A Honeybun and Coffee


Sam Cheever - 2008
    Picturing a frail, helpless old Englishman, Angie rushes to warn him. There's only one, small problem, Alastair Honeybun is six foot two inches of yummy man, who's perfectly capable of taking care of himself. But when the thugs show up while Angie's still there, they soon figure out they'll need to take care of each other.

Polar Bear Dawn


Lyle Nicholson - 2013
    But not with employees of the same company in Oil Camps in the high Arctic and Northern Canada. Two detectives, one from Alaska and one from Canada, are given the case. They find the murders are connected. Now, they have to work together to find out why the victims were silenced. What secrets did their deaths conceal?Frank Mueller, the Alaskan Detective, is close to retirement. He’s been through three marriages and two stints in rehab. He is on probation with the force. He knows the Anchorage Police department has given him this case because they don’t want it investigated fully and there’s no booze in the Arctic oil camps.Bernadette Callahan, the Canadian Detective, is in her mid thirties with a lot to prove on the force. She is Cree Indian and Irish, raised on a native reservation in Northern Canada. She’s been ingrained with the ways of the ‘people,’ by her grandmother that have given her instincts. Her instincts tell her there is something more than four dead people—someone is settling a score. The real crime will happen soon.The oil companies think the deaths are bad for publicity and they want them solved quickly. The detectives are under pressure to come up with a verdict they know is wrong.Callahan begins to unravel a series of unlikely suspects. A Chemistry Professor with a grudge against big oil, a Mexican low life gangster and Wall Street Executives. How are they connected?Something is about to happen to oil supplies in the Arctic. The two Detectives can sense it. They know it’s real—can they convince others to act?

Murder, Curlers, and Cream


Arlene McFarlane - 2016
    Not only has she got a meddling mother, a wacky staff, and a dying business, but now she’s got a dead client who was strangled while awaiting her facial.With business the way it is, combing through this mystery may be the only way to save her salon. Until a second murder, an explosion, a kidnapping, death threats, and the hard-nosed Detective Romero complicate things. But Valentine will do anything to untangle the crime. That’s if she can keep her tools of the trade in her bag, keep herself alive, and avoid falling for the tough detective.In the end, how hard can that be?

Untraceable


Laura Griffin - 2009
    TURNS OUT, SHE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE. Private investigator Alexandra Lovell uses computer skills and cunning to help clients drop off the radar and begin new lives in safety. Melanie Bess, desperate to escape her abusive cop husband, was one of those clients. But when Melanie vanishes for real, Alex fears the worst, and sets out to discover what happened. Using every resource she can get her hands on -- including an elite team of forensic scientists known as the Tracers, and a jaded, sexy Austin PD detective -- Alex embarks on a mission to uncover the truth. As far as homicide cop Nathan Deveraux is concerned, no body means no case. But as much as he wants to believe that Alex's hunch about Melanie's murder is wrong, his instincts -- and their visceral attraction -- won't let him walk away. As a grim picture of what really happened begins to emerge, Nathan realizes this investigation runs deeper than they could ever have guessed. And each step nearer the truth puts Alex in danger of being the next to disappear....

The St. Paul Conspiracy


Roger Stelljes - 2006
    blonde hair, blue eyes and a curvaceous body she worked on relentlessly. Claire was the desire of every man in town. As the Twin Cities' most prominent political and investigative reporter she reported the news... now she was the news. Murder... Greed... Treason... Thirty-two-year-old, fourth-generation St. Paul Homicide Detective "Mac" McRyan thought his day was going to be less stressful. The day would involve paper work, coffee, and maybe even an early trip to the pub. Then his cell phone rings... A body has been found in a high-end condominium between Summit and Grand Avenues; and it's not just anyone. With the Daniels brutal murder on top of the latest serial killer attack, the political and media pressure on the police department only builds and places Mac in the middle of a dangerous and high-stakes murder investigation that will ultimately have national political and security implications.

The Night Bird


Brian Freeman - 2017
    When a series of bizarre deaths rock San Francisco—as seemingly random women suffer violent psychotic breaks—Frost looks for a connection that leads him to psychiatrist Francesca Stein. Frankie’s controversial therapy helps people erase their most terrifying memories…and all the victims were her patients.As Frost and Frankie carry out their own investigations, the case becomes increasingly personal—and dangerous. Long-submerged secrets surface as someone called the Night Bird taunts the pair with cryptic messages pertaining to the deaths. Soon Frankie is forced to confront strange gaps in her own memory, and Frost faces a killer who knows the detective’s worst fears.As the body count rises and the Night Bird circles ever closer, a dedicated cop and a brilliant doctor race to solve the puzzle before a cunning killer claims another victim.

Bluegrass Undercover


Kathleen Brooks - 2012
    And something is trying to kill his players. He’s been too busy trying to keep his players alive, while also avoiding the Davies Brothers marriage trap set by half the town, to pay attention and to the fiery redhead who has swept into his small town.DEA Agent Annie Blake was undercover to bust a drug ring that preys on high school athletes in the adorable, small town of Keeneston. She had thought to keep her head down and listen to the local gossip to find the maker of this deadly drug. What Annie didn’t count on was becoming the local gossip. With marriage bets being placed and an entire town aiming to win the pot, Annie looks to Cade for help in bringing down the drug ring before another kid is killed. What she didn’t intend on was becoming the next target.(Alternate cover editions for this title can be found here and here.)

Head to Head


Linda Ladd - 2006
    Until a grisly celebrity murder at an ultra-exclusive 'wellness' resort shatters a quiet summer morning.

The Ritual Bath


Faye Kellerman - 1986
    Someone has shattered the sanctuary of a remote yeshiva community in the California hills with an unimaginable crime. One of the women was brutally raped as she returned from the mikvah, the bathhouse where the cleansing ritual is performed.The crime was called in by Rina Lazarus, and Decker is relieved to discover that she is a calm and intelligent witness. She is also the only one in the sheltered community willing to speak of this unspeakable violation. As Rina tries to steer Decker through the maze of religious laws, the two grow closer. But before they get to the bottom of the horrendous crime, revelations come to light that are so shocking that they threaten to come between the hard-nosed cop and the deeply religious woman with whom he has become irrevocably linked.

Death by a Honeybee


Abigail Keam - 2010
    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.

The Bone Jar


S.W. Kane - 2020
    An abandoned asylum. Will a mysterious former patient help untangle the dark truth?The body of an elderly woman has been found in the bowels of a derelict asylum on the banks of the Thames. As Detective Lew Kirby and his partner begin their investigation, another body is discovered in the river nearby. How are the two murders connected?Before long, the secrets of Blackwater Asylum begin to reveal themselves. There are rumours about underground bunkers and secret rooms, unspeakable psychological experimentation, and a dark force that haunts the ruins, trying to pull back in all those who attempt to escape. Urban explorer Connie Darke, whose sister died in a freak accident at the asylum, is determined to help Lew expose its grisly past. Meanwhile Lew discovers a devastating family secret that threatens to turn his life upside down.As his world crumbles around him, Lew must put the pieces of the puzzle together to keep the killer from striking again. Only an eccentric former patient really knows the truth—but will he reveal it to Lew before it’s too late?

The Lion's Courtship


Annelie Wendeberg - 2014
    New and revised edition. Anna Kronberg lives in Victorian London’s worst rookery, offering medical treatment to prostitutes, vagrants, and criminals. To her, plugging holes and mopping up blood is normal. Stitching the slashed face of a young prostitute is not. Witnesses refuse to talk. The police can’t be bothered with yet another injured whore. But whispers are spreading about a man who pays well for a few harmless knife marks. No one dares reveal the man’s identity. Only Garret O’Hare - a thief Anna barely knows - reluctantly agrees to help her investigate the assault. But when the injured girl disappears, a veil of silence descends upon the slum. And Anna learns that she is no longer the hunter, but the hunted. Warning: medical procedures, poverty, and prostitution are depicted without apology. For fans of Caleb Carr, Louise Penny, and Anne Perry.

Girl Jacked


Christopher Greyson - 2013
    They were old friends. He knew only one way to deal with pain. Hunt it down and kill it." Police Officer Jack Stratton is hiding. Hiding from the world. From pain. From the memories of losing his best friend, Chandler, in Iraq. Suffering from PTSD and isolated from those he cares about, the last thing Jack expects to hear is his foster sister Michelle, Chandler’s sister, is gone. The words cut straight to his core. Although the police think she just took off, he knows Michelle would never leave those she loved behind–like he did. Now he must take action, find Michelle, and bring her home or die trying. The first novel in the Jack Stratton Collection introduces us to handsome rogue, Jack Stratton. A debt of honor to his dead foster brother drives Jack into a world of deception and lies. As Jack’s walls begin to crumble, he must navigate the quirky characters that seep into the mystery of his foster sister’s disappearance. And in the sleepy community of Darrington, like so many places in this world, nothing is as it appears. The hidden mysteries that often go unnoticed begin to emerge as Jack and his new unpredictable sidekick begin to turn over the rocks. Following a trail that has grown cold, Jack must tread carefully to protect his job, his family, and his life. This stand-alone novel features rogue hero Jack Stratton. Look for other books in the Jack Stratton Collection including Jack Knifed, Jacks are Wild, and now Jack and the Giant Killer. They can be read in any order, however, they are best experienced in sequence.

Silent Scream


Angela Marsons - 2015
    They had all taken turns to dig. An adult sized hole would have taken longer. An innocent life had been taken but the pact had been made. Their secrets would be buried, bound in blood …Years later, a headmistress is found brutally strangled, the first in a spate of gruesome murders which shock the Black Country.But when human remains are discovered at a former children’s home, disturbing secrets are also unearthed. D.I. Kim Stone fast realises she’s on the hunt for a twisted individual whose killing spree spans decades.As the body count rises, Kim needs to stop the murderer before they strike again. But to catch the killer, can Kim confront the demons of her own past before it’s too late? Fans of Rachel Abbott, Val McDermid and Mark Billingham will be gripped by this exceptional new voice in British crime fiction.

Copycat


Erica Spindler - 2000
    No witnesses, no evidence left behind. The Sleeping Angel Killer called his despicable acts 'the perfect crimes.' The case nearly destroyed homicide detective Kitt Lundgren's career - because she let the killer get away.Now the Sleeping Angel Killer is back.But Kitt notices something different about this new rash of killings - a tiny variation that suggests a copycat killer may be re-creating the original 'perfect crimes.' Then the unthinkable happens. The Sleeping Angel Killer himself approaches Kitt with a bizarre offer - he will help her catch his copycat.Kitt must decide whether to place her trust in a murderer - or risk falling victim to a fiend who has taken the art of the perfect murder to horrific new heights.