Double Take: a Hank Hammond, P.I. murder mystery


J.P. David - 2011
    But when a second one pops up in even more bizarre circumstances it's enough to make even Hank Hammond, P.I. do a DOUBLE-TAKE . . .As the newest private investigator in Kingston Beach, Hank Hammond has all the signs of success that he could possibly ask for: the latest detective gear, a shiny red Corvette, an office within a successful attorney's building, and--most importantly--the professional services of Lori Reed, a brilliant and beautiful executive assistant. If only Hank had a client.

Missing You by Harlan Coben -- Review


Expert Book Reviews - 2014
    In Harlan Coben's "Missing You," nearly 20 years after being kicked to the curb unceremoniously by an old fiance, an NYPD detective runs into that very man on a dating site, leading to a reawakening, a realization, and ultimately, the deaths of several people. This review details which readers will ultimately enjoy this novel, which is virtually everyone. The face of Jeff Raynes is staring back at Kat Donovan. She contacts him and is surprised by his response. He fails to even remember her at first, then remembers, showing only modest affection. As detailed in this review, the twists that ensue are among the reasons for the success of "Missing You." If that wasn't strange enough, a Connecticut college student asks for Kat's assistance in finding his mother, who has mysteriously gone missing. On top of that, he asked for Kat in particular. How does he even know her? Need more? Kat visits the contract killer who is rotting away in prison for murdering her father, a man who is now denying his involvement. Who can Kat trust? The twists in "Missing You" are literally stacked on top of one another, which creates a pulsating ride for Coben fans. Not that the author needs help, but this review also details an alternative outcome that might have added even more miles to this thrill ride.

Blabbermouth (A Brit Moran Mystery)


Joel Travis - 2010
    Fortunately, Moran’s injuries are not fatal; unfortunately, his compromising admissions have been heard by a motley assortment of bedside visitors, including a local police detective and the younger brother of Cesar Hernandez, Moran’s backer in his bookmaking business. The book follows, courtesy of Moran’s often hilarious first-person narration, the consequences of his ill-timed frankness, which include assault, vandalism, theft and murder. When the police identify Moran as the prime suspect in the killing, he embarks on an amateurish and offbeat quest for the truth. Readers who like to smile while reading a whodunit should hope that the author manages to enmesh his creation in further investigations.

The House of Closed Doors


Jane Steen - 2012
    Yet Nell is determined to elude the duties and restrictions of matrimony. So when she finds herself pregnant at the age of 17, she refuses to divulge the name of the father and even her childhood friend Martin is kept in the dark.Nell's stepfather Hiram sends Nell to live at the Poor Farm of which he is a governor, to await the day when her baby can be discreetly adopted. Nell is ready to go along with Hiram's plans until an unused padded cell is opened and two small bodies fall out.Nell is the only resident of the Poor Farm who is convinced that the unwed mother and her baby were murdered, and the incident prompts her to rethink her decision to abandon her own child to her fate. But the revelations to which her questions lead make her realize that even if she manages to escape the Poor Farm with her baby, she may have no safe place to run to.

A Touch Of Magic


M. Ruth Myers - 1987
    He’s about to receive a piece of stolen film used to make US passports, film that could open the door to terrorists around the world. Although Channing Stuart is the fourth generation in a family of acclaimed magicians, she’s the first of them not to turn pro. Eye-to-eye with a killer, will she have the nerve and nimbleness to pull off a switch that finally proves her worthy of her bloodline? Special agent Bill Ellery is irritated to find himself suddenly teamed with this amateur whose passion to succeed is as great as his own, and whose penchant for the unpredictable unsettles him as much as the woman herself. In an upscale resort where every enticement hides a trap, they play cat and mouse with enemies known and unknown as a time bomb ticks. Hundreds of lives depend on the deftness of one woman’s fingers and ... A TOUCH OF MAGIC.First ebook edition of a thriller by an author known for strong women and swiftly-moving plots.

Love Is Murder


Allison Brennan - 2011
    . . DEAD After a tough breakup with her boyfriend, Lucy Kincaid needs a different kind of break. So she heads west to join her brother, an ex-cop, for a long weekend of skiing in the mountains. At a picturesque lodge tucked high in the Sierra Nevada, Lucy finds just what she’s looking for: a peaceful retreat undisturbed by Internet, television, and cell phone distractions. She also finds an unexpected group of newlyweds seeking their own idyllic getaway.But finding one of her fellow guests dead wasn’t in the brochure. And neither was the overnight snowstorm that leaves the lodge cut off from the outside world. When Lucy’s brother suspects the honeymooner’s death was foul play, he’s mysteriously stricken ill. Now, to keep him and herself alive, it’s up to aspiring FBI agent Lucy Kincaid to figure out which of the lovebirds trapped in the lodge is really a bird of prey.BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Allison Brennan’s upcoming novel Kiss Me, Kill Me as well as an exclusive excerpt from an FBI interview with Lucy Kincaid!

Killer Tiramisu


S.Y. Robins - 2015
    However, she gets her chance at a big break when the regular dessert chef calls in sick and Hannah is asked to make the dessert for a huge wedding reception that the restaurant is catering. Hannah decides to make her famous Tiramisu recipe - a family recipe that has been passed down for generations, and taught to her by her grandmother. Hannah is sure nothing can go wrong with a recipe she knows so well. However, disaster strikes when the restaurant manager dies after sampling a trial version of the dessert. Has Hannah's carelessness struck again? Or, are one of her co-workers out to get her? After Hannah is fired and disgraced she sets out to clear her name - and to restore her Tiramisu's reputation.

Jack Reacher's Rules


Lee Child - 2012
      You don’t have to break the rules if you make the rules. Case in point: Jack Reacher, the two-fisted, quick-witted, “current poster-boy of American crime fiction” (Los Angeles Times). The brainchild of #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child, Reacher is a freelance troubleshooter with a mysterious past—and a serious passion for justice.  Now the hard-won knowledge and hard-hitting strategies of fiction’s toughest tough guy are within every thriller reader’s reach—in a rapid-fire rundown of the trade secrets, tried-and-true tricks, and time-honored tactics that separate the man in the street from the man to beat.  Rule 1. When in doubt, drink coffee.Rule 2. Never volunteer for anything.Rule 3. Don’t break the furniture.Rule 4. Only one woman at a time.Rule 5. Show them what they’re messing with.Please note: Jack Reacher’s Rules is a compilation of advice, wisdom, and facts from the Jack Reacher series of novels by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child. It features an introduction by Lee Child, but is not a Jack Reacher novel.

Amazing Grace


John G. Hartness - 2017
    Hartness. Lila Grace Carter is your favorite new detective, you just don’t know it yet. She’s determined, smart, caring, and sassy as the day is long. She also talks to dead people. Of course, as she puts it, “I’m Southern. We all talk to dead people down here. The difference is, they talk back to me.” Lila Grace has lived in Lockhart, S.C. her entire life, and has always been shunned for being different. Discovering her ability to see and talk to ghosts at an early age, she used her ability to help people settle disputes, communicate with lost loved one, and generally make life better in small ways. Until poor dead Jenny Miller showed up on her doorstep. Now Lila Grace has a teenaged ghost following her around, a handsome new sheriff in town, and a murderer in her sleepy southern town. This ain’t Mayberry, kids. Award-winning author and poet John G. Hartness has mined his southern roots for inspiration and color in this supernatural love letter to small-town Southern life. "A modern Southern Gothic with charming characters—living and dead. Hartness expertly blends a sinister, small-town murder with the warmth, humor, and innocence of a cozy mystery. Lila Grace is an entertaining amateur sleuth. Highly recommend." —E.J. Stevens, award-winning author of the Ivy Granger Psychic Detective series "More twists than a tangled ball of twine! Great fun and more Southern than grits." -Charlotte Henley Babb, author of Maven Fairy Godmother

Loose Screw


Rae Davies - 2011
    She even lets a cat shove her around.When Lucy trips over the body of a buckskin-clad relics trader, her ex-boss asks her to cover the story. She tries to tell him no, but old habits die hard and soon she finds herself directly in the path of a killer and the exasperating, if attractive, detective in charge.Can Lucy catch a killer or is this the last confrontation for her—period?

For the Love of Old Bones: and Other Stories


Michael Jecks - 2012
     THE CORONER’S TALE In the remote Devonshire town of Crediton, a young girl is found dead in an alleyway, raped and murdered. As the local Bailiff and a visiting knight investigate the crime, it comes to light that the bailiff holds an incriminating secret – one that has the potential to place this agent of the government on the wrong side of the law. FOR THE LOVE OF OLD BONES A group of monks journeying from Launceston Abbey across the wild wastelands of Dartmoor are waylaid by brigands. During the brawl, their abbot is put to death at the blade of a knife, but the murderer neglected to steal his money filled purse. When the local bailiff discovers that the group are conducting a holy relic overseas to France, he begins to suspect that there are murkier motivations at play. THE AMOROUS ARMOURER A blacksmith is found dead in his lodgings, the door locked from the inside. As the town’s meticulously minded bailiff goes about his investigation, a veritable rogue’s gallery of culprits drift in and out of focus - but the guilty party is the least suspect of all. A CLERICAL ERROR One of the king’s forresters lies dead in a gully on the moor, his head smashed in with a rock, and the only witness to the murder being the forrester’s loyal mastiff, who stands vigil over his master’s body. As the list of suspects increases with every local rivalry which comes to light, the outcome of the case will surprise all involved. DANCE OF DEATH 1348, the year of the Great Death. Refugees flood into the city of Exeter from the plague-ravaged countryside surrounding the city. A man and a young boy from the village of Rookford arrive separately, yet both share knowledge of a horrifying secret and come to the realisation that even in these times of turmoil, the past is inescapable. Praise for Michael Jecks: "An instant classic British spy novel - mature, thoughtful, and intelligent ... but also raw enough for our modern times. Highly recommended." Lee Child, author of the Reacher series "More magic by the master of the medieval” - Quintin Jardine "Michael Jecks is a national treasure" - Scotland on Sunday “A textbook example of how to blend action and detection in a historical” - Publishers Weekly Michael Jecks is the author of the bestselling Knights Templar series, comprising thirty-two novels starring Baldwin de Furnshill. Fields of Glory is the first novel in a new trilogy, set around the Hundred Years' War. A regular speaker at library and literary events, he is a past Chairman of the Crime Writers' Association and a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund at Exeter University. He was shortlisted for the Harrogate/Theakston’s Old Peculier prize for the best crime novel of the year 2007, the year Allan Guthrie won. He lives with his wife, children and dogs in northern Dartmoor. To find out more visit his website http://www.michaeljecks.com, follow him on twitter @michaeljecks, or find him on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Michael.Jecks... Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com.

Scott Nicholson Library, Vol. 1


Scott Nicholson - 2011
    Follow him at your own risk." -- Stewart O'Nan, A Prayer For The DyingA boxed set of four novels from a #1 Kindle bestselling author. Nearly 300,000 words of fiction.SCOTT NICHOLSON LIBRARY, Vol. 1 features the complete text of:THE RED CHURCH: A boy and a sheriff must solve the mystery of a haunted Appalachian church after a sinister preacher returns to town. A Stoker Award finalist and alternate selection of The Mystery Guild.THE SKULL RING: Julia Stone's shattered past comes creeping back after she discovers a strange silver ring, and she can't trust any of the three men who want to help her.GHOST COLLEGE (With J.R. Rain): A husband-and-wife ghost hunting team is summoned for a very special case at a bible college, where Latin phrases and strange piano music haunt the night.KISS ME OR DIE: Richard Coldiron's five personalities may be possessed by a demonic spirit, one or two of them may be serial killers, and here comes the woman of his dreams.---Scott Nicholson is the bestselling author of more than 20 books, including McFALL, LIQUID FEAR, the AFTER post-apocalyptic series, DISINTEGRATION, the SOLOM series, and THE HARVEST."Like Stephen King, he knows how to summon serious scares." - Bentley Little, The Store"The love child of Sharyn McCrumb and Stephen King." - The Mountain Times"Scott Nicholson is on his way to the front rank of genre writers, but don't be surprised if he--like Koontz and King before him--becomes a genre unto himself." - Page Horrific

Missing!


Paul Moxham - 2012
    Their search takes them from the backstreets of the capital to the hurricane torn roads of the Florida Keys, where they enlist the help of the army in an attempt to save their dad and stop World War III.Split into 4 parts, this is a rip roaring tale that will have readers eagerly turning the pages right through to the thrilling and action packed ending that no one will see coming. At roughly 17,000 words, Part 1 of this young adult serial, The Florida Chase, is a fast paced, action packed read.With their father missing, Luke and Jordan Brody head to Washington D.C to seek answers. And, in the dusty backstreets of the capital, the brothers stumble across a clue that propels them to travel to Key West.Arriving, they find out that a hurricane is approaching the coast. Desperate to find answers before the storm hits, the brothers decide to search high and low.But before they can get started, someone holds them up at gunpoint! What is going on? And why does someone recall seeing their father, but insist that his name was Mr. Lake and not Mr. Brody?

Little Lamb Lost


Margaret Fenton - 2009
    One of her young clients, Michael, has been found dead and his mother, Ashley, has been arrested for his murder. And who made the decision to return Michael to Ashley? Claire Conover.Ashley had seemingly done everything right-gotten clean, found a place to live, worked two jobs, and earned back custody of her son. Devastated but determined to discover where her instincts failed her, Claire vows to find the truth about what really happened to Michael.What Claire finds is no shortage of suspects. Ashley's boyfriend made no secret that he didn't want children. And Ashley's stepfather, an alcoholic and chronic gambler, has a shady past. And what about Michael's mysterious father and his family? Or Ashley herself? Was she really using again? Amidst a heap of unanswered questions, one thing is for certain: Claire Conover is about to uncover secrets that could ruin lives-or end her own.

Archaea


Dain White - 2011
    Captain Dak Smith saw in her something special, an opportunity to burn for the far horizon as an independent, free from the gloms that hold known space in thrall – but he had to get her running first.Armed with a standard-issue captain's eyebrow and an infectious grin, Captain Smith and his hand-picked crew embark on an adventure through deep space filled with scoundrels, pirates, and some incredibly unfortunate peace-loving rocks that happened to be at the wrong place, at the worst time.