It sounds like a simple case, but things take a dangerous turn and Reed discovers that man's-best-friend can attract some decidedly unfriendly characters!ELVIS AND THE SPORTS CARD CHEATReed Ferguson returns in an outrageously fun short story!Perry Rawlings, an Elvis impersonator, has his prize Mickey Mantle baseball card stolen. Who is the culprit? This tale will keep you guessing!If you're a fan of great mysteries, don't miss this collection.

    But before she can even be charged she’s been tried and convicted by the media, at the center of which is Melinda Pace, a cynical, mostly-functioning alcoholic Minneapolis television personality with a “legal news” show called The Court Reporter. Not even in the alternative universe of television news could she be described as a reporter, since she makes no attempt at or pretense of presenting the truth, or even the facts. She does do a great job of producing through-the-roof ratings and whipping the public into a frenzy—with tragic consequences.Book 4 – CERTAIN JUSTICE A PSYCHOPATH'S BACK ON THE STREETS--AND HE'S OUT FOR REVENGE… Marc was torn about his work for Howie Traynor—his first homicide case—but even he was relieved when Howie was put away for forty years… Until, a decade later, his case is re-opened. Seems the former tech in the BCA lab was falsifying DNA evidence to collude with cops in putting away suspected violent criminals. And now not only Howie, but a handful of wrongfully-accused felons, are back out on the streets.Marc and his longtime buddy PI Tony Caravelli don’t buy Howie’s come-to-Jesus act. And when an appeals judge with ties to the overturned cases winds up crucified in his own front yard, they’re convinced a dangerous killer has been wrongfully exonerated.Book 5 – PERSONAL JUSTICE FIRST SHE KILLS HER HUSBANDS, THEN SHE DESTROYS THEIR FAMILIES… Mackenzie Sutherland is shrouded in black at her most recent late husband’s funeral. Mackenzie’s not-so despondent face might tell more observant onlookers she’s not exactly your typical grieving widow—but then, no one can see through her veil. This is by design. Alluring and dangerously attractive, she’s been down this road before.Three times, in fact. In Dennis Carstens’ FIFTH hard-boiled legal thriller, we meet the classic black widow. All of Mackenzie’s late husbands were millionaires. Each died suddenly and quite mysteriously of massive heart attacks (in spite of no history of heart trouble). And each left their children with nothing—and their young, beautiful bride (of about a year or so) with millions.Book 6 – DELAYED JUSTICE FRAUD LEADS TO MURDER. AND THIS TIME, IT’S PERSONAL... Maddy Rivers has her reservations about her new relationship with Rob Judd. Sure, he’s a handsome and brilliant investment analyst in a wildly successful securities management firm. But he’s constantly distracted. It seems something about the firm’s not quite right—or so he finally lets on to Maddy.

    Adam Kaminski, with a delegation to Philadelphia's sister city, is meant to be a polite observer only. But a good man doesn't walk away when he sees wrong being done, and he's not about to start now.Visiting his family's homeland, Adam's been warned by his superiors to be on his best behavior. In a country that has known centuries of wars and occupation, politics are complex and layered with old prejudices and loyalties impossible for foreigners to understand. But when Adam meets a Polish cousin in Warsaw who believes his daughter was murdered, Adam is troubled by the indifference of the police… and by the strange behavior of the delegation's Polish liaison.Adam begins uncovering clues that point to the killer, clues that lead him inexorably into an investigation of the intricate web of Polish politics and the legacy of the Secret Police. But the past isn't always black and white, as Adam is forced to accept as he learns more about the killer and about his own family legacy. Will looking into the murder only beget more murder?

    How far would you go to get your children back......?A stand alone novel based on high profile child abductions, which have been followed by millions of concerned parents on the news. 5 year old twins are abducted from a tent in the Lake District and the hunt for a dangerous paedophile ring begins. Police procedure follows the premise that 60% of abducted children are murdered within the first four hours of being taken. The first hour is called "The golden hour" and the longer a child is missing, the less chance there is of them being recovered unharmed. The Child Taker follows the desperate search for the missing twins. Packed with action and twists, this is one of the best thriller novels around. Guardian Reviews SLOW BURNThe second Detective Alec Ramsay novel. A young girl is bullied and abused at school. Her brother is habitually beaten by the same gang for nothing more than being overweight and a different religion. Later in life when their paths cross again, a terrible revenge ensues.'Tank' is like Jack Reacher on steroids! Guardian Reviews. Crime thriller writing that will have you chewing your fingers as you read! ; Review

    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.

    Now, after moving back home to Alabama to care for her ailing grandmother and autistic brother, she comes face-to-face with the deadly mystery behind his disappearance.Jori has a rare form of synesthesia, meaning she can “hear” colors; to her, tones of voice are as unique as fingerprints. With the help of this ability and a sympathetic cop, Jori comes dangerously close to uncovering the truth. But those responsible will go to any length—including murder—to keep their dark secrets buried.Soon, it seems that no one in the sleepy bayou town is safe, and after Jori’s brother is kidnapped, she knows she must drop the investigation or risk losing her family. But when protecting them means letting an evil deed go unpunished, putting family first may be the last thing she’ll ever do.

    Emily Parker is a sassy young private investigator in the affluent small town of Paradise Valley, who has been uncovering clues that her late husband was not who he said he was. Her business is growing, as is her relationship with the handsome police detective, Colin Andrews. With the help of her close circle of girlfriends and the sexy police detective, Emily takes on one case after another as Colin tries convince her to stop throwing herself into the center of danger and marry him. A captivating series, full of romance, mystery, and intrigue. Think "Sex and the City" meets "Nancy Drew" (without all the bed-hopping).

    That's what Kate has come to discover and so her desperate search for the truth begins and it will change her forever.ALL THE SHINY THINGS (book 1)A past revealed. A vengeance unleashed. Compelled to delve into a past no one wants to relive, Kate turns to Detective Marshall Avery. He is the only one who can give her the resources she needs. But the price Kate must pay for answers might just be too great. When her desire for vengeance grows, will Detective Avery be able to prevent her from going too far?LAW OF FIVE (Book 2)Through chaos, a calm must emerge. The media's continued interest in her case last year has made Kate's life difficult as she attempts to begin again in the wake of tragedy. When she is pulled into a new investigation, Kate realizes just how much that attention has harmed her. This time, a killer dubbed "The Highway Hunter" works his way toward the doorstep of the SDPD and Agent Nick Scarborough is once again called upon to aid in the investigation. As the case evolves, Kate learns that there could be more than one killer. Four lives have already been taken, who will be number five?GONE UNNOTICED (Book 3)What doesn't kill us... A new case involving the disappearance of migrant women fuels Kate's renewed trajectory as she is reminded their desire to start a new life is similar to her own. The pain and sorrow Kate believed was behind her begins to resurface as the case unfolds and the losses catch up with her. But when her training suffers as a result of her pursuit for justice, will Kate lose all hope of renewing a life that has already robbed her of so much?

    Instead, the victim turns out to be a woman he'd had an affair with before breaking it off to save his marriage. But there's a bigger problem: Liam has no memory of where he was or what he did on the night of the murder.Panicked, Liam turns to his brother, Sean, a homicide detective. Sean has his back, but incriminating evidence keeps piling up. From fingerprints to DNA, everything points to Liam, who must race against time and his department to uncover the truth - even if that truth is his own guilt. Yet as he digs deeper, dark secrets come to light, and Liam begins to suspect the killer might actually be Sean ...When the smoke clears in this harrowing family drama, who will be left standing?

    Seeming to select his victims at random, he acts out the rituals of the Spanish Inquisition before committing their bodies to the sacred waters of nearby Sebec Lake. Anne Quinn, an investigator for the Piscataquis County sheriff’s office, and Detective Douglas Bateman with the Major Crimes Unit of the Maine State Police join forces in tracking him down. Hiding in plain sight, the killer is clearly from the local community and plays a deadly “catch me if you can” game with Quinn and Bateman. He seems determined to humiliate them and demonstrate his superior intellect, leading them to suspect that perhaps there is a deeper motive and purpose behind his string of murders.

    There is no road surface strong enough to resist the return to dirt in this climate.Blue touched my thigh with his nose, a gentle tap to remind me he was there. Thick jungle lined our path. This hill had the fewest homes on our route. No neighbors to wave a hello to or children to smile at as they raced by on bikes either too large or too small for them. There was just me, Blue, the burst of vegetation, and this road of rocks. I reached the top of the hill, my thighs and calves burned. Panting, I struggled to keep my pace.A low growl narrowed my attention onto a black and white street dog in the brush. Ears flat to her head, she curled her lips and showed teeth. Noting the swollen teats hanging low and exposed, I kept moving. "I'm not going to bother you, mama," I said in a steady voice. "We are just passing by."Blue slowed, and when I patted my thigh for him to catch up he stopped. I turned to look back at him, my senses on high alert. Blue was a mutt the height of a Great Dane with the coat of a wolf and the long snout of a Collie, with one blue eye and one brown. Blue has saved my life more than once so when he stopped, so did I.I recognized a twitch on his lip and saw the hackles raise off his shoulders and back making him appear even larger. A deep and rumbling growl left his chest. It was answered behind me. There were suddenly three dogs in our path. None as big or strong as Blue but together they looked dangerous.I'd been warned about this pack. Growing larger by the day, it was led by an aggressive alpha male the color of dirty water. This must be him, I thought, as the largest of the three, his head wide, fur the silt brown of an engorged river, growled at Blue. The compactness of his body spoke of strength and survival. When he barked, the saliva that shot from his mouth caught a ray of sunlight streaming through the thick foliage around us.The alpha stepped forward, revving his growl like a teenager on a motorbike. The bitch in the brush flanked our left side and when I turned right, two young dogs, their ears still soft from puppyhood, glowered at me.The owner of the guest house where I lived warned me to take a stick if I planned on running. "Just in case," she'd said with a dip of her head and a flip of her hand. Because of her advice I carried a light but solid piece of bamboo about twice the thickness of my thumb. I tapped it on the ground in front of me as I backed toward Blue, keeping my eyes forward, focused on the alpha but paying close attention to my peripheral vision, watching the dogs to my sides.When I reached Blue he moved backwards with me, slowly and deliberately. But the dogs followed. We stopped, and raising the stick over my head, I brought it down hard onto a rock. The loud sound and sudden movement spooked the pups to my right, but the alpha male just growled louder.The two dogs flanking him went crazy barking, the force of their calls lifting their front paws off the ground. The mother and the young ones joined in raising a ruckus that certainly beat mine. Blue, his front paws planted on the road, exposed his teeth and growled, his pitch wavering up and down. He wanted me to tell him it was okay to attack. I could feel his energy bundling up inside him, roiling around.Soon I'd have no control.P.S. The dog does not die.**Beware: If you can’t handle a few f-bombs, you can’t handle this series.**

     But when Joanna finds a key in a 1930s Lanvin coat cast off by an ex-showgirl, everything changes. The elderly woman turns up dead, and Joanna is pulled into a long-ago drama of back room deals, blackmail, and lost love. She must find a very real—and present day—killer before she becomes his next victim. “As you dive into this intriguing mystery novel featuring vintage clothing dealer/sleuth Joanna Hayworth and a quirky cast of characters, prepare for an entertaining ride through long-buried crimes and Portland lore to solve the mystery of 'the woman in the Lanvin coat.' A truly enjoyable read!" --Christine Finlayson, author of Tip of a Bone, a Pacific Northwest mystery "Slip on a pair of pink mules and a silk robe, mix up a shaker of martinis, and relax with this delightful mystery set in a Portland vintage clothing store. Populated by a charming heroine and a flock of odd characters, this engaging tale will satisfy the sleuth in you as well as the fashionista." --Ann Littlewood, author of Endangered, a zoo-dunnit

    Those who can't get enough of the exciting new wave of hard-boiled women sleuths, created by writers like Megan Abbott, Laura Lippmann, Lisa Lutz, and Vicki Hendricks will love Amato’s take-no-prisoners style, her unflinching attention to harrowing detail, and her tough-as-nails but soft-hearted detective. Lovers of traditional mysteries will appreciate the web of fierce loyalty tempered with fearful caution that links Jazz’s tiny but hardy support system—both at work and at home. Somehow or other, in each book, Amato manages to mix all the excitement of an action thriller with the swirling emotions of a mainstream psychological novel. STEELE RESOLVE "Don't think you're untouchable…you or your son." Then a dial tone... Home is no haven with that that kind of caller on the line. Shrewd, hardened New York homicide detective Jasmine (“Jazz) Steele’s just come back from a grisly crime scene involving the body of a brutally-beaten young girl, the second she's investigated this week. That was horrendous, but with these eight words, ending ominously in “your son,” Jazz’s immediate fear is for her nephew Chase, who’s already been through hell in his seven short years. In Kimberly Amato’s hard-boiled yet deeply emotional police procedural, no one is spared tough breaks and turbulent anguish. A lesser cop than Jazz would barely be able to cope. With a shadow on Chase and the aid of her friends’ grace-under-fire and brandy-fueled heart-to-hearts, Jazz--who has more 'tude than even the toughest investigator, male or female--navigates the cruel streets of New York City while struggling to keep custody of the only family she has left, doggedly in search of the elusive, psychopathic murderer who seems to be killing off women who look suspiciously like someone close to Jazz... and she's not willing to lose yet another person she loves. MELTING STEELE In Jasmine Steele’s heartbreaking new case, an entire family's been viciously murdered. Hard-boiled alert: author Kimberly Amato pulls no punches.The mother's throat was slit while trying to call for help and the father was shot in the chest, then gruesomely sliced up while still alive, like a scene from a horror film. Also found, the body of their young son, about Jazz’s son’s age, left in the closet with a snapped neck. But it's the remaining clues to a missing fourth victim--a teenage daughter named Kaley--that leave her reeling. Kaley's seemingly disappeared without a trace. Soon Jazz discovers that the family had plenty of disturbing skeletons in its closet. Skeletons possibly warranting hiring a hit man on the Internet… BREAKING STEELE Gory video game violence comes home to roost when two store managers are brutally murdered in the back room of their gaming shop just before peek holiday season. The corporation that owns the store is doing everything it can to keep the matter quiet—but they won’t succeed if detective Jasmine Steele cracks the case. Because said corporation has plenty of skeletons in its closet; and one of them is far too familiar to our heroine… Kimberly Amato serves up a heart-pounding, chilling addition to the Jasmine Steele hard-boiled mystery series—a fast-paced police procedur

     GIA AND THE CITY OF THE DEAD Gia Santella is a fast-driving, hard-drinking, karate-trained free spirit, who is gorgeous, sexy, and a young heiress. She is living a life without thought for tomorrow until suddenly a letter appears in the mail and everything changes … When Gia Valentina Santella’s parents died four years ago, she fled small town Monterey to pursue the high life in the big city where she could smother her grief by playing house in a luxurious high-rise apartment with sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Armed with a hefty inheritance, it didn’t take long for Gia to carve out an empty life for herself in San Francisco, slumming at art school, racing her red Ferrari up and down the coast, and getting hammered at the city’s finest establishments. Then one day, a letter comes in the mail and everything changes. The death of Gia’s parents was no accident. They were murdered. Now, Gia must find who really killed her parents at the same time she’s frantically trying to keep one step ahead of the murderer who is now intent on making her his next victim. GIA AND THE FORGOTTEN ISLAND She also has a fierce temper and zero tolerance for people in power preying on the vulnerable ... especially when the injustice takes place in her neighborhood. Late one Autumn night, violence breaks out in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood, as a hate group and counter-protesters come face to face. Gia Santella rushes to the protest to help find her friend's granddaughter. Sasha Kennedy is a student journalist at U.C. Berkeley covering the protest for the school paper. But when Sasha mysteriously disappears at the protest, Gia learns that the young woman was on the brink of uncovering a story that would blow the whole city wide open. In her efforts to find the girl, Gia finds herself investigating more mysterious disappearances and begins to unravel a string of dark secrets that lie below the surface of her beloved neighborhood, threatening to destroy it. But then her plan goes terribly wrong. When Gia receives a terrifying message, she is caught in a race against time to find the young journalist before it's too late... If she fails, more innocent people will die ... And it will all be her fault. GIA AND THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL Gia Santella, the fast-driving, hard-drinking, karate-trained free spirit, has finally put her dark past behind her. Unfortunately, the past isn't done with her yet. In this suspense-filled page-turner, Gia travels from her San Francisco neighborhood to her mother's native Sicily. There, in her efforts to seek justice for a senseless slaying, she stumbles across a complex underworld that knows more about her than she ever imagined. She soon finds herself face-to-face with a tangled web of deep dark secrets that threaten to destroy everything she ever believed was true. GIA AND THE LONE RAVEN He thought he could get away with it. He was wrong. Gia Santella's hunt for her best friend leads her on a road trip to Mexico where she learns that there is no refuge from evil despite sunny skies and bucolic beaches. Many Americans flee to Baja, California to escape something--the drudgery of a 9-to-5 life. An abusive husband. A hefty tax bill. But others go there to kill.

    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.