But Patrick isn't back in town to mess with her head. He's in town with his celebrity tart of a fiancée for a secret wedding at the Pinecliffe Mountain Resort – the very establishment where Essie works. Essie is roped into becoming a stand-in bridesmaid by her sister Joy, the resort's Assistant Event Coordinator. But Essie has more than just her resurfacing feelings for the groom to worry about when she finds one of the bridesmaids dead at the hotel spa. Essie searches for the killer, and with a list of suspects ranging from an undercover reporter to the Mayor's gossipy wife, it isn't an easy feat. Especially with a nosy landlady, and a meddling ex in-law with a fondness for nudism. But after she becomes the killer's next target, Essie realizes all her evidence points to the most unlikely person. Will she get it right before the big ceremony, or will the fresh mountain powder become her permanent resting place? **Recipes Included**

    …and the cards don't fall your way? When the brutal slaying of a prominent casino owner is followed by the murder of a well-known bookie, Detective Dale Dayton is thrown into the middle of a highly political case and leads the largest homicide investigation in Vegas in the last twelve years. What if you're dealt a Dead Man's Hand? Against his superiors and better judgment, Dayton is willing to give Calvin one last chance. To redeem himself, Calvin must prove his innocence by finding the real killer, while avoiding the LVMPD, as well as protect the woman he loves from a professional assassin hired to silence them.

    Marsha and Danny Jones retired from law enforcement and thought it would be just the thing to break the boredom of retirement to be security consultants to protect the Seven Seas Company's finest ship from trouble. Terrorists, killers and sinister crewmen all plan,plot and purvey their own special brands of crime & death and the only roadblock in their chosen course is the special resilience of this pair of sea cops.Like all cruise ships, the Sea Empress sails year round, providing thrilling new mysteries and suspense for both passengers and crew alike. Your voyage here will last more than one cruise. Pour your favorite drink, suspend your disbelief, prop up your feet and enjoy.The question remains: will Marsha and Danny be able to save the ship from harm?Boarding now and be sure to bring your life jacket to muster stations as the Sea Empress leaves for the Caribbean in this first in the series of great sea adventures.

    A few days later, the husband is found dead, his head bashed in. Fearing she’ll be considered the most likely suspect, the widow prevails upon Sydney and her three friends—Marianne, Kat and Micki—to find out who really killed him. Though none of these four fun-loving, take-charge retirees has any training as detectives, the women agree to launch a secret investigation. As they dig under the happy veneer of their community’s social life, they find more than enough suspects, from shady ladies to resentful golf buddies, to keep them looking over their shoulders. Could the murderer be lurking among the talent in a chaotic production put on by Sydney’s husband, who will do anything to keep busy in retirement? Could the sheriff, who may have more than a professional interest in chanteuse Kat, end up pinning the crime on the women instead? Each discovery during their investigations and their weekly mah jongg game keeps them running as they close in on the killer—but the killer may also be closing in on them. This cozy mystery, the first in the Mah Jongg Mystery series, features four retired amateur sleuths who live in the small Florida town of Serendipity Springs, all female and all friends who play the game of mah jongg together. Though they don't set out to investigate murder, after their first experience in this story, others start looking to them to help investigate subsequent homicides and questionable accidents. In this first book, Sydney Bonner takes the lead, although she turns to her three friends for help. Though this series features four protagonists, the others will take the lead in subsequent stories. Two are married, one is divorced and the fourth, who has been single all her life while she tended to her ailing mother, now finds herself the object of the sheriff's attention in this series. The four don't seek out murder; somehow the circumstances and those affected drag them in. Meanwhile, as they attempt to gather information, life goes on in their community in such activities as a women's club, a social group for those over 50, real estate transactions, numerous stops at the local coffeehouse, and even a shopping trip to Naples. Sydney's husband, Trip, and her friend Marianne Putnam's husband, Beau, are golf buddies who spend many a day on the course. When not there, Trip is busy seeking to build a new post retirement life, and Beau is often prevailed upon to join in Trip's latest activity, which in this first book is a town follies. Kat Faulkner has lived a frugal life until winning big in a lottery shortly after her mother's death; suddenly, Kat has money and doesn't know how to spend it. But her divorced friend and freelance writer, Micki Demetrius, does, even if it's to guide Kat through a makeover and wardrobe change for her lounge act. This cozy mystery is the first book in the Mah Jongg Mystery series. Barbara Barrett is already published in contemporary romance. She is a member of the Mystery/Romantic Suspense chapter of Romance Writers of America. Like her protagonists, she is retired and is a resident of Florida, although she spends her summers in her home state of Iowa. She spent over three decades as a human resource management analyst with Iowa state government. She can be contacted at barbarabarrett747@gmail.com. Check her website at barbarabarrettbooks.com.

    But, a serial killer is back in town, and Jake has to follow his trail. The only clue left behind is the dying words of the three victims. And, before he could have asked Kiara's help, she is sucked into a high political game that is spread across continents. Will they be able to solve the cases without each other's help and that too using their new, inexperienced partners? Book 2 - Perfect Crime The daughter of one of the most influential man in New York falls for a struggling investment banker. After a torrid affair, they finally get married. Everything seems to head towards a life of joy when the wife vanishes into thin air and the husband becomes the prime suspect. As Agent Kiara Davenport is about to get hold of him, a ransom call is made from overseas. And, as she is about to catch the caller, someone else confesses to the crime. She knows something is amiss and as she is about to get to the bottom of it, all the suspects start getting killed one by one. Everyone is a suspect and each suspect is more influential than the other. Will Kiara find the real culprit or become a pawn in the cat and mouse game? Book 3 - Wrong One When Kiara invited Jake to a family wedding, he had not thought that it will be different from any other wedding. However, he started sensing something wrong with everyone in the wedding party. Is Jake going to find out anything or is it a mere hunch? Or Kiara's fear of Jake creating a trouble in the marriage will come true?

    Someone is guilty. Someone is lying. Someone will not survive. <**br> Aubree Van Lullen is smitten by Peter Woodley despite the fact he’s accused of killing his former wife, despite the fact he’s accused of killing his two children. Peter Woodley is smitten by Aubree Van Lullen despite the fact she is accused of fleecing half of the country by way of faking an illness for the better part of her life, despite the fact she’s had a psychologically damaging childhood. Peter is so smitten by Aubree, he changes his identity for her and whisks her away to build a brand new life. One day a mysterious package arrives containing dozens of journals from Peter’s first wife, and Aubree is riveted by them. She’ll tell Peter about the journals soon enough. Just one more page and then he can have them. And then there are the bodies. One after another, wherever Peter seems to go, a grisly homicide takes place. Something is amiss. Aubree untangles one dark secret after another, only to have her own past come back to haunt her. But it’s far from the end of her story. It’s just the horrible beginning. Sometimes when a supposed serial killer and a supposed psychopath come together, things can end very very badly. And they do—one bloody body at a time. A Sublime Casualty In an attempt to escape her past, Phoebe Benedict steals the identity of a girl who has gone missing. She never meant to keep a secret so dark that it held the key to another hell entirely. She never meant to say I’m sorry. Lizzy Hartley disappeared over a year ago and is suddenly sending cryptic messages from beyond the grave. It’s hot in hell, and Lizzy wants Phoebe to know it. Destinies collide as Phoebe hunts for the truth about Lizzy’s disappearance. Assuming someone else’s identity is proving far more dangerous than Phoebe could have ever imagined. And if she’s not careful, she might just join Lizzy in hell. Little Girl Lost Psychological Thriller with paranormal elements: From a New York Times Bestseller comes a story of a girl who goes missing after befriending a strange little girl. A couple's six-year-old daughter befriends a strange young girl and the pair vanishes into thin air. A thrilling mystery with a twist so big you will never see it coming. And then she was lost... Allison and James Price move to the navy-blue forests of Concordia Idaho hoping to leave behind the chaos of Los Angeles and the painful memories of his indiscretions. Once settled in the picturesque town, where time seems to have stalled and life moves at a slower pace, their six-year-old daughter, Reagan, befriends a mysterious young girl who seems too idyllic to be true with her pressed pinafores, her perfectly curled pigtails. One late autumn evening, as their playdate winds down, both girls vanish into thin air. The little girl said she lived at the end of the street but the only thing Allison and James find at the end of the cul-de-sac is the gaping mouth of the forest. Their little girl, the mysterious playmate—they’re both gone. Everyone is looking for Reagan. Nobody has come forward to claim the mysterious little girl.

    Pain runs a close second.Jahl must cope with both if he hopes to fulfil his dream of becoming a master wielder.He teams up with the best friend that abandoned him and the girl who ridiculed him. Rouen has a secret to keep and needs Jahl to make it happen. Donya needs Jahl to teach her how to wield, never mind that it could get them killed.And he needs them both if he's to survive the danger he refuses to believe awaits him.It's a relationship that will force them to face both the cruelties of love and the miracles of friendship.When a stranger hires Jahl for a job only a master wielder can perform, it seems the perfect first step to take him to the destiny he is certain is within his grasp.Will the cost of being recognized as a wielder of magic be worth the loss of those he loves most?Read this classic tale of adversity and becoming an adult in a world of magic.

     Five years after the brutal slaying of her husband, software executive Jill Shannon is ready to take the next step in her life. But with her wedding to prosecuting attorney Conner Manning just eight weeks away, her future father-in-law’s political ambitions for her fiancé threaten all her hopes. Jill’s past holds dark secrets. Secrets she can’t afford to have exposed under the relentless lights of a political campaign. When Phoenix Detective David Shaw turns up at Jill’s door asking questions about a reporter's murder, he has no idea what a lethal Pandora’s Box he’s just opened. Was the womanizing reporter killed by a jealous husband, or was it related to his drug use? Or did it have something to do with the secret expose the reporter was working on? Jill Shannon looks like a dead-end lead but Shaw can’t shake the feeling the beautiful widow has secrets she’s not sharing. Jill is caught between the sins of her past and the shattered hopes for her future. Shaw finds himself drawn deeper into a twisted labyrinth of lies and danger. One thing is clear: some vows are made out loud in front of witnesses. But some vows are made in silence, and witnesses can’t be left alive.

    Everything you'd want when you bite into a dish: suspense, spice, and a new take on an old classic." - Bestselling author, Charlaine Harris•Like your barbeque and your sex extra spicy? Your murders saucy and done to a turn? Plunge into the fascinating and competitive world of food media culture, in this wry, witty crime story where cutting edge takes on a new meaning when celebrity chefs across America start dying.Debut author Thalia Filbert’s dark, comic send-up of serial killers, food mysteries, chick lit, and the iconic Eat Pray Love finds the sweet spot between appetizers and dessert in this rollicking trip from sea to shining sea. From color-themed dinners to Maine lobster pots, from barbeque to huckleberries, this mystery is stuffed to the gills with knives, mayhem, and laughs.Wronged by those who steal her recipes, ridicule her weight, and denigrate her talents, one chef has turned in her apron to plow new territory-- her overpowering hunger for revenge. Hooked on how tasty payback can be, soon she is bumping off famous chefs with spectacular culinary flair.Food blogger Jason Bainbridge is looking for his big break and begins to see a pattern in the killings. He forms an uneasy alliance with cool, hard-charging FBI agent Kimberly Douglas as the search heats up to catch the sexy, chef-obsessed killer. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Thalia Filbert’s lust for food, travel, and a good story is legendary. Now she’s combined it all in one scrumptious package. Her debut novel, Beat Slay Love, highlights her love of the underdog, American regional food – and that special dish best served cold: delicious revenge. She attended culinary school at a posh Napa Valley academy and did the obligatory stint in European bistro kitchens. From a Midwestern town where she learned to make delicacies like possum au vin, she escaped in the nick of time, leaving a hungry man at the altar, and never looked back. Or, it's a pseudonym for five mystery authors with over 75 novels under their belts.

     Amber’s making up the horoscopes for the local paper and wishing for some excitement in her life when she gets a phone call offering her just that. The call? Heartthrob actor Ennis McKarthy, her old uni boyfriend, begs her for a favour. His brother Joel has been found is dead - in very suspicious circumstances. Desperate to keep the story out of the newspapers and solve the mystery of his brother’s death as fast as possible, Ennis has called in the specialists in the shape of the CCIA. The Celebrity Crimes Investigation Agency has just the man for the job – their top agent Charlie Huxton. But Ennis, stalked by journalists and paparazzi, doesn’t trust a stranger to handle the case on his own and keep quiet about what he might discover so he pleads with Amber, wanting her to shadow Charlie throughout the investigation. Much to Amber’s surprise Charlie eventually agrees, leaving her wondering why. What’s he up to? Charlie and Amber delve into Joel’s death and soon have their hands full with questioning potential suspects and the victim’s irate ex-girlfriend. Then they discover they’re battling something far more dangerous than they could ever have expected…and it’s not just their growing attraction for each other. Maybe Amber’s life is about to get too exciting…

    For fans of John D. MacDonald, Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane and Elmore Leonard. Goodey's Last Stand (Joe Goodey #1) - Hailed as “...the next best thing to finding a new and unsuspected Raymond Chandler phantasmagoria” (The New Yorker), this hard boiled mystery novel might be Joe Goodey’s last. After the San Francisco PD dismisses Joe Goodey from the force and runs him out of town for shooting the mayor’s cousin, the ex-detective's career prospects look bleak. But then a local exotic dancer turns up murdered—and more importantly, her secret journal of clients goes missing. The mayor himself extends Joe Goodey the offer: save the city's esteemed politicians from public embarrassment by retrieving the dancer's black book and Joe gets his badge back. But fail to deliver, and there are far worse fates than death for a down-and-out former cop. Not Sleeping, Just Dead (Joe Goodey #2) - She was rich, young and pretty—so why did Katie Pierce jump? Unless she didn’t. Former San Francisco detective turned private investigator Joe Goodey is broke and needs a case. When a wealthy man shows up at Goodey's local watering hole and cuts him a check on the spot to investigate his wealthy niece’s alleged suicide, Goodey immediately shuttles off to the scene of the crime: a mansion housing a local cult called The Institute. To find the killer and uncover the truth about Katie Pierce's death, Goodey must infiltrate The Institute's ranks. But as the investigation twists and turns through the mansion's labyrinthine halls, Goodey finds that the murderer might not even be the most dangerous person in the group. Fighting Back - When Harry Castor opens a bar to support his family, no sooner do the doors open than local gangster Charlie Rizzo waltzes right through them, demanding a cut of the action. With his entire life's savings invested in the bar, Harry Castor can’t afford to pay Rizzo protection. But Harry can’t afford not to, either. Out of options, Harry concocts a desperate plan to fight back against the vicious mobster. But as the stakes escalate and the men's duel becomes more violent, both Harry and Rizzo realize that their thirst for vengeance and retribution could cost them the one thing they swore to protect—their families.

    Elizabeth (Bessie) Cubbon, aged somewhere between free bus pass (60) and telegram from the Queen (100), has lived her entire adult life in a small cottage on Laxey beach. For most of those years, she's been in the habit of taking a brisk morning walk along the beach. Dead men have never been part of the scenery before. Aunt Bessie assumes that the dead man died of natural causes, then the police find the knife in his chest. Try as she might, Bessie just can't find anything to like about the young widow that she provides tea and sympathy to in the immediate aftermath of finding the body. There isn't much to like about the rest of the victim's family either. Aunt Bessie assumes that the police will have the case wrapped up in no time at all, then she finds a second body. Can Bessie and her friends find the killer before she ends up as the next victim?Aunt Bessie Believes that Moirrey Teare is just about the most disagreeable woman she's ever had the misfortune to meet. Elizabeth Cubbon, (Aunt Bessie to nearly everyone), is somewhere past sixty, and old enough to ignore the rude woman that does her best to ruin the first session of the beginning Manx language class they are both taking. Moirrey's sudden death is harder to ignore. Aunt Bessie believes that Moirrey's death was the result of the heart condition that Moirrey always complained about. The police investigation, however, suggests that someone switched some of the dead woman's essential medications for something far more deadly. Aunt Bessie believes that she and her friends can find the killer. But with Doona suspended from work and spending all of her time with the dead woman's long-lost brother, with Hugh caught up in a brand new romance and with Inspector Rockwell chasing after a man that might not even exist, Bessie finds herself believing that someone might just get away with murder. Aunt Bessie Considers it an honour to be giving a presentation about her research at a conference at the Manx Museum. Miss Elizabeth Cubbon is known as “Aunt Bessie” to nearly everyone in her hometown of Laxey. While she never earned a college degree, she’s become something of an expert in the history of the island that she’s called home for all of her adult life. Once she turned sixty, she stopped counting how many years that includes. Aunt Bessie considers it unfair when the entire conference schedule is thrown into disarray by Mack Dickson’s sudden arrival. Mack promises that what he has to say is important enough to warrant the upheaval. But even more turmoil follows when Bessie discovers Mack’s body only a short time after he’s finished giving his speech. Aunt Bessie considers Police Inspector Peter Corkill a poor substitute for her friend, John Rockwell. But the Manx Museum is out of Rockwell’s jurisdiction and that means Corkill is in charge of the investigation, no matter what Bessie thinks. With Corkill insisting that Mack’s death was probably an unfortunate accident, Mack’s slides that shocked the conference disappear. Bessie finds herself drawn into another investigation, and she’s determined to drag her friends, Rockwell, Doona and Hugh, in with her.

     Now you can get the first six mysteries all in one book!

    CAN’T LIVE WITH ‘EM. CAN’T SHOOT ‘EM.On the best of days Special Agent Dave Fletcher wants nothing more than for his long-lost brother Hensley to stay lost for a long time. But it’s not the best of days. Dave learns that Rex, his uncle and mentor, died while vacationing in Cancún. Just after drafting a last-minute will leaving his fortune to Masie, a stranger who is first on the scene when Rex dies.Suspecting foul play, Dave goes to Mexico to make sure the murderer pays. But he can’t decide whether Masie is the most amazing woman he’s ever met or a cold-blooded killer.When Hensley resurfaces to provide unexpected and unwanted help, he stirs up decades-old resentments and attracts the attention of the killer. Will the brothers kill each other and save the murderer the trouble?

    Maggie Longstreet has plenty of them after slimy, ambitious Richard trades her in for a more recent model. She’s so depressed she can barely get out of bed when Larry Hawkins, a seemingly not-at-all depressed acquaintance, commits suicide out of the blue. Suddenly Maggie goes on high alert, remembering something her evil ex said about Larry—something highly suspicious. And from there, it's just a short segué to a bracing new development: “When some women get divorced they go back to school, I thought. Some do volunteer work at the hospital, or join communes and learn to birth calves. Some have affairs with inappropriate men. My new interest is burglary. Maggie Longstreet, former wife and mother, past president of the Museum Guild, now starting a career as a second-story woman.” Fortunately, Maggie isn’t alone in her adventure—a very attractive, much younger man proves a lot more fun than Richard ever was. In fact, the real delight of this witty, sly mystery is seeing Maggie come alive again after a suffocating marriage. Set in the’70s, it has a bit of that Mad Men feel of women on the brink of something big. And completely unexpected. You know Maggie’s going to be okay when she says: “I’d rather have had one of those cute little guns with a mother-of-pearl handle, but this (diamond pin) would have to do. I concealed it in my hand. At least now I was armed—or pinned.”