Stillborn Armadillos


Nick Russell - 2016
    But when a road construction crew unearths the skeletons of three murder victims, John Lee suddenly finds himself on the trail of a killer who may well have died long before the deputy was even born. And then a mysterious sniper begins shooting at deputies... As sultry as a Florida back road in August, as mysterious as the South's live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, and as deadly as a copperhead strike, New York Times bestselling author Nick Russell's new John Lee Quarrels series is sure to hook you from the first page and keep you reading late into the night.

Sunny Side Up


Maureen K. Howard - 2014
    Instead of enjoying a relaxing Memorial Day weekend at Kelleys Island on Lake Erie, this dynamic duo finds themselves in the middle of a murder investigation. They need to find out who burned down their friend's store, discover the identity of the charred corpse found in the wreckage, and clear Francie's husband, Hamm, before he is charged with the crime. Fueled up with their favorite snacks of wine and cheese, these adventure-loving ladies manage to keep their eyes open for a bargain, come up with a plan, and even indulge in a bit of romance, all while dodging increasingly dangerous attempts to silence them for good. Grab your sunglasses, your favorite cocktail, a copy of Sunny Side Up, and head to the lake with them for an unforgettable weekend adventure.

A Person of Interest


Ardelle Holden - 2022
    The door stood ajar, which was curious. Siobhan should have been at work. When Samantha peered in, she could just see the outline of two ominous figures skulking in the gloom. She gasped and slammed the door shut. Their muffled shouts were lost in her screams as she flew down the stairs into the howling rain. Suppressing her feelings of vulnerability, she accepts the proffered hand of a handsome stranger, Ben, and they disappear into the bitter night. Can Ben be trusted? He’s charming, personable and persuasive, but then again, so was Ted Bundy. Samantha has escaped with her life, Or has she? The victim of a brutal murder has been discovered!

Finding Mrs. Ford


Deborah Goodrich Royce - 2019
    Ford leads a privileged life. From her Blenheim spaniels to her cottage on the coast of Watch Hill, Rhode Island, she carefully curates her world. Hair in place, house in place, life in place, Susan Ford keeps it under control.Early one morning in the summer of 2014, the past pays a call to collect. The FBI arrives to question her about a man from Iraq—a Chaldean Christian from Mosul—where ISIS has just seized control. Sammy Fakhouri, they say, is his name and they have taken him into custody, picked up on his way to her house.Back in the summer of 1979, on the outskirts of a declining Detroit, college coed Susan meets charismatic and reckless Annie. They are an unlikely pair of friends but they each see something in the other—something they’d like to possess. Studious Susan is a moth to the flame that is Annie. Yet, it is dazzling Annie who senses that Susan will be the one who makes it out of Detroit.Together, the girls navigate the minefields of a down-market disco where they work their summer jobs. It’s a world filled with pretty girls and powerful men, some of whom—like Sammy Fakhouri—happen to be Iraqi Chaldeans.What happened in that summer of 1979 when Susan and Annie met? Why is Sammy looking for Susan all these years later? And why is Mrs. Ford lying?

Race for the Dying


Steven F. Havill - 2009
    Thomas Parks heads to the big timber country of Puget Sound to practice trauma medicine. An hour after stepping off the boat he's nearly crushed to death by a less-than-surefooted mule and finds himself a patient rather than a physician.  As he convalesces, he discovers that his host, an aging and venerable physician friend of his father's, is running an elaborate medical scam, selling worthless concoctions nationwide, with enormous sales. Limited to practicing medicine with one functioning eye, one hand, and one leg, Thomas grapples with exposing the old family friend.  To make matters worse,  an epidemic threatens the town and surrounding area. Will the young doctor's first trip to the Northwest be his last?

Lucky Supreme


Jeff Johnson - 2017
    Darby Holland has enough on his radar, but when some “flash” (tattoo artwork) stolen from him resurfaces in California he can't help himself. His efforts to reclaim it set him on a dangerous path, dragging along his delightfully eccentric colleagues, including the brains behind his brawn—Delia, a twiggy vinyl-clad punk genius secretly from the other side of the tracks. No one knows why the art signed “Roland Norton, Panama, 1955” is worth anything or how it came to hang on the walls of a tattoo shop in Portland, Oregon. Only the deranged former owner can say--and he's not talking. Before the wrecking balls swing through Old Town in the name of “progress,” Darby must settle old scores and face new demons to save his reputation, his shop, and his sanity. He has secrets of his own, and a tattoo shop in Old Town was a perfect place to hide, but when cash, lies, crime, and history collide, Darby Holland will need his ramshackle skill set, his wits, and a lot of luck to rise to the top of a human food chain, or be eaten alive.Lucky Supreme is an intuitive thrill ride from start to finish. It is the first of a trilogy featuring Darby Holland, Delia, and the other unforgettable nocturnal residents of Old Town. Jeff Johnson is a new voice in noir, as entertaining and as fresh as Elmore Leonard or Dennis Lehane.

Slade's Glacier: A Novel


Robert F. Jones - 1981
    Jack Slade and Sam Healey, flying partners during World War II, establish a bush pilot business in Alaska after the war. When their C-47 Dakota is forced down on a glacier by a wolverine in the cargo deck that breaks out of its cage, they discover a valley that offers the realization each man's dreams. To Jack Slade, itOCOs the ideal place to homestead, raise a family, and live simply as a professional hunting and fishing guide; to Healey, the pool of crude oil he locates under the glacial ice promises the wealth he always wanted. In scenes that range from AlaskaOCOs coastal fishing ports to the high, fierce wastelands of the interior, we watch each man lay the plans for their individual goals?and ultimately come into fatal conflict. Along the way, they meet a wide, colorful variety of Alaskan types, including Charlie Blue, a Tlingit Indian, shaman, and seer; Norman Ormandy, the tough saloonkeeper of Gurry Bay; and Malec Mummad-Afi, a wealthy exiled Iranian oil king and sheep hunter.

Torn Between a Goon and a Gangsta 2


Jade Jones - 2013
    A carefully planned home invasion was meant to go smoothly...but an unforeseen turn of events ultimately leads to bloodshed. Nothing is what it seems and no one can be trusted when it comes to the love of the almighty dollar. Filled with drama, love triangles, and a plethora of deadly secrets, "Torn Between a Goon and Gangsta 2" gives new meaning to the phrase, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

Tampa Bay Noir


Colette Bancroft - 2020
    Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct location within the geographic area of the book.Brand-new stories by: Michael Connelly, Lori Roy, Ace Atkins, Karen Brown, Tim Dorsey, Lisa Unger, Sterling Watson, Luis Castillo, Sarah Gerard, Danny López, Ladee Hubbard, Gale Massey, Yuly Restrepo Garcés, Eliot Schrefer, and Colette Bancroft.From the introduction by Colette Bancroft:Ask most people what the Tampa Bay area is famous for, and they might mention sparkling beaches and sleek urban centers and contented retirees strolling the golf courses year-round. But it’s always had a dark side. Just look at its signature event: a giant pirate parade.Not only does Gasparilla honor the buccaneer traditions of theft, debauchery, and violence; its namesake pirate captain, José Gaspar, is a fake who probably never existed. And if there’s any variety of crime baked into Florida’s history, it’s fraud. From the indigenous residents who supposedly conned Spanish explorers seeking the Fountain of Youth through the rolling cycles of real estate scams that have shaped the Sunshine State for the last century or so, the place is a grifter’s native habitat.

Flat Spin


David Freed - 2012
    When flight instructor and former military assassin Cordell Logan gets a request from his ex-wife to help the police with their investigation of her current husband's murder, he gets caught up in a dangerous, far-flung investigation.

Ashwatthama vs Parashuram: The Immortal Force


Gunjan Porwal - 2022
    A secret Nazi experiment in the Wieliczka salt mine of Breslau goes wrong, annihilating the entire research team.Decades later, at the foothills of Dhauladhar ranges, the immortal warrior Kripacharya is brutally attacked by a mysterious beast and goes missing. His peer Vyasa, the old sage, tasks Parashuram to find and bring their fellow immortal back.As Parashuram adjusts himself to this new world and uncovers the plot, he crosses path with an old nemesis, one who not only matches him in power and intellect, but also in ferocity.Ashwatthama.Parashuram has to race against time, and Ashwatthama, to unravel the conspiracy behind Kripacharya’s disappearance to protect not just their identities, but also something much larger at stake, something which has the potential to change history forever.

The Fat Woman Mystery


Sandra Noble - 2013
    She considers herself half German and half Conehead. German, because that's her heritage, and Conehead because of her mass consumption of calories. The Fit Girls, Margaret's diet support group, think her recent weight gain is the result of depression over her husband, Harry's, death. Margaret thinks they're wrong, she's fine, "Just fine, thank you" Margaret has more than her diet to think of after she stumbles over a body, and a friend is accused of murder. In trying to clear her friend of the crime, Margaret finds a lot more than rice cakes on her plate. Not wanting to be left out of the excitement the Fit Girls join Margaret in her attempt to solve the crime, and are soon immersed in small town scandal, gossip, and mystery. Creeping through corn fields, window peeking, and tailing suspects may be more than the average reader of 'Modern Maturity' magazine deem proper, but Margaret finds it exhilarating. And when two handsome men seem interested in her ample body, life is suddenly fascinating. Now if only Margaret can stay alive long enough to enjoy this new lease on life.

A Family Reunion


Rod Pennington - 2011
    The ensuing scandal created a firestorm in Washington which required a high profile scapegoat. To protect his team, Charon cut a deal. Instead of embarrassing The Company by pointing fingers or naming names, he fell on his own sword. After a seven-year self-imposed exile, when he traveled throughout the Far East, Charon resurfaced in Washington. With unexplained but seemingly unlimited funding, he set up an ultra-high-end boutique security firm. With a knack for getting results in impossible situations and a history of keeping his mouth shut, the services of Sariel International were soon much in demand by the rich and the powerful of the world.Charon’s life is turned upside down when a beautiful but mysterious young woman appears unannounced at his office. He soon learns that members of his old Water Works team have come out of retirement and for unknown reasons are killing each other.When he follows the trail, he discovers the identity of the person who had leaked the story years earlier and the startling reason why.

Nest Egg


Josi Avari - 2019
    Only it’s filled with the leftovers of her late uncle’s life and overrun with his enormous flock of chickens. When her new friend, the oldest man in town, dies, no one else finds it suspicious. But as the town’s newest poultry keeper Saffron recognizes fowl play when she sees it. Saffron is a tetrachromat and can see colors nobody else can see. If only she could do the same with killers. To find the culprit--and the victim’s hidden fortune--Saffron will have to look in some surprising places. Even her new flock will lend a wing. With scrumptious island food galore and two handsome men vying for her attention, Saffron has to focus, crack a few eggs . . . and crack the case.

Kale to the Queen


Nell Hampton - 2017
    But no sooner has Carrie Ann touched down across the pond and donned her apron than a dead body crops up beneath the royal kale beds. With one assistant dead and the other soon under suspicion for his murder, Carrie Ann is scrambling to keep her kitchen up and running. Not to mention she gets off to an immediate bad start with the tempestuous Royal Chef Butterbottom, who has a bitter taste in his mouth since the prestigious position in the Royal Family's kitchen was given to an "over-privileged, under-educated American chef." But the Royal Family's appetites wait for no one, and Carrie Ann must solve the murder and still get supper on the table on time--even with the annoyingly handsome Head of Security Ian Gordon tracking her every move like an MI6 agent. Suspects abound as an American chef adds a bit of spice to the traditional royal household in the first in Nell Hampton's charming and tasty Kensington Palace Chef Mystery series, Kale to the Queen.