Two Tocks before Midnight


Clay Boutwell - 2012
     But among the members, there is a traitor. Among the forgers, there is a murderer. As friends betray their own and souls are sentenced to death, suspicions and tensions mount. Only one man, Carl Brooke, has the knowledge and expertise to stop the murderer. But will he succeed? Or will the night of October 24th, 1859 forever remain an unresolved mystery? -- If you like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books or stories set in the 19th century and with a touch of mystery, you will love Two Tocks before Midnight. This is the first in the Agora mystery series. Carl Brooke and the Agora society’s crime-solving escapades continue with additional stories. If you would like to read them all, please search for "The Agora Letters" for five stories for the price of three.

No Game For a Dame


M. Ruth Myers - 2011
     Moving through streets where people line up at soup kitchens, Maggie draws information from sources others overlook: The waitress at the dime store lunch counter where she has breakfast; a ragged newsboy; the other career girls at her rooming house. Her digging gets her chloroformed and left in a ditch behind the wheel of her DeSoto. She makes her way to an upscale bordello and gets tea – and information – from the madam herself. A gunman puts a bullet through Maggie’s hat. Her shutterbug pal on the evening paper warns her off. A new cop whose presence unsettles her thinks she’s crooked. Before she finds all the answers she needs, she faces a half-crazed man with a gun, and a far more lethal point-blank killer. If you like Robert B. Parker's hard boiled Spencer series and strong women sleuths, don't miss this one-of-a-kind Ohio detective from a time in United States history when dames wore hats -- but seldom a Smith & Wesson.

Maids of Misfortune


M. Louisa Locke - 2009
    Annie’s husband squandered her fortune before committing suicide five years earlier, and one of his creditors is now threatening to take the boardinghouse she owns to pay off a debt. Annie Fuller also has a secret. She supplements her income by giving domestic and business advice as Madam Sibyl, one of San Francisco’s most exclusive clairvoyants, and one of Madam Sibyl’s clients, Matthew Voss, has died. The police believe his death was suicide brought upon by bankruptcy, but Annie believes Voss has been murdered and that his assets have been stolen. Nate Dawson has a problem. As the Voss family lawyer, he would love to believe that Matthew Voss didn't leave his grieving family destitute. But that would mean working with Annie Fuller, a woman who alternatively attracts and infuriates him as she shatters every notion he ever had of proper ladylike behavior. Sparks fly as Anne and Nate pursue the truth about the murder of Matthew Voss in this light-hearted, cozy historical mystery set in the foggy gas-lit world of Victorian San Francisco. Maids of Misfortune is the first book in M. Louisa Locke’s historical mystery series, see also, Uneasy Spirits, and Bloody Lessons, as well as the two short stories based on the characters from the novels, Dandy Detects, and The Misses Moffet Mend a Marriage.

The Templar's Cross


J.R. Tomlin - 2015
    In desperation, he reluctantly accepts a commission to find a nobleman's runaway wife. He enlists the help of a fellow Scot with whom he escaped after their defeat at the Battle of Verneuil. But his friend is murdered, and Law discovers he has been lied to. As the murders continue to mount, powerful interests come into play. When the Sheriff of Perth considers him a convenient scapegoat, it gives Law no choice but to untangle the lies and find the killer or hang for the murders.

A Thread of Madness


Blythe Baker - 2020
    But the unexpected discovery that the killer might be in their very midst soon changes everything, sparking an urgent desperation to ferret out his identity.While assisting the local constable in his investigation, Iris stumbles across a family mystery of her own, a buried secret that calls into question everything she thinks she knows about her sister. With Iris’s once-blind faith in Lily shaken, can the sisters unite long enough to escape the schemes of a dangerous lunatic?

The Murder at Sissingham Hall


Clara Benson - 2013
    But in the dead of night Sir Neville is murdered. Who did it? As suspicion falls on each of the house guests in turn, Knox finds himself faced with deception and betrayal on all sides, and only the enigmatic Angela Marchmont seems to offer a solution to the mystery. This 1920s whodunit will delight all fans of traditional country house murder stories.

Winnetka Road (Book 1) (The Winnetka Road Trilogy)


J.S. Sheridan - 2018
    He’s handsome, rich and just made partner at his father-in-law’s white-shoe law firm. She’s beautiful, brilliant and leads the crowd in all things fashion, design and elegance. They live in a mansion on Winnetka Road with their baby girl, Simone. Their life is picture perfect. But all is not as it seems. There is something dark and unnatural beneath Paul’s smooth exterior. Cellina doesn’t notice. She’s too busy with her constant renovations of the mansion and trips to Paris, Palm Beach and Percocet. Their friends don’t notice. They’re blinded by the Farrell good looks, money and standing in society. But the baby nurse sees. And little Simone. Façades are beginning to crack at the big house on Winnetka Road. *** The Winnetka Road Trilogy is a psychological thriller with supernatural elements. This is Book 1. (Book 1 ends with a partial resolution and a cliffhanger.) 156 pages

Marshmallows and Murder: A Comedy Cozy Mystery (Mom and Christy's Cozy Mysteries Book 7)


Christy Murphy - 2018
    Read in any order. Fletcher Canyon is hosting its first fair! But when Christy finds a dead body and the mayor becomes the prime suspect, the town's reputation nosedives.Meanwhile, Christy's relationship with DC Cooper slips into crisis mode after an awkward interview with a TV reporter. Can Mom and Christy save the mayor, Fletcher Canyon's reputation, and Christy's relationship with DC?Find out in this cute, comedy cozy.

Mrs. Jones


William Cain - 2019
    Detective Adelaide Henson of the Asheville PD lands the case because she’s iron tough.When she begins her investigation she surprises herself, though, and cautiously begins a romance with the son of a strange witness. She also finds the dangerous mobster has a human side too – even when he’s surrounded by enemies.Someone murdered his wife and now they want him to meet his fate. And he’s not waiting. He’s got an army of killers at his disposal and he’s going to use them.A hitlady with a reputation is on her way to seal his destiny!

The Hanover Square Affair


Ashley Gardner - 2003
    Cavalry captain Gabriel Lacey returns to Regency London from the Napoleonic wars, burned out, fighting melancholia, his career ended. His interest is perked when he learns of a missing girl, possibly kidnapped by a prominent member of Parliament. Lacey's search for the girl leads to the discovery of murder, corruption, and dealings with a leader of the underworld. He faces his own disorientation transitioning from a soldier's life to the civilian world at the same time, redefining his role with his former commanding officer and making new friends--from the top of society to the street girls of Covent Garden.#1 of the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries series.This is a full-length novel, e-version of The Hanover Square Affair, previously published in print by Berkley Prime Crime.

Blackstone and the Rendezvous with Death


Sally Spencer - 2003
     Yet to Inspector Sam Blackstone, the case is as puzzling as any he has ever come across. Why should a corpse dressed the in rags of a commoner have the face of a gentleman? And if this man does belong to noble stock, why has no one come forward to claim the body? As his investigation proceeds, Blackstone finds himself entering the world of the aristocracy—in which the presence of an ordinary policeman is far from welcome—and tramping the dangerous streets of London's Little Russia—where English law and order are not welcome. Death seems to stalk him, and as each new clue leads to nothing more than a new murder, Blackstone comes to realize that he is caught up in what may turn out to be the most horrendous crime of the century… Blackstone and the Rendezvous with Death is an expertly plotted Victorian mystery that will keep readers guessing to the last page. Praise for Sally Spencer: “Spencer's finest hour: a tightly plotted puzzler with surprises at every turn” Kirkus Reviews “Spencer is an accomplished craftsman who serves up a good puzzle and deftly solves it with intelligence and insight” Publishers Weekly “Characters are diverse, intriguing, and believable . . . plots never fail to surprise; and the procedural details are grittily realistic” Kirkus Reviews Sally Spencer worked as a teacher both in England and Iran - where she witnessed the fall of the Shah. She now writes full time. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

Still Life with Murder


P.B. Ryan - 2003
    Born into dismal poverty, young Nell Sweeney scratches by on her wits and little else until fortune blesses her with a position as nursery governess to the fabulously wealthy Hewitts. But she soon learns that ugly secrets lurk beneath the surface of their gold-plated world.The Hewitts’ eldest son, William, a former Union Army battle surgeon and the black sheep of the family, was reported to have died three years before in a notorious Confederate prison camp. But one snowy February afternoon, his parents learn that he is, in fact, still alive—and in jail for having murdered a man while intoxicated on opium. Infuriated by his son’s deception and convinced of his guilt, August Hewitt forbids his wife from coming to Will’s aid, so she begs Nell to help exonerate him. Nell finds that she must delve into the kind of dark and treacherous underworld she thought she’d left far behind if she is to unearth the truth before the hangman’s noose tightens around William Hewitt’s throat.

Storm Island


Linda Watkins - 2018
    A second-year-resident in surgery, she thinks she has her life under control. But a curious conversation overheard while taking a catnap launches her on a descent into a world filled with nightmarish visions that cause her to doubt her own sanity.Sent to Storm Island to rest and recuperate from an apparent breakdown, Kate is forced to come to grips with memories of the summer her mother died as well as new terrors that plague her mind. Even the blossoming of an unexpected romance with islander, Jeremy Bradshaw, cannot keep her fears at bay for long.The discovery of a strange little silo, hidden deep in the woods, spurs Kate to action as she tries to unravel its mysteries. But is the silo real or just another illusion created by her tortured mind? Storm Island, A Kate Pomeroy Mystery, is the first book in a series of mysteries taking place on Storm, a remote island off the coast of Maine.

A Quiet Life in the Country


T.E. Kinsey - 2016
    Florence Armstrong, her maid and confidante, is an expert in martial arts. The year is 1908 and they’ve just moved from London to the country, hoping for a quiet life.But it is not long before Lady Hardcastle is forced out of her self-imposed retirement. There’s a dead body in the woods, and the police are on the wrong scent. Lady Hardcastle makes some enquiries of her own, and it seems she knows a surprising amount about crime investigation…As Lady Hardcastle and Flo delve deeper into rural rivalries and resentment, they uncover a web of intrigue that extends far beyond the village. With almost no one free from suspicion, they can be certain of only one fact: there is no such thing as a quiet life in the country.

The House of Closed Doors


Jane Steen - 2012
    Yet Nell is determined to elude the duties and restrictions of matrimony. So when she finds herself pregnant at the age of 17, she refuses to divulge the name of the father and even her childhood friend Martin is kept in the dark.Nell's stepfather Hiram sends Nell to live at the Poor Farm of which he is a governor, to await the day when her baby can be discreetly adopted. Nell is ready to go along with Hiram's plans until an unused padded cell is opened and two small bodies fall out.Nell is the only resident of the Poor Farm who is convinced that the unwed mother and her baby were murdered, and the incident prompts her to rethink her decision to abandon her own child to her fate. But the revelations to which her questions lead make her realize that even if she manages to escape the Poor Farm with her baby, she may have no safe place to run to.