Book picks similar to
Mister Mottley Gets His Man by Ellen Seltz


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Sudden Death


Michael Balkind - 2007
    Reid receives a death threat right before teeing off on the final day of the Master's Tournament, and hires a P.I. to track down the perpetrator. Suspense builds throughout as Reid tries to compete in one of golf s most prestigious contests...and woo the woman he loves...while dodging death at every turn. Sudden Death will score big for all mystery lovers."You like golf, you like murder mysteries - - then Sudden Death is your book!" James Patterson "Pure fun, pure intrigue. The action never stops till a fascinating climax." Clive Cussler Be sure to read Dead Ball, the highly endorsed sequel to Sudden Death.

Beyond Secrets: The Art of Murder


D.B. Jones - 2015
    But little does she know the trail is leading her into the depths of someone’s dark obsession…and murder. The leads are mounting as fast as the body count, and the closer Madison gets to the truth, the more her own life is in danger.

101 People to Kill Before I Die


Anthony O'Connor - 2017
    With a few comical moments and an array of colorful characters all as determined as they are deadly.Brian Samuals is a former soldier, a former police officer and an ex-convict, recently bankrupt, divorced and now diagnosed with terminal cancer. He has an epiphany. He has nothing to lose and a lot of people have offended against him. Therefore, before he goes they go. All of them. As he embarks on his killing spree he hooks up with a beautiful stripper, Natasha Brown, but is unsure how that's going to work.Be careful who you kill. Before long he has the Russian Mob, a Chinese Triad, the CIA, Interpol, the Australian Federal Police, the Australian SAS anti-terrorist squads and every cop in the state of Victoria hunting him down, screaming for his head. Things aren’t looking good for Brian and Natasha.

Foul Trade


B.K. Duncan - 2014
    May Keaps, the Poplar Coroner's Officer, has never failed to provide a jury with sufficient evidence to arrive at a just verdict.The poverty, drunken fights between visiting sailors, drug trafficking, and criminal gangs, haunting the shadows of the busiest docks in the world, mean that the Coroner sees more than its fair share of sudden and unnatural deaths.May relishes the responsibility placed upon her but there are many who believe it's an unsuitable job for a woman. Even May begins to wonder if that is the case when the discovery of a young man's body, in a Limehouse alley, plunges her into an underworld of opium dens, gambling, turf wars, protection rackets and murder.As her investigations draw her into danger, it becomes increasingly clear that whoever is responsible intends to avoid the hangman's noose by arranging to have May laid out on one of her own mortuary slabs.

My Nazi Nemesis


Rich DiSilvio - 2016
    Haunted by a dark past for fifteen years, Jack finally tells all to his daughter Eleanor. As an OSS agent during the war, Jack’s traumatic past involved a series of near-death experiences, from failed sorties and secret missions, to a horrifying run-in with Auschwitz, to having met and married Eleanor's mother, Veronika. But the flames of passion had died when a prying Waffen SS officer, Alois Richter, entered the fray. With an amorous eye for the bride and a suspicious plea to join the OSS, Alois had sent Jack’s world into a dark tailspin with catastrophic results. Fueled with revenge, father and daughter join forces to hunt down his long-time nemesis. But when disturbing evidence arises, Eleanor is forced to reevaluate the mission, as intrigue, murder, and suspense abound, leading to a climatic face-off that reaches terrifying and unexpected heights.

Murder in Palm Beach: The Homicide That Never Died


Bob Brink - 2014
    Rodger Kriger falls to the floor, mortally wounded, leaving a wife and six children. An ambitious prosecutor pins the deed on Mitt Hecher, a hoodlum and karate expert. At Hecher's trial, fellow jail inmates testify that he confessed. He is convicted and sentenced to the brutal and anarchic state prison at Raiford, where a stabbing a day and a killing a week are the "mean" average. Judges repeatedly frustrate Hecher and several attorneys working without fees to get a new trial, as investigators pursue myriad scenarios. Meanwhile, his wife contracts a deadly disease. Was Hecher innocent, and if so, who did it? Did the sons of a wealthy Cuban kill Kriger? Were the operators of a gambling enterprise out to get him? Was a love triangle the basis for the shooting? Did a vicious underworld figure do the bidding of a criminal gang? Was a prominent politician behind the slaying? Those are the questions seeking answers amid the exploration of issues of justice and power. Murder in Palm Beach is the saga of a battle between a man whose swagger has sent him spiraling to the bottom and powerful, sinister forces determined to keep him there. It is a story of redemption wrapped in a mystery tale reeking with power, sex, violence, and romance.

Always a Cold Deck


Robert Bruce Stewart - 2012
    Harry Reese is an insurance investigator who never takes life too seriously. Which, given his current pecuniary crisis, is all for the best. In July 1900, he is sent to Buffalo to look into a fire that's destroyed a grain elevator. But when Harry uncovers a smuggling operation, the case morphs into something more sinister. Trains and steamships feature prominently as he crosses into Canada and back, accompanied by a political boss's stooge and a curious young woman who seems to be conducting an investigation of her own. It's a byzantine odyssey, during which Harry can never be sure of anyone's loyalties, least of all those who've hired him.

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.

Murder at Merisham Lodge


Celina Grace - 2016
    Unfortunately, it’s not enough to prevent her being bludgeoned to death one night in the study of Merisham Lodge, the family’s country estate in Derbyshire. Suspicion quickly falls on her ne’er-do-well son, Peter, but not everyone in the household is convinced of his guilt. Head kitchen maid Joan Hart and lady’s maid, Verity Hunter, know that when it comes to a crime, all is not always as it seems. With suspicions and motives thick on the ground, Joan and Verity must use all the wit and courage they possess to expose a deadly murderer who will stop at nothing to achieve their aim… Murder at Merisham Lodge is the first in a new series of historical mysteries, Miss Hart and Miss Hunter Investigate, set in the 1930s. The author, Celina Grace, is the creator of the bestselling The Kate Redman Mysteries and The Asharton Manor Mysteries, as well as several standalone thrillers.

Lost Orphans Omnibus


J.S. Donovan - 2017
     It's Christmas, and there's been another murder. Rachel Harroway, a homicide detective gifted in the arts and communication with the dead, tracks a serial killer lurking in the shadows for the last twenty-five years. The closer Rachel gets to solving the mystery, the more the unforgiving Appalachian winter weather and supernatural energies push back, forcing Rachel to decide how far she'll go for a man society has forsaken.

A Noble Pair of Brothers


Suzanne Downes - 2014
    When C. H. Underwood arrives in the village of Bracken Tor in the spring of 1820, he intends only to visit his brother, the vicar, and take a long rest from his work as a Classics tutor at Cambridge University. However, almost as soon as he arrives he finds himself intrigued by an unsolved murder, committed the year before. The headless corpse of a young woman was found in woods belonging to the local landowner and Magistrate, Sir Henry Wynter. Underwood finds the notion that the body lies in a grave marked “Unknown” to be abhorrent. He decides to use his free time to discover the identity of the victim – and if possible bring her killer to justice. His brother begs him to proceed with caution, as the murder had roused feelings of a controversial nature amongst the villagers. Before long he has uncovered not only the girl’s final movements before her death, but also the possibility of two other murders having taken place in Bracken Tor. His task is not made any less complicated by his developing relationship with Charlotte, one of Sir Henry’s daughters, and by the myriad characters he comes across in his investigation. The theory that the girl had been killed as some sort of barbaric ritual is only one of his difficulties, and when a young man arrives in the midst of a cricket match, claiming to be the victim’s husband, the whole village becomes privy to the fact that Underwood is attempting to solve the mystery. When the newcomer is shot through the heart whilst in Underwood’s company, he finds himself not only universally reviled for his interference, but also accused of murder himself. It takes all his ingenuity to extricate himself from the chaos he has caused, but he always has Verity Chapell, governess to the Wynter girls, to help him in his quest to find the murderer.

The Curse: A Cozy Mystery From the 1920s


Alice Simpson - 2018
    Jane grapples with a vandalized shop, a kidnapping, a creepy doll with seemingly supernatural powers, and a stolen diamond necklace. What do all these have in common? It's up to Jane to find out. About the Jane Carter Historical Cozy Mystery Series: This quirky historical cozy mystery series is set in the fictional American city of Greenville during the 1920s, and features Jane Carter, a young widow who returns home to live with her father after the tragic death of her journalist husband. Jane’s father owns a local newspaper, and wants Jane to take it over someday, but Jane is adamant that she has no desire to be a reporter. Instead, she turns her talent for writing to concocting melodramatic romances for fly-by-night rags who almost never pay on time. This work pays so poorly that Jane supplements her income by becoming an agony aunt, soliciting letters from the lovelorn through advertisements in the back of women’s weekly magazines. Jane dispenses advice to all and sundry, but her personal life is in shambles. Jane claims that she's holding out for a millionaire before she marries again, but the only man who makes her heart beat faster is Jack, a reporter on her father's staff. Not only has Jane vowed she will never be a newspaper man herself, she's doubly insistent on never again marrying one. While trying to turn out enough column inches of overwrought romantic bilge to keep her old car on the road, and herself in shoes, Jane runs into the most extraordinary circumstances. In Jane's madcap world, it's a constant round of kidnappings, curses, stolen jewels, counterfeit paintings, and hidden stashes of gold. There's plenty of crime to go around, but nary a murder. Accompanying Jane on her adventures is her best friend, Florence. Jane and Flo may get into one perilous situation after another, but they are never damsels in distress, because, as Jane puts it, "A real lady always carries her own pocket knife." Neither Jane nor Flo think it beneath them to slip a cosh into their handbag, either, should the situation call for it. All this getting into harm's way alarms the Carter's housekeeper, Mrs. Timms. Mrs. Timms believes it's her mission in life to turn motherless Jane into a proper lady, but seeing as Jane has just turned twenty-four, Mrs. Timms considerable efforts appear to have been in vain. However, the housekeeper won't give up trying, just as Jane won't give up on seeing Mrs. Timms and her father center-aisling it to the alter and saying, "I do." If you like light-hearted historical mysteries with quirky characters and a bit of zany humor, this may be the series for you! These are murderless mysteries. Despite a constant crime wave, there seem to be no murders in the city of Greenville. There may be plenty of peril in the form of kidnappings, heists, and the occasional assault, but nobody ever dies, and justice is always served. There’s plenty of romance, but sex is strictly behind closed doors. Suitable for readers looking for a "clean" mystery novel. This series may be of interest to fans of: Lee Strauss (Ginger Gold Mysteries), Jaqueline Winspear (Masie Dobbs Mysteries), Patricia Wentworth (Miss Silver Mysteries), Jessica Ellicot (Berl and Edwina Mysteries Series), Clara Benson, L. B. Hathaway (Posie Parker Mysteries), Leighann Dobbs (Hazel Martin Mysteries), T. E. Kinsey (Lady Hardcastle Mysteries), Margarete Addison (Rose Simpson Mysteries), Emily Organ (Penny Green Mysteries), and the Phryne Fisher Mystery Series.

Ransom X


I.B. Holder - 2009
    His study of the human mind was carried out in make-shift tents on the edge of the battlefield; he didn’t write or read the book on how to break a prisoner, he simply followed his instincts, dissecting human behavior in a way that verges on autism. He had a reputation for getting anything out of anyone – “had” being the operative word. Five years ago, a random crime shattered Legace’s world. Withdrawing inside himself, he built his life around the only family he had left, his teenage daughter. He withdrew from operations, and took the most isolated post he could, in the basement of the Alexandria FBI, working the archives. Legace brought consequence to the job. His tactics of getting inside the minds of criminals led to a controversial new form of investigation that came to be known as– shadow projection. It was a term coined by his insufferable regional director, Bailey, and Legace couldn’t begin to count the ways he hated the simplification of his process. Legace threw the deductive model out the window. He didn’t follow the trail of the criminal; he took on criminals who were smart enough to leave no trail. They were fixed objects like sundials casting a unique shadow for every incremental step in their journey. His methods involved knowing the inner workings of the criminal, and projecting forward to the next activity that such a person would engage in. His life was verging on stable when a young female agent from Washington walked into his office with an opportunity, an obligation and a threat. Now, normally Legace would have ignored all three, but there was something about the case and the victim that struck a very personal chord in him. All of his powers were going to be needed for a case that landed on his desk along the agent who now called herself his new partner. There was an abduction ring that was preying upon young women of marginal fame, using them in adult films and ransoming them for the price of pornography. The profit engine became a fad among perverts (the largest single unified economic bloc) and the income was staggering. This great influx of capital precipitated a bold move by the abductors. Their newest acquisition was the daughter of an old friend, the Director of the FBI. All hell was breaking loose over the Web and the world, and with a two-week window to find his quarry, Legace knew that his performance on this case would either cement his reputation as borderline charlatan with blood on his hands, or announce his reinstatement as borderline hero with all of the official responsibilities that entails, and he couldn’t actually say which outcome he feared more.

Aim True, My Brothers


William F. Brown - 2013
    Most of the hundreds of thousands of people who pass through Dulles Airport in DC are tourists, government officials, or harried businessmen. Ibrahim Al-Bari is none of those. He is a killer on a blood hunt, and his target is nothing less than the President of the United States and the core of the US government in this political assassination novel. As a highly skilled Hamas terrorist with years of combat experience in the rocky deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, he has become a legend in Islamist circles. Smart, skilled with many weapons, and determined, it will take a massive security effort to stop him. Can Eddie Rankin, a maverick FBI agent, stop Ibrahim Al-Bari, a skilled Hamas commander who has battled Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan. After losing two of his own brothers in a bloody attack on a civilian bus in Israel, Al-Bari takes his private war to the heart of America itself. Nothing as simple as a sniper in a book depository window; in this FBI assassination thriller, when Al-Bari strikes, he will unleash a firestorm that will take out the President, other international leaders, and half the US government, national television. Rankin has never met a rule he couldn’t break, but this time his only help comes from Moustapha Khalidi, Chief of Security at the Egyptian Embassy, and Rachel Ullman, a hard-edged, Israeli Mossad agent. From the White House to Brooklyn, Beirut, Tel-Aviv, and the grassy fields of an old Colonial Battlefield in Virginia, the question in this FBI terrorist thriller is whether this dysfunctional international counter terror alliance hold together long enough to catch Al-Bari before they kill each other — and the clock is ticking. When Al-Bari strikes, it will be with a diabolical new weapon on national television as his targets go up in flames.

Treated as Murder


Noreen Wainwright - 2014
    Her brother is suspected of murdering an elderly wealthy widow, and sins of the past have echoes in her life and the lives of those close to her.