A Royal Threesome


Rhys Bowen - 2014
    But when a Frenchman winds up dead in Georgie’s bathtub, it’s her job to clear her very long family name. A Royal PainWhile entertaining a Bavarian princess at the Queen’s behest, Georgie finds herself investigating the rather more worrisome matter of the dead body in the bookshop, as well as her royal guest’s unwitting involvement in the communist party. Royal FlushAfter being saved from scandal by her on-again-but-mostly-off-again beau, Darcy O’Mara, Georgie is shipped home, where Scotland Yard asks her to keep an eye on a shooting party and prevent someone from killing the Prince of Wales instead of quails.

Dead White


M.K. Coker - 2011
    Acting Sheriff Karen Mehaffey asks for a part-time detective to teach her the ropes and loses what she changed jobs to keep: peace in her family.Together, estranged detective and sheriff stand uneasily over the frozen body of Dale Hansen, operations manager at the local meat-packing plant. The intriguing words "White Out" are carved into one bare arm, the raw wrist chained to a barbed-wire fence. What does the message mean? Is it racial—as Dale wasn't popular with his Hispanic workers—or merely a weather report, done in understated Dakota style?Both Karen and Marek doubt their ability to give the victim justice. Karen is a former police dispatcher without a shred of investigative experience. Marek has enough experience for both of them, but he'd rather dust off his carpenter’s license to save the last takeout restaurant in town from hooligans. Besides, saving his half-Hispanic, motherless daughter from starvation is a higher priority for him than arguing with a hard-headed sheriff. They'll both be out in the cold, though, if they can't put aside their differences to find a killer.Neither cozy nor hardboiled, DEAD WHITE is a character-driven police procedural of a rural bent. Word Count: 115,000. Occasional profanity. Minimal gore.REVIEWDEAD WHITE's characters seemed to walk right out of a familiar Dakota town, bickering with every step. I couldn't stop reading! —Linda M. Hasselstrom, Author of No Place Like Home

Missing or Murdered


Robin Forsythe - 1929
    But the following morning he had seemingly vanished into thin air. Now Scotland Yard are struggling to find evidence of foul play in the absence of tangible clues. A national newspaper is offering a reward for information about the Minister’s disappearance - whether Bygrave be dead or alive. Anthony “Algernon” Vereker, Lord Bygrave’s friend and executor, joins Scotland Yard in their investigation of the mystery. So begins the first of five ingenious and effervescent detective novels featuring Vereker, an amiable and eccentric artist with a razor-sharp mind. Missing or Murdered (1929), is republished here for the first time in over 70 years. It includes a new introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.‘This is not only a detective story of considerable ingenuity, but it is also a well-written tale with good characterisation."Times Literary Supplement

Murder in the South of France


Susan Kiernan-Lewis - 2011
    Along the way, she finds handsome Laurent Dernier, a sexy if nefarious Frenchman who it's not clear is there to help or hinder Maggie's search for the girl. Meanwhile, her sister's murderer sets his sights on the little girl — and Maggie.The first book of the Maggie Newberry Mystery Series, Murder in the South of France was originally titled Murder on the Côte d’Azur.

The Fallen


T. Jefferson Parker - 2006
    The traumatic incident left Robbie with a fast-track career in the San Diego P.D.'s Homicide division . . . and a rare neurological condition that enables him to see people's emotional words as colored shapes—green trapezoids of envy, red squares of deception . . .Another good man lies dead in a blood-splattered Ford Explorer—an ex-cop-turned-ethics investigator whose private life was torn open by unthinkable tragedy. Whether Garrett Asplundh's death was suicide or murder isn't immediately apparent—but it's soon clear to Robbie and his smart, tough partner, McKenzie Cortez, that Garrett had hard evidence of sex, scandal, and corruption spreading deep into local government. But pursuing the truth could prove more emotionally devastating than Robbie ever imagined.

The Essential Jack Reacher: Persuader, The Enemy, One Shot, The Hard Way, Bad Luck and Trouble, Nothing to Lose, Gone Tomorrow, 61 Hours, Worth Dying For, The Affair (Jack Reacher, #7-16)


Lee Child - 2012
    Once an elite military cop, Reacher is now a man with no phone, no address, and no ties anywhere. He wanders the land and lives in the moment—a cool-headed righter of wrongs who can’t let the bad guys get away with anything. This addictive eBook bundle features ten Reacher adventures, which can be read in any order. But fair warning: Once you start, you won’t stop until you’ve finished them all.   PERSUADER THE ENEMY ONE SHOT THE HARD WAY BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE NOTHING TO LOSE GONE TOMORROW 61 HOURS WORTH DYING FOR THE AFFAIR   And don’t miss the preview of A Wanted Man!

The Crush


Sandra Brown - 2002
    Notorious hit man Ricky Lozada is on trial and Dr. Rennie Newton is on his jury. She soon delivers a verdict of not guilty - and gains a new admirer. But days after Lozada's release, one of Rennie's professional rivals is brutally murdered. Although Lozada's dark shadow looms over the case, Rennie becomes the prime suspect... while Lozada stalks her, growing more obsessed with having her. She forms an uneasy alliance with Wick Threadgill, a rogue detective with his own personal vendetta against Lozada. Wick has nothing to lose by confronting a killer who, like the prize scorpions he treasures, strikes so quickly Rennie may never see it coming.

And Then She Was Gone


Christopher Greyson - 2016
    Only a few more steps and she’d be within its grasp. Stacy Shaw has her whole life ahead of her. New job, new house and now a baby on the way—everything she’s ever hoped for is finally coming true. But on a warm summer night on the way home from work, she vanishes. The police race to find her, but the clues don’t add up. Conflicting facts emerge as her story twists and turns, sending the trail spiraling in all directions. A hometown hero with a heart of gold, Jack Stratton was raised in a whorehouse by his prostitute mother. Jack seemed destined to become another statistic, but now his life has taken a turn for the better. Determined to escape his past, he's headed for a career in law enforcement. When his foster mother asks him to look into the girl’s disappearance, Jack quickly gets drawn into a baffling mystery. As Jack digs deeper, everyone becomes a suspect—including himself. Caught between the criminals and the cops, can Jack discover the truth in time to save the girl? Or will he become the next victim?And Then She Was Gone is part of the Detective Jack Stratton Mystery Series

No Mercy


Lori G. Armstrong - 2009
    It's her responsibility to decide whether to sell the ranch or not, and she gets little help from her sister and nephew. After a dead body is discovered on her land, Mercy butts heads with the sheriff, Mason Dawson.When another body is discovered, Mercy starts her own investigation into the deaths. As she unearths buried secrets, her life--and the lives of family members--are put in jeopardy.

Maids of Misfortune


M. Louisa Locke - 2009
    Annie’s husband squandered her fortune before committing suicide five years earlier, and one of his creditors is now threatening to take the boardinghouse she owns to pay off a debt. Annie Fuller also has a secret. She supplements her income by giving domestic and business advice as Madam Sibyl, one of San Francisco’s most exclusive clairvoyants, and one of Madam Sibyl’s clients, Matthew Voss, has died. The police believe his death was suicide brought upon by bankruptcy, but Annie believes Voss has been murdered and that his assets have been stolen. Nate Dawson has a problem. As the Voss family lawyer, he would love to believe that Matthew Voss didn't leave his grieving family destitute. But that would mean working with Annie Fuller, a woman who alternatively attracts and infuriates him as she shatters every notion he ever had of proper ladylike behavior. Sparks fly as Anne and Nate pursue the truth about the murder of Matthew Voss in this light-hearted, cozy historical mystery set in the foggy gas-lit world of Victorian San Francisco. Maids of Misfortune is the first book in M. Louisa Locke’s historical mystery series, see also, Uneasy Spirits, and Bloody Lessons, as well as the two short stories based on the characters from the novels, Dandy Detects, and The Misses Moffet Mend a Marriage.

The Burglar


Thomas Perry - 2019
    But Elle is no petty thief--with just the right combination of smarts, looks, and skills, she can easily stroll through ritzy Bel Air neighborhoods and pick out the perfect home for plucking the most valuable items. This is how Elle has always gotten by--she is good at it, and she thrives on the thrill. But after stumbling upon a grisly triple homicide while stealing from the home of a wealthy art dealer, Elle discovers that she is no longer the only one sneaking around. Somebody is searching for her.As Elle realizes that her knowledge of the high-profile murder has made her a target, she races to solve the case before becoming the next casualty, using her breaking-and-entering skills to uncover the truth about exactly who the victims were and why someone might have wanted them dead. With high-stakes action and shocking revelations, The Burglar will keep readers on the edge of their seats as they barrel towards the heart-racing conclusion.

Last Man Standing / Saving Faith


David Baldacci - 2006
    As the FBI investigates, suspicion surrounding Web deepens. Now, he needs help from an unlikely ally in his desperate search for the killer of his friends, and finds himself up against a force intent on finishing the job that began in the alley.SAVING FAITHWhen a zealous CIA Chief begins personally spying on his clients to promote a secret agenda of his own devising, the beautiful Faith Lockhard, one of Washington's greatest influence-peddlers, tells the FBI all her suspicions. Now in mortal danger, she still hopes to see justice done. Yet who will rescue Faith?

A Borrowed Man


Gene Wolfe - 2015
    Technology has made significant advances, and there are more robots--and clones.One such is E.A. Smithe, a borrowed person, a clone who lives on a third-tier shelf in a public library. His personality is an uploaded recording of a deceased mystery writer. Smithe is library property, not a legal human. The father of Colette Coldbrook, a wealthy library patron, has disappeared and been proclaimed dead. She decides to check Smithe out of the library because he is the surviving personality of the author of Murder on Mars. A physical copy of that book was the sole item in her father's safe, and it contains an important secret, the key to immense family wealth. Her brother, Conrad, turned up dead in the family home shortly after giving the book to her. Colette has reached the end of her options. She's afraid of the police, and there are others who might want the book's secret. Smithe is her last hope. Borrowing him might help her find the connection between the deaths and Murder on Mars. Together they find something far beyond their expectations--something almost anyone would kill for.

Kate Burkholder Novellas: Long Lost / A Hidden Secret / Seeds of Deception


Linda Castillo - 2016
    Swept up in the girl's story, and a need for justice, Kate and John begin looking into the mysterious disappearance.A Hidden Secret When a baby—only hours old—is discovered on the Amish bishop's front porch in Painter's Mill, Ohio, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called in to investigate. The newborn is swaddled in an Amish crib quilt, and the only other item found with the child is a hand-carved wood rattle, which Kate also recognizes as Amish. With the rattle and quilt as the only clues, Kate must call upon her own Amish roots, and with the help of state agent John Tomasetti, search the Amish and "English" communities of Painters Mill for clues to unravel the poignant, puzzling mystery.Seeds of Deception Readers get a glimpse into Chief of Police Kate Burkholder's past and her Amish roots: Fourteen year old Katie Burkholder has been tasked with picking apples in Zimmerman’s Orchard with her best friend Mattie when a group of older “English” boys, known troublemakers, interrupt. Mattie, no stranger to trouble herself, disappears into the old barn with one of the boys, and moments after they both run out, the Zimmerman’s barn is consumed by fire. Katie suspects the boy had something to do with the blaze, but he denies it. When the facts don’t add up, Katie begins her own investigation—and she doesn’t like what she finds. Will her friendship with Mattie survive the truth?

No Rest for the Dead


Andrew Gulli - 2011
    Long suffering under Christopher's unfaithful ways, Rosemary is tried, convicted and executed. Ten years later, Jon Nunn, the detective who cracked the case, becomes convinced that the wrong person was put to death. Along with financier Tony Olsen, he plans to gather everyone who was there the night Christopher died and finally uncover the truth about what happened that fateful evening. Could it have been the ne'er do well brother Peter Hausen, interested in his sister's trust fund having got through his own; the curatorial assistant Justine Olengard, used and betrayed by Christopher; the artist Belle who turned down his advances only to see her career suffer a setback; or someone else all together? No Rest for the Dead is a thrilling, page-turning accomplishment that only the very best thriller writers could achieve.