Back then he promised he'd resume their deadly game of cat and mouse soon. But since then...he's done nothing. Out of leads and with nothing to go on, Nevada has nothing to do but wait. But in the meantime, she learns one of her old criminal informants has been tryingto get in touch with her. Krystal Harris, a former gang member, has information about a series of murders that she wants to pass on in exchange for enough money to leave town. But Krystal is murdered before Nevada has the chance to discover what information her informant wanted to give her. Now Nevada has a new crime to solve, and a score to settle. Four people are dead, and Nevada is determined to find out why.

    Also attending are an Italian couple thinking about opening their own restaurant, a trust-fund, surfer-dude who is considering a career as a chef just to get his parents off his back, a retired Russian spy they know from Las Vegas, and a Canadian woman who has spent a lot of time at C’s, their restaurant in Clay Bay. But it’s Georgio Russo, an inventor with a reputation as a ladies-man and a sketchy past, who has everyone on edge. What begins as a relaxing week soon turns deadly when Bronwyn, the wife of industrialist, Emerson Kingsley, is found dead right after dinner. Without any visible wounds or blood, everyone, including the local cops, initially wonder if the woman died of natural causes or from a case of severe food poisoning. But things change when the local police learn she was poisoned by an unknown, deadly substance. And the heat gets turned up even further a few days later when the industrialist is found dead on the golf course. Josie and Chef Claire, now caught up in the mystery reach out to Suzy, who offers some assistance from the comfort of home. They also turn to Agent Tompkins, an FBI agent they’ve crossed paths with in the past. Soon, it becomes clear that both the dead industrialist and the mad inventor have been on the FBI’s radar for a long time. And when Marco divulges to Chef Claire his financial difficulties as well as the fact that Georgio is one of his major investors, she is left wondering if her mentors might somehow be involved in a situation with major international implications. The Case of Italian Indigestion is the first installment in the spinoff series of B.R. Snow’s popular Thousand Islands Doggy Inn mysteries. Readers can expect a lot of the same elements from the Doggy Inn series but with the additional bonus of several recipes highlighting Italian cuisine. Food, friendship, and dogs, wrapped in humor and a great mystery, continue to be central themes, and by the time The Case of Italian Indigestion wraps up, readers will be satiated as well as jonesing for some Italian food.

    To his surprise, the beautiful Bianca Goldsmith is still there, and still single. Freddie knows he’s a fraction of the man he used to be and is sure Bianca wouldn’t be interested in rekindling their romance. But Bianca’s feelings for him run deeper than he knows… Book 5: Bride for Hire A second chance at a first love… Noelle Goldsmith is convinced that at age 52 she’ll never love a man again, and then she meets her old flame, Cameron Taylor. When Cam asks her to pretend to be his wife for the weekend for business, she jumps at the chance of escaping with him for a few days. Just for old times’ sake. But when it’s time for Cam to return to England, he discovers he doesn’t want to let her go… Book 6: Bride by Christmas Old friends, new lovers… When Elliot reminds Libby Carter of the promise they made to each other when they were kids—that they’d marry each other if they were still single when they turned thirty—Libby sees a future for herself for the first time since the plane crash. But a secret she’s hiding makes it impossible for her to move forward. There’s no chance she could be a bride by her birthday on Christmas Eve. Is there?

     The day her kitchen ceiling collapses on top of her, Patty’s life unravels. Whether a sign from above or plain bad luck, she has no idea. But her brush with death shakes her to her core. With no boyfriend, no plans, and no where to stay, she leaves her condemned home and heads to California wine country to be near Cece, her best friend, confidant, and quintessential voice of reason. A few days in the quiet small town of Clearwater will give her the comfort she needs to contemplate one of life’s most enduring questions: "What now?” But instead of quiet and comfort, Patty is met with even more troubles—Cece suffers a crisis of her own, a new friend ropes her into a demanding situation, and an enticing yet complicated man has her spinning toward romantic disaster. However, it’s the mysterious arrival of her younger sister that pushes Patty to the brink and forces her to question everything she thought she knew about her siblings and about the family that rejected her. Now, faced with a monumental decision, Patty has no choice but to gamble on the one person she trusts the least —herself.

    

    

    An evil spirit that haunts the night, a murder, a haunted box—once just a tale to scare the children—but now? Fern has always loved the supernatural and everything that goes bump in the night. Her university asked that she interview the famous murderer Raymond Tibbs. She couldn’t resist interviewing the man who claims he was possessed by a ghost that forced him to murder his wife and the family pet. Little does Fern know the terror she will unleash. Death and destruction stalk the ancient city of Lincoln as evil searches for its soulmate. If the two are reunited, then the reign of terror will last one hundred years. Can The Spirit Guide find a way to capture and contain this ancient force or will Fern lead the world into darkness? Find out in The Haunting of the Old Box — and remember just because it’s a tale whispered to scare children, it doesn’t mean it isn’t true.

    

    

    

    

     Corrine Dunning loves living by the ocean, and her life is getting even better now that she’s falling in love with Andy Johnson. When Corrine meets a blind old woman who insists the concrete ship in Monterey Bay is haunted, she doesn’t believe it. Although Mary Carmichael is blind now, she’s seen a lot of love affairs bloom and die near Seacliff Beach. She was a child when the concrete SS Palo Alto was pulled up to the pier at Seacliff — she’s always known it was haunted, and she knows the ghost will weave itself into Corrine’s life, taking over her thoughts. While Corrine and Mary begin a tentative friendship, Corrine’s relationship with Andy takes an unsettling turn. Is it possible Corrine’s mistrust began when she saw the ghostly woman on the ship? Now, Corrine must battle a spirit that’s made a home inside her mind.

    

     Ava Fortune's got it all... magic, love, and a bakery. She just can't seem to stay out of trouble, especially now that her dad is getting married. And now Ava's father's been framed for murder… Obviously, she can't let this case rest. Ava can't let her dad down. She needs to find the real killer before he strikes again or her dad ends up behind bars forever. With her aunts and best friend there to help her, Ava can't possibly fail. Or can she? She wonders if this time the killer just might win. Can Ava save her father before it's too late, or is her magic all used up? Page Count: around 330 pages

    I love Margaret Coel’s writing because there’s never a misplaced step. She balances two opposing cultures with little room for compromise, which is good because this chick works without a safety net. It’s human nature, or certainly the nature of writers, to analyze another’s work when reading it, in an attempt to take the story apart like an acrobatic trick—kick off your shoes and try it out. Every once in a while you second guess them and follow them out onto that tightrope just to find where they might’ve slipped up, but Margaret never does and just when you think she has she’ll turn and wink, so keep reading. Like Catherine McLeod, the reporter protagonist of Man Found Dead in Park, Margaret embraces both the mainstream and native cultures, all the while maintaining the aspect of her writing that transcends the genre with a deep understanding of human nature. When a man is found dead in an Indian section of Denver where no one is talking, McLeod finds herself in conflict with Mexican drug cartels and an investigation that leads north into Wyoming's Wind River Reservation and what turns out to be her roots. Transformative for both McLeod and the reader, the width and breath of the story is easy to miss, because Coel’s writing has a heady narrative that holds a sense of wonder and romance—a place that a lot of other writers fear to tread. I sometimes wonder if she knows how good she is, but I think probably not. The humility of a few artists is what keeps them grounded, and even when she’s out there flying high, I’m pretty sure she has her head up but is feeling every twitch of the story through the soles of her feet. Navigating with the finesse of a Flying Wallenda, Coel never misses a thing, because the devil is in the details, and like her character, Detective Nick Bustamante, Margaret knows that these indiscernible little slights of hand are the thing that makes for great drama under the Big Top. So join Margaret Coel out onto that high wire where she works without a safety net. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out there will be moments of insecurity, thoughts that will disconcert, and you might be tempted to look down, but don’t. If things get too hairy just reach out and take this daredevil performer’s hand, and she’ll grin that signature smile and make sure you make it back to safety. --Craig Johnson