she can handle and then has a couple of different attempts on her life thrown into the mix and her house blown up.

Helpful

Kindle Customer

I will buy more of this series.

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2015

Verified Purchase

I found this author after buying the Deadly Dozen 2 compilation. I have mixed thoughts on those compilations as I like to read series from the beginning, but it took me to this "boxed set" which does start at the beginning of the Cardinal series.

The series is set in Arizona and Cardinal is with what we'd call where I'm from the State Police. The first book is set in Bisbee which was interesting as Jance's Brady series is also set there. No homage to Sheriff Brady here though as Cardinal is working with the city police and not the sheriff's office. In a lot of ways I preferred Cardinal to Brady. We do have side stories involving Cardinal's love life but we don't have the mother/daughter relationship analysis that sometimes bogs the Brady books down for me.

There is a repeating side story where Cardinal's deceased mentor appears to her. You can decide for yourself whether this is a ghost or a dream. I vote for dream as I don't believe in ghosts. I can't say more on this though without ruining one of the books. I will say that I kicked myself as the ending approached and I solved the mystery..

I would have rated the writing higher but I was bothered by a nit-pick. It grated on me that the author didn't use the subjunctive consistently writing "was" instead of "were."

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

dakotascout

a good series to add to your collection

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2015

Verified Purchase

I think I like this series mostly because I am familiar with the area so it brings the story more to life. the author has a good descriptive sense of writing that creates vivid images in your mind. she also is sensitive to smells. her story lines are crisp and clear, easy to follow and compelling to savor until the end. I would certainly stay with any additional books in this series.

2 people found this helpful

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Darlene

A new favorite

Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2012

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A new favorite character and a new favorite author and a new favorite locale for my mystery/detective book addiction
I love the 3-in-one package,too Order once,read 3 Great idea
Laura Cardinal is someone you want to know more about Each book gives you a little more knowledge of her personality and you are left wanting to know more Because of that alone I can't wait til the next book to come out.
The locale of the desert Southwest is so different from most detective books standard locations of New York City or the Los Angeles area The authors descriptions of the area makes me want to take a trip there to see the beauty for myself
Great writing,unusual plots,a strong female character,beautiful locale, these books have it all Don't miss out

24 people found this helpful

Helpful

C. N. Moore

Fine enjoyable woman police detective story

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2013

Verified Purchase

I give it 5 stars mostly because it never annoyed me. Proofreading was 99% or better - there were a few omissions of unimportant words, mostly missing "the", "that", and the like. No one withheld information that could have changed everything. None of my pet peeves at all.

Obviously the novels are reminiscent of all the others of its type, but somehow they managed to be imaginative and a real pleasure to read.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Sensible, human heroine.

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2013

Verified Purchase

I really enjoyed these books. The protagonist is down-to-earth, intelligent, but has human flaws. The mysteries were interesting, and there is a slight touch of romance which tells you about Laura Cardinal enough, but doesn't turn them into romance novels. It was well worth the price, especially for all three books. I hope J. Carson Black will publish another in the series, I will buy it.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Annej

excellent series

Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2013

Verified Purchase

Suspense abounds as you fly down Arizona highways driving deeper into each crime scene with Laura. You feel each painful memory that drives this Arizona DPS Detective to find the killers of the innocent. Each case has a certain intrigue and twist that eludes the law enforcement teams until suddenly the twist reveals itself. Hard books to put down.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

cindyf

Couldn't stop reading!

Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2016

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I loved all three books and really enjoyed the character development. I was quickly invested in Laura and her personal as well as professional endeavors. The author has mastered the ability to build suspense and I just had to know what happened! Hoping Laura finds some happiness soon...I felt so sad after the third book.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

A. Linton

Entertaining trio of stories

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2019

Verified Purchase

I read 'The Devil's Hour' a few years ago as part of another anthology and was quite impressed so happy to be able to read two other Laura Cardinale stories. However it quickly because apparently that this was probably her best work ever - the other stories - though entertaining - didn't live up to the same standard. However it is still a very readable collection - I liked Laura and found her a credible character and I also loved the author's description of the beautiful Arizona landscape. Well worth a read if you like stories about female detectives.

T. Talbot

Good but.....

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 15, 2016

Verified Purchase

I really wanted to like these books but they just failed to really get my interest. The writing is good, the author obviously loves the desert and paints a great picture of it , the storylines were involved, but the characters both main and sub were weak. I love Sue Graftons books and there are a lot of similarities but where Kinsey Millhone is nearly a real person to me now, I felt no real connection to Laura Cardinal I read them, but there was no sense of anticipation for the next.

Kindle Customer

FANTASTIC

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 13, 2016

Verified Purchase

If I could've, I'd have given these books a six... I was completely engrossed in each book, I found it hard to put them down at night and looked forward to the opportunity to return to them. Each book is action packed and I loved the fact I couldn't always guess what was going to happen next (this is a really big deal for me)!.

Jackie

Excellent books

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2017

Verified Purchase

Three excellent books for the price of one! Kept me turning the pages until I had read all three.

Jacky K

Good Gripping Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 15, 2012

Verified Purchase

Just finished these three books about Laura Cardinal. I enjoyed them immensely, in fact I read them one after the other and still wanted more! They read very easily and keep you gripped from the start. I would definitely recommend giving them a go. I will certainly be reading more from this author.

5 people found this helpful

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