"Ellie McLellan thought wedding planning would be the toughest challenge of her life. But with Quinn Walsh secretly crafting a surprise, relatives flying in from the UK, and the Cozy Corner Café doubling as their wedding venue, chaos quickly takes center stage. Ellie's nerves have nothing to do with saying 'I do'—she just wants everything to go as planned.
When Maggie's grandfather unearths an old photograph in the spare bedroom of the Cozy Corner Café, Ellie's genealogy group leaps into action. The photo, identified as Phil's Uncle Arthur, carries a mysterious code that only deepens the intrigue. Enter Ellie's Aunt Norma, who shocks everyone with a revelation about her past.
The plot thickens when Ellie's aunt and cousin arrive with family photos of their own—one of which features an ancestor that family lore believes was a witch.
As wedding bells approach and family mysteries unfold, Ellie and Quinn must navigate tangled histories, unexpected discoveries, and a reminder that love, like genealogy, often leads to surprising and beautiful places."
"Feminine rage, cancel culture, and suffocating societal pressure—a cutting and brazen thriller about two Asian American women on a quest for revenge after a public shaming pushes them to the limit, for fans of Yellowface and Counterfeit.
When a conflict with a fellow passenger on the subway spirals into a humiliating breakdown, Shelley Hu's life is over. The incident goes viral, costing Shelley her prestigious Manhattan law firm internship, her spot at Columbia Law, and her plan to build a better life for herself and her mother.
Months later, Shelley is back in Kissimmee, Florida, working the night shift at a kitschy motel near Disney World—the very same job she held in high school. Shelley's life is a black hole until, one night, the beautiful, enigmatic Sophia Moon checks in with her husband and young son. But Sophia's appearance is far from random.
It turns out that, once upon a time, Sophia suffered her own episode of public shaming. Since then, Sophia has rebuilt a new life, and she promises to help Shelley do the same. More importantly, Sophia vows to help Shelley enact revenge on the three people responsible for the worst day of her life with a precise set of plans.
Shelley returns to New York with a new identity and plans that start off well. But when the situation soon spirals out of control, Shelley is forced to reckon with Sophia's unspeakably dark side—though it may be too late."
"Colonel Carl Butler charges back into the world of military crisis, corporate malfeasance, and intergalactic mystery in the action-packed fifth Planetside novel from science fiction master Michael Mammay.
Carl Butler has returned to his home planet from the moon Taug and is looking forward to some rest and relaxation. But following two mysterious deaths connected with the Taug mission, he realizes that the intruders that recently set off his home’s security system might be looking to add him to the death toll.
Having been Butler’s muscle on numerous missions, Mac is no stranger to getting involved with mysteries that should be none of his business. So when the daughter of one of his gym members goes missing, he offers to help. Mac assumes she’s a simple runaway, but the case turns out not to be so clear-cut. Wondering if these strange occurrences are somehow related, Butler—along with Mac, Ganos, and the rest of his small crew—once again finds himself neck deep in intrigue.
As the clues for the various cases begin to intertwine, Butler sees the hand of an old enemy at work, and…well…he’s never been one to sit back and wait for something to happen. Gathering the team, he heads off across the galaxy to confront his suspects head-on.
But this time, they’re waiting for him."
"A budding new romance. A dead body. Who can you trust? Filled with twists, tension and undeniable chemistry, Death at Daffodil Inn is a must-read Cinnamon Falls mystery. Perfect for fans of Gilmore Girls, Pretty Little Liars and the Dream Harbor series.
Spring has arrived in Cinnamon Falls, and the annual Daffodil Jubilee, hosted by the town's charming Daffodil Inn, is in full swing.
Morgan Taylor, who is reluctantly helping her parents host the event, wishes she could be spending the day celebrating with her best friend Nia or daydreaming about Will, the dangerously hot single dad she can't get out of her head.
As the Jubilee draws to a close with the twilight Petals and Promises dance, Morgan finds herself swept into the moment she's long dreamed of when Will asks her to dance.
But it's not long before the lustful evening air is shattered by a bloodcurdling scream. A guest is found dead at the centre of the inn's garden maze, and whispers ripple through the crowd: Murder.
With the town threatening to close the Daffodil Inn for good, Morgan must solve the mystery before her family are forced to leave and gratefully accepts Will's offer to help.
Can they uncover the truth before it's too late, or will their search for answers only end in heartbreak?
Tropes include:
* Single dad
* Amateur sleuth
* Love triangle
* Small town setting
* Who hurt you?
* Animal companion "
"Veronica and Stoker are practically dying for a new adventure but when their wish is granted, they find themselves up against a secret society and a darkly seductive duo in this landmark historical mystery from beloved New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn.
When the corpse of an entitled young man is found entirely drained of blood in a carriage next to Highgate Cemetery, Veronica's interest is piqued. And then a second victim is found, his death made to look like a suicide, and Veronica and her intrepid beau, Stoker, know the hunt is on. The two men share one link: they were both members of a society so secretive that only a singular mention of it can be found anywhere.
Thirsty for more clues, Veronica and Stoker hear that a young Roma boy may know more about their first victim, but the only way to the boy is through an old acquaintance of Stoker's, Lady Julia Brisbane. Lady Julia and her dashing husband, Nicholas, occasionally track down murderers and are only too happy to help. But as it becomes clear the secret society is a dangerous sect looking to entice immortality seekers, Veronica and Stoker find themselves ensnared by a decidedly more sinister couple.
The professed leader of the society claims to be a creature of the night; his partner practices witchcraft and they both fancy themselves emissaries of the otherworldly. Just as Veronica and Stoker get closer to learning the true purpose of the society and unraveling this macabre mystery, another body turns up, and they quickly discover they've gone from being the hunters to the hunted. . . ."
"A scandal in America. A murder in Cairo.
Sir Augustus Wall, antiquities dealer and amateur sleuth, is hired to track down a blackmailer who threatens the reputation of an American millionaire. When blackmail turns to murder, he must travel up the Nile by steamboat to find the killer.
Joining him are Faisal, a street urchin who makes himself equally useful and troublesome; Heinrich Schäfer, a leading Egyptologist; and Jocelyn Montjoy, an adventurous woman who has captured his heart.
But complications set in before the hunt even begins. Unwelcome fellow passengers threaten to derail the investigation, and Augustus has fallen out with his right-hand man, Moustafa Ghani.
Can a new team of investigators help him solve his most challenging case yet?"
"Sometimes a novel idea can turn out to be a bad one.
Sally Simmons was rather misunderstood in the small town of Whitby, North Carolina. An awkward woman with a sly countenance, she became a regular at the library, spending a good deal of time scribbling in a notebook and staring vacantly off into space.
It turned out, to everyone's surprise, that Sally had been industriously penning a novel. To their greater surprise, it became something of a sensation, even landing itself on the bestseller lists.
Since much of the novel had been written within the hallowed walls of the Whitby Library, reference librarian Ann and other staff members decide to hold an event to celebrate Sally’s accomplishment and learn more about her book.
Sadly, it soon becomes evident that Sally's book was inspired by actual residents of Whitby—and that she concealed their identities poorly.
When Sally meets an unfortunate demise, it's up to Ann to figure out the killer so the police can throw the book at him."
"The halls are decked, the air is filled with festive cheer, and wedding bells are about to ring. But beneath the twinkling lights and snow-dusted rooftops, secrets long buried are about to surface.
Holly Wood is days away from saying 'I do' to Nick Claus when a chilling discovery threatens to turn her dream wedding into a nightmare. While touring the grand Olde Jolly Hall, Holly stumbles upon a hidden passageway—and the body of Beatrice Harper, the long-missing owner.
As whispers spread through the charming town and the mystery deepens, Holly must untangle a web of lies, old rivalries, and hidden motives. Suspicion falls on Charles Harper, Beatrice's enigmatic brother. Meanwhile, Holly juggles cake tastings, dress fittings, and surprise mishaps as the wedding countdown begins, all with the help of the ever-dramatic Gilbert, who is determined to keep the day perfect—or threaten to hang up his apron trying.
With only six days to uncover the truth and clear the air before walking down the aisle, Holly races against time in a flurry of tinsel and suspicion. Can she solve the murder and bring peace to Candy Cane Hollow, or will her wedding bells be silenced by a killer's final twist?"
"Could Dr. Brian Eddy, plastic surgeon to the rich and famous, possibly be the Blond Bomber serial killer? Odelia would never have suspected the prominent doctor of killing the bevy of buxom blonds if she hadn't heard it directly from her friend Lillian—Dr. Eddy's own mother—over lunch one day.
Newlywed Odelia decides to stick her big nose into the case. But this mystery gets even messier than Odelia's chicken parmigiana sandwich, with everything from homeless kittens to Mob connections. Even with the help of her husband Greg and dog Wainwright, friends Zee and Seth, Detective Dev Frye, and her boss Mike Steele, Odelia discovers just how difficult — and dangerous—it'll be to bust this killer."
"In this unusual spin on the classic spy novel, murder strikes from our wartime pasts . . .
Iraq War veteran Sam Blackman with his prosthetic leg and his no-nonsense private eye partner Nakayla Robertson love their investigations―and they love each other. An interracial couple in the new South, the Asheville, North Carolina, pair has surrounded themselves with a terrific support team, including an unorthodox lawyer and a veteran cop. They deploy humor both to bind them together and to deflect insults. Plus, it helps deal with the tragedies their work uncovers.
Such a tragedy interrupts a meeting between the PIs and the neighboring law office when a body is unearthed from the grounds of the nearby Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute. During the Cold War it monitored developing space programs. Today it plays a vital role gathering weather and climate data. The body has been in the ground a long time. Why would its discovery spark off a new murder in Asheville's mountain music scene, the victim found amid the garbage of dark, dank Rat Alley?
She was the fiancée of the man murdered long ago. But surely this case is more than a domestic drama playing out over time . . ."
"When a murder occurs in a small town in Upstate New York, retired police detective Graham Sanderson, is drawn back into a vortex of violence, deception, and a series of murders which get dangerously personal.
Graham Sanderson thought he'd left it all behind. His years as a Washington, DC, homicide detective, his tragically dead wife, pain, violence. Taking over his father's house in the remote Finger Lakes region of rural New York, and looking after his shut-in brother, Tommy, seemed like a respite. That is, until the first body is found.
The chief of the town's small police jurisdiction, who is also a family friend, asks for Graham's assistance. Graham's instincts immediately kick in and he soon discovers there's more to the area - the people, its brutally quiet, sophisticated hierarchies - than he or his family ever knew.
David Swinson's latest novel is a soulful, rural noir story about belief: the extremities to which it pushes a community, the fear it instills in the hearts of adherents and doubters alike, and need for it nevertheless. As Graham delves deeper into the strange and then stranger circumstances of the murders, his own beliefs become challenged. What do you finally stand for when you've got nothing left to lose?"
"“Don’t be too sure I’m as crooked as I’m supposed to be. That kind of reputation might be good business.”—Samuel Spade, private investigator
“Spade…is what most of the private detectives I worked with would like to have been and in their cockier moments thought they approached.”—Dashiell Hammett
The Maltese Falcon first appeared in the pages of Black Mask magazine in 1929. Almost immediately it was acknowledged as not only a great crime novel but an enduring masterpiece of American fiction. Sam Spade, its protagonist, is the archetypal tough, cynical PI, “able,” as his creator explained, “to take care of himself in any situation, able to get the best of anybody he comes in contact with, whether criminal, innocent bystander or client.” And what a client!—the irresistible and treacherous femme fatale Brigid O’Shaughnessy.
Believing the book’s vividly drawn characters and memorable dialogue cry out for theatrical treatment, Blackstone Publishing commissioned this faithful dramatization by the award-winning Hollywood Theater of the Ear, in which a brilliant cast brings to life all the excitement and suspense of Hammett’s original in the playhouse of the mind."
