The boy was left a paraplegic. Marcus suffered PTSD and could no longer bring himself to carry a gun. Forced to resign the job he loved, Marcus returned to his historic family home on Perrys Island to try to put his life back together. Marcus had grown up there listening to the police chief’s stories of crime solving in the city. The chief’s stories inspired Marcus to leave the island and become the youngest detective in PD’s history. Marcus’s childhood best friend had been Jenny Gibbons, the Chief’s daughter, who was now an Ohio Wildlife Officer assigned to the island’s state park. She is determined to help Marcus face his pain and to reestablish their relationship. As they return home from an evening out, Jenny learns that the wife of an island businessman has been brutally murdered. With Chief Gibbons away for the night, a desperate Jenny turns to Marcus to use his experience to preserve the crime scene. Marcus refuses at first, unwilling to have anything to do with police work that might force him to relive recent events. Finally, he gives in to her pleas and agrees to supervise the crime scene just until the Chief can take over. Despite himself, Marcus is drawn deeper into the investigation. When a witness identifies a youth camp chaperone as the last person to be with the victim before her death, Marcus believes the man’s story of innocence. Marcus is proven correct when the elderly housekeeper who helped raise him is left for dead in his own house and the historic mansion set on fire. The attack provides a personal aspect to the case that drives him to narrow down the suspects. Marcus’s single-minded pursuit of the killer while fighting his personal demons might cost him his own life!

    But nothing is simple for Reed. Before he and Willie can turn it in, the money is stolen, a mysterious woman with a link to the cash asks for Reed’s help, and her boss threatens to harm Willie unless Reed returns the money. This leads Reed into another intriguing investigation involving a high-end escort service, a powerful attorney, a lonely businessman, and a murdered call girl. Can Reed find the money – and the murderer – before Willie becomes the next victim?

     It is DC Jane Dixon's first week on Kendal's CID team. Her new boss, DI Andy Hall, gives her an open file to review, and it's a far from straightforward case. A woman has died in suspicious circumstances in a Windermere caravan park, and although her husband is suspected there's not a shred of solid evidence against him. Can Jane move the case forward, or will a cold-blooded killer really get away with murder? The rest of the team is busy too, because a vulnerable teenager from a troubled family has gone missing from home. There's nothing to suggest that the boy has been abducted, so what could have caused him to run away from home? DS Ian Mann, a tough ex-military man, and DC Ray Dixon are both heavily involved in the investigation. This story introduces key members of the investigative team, as well as many of the themes that are developed in the full-length Lakeland Murders novels: including a strong sense of place, and an understanding that while justice usually prevails it is rarely complete, or completely fair. Reader reviews for the full-length novels in the Lakeland Murders series include: 'Well developed, realistic, relatable characters, great plot, believable detailed scenes, good action sequences. Recommend to those that appreciate British detective novels. Always devour Lakeland murder mysteries.' 'Love J J Salkeld's books, his understanding of police procedure, his ability to draw his characters out into real people is, I believe, up there with the best of them and it is good to find crime stories set in Cumbria for a change.' 'Salkeld is good. Not just as a writer of gripping detective stories; but even more for his feisty exposure of the lunacies of institutions, hierarchies, and power. A refreshing and enlightening anarchist - much needed in these jaded, compliant and consumptive times.'

    With some reluctance, she joins the rest of the glamorous attendees on the veranda for cocktails and dancing until the gala turns grave indeed when one of the guests is murdered. With the sure knowledge there’s a killer among them, Sugar sets out to unearth the secrets that led to the death of a peer of the realm. With the help of a grumpy corgi and a handsome Englishman, she’s on the hunt for a cold-blooded killer and she won’t stop until she gets her man! The second book in the Sugar Martin Vintage Cozy Mysteries set in post-WW2 England.

    To all outward appearances, North Bank is a quiet retirement and tourist community, but several murders soon reveal a darker side of crime and corruption. Margot must get involved to protect her friends and family and keep six killers from getting away. This collection of cozy mysteries includes books one through six in the Margot Durand Cozy Mystery series. If you like cozy mysteries with interesting characters and unexpected turns, the Margot Durand Cozy Mystery series is for you. Buy the Margot Durand Cozy Mystery Boxed Set and start solving your next mystery (or three) today! Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited Included Books Each book in the series is a stand-alone story, but your enjoyment of each story will be increased if you read them all. Be sure to check them all out. Croissants and Corruption - When Margot's troublesome niece comes for a summer visit, she knows she is going to have her hands full. After an unexpected murder, the girl is labeled as the prime suspect and Margot is forced to fight for her niece's freedom. Can she solve the mystery and clear her niece before the killer gets away…or strikes again? Desserts and Deception - When a man is murdered in the craft store run by her friend, Margot does everything she can to catch the killer and protect her friend. In the process, she uncovers a story of lies and deception. Can she solve the case, catch the killer, and keep out of harms way? Pastries and Pilfering - When Margot attempts to take a vacation on a cruise ship, mystery follows. What starts as a small time case of robbery, quickly turns into murder. Can Margot solve the mystery before someone else goes overboard? Muffins and Murder - After a conversation over breakfast muffins turns to an old treasure hunt, she gets pulled into a tale of deceptions and double-crosses. When a dead body turns up, Margot must unravel a plot that began decades ago. Can she solve the mystery and save her friend before he becomes the next victim? Vacations and Violence - Margot is excited about leaving her bakery behind for a weekend vacation at the Blue Ridge Mountain Resort. When she arrives, she learns of mysterious threats to her friend. After finding a dead body on a mountain trail, the mystery turns deadly. Determined to enjoy her vacation anyway, Margot lets the local police handle the investigation…until they declare it an accident. Sure there is more to the story than an accidental mishap, she sets her vacation aside and goes on the hunt for a killer. Margot must be at her sleuthing best if she is going to bring this killer to justice and protect her friend…and herself. Boating and Bodies - Life is going well for Margot and she takes time to go on a romantic boat ride with Adam. But when the son of a wealthy mogul washes up on shore to ruin the date, Margot is forced into another murder mystery. She soon learns that there might be political ramifications to this "accident" and refuses to let it get covered up. Can Margot uncover another one of the town's secrets and put the killer behind bars? Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited

    His brother, Richard, thinks that could be the basis of a paying business. Reluctantly, Jeff agrees, and their first case is about a child who vanished more than two decades before. Meanwhile, Jeff bumps into an acquaintance whose history is very similar to that of the missing girl. Is it coincidence or is there a pattern that links him to her and his future?

    But his deductive abilities will be put to the test when he’s called on to detect philatelic forgeries at Thwaites, one of the city’s great auction houses. The recently knighted cat also finds time to coach a croquet team, oversee rehearsals of a sequel to Cats, and help deliver a baby. Not to be outdone by cheesy actors or blundering attorneys, he makes his film debut and testifies in a criminal trial at the Old Bailey. But he has a special place in his heart for St. James’s Palace, the address he longs to call home. This delightful sequel to James the Connoisseur will prove irresistible catnip for feline lovers.

    Ian Hennessey, a poor boy from South of Market, who is trying to shoulder a man’s responsibilities, gets in trouble, and his best friend, Jamie Hewitt, does what he can to help. But it is Jamie’s young Boston Terrier, Dandy, who saves the day. This short novella comes right after the events in Pilfered Promises and Kathleen Catches a Killer but can act as an introduction to the late 19th century gas-lit world of Locke’s historical mystery series.

    In less than 48 hours, his best friend has a date with the needle, the kind of date you don’t walk away from with a kiss. Moose has to find out who framed his pit bull buddy for the savage slaying of a French poodle — and then convince the humans that he’s nailed the right guy. But with no leads and little evidence to go on, there’s only one person in Chicago that has a prayer of hunting down the real killer in time: Antonio Gattogrosso, legendary proprietor of the Feline Detective Agency. Fat Tony. The rave reviews are pouring in: "It's a great summer read. Just like me, you'll want to keep an eye out for it!" - Fisheye Martinez "I predict it will be a smashing success, dahlinks!" - Madame LuLu, astrologer to the stars "Buy dis book if you knows what's good for youse." - Fat Tony Gattogrosso

    But when she and her husband Jesse arrived at the house, they discovered that Aunt Matilda was murdered—and the culprit was still at large. Guided by the ghosts of Matilda and the orphans she raised, can Emily and Jesse catch the criminals and save themselves?

    Together they must investigate a strange murder at Boleskine House on the banks of Loch Ness. But what dark creature lurks at the heart of the Loch? And what do the murders have to do with Boleskine’s most infamous resident, Aleister Crowley? Second in the Charles Fort Historical Mysteries series by TE Scott, for fans of Golden Age style detectives and historical mysteries.

    It’s their turn. First off, it at long last solves the enigma of Abigail’s first husband Joel Sutton’s disappearance, and death, a decade before…the tragic event that sent Abigail to Spookie in the first place to begin a new life. The new life that would grow so big as to include a new love, a new family, quirky, but well-meaning friends, and the strange murder mysteries her new friends would drag her into over the years. As an unsolicited, and unwanted, envelope arrives from Abigail’s now dead detective she’d hired a decade before to find her missing first husband, its contents sends Frank searching for the truth. The envelope’s files are full of disturbing facts concerning the unsolved crime and it piques Frank’s interest. Soon, against Abby’s wishes, he’s on the cold trail of what actually happened to Joel Sutton–had he been a victim of just an accident, as some have always believed, or did someone murder him? In his search for the truth, Frank ends up in lethal danger when the investigation comes to a violent conclusion. This story is also about an infamous haunted house at 707 Suncrest, in the woods; about the cold blooded murders of a whole family that occurred there forty years before. Is the house on Suncrest truly haunted by the ghosts of the dead family? Is it dangerous? When Abby decides to paint a series of canvases of the spooky old house, she’ll find out. Then along with those two new mysteries to unravel, of course, all of Spookie’s quirky town characters have returned to irritate, amuse and sleuth with Abby and Frank. Will they get out of these new mysteries alive, too? Perhaps.

    

    The job is simple, to kill a man and get out of town immediately. Why would he stay? He hates Christmas, and hanging around after the crime could be dangerous, but a stranger's compassion forces him to question everything he's always believed, tempting him to stay just another day longer... First published in the Christmas edition of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (Jan, 2004), this story was subsequently reviewed in Mystery Scene, which described it as "bordering on the magnificent". (Please note - this is a short story of approximately 45 Kindle pages.)