First the dead ship rolled into the dock, then fog swallowed the community and then the disappearances occurred. One child vanished from her bed before sunrise. Then twin brothers did not return from their chores. As the cries for the local watchmen to do something – anything – grew, so did the number of abducted children. By the time the local watchmen called to Preston for professional constables, there were more children missing than accounted for in the panicked township. When Inspector Arthur Eldermann arrives in the mist-choked community, not a single child under the age of thirteen but older than three remains, and there are no witnesses, no bodies and no clues as to why. The Inspector, a lapsed clergyman of cold demeanor and sneering wit, has his work cut out for him among the surly and insular townsfolk. His one ray of hope lies in Miss Regina Hollferd, governess of the rural schoolhouse, whose dedication and knowledge may hold the key to the disappearance of so many of her students. Her zeal and diligence begin to touch something in Inspector Eldermann long left to the dark, and he finds himself enthralled and repelled in equal measure by the soft-spoken yet potent woman. He will need all the help he can get, as things are moving in the mists around Evynsford, and the great wheels of a dark, terrible engine have already been set in motion. Can daring, wit and rekindled faith find the stolen children and perhaps even forestall the shadow looming ever closer?

    Fraudulent. Deadly.When an old acquaintance is framed for murder, amateur treasure hunter and diver Leigh Lacosta must beat a murderous rival to an undiscoverable shipwreck to clear her friend's name.Dont TellAlex Ryder is the best detective in her division, but she's harboring a secret that could kill her entire career.When Detective Alex Ryder picks up a new homicide case, no one knows her secret connection to the murder. As personal issues and an obsessive nature threaten her career, Alex follows a lead onto the Emerald Adventure, a cruise ship heading to the Bahamas for five days. But the killer's on board, and it's only a matter of time before someone else dies.

     Julia Blake runs her own cleaning business. She also has the unfortunate knack of finding murdered bodies. Virtually Scared To Death – Short Story The first time she sees a dead body is when she discovers one of her clients, Mark Castle, lying dead on the floor of his luxury apartment. Julia soon suspects that Mark was murdered. He was a good friend and she is determined to find out who killed him. A Deadly Restoration – Short Story Julia’s neighbour, Leo Kennedy, is having restoration work done to his house. One night, Julia hears the sound of something breaking next door. She goes to investigate and finds Leo dead in his front room. A Party To Die For – Short Story Julia Blake has been working for Fiona Doyle for a few years. Fiona is in a bad mood as she tries to organise a party. Julia suggest that Fiona has a lie down. An hour later Julia discovers that Fiona has been suffocated in her bed. A Secret Killer In this story Julia visits one of her clients, a genealogist called Hugo Barnes. Hugo has uncovered a family secret during the course of his work. It’s a secret that gets Hugo killed. Death Takes A Trip When one of Julia’s elderly clients, Douglas Pedley, is found dead at the bottom of his stairs, it is soon obvious that he was murdered. A Fair Murder Julia helps out at the local school fair. The new head teacher, Deborah Paignton has made herself unpopular by implementing changes to the school and continually upsetting members of staff. Julia discovers Deborah’s dead body after the fair has finished. Death Shows Up Julia provides moral support for her friend, Louisa, as they go to a slimming club meeting. They are shocked to discover that the slimming club venue has been taken over by the local amateur dramatics group. The am-dram group are performing a play written by the enigmatic Brandon Briggs. Julia soon suspects that Louisa and Brandon have a secret past. At the next meeting, Julia finds Brandon’s murdered body hidden in a costume room. Murder Makes A Claim Julia agrees to cover some cleaning work for a friend. The cleaning work takes her and her colleague, Cain, to the offices of Inkwell’s Insurance in Leeds. It isn’t long before Julia and Cain discover the dead body of Karl Rayburn, the manager at Inkwell’s Insurance. They find out that everyone has a secret when it comes to their relationship with Karl. Julia is reluctant to get herself involved. But she soon realises she has no option but to make her own enquiries to find out who the killer is.

    Nice work if you can get it. And if you can avoid making the kind of enemies—mobsters, local officials, politicians, and industry good ole’ boys among them—who would gladly contribute to your untimely demise. MILLION DOLLAR STAIRCASEWill thinks fast when he discovers his girl friend’s the victim of a frame-up. He sees instantly why they can’t go to the cops—the mayor, the city manager, and for all Will knows, every official in town could be in on it. It’s the latest offensive in a case of municipal bullying that’s busted many a bank account and broken many a heart—something that sounds so boring you could doze off just reading the words: Eminent Domain. But it’s anything but boring when it enters your life as the legal justification for waltzing in and power-grabbing your property-- business, buildings, and all.GUILTY MONEYWill Harper thinks his latest story’s about Florida’s prison problems. It seems that budget cuts have led to police departments turning to creative schemes to raise money. Grove County’s version involves arresting citizens for minor charges and then driving up their bail when a search of the citizen’s home too conveniently turns up drugs.But the usual guilty money scheme has been improved upon by a corrupt deputy, Deke Snyder, who’s skimming money from the jail. Once Will finds that out, Deputy Deke sics all his buddies on him–which include every cop in town.FLORIDA BURNINGA toxic algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee that’s as thick as guacamole. A deadly pollutant from a cane field. And an environmentalist dead in a cane field fire. Coincidence? Florida PI Will Harper knows damn well it’s not.THE FLORIDA SHUFFLESeems like Will’s got it made. The semi-retired investigative journalist is living the dream aboard his yacht WanderLust with his new live-in girlfriend Callie, a social worker at a rehab center. And, tired of getting beat up on the job, he’s finally whipping himself into shape. But it’s not all Florida coast sunsets, kayak adventures, sweaty bike races, and steak dinners on the boardwalk. Callie learns her employer has a history of setting clients up in shady sober homes in exchange for financial kickbacks—and one of those homes has lostthree of its patients to “accidental” overdoses in the past four months.Turns out it’s just the tip of the iceberg.This mystery anthology is custom-made for Florida mystery connoisseurs, and the cherry on top is Will’s liveaboard trawler, harking straight back to the grand tradition of marina-living PIs like John D. McDonald’s Travis McGee and Randy Wayne White’s Doc Ford. Fans of classics like those and more recent Florida tales by Wayne Stinnett and Dawn McKenna will be thrilled to discover this tempting tropical series—but so will anyone looking for the kind of private investigator who really cares.

    

    

    This compilation novel is comprised of three novellas: Assignment Zero, Agent Prerogative, and The Final Chapter, making this the complete Alexis Parker prequel series.Assignment Zero: You may know Alexis Parker as a top-notch investigator and security consultant, but before joining the private sector, she was a federal agent.At approximately 90 pages, this novella chronicles Agent Parker's beginning from her last few days at Quantico through her very first mission as an underling to S.S.A. Mark Jablonsky. As a probationary agent, Alex is learning the ins and outs of conducting a proper investigation, but all bets are off when she ends up undercover with her academy rival, Michael Carver. Suspicious shipments keep surfacing, and the Los Angeles FBI field office is forced to partner with the Office of International Operations to conduct their investigation. A restaurant employee, a wine collector, and the Russian mafia are all pieces of this daunting puzzle. Weapons are being smuggled into the country, and it's up to Alex and Michael to determine the source before things reach an unsettling end.Agent Prerogative:Alexis Parker is close to finishing her two years of training at the Office of International Operations. Having gone undercover to thwart arms dealers, working with Interpol to bring down a group of forgers, and dealing with more paperwork than anyone could ever imagine, she's ready to become a full-fledged federal agent.Returning from an extended overseas mission, she discovers her rival, Michael Carver, has permanently transferred to the OIO. Her unsteady partnership with her Quantico competitor must fall to the wayside as Alex and Michael are forced to work side by side. This time the FBI is trying to identify and track a group of ATM bandits. The only lead in the case is from an anonymous tip which no one believed to be legitimate until another ATM machine is hijacked. But is the OIO team spread too thin to stop the bandits from going on another crime spree?The Final Chapter:In the explosive conclusion to the Alexis Parker prequel series, the OIO is hot on the trail of a bomber. So far, there has only been a single detonation at an impound lot, but with a threatening phone call promising more fireworks, it is a race against time to identify the bomber and stop him before there's more destruction. Agent Parker has been on the job for over four years, chasing suspects, identifying leads, and becoming close with her federal agent brethren, but a single moment may alter the outcome of everyone's fate.This book contains a bonus excerpt from the first full-length novel in the Alexis Parker series, Likely Suspects.

    

    Forget the law. She wants revenge Meet Stella Cole. An ambitious detective inspector with the Metropolitan Police Service. Her career and her life look rosy until a hit and run driver kills her husband. Grief drives her to booze and pills. Back at work after a year’s compassionate leave, Stella secretly re-investigates his death and begins to suspect a cover-up. The legal conspiracy she uncovers rocks her faith in everything she holds dear, from the law itself to the people enforcing it and those dispensing justice. But the people running Pro Patria Mori have no intention of giving up. They want Stella dead. But they’ve reckoned without Stella’s determination, fighting skills and powerful but increasingly violent alter ego she dubs “Other Stella”. Thriller fans have awarded this nail-biting trilogy hundreds of five-star reviews. This boxset gives you all three novels – over 1,000 pages of unputdownable action. Book 1: Hit and Run Detective Inspector Stella Cole was a rising star in London’s Metropolitan Police. Then a hit-and-run driver killed her husband, Richard, a human rights lawyer. Freelance journalist Vicky Riley was working with Richard to expose corruption buried deep inside the legal system. Unaware that powerful people are out to stop her, she contacts Stella. Vicky’s research confirms Stella’s worst fears. The people who should be upholding the law are turning it on its head. Stella thinks she’s closing in on the truth. Then a horrific discovery threatens her very sanity. What began as a search for justice is now a raging thirst for revenge. “OMG! You don't want to get on the wrong side of this lady. Found this book absolutely riveting. Honestly struggled to put it down. Read it over two days. You'll love it.” Sheila Riddoch, Amazon 5-star review Book 2: Hit Back Harder Detective Inspector Stella Cole only has one case. To find, and kill, the remaining members of a legal conspiracy who turned her world into ashes. But their leader’s pulling in friends from the underworld to take the fight to Stella. Chief among them, an Albanian drug lord nicknamed, The Shark". Regrouping in Spain, Stella makes contact with an old adversary. A retired gangster named Ronnie “The Razor” Wilks. He proposes a deal that tests Stella’s resolve to the limit. “Noooo! That ending twist was so unexpected and that's what I exclaimed when I read it! This book kept me awake at night... it didn't give me nightmares although I suppose the graphic detail could have done. No, it was its gripping storyline that was the problem. I like to read for a short while before settling to sleep at night, but I couldn't put the book down and ended up with some very, very late nights.” Carol E. Bentley, Amazon 5-star review The only problem? Stella is losing her mind to a second, unrelentingly brutal version of herself she’s dubbed “Other Stella”. As the violence escalates, the question is, which one will win? Book 3: Hit and Done Stella has almost completed her bloody quest to avenge the hit and run killings of her husband and daughter. Only one member of the legal conspiracy who murdered them remains. But he’s not going to go down without a fight. Even if it means having Stella sectioned and trying for the third time to murder her.

     A disgraced cop, tangled in a web of lies... Two unlikely heroes, brought together by one unthinkable crime in... Read the first three episodes of this addictive series, brought together for the first time in one volume. The Crime Beat, Episode 1: New York City Perched on the soft tar of a New York City rooftop, a mysterious sniper fires a single round from a fifty caliber rifle. Five stories below, his target collapses on the marble steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, dead. Crime reporter Jane Cole needs this story badly. Suspended NYPD cop Robert Warren is desperate to clear his name. They don't trust each other, but they make the perfect team. And as Cole and Warren track the killer, they uncover a plot so ruthless it shocks the conscience, a crime so expansive it will rock the world. The Crime Beat, Episode 2: Washington, D.C. At the rooftop bar of the famed Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., a former Vice President is assassinated. Across the Potomac River, a mysterious sniper leaves a fifty caliber rifle on the bed of his hotel room, then disappears. Crime reporter Jane Cole and NYPD cop Robert Warren have clues no one else has. But as they arrive in D.C. to investigate, they're hit with a series of coverups and misdirections. And as they close in on the killer, they realize that they, too, are being tracked. The Crime Beat, Episode 3: Miami Arriving in Little Havana in Miami, Cole creates a list of potential victims while Warren tracks down an old confidential informant. Desperate to reach a reclusive financier, Cole then makes an unusual friend, who leads her on a wild-goose chase through Miami. All the while, news is breaking around the world that implicates Cole and Warren in the killings, and a mysterious pair has followed them to Miami. Perfect for readers of Michael Connelly and fans of True Detective or Jack Ryan, The Crime Beat is your next bingeable series from bestselling author A.C. Fuller. Grab the set now. The Crime Beat is a 9-novella series—each book between 140 and 200 pages—and is designed to be read in order.

     A stunning first case. A mentor he’ll never forget: Harry Bosch. New York Times Bestselling author Michael Lister’s unique thriller is “another great ride with a very assured driver behind the wheel” (Michael Connelly). John Jordan’s first case is also his most heartbreaking. And one that will haunt him for the rest of his life! When John Jordan was twelve years old, he came face-to-face with the man who went to prison for the Atlanta Child Murders. Six years later, John returns to Atlanta to discover the truth. As he battles his demons and embarks on his first murder investigation, Jordan learns the ropes from the one and only Harry Bosch. Witness the beginning of one of crime fiction’s most fascinating detectives. Every great character has a past, and ex-cop turned prison chaplain turned cop again John Jordan’s is equal doses tragedy and inspiration. Innocent Blood is both a standalone thriller and the true first book in an electrifying series that features a special introduction by Michael Connelly. If you like top-notch whodunits, complicated characters, and edge-of-your-seat suspense, then you’ll love Michael Lister’s shocking thrill-ride. The body of a young woman propped against a prison fence. A series of suicides with a unique calling card. A stolen corpse. A young man fighting for his life. A single mother who has lost her only child. Perplexing puzzles and people in need are John Jordan’s specialties. A thrilling mystery featuring a detective like no other! A daring escape. A race against time. Locked in with a vicious, relentless killer. Can John save the life of the woman he loves? The stakes have never been higher. Success seems impossible. Failure unimaginable. Behold what happens beneath the Blood Moon! ”Michael Lister may be the author of the most unique series running in mystery fiction. It crackles with tension and authenticity.” Michael Connelly "Eerie and cinematic, classic whodunits with thoroughly modern sensibilities. John Jordan manages to be deeply flawed yet utterly appealing. Suspenseful, complex and original, page-turners with a soul." Lisa Unger John Jordan is once again carrying a gun and a badge—and he’s going to need them. Balancing family life with being a cop and a prison chaplain takes grit and grace—and John has plenty of both. Working two cases that may or may not be connected, John is investigating the disappearance of a young army ranger home on leave and one of the most sadistic serial killers he’s ever encountered. “Michael Lister is a giant talent with a unique vision. His landmark John Jordan Mystery series is a treasure of contemporary literature.” Florida Weekly Publisher's Weekly Starred Review: "Lister gives fair clues for the surprise solution, thus combining a compelling account of his hero’s spiritual struggle with a top-notch whodunit."

    Now though? Well, he's just a humble bar owner with a story to tell, a girl to save, and a few drinks to make... or is he?Book 1: Rolling ThunderBook 2: Pride of Barbados Book 3: Into the Blue

    Fantasy fans will love this thrilling dragon ride that features strong women, hope, and a compelling story-telling style appropriate for most ages. Book 1: The Bonding Trysten has a special bond with the dragons of Aerona. But will that bond be enough to save the dragons and the village when her father is crippled and his dragon mortally wounded? All her life, Trysten has wished to follow in her father's footsteps and lead the dragons of Aerona into battle, but the title of Dragoneer has always gone to a male heir since the beginning of history. As war approaches with the changing of the season, Trysten must prove to her father, the village and the other dragon riders that she is an able leader and a fierce warrior of legendary capabilities. Book 2: The Prince Trysten's first fighting season as Dragoneer of the Aerona weyr proves to be dangerous as it brings threats from the east as well as the west. While preparing for additional attacks from the Western kingdom, Trysten must deal with a prince from the King's court determined to take her title. Sent to enforce his father's rule that Trysten step aside as Dragoneer, the prince also digs into the mysteries surrounding the Second Hordesmen and comes close to discovering the secret of Trysten's heritage. But when Trysten and the prince discover a new threat in the mountains of the west, one that threatens Aerona and the entire kingdom, Trysten must be the Dragoneer she was born to be and prove to the prince that she is the rightful heir to the title once held by her father. Book 3: Aerona Stands Trysten's heroism and dragon riding skills may have won over the people of Aerona, but her future as Dragoneer remains uncertain. A threat unlike any the village has ever faced is on the move. Aerona lies in the path of destruction. To save those she loves, Trysten must set aside her distrust of Prince Aymon and join with him to stop a force that would destroy the entire kingdom. Victory will require more than a drawn sword, a tight bowstring, and a dragon full of fire. To win the battle, Trysten must accept her true nature and risk becoming the very thing Prince Aymon fears. Once again she will redefine what it means to be the Dragoneer.

    DudeMichaela, Dottie and Angel work the kidnapping of a young women who never returns home from a job interview.The Case of the Dead DowagerFear grips Richmond, Virginia as madmen invade restaurants and bars and terrorize patrons.The Case of the Man OverboardMic, Dottie, and Angel take a restful Mediterranean cruise until a research scientist goes overboard and Michaela finds her clothes cut to shreds in her stateroom.

    Three book set with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd books in this popular humorous mystery series, starting with A Dead Red Cadillac, follow the fun and foibles of amateur sleuth and aero-ag pilot, Lalla Bains as she maneuvers through trouble with drug-running crop-dusters, crazy chihauhaus and her friends and loved ones at Roxanne's Truck Café.