Wickie is discovered in his office, a scrimshaw knife protruding from his chest, a knife belonging to beloved teacher and grieving widow, Bess Dore. Initially a suspect, the forty-two year old, Bess is soon exonerated and jumps headlong into a murder investigation along with old flame, police detective, Roger Demaris, and Harry Winthrop, an amateur sleuth, prolific writer, and the son of the school's wealthiest patron. Will Bess find romance along the way, giving her heart to the gruff police officer, who still adores her, or to the fly-by-night, but charming Harry who is clearly smitten? Will the killer strike again? Will the silence and calm of the 200-year old Friends school ever again be restored?

    Plus, the handsome new guy moves in right next door to Lily. She’s well on her way to a successful and exciting season. But when the groom is found dead in her kitchen just days before he’s supposed to be walking down the aisle, Lily has to arrange the trail of flowers to try to solve the mystery. With the help of her scooter-riding, pot-smoking mother, Iris, her sister, Daisy, and her dog, Rosie, Lily races from one disaster to another, all the while keeping herself out of the killer’s sight. Will she solve the cascade of events in time or get caught by the criminals running illegal gambling and selling drugs in Misty Valley? Will romance blossom between Lily and her new neighbor? **Begonia Means Beware is approx. 33K words and is volume 1 in the Lily Bloom Cozy Mystery Series.

    Or that she’s a gum-snapping hairdresser with Barbie-doll curves pinched into hot pants and a tube top. Or that she’s saddled with a sleazy ex-hubby, a precocious daughter and a shoplifting mother. What can a beautician do to add new highlights to her image? For starters, trip over a corpse, and implicate a wealthy town socialite in the crime. Now, with a well-muscled photographer by her side, Bubbles is playing star sleuth. But as the investigation unravels, her shining moment grows as dark as a shopgirl’s roots. However dangerous her new career, at least the hottest graduate of Two Guys Community College is finally busting loose—and this time she’s really giving Lehigh, Pennsylvania something to talk about. Sarah Strohmeyer won the 2002 Agatha Award for best first mystery for Bubbles Unbound.

    to find excitement, not a dead body. When a friend is murdered, Adina is drawn into the middle of the police investigation. Tensions rise as the suspect list expands to include Adina, her friends, and colleagues at the prestigious think tank where she works. But every cloud has a silver lining. Between the nice detective, the hot new volunteer at the dog rescue center, and the newly available preppy ex-boyfriend, Adina's dating dry spell appears near its end. That is, if she doesn't become the next victim.

    When she unexpectedly inherits her aunt’s wedding planning business, Paisley leaves the glamour of Los Angeles for a charming small town in Arkansas. Thinking she’ll arrive in Sugar Creek and liquidate the moldly property, Paisley’s shocked to find Enchanted Events has experienced a major makeover and is now the place for brides. She’s got two months to keep Enchanted Events afloat if she wants to sell and rekindle her music career with the profits.  Paisley’s tossed into a world of vows and venues, but her most difficult challenge comes in the form of one demanding bride. When this Bridezilla’s found facedown in her cake, all fingers point to Paisley as the prime murder suspect. And she does not look good in prison orange.  This former pop princess will need the help of her gun-toting, ex-CIA grandmother and her handsome neighbor, Beau Hudson, to unravel the mystery and clear her good name. As she and her unruly posse dig into Bridezilla’s life, she discovers the woman had a long list of enemies. The closer Paisley gets to the truth, the more her own life is in danger. Love is in the air this wedding season, but before Paisley can help the ladies of Sugar Creek say, “I do,” she’s got to unveil a killer. Or find herself the next target. Engaged in Trouble is the first book in the long-awaited Enchanted Events cozy mystery series by award-winning author Jenny B. Jones. If you like laugh-out-loud adventures, small-town romance, unforgettable, sassy characters, and a mystery to keep you guessing, then you’ll love this new page-turning series.

    Medallion Honoree!Mystery. Romance. Danger. Murder. Not the typical family vacation. When Julia Lamontaigne arrives in Franklin, New Hampshire, she's looking for an escape from the tragedies that have taken over her life. Haunted by the legacy of her beloved sister, and entrusted with her sister's three orphaned children, Julia hopes for a summer of peaceful healing... And hopefully, bonding. At first, the small New Hampshire town seems to be the perfect location. They quickly settle in and make friends with their eccentric neighbors, then begin work on their summer house - while Julia is drawn into a relationship with Robert Wilde, the handsome cop next door. But Franklin is haunted, too - by the decades-old murder of a beautiful young artist, killed in the house at the end of Julia's street. Even though everyone says that the case is solved, Julia can't escape the feeling that there's more to the story than she's being told. She's right. Someone doesn't want the murder case re-opened. And they're willing to kill again to stop it. The house at the end of the street hasn't begun to give up its secrets.

    It will also change Catherine’s. Doug and Catherine come from two different worlds. Catherine’s world is one of privilege and wealth. Doug grew up dirt poor and full of envy of others who had the things that he wanted but could not have. His goal was to one day have all the things he coveted. Their worlds collide when Catherine, VP of a large New York City marketing firm, hires Doug. As soon as Doug learns of Catherine’s wealth, he sees Catherine as his ticket to all the things he covets. After a whirlwind courtship, they are married. Poor boy meets rich girl should have resulted in “happily ever after” — not exactly. Doug quickly learns he also covets independence. Events begin to unfold in each of their lives. For Doug, it is his mysterious discovery in the secret compartment of the Corvette. For Catherine, it is a business meeting with Alex Droxell at the Osprey Cove Lodge. When Catherine enters the beautiful and serene lodge, it’s as though she is entering another place and time. The lodge is an escape from the nightmare she is living back home. Follow the twists and turns of Book 1 of the Osprey Cove Lodge Series. Follow Doug and Catherine’s story to see if there is a “happily ever after” and with whom. EXCERPT: It appeared to Catherine as though she had just approached Mr. Darcy’s Pemberly in all its magnificence. Now she knew how Elizabeth felt at her first sighting of Pemberly. But unlike Elizabeth, Catherine thought, there would be no happy ending. This would not become her home one day, as Pemberly had become Elizabeth’s, and live happily ever after. Catherine did not covet the house that lay before her. In fact, Catherine was wealthy enough to buy a home like it, if she so desired. What Catherine did long for was what Pemberly represented to all Jane Austen lovers — the culmination of a beautiful love affair. Catherine was not naive enough to expect her life to be storybook in nature. But she did not expect her life with Doug to disintegrate into shambles just two years after marrying him. She did not understand why it was happening. She did not know how to fix it.

    Things just couldn't get any worse. At least, until the dead body clogs up her toilet. To make matters worse, Maggie becomes the prime suspect. Now all she has to do is evade the police, clear her name, trap a killer...and deal with one mouth-watering, hunky detective who drives her crazy while making her hormones do the happy dance.

    The only trouble is, Granny was framed, then murdered. For more than one hundred years, Granny's spirit has been searching for someone to help her see that justice is served--and she hits pay dirt when she pops in to a seance attended by her great-great-great-granddaughter, modern-day divorced mom Emma Whitecastle. Together, Emma and Granny Apples solve mysteries of the past--starting with Granny's own unjust murder rap in the final days of the California Gold Rush. Along with a sprinkling of history, this spirited new mystery series features the amateur sleuth team of Emma Whitecastle and the spirit of her pie-baking great-great-great-grandmother, Granny Apples. Praise: "A delectable first in a new paranormal cozy series from Sue Ann Jaffarian."--Publishers Weekly "A fun new series. Ghostly puzzles are one of the trendy new themes in cozy mysteries, and this is a good one."--Booklist "Jaffarian has done a nifty job of incorporating Julian's history into her tale of unresolved ghosts, uncanny psychics, unsolved murders and unhappy divorcees, while handily introducing some characters, alive and dead, to carry the series forward."--North Country Times "Emma handles her 'gift' of seeing the dead with aplomb, and class. I'll look forward to seeing where the sequel will take Emma and Granny."--Deadly Pleasures "A charming tale, as appealing as apple pie. I predict a long life (and afterlife) for Sue Ann's latest series."--Harley Jane Kozak, Agatha, Anthony and Macavity Award-winning author of Dating Dead Men "Take colorful characters in a charming setting, mix in a dash of romance, add a pinch of the paranormal, and serve it up like one of Granny's famous pies. I guarantee you'll be back for seconds."--Deborah Sharp, author of Mama Rides Shotgun

    A special agent on the IRS’s payroll, she’s dead-set on making sure that money crimes don’t pay… Tax cheats, beware: The Treasury Department’s Criminal Investigations Division has a new special agent on its payroll. A recovering tomboy with a head for numbers, Tara’s fast becoming the Annie Oakley of the IRS—kicking ass, taking social security numbers, and keeping the world safe for honest taxpayers. Or else.Tara’s latest mission finds her in hot pursuit of ice-cream vendor Joseph “Joe Cool” Cullen. Along with frozen treats he’s selling narcotics—and failing to report his ill-gotten gains on his tax returns. Over Tara’s dead body. Then there’s Michael Gryder, who appears to be operating a Ponzi scheme…with banker Stan Shelton…whose lake house is being landscaped by Brett Ellington…who happens to be dating Tara. If following that money trail isn’t tough enough, now Tara must face a new conundrum: Should she invest her trust in Brett—or put him behind bars? New love always comes at a cost but justice? Priceless.

    Someone's coming for Chelsea – the DEATHCLOCK killer who will stop at nothing until she’s dead. But BEST FRIENDS stick together! WARN THE PREY... Instead of enjoying her best friend’s hen evening, receptionist Chelsea Denham is wondering why Lee, a handsome stranger in the bar, is questioning people about phrases she received by email that morning: ‘Tick Tock. Your number’s up. People have to pay for what they’ve done.’ The email contains a ticking countdown timer. A TENSE GAME OF REVENGE. While police investigate, Chelsea teams up with Lee. She is about to encounter the worst week of her life, face guilt head-on and have her loyalty tested while frightened out of her home, menaced and used as bait. COUNTDOWN TO DEATH... Her troubled best friend is forced to reveal a dark secret and her deepest fears. It puts a new slant on the problem but, according to Lee, the stakes haven’t altered; when the countdown timer in the email reaches zero... you die. ~~ Suspense MURDER MYSTERY with some ROMANCE. 91,000 words. 346 pages. ### Also by H.C.Elliston: Think Fast Die Last, Shiver Sweet, PLAYED BY YOU & PLAYED BY THEM (latest release)

    James (AKA manners columnist Miss Prim & Proper) heads to Sinful, Louisiana to stay with her frail, elderly great-aunt Ida Belle, a woman she's never met. What better place to hide than a sleepy little southern bayou town where nothing ever happens? But when the bullets start to fly, she soon discovers that her aunt Ida Belle and friends are anything but feeble, and that Sinful is anything but quiet. When the corpse of a scorned suitor goes missing, Stephanie decides her best hope to escape a murder rap is to join forces with Swamp Team Three.

    With no witnesses and no CCTV footage, the masterpiece is feared lost forever and the nuns, who depend on ticket sales to curious tourists, will have to sell up and leave. But the indomitable Sister Alice, who heard strange sounds on the night of the theft, persuades Sister Superior to allow her investigate. With the help of the abbey's computer-savvy librarian, Sister Mary Magdalene, the two nuns swap their habits for short skirts and high heels and set out into the criminal underworld to track down the painting. As the list of possible suspects - and the body count – rises, the sisterhood sleuths, Alice and Maggie, realize that the nearer they get to the Caravaggio, the more their lives are at risk. A classic whodunnit, led by one of the world’s favorite authors!

    A reluctant sleuth. A childhood prank that went horribly wrong. When Flora Lively inherits her father’s business she’s totally out of her depth. Shakers Removals is in trouble, and manager Marshall isn’t helping one bit – the ex-pat American delights only in winding her up. But Flora has other things on her mind, like Joy: surrogate grandmother and resident of the Maples Retirement Village. When Joy’s pet pug has a brush with death, Flora is pulled into a series of bizarre incidents at the Maples, where fear is starting to take hold.Could harmless old Mr Felix really be the boy from Joy’s past, determined to exact his revenge, or is it Joy’s guilty mind playing tricks on her? And what about the Captain’s death? Accidents happen, even to the most careful people, but Flora’s not convinced the old man simply fell down the stairs ... Playing detective seemed like a good idea at first, but before long Flora realises the stakes are far higher than either she or Joy imagined. Full of warmth and humour, this gripping puzzle will appeal to fans of M. C. Beaton and Edie Clare.