However, he is shocked to find a young boy chained in the basement. The terrified child refuses to speak, but Seth knows he is the key to something sinister.Reluctantly, Seth calls the only social worker he trusts with the traumatized boy—his wife. Carly is recovering from her own trauma suffered on the job, but she can’t turn away from this case, not from another child in trouble. With torrential rain bearing down, threatening to isolate their little town in a killer flood, Seth and Carly know the best way to keep the boy safe from danger is to take him back to their farm.But danger is as relentless as the storm. And it’s following them all the way home.

    Two super cute animals. And a multitude of suspects. But, no-one hears me. Hey there. Pleased to meet you. I’m Albertus Eagle. I’m now known as the Detective Beagle. I see things. And I hear more. But what’s best is that no-one suspects me of being the guy who feeds back what the humans can’t unearth.It all started with one case.The one where my owner, Milly was bumped off. It landed me, and the cat, otherwise known as Cleo to her friends, not that she has many, in a shelter for unwanted animals.But, I didn’t let that stop me. Here’s my story. Sleeping dogs don’t lie is the prequel to the Cozy Mystery series of novels starring Albertus Eagle, his two sidekicks, Cleo the cat and Bella Schuhmann, the smart human who actually understands him. In this wonderful short which is packed with humour and satire, we see the world of murder and intrigue set up through the eyes of a loyal dog turned amateur sleuth.

    Baby books in the nursery, entertaining books in the dining room and romance reads in the ladies boudoir. It looked like it would work out great right up until the moment that the leader of a local religious cult turned up dead in the driveway. Soon his wife is dead as well.Through no fault of her own, Ivy feels she has to meddle...uh help, investigate. It's not at all because the lead investigator is her high school crush. It's because her livelihood is at stake. After all, who wants to shop at a bookstore where people keep dying? This is a novella, the perfect length to read in an afternoon in your favorite cozy chair.

    She travels to a bustling, medieval village off the coast of France and discovers an enchanting world of magic and mystery, and learns that she, too, possesses powers.Unable to so much as cast a spell, Imogen struggles to keep up with the other witches and wizards who have come from all over the magical world to the Water Kingdom's big competition. She juggles relationships with a sweet new friend, a snarky baking fire, and a brooding, handsome baker. As Imogen falls for this bewitching world, she fears she won’t master her magic in time to win the job of Royal Head Baker, and will be forced to return to the shambles of her non magical life.It only gets worse, when a competitor drops dead in the middle of the big white baking tent, and Imogen’s the prime suspect. Now, she’ll not only have to survive the vampire and psychic judges, but also clear her name by finding the real murderer, before they strike again.With a killer on the loose, a missing prince, and the Summer Solstice Festival fast approaching, Imogen will have to bake like her life depends on it- because it just might.

    Smart-mouthed New Yorker Viola Parker might be one of the best show-jumper riders around, but her attitude just landed her out of work. Again. She can barely keep her horse in hay let alone support her whipped-cream-in-a-can addiction. Now, all that’s between her and a surprise trust fund is keeping a job for one full year by the time she’s 30. And a glowing letter of recommendation.But it’s hard to keep a civil tongue when within minutes of arriving at her new post at a Missouri horse farm, Vi runs headlong into a bull, has to catch a runaway, and her horse kicks her kilt-clad boss, Robert Malcolm.If Malcolm doesn’t make the farm a success within the year, his father will sell it to developers. The moment Vi and her long legs and keen gaze step into his bull’s path, he knows he’s in trouble. But someone else has their eye on the land, too, and they will do anything to kill his success.It’s supposed to be a relaxing—boring!—year of riding “on the buckle.” Between the dead horse visiting Vi’s dreams and the dead bodies piling up, the question isn’t whether she can keep her mouth shut long enough to earn a reference, but whether she’ll live long enough to get it. Bonus! Includes an excerpt of The Good Horse, The Bad Man & The Ugly Woman, a Witting Woman novella, coming soon from Candace Carrabus.

    But with a natural nose for crime, Allie soon suspects murder—leaving her dejected canine client as possibly the sole witness to the crime. With the scent fresh, Allie is quickly on the case – but a second murder curtails her investigation. Before taking another step, Allie needs to count her enemies: several suspicious dog owners, a boyfriend with a temper (and a demand for vengeance!), and a mysterious door-to-door salesman with a curious tale to tell… Bizarre salesman, vicious boyfriend and suspect dog owners – one thing is for sure – Allie’s life may never be safe until one of these characters lands in the pen…

     TV journalist Elizabeth “E. M.” Danniher will tell you she committed two sins — she didn’t stay young, and she made an enemy of a powerful news executive — her ex. She used to break national news. Now her top story as the “Helping Out!” reporter at dinky KWMT-TV in Sherman,Wyoming is getting a refund for a defective toaster. Tough, funny and determined, Elizabeth wrestles with isolation, keeping a professional edge, and an evolving self-image. Is Wyoming — the land of cattle, cowboys, tumbleweeds, and fewer than six people per square mile — her new home or a road to permanent obscurity? Soon she’s in a battle of wills with ex-football player turned journalist Mike Paycik, who sees her as a handy rung on his career ladder. And there’s the matter of a deputy sheriff—missing or murdered? Elizabeth finds herself investigating at the insistence of a girl who’s set on proving her father’s innocence. Not that enigmatic rancher Thomas David Burrell makes investigating easy. But Elizabeth won’t fade to black without a fight, no matter how final some might want to make her SIGN OFF. Don’t miss any of the Caught Dead in Wyoming series by USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn:Sign OffLeft HangingShoot FirstLast DitchLook LiveBack StoryCold OpenHot Roll

    Recently widowed and new to to town, she also must find her place among a village of strangers. That effort is how she discovers her first dead body. It also launches her into her first murder investigation. But her effort to track a killer gets muddled as ghost and cat compete for her attention. Then there’s her daughter, Megan. How is Hetty to track a killer without tipping her off? Finally, mix in a clever killer, and Hetty finds herself truly challenged in this lighthearted, mystery novella

    Until all spell broke loose! Cool party? Check. Boy of my dreams? Check. First kiss? Not so fast.Because that’s when I discovered I was a witch. And not a very good one.Just ask Peter, the ghost I can now see haunting my bedroom, or the zombies I accidentally raised from their graves.And then there’s Fletch.GorgeousBroodyWerewolf!And he wants me to lift his curse.Am I ready for this? No.Do I hesitate? No.Does it go well? Big fat No!And now, instead of being at the party, I’m dancing naked on the town common with a coven of witches and my new familiar, in a race against time to put things right.Sounds crazy. Is crazy. But I kinda heart crazy… Author note: 2018 Edition. Previously released as Halloween Magic & Mayhem by Stella Wilkinson.

    Also check out the Agnes Barton Paranormal series, same characters, different spin. Hilarious Senior sleuths — Grandma Mazur meets Murder She Wrote — cozy mystery. Agnes Barton is not your typical senior citizen living in Tadium, MI, on the shores of Lake Huron. She drives a red hot Mustang, shops at Victoria's Secret, rankles local police officials, and has a knack for sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. What does a murder that happened forty-three years ago have to do with missing tourist Jennifer Martin? Agnes makes it her personal mission to find out, and she's not letting the fact she's seventy-two get in the way. Butting heads with Sheriff Clem Peterson is something she's accustomed to, but lately Clem seems to be acting even more strange, making Agnes wonder what he may be hiding ala the Martin disappearance. Agnes’ partner in crime, Eleanor Mason tags along, Watson to her Holmes. Together, they unearth clues. If only Eleanor would behave, as although lovable, she has a knack for getting into trouble by tangling with her rival, Dorothy Alton, or flirting with anyone—male or female—and gossiping! She's incorrigible, but she does carry a Pink Lady revolver in her purse, one that has proved useful at times. Life for Agnes and Eleanor is shaken up when Agnes' former boss and secret crush comes to Tadium. Before long, the lady sleuths have more on their hands to contend with as goons roll into town and bullets begin to fly. Adult content. Also by Madison Johns Agnes Barton Senior Sleuths Mystery Series in order: Armed and Outrageous (Book one) Grannies, Guns and Ghosts (Book two) Senior Snoops (Book three) Trouble in Tawas (Book four) Treasure in Tawas (Book five) Agnes Barton/Kimberly Steele Cozy Mystery Series Pretty, Hip & Dead (Book one) A Cajun Cooking Mystery series Target of Death (Book one) Romance Pretty and Pregnant (Kimberly Steele novella) Redneck Romance (Kelly Gray, standalone) http://madisonjohns.com Join Madison newsletter list. https://www.facebook.com/MadisonJohns...

    Everything is going smoothly until the end of the night when she finds a dead man on the floor of her carriage.Who could have done this? Was it his friends, drunk and rowdy as Mae drove them back to their hotel? Or could it have been the sorority girl who seemed to be expecting the man at one of the carriage stops?With the help of her friend, Ross, the stable owner and retired lawman from Texas, and her big grey horse called Steel, Mae is determined to find out who is responsible for the death, but she soon learns that some people are equally determined to make sure she never does.

    First, she had to cover a story on a barricaded gunman who likes to dance naked in his window. Second, she's receiving death threats with her morning newspaper. Lastly, and most importantly, her mom keeps vetoing her outfit choices.It's all in a day's work for this hardworking, if easily distracted, reporter.Avery Shaw is hot on the trail of the story, even if it means tangling with her hot ex-boyfriend -- the county sheriff -- and the equally hot, if slightly shadier pawnshop owner down the street.Getting the story is going to be totally worth it -- that is if Avery can survive the week.

    firm where she's worked for years, Dix Dodd has hung out her own shingle at the ripe age of 40. There are plenty of cheating husbands to go around, and Dix has a knack for busting them. Problem is, it doesn't always pay so well. Conscious that the guys back at the old firm are laying bets about how soon she'll come crawling back, she figures she's got six months to make a go of it.The going gets even tougher when she hires Dylan Foreman. But when he told her about getting fired from his law firm and disbarred for putting common decency before the firm's interests, she hired him on the spot. In addition to being smart, he's gorgeous enough to remind her she's a woman. And at 28, young enough to make her feel like a total cougar.Things start looking up when Dix gets hired by millionaire businessman Ned Weatherby's wife Jennifer Weatherby, to tail Ned 24/7 for a week, for a cool ten grand. Easy-peasy, right? Wrong! The job lands Dix in the middle of a murder investigation - with her as the prime suspect and her arch-enemy Detective Richard Head (a.k.a., Dickhead, one of the cheating husbands she'd nailed) gunning for her.Dix will need all her ingenuity, as well as the help of Dylan and her oddball cast of supporters to extricate herself from this one.

    So, why's she so bored?When a referee drops dead during her son's soccer game, and a short man claiming to be an angel asks her to help investigate--suddenly, her life's not so boring anymore.The angel (is he really an angel?) tells her to go undercover as a soccer referee, which, of course, is ridiculous. She hasn't run anywhere since high school.But Sandra will find out she is still capable of far more than she thought--with a little help from above.

     While trying to support her grieving Goth office manager, Ellen ponders the mysterious flashes of light she saw in another part of Santa Fe, wondering if they are related to Captain Dusenberry, the tearoom's resident ghost. She asks for help from the local spirit-tour guide, Willow Lane, who takes curiosity about the captain's unsolved murder to a new level, where Ellen finds herself exploring the very meaning of spirit. Will a séance in the tearoom finally provide the answers to her questions? (This is a novella, a short companion story to the Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries series. It is recommended that you read A Masquerade of Muertos before reading this story.)