Ten Seconds to Dead


L.A. Clayton - 2020
    She molds herself into becoming exactly what the CIA is looking for---and captures their interest, both personally and professionally. But before she can finish the CIA process, Kate is offered a position as an espionage agent in another highly secretive government agency, which she accepts.While completing her agency training, Kate is catapulted into a shadowy world where wealth and power are the ultimate goal, and those in charge will stop at nothing to get it. While on the job, Kate uncovers secrets that, if revealed, would cost her life, but if kept, could bring down a nation. Isolated and unsure of who to trust, she brings in a fellow agent, but pulling him into the web of conspiracy and lies puts a target on both their backs - and it will take every skill they’ve ever learned as agents to stay alive long enough to stop the enemy no one else can see.

Chloe - Lost Girl (Carl Sant Murder Mysteries, #1)


Dan Laughey - 2019
    A gunned-down detective. A woman in fear for her life. All three are connected somehow.Detective Inspector Carl Sant and his fellow officers get on the case. But what links the disappearance of a university student, the death of an off-duty police sergeant, and a professor reluctant to help them solve the case?Their only clue is a sequence of numbers, etched by the police sergeant Dryden on a misty window moments before he breathed his last. Soon it becomes clear that Dryden's clue has brought the past and present into a head-on collision with the very heart of Sant’s profession.Racing against time, D.I. Sant must find out what's behind the mysterious events - before the bodies start piling up.

Before the Killing


Marjory Kaptanoglu - 2021
    The next day, her boyfriend, Julian, is implicated in a brutal killing.Seven years later, a freak occurrence gives Cassie the ability to travel through time without altering it. Revisiting Julian in the past has her falling in love all over again. Convinced of his innocence, she goes back to witness the murder and the events leading up to it. Afterward, she struggles to find a way to prove what really happened, while the killer stalks her past and present lives, determined to silence her.

Tubbypalooza: Nine Hard-Boiled Tubby Dubonnet Mysteries


Tony Dunbar - 2018
    Passing a good time, of course, includes running from the mob, solving gritty crime lab murder mysteries, thwarting hurricane season bank heists, and a good deal of rubbing elbows with corrupt politicians—all this while answering to a family of beloved women that he just can’t seem to slip anything past… And with each action-packed adventure, you can trust—because this is a Tubby Dubonnet mystery—that these disparate events are intricately intertwined.A veritable best-of, this murder mystery anthology includes nine of Tubby Dubonnet’s Anthony and Edgar-nominated hard-boiled legal thrillers. (Editor’s Note: Why not all ten? Sorry to say the rights to TUBBY MEETS KATRINA are licensed to another publisher. But these stories need not be read in order.)CROOKED MANMeet lawyer Tubby Dubonnet. His clients are all renegades from the asylum (aka Orleans Parish), including Darryl Alvarez, the manager of a local nightclub who's been caught unloading marijuana from a shrimp boat. At their first meeting, Darryl entrusts Tubby with an ordinary-looking blue gym... of money. What could possibly go wrong?CITY OF BEADSTubby Dubonnet is bored. Sure, researching licensing law for the new casino will keep trout meunière on the table, but what could be more tedious? (Unless, of course, the client’s dealings are steeped in conspiracy).TRICK QUESTIONMedical lab janitor Cletus Busters is caught red-handed in a restricted area with the frozen head of Dr. Whitney Valentine. Busters won't say much, except that he's innocent. Calling Tubby Dubonnet!SHELTER FROM THE STORMTo out-of-town kingpin Willie LaRue, Mardi Gras seems the perfect time for a New Orleans heist. Parties, parades, chaos, alcohol – who could be concerned about a little thing like a bank job? Indeed, all might have gone well except for an out-of-season frog-flogger that threatens to flood the French Quarter. CRIME CZARTubby can't forget the last words that escaped an old friend's lips, and he can't get out of the way of a political campaign that's turning rough. Obsessed with the idea that a shadowy crime boss may be pulling the strings that have cost good people their lives, Tubby is entering into a test of courage with the most violent men in New Orleans.LUCKY MANIt's a city of sin. And murder is only one of them. So what if Judge Hughes shared a few special moments with Sultana Patel—why is this a matter of public interest? Until the D.A. hatches a plot to ensnare them—and their lawyer Tubby. And what a web they’re ensnared in!NIGHT WATCHMANWhen in the 1970s a young war protester is killed in broad daylight on Canal Street, it appears that his murder will be forgotten. But a youthful Tubby chanced to see it happen, and the tragic event's haunted him throughout his life. Decades later, Tubby decides to conduct his own investigation. And stirs up a hornets’ nest.FAT MAN BLUESEx-con Angelo Spooner is trying to start a legit business, but he just can’t catch a break. Just as his healing Holy Water, “Angelo’s Elixir” is about to go upscale, the sticky strands of the Big Sleazy’s tangled web of crime and corruption come running.FLAG BOYThe set-up alone's enough to make you believe in the butterfly effect. Two acrobats burglarize a house; a sultan moves into a French Quarter mansion; a Mardi Gras Indian, in the wrong place at the wrong time, is wrongfully arrested; and our hero Tubby Dubonnet comes upon a double murder while paying a social call on the bayou.

From Garden To Grave


Rickie Blair - 2017
    It’s a perennial problem. Verity Hawkes is a shut-in. After two years bunkered in her apartment, the only thing that gets her out is the disappearance of her beloved but eccentric aunt. As she takes over her aunt’s landscaping shop, she’ll need to go from hoarder to horticulturist in a hurry…Her new home of Leafy Hollow is quaint, except for her most obnoxious client. When a series of freak accidents kills the customer, all signs point to Verity as the killer. The hunt for answers is on, and Verity must question a tipsy carpenter, a bacon-peddling vegan baker, and her dreamy landscaping competitor to keep her new life afloat. Failure to find the truth could put her back in a confined space for much more than two years…If you like lovably quirky characters, deceptively idyllic Canadian villages, and twists you won’t see coming, then you’ll love Rickie Blair’s Leafy Hollow Mysteries series.

Murder In Half Moon Bay


Nancy Jill Thames - 2010
    But a startling discovery draws Jillian and her garden club friends into solving a mystery that threatens her life and changes her future.The unlikely team helps the chief uncover a series of mysterious events that lead to solving several murders, both past and present. Could it be the mean spirited conference director? Perhaps it's the wealthy widow on the make for her next husband; or maybe the killer is the haughty business woman who shows no regard for her brow beaten husband.“Murder in Half Moon Bay,” Book 1 in The Jillian Bradley Mystery Series, introduces Jillian's little companion Teddy, a Yorkie who falls prey to danger but rises to become a sleuth dog in the next book.

A Fresh Beginning & Murder


Miranda Brickett - 2020
    Except then she discovers a body. Before she knows it, she's the prime suspect in a mysterious murder. She's desperate to restore the old fixer upper - and her reputation. All she has to do is try to get along with her notoriously grouchy handyman... and solve a murder. Easy, right?A fun, casual read with a thirty-something amateur sleuth. Set in a charming rural town on the Canadian prairies, this series has quirky characters, no profanity, and plenty of cats. Each book is a full-length, standalone novel.

Back to Lazarus


Judy K. Walker - 2014
    He beat and choked her to death. I'm told that he was found hanging from a homemade noose in his cell. I want to know why he waited so long to do it." Sydney Brennan isn't sure how to answer her client's question, short of holding a séance, and the Tallahassee detective has some questions of her own. Why does Noel Thomas remember so little about her childhood? Why is she delving into her father's suicide now? And, most importantly, why isn't Noel telling her the truth?Sydney crisscrosses the Florida Panhandle, reconstructing the tragic Thomas family history. The violence that destroyed the Thomas family connects to a present-day web of deceit and corruption through a desperate man willing to do anything to keep his secrets safe. To discover his identity, Sydney must go Back to Lazarus, back to the town where Noel's beautiful but troubled mother began her inevitable descent over twenty years ago. But by following in the footsteps of the murdered woman, does Sydney risk sharing her fate?Rooted in bars and back roads and Panhandle prisons, forgotten towns and forgotten people, at its heart Back to Lazarus is about stories: the stories people tell us, the stories we tell ourselves, and what happens when we realize it's all a lie.

Invisible


Lorena McCourtney - 2004
    So when vandals romp through the local cemetery, she takes advantage of her newfound anonymity and its unforeseen advantages as she launches her own unofficial investigation.Despite her oddball humor and unconventional snooping, Ivy soon becomes discouraged by her failure to turn up any solid clues. And after Ivy witnesses something ominous and unexplained, she can't resist putting her investigative powers to work again. Even the authorities' attempts to keep Ivy out of danger and her nosy neighbor's match-making schemes can't slow her down. But will the determination that fuels this persistent, quirky sleuth threaten her very safety?

Small Town Shock


Issy Brooke - 2015
     Except for Penny May. She’s tired of the stress of her job in London, and it’s time for an early retirement. In an effort to reclaim the exuberance of youth that she once had, she gets a funky hair style, a classic motorcycle - and a dog with “issues”. Dog ownership is harder than she expected, but she won’t give up. To avoid postmen, people in hats, people with bags and all the other dogs in the world, she has to walk in lonely places at lonely times … it’s almost inevitable that she stumbles across a dead body, really. It might not be the most conventional way of settling into a new community, but the locals open up to her, and soon she’s involved in the investigation. But her need for justice brings her into conflict with Drew, the local blacksmith who’s been helping her with dog training, and Cath Pritchard, the detective constable. Is her need for friendship stronger than her need to find the killer? And will she ever be able to walk her dog in daylight? This is a clean read suitable for all; it’s a standalone novel with no cliffhanger, and the mystery is fair-play and solved. “Some Very English Murders” can be enjoyed in any order but you may prefer to follow them chronologically.

The Wrong Abraham (Boston Law #3)


David S. Brody - 2006
    Then she receives a baffling letter from her rich Uncle Abraham, a Holocaust survivor: Only she, he mysteriously proclaims, can prevent a major terrorist attack on Boston. Working with Homeland Security, Shelby and her fiancé, Bruce Arrujo, race through the streets of Boston, first attempting to stop a Hiroshima-sized Liquified Natural Gas tanker explosion in Boston Harbor, then fighting to prevent a deadly release of anthrax powder at Fenway Park. Yet the terrorists always seem to be one step ahead of them. Through it all, a question haunts Shelby: Why does Uncle Abraham always seem to be one step ahead of the terrorists?

To Catch a Bad Guy


Marie Astor - 2012
    When she lands a job at one of New York’s premier boutique investment firms, Janet begins to hope that her luck is finally turning for the better. Not only is she happy with her new paycheck, but things also seem to be looking up on the personal front, as the company’s handsome attorney expresses keen interest in Janet. However, her euphoria is short-lived, as Janet soon discovers alarming facts about her new employer’s business tactics. When her boss dismisses her suspicions as groundless, Janet finds herself confiding to a cute IT engineer, Dean Snider. The closer she gets to Dean, the more Janet is tempted to break her rule of not dating co-workers, but what she doesn’t realize is that everything she knows about Dean, including his occupation and even his name, is a lie.Dennis Walker is a top-notch white collar crime investigator who will stop at nothing to put culprits away. When an opportunity for an undercover assignment at one of New York’s premier boutique broker dealers comes up, Dennis jumps at the chance, adopting a persona of geeky IT engineer, Dean Snider. While he may be an ace at his job, years of experience fail him when Dennis meets Janet Maple and finds himself torn between his professional obligations and his personal desires. Will he have to choose between his feelings and duty, or will he find a way to satisfy both?

One O'Clock Hustle


Joanne Pence - 2014
    This is their first full-length story. When San Francisco Homicide Inspector Rebecca Mayfield arrives at the scene of a deadly shooting, she's shocked to find that the witnesses have caught the killer, and that he's someone she knows. Rebecca's a by-the-book detective, and she's always done her job according to the rules, without hesitation ... until Richie Amalfi comes back into her life. Richie knows his way around everything and everyone in his city. When people say they "know a guy who knows a guy," Richie's the guy they're talking about. He can usually help people out of tight situations, but suddenly finds he can't get himself out of hot water when he's accused of murder. Richie's on the run, and he runs straight to Rebecca to help him prove his innocence. From the nightclubs of North Beach to the scenic heights of Twin Peaks, dangers lurk and more deaths happen. As Rebecca discovers there's a lot more to Richie than she thought, and a lot more to like than she imagined, she soon fears not only for her life, but also her heart.

The Fat Detective (The Eugene Blake Trilogy Book 1)


Christian Hayes - 2018
    No Previous Experience. Eugene Blake’s quit his job to become an old-fashioned private eye. He’s got everything he needs: a 1940s raincoat, a detective’s notebook and a little clicky pen. When he meets the mysterious Melissa White she takes his breath away. Tasked with finding her missing husband, Eugene is drawn into the shadowy underworld of London and has to solve the dangerous puzzle of his very first case. Once he’s been chased, punched and shot at, he wonders whether he should have stuck to his day job. If you like your novels hardboiled you will love this funny, thrilling and very British twist on the private detective genre. The Fat Detective is the first book in the Eugene Blake trilogy by London novelist Christian Hayes. Read The Fat Detective now to discover how to solve a case when you’re completely unqualified…

Cranberry Bluff


Deborah Garner - 2014
    Accused and cleared of the crime, she flees both media attention and mysterious, threatening notes, to move across the country to Cranberry Cove, where she has inherited her Aunt Maggie's bed and breakfast on the Northern California coast. Her new beginning is peaceful - that is, until five guests show up at the inn for a weekend, each with a hidden agenda. Mix together one blushing honeymoon couple, one flamboyant boutique owner, a deadpan traveling salesman, and a charmingly handsome novelist, and there’s more than scones cooking at Cranberry Cottage Bed and Breakfast. As true motives become apparent, will Molly's past come back to haunt her or will she finally be able to leave it behind?