Books published by publisher Smarmy Press

Her body is broken. Wrapped in plastic. Dumped on the side of the road. She is the first. There will be more.The serial killer thriller that "refuses to let go until you've read the last sentence."The most recent body was discovered in the grease dumpster behind a Burger King. Dismembered. Shoved into two garbage bags and lowered into the murky oil.Now rookie agent Violet Darger gets the most important assignment of her career. She travels to the Midwest to face a killer unlike anything she's seen. Aggressive. Territorial. Deranged and driven.Another mutilated corpse was found next to a roller rink. A third in the gutter in a residential neighborhood.These bold displays of violence shock the rural community and rattle local law enforcement. Who could carry out such brutality? And why?Unfortunately for Agent Darger, there's little physical evidence to work with, and the only witnesses prove to be unreliable. The case seems hopeless.If she fails, more will die. He will kill again and again.The victims harbor dark secrets. The clues twist and writhe and refuse to keep still. And the killer watches the investigation on the nightly news, gleeful to relive the violence, knowing that he can't be stopped.A page-turning thriller packed with heart-stopping suspense. Fans of John Sandford, Jeffery Deaver, Karin Slaughter, and Lisa Gardner should get to know Violet Darger.Praise for Dead End Girl:"Wow, just wow! If you like scare-you-half-to-death mystery books this is the one for you. It starts with a bang and just doesn't stop." -- Ada Lavin"Refuses to let go until you have read the last sentence." -- Bloodymummer"Violet Darger is a unique, incredible character, and I immensely enjoyed taking this journey with her." -- Cat "If you liked Silence of the Lambs, you'll love Dead End Girl... At the same time, there's so much attention to detail and organic storytelling that this could easily compete with any of Stephen King's longer works. I found myself completely invested in every character, from the authorities to the killer to the victims themselves." -- eden Hudson, author of Jubal Van Zandt & the Revenge of the Bloodslinger"A fantastic, twisted, full of suspense read." -- lady g"This book reminds me of some of my favorite books in the crime thriller genre - Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, The Collector by John Fowles, the Mr. Mercedes trilogy by Stephen King, and of course Silence of the Lambs. It's not a glimpse...it's a good long look inside the mind of a killer. It's fast paced, it's scary, and it's satisfying." -- Rain"Dead End Girl is nonstop action and intrigue that will keep you putting off everything until the story is over. This is a must read if you enjoy action & crime genre stories." -- David C. Taylor"If you are a fan of Silence of the Lambs, this book is a spiritual successor." -- Amazon customer"Vargas and McBain spin a fine tale with characters I want to climb inside--but not in a weird way." -- Jeanne Tarrants

Two days. Fourteen dead. The next victim could be you.The first bullet punches through the windshield of an SUV. A head shot. The driver's death is instantaneous. And it's only the beginning.A sniper along I-20 kills eight and causes a 36 car pileup. Brutal. Efficient.The next morning, the same individual stalks through a grocery store parking lot with a handgun. He takes out six innocent shoppers along with the store's front window before fleeing without a trace.By the time Special Agent Violet Darger arrives in Atlanta, the city teeters toward panic. The vacant streets and restaurants paint an eerie picture. No one dares to venture out.A killer walks among them. A shadow. And the public cowers just the way he wants them to.Once more Agent Darger must identify with a murderer, must stare into the darkness to anticipate his next move. Putting herself in his head may be the only way to stop him.The longer she takes, the higher the death toll. He will kill again and again.But what hatred drives a man to such desperate, violent acts? And what price must one pay to invite that chaos inside themselves?A page-turner packed with heart-stopping suspense. Fans of John Sandford, Karin Slaughter, Gillian Flynn, and Lisa Gardner should check out the Violet Darger series.The books in the series can be read in any order, so grab Killing Season and get started today.Praise for the Violet Darger series:"The Violet Darger books are honestly the best detective novels I've ever read." -- Devin"Wow, just wow! If you like scare-you-half-to-death mystery books this is the one for you. It starts with a bang and just doesn't stop." -- Ada Lavin"Violet Darger is a unique, incredible character, and I immensely enjoyed taking this journey with her." -- Cat "A rush of excitement, twists and turns." -- C. Munger"Insightful, bloody. Page turner about the corruption of morality and warped thinking patterns." -- Bella from Readingnstuff.com"Refuses to let go until you have read the last sentence." -- Bloodymummer"I found myself completely invested in every character, from the authorities to the killer to the victims themselves." -- eden Hudson, author of Revenge of the Bloodslinger"It's not a glimpse...it's a good long look inside the mind of a killer. It's fast paced, it's scary, and it's satisfying." -- Rain"If you are a fan of Silence of the Lambs, this book is a spiritual successor." -- Amazon customer"Vargus and McBain spin a fine tale with characters I want to climb inside--but not in a weird way." -- Jeanne Tarrants

Shallow graves scar the desert landscape. A cemetery in the sand. Some of the lost are never found.Thousands of girls go missing every year in Las Vegas. Taken. Bought and sold. Or worse.And now the dead are calling.These lost girls summon FBI Profiler Violet Darger to Sin City -- a new case. There are fresh dead to sort through -- two bodies burned beyond recognition in the trunk of a sedan -- and there’s reason to believe that there are missing girls waiting to be saved.Rumors swirl that a legendary killer is responsible for these crimes. An escaped prisoner with a personal grudge against Darger -- one who wants her and her partner dead. One who disappeared for 20 years.But the desert is full of deadly secrets -- horrors waiting beneath the sand.If Darger finds the killer in time, the girls will live. If not…This pulse-pounding thriller will have you holding your breath until the final page. Fans of John Sandford, Karin Slaughter, Gillian Flynn, and Lisa Gardner should check out the Violet Darger series.The books in the series can be read in any order, so grab The Girl in the Sand and get started today.Praise for the Violet Darger series:"Un-put-downable! I cannot wait for this series to grow. If you love Sandford, Slaughter, Kava, Stelljes and Deaver, you’ll LOVE Vargus & McBain!" -- Melody M"The Violet Darger books are honestly the best detective novels I've ever read." -- Devin"Vargus and McBain have, in Violet Darger, created a character that absolutely stands up with some of the greats -- Phillip Marlowe, Dave Robicheaux, Elvis Cole, Charlie Parker, August Dupin, Jack Reacher, Harry Bosch, etc." -- Lucinda E. Snyder"Wow, just wow! If you like scare-you-half-to-death mystery books this is the one for you. It starts with a bang and just doesn't stop." -- Ada Lavin"This series is full of suspense, action, and lots of murder." -- EllenAn"Violet Darger is a unique, incredible character, and I immensely enjoyed taking this journey with her." -- Cat "A rush of excitement, twists and turns." -- C. Munger"Insightful, bloody. Page turner about the corruption of morality and warped thinking patterns." -- Bella from Readingnstuff.com"Refuses to let go until you have read the last sentence." -- Bloodymummer"I found myself completely invested in every character, from the authorities to the killer to the victims themselves." -- eden Hudson, author of Revenge of the Bloodslinger"It's not a glimpse...it's a good long look inside the mind of a killer. It's fast paced, it's scary, and it's satisfying." -- Rain"If you are a fan of Silence of the Lambs, this book is a spiritual successor." -- Amazon customer"Vargus and McBain spin a fine tale with characters I want to climb inside -- but not in a weird way." -- Jeanne Tarrants

He slips through the unlocked window. Creeps down the hall. A shadow standing in the bedroom doorway. Will you wake when death comes ripping?A string of brutal home invasion murders terrifies Dade County, Florida. The killer strikes in the dead of the night, savages innocent people in their beds, wipes out entire families.He attacks at random. Rich. Poor. Young. Old. No one is safe.When the city sleeps, he comes alive. Stalks the night. Walks among us.The investigation is hopeless. There's little physical evidence to work with, and the killer's chaotic behavior makes him as unpredictable as he is dangerous.What drives someone to such violence? And how can anyone make sense of such brutality?The task force leading the investigation needs a profiler, and there's only one man for the job.Loshak. Special Agent Victor Loshak.The 53 year-old likes his Dunkin' Donuts coffee shaken, not stirred. And now, for the first time, he's on his own.But how far will this case push him?In recent years, Loshak has slowed down some. He relies on more wit than grit these days, often playing a mentor role to his partner, Violet Darger. Until now, she always had more than enough grit for both of them.But Darger isn't around this time, and a killer this aggressive will push Loshak to his limits. And beyond.Yeah, he'll need to find that grit again... or die trying.This pulse-pounding thriller will have you holding your breath until the final page. Fans of John Sandford, Karin Slaughter, Michael Connelly, and Lisa Gardner should check out the Victor Loshak series.

The body slumps over the steering wheel. Pools of blood going tacky on the dash. Two shots to the back of the head.A mafia-style hit in a small town.Special Agent Violet Darger must make sense of this savagery. Figure out how brutality like this could happen in rural Michigan.The victim had been living the American dream. A small-business owner who built a construction empire. Started a family. Coached youth hockey. He seemed to have it all. But his surface life didn’t tell the full story. He carried dark secrets to the grave. Left clues which offer more questions than answers, clues that seem to lead Darger to Detroit.In the city, she finds despair. Corruption. Decay.Blocks of vacant buildings line the streets. Crumbling. Caving in. It resembles ancient ruins more than a modern American city. Concrete caverns waiting to be explored.And there, among the rubble, she gets swept up in the hunt for a notorious hit man.He kills for profit. Navigates the brutal world of organized crime. Harbors secrets of his own, albeit domestic ones.He holds the answers to all of Darger’s questions, but only if she can catch him.This pulse-pounding thriller will have you on the edge of your seat until the final page. Fans of John Sandford, Karin Slaughter, Harlan Coben, and Lisa Jackson should check out the Violet Darger series.The books in the series can be read in any order, so grab Bad Blood and get started today.Praise for the Violet Darger series:"Un-put-downable! I cannot wait for this series to grow. If you love Sandford, Slaughter, Kava, Stelljes and Deaver, you’ll LOVE Vargus & McBain!" -- Melody M"The Violet Darger books are honestly the best detective novels I've ever read." -- Devin"Vargus and McBain have, in Violet Darger, created a character that absolutely stands up with some of the greats -- Phillip Marlowe, Dave Robicheaux, Elvis Cole, Charlie Parker, August Dupin, Jack Reacher, Harry Bosch, etc." -- Lucinda E. Snyder"Wow, just wow! If you like scare-you-half-to-death mystery books this is the one for you. It starts with a bang and just doesn't stop." -- Ada Lavin"This series is full of suspense, action, and lots of murder." -- EllenAn"Violet Darger is a unique, incredible character, and I immensely enjoyed taking this journey with her." -- Cat "A rush of excitement, twists and turns." -- C. Munger"Insightful, bloody. Page turner about the corruption of morality and warped thinking patterns." -- Bella from Readingnstuff.com"Refuses to let go until you have read the last sentence." -- Bloodymummer"Reading a Violet Darger novel always feels like coming home to an old friend—we hang out, we drink some coffee, we talk about her and Loshak’s personal lives, we interview victims’ families, we chase down some serial killers—all the stuff you normally do with your friends, except better. More exciting." -- eden Hudson, author of Revenge of the Bloodslinger"These books are kind of a nice combination of crime fiction and horror. Ok nice might not be the right word to use. How about gruesome. Or thrilling? Terrifying? Gripping? They're all that. They suck you in right away. And you just can't put them down until it's over." -- Melanie"If you are a fan of Silence of the Lambs, this book is a spiritual successor." -- Amazon customer"Vargus and McBain spin a fine tale with characters I want to climb inside -- but not in a weird way." -- Jeanne Tarrants

Her body floats. A bloated thing half atop the river. Naked. Pale. Mouth and eyes open wide. When two fishermen discover a corpse floating in the Clackamas river, profiler Violet Darger heads to rural Oregon to hunt another serial killer. What she discovers in the woods might change the course of her life.What secrets does the water conceal?The girl in the water marks the third such case in the area -- all drowned with superficial stab wounds and discovered in a body of water -- and Darger feels certain she won't be the last.The corpses are badly decomposed. The flesh purpled and softened from their time in the water. The forensic evidence distorted by decay and the elements. But the victims share one more thing in common -- all were discovered roughly five days post mortem. A coincidence? Something with meaning to be discerned?Darger suspects the timeline to be significant, but without evidence, she can only guess as to why. That sets up what might be the key to the case:What is the killer doing to the victims for the four days between their deaths and dumping their bodies?It's Darger's first case without Loshak, and it will test her like none before. This pulse-pounding thriller will have you holding your breath until the final page. Fans of John Sandford, Karin Slaughter, Gillian Flynn, and Lisa Gardner should check out the Violet Darger series.The books in the series can be read in any order, so grab Five Days Post Mortem and get started today.Praise for the Violet Darger series:"Un-put-downable! I cannot wait for this series to grow. If you love Sandford, Slaughter, Kava, Stelljes and Deaver, you’ll LOVE Vargus & McBain!" -- Melody M"The Violet Darger books are honestly the best detective novels I've ever read." -- Devin"Vargus and McBain have, in Violet Darger, created a character that absolutely stands up with some of the greats -- Phillip Marlowe, Dave Robicheaux, Elvis Cole, Charlie Parker, August Dupin, Jack Reacher, Harry Bosch, etc." -- Lucinda E. Snyder"I devour each installment in this series the instant it is available." -- Shelley R. Klouzal"Wow, just wow! If you like scare-you-half-to-death mystery books this is the one for you. It starts with a bang and just doesn't stop." -- Ada Lavin"Violet Darger is a unique, incredible character, and I immensely enjoyed taking this journey with her." -- Cat "A rush of excitement, twists and turns." -- C. Munger"Insightful, bloody. Page turner about the corruption of morality and warped thinking patterns." -- Bella from Readingnstuff.com"Refuses to let go until you have read the last sentence." -- Bloodymummer"Reading a Violet Darger novel always feels like coming home to an old friend—we hang out, we drink some coffee, we talk about her and Loshak’s personal lives, we interview victims’ families, we chase down some serial killers—all the stuff you normally do with your friends, except better. More exciting." -- eden Hudson, author of Revenge of the Bloodslinger"These books are kind of a nice combination of crime fiction and horror. Ok nice might not be the right word to use. How about gruesome. Or thrilling? Terrifying? Gripping? They're all that. They suck you in right away. And you just can't put them down until it's over." -- Melanie"If you are a fan of Silence of the Lambs, this book is a spiritual successor." -- Amazon customer"Vargus and McBain spin a fine tale with characters I want to climb inside -- but not in a weird way." -- Jeanne Tarrants

Her body is broken. Wrapped in plastic. Dumped on the side of the road. She is the first. There will be more. A serial killer stalks women in rural Ohio. He is deranged but brilliant, known only by the grotesque nickname the media has given him - The Doll Parts Killer. The name is apt. He dismembers his victims and leaves them in garbage bags in public places. A residential neighborhood. Next to a roller rink. Behind a Burger King. The investigation is a disaster. No physical evidence. Unreliable witnesses. To make matters worse, the FBI has lost contact with the star profiler working the case. Now rookie agent Violet Darger gets the most important assignment of her career. When Darger travels to Ohio, she brings along demons of her own. Her last case ended in tragedy. The death of a 16 year old girl. Darger still has nightmares about the bloody scene, still has panic attacks when she remembers. The trauma shattered her core beliefs. Now she faces a killer unlike anything she's seen. Aggressive. Territorial. If she fails, more will die. He will kill again and again. Will this case restore her faith? Or push her over the edge? The victims harbor dark secrets. The clues twist and writhe and refuse to keep still. And the killer watches the investigation on the nightly news, gleeful to relive the violence, knowing that he can't be stopped.

An escaped killer. A troubled investigator. Secrets that haunt the past and present.The Violet Darger series continues with this gripping short, The Last Victim.New crimes lead FBI profiler Victor Loshak to revisit former scenes and witnesses in the Las Vegas area. The evidence suggests the return of a notorious and brutal serial killer from years ago -- the one who got away.Loshak conceals his work from his partner, Violet Darger, and tries desperately to stay one step ahead of both her and the murderer.Leonard Stump is back. Maybe. And things are about to get so much worse.While the Darger books can be read in any order, here is the chronological order of the series: Dead End GirlImage in a Cracked Mirror (A Darger Novella)Killing SeasonThe Last Victim (A Darger Novella) Praise for the Violet Darger series:"The Violet Darger books are honestly the best detective novels I've ever read." -- Devin"Wow, just wow! If you like scare-you-half-to-death mystery books this is the one for you. It starts with a bang and just doesn't stop." -- Ada Lavin"Violet Darger is a unique, incredible character, and I immensely enjoyed taking this journey with her." -- Cat "A rush of excitement, twists and turns." -- C. Munger"Insightful, bloody. Page turner about the corruption of morality and warped thinking patterns." -- Bella from Readingnstuff.com"Refuses to let go until you have read the last sentence." -- Bloodymummer"I found myself completely invested in every character, from the authorities to the killer to the victims themselves." -- eden Hudson, author of Revenge of the Bloodslinger"It's not a glimpse...it's a good long look inside the mind of a killer. It's fast paced, it's scary, and it's satisfying." -- Rain"If you are a fan of Silence of the Lambs, this book is a spiritual successor." -- Amazon customer"Vargus and McBain spin a fine tale with characters I want to climb inside--but not in a weird way." -- Jeanne Tarrants

More than 37 hours of post-apocalyptic survival. With 99.7 percent of the Earth's population dead and gone, the few who remain struggle to survive in an empty world. The scattered. The leftovers. These are their stories. This collection contains the first four volumes of the Scattered and the Dead series, audiobooks 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0. Meet Mitch, a father infected with the zombie virus. His wife is gone. He has 24 hours until he turns. Can he make sure his kids are taken care of before time runs out? Meet Travis, a 23-year-old wimp who ran away as his parents were murdered by raiders. Surrounded by towers of scavenged booze and pills, he only wants to numb the pain...until he happens upon the men who killed his family. Now, he has a choice. Meet Erin. She's 16. Six months ago, she was worried about prom. Now, she worries about zombies and raiders and feeding an eight-year-old orphan. Meet Baghead. Meet Ray and Lorraine. Meet Decker and Teddy and Fiona. Meet the utterly lost who look for meaning in humanity's fading glow. Meet the scattered and the dead. Grab the audiobook bundle today.

When the world goes dark, survival becomes everything. The only thing.Power grid? Dead.A mysterious virus? Rampant.Enemies? Everywhere.How did this happen? And how do we survive?So begins the post-apocalypse. Part disaster, part terrifying mystery.Order topples quickly once the power goes down. No police. No government.Society itself has failed. Fractured. Disintegrated.The dead pile in the streets. Corpses strewn like dolls.The world as we know it ends with a whimper, a gurgle, a quick dimming of the lights.And now? All the animals come out at night. Welcome to the fuckin' jungle.Chaos rages across the land. Riots. Raiders. Fire. Murder.When the darkness falls, it comes in more way than one.Among the ashes, we meet the scattered, the leftovers:A family struggles to find long term shelter during the first wave of the collapse.Two orphan girls -- a 16 year old and an 8 year old -- gather supplies to help survive their first winter without power.A drunk and drug addict plots to avenge the death of his parents at the hands of raiders.A televangelist races to escape a rumored nuclear strike.Slowly, their paths will cross, their stories will merge, and a new world will be born out of the ruins. Not all of them will make it.Read and find out for yourself. Grab The Scattered and the Dead box set today.Praise for The Scattered and the Dead series:"Comparable to The Stand... I don't say this lightly. This book is amazing." - Rain"It is a heart pounding, nightmare inducing read that is also sad and nostalgic, poignant and even endearing." - Queen_of_Chaos"Tim McBain and L.T. Vargus have written yet another spectacular and vivid story." - Heather Di"Best book in this genre I've EVER read!" - Krycek"I loved the characters and their stories, can't wait to see who makes it to the end. Very entertaining!" - Dina"Man, got sucked in from page 1. Very well written, hard/impossible to put down. Love being immersed in this world with relatable dialogue and story to boot. 10 out of 10 would read again." - Paul King"Dark and fast paced, with vivid imagery." - Michael J"The best zombie series you will ever read! Love King, Cronin, or Koontz? The Scattered and the Dead is for you." - Kurt Robair

Shallow graves scar the desert landscape. A cemetery in the sand. Some of the lost are never found. Thousands of girls go missing every year in Las Vegas. Taken. Bought and sold. Or worse. Now the dead are calling. These lost girls summon FBI Profiler Violet Darger to Sin City - a new case. There are fresh dead to sort through - two bodies burned beyond recognition in the trunk of a sedan - and there's reason to believe there are missing girls waiting to be saved. Rumors swirl that a legendary killer is responsible for these crimes: an escaped prisoner with a personal grudge against Darger - one who wants her and her partner dead. One who disappeared for 20 years. But the desert is full of deadly secrets - horrors waiting beneath the sand. If Darger finds the killer in time, the girls will live. If not... This pulse-pounding thriller will have you holding your breath until the final moment. Fans of John Sandford, Karin Slaughter, Gillian Flynn, and Lisa Gardner should check out the Violet Darger series. The audiobooks in the series can be listened to in any order, so grab The Girl in the Sand and get started today.

He slips through the unlocked window. Creeps down the hall. A shadow standing in the bedroom doorway. Will you wake when death comes ripping? A string of brutal home invasion murders terrifies Dade County, Florida. The killer strikes in the dead of the night, savages innocent people in their beds, wipes out entire families. He attacks at random. Rich. Poor. Young. Old. No one is safe. When the city sleeps, he comes alive. Stalks the night. Walks among us. The investigation is hopeless. There's little physical evidence to work with, and the killer's chaotic behavior makes him as unpredictable as he is dangerous. What drives someone to such violence? And how can anyone make sense of such brutality? The task force leading the investigation needs a profiler, and there's only one man for the job. Loshak. Special Agent Victor Loshak. The 53-year-old likes his Dunkin' Donuts coffee shaken, not stirred. And now, for the first time, he's on his own. But how far will this case push him? In recent years, Loshak has slowed down some. He relies on more wit than grit these days, often playing a mentor role to his partner, Violet Darger. Until now, she always had more than enough grit for both of them. But Darger isn't around this time, and a killer this aggressive will push Loshak to his limits. And beyond. Yeah, he'll need to find that grit again...or die trying. This pulse-pounding thriller will have you holding your breath until the final chapter. Fans of John Sandford, Karin Slaughter, Michael Connelly, and Lisa Gardner should check out the Victor Loshak series.