Best of
Whodunit

2016

The Protector--Free Preview (First 7 Chapters)


Jodi Ellen Malpas - 2016
    But Camille is determined to have a life free from his strings. Out on her own, she's made mistakes, including one that found her clawing her way back after a stint in rehab and plenty of bad press. Now, after fighting so hard to be independent and happy, she finds her life threatened as a result of her father's ruthless business dealings. Caught between resentment and fear, Camille prepares herself for the measures her father will take to protect her. But nothing could prepare her for the ex-SAS sniper who crashes into her life.Jake Sharp resides in his own personal hell. He was distracted from duty once before, and the consequences were devastating--both personally and professionally. He vowed never to let that happen again. Accepting the job of bodyguard to Camille Logan isn't the kind of distraction from his demons he should take. Women and Jake don't mix well, yet protecting the heiress seems the lesser of two evils. But Jake soon discovers that she isn't the woman she's perceived to be. She's warm, compassionate, her presence settling, and his duty to protect her soon goes deeper than a well-paid job, no matter how hard he fights it. He needs absolution. He comes to need Camille. But he knows he can't have both.

The Find-Outers: The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat: Book 7


Enid Blyton - 2016
     Mr Goon is on holiday and there's a new policeman in town. While the Find-Outers are up to their usual games, he stumbles upon a puzzling mystery: the theatre safe has been robbed! The top suspect is Boysie, the pantomime cat, but Fatty, Larry, Daisy, Pip and Bets aren't convinced. Who could the real thief be? This edition contains the original text first published in 1949.

Double Jinx


Gretchen Archer - 2016
    Then $3,000,000 goes missing. And a couple dressed as condiments—he’s Mustard, she’s Ketchup—might be behind the spooky shenanigans. What’s a Holiday Host to do? Call in the flying monkeys? July turns to the highest level of casino security and meets a boy named Baylor. Just Baylor. From there, it’s all thrills and chills. Books in the Davis Way Crime Caper Mystery Series: • DOUBLE WHAMMY (#1) • DOUBLE DIP (#2) • DOUBLE STRIKE (#3) • DOUBLE MINT (#4) • DOUBLE KNOT (#5) • DOUBLE UP (#6) March 2017 Part of the Henery Press Mystery Series Collection, if you like one, you'll probably like them all…

Witched to Death


Deanna Chase - 2016
     Diesel Jacobs is the new wolf in town. Plagued by a curse that leaves him shiftless, he seeks out Zelda, the healer of Shifters, for help. But when her spell to cure him produces Ida May, his former sort of girlfriend, suddenly he has a lot more problems than being unable to shift. Still smarting from being dumped over a hundred years ago, Ida May is in no mood to help…and unfortunately for Diesel, she’s the only one who can get his shift back.

A House of Mirrors (Mrs Hudson & Sherlock Holmes, #1)


Liz Hedgecock - 2016
    Placed under protection by Inspector Lestrade, Nell is ripped from her old life and her own secret police work. Instead she must live as a widow, Mrs Hudson, in a safe house: 221B Baker Street. Two years on, with the case still unsolved, Nell vows to defy Lestrade and use her skills to discover what happened. She takes a lodger to cover her tracks; a young man called Sherlock Holmes. Before long, he is working on her case - and Nell is assisting him.But as Nell delves into her past she raises ghosts whom one person would rather keep buried. Will she face danger, and risk her new life in the process? 'It's always been fun before - but now the police are the enemy...’A House of Mirrors is the first book in the Mrs Hudson & Sherlock Holmes series, which documents life at 221B Baker Street from Nell Hudson’s point of view.

Midnight Mysteries


Ritter AmesMaria Grazia Swan - 2016
    But with Halloween approaching and too many items on the to-do list, she and Meg Berman find themselves in another puzzling dilemma—where every answer leads to another question. Morgana Best – “No Time to Witch” (The Kitchen Witch mystery series) In a historical mystery prequel to the novel MISS SPELLED, Thelma Spelled must discover the mystery around a murder that entangles her and her husband. The paranormal tale reveals more about the magic of the house and early 20th century Australia. Karen Cantwell – “It Takes a Ghost” (tie-in to the Sophie Rhodes mystery series) New detective Brenna Sage can’t solve a series of robberies—until she gains a partner in the guise of Marmaduke Dodsworth. While Marmaduke is better versed in decorum and refinement than forensics and interrogation, he has one decidedly clear advantage: He can walk through walls. Carolyn Haines – “Clacking Bones” (Sarah Booth Delaney series) When Jitty’s husband, Coker, goes missing from the Great Beyond, Sarah Booth Delaney, Tinkie, and all the animals sign on to find out why the spirit is AWOL. Sarah Booth has to dig deep into the past to find the answer to this puzzling mystery. Eleanor Cawood Jones – “Salad Days, Halloween Nights” (author of A Baker’s Dozen) A vegetable-loving chef has cooked his way into trouble when a Halloween treat leads to murder. If he wants a happy future, he must first make sure the police don’t have him down as the main ingredient in a recipe for a prison sentence. Larissa Reinhart – “The Vigilante Vignette” (Cherry Tucker Mystery series) When Cherry pays a mercy call on a neighbor, she’s roped into a quid pro quo deal—if she recovers a stolen family heirloom both somewhat embarrassing and due to be discovered missing very shortly, the neighbor will use family clout to help her with zoning issues. But if she fails, the expression “someone’s got her goat” takes on a whole new meaning. And when she discovers a thievery ring, illegal auctions, and green-eyed emotions after spotting Luke where he’s not expected—it’s another hilarious day in Halo, Georgia. Connie Shelton – “Spellbound Sweets” (Samantha Sweets Magical Cozy Mysteries) It’s Halloween, one of the busiest times of the year for Samantha Sweet and the crew at her pastry shop, Sweet’s Sweets. The gang looks forward to a gala costume party at the neighborhood bookstore, but the evening takes a different turn when a guest is murdered, a rare book vanishes, and Sam finds herself in the midst of another mystery. Maria Grazia Swan – “Weeping Moon” (Lella York Mysteries series) Lella York has a way of getting herself into trouble, even when she’s doing volunteer work. Who's the mysterious storyteller, and what's going on at the senior living center? Will Lella find out before it’s too late? LynDee Walker – “Frightening Features” (Nichelle Clarke Mystery series) Not a patient recovery patient, while Nichelle Clarke waits for an injury to heal all she really wants is a story to write and research—hard news to get her mind occupied. Instead, her boss gives her a fluff piece. Not her idea of fun. But with Nichelle snooping around, it’s not surprising her soft story takes a decidedly hard turn.

Penumbra


Bhaskar Chattopadhyay - 2016
    . . As Prakash reaches the venue, he is introduced to a motley group of people, all gathered there for the old man’s big day: his son, his reticent brother, a dignified middle-aged lady who once owned the bungalow, a listless lawyer who manages his legal affairs, a mild-mannered young man who works as his secretary, his beautiful, young biographer, and his mysterious friend, who has never lost a game of chess to him. As the storm lashes on through the night, one of the people in the bungalow is murdered! In a game of cat and mouse that follows, Prakash soon finds out that under the surface of apparent warmth and friendliness, nothing is as it seems and that the bungalow holds one shocking secret after another! In a bid to save his own life, Prakash hunts for the truth, which lies in a mysterious penumbra of shadows and lights, covered in a sheath of deceit and guile, only to realize that the worst is yet to come!

The Lover's Portrait


Jennifer S. Alderson - 2016
    That is, until American art history student Zelda Richardson sticks her nose in.After studying for a year in the Netherlands, Zelda scores an internship at the prestigious Amsterdam Historical Museum, where she works on an exhibition of paintings and sculptures once stolen by the Nazis, lying unclaimed in Dutch museum depots almost seventy years later.When two women claim the same painting, the portrait of a young girl entitled Irises, Zelda is tasked with investigating the painting’s history and soon finds evidence that one of the two women must be lying about her past. Before she can figure out which one it is and why, Zelda learns about the Dutch art dealer’s concealed collection. And that Irises is the key to finding it.Her discoveries make her a target of someone willing to steal – and even kill – to find the missing paintings. As the list of suspects grows, Zelda realizes she has to track down the lost collection and unmask a killer if she wants to survive.The Lover’s Portrait: An Art Mystery draws on the author’s experiences gained while studying art history in the Netherlands and working for several Dutch museums. All of the amateur sleuth mysteries in the Zelda Richardson Mystery Series are stand-alone novels and can be read in any order:The Lover’s Portrait: An Art MysteryRituals of the Dead: An Artifact MysteryMarked for Revenge: An Art Heist ThrillerRelated subjects include: women sleuths, historical mysteries, amateur sleuth books, murder mysteries, whodunit mysteries (whodunnit), travel fiction, cultural heritage, suspense, art crime, art theft, World War II, art history.

The Bear King's Captive


Milly Taiden - 2016
    Every day is a struggle to stay alive. Now turning thirty, she wonders why she’s still here. When her path crosses with a boy who’s sucked into her world, she's got someone else depending on her for the first time. She won't let him down. When she finds them trapped by a mercenary and his crew, death is imminent. She knows she’ll fail a child, again. Commander Hannes 'Otso' Otila just finished a mission and is on his way home when his trip is disrupted by an unexpected cargo of the curvy, mouthy, and sassy type. With this luscious woman comes a boy and a lot of problems that drive him bat shit crazy. But instead of letting them go, his biggest desire, and that of his polar bear, is to keep her forever. He'll happily hold her his captive and if the moment comes, give his life for her. A big-time drug lord wants Leah dead, and it's up to Hannes and Leah to keep her and the boy alive. That's turning out to be harder than either anticipated when his second-in-command turns on him. While Hannes protects Leah from danger, protecting his own heart from her is a lot more difficult. The burning need to have her pushes his control, but is she worth the chance of another broken heart? Hannes is about to realize that no matter what he decides, his bear made a choice: Leah is his and no amount of internal struggle will change the animal's mind. Reader's Note: *Includes bonus first chapter of The Bear King's Revenge (Book 2 of the Bear King Series). Get ready for action, adventure and enough sexual tension to make your toes curl and want to get your partner naked. This is unlike any book you have ever read by Milly Taiden.

Wanted by the Criminal (BWWM)


Melanin_Flare - 2016
    Sometimes being in the wrong place can be a good thing but for Ebony everything in in questioned in "Wanted by the Criminal."