An Invitation to Murder


Leighann Dobbs - 2017
    Not only to stop the killing but also to prove her skills at detection to her father and win her dowry and independence. There’s only one catch—she has to take one last matchmaking job to do it. Never mind that the match is impossible, all the better because if she fails, then no one will seek her services again. The job provides the perfect cover especially when her peculiar investigatory techniques are mistaken for unconventional matchmaking attempts. Things would go a lot smoother if she weren’t knee-deep in suspects and thwarted at every turn by a rival matchmaker. But when the killer strikes again, Katherine’s investigation leads down a dangerous path. Too late, she discovers that she has a lot more to lose than her dowry…

Treated as Murder


Noreen Wainwright - 2014
    Her brother is suspected of murdering an elderly wealthy widow, and sins of the past have echoes in her life and the lives of those close to her.

Agatha Christie Investigates Omnibus


Alison Joseph - 2018
     “Wickedly clever - written with a sharp eye and elan. Guaranteed to make every Agatha Christie fan smile.” - Peter James Murder Will Out (Agatha Christie Investigates Book 1): 1923. The Great War is over, but the ghosts of the dead still linger. Agatha Christie was one of the lucky ones - her husband returned from the conflict - and for her, and her local neighbours, life has resumed. Agatha is beginning to gain some notoriety for her crime writing and she is busy working on her latest novel. But then her neighbour tells her there has been a real ‘murder at the vicarage’ - a young man, Cecil Coates, has been poisoned, and due to Christie’s expertise, the neighbourhood wants her to investigate. What secrets and lies are lying beneath the village’s tranquil exterior? Can Agatha Christie use her imagination to draw the murderer out? ‘Christie herself is the fulcrum of this highly diverting piece, delivered with all the quirky skill that is Joseph’s trademark.’ - Barry Forshaw, Crime Time. Hidden Sins (Agatha Christie Investigates Book 2): Summer, 1925 Life is starting to go back to normal after the shock of the Great War. Agatha Christie, now a successful crime author, is holidaying in Cornwall. And when her husband, Archie, has to leave early, she decides to use her alone time to work on a romance novel. But it isn’t long before she finds herself thrown back into the world of murder and intrigue. A fellow guest at Agatha’s hotel is murdered in the early hours of the morning, and all guests become suspects. Agatha soon discovers that there is far more going on in the sleepy Cornish town than first meets the eye. Her enquiries unearth tales of ghosts, secret affairs and mysterious ship wrecks. Tension escalates amongst the residents of the hotel when they realise that the murderer is somewhere in their midst. Can Agatha Christie unmask the identity of the killer before anyone else becomes a victim? ‘Christie herself is the fulcrum of this highly diverting piece, delivered with all the quirky skill that is Joseph’s trademark.’ - Barry Forshaw, Crime Time. ‘Clever and intriguing - a must for all Agatha Christie fans’ - Peter James Death in Disguise (Agatha Christie Investigates Book 3): Some people want to be fooled… 1920s, London Agatha Christie, the famous detective writer, is struggling to come to terms with her divorce. So much so that she can barely bring herself to say the word.

Dead on Deadline


Lara Bricker - 2021
    She takes a job at the Exeter Independent, where her days are filled with stories of church bazaars, runaway turkeys, and news from the garden club.Piper assumes her assignment to cover the American Independence Festival, honoring her town’s role in the Revolutionary War, is just another mundane event. But when a body dressed in a Red Coat soldier jacket is found hanged from the top of the historic Town Hall, Piper finds herself in the middle of a murder. The victim is her news editor, Charlotte Campbell, and there is no shortage of people who would be glad to see her dead.Suspicion quickly lands on the paper’s photographer, who was fired the day before, but Piper cannot believe he is capable of murder. With the help of her high school crush, now a detective, her best friend at the bakery, and the town historian, Piper sets out to prove her friend’s innocence. But as she persists, she learns that unearthing small-town secrets is harder than she thought—and that some parts of local history can be deadly.

The Deadly Jellybean Affair


Carrie Marsh - 2017
    The Deadly Jellybean Affair guarantees you another head-spinning murder mystery adventure by a retired witch. What secrets lie behind the brutal murder? And can she uncover them without drawing attention from the killer? A Retired Witch… A Cruel Murder… Can a few old tricks solve a crime? Left a very comfortable widow after her dear husband passed, Mary Tuttle has many abilities, some of which have allowed her to open the doors to her dreams, a bead shop by the name of Beads and Baubles. But when she stumbles across the body of a dead Morhollow party-girl, Mary discovers that there are much deeper secrets behind the attack of her newly hired employee, who was beaten, bruised, and hidden just out of plain sight. There is no questioning the fact that Mary is compelled to solve the case and find the killer… But she will need to return to her roots to do it. Faced with the realization she will have to dust off her spell books, consult with her domestic cat, and be sure to steer clear of the police investigation, Mary knows she will have to play things carefully to find out the truth.But she will need to return to her roots to do it. Of course, it would be a lot simpler if the Captain of the Morhollow Police Department didn’t happen to be her son. Can Mary narrow down the long list of suspects before giving herself away? Or will she take one too many risks and place herself in the sights of a killer?

Corpse Path Cottage


Margaret Scutt - 2020
    And before long, one of the village's residents, Laura Grey, is mysteriously shot dead nearby. Mark's life begins to unravel before he is able to help the police solve the mystery of Laura Grey's death, uncovering in the process a tale of intrigue, bigamy and blackmail, and bringing into the open many secrets of the residents of God's Blessing, including Mark himself.

A Cutthroat Business


Jenna Bennett - 2010
    But Savannah doesn’t think she’s supposed to take the warning literally ... until an early morning phone call sends her to an empty house on the ‘bad’ side of town, where she finds herself standing over the butchered body of a competitor, face to face with the boy her mother always warned her about. Rafe Collier is six feet three inches of testosterone and trouble; tall, dark, and dangerous, with a murky past and no future—not the kind of guy a perfect Southern Belle should want to tangle with. In any way. But wherever Savannah turns, there he is, and making no bones about what he wants from her. Now Savannah must figure out who killed real estate queen Brenda Puckett, make a success of her new career, and avoid getting killed—or kissed—by Rafe, all before the money in her savings account runs out and she has to go back to selling make-up at the mall.

OLD SINS, LONG MEMORIES


Angela Arney - 2014
    Lizzie Browne moves from London to a small town on the coast, looking forward to a quiet life, but when she finds a murdered patient on her first day it seems that perhaps Stibbington is not so quiet after all. DCI Adam Maguire, and colleague Steve Grayson, haven’t been challenged by a case for a long time, and welcome this break from their normal routine, except that there seems to be no apparent motive for anyone to kill a harmless young drop-out. When a second body, similar to the first, is found in Lizzie’s garden she is drawn into Adam’s investigation against her will, and against her better judgment her quiet life is riven with tension and conflict.

Bundle of Trouble


Diana Orgain - 2009
    From the moment she and newborn Laurie lock eyes, Kate can't imagine returning to work after her six-week maternity leave, but in expensive San Francisco, she and her ad exec husband, Jim, need every bit of both incomes. Then a dead body is fished out of the bay and linked to Jim's estranged brother, George. Both the police and PI Albert Galigani, hired by the dead man's mother, believe that Jim and Kate know more than they're revealing. Kate is determined to find the elusive George and get some answers, but she soon gets in over her head. Galigani serves as a charming mentor as Kate navigates the twists of motherhood and an uncomplicated but engaging plot. (Aug.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review "[AN] ENTERTAINING NEW SLEUTH." -GILLIAN ROBERTS, AUTHOR OF THE AMANDA PEPPER SERIES "A charming, gutsy, wry character who will make you laugh so hard you'll forget the labor pains." -LOUISE URE, SHAMUS AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR Book Description: A body has been dredged from the San Francisco Bay. Kate Connelly, pregnant and ready to pop, has reason to fear it may be her long lost brother-in-law. Battling sleep deprivation, diaper blowouts and breastfeeding mishaps she muddles through her own investigation, Mommy style: To do: 1. Find Killer 2. Figure out hideous breast pump. 3. Avoid cranky cop. 4. Send out Make birth announcements – need pink paper. 5. FIND KILLER

Death at the Manor (The Asharton Manor Mysteries, #1)


Celina Grace - 2014
    Asharton Manor stands alone in the middle of a pine forest, once the place where ancient pagan ceremonies were undertaken in honour of the goddess Astarte. The Manor is one of the most beautiful stately homes in the West Country and seems like a palace to Joan Hart, newly arrived from London to take up a servant’s position as the head kitchen maid. Getting to grips with her new role and with her fellow workers, Joan is kept busy, but not too busy to notice that the glittering surface of life at the Manor might be hiding some dark secrets. The beautiful and wealthy mistress of the house, Delphine Denford, keeps falling ill but why? Confiding her thoughts to her friend and fellow housemaid, feisty Verity Hunter, Joan is unsure of what exactly is making her uneasy, but then Delphine Denford dies…Armed only with their own good sense and quick thinking, Joan and Verity must pit their wits against a cunning murderer in order to bring them to justice.Death at the Manor is the first in the Asharton Manor Mysteries series: a four part series of novellas spanning the twentieth century. Each standalone story uses Asharton Manor as the backdrop to a devious and twisting crime mystery, from bestselling crime writer Celina Grace, author of The Kate Redman Mysteries.

Defending Evil


Charles Shea - 2010
    Have you ever wondered how an attorney would feel if that same recently acquitted client kills a second time? Again, I have, and these very questions prompted me to write a dark mystery/thriller about just such an attorney…I call it DEFENDING EVIL.Travis Knight is an extraordinary Criminal Defense Attorney winning high profile cases in Atlanta. One of his recently acquitted clients kills again, which has Travis and his wife Julie, questioning what he does for a living. Travis is shaken to his core, but being a consummate lawyer, he is able to move past his feelings of guilt; Julie isn’t. In a bizarre twist, a mysterious vigilante begins executing Travis’ clients after he wins them an acquittal. This righteous vigilante decides that the clients Travis is helping to put back into society are guilty, and don't deserve to live--the vigilante delivers ultimate justice.The police only half-heartedly search for the vigilante-off the record, they are glad someone is cleaning-up after the hot-shot attorney.The vigilante's attention turns to the source, and sends Travis an ultimatum--stop defending guilty clients or he will be the next to be executed. Risking his life, and his marriage, Travis refuses to be intimidated, and continues to defend clients accused of murder. This story chronicles the labyrinth of high-speed twists and turns of a deadly cat-and-mouse game…a game that can end with only one winner.Buckle-up and enjoy the ride!Best Regards,Charles Shea - Author of DEFENDING EVIL

Diamonds and Cole


Micheal Maxwell - 2013
    In the past, Cole a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, worked for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Time Magazine. Now, he’s returned to the paper where he started his career, The Chicago Sentinel. Instead of writing the big stories, he’s doing the work of a rookie reporter. His “big story of the day” is a cat caught in a tree. During its rescue, the cat’s owner takes her Good Samaritan neighbor hostage. Cole witnesses something so disturbing it reawakens the journalist’s desire to write again.Returning to the paper, Cole finds a desperate message asking for help from Ellie, one that got away. The one that has continually haunted his life. Cole drops everything and flies to California. He must find what would make her so desperate, she would call him after so many years. Cole finds her terminally ill, and abandoned by her husband. He discovers while Ellie was heavily medicated, she mistakenly signed a Power of Attorney. Now her estranged daughter Erin’s inheritance, won’t go to her, but her abusive step-father. Cole vows to find the girl and right the situation.The path to keeping his word is blocked at every turn by the husband who abandoned her, his shady real estate deals, violent con men, street thugs and the lure of a fortune in diamonds that unite them. The anger, sorrow, and crippling guilt of twenty years fires Cole's drive to keep a promise, that in the end, will heal and return the soul to the great journalist.Beaten, bloody but determined, Cole Sage conquers greed and hatred with a strength that only love, and a will as hard as diamond, can achieve.

The Lady Vanished


Gretta Mulrooney - 2015
    He’s survived a stabbing and his fiancée running off with another man. Florence Davenport hires Swift to find her missing stepmother. There are no leads and no suspects, but if the body is found, Florence will inherit half of a very valuable house. As Swift delves deeper into the family’s affairs, he discovers dark family secrets that threaten to blow apart everyone’s lives. Will Swift get to the truth before those with much to hide stop him? Find out in this clever, absorbing mystery with many twists and turns, featuring men and women with real dilemmas and conflicts. You will not want to put this book down till the surprising and dramatic conclusion. If you like Robert Galbraith, Angela Marsons, Colin Dexter, Ruth Rendell, or Mark Billingham you will be gripped by this exciting new crime fiction writer. THE LADY VANISHED is the first in a new series of detective thrillers featuring Tyrone Swift. Swift is unlucky in love but pretty good at getting to the truth. He loves rowing on the river Thames and his ex-fiancée has just come back on the scene.

Better Off Wed


Laura Durham - 2005
    Annabelle knows that even her trusted wedding emergency kit won't be able to salvage their careers if she and Richard can't find the real culprit.It's no easy task since the slain matron was perhaps the most hated socialite in DC, but Annabelle navigates through the city's colorful wedding industry and powerful social scene on the deadly trail of a killer. Always the bridal consultant and never the bride, she's seen her fair share of bouquet tosses. But there's no telling what surprises a ruthless killer will throw her way if she gets too close.

Bubba and the Dead Woman


C.L. Bevill - 2010
    His ex-fiancee is deader than a door nail and everyone thinks he dun did it. His house is haunted. His mother is running an illegal gambling ring. His dog likes to bite people too much. And he's got to find out who really did it before the sheriff throws him in jail...again.