Book picks similar to
The Columbo Collection by William Link
mystery
short-stories
columbo
crime
Drop-Dead Blonde
Nancy Martin - 2005
They're blondes with style, money, and men falling at their feet. But now these perfect women are perfect victims. In Drop-Dead Blonde, four of today's top mystery authors-Nancy Martin, Denise Swanson, Elaine Viets, and Victoria Laurie-spin four all-new tales of fair-haired sirens, secrets, and seduction.
The Enemy We Know
Donna White Glaser - 2011
When one of her clients slips free from an abusive boyfriend, Letty becomes the target of his violent rage. Wayne invades Letty's life, slithering his way past the barriers erected between her personal and professional lives, leaving gifts of dead rats, mutilated dolls, and freaky Shakespearian sonnets. Worst of all, Wayne uncovers Letty's deepest shame, infiltrating her AA group and threatening to expose her to the state licensing board. And then--good news--Wayne is murdered. The bad news? The police suspect Letty. Worse yet, the sonnets and bloody souvenirs keep coming. Someone else has been watching Letty. Someone eager to drop bodies at her feet like a cat offering dead mole trophies to his mistress. Someone willing to kill again.
The Invisible Assistant
John Gaspard - 2016
An easy, enjoyable read for mystery buffs seeking a bit of an escape from the usual crime fiction fare.” – Library Journal (on The Miser’s Dream) There’s No Question It Was Murder. But Who Killed Who? What begins as a typical corporate event for magician Eli Marks turns into a twisted mystery when he is called to the site of a recent murder/suicide. Confronted by the details of the grisly crime scene, Eli must sort through the post-mortem clues—and the bickering of the officials as well as a poorly-timed allergy attack—to determine just who murdered who. Drawing on his knowledge of magic and misdirection, Eli realizes that only one entity could have pulled off a crime of this cunning magnitude: An Invisible Assistant. Related subjects include: cozy mysteries, murder mystery series, amateur sleuths, humorous murder mysteries, whodunnit mysteries (whodunit), short stories. Books in the Eli Marks Mystery Series: • THE AMBITIOUS CARD (#1) • THE BULLET CATCH (#2) • THE MISER’S DREAM (#3) Part of the Henery Press Mystery Series Collection, if you like one, you'll probably like them all… Author Bio: In real life, John’s not a magician, but he has directed six low-budget features that cost very little and made even less – that’s no small trick. He’s also written multiple books on the subject of low-budget filmmaking. Ironically, they’ve made more than the films. His blog, “Fast, Cheap Movie Thoughts” has been named “One of the 50 Best Blogs for Moviemakers” and “One of The 100 Best Blogs For Film and Theater Students.” He’s also written for TV and the stage. John lives in Minnesota and shares his home with his lovely wife, several dogs, a few cats and a handful of pet allergies.
Murder in a Good Neighborhood
K.K. Chalmers - 2011
So when Roxanne finds the body of a beautiful young woman the week before Halloween, she is more than happy to leave the detecting to her son Marc, an Eastport, Virginia homicide detective...until a retired astronaut who also happens to be an old flame is arrested and the abbess from a nearby monastery insists Roxanne must help clear his name. Only neither woman realizes that by unmasking a killer, Roxanne is placing someone she loves in mortal danger.MURDER IN A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD was the 2009 winner of the Best Unpublished Novel Contest sponsored by James River Writers and Richmond Magazine. (63,800 words)The author is currently writing a sequel.
Sign Off
Patricia McLinn - 2012
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
The Deep End
Julie Mulhern - 2015
It’s 1974 and Ellison Russell’s life revolves around her daughter and her art. She’s long since stopped caring about her cheating husband, Henry, and the women with whom he entertains himself. That is, until she becomes a suspect in Madeline Harper’s death. The murder forces Ellison to confront her husband’s proclivities and his crimes—kinky sex, petty cruelties and blackmail. As the body count approaches par on the seventh hole, Ellison knows she has to catch a killer. But with an interfering mother, an adoring father, a teenage daughter, and a cadre of well-meaning friends demanding her attention, can Ellison find the killer before he finds her?
On the Knife's Edge - Four Novels to Keep You on the Edge of Your Seat: Under Dark Skies, Bluff City Butcher, Protective, Who By Water
Steve Bradshaw - 2018
Not only wasn’t he dead, he was hiding a decades old secret… PROTECTIVE Honey has been trying hard to avoid an abusive ex, so when she meets Morgan she doesn’t quite know what to make of him. And she shouldn’t—Morgan may want her, but there’s more to him than meets the eye. WHO BY WATER Jo Wiley thought she had her life figured out and had made peace with her past when she moved around the world to Slovenia. Only there are more ghosts in Slovenia than in the life she left behind… VENGEANCE Sin wants justice for what the Kurev family did to her parents. Lee wants revenge. FBI agent Owen wants to arrest them both for the crimes they’ve committed. But Sin and Lee hope hey are too good to be caught… Buckle up and hang on tight to over 1400 pages of nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat thrill rides.
Gotham: Dawn of Darkness
Jason Starr - 2017
The death of a masked intruder. Amid the seething crime and corruption of Gotham City, Thomas Wayne fights to protect his family and his company from forces unknown. While detective Harvey Bullock investigates the incident as a simple burglary, Wayne discovers that the threat may come from his own dark past. Peeling back layer upon layer of secrets, this is the official prequel to the hit television series.
The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra
Vaseem Khan - 2015
And the second is a baby elephant. As his search for clues takes him across the teeming city of Mumbai, from its grand high rises to its sprawling slums and deep into its murky underworld, Chopra begins to suspect that there may be a great deal more to both his last case and his new ward than he thought. And he soon learns that when the going gets tough, a determined elephant may be exactly what an honest man needs...
A Treasury of Sayers Stories
Dorothy L. Sayers - 1958
Sayers----------------------------------------------LORD PETER WIMSEY STORIES:1. The Image in the Mirror 2. The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey 3. The Queen's Square 4. The Necklace of Pearls MONTAGUE EGG STORIES:1. The Poisoned Dow '082. Sleuths on the Scent3. Murder in the Morning4. One Too Many 5. Murder at Pentecost 6. Maher-shalal-hashbaz OTHER STORIES:1. The Man Who Knew How 2. The Fountain Plays MORE LORD PETER STORIES:1. The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers 2. The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question 3. The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager's Will 4. The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag 5. The Unprincipled Affair of the Practical Joker 6. The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention 7. The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps that Ran 8. The Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste 9. The Learned Adventure of the Dragon's Head 10. The Piscatorial Farce of the Stolen Stomach 11. The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face 12. The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba
Armed and Outrageous
Madison Johns - 2012
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...
Charlie's Bones
L.L. Thrasher - 1991
What she got was a skeleton, suspicious cops ... and Charlie. Ex-truckstop waitress/new heiress Lizbet Lange inherited a mansion from her ex-husband, who neglected to put in an outdoor, Olympic-size pool in the back "grounds" before he died. So, thinking it would be just the thing to cheer her up, seeing as how she's young and alone, she sets up a "dig" with the local pool company, who promptly unearth a human skeleton. And if that isn't bad enough, what with the cops and FBI and all, tromping around in her back yard, thirty minutes later the skeleton's owner, also shows up, albeit in ghost form, and asks Lizbet to help him find out who murdered him back in 1969!
The Moores Are Missing
James Patterson - 2017
Estleman: The Moore family just vanished from their home without telling a soul. A last-minute vacation? A kidnapping? A run for their lives? You'll never see the truth coming.The Housewife with Sam Hawken: Maggie Denning is a former chief detective adjusting to a quiet life in the suburbs with her family. But when the woman next door is found brutally murdered, Maggie starts investigating - everyone's a suspect. Even her own husband.Absolute Zero with Ed Chatterton: They slaughtered his friends and framed him for murder. Now, Special Forces vet Cody Thurston is a fugitive who will stop at nothing to complete one last mission: revenge.
The Murder at Sissingham Hall
Clara Benson - 2013
But in the dead of night Sir Neville is murdered. Who did it? As suspicion falls on each of the house guests in turn, Knox finds himself faced with deception and betrayal on all sides, and only the enigmatic Angela Marchmont seems to offer a solution to the mystery. This 1920s whodunit will delight all fans of traditional country house murder stories.
Bellweather Rhapsody
Kate Racculia - 2014
Now hundreds of high school musicians have gathered at the Bellweather for the annual Statewide festival; Minnie has returned to face her demons; and a blizzard is threatening to trap them all inside. When a young prodigy disappears from infamous room 712, the search for her entwines an eccentric cast of conductors and caretakers, teenagers on the verge and adults haunted by memories. This is a genre-bending page-turner, full of playful nods to pop-culture classics from The Shining to Agatha Christie to Glee.