The scrappy lead columnist for the Chicago Journal normally writes about politics, and, rather than shying away from fights, she tends to pick them, but every once in a while, Deuce’s search for a good story brings her face to face with more trouble than she was really looking for. In Award-winning journalist Jean Heller’s first action-packed mystery featuring the intrepid sleuth, Deuce learns in short order that if you mess with organized crime, you have to be tough—and you’d better be as much detective as reporter. The second volume finds Deuce on the wrong side of the NSA, the FBI and the CIA. At a minimum. Exhausted by these two white-knuckle investigations in one year, Deuce is content to focus on her column until she gains information that could help catch the relentless arsonist whose Burning Rage is consuming Chicago. The Ill Wind sweeping Chicago threatens to blow in a bloody mob war. Fans of hard-boiled female protagonists should hang onto their fedoras—this one’s an action-packed extravaganza!THE SOMEDAY FILEDeuce uncovers a series of crimes committed over nearly six decades, and, as her human interest story morphs into a hard-boiled, action-packed mystery, she finds herself dead center in a storm of threats and reprisals from the mob. Fortunately, she has many allies, but at least one of them, she suspects, is hiding a secret–- corruption? Murder? The veteran reporter knows: if you’re talking Chicago crime scene—it’s probably both.THE HUNTING GROUNDThe grisly discovery of a human bone while Deuce is out for a hike with handsome arson investigator Mark Hearst leads to the unearthing of a vast burial field, a human trafficking ring, and international intrigue. The pull-no-punches columnist—and meticulous detective—keeps turning up information, but the Journal’s lawyer appears daily, bringing warnings about “national security.” What, Deuce seethes, could be a greater matter of national security than the safety of the city’s children, who are being kidnapped and murdered?BURNING RAGEWhole blocks of Chicago real estate are falling to an arsonist, but no one knows why and everyone suspects the worst—terrorism. But no terrorist group has claimed the mayhem. From the moment she hears the earliest details of the first fire, her detective-instincts say the pieces don’t fit, and every other instinct tells the hard-hitting reporter she can’t walk away from the story—even though she knows she’ll regret it.ILL WINDIn the cold blustery dawn, reporter Deuce Mora stands looking up at a body swinging from the window of a downtown Chicago federal building. The dead man was her friend, and she knows to a certainty that this is not, as the police claim, a suicide. But the death scene was triple-locked–—from the inside.Deuce suspects his death is tied to his investigation of organized crime, a viewpoint that is strengthened by the arrival in Chiago of a Washington reporter who's been following the story. They work the story together as it erupts into a bloody mob war in the streets.WHO WILL LIKE IT: Fans of Chicago private investigators VI Warshawski and Libby Fischer Hellman’s Georgia Davis, get-the-story-or-die reporters like Hank Philippi Ryan’s Jane Ryland and Kelly Lange’s Maxi Poole, hard-boiled female protagonists like Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone and Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan; and anyone who admires tough-minded women sleuths who’re good in a fight.

     At least for theater owner Jessica James and her crew in the small town of Peculiar. Things get shaky when they’re thrown into the crazy world of murder investigation. This new cozy mystery series is a step back in time for those that love old fashioned ghosts who like to stir up mayhem, amateur sleuths, and a few animals keep things lively and interesting. Jessica needs to pull off the biggest production of her life to save her small community theater. Murder in the theater threatens to bring her efforts to a screeching halt as she scrambles to figure out who the killer is and who can fill the lead role before opening night. If she can’t pull this off and the show is a flop, she will lose everything she’s been working so hard to hold onto. The resident ghost, Farley, keeps things stirred up with his antics and sarcastic remarks about everything, which leads to more trouble. Every time she turns around, the new deputy overhears her talking to thin air. How can she convince him that ghosts are real and she’s not some crazy lady who talks to herself?

    But when a murder in Cozy Hollow points to the café as a likely cause, Scarlett must put all fears aside to solve the mystery before everything she’s fought to keep is lost—or worse!Cozy Hollow might never be the same again.The Cozy Café mysteries are light, cozy mysteries featuring a family-focused café owner who discovers she’s a talented amateur sleuth—and a magnet for animals.Other books in the series:Book 1 Sweet SaboteurBook 2 Candy CorruptionEnjoy a FREE sweet treat recipe in every book!

    When a knitting group creates mice toys for charity, something is wrong when a whole bag of donations goes missing. Reporter Sam Hodges must solve the case!

    She knows first-hand that funerals are family events that bring out the worst in people.Now Audrey is just six weeks away from a joyful family event--her wedding. The band has been hired, the invitations mailed.Wedded bliss is right around the corner.Then a thief strikes and destroys Audrey's happiness. As she narrows the list of possible culprits,her suspicion falls on the family she's about to join.Will catching the thief ruin Audrey's shot at the ideal family she's always dreamed of?When the crime is solved with one final twist, Audrey learns a lesson about the bonds that tie families together and the expectations that can drive them apart.A note from the author: In the chronology of Audrey's life, this short mystery novella fits between the events in This Bitter Treasure (which ended with Audrey's engagement) and Treasure in Exile (which begins with Audrey already married).Loyal readers let me know that they wanted to see Audrey's wedding. So I wrote Treasure Borrowed and Blue because I want to keep my readers happy! Nothing ever goes quite as planned for our Audrey, so the tale of her wedding takes quite a few twists and turns (but no murders!).

    So when her real estate developer boyfriend offers her a sweet catering gig, she jumps at the chance to cook for his gala and rub elbows with the town’s elite. The problem? That fancy gala is only happening because her best friend’s home was burned down by an arsonist. And the more Bethany learns about her boyfriend’s planned development, the more she suspects that he might have had something to do with it.Determined to uncover the arsonist’s identity, Bethany cooks her way through the gala, listening to the secrets, lies, and gossip swirling around Hosanna Street. But when someone close to her is killed during the party—and the murder weapon is found in her pot of clam chowder—Bethany finds herself in more than a little hot water.---------------------------------------If you like smart culinary mysteries with quirky characters and quaint seaside towns, you’ll love the Death du Jour series that follows Bethany Bradstreet as she builds her career and solves crimes with the help of her friends. Crime Chowder is the first book in the Death du Jour series. This book has clean language and mild suspense with no cliffhangers. It contains depictions of an LGBT relationship.P.S. – There’s a dog in it.

    With all her guided tours booked, it finally seems lady luck is on her side.But then Bucky is found dead. Not great.And she’s the prime murder suspect. Double not great.Being framed for murder sucks worse than a rabid chipmunk bite. Andie’s determined to clear her name, and this time her survival training skills won’t be used to fetch an ice pack. But how long can she stay one step ahead of a killer before she becomes the final victim?

    

     Of Murders and Mages: Casino Witch Mysteries 1 Three ways that Ella's life is totally messed up: 1. Her new coworker is as cranky as he is attractive 2. A mischievous cat has decided she needs a familiar 3. She just found out she's a witch who can read the emotional hologram of a magical death (and isn't that a mouthful) And oh yeah, there's five dead bodies, and no one knows how they are connected. Now she’s drawn into a madcap investigation at the casino where she's managed to snag a job. She must navigate learning her new mage abilities, a topless burlesque show, a jealous girlfriend, gamblers of all varieties, and magical chocolate cake, all while not setting herself or others on fire before the murderer makes her the next victim. Which Mage Moved the Cheese? Casino Witch Mysteries 2 Ella's Super Awesome Guide to Paranormal Cheese: 1. You eat it, but there are weird side effects. 2. The ingredients can be really gross. 3. You don't use it to squash people. When the ex-president of the Paranormal Cheese Council is found dead under the world's largest wedge of cheese, Ella is on the case! Unable to admit who she really is, she goes undercover. But can she, her klutzy sidekick, and the world's most arrogant familiar escape the Booby-Trapped Queso of Doom, or stop eating the magically addictive beer-cheese fondue without giving things away to the anonymous villain?

    SUMMER PRESCOTT BOOKS is thrilled to present the first boxed set in the hugely popular Darling Deli series by Cozy Author Patti Benning!!!!Enjoy the first three books in one of the most delicious Cozy Culinary series ever, all in one volume, and at a special price! These mysterious and mouthwatering books will leave you hungry for more.

    Layer upon layer, twist upon twist, secret upon secret, this is a case tailor-made for a Sherlock Holmes devotee like private investigator Joey Mancuso. From the beginning, there’s just something funny about parents who didn’t report a missing student right away, and days later still want no police.Hold it here! This is their beloved daughter, last seen leaving for a date. Why wouldn’t they want as much firepower as they can get? Because they know too much, that’s why—and Owen Parr’s clever detective senses that. Joey’s first job’s to save the girl, but no way he’s going to stop there. The scrappy PI and ex-cop’s going to get answers if it kills him.A lot of the fun is in the clever Russian doll structure of a puzzle wrapped in a mystery, each discovery leading to a bigger and more surprising twist, but it wouldn't be half as delightful without the loveable series ensemble author Parr has assembled. The usual suspects are here—Marcy, Joey’s new wife and favorite FBI agent; researcher Agnes, who goes to Father Dom’s Mass every morning, presumably to repent for her shameless hacking; and Mr. Pat, gentle giant bartender-turned-detective. There’s also a welcome new addition—a professor who’s as close as you’re ever going to get to Indiana Jones.BOOK 5 -AT 16, HE SAW HIS DAD GUNNED DOWN. NOW HE HAS A CHANCE TO FIND THE KILLER,,,PI Joey Mancuso was just a kid when he watched a stranger walk into a Little Italy bar, shoot his mobster dad in the chest, and calmly walk back out, disappearing into the Manhattan din. The murder was never solved. And the old mob adage “an eye for an eye” went unfulfilled.But now, at death’s door, infamous mobster Tony the Hammer summons Joey and utters three mysterious words: “Wetherly Stevens, Barcelona.” Joey has no doubt he’s just been told how to find his father’s killer. From tantalizing tapas near La Sagrada Familia to bourbon-soaked pulled pork sandwiches at a South Carolina B&B, murder couldn’t get any more flavorful—or more personal.Perhaps retired partner Alexander Wetherly has answers. Next stop: Hilton Head, where Wetherly is happily ensconced with a houseful of help serving up bottomless Arnold Palmers. But a peaceful Q&A on quaint Daufuskie Island turns murderous when the elderly gentleman who runs Joey’s B&B winds up stabbed to death. And this isn’t the first murder of its kind—it seems Daufuskie Island has a grisly and deeply-seated cold case all its own. With the help of his cohorts—including Father Dom and a talented hacker (their researcher, Agnes)-- Joey meticulously puts together the pieces of two puzzles at once—and scrutinizes the connections between them—hoping to solve his father’s murder while preventing another from haunting the Carolina shores. BOOK 6 -THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH. As the men around her are dropping like fliesIn his sixth labyrinthine hard-boiled puzzler, NYC private eye Joey Mancuso finds himself neck-deep in a maze of a murder mystery—the kind that weaves through military secrets and international espionage—at the center of which is the woman he loves. The vic, Oscar Stanton (name etched into his designer trousers), was gunned down in Washington Square Park in broad daylight, just after a lunchtime rendezvous with a business associate. A quick and dirty ID reveals the real Oscar Stanton was working in cybersecurities for the DOD—and, perhaps unsurprisingly, was KIA in Afghanistan. And since Mancuso’s antics tend to weave a winding yarn as intricately-connected as a satisfying Sherlock Holmes.

    Kate Gazzara. If you love whodunits, police procedurals, realism, fast-paced nonstop action, strong women detectives, it's time you met Kate Gazzara, a dedicated female detective in a world dominated by men.Kate's addictive - You can't read just one.

    When Olive’s grandmother dies and leaves her a condo in Florida and a secret recipe for miracle cold cream, she grabs the chance at a new life in Starfish Cove, Florida, making designer creams for ladies who spend far too much time at the beach. Business is brisk and life is good! Olive even makes a wild new best friend in Lizzy, the real estate agent who handles the transfer of Nonna’s condo. When a dead body is found in the trunk of Lizzy’s car, Olive despairs that life in Starfish Cove won’t be any different than the one she thought she’d escaped. But this time, instead of listening to confessions of murder, Olive’s going to have to solve one. Maybe two… Contains a recipe for Olive & Lizzy’s super-creamy homemade lip gloss! Book I in a series ~ Book 2 available for pre-order SMOKEY EYES ~*~ “Barbara Silkstone is beyond clever. She's an engaging writer who, with great skill, manages to make her skewed world ring true. The best thing about her characters is that they are not caricatures; they are real with all their dimensions intact. The best thing about Silkstone is that she manages to exhibit equal measures of talent and imagination.” ~ Kindle Reader Author of the Florence Nightingale Comedy Mystery Series, The Giggling Corpse, The Killer Corset, and The Cheeky Corner, Barbara Silkstone is also the creator of the best selling Mister Darcy series of comedic mysteries ~ 9 Books plus 10 Regency novels and novellas, all with a light, humorous touch. She is also the author of the Wendy Darlin Comedy Mysteries – 5 Cozy Romantic Adventures combining Nick and Nora Charles with Lara Croft. Check out her Amazon Author page or visit her at the https://secondactcafe.com Most books are available in paperback and audio! Barbara Silkstone’s Amazon Author’s page http://www.amazon.com/Barbara-Silksto...

    She returns home to Comfort, Texas, only to be thrust into the middle of a land dispute and developers intent on gaining the Taylor Ranch property. When one of the developer’s employees dies on their property, Christie must extend her break to help her father. Christie sets out to find the killer before they strike again. But will the truth unravel everything? If you love Texas, country life and pies, you’ll enjoy this humorous cozy mystery set in the beautiful hill country. Meet the characters who may remind you of your cantankerous grandpa or your quirky next-door neighbor. Pie Recipe included!Buy Death Takes a Break and get roped in to a your new favorite cozy series.

     Pineapple Gingerbread Men Sheriff Frank asks newly-minted private detective Charlotte to help him crack the case, but she has no idea those darn gingerbread men will start showing up everywhere. What did Santa do that made them so angry? And what's the secret in his colorful Christmas-themed bureau? Charlotte is forced to split her time between searching for Santa's killer and helping Declan's crazy ex-Stephanie stop a corrupt district attorney in exchange for a book that could help solve more crimes in the future. She never thought she'd help calculating Stephanie with anything...but as this story comes to it's shocking ending, you'll find it could be Stephanie who's finally bitten off more cookie than she can chew.. Pineapple Jailbird Book EIGHT of the hilarious Pineapple Port mystery series from Wall Street Journal and USA TODAY Best-Selling author Amy Vansant has Charlotte awaking to find Mariska and Bob gone, kidnapped from their home. Their disappearance is a message from a familiar killer: Help me or your friends will disappear. To save her loved ones, Charlotte must find a way to clear her boyfriend's crazy ex of a killing. It may be the only crime the woman didn't commit...but things don't get any easier when someone mistakes Charlotte as a traitor and sends a madman with a distinctive "tattoo" and unusual gang of deadly pets to stop her. Pineapple Puppies Someone has left puppies on the doorsteps of Pineapple Port's residents, but the adorable balls of fur seem to be connected to the murder of a nearby millionaire with too many heirs of his own. Meanwhile, Mariska's been framed for baking a killer cake, and Charlotte must clear her name