Book picks similar to
The Turquoise Mask by Phyllis A. Whitney
mystery
romance
fiction
gothic
Mistress of Mellyn
Victoria Holt - 1960
But what about its master--Connan TreMellyn? Was Martha Leigh's new employer as romantic as his name sounded? As she approached the sprawling mansion towering above the cliffs of Cornwall, an odd chill of apprehension overcame her. TreMellyn's young daugher, Alvean, proved as spoiled and difficult as the three governesses before Martha had discovered. But it was the girl's father whose cool, arrogant demeanor unleashed unfamiliar sensations and turmoil--even as whispers of past tragedy and present danger begin to insinuate themselves into Martha's life. Powerless against her growing desire for the enigmatic Connan, she is drawn deeper into family secrets--as passion overpowers reason, sending her head and heart spinning. But though evil lurks in the shadows, so does love--and the freedom to find a golden promise forever...
Waiting for Willa
Dorothy Eden - 1970
A nearly forgotten schoolgirl’s game, it is the long-standing signal for alarm agreed upon long before Willa went to Stockholm to live. Grace takes the coded message seriously and wires her cousin that she is on her way, and much, much more.What follows is a perilous search through the fascinating night world of Stockholm. Romance, terror, and a succession of shocking surprises await Grace-and the reader-as the pieces of the puzzle gradually fit together. WAITING FOR WILLA bristles with the kind of foreboding suspense Dorothy Eden's many readers have come to expect from her.
The Ivy Tree
Mary Stewart - 1961
There had been a third, but Annabel Winslow had died four years ago - so when a young woman calling herself Annabel Winslow comes 'home' to Whitescar, Con Winslow and his half-sister Lisa must find out whether she really is who she says she is.
Nun Too Soon
Alice Loweecey - 2015
He's hired Driscoll Investigations to prove his innocence and they have only thirteen days to accomplish it. Talk about being tried in the media. Everyone in town is sure Roger Fitch strangled his girlfriend with one of his silk neckties. And then there's the local TMZ wannabes—The Scoop—stalking Giulia and her client for sleazy sound bites. On top of all that, her assistant's first baby is due any second, her scary smart admin still doesn't relate well to humans, and her police detective husband insists her client is guilty. About this marriage thing—it's unknown territory, but it sure beats ten years of living with 150 nuns. Giulia's ownership of Driscoll Investigations hasn't changed her passion for justice from her convent years. But the more dirt she digs up, the more she's worried her efforts will help a murderer escape. As the client accuses DI of dragging its heels on purpose, Giulia thinks The Silk Tie Killer might be choosing one of his ties for her own neck.
The Great Mistake
Mary Roberts Rinehart - 1940
In an elaborate house known as the Cloisters, Maud Wainwright rules supreme. The queen of society in the small town of Beverly, she has a table long enough to seat one hundred, and she keeps an iron grip on the guest list. Her right-hand woman is Pat Abbott, a local girl who is beautiful, innocent, and kind. Pat has no idea how cutthroat high society can be, but she’s about to get a deadly first lesson. Pat has fallen head over heels in love with Maud’s son, Tony, a clever young rake with a single flaw: his vicious, gold-digging wife. At the same time that she is dangerously infatuated with a married man, Pat’s world is turned upside down by a series of attacks on the estate—and a truly shocking murder. To save Tony and Maud, Pat must find the killer. But the list of suspects is as long as one of Maud’s guest lists: When a woman has room at her table for one hundred friends, she’ll have more than her share of enemies. “Anyone who aspires to become a writer,” said the New York Times, “could not do better than to study carefully the methods of Mary Roberts Rinehart.” The Great Mistake is a classic example of the golden age murder mystery at its best.
Gull Harbor
Kathryn Knight - 2013
As a medium, the prospect of tackling a haunted house is less daunting than seeing Max Baron again. Throughout their passionate college relationship, he promised to love her forever. Then, without explanation, he abandoned her on graduation day.Max never intended to break Claire's heart—a cruel ultimatum forced him to disappear from her life. While he's shocked to find her in Gull Harbor, he isn't surprised by the bitter resentment she feels for him...or the fiery attraction that remains between them.Claire is determined to rid her temporary home of its aggressive ghost, but Max soon realizes she's facing a danger beyond the paranormal. When Claire risks everything to help a desperate spirit, Max must race to save her—before another tragedy tears them apart forever.
A Sip of Murder
Blythe Baker - 2018
She’s got ex-husband troubles, a mother-in-law feud, and a cantankerous parrot to contend with. But just as old doors close, a new one opens, beginning with the sudden death of Maddie’s grandmother and an unexpected inheritance. Moving to a new town, Maddie rolls up her sleeves and prepares to revive a run-down tourist attraction that could one day be returned to its former glory as a Japanese tea garden.But getting the tea garden up and running won’t be easy, not with someone trying to sabotage her efforts. Worse still, there’s a murderer on the loose and corpses are popping up like daisies in the tea garden! Can Maddie capture the killer before they strike again? Or will her life, along with her freshly brewed new business opportunity, get sucked down the drain?
The Master of Blacktower
Barbara Michaels - 1966
Suddenly her fate—her life itself—was in the black silk-gloved hands of Gavin Hamilton, a man scarred and tortured by an unspoken past, whose mocking laughter echoes through his ancient Scottish estate. Damaris has heard the whispers that accuse Gavin Hamilton of his wife's death and his young daughter's crippling injury. But the pain and sadness barely hidden behind his blazing dark stare touch Damaris deeply—and a courageous heart is luring her to the estate's topmost tower in search of his dangerous secrets.
The Fifth Servant
K.J.A. Wishnia - 2010
A richly atmospheric tale of religion, mystery, and intrigue, The Fifth Servant recreates life in the era when Emperor Rudolph II occupied the throne—a time of uncertainty and fear viewed through the eyes of an intrepid rabbinical student on a quest for truth and justice.
Finding Philippe: Lost in France...
Elizabeth Pewsey - 2001
Exasperated by her tyrannical family, Vicky escapes from rationing and austerity Britain and flees to the south of France.But she’s not there just for the glorious food, wine and sunshine: she has an inheritance to claim, and a mystery to solve. Can she find her wartime husband, Philippe d’Icère? Is he alive or dead? A hero or a traitor? An imposter, or a true Frenchman? Do the answers lie in the Languedoc village of St Aphrodise, where danger lurks in the ancient streets?How can she be sure who’s a loyal friend and who a bitter enemy? Vicky seems destined to fail—or will she, in the end, find out the truth about Philippe?
American Journey: The First Three Novels
John A. Heldt - 2017
Heldt’s celebrated American Journey series. In SEPTEMBER SKY, a reporter and his estranged son find southern belles, lawlessness, and danger as they travel to Galveston, Texas, on the eve of its devastating 1900 hurricane. In MERCER STREET, a family of Chicago women, representing three generations, takes a sentimental journey to Princeton, New Jersey, in the turbulent months before World War II. In INDIANA BELLE, a lonely doctoral student follows a trail to the Roaring Twenties, where a beautiful society editor, a cold-blooded killer, and a century-old mystery await. Filled with history, romance, and adventure, the American Journey series takes readers on a ride through the most memorable eras of the 20th century. Start the journey today at a discounted price!
The Knife Slipped
A.A. Fair - 2016
Gardner also created the hardboiled detective team of Cool and Lam, stars of 29 novels published between 1939 and 1970—and one that’s never been published until now.Lost for more than 75 years, THE KNIFE SLIPPED was meant to be the second book in the series but got shelved when Gardner’s publisher objected to (among other things) Bertha Cool’s tendency to "talk tough, swear, smoke cigarettes, and try to gyp people." But this tale of adultery and corruption, of double-crosses and triple identities —however shocking for 1939—shines today as a glorious present from the past, a return to the heyday of private eyes and shady dames, of powerful criminals, crooked cops, blazing dialogue, and delicious plot twists.Donald Lam has never been cooler—not even when played by Frank Sinatra on the U.S. Steel Hour of Mystery in 1946. Bertha Cool has never been tougher. And Erle Stanley Gardner has never been better. First publication ever! Erle Stanley Gardner is one of the most popular American authors of all time, with over 100 million books sold Brand new cover painting by Robert McGinnis of modern-day pin-up icon Dita von Teese Brand new afterword by former Ellery Queen editor Russell Atwood about Gardner, Cool & Lam, and THE KNIFE SLIPPED
Last Victim of the Monsoon Express
Vaseem Khan - 2019
The passenger list includes politicians, celebrities, former Mumbai policeman Inspector Chopra and his baby elephant ward Ganesha.Then a senior diplomat is found murdered in his cabin. Accusations fly, tensions rise, and an international incident seems certain. But is the murder political - or personal?Tasked to investigate, Chopra has just hours before the train reaches its destination and the news goes public. He must unmask the killer quickly if he's to stop the last journey of the Monsoon Express going entirely off the rails...
Sunbaked
Junie Coffey - 2015
Nina’s new hometown is the charming village of Coconut Cove, with its narrow lanes lined with candy coloured houses and gardens overflowing with tropical flowers. Her back yard is a white sand beach and the mesmerizing turquoise sea. But local big shot Barry Bassett has his eye on Nina’s cozy little beach cottage with the aim of tearing it down to build condos. Then Barry’s obnoxious wife Tiffany goes missing, and Nina finds herself sitting across a desk from the very serious chief of police, Blue Roker, wondering how her day dream of easy living in the islands got so far off track so quickly.Join Nina Spark and her new best friends, the philosophizing mailman Danish Jensen and the ever cheerful Pansy Gallagher, as they careen around Pineapple Cay at the maximum speed of fifteen miles an hour in a golf cart, trying to figure out what the heck is going on.This is a story Jimmy Buffett and Agatha Christie might have come up with if they’d been holed up together for a weekend at some slightly faded beachfront hotel with a pitcher of pina coladas and a box of fireworks.For fans of comedic mysteries, and readers looking for a tropical beach vacation in a book at the tail end of a long, hard winter.
The Eye of Love
Margery Sharp - 1957
He went as a paper parcel and she as a Spanish dancer. Harry Gibson and Miss Diver fell deeply in love. But when Mr Gibson decides he'll have to marry the hopelessly unprepossessing daughter of his colleague in order to save his ailing business, Miss Diver is cut off.