The Doom Murders


Brian O'Hare - 2012
    The bodies are left naked and posed in grotesquely distorted shapes. No clues are left at the forensically immaculate crime scenes except odd theatrical props and some random numbers and letters concealed at each scene by the killer. How are the victims linked? What is the connection between these killings and a famous mediaeval painting of The Last Judgement? Chief Inspector Jim Sheehan is baffled. Faced with one of the most complex cases of his career, he turns to an eminent professor at Queen’s University and a senior cleric who is a biblical expert. With their help, Sheehan begins to piece together some understanding of the killer’s psychopathy but can he learn enough to identify the killer and put an end the murders?

Destroyer and Preserver


Matthew Rohrer - 2011
    He is also co-author of Nice Hat. Thanks. with Joshua Beckman, with whom he has participated in performances at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle. He received the Pushcart Prize and his first book, A Hummock in the Malookas, was selected for the National Poetry Series by Mary Oliver. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and teaches at New York University.

Tidewater Blood


William Hoffman - 1998
    Rich, pretentious, and proud, the LeBlancs operate a prosperous plantation and celebrate their heritage each year in grand old Southern fashion on the mansion's portico. But this year, the front of the mansion explodes and everyone on the portico is instantly killed. As the dust settles, all fingers point to embittered brother and ex-con Charles LeBlanc, who lives as a hermit outside town. When it seems he's going down on a murder rap, Charley flees to begin his own investigation. Charley must win the trust of one person after another--from his frat-boy lawyer to an old backwoods woman harboring a special hatred of the LeBlancs. Charley solves the crime moments before he faces imprisonment, but not before he learns long-hidden secrets about that illustrious LeBlanc blood. Crisp and cinematic, Tidewater Blood is a riveting and tightly constructed thriller. "A first rate, page-turning thriller." --George Garrett "Limpid and swift-moving, with a full complement of understated surprises: an exemplary presentation of the innocent man on the run for readers who want more texture then they can find in The Fugitive." --Kirkus Reviews "This is a gripping read." --Library Journal A MYSTERY GUILD SELECTION

The Czars


James P. Duffy - 2015
    The story of these men and women - as diverse as the lands they governed - is, in many ways, the story of Russia itself. From the birth of the Kievan state in the second half of the ninth century to the murder of Czar Nicholas II and his family in 1918, historians James P. Duffy and Vincent L. Ricci trace the long and twisted line of imperial rule in Russia, offering many insights into the uses and abuses of absolute power, as well as a glimpse at world history through the eyes of those who made it. The Czars is a vital page in the literature of Russian history.

A Sinner in Paradise


Deborah Hining - 2013
    Jilted by her fiance, Geneva watches her seemingly idyllic life suddenly fall apart. Bereft and desolate, she packs up her nine cats and leaves her home in Washington, DC to return to her native hills of West Virginia where she plans rest and heal from her heartbreak. When Geneva's ambition, and machinations run up against rugged mountain ways, she finds herself flung from one perilous adventure, romance, crazy circumstance, and heartbreak to another. After facing illness, disaster in the wilderness and an encounter with an old mountain man who teaches her that her soul needs more than men, courtship, and adventure, Geneva finally finds what she's been missing. Ultimately, Geneva realizes she must face herself before she is free to truly love and be loved.