This left him unconscious on the floor of my home. Amazingly, this bullet did not kill him. Ten years ago I adopted Blue as a present to myself after I broke up with my boyfriend one hot, early summer night with the windows open and the neighborhood listening. The next morning I went straight to the pound in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Articles on buying your first dog tell you never to buy a dog on impulse. They want you to be prepared for this new member of your family, to understand the responsibilities and challenges of owning a dog. Going to the pound because you need something in your life that's worth holding onto is rarely, if ever, mentioned. I asked the man at the pound to show me the biggest dogs they had. He showed me some seven-week-old Rottweiler-German shepherd puppies that he said would grow to be quite large. Then he showed me a six-month-old shepherd that would get pretty big. Then he showed me Blue, the largest dog they had. The man called him a Collie mix and he was stuffed into the biggest cage they had, but he didn't fit. He was as tall as a Great Dane but much skinnier, with the snout of a collie, the markings of a Siberian husky, the ears and tail of a shepherd and the body of a wolf, with one blue eye and one brown. Crouched in a sitting position, unable to lie down, unable to sit all the way up, he looked at me from between the bars, and I fell in love. "He's still underweight," the man in the blue scrubs told me as we looked at Blue. "I'll tell you, lady, he's pretty but he's skittish. He sheds, and I mean sheds. I don't think you want this dog." But I knew I wanted him. I knew I had to have him. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Blue cost me $108. I brought him home, and we lived together for years. He was, for most of our relationship, my only companion. But when I first met Blue, a lifetime ago now, I had family and friends. I worked at a crappy coffeehouse. I was young and lost; I was normal. Back then, at the beginning of this story, before I'd ever seen a corpse, before Blue saved my life, before I felt what it was like to kill someone in cold blood, I was still Joy Humbolt.I'd never even heard the name Sydney Rye.P.S. The dog does not die.**Beware: If you can’t handle a few f-bombs, you can’t handle this series.**

    With no motive and no real suspect the investigation soon grinds to a halt. Enter Mary Anne Smith, otherwise known as Granny Smith, the seventy-one years young, pipe smoking, heavy metal loving, chaos causing amateur sleuth with a difference. Granny has a talent for mayhem and soon those talents are put to good use as our intrepid pensioner starts the unravel the case, which finds her provoking Chief Inspector Miskin as she comes up against a full scale police investigation, proving that you’re never too old to make a nuisance of yourself and that seventy-one is actually the new twenty-one. Murder’s never been so much fun. " I liked the story, entertaining, easy to read." "laugh out loud funny and Granny Smith is a wonderful invention" "Granny Smith complete with pipe , what a vision... proves where there is a way she will take try it...enjoyed this book easy reading ."

    They are not cozy or fuzzy, but they do try to be humorous and witty. Sometimes they succeed. Each novel/novella has a stand-alone mystery, but the stories are also about the continuing life saga of a middle-aged Southern woman as she faces many serious obstacles. Josiah faces the world with sarcastic humor and a number of quirky, oddball friends that can only be found in the Southern town of Lexington, the heart of the Kentucky horse country. Some mysteries end with a bang, some are not solved at all and the first one ends with a cliff hanger, but they always entertain in the sassy, humorous and suspenseful world as Josiah goes about sleuthing. The Josiah Reynolds Mystery Series is just like fried chicken . . . finger-licking good! Add some sweet tea and a piece of chocolate pecan pie with a scoop of ice-cream and you got yourself some tasty reading. Description Josiah Reynolds is a beekeeper trying to stay financially afloat by selling honey at the Farmers' Market. She finds her world turned upside down when a man is found dead in her beeyard, only to discover that the victim is her nemesis. The police are calling the brutal death murder and Josiah is the number one suspect! Josiah makes the rounds of quirky characters that can only be found in the lush Bluegrass horse country. Fighting an unknown enemy in the glamorous world of Thoroughbreds, oak-cured bourbon and antebellum mansions, Josiah struggles to uncover the truth in a land that keeps its secrets well. Death By A HoneyBee is the first of an episodic series and as such ends in a cliff-hanger which is crucial to the rest of the series. Attached to HoneyBee is a bonus chapter from Death By Drowning which continues our heroine's story in linear time. I hope you enjoy reading Death By A HoneyBee as much as I have enjoyed writing it. It was a labor of love.

    With her pet crow Kingston and a tabby cat named Nevermore, she is settling right into her new life in the small coastal town of Port Danby. With a flower shop opening soon and a full cast of quirky neighbors and friends, her new digs are exactly what she's been looking for. Away from the hectic hustle and bustle of the city Lacey has found peace and happiness. However, her heightened sense of smell proves to be of use once again when a Port Danby neighbor turns up dead. Lacey finds herself caught up in an unexpected murder investigation alongside the handsome local detective, James Briggs. She’s determined to find the killer and solve the murder mystery before any more bodies turn up.Book 1 of the Port Danby Cozy Mystery Series. 1. Marigolds and Murder2. Carnations and Chaos (October 15, 2017)3. Mistletoe and Mayhem (November 2017)Full-length novel ~50,000 words.

    With no physical evidence of foul play, Char's on the case, much to the irritation of Detective Steve Sixkiller, who doesn't want her to stick her pretty nose for trouble in his investigation. But she's a woman on a mission to uncover the truth, and she'd better keep her eyes open or the next body on the way to the morgue could be hers....

    Divorced, she's already earned her amateur sleuth badge by proving her super rich ex-husband cheated on her (and getting her share of the money per the pre-nup). A prize-winning cook and blue ribbon baker, she was a fabulous wife and hostess but now she's starting over.It’s fun to be home with friends and family but even quiet little towns have problems. Secrets and lies make people do desperate things-small towns just hide them better. When someone steals Grammy's precious family recipe book, Stacey must track it down or never hear the end of it. That book means the world to the family and, since cooking is Stacey's future, no one is going to steal her family's culinary heritage and get away with it!

    Assigned to the case is Detective Chief Inspector Alistair Fitzjohn. Fitzjohn is a detective from the old guard, whose methodical, painstaking methods are viewed by some as archaic. His relentless pursuit for the killer zeros in on Alex’s brother, James, as a key suspect in his investigation.Compelled to clear himself of suspicion, James starts his own investigation and finds himself immersed in a web of intrigue, ultimately uncovering long hidden secrets about his brother’s life that could easily be the very reasons he was murdered.This gripping tale of murder and suspense winds its way through the university’s hallowed halls to emerge into the beautiful, yet unpredictable, Blue Mountain region where more challenges and obstacles await James in his quest to clear himself of suspicion and uncover the truth about his brother.

    Giving in to her brother's request, she goes to visit his new island resort during a special weekend for the investors. Spending time at Rim Runners should have been the perfect prescription to help rebuild her life, but the mood at the resort is like the weather-stormy. As hurricane Anna cuts them off from the mainland, tempers flare resulting in threats and sabotage. When the body of one of the guests is found, Laura is forced to rely on her training to find the killer before the storm lets up and they can slip away.

    His search leads him to Holmestead, and a stubborn, fascinating American who has acquired the box that once contained the rare jar.When the missing jar turns up, clutched in the hand of the very dead local historian, Martin becomes the prime suspect. He and that dead historian were bitter rivals.With his future on the line, Martin turns to Maggie for help, and they join forces to find the real killer.Maggie Mulgrew Mysteries:Ghost of a ChanceWritten on the Wind - coming August 2016Check out all my books here: amazon.com/author/catedean

    Clarissa's amateur sleuth uncle has died, evidently from a heart attack. But was the death truly an accident? An anonymous note hints that her uncle was murdered, and now Clarissa and Paw are determined to sniff out the truth. Soon the duo find themselves nose deep in their uncle's final baffling case: the theft of the fabulous Blue Dolphin diamonds. Clarissa's determination to find her uncle's killer leads her deep into a world of glittering gems and deadly secrets, where each new discovery threatens to bring her to the notice of a ruthless murderer who will stop at nothing to cover his tracks. Can Clarissa and her detective dog Paw crack the case, or will they become the killer's next victims? This is a 5200 word short story/mini mystery. Read time is approx. 30 minutes.

    Is it a murder or an accident? Arizona Summers and her psychic dog Nutmeg love to solve crimes. The new chief Keith Wesley makes it clear he doesn’t want her help. Once he realizes Arizona is the go-to person with whom the townspeople share their deepest and darkest secrets. The handsome new chief tries to get back in Arizona’s good graces but she doesn’t make it easy. It’s hard for Ary to keep the restaurant she owns running smoothly when her mother, Emma causes chaos at every turn. Even her Aunt Sandy, who referees her sister and niece, shakes her head at Emma’s shenanigans. Join the fun and the humor of this great mystery series. Get your copy today.

    But when she and her boss cater a ritzy bridal shower, murder is on the dessert menu and the Bundt cake is blamed. Rosie tries to find the real killer before she becomes the next victim. But her senior sleuth 'helpers,' Nana and Birdie, are more interested in getting her married off than in the murder case. Unfortunately their prime romantic prospect--handsome real estate mogul Casey Baron--is also her prime murder suspect.

    She’s looking for peace, beautiful gardens, and pastry—a slower, safer life than the one she’d been living outside of Boston. But you know what they say about the best intentions… Molly has barely gotten over jet-lag before she hears about a local student’s disappearance. In between getting her old ramshackle house in order and reveling in French food, Molly ends up embroiled in the case, along with the gendarmes of Castillac. And unlike the Nancy Drews she loved as a child, this mystery stirs up emotions she thought had been put to rest..and terrifies the residents of her beloved village.

    Owner of the Teasen & Pleasen Hair Salon in the heart of Louisiana, she’s used to big hair, Southern style, and tall tales of the latest town scandal. But her quiet life is turned on its head when Savannah finds an upstanding member of the community murdered outside her salon in cold blood. Savannah investigates, only to find that her pleasant, cute town is just a façade, and that there’s more deception than truth in the lives of its residents. As the case intensifies, Savannah finds herself dealing with a bad blowout, a man who might lose a limb, and a woman scorned, leading to a firefight the village of Knockemstiff will never forget. Desperate Housewives marries GCB in this exciting murder mystery full of humor, suspense, and moonshine. Readers will be laughing aloud and gasping in shock while enjoying A Hair Raising Blowout, the first book in a stunning new thriller series by Constance Barker.

    The mansion that Ashley Wilkes, historic preservationist, is restoring, with its crescendo-thumping spectral organist, is no exception. When Ashley makes a grisly discovery, the residents of quiet, quaint Orange Street are horrified. Halloween weekend finds Ashley and Melanie dressed to kill at the Cape Fear Crime Festival's costume party where an evil trickster treats them to murder.