Welcome to CJ Lyons' Bookstore!

July 1st, the most dangerous day of the year...

A gripping behind-the-scenes drama of four women who face life and death every day…

Click to buy the book critics called "all the best episodes of ER and Grey’s Anatomy squeezed into one breathtaking novel" (HHI Magazine).

New ER doctor Lydia Fiore finds herself losing the wrong patient—the Chief of Surgery's son. To save her career, Lydia must discover the truth behind her patient’s death, even if it leads her into unfamiliar—and risky—territory, finding new friends, new love, and new enemies who will stop at nothing to silence her.

Drawing from her own experiences as a pediatric ER doctor, New York Times bestselling author CJ Lyons reveals the secrets of an urban trauma center in a novel Lisa Gardner called "a pulse-pounding adrenaline rush" and Publishers Weekly proclaimed a "a breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller."

"A great fast-paced read….Not to be missed for fans of ER and Grey's Anatomy." ~4 ½ Stars, Book Addict

A medical student investigating the mysterious deaths of patients begins to experience the same deadly symptoms herself.

On rotation at Pittsburgh ’s Angels of Mercy Hospital and struggling to finish medical school, Amanda Mason can’t afford to make any mistakes—or to reveal a troubling secret. Mysterious symptoms that defy diagnosis have been affecting her performance, and as she struggles to keep control, the only person who seems to notice is the irritatingly observant and sexy Dr. Lucas Stone.

But when one patient showing the same strange symptoms dies and another slips into a coma, Amanda realizes the clock is ticking on her own survival. With the help of her friends—Gina, a roommate recovering from her own trauma; Lydia, a streetwise ER attending; and Nora, a by-the-book charge nurse—Amanda must solve this medical mystery before she becomes the next victim...

(previously published as Warning Signs)

Keeping secrets can be murder.

"A powerful and dramatic look into the frenzied world of emergency medicine...Lyons’ characters are dynamic and genuine."   ~Suspense Magazine 

Angels of Mercy ER charge nurse Nora Halloran has been living with a painful secret for three long years. But when a coworker is brutally assaulted and killed, she knows she can no longer remain silent.

Determined to unmask the murderer, Nora teams up with her friends— Lydia , an ER attending with a secret of her own; Gina, the once-cocky resident now struggling to strike a balance between her family and her job; and Amanda, a med student caught between her career and her conscience. 

As the victim count grows, Nora must face her deepest fears and reveal all her secrets to save the man she loves in order to stop a monster...before he returns to silence her forever.

(previously published as Urgent Care)

This New Year’s resolution? Stay alive.... 

“Harrowing…irresistible.” ~New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs

With Pittsburgh snarled by a New Year’s Eve blizzard and Angels of Mercy Hospital cut off from the outside world, staff and patients are at the mercy of armed gunmen. Their target is Dr. Gina Freeman, who is holding vigil over her wounded fiancé, Detective Jerry Boyle.

Trapped inside with her are ER charge nurse Nora Halloran and fourth-year medical student Amanda Mason, on the last night of her ICU rotation—if not her life. Stranded outside the hospital walls is ER physician Lydia Fiore, whose past holds the secret the hitmen are willing to kill for.

With patients, staff, and loved ones held as hostages, the power out, and cold-blooded killers in control, who will live to see the New Year?

(previously published as Critical Condition)

An average Pittsburgh soccer mom, baking brownies and carrying a loaded forty-caliber Glock...

From New York Times bestselling author CJ Lyons comes an irresistible read that's "everything a great thriller should be—action packed, authentic, and intense" (Lee Child). With over 400 five-star reviews!

A loving mom and wife, dutiful daughter, consummate professional, and kick-ass federal agent, Lucy is living the perfect life as a Supervisory Special Agent running the FBI's Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement squad.

Until the day she comes up against a predator more vicious and cunning than any she's ever tackled before, one who forces Lucy to choose between the life of the young victim she is fighting to save and her own daughter's....and Lucy's dream life is shattered.

Until recently Supervisory Special Agent Lucy Guardino was a shining star in the FBI’s roster. But after killing a man and disobeying orders, Lucy’s been sidelined, chained to her desk. When a mysterious letter arrives hinting that, thanks to Lucy, the wrong man was blamed for a string of serial rapes, kidnappings, and killings four years ago, Lucy jumps at the chance to re-open the case–despite orders to leave well enough alone.

What Lucy doesn’t know is that what happened four years ago was all a lie, fueled by sacrifice and betrayal, designed to shield the real killer. With the lives of her family, a group of innocent children, and the future of one desperate boy at risk, Lucy races to stop an innocent from killing and a killer from butchering more innocents.

Lucy’s back! In a story ripped from the headlines, the violence is the worst she’s ever seen, the stakes are higher than ever, and then…things get personal.

It’s a vicious, horrific crime: the brutal killing of a teenaged girl. When Pittsburgh detectives call FBI Supervisory Special Agent Lucy Guardino to the scene, their focus is on who and why?

Was it the girl’s Afghan father striving to regain his honor after she became too Westernized? Her Jewish boyfriend? Someone from Afghanistan settling an old grudge? Or one of the many drug cartels the father helped the DEA bring down seeking revenge?

The answers seem clear when Pittsburgh becomes engulfed in flames as a violent narcoterrorist turns the city into a kill zone…But in the dark of night, surrounded by men intent on destroying the truth, Lucy learns that secrets hide in shadows.

59 days ago FBI Special Agent Lucy Guardino had a perfect life…and almost lost it all.

There comes a time in every hero’s life when they fall harder and farther than ever before and they face a choice that changes everything: to give up or claw their way back again. Lucy thought she’d made her choice two months ago when she sacrificed everything to save her family, but now she has to decide whether or not she can save herself…

When honor, duty, and family collide…who would you save?

FBI Supervisory Special Agent Lucy Guardino is ready for a well-deserved break from chasing the worst of the worst. She’s hunted serial killers, violent child predators, and vicious psychopaths but nothing has prepared her for spring break alone with her teenaged daughter in a secluded beach resort in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

When Megan befriends a local boy who is accused of a brutal crime, it’s up to Lucy to soothe the ruffled egos of the well intentioned but ill equipped local police, prevent Megan from playing amateur sleuth, and track a cunning killer before Megan or her friend become the next victim.

Lucy has always seen herself as a normal Pittsburgh soccer mom who happened to have a job chasing the worst of the worst. But after a violent predator targets her family and she’s injured, Lucy sacrifices her career with the FBI in order to keep her family safe.

What is she now that she’s no longer a FBI Special Agent? she wonders as she begins her new job with the Beacon Group, a private consulting firm that specializes in cold cases and bringing justice to forgotten victims. Lucy fears she’s traded being a kick-ass law enforcement officer for being a civilian mother hen shepherding a team of amateurs.

Her fears appear justified when she’s partnered with TK O’Connor, a former Marine MP struggling with her transition to life back home, and sent to rural Texas to investigate a case that’s more than cold, it’s already been closed with the killers behind bars for the past twenty-nine years.

But…who really killed Lily Martin, her infant daughter, and husband? Why was an entire family targeted for annihilation?

What price will Lucy pay when she fights to expose a truth people will kill to keep buried?

After leaving the FBI, Lucy Guardino still feels like the new kid on the block with her team at Beacon Falls. But then a new case involving a young woman with amnesia searching for her lost memories shines a spotlight on a past case involving one of Lucy’s team members.

Dr. Tommy Worth left his job as a pediatrician ER physician to join the Beacon Group after his wife went missing, leaving him to raise their five-year-old daughter alone. Now the press is hounding him on the anniversary of his wife’s disappearance. Distracting himself with the newest case at Beacon Falls fails miserably after the woman he is trying to help becomes the target of an anonymous stalker.

Because, when you can’t even remember who you are, how do you know who to trust? Or who to run from?

A secret buried in an open grave returns to haunt a small town…

“Explosive. The tension keeps on building…enthralling.” ~BlogLovin Book Reviews 

When divers discover an antique car with a skeleton inside, the Beacon Group dispatches TK O’Connor to lead the investigation into the sixty-year-old cold case.  

It’s TK’s first chance at lead investigator and the former Marine is determined not to let her team down. But, almost as soon as she arrives in the downtrodden rustbelt city, her challenges mount. 

First, there’s the issue of identifying the man inside the car. Who was he and why did he seemingly drive off a cliff into a quarry, leaving no trace of his life behind? 

Then, there’s the brewing racial tensions in the city. A white police officer is on trial for shooting a black man and the verdict is due any minute. When a second killing occurs, TK suddenly finds herself at the center of a new investigation while the town literally explodes around her. 

As protesters storm the once peaceful town, it’s up to TK and her boss, Lucy Guardino, to untangle the truth, both past and present. But is the truth powerful enough to stop the violence before any one else is killed? 

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CJ Lyons, a new installment in her award-winning thriller-suspense series featuring Lucy Guardino:

Sometimes it's safer to stay hidden in the shadows...

“Explosive. The tension keeps on building…enthralling.” ~BlogLovin Book Reviews on OPEN GRAVE

She's been on the run for almost half her life. Hiding from the law after a thoughtless act of juvenile delinquency goes horribly wrong.

Gone dark was what they called it, falling so far off the grid, going so deep underground,  no one could tie you to your old life. Forget who you are, what you were, where you came from…

The world has changed since then, has forgiven her crime, has almost forgotten her...can Lucy find her to let her know she's free to reclaim her life before she makes another mistake? This time one that will destroy her life forever.

If she leaves the dark, can she survive the light of day? Or is she simply making herself an easy target for an implacable enemy who never forgets or forgives?

Former FBI Special Agent Lucy Guardino faces what may be her greatest challenge: turning forty.

It’s been some birthday, filled with black balloons and gag gifts, a visit to her surgeon who isn’t happy with the way her leg has healed and suggests amputation as an option “before she gets too old,” and now a missed message from an old friend, a sheriff in a remote region of Idaho’s Bitterroot mountains, who needs her help.

Lucy calls back only to learn he’s missing, presumed dead. Was it an accident? Suicide? Murder? The grieving widow and stunned community aren’t sure what the truth is.

Accompanied by her husband, Nick, and armed only with her intuition, Lucy journeys into the wilderness to find her friend and solve the mystery. 

At least that’s the plan. Until Nick ends up in the crosshairs of a killer more cunning and devious than any Lucy has faced before. But what if she is too old, grown too slow, no longer has what it takes to bring down a killer?

Will Nick pay the ultimate price for Lucy’s relentless quest for the truth?

Can a girl raised to kill give it up for a chance at a new life? 

The only thing worse than being the girl raised by a serial killer is being the girl he blames for getting caught…and now Morgan Ames’ father has escaped prison. 

Morgan knows she’ll be at the top of her father’s hit list. After all, she dared to defy him, abandoning him to rot in jail while she escaped to live a normal life. 

Every instinct screams at Morgan to run and hide, but she’s as much a predator as her father and she refuses to allow him to turn her into prey. Because to Clinton Caine the entire world is populated by “fish,” victims to torture for his own twisted pleasure. 

Morgan is no fish. Past time her father learned that. But before she can take him on she has to stay alive long enough to find him…hopefully without getting anyone else killed along the way. 

Is she a predator? Or is she the prey?

Morgan Ames never expected to survive when she threw herself and her serial killer father off a cliff. She was fine with that—as long as it stopped his killing spree.

But she did live. After being in a coma, she’s awakened to a nightmare worthy of her sadistic father’s tortures: she’s trapped in the Pediatric unit at Angels of Hope Rehab Center.

Not only do the authorities now know that she’s only fifteen, but she’s been made a ward of the hospital until the legal system figures out what to do with her. Helpless, dependent on others…a fate worse than death.

Her body weak, her mind broken, but her will as strong as ever, Morgan fights for her new life and freedom. Unfortunately, it seems her father wasn’t the only sadistic serial killer on the loose…someone is preying upon the innocent children of Angels and their families.

Only Morgan sees the pattern, only Morgan glimpses the truth behind the horror.

And only Morgan has what it takes to put a stop to it…even if it means sacrificing her own second chance at life.

After surviving her serial killer father, Morgan Ames has her first chance at a life without killing. Until temptation crosses her path as she’s working at an anonymous call center and realizes someone there is playing vigilante…and getting away with murder. 

Morgan’s fascinated, unable to look away as the killer grows bolder.

Only Morgan sees the pattern, only Morgan has any idea the vigilante exists, and they’re never going to stop killing—unless Morgan stops them.

But should Morgan accept that sometimes the only way to get justice is outside of the law? Should she join forces with the vigilante and return to her old life of murder and mayhem? Or risk her new life trying to stop them?

Heartless killer…or helpless victim?

It’s perfectly normal to be a little shaky on your first day back to work. Especially if you’re Morgan Ames, returning to work after killing her serial killer father, waking up from a coma, fighting back through rehab…and, with the help of her boyfriend, keeping her vow never to kill again.

Except when Morgan walks into the Galloway and Stone offices, she finds her boss holding a bomb.

Definitely no time for the shakes as Morgan jumps right back into her old life and saves the day. But the bomber has other ideas, igniting a killing spree targeting those Morgan holds most dear. 

Morgan must decide what to sacrifice: her promise to never kill again or the lives of everyone she loves.

Dr. Cassandra Hart is fighting a war. And losing. A deadly drug epidemic, a killer stalking her hospital…meet the ER doctor who never gives up.

Cassie’s Pittsburgh ER has been deluged by young patients who have overdosed on a new drug, FX. After Cassie discovers that the source of the FX on the streets is her own hospital, her best friend is killed, and Cassie’s life is threatened. She is forced to place her trust in Detective Mickey Drake.

Drake’s irascible charm eventually penetrates the barriers Cassie has built around herself, and their relationship progresses from professional to passionate. After Cassie discovers the truth behind the thefts, she and Drake must confront a killer. In the end, their only weapons are their new-found love and the courage it gives them. 

“There’s an oath doctors take,” Detective Mickey Drake said.

“Primum non nocere,” the shrink supplied. “First do no harm.”

***

Two months ago Dr. Cassandra Hart was forced to kill a man. The man who murdered her best friend, almost killed Drake and seriously wounded her. Now she’s back at work in her Pittsburgh ER, but nothing seems the same.

When she fears that a young boy is being abused by his “perfect” mother, her friends and colleagues worry that she’s returned to work too soon, imagining dangers that don’t exist. Others accuse her of trying to cover up her own alleged mistakes in the boy’s treatment by making a false report of abuse.

Drake’s facing problems of his own, trying to cope with the aftermath of the night two months ago when his passion for Cassie led to a confrontation with a killer. He’s on desk duty, reviewing cold cases, and delves into the homicide case that killed his father seven years ago. But after so long, what good can he do, a cop without a gun?

The stakes escalate when Cassie is almost killed and Drake finds evidence that the killer his father was tracking might be planning to strike again–this time targeting a young boy.

With the lives of two children at stake, how can they walk away?

#1 NYT Bestseller Sandra Brown called NERVES OF STEEL, the first Hart and Drake novel, “A perfect blend of romance and suspense. My kind of read.”

In the second book, SLEIGHT OF HAND, you saw Hart and Drake risk everything to save a child and you knew they were meant to be together.

Now, see what happens when they lose it all…

Drake hunts a stalker with deadly intentions. Hart fights for justice for one special victim while also fending off her ex and his family as they try to destroy everything she holds dear.

Neither realizes the real danger lies with an old enemy whose fury has grown and will not be satisfied with anything less than Hart and Drake’s blood.

After all that they've been through, no one would deny that Hart and Drake deserve a happily-ever-after life together.

But, on the eve of their Christmas wedding, a threat long buried returns to threaten them. Not just their happiness, not only their lives, but everything they hold dear.

Separated and desperate to save each other, untangling a knot of mystery dating back to Hart's Gram Rosa's fight against the Nazis, and facing an enemy unlike any they've encountered before, both must search their hearts to find the strength to survive.

Meet the ER doctor who never quits...and the detective who will never give up on the love they share. An unforgettable finale for an unforgettable couple who prove that two wounded souls have the power to save each other.

Without sleep, her life became a living nightmare. 

Fatal. Insomnia.  

From New York Times bestselling and Thriller Award-winning author CJ Lyons an explosive medical thriller with a dark and edgy twist, “a heroine you'll never forget and a story that whips by at bullet speed" (Tess Gerritsen).  

“CJ Lyons scores a major triumph with FAREWELL TO DREAMS. Totally absorbing and impossible to put down.” ~Douglas Preston, #1 NYT bestselling author

In the chaos of the ER, functioning without sleep is a prized skill. But even Dr. Angela Rossi will admit that five months is far too long. Then a dead nun speaks to her while Angela is holding the nun’s heart in her hand.

“Find the girl,” the nun commands—although no one else in the trauma room can hear, the words drilling directly into Angela’s brain. “Save the girl.”

Aided by a police detective fallen from grace, Angela searches the midnight catacombs beneath the city, facing down a ruthless gang leader and stumbling onto a serial killer’s lair. Her desperate quest to save the girl leads her to the one thing she least expected to find: a last chance for love.

It’s been a sleepless month since Dr. Angela Rossi was diagnosed with Fatal Insomnia after a not-quite-dead nun reached out directly to Angela’s mind and set her on the path to hunt down a serial killer. 

After learning she only has a few months left to live, Angela has left the ER and has one final case to testify at for the Advocacy Center. As soon as she brings justice to her last victim, a woman who was raped and brutalized seven months ago, Angela plans to take control of what little time she has left by escaping the sullen Pennsylvania December to a remote tropical island and ending it all on her terms. Her one regret is leaving Detective Matthew Ryder—he’s been her solace in the midst of the chaos her life has deteriorated into. 

When the rape victim is murdered on the day she’s scheduled to testify and the rapist goes free without naming his accomplices, Angela makes it her mission to bring him to justice…one way or the other. 

When a loved one is targeted, Angela is forced to betray everything she holds dear in an effort to stop the killers. Unfortunately, there’s a thin line between justice and vengeance.

When you have no time left, you realize what you’re really living for…

For Dr. Angela Rossi the past holds only pain and the future promises only an early death as Fatal Insomnia consumes her. 

But Angie will never stop fighting. Especially now that she’s learned that her disease—and the disease she’s discovered in dozens of young children—isn’t a quirk of heredity but rather the creation of an unknown cabal.

While Angie explores the betrayals and lies that led to the Fatal Insomnia epidemic, Devon Price, whose daughter is also infected, uses his street skills to hunt those responsible. He’ll do anything to save his daughter. Lie, cheat, steal, kill…it doesn’t matter. Not as long as Esme is saved. 

In the end, their only hope might be a desperate deal with the devil: the cabal behind the man-made Fatal Insomnia epidemic. A deal paid with blood. A deal not everyone will survive.

They hide in shadows to protect us all, but can they protect their hearts?

Going undercover, playing the part of a disgraced former Marine, is easy for Chase Westin–until a Christmas Eve mission takes him back to his hometown and face to face with his estranged brother.

When KC, an undercover FBI agent, flies into Chase’s life with her Doc Martens, purple, punk-rock hair, and Hollywood-hype leather and chains, Chase realizes that falling in love is more dangerous than catching bullets.

A West Virginia mountain, the middle of a blizzard, killers on his trail…no place for a city boy like Lucky Cavanaugh, an ATF explosives specialist.

Out-manned, out-gunned and shot, he takes Forest Service Wildlife Biologist Vinnie Ryan hostage until he convinces her that he’s one of the good guys.

Vinnie heals not only his injuries but also his broken heart. But when they uncover a terrorist plot, Lucky is forced to choose between duty and passion, risking the life of the woman he loves in order to save the lives of thousands.

Rose Prospero has already faced her own worst fear: five years ago she was captured and tortured when the CIA abandoned her behind enemy lines. Since then, she’s focused her energies on protecting her Team and her country from monsters like the man who captured her. The Team and the job come first, last, always for Rose, leaving no room for love.

Former Delta, Billy “Edge” Price is Rose’s second-in-command and her best friend. Suave, skilled, and a smooth operator, Billy loves his job—and his boss. He can’t have both, so he’s settled for using his position to stay close to Rose.

As they face enemies from without and within, on the run from anyone who could help them, Rose and Billy learn each other’s deepest secrets, face their greatest fears, and sacrifice everything for Team, Country…and Love.