Travel writer Jill Curtis loves her job, but she desperately needs a break if she's to achieve her dream of becoming an investigative reporter. Sent to Kentucky by her boss to find out why thousands of tourists flock to Bourbon Country every year, Jill's dream seems to be slipping further away. After all, nothing interesting ever happens in small-town America...does it?Staying at an estranged relative's B&B, Jill's plan to uncover what makes the state's bourbon tours so popular goes awry when she trips over a body at one of the distilleries and quickly becomes a suspect in a brutal murder. Can she navigate high-stakes bourbon rivalries, centuries-old family feuds, and ill-fated romance to catch a killer and finally land the promotion she craves?
I am not a Consulting Detective, Gemma Doyle reluctantly tells ten-year-old Lauren Tierney, when the little girl comes to the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium to beg Gemma to find her missing cat, Snowball. Gemma might not be able to follow the clues to find the cat, but her dog Violet follows her nose to locate the missing kitten in a neighbor's garden shed. Gemma and Violet proudly return Snowball to her grateful owner, and Gemma basks in praise for a job well done. But a few days later, Lauren is back with ten dollars in hand, wanting to once again hire a consulting detective, and this time for a far bigger job: her mother has been accused of murdering her garden-club rival.Sheila Tierney's garden, which everyone said was the one to beat for the West London Garden Club trophy, had been vandalized the night before the club's early summer tour. Sheila confronted her former friend and gardening partner Anna Wentworth in a towering rage, and the women nearly came to blows. Later that night, after having won the trophy for best garden, Anna is found murdered, and Sheila Tierney is the police's prime suspect.Despite herself and despite the disapproval of her police-detective boyfriend Ryan Ashburton, the game is once again afoot, and Gemma finds herself and Jayne Wilson using their powers of deduction to ponder yet another curious incident.
As quirky as McGill's residents can be, they usually welcome society's oddballs and outcasts into the community with open arms. But the three members of the Lone White Wolf Pack are a different story. Townsfolk aren't feeling the least bit neighborly toward the ignorant gang widely believed to have orchestrated several hate crimes in the area.When the small group's irredeemable leader, Billy Ray Sonner, is found dead in an abandoned motel, most assume it was the result of an accidental overdose-an unfortunate yet predictable end for a man who lived the way Billy did. Only Stella and the sheriff have witnessed the crime scene in person, and the smell of cyanide means something more disturbing happened in that ramshackle room-something like homicide...While Stella wades through a flood of suspects, uncovered secrets link both Billy's closest allies and respected locals to the incident. One thing is certain: this wasn't an impulsive act of revenge. There's a sophisticated killer on the loose, and Stella must expose deep-rooted fears and dark pasts if she wants to crack a carefully planned murder and stop McGill from descending into chaos.
Hope Taylor is ready to start her new life as the first female pastor of Faith Chapel Episcopal Church in Apple Springs. The northern California town's quaint cottages, bungalows, and shops promise a fresh start for the forty-two-year-old widow and Bogie, her scruffy black Labrador. But where is Father Christopher? The kindly old rector who hired Pastor Hope was supposed to meet her upon her arrival, but he's nowhere to be seen. Hope's faith springs eternal, so she explores the little white church hoping to find Father Christopher. But when she enters the columbarium, she instead finds church elder Stanley King-his skull crushed by a fallen burial urn.Hope had made Stanley's acquaintance before and had struggled to take a charitable view of his character. Stanley was as wicked as he was wealthy, as petty as he was pious. His soul may have been holy, but his behavior was wholly rotten. The last time Hope had seen him, he had shouted drunkenly that she would preach at Faith Chapel over his dead body.Many of the townsfolk witnessed the altercation, so Hope soon finds herself the prime suspect in Stanley's murder. But with Bogie's four-footed assistance, she is determined to find the real killer and clear her name-even if it requires a bit of divine intervention.
Around the quaint town of Chadwick, New Jersey, are two families in need of Cassie's help. Wealthy perfectionist Gillian Foster is orchestrating the restoration of her family's nineteenth-century home and wants her purebred Himalayan, Leya, boarded at Cassie's Comfy Cats. Meanwhile, the elderly Tillmans are in dire straits, hoarding possessions and a clowder of cats in their run-down house. Perhaps Cassie can persuade the couple to surrender a few of their furry friends. Unfortunately, neither task is cut and dried...Mrs. Tillman is mysteriously asphyxiated in the night, and suspicion falls on her husband-and their cats. Meanwhile, the Fosters host a banquet for the local historical society, and when one of their guests falls gravely ill, Gillian is convinced someone is out to get her. After a second death occurs, it's clear the killer isn't pussyfooting around. Now it's up to Cassie to get these houses in order before disaster pounces again.
New Jersey prosecutor Sandy Moss is tired of petty criminals, and a new job at a glitzy Los Angeles law firm seems the perfect career move. Putting 3,000 miles between her and her ex-boyfriend is just an added bonus. But on Sandy's first morning as a family attorney, she inadvertently kills her new career stone dead when she offends her boss during a meeting with the firm's top celebrity client, charismatic TV star Patrick McNabb. But that's not as dead as Patrick's soon-to-be ex-wife is that evening when she's discovered shot by an arrow, her husband standing over her. Did Patrick really kill his wife in a dispute over a pair of shoes? All signs point to yes. But Patrick is determined to clear his name, using all the legal skills he's learned from playing a lawyer on TV, and to Sandy's deep dismay, she's the only person he'll let help him.
True-crime writer Heather Kilbride arrives in the seacoast town of Inversgail, Scotland, to research a recent murder for her new book. But if that's true, why does she seem more interested in William Clark, a shadowy lawyer with no connection to the murder? Her nosy questions arouse the suspicions of Constable Hobbs, the members of a local writers' group, and Janet Marsh and her crew of amateur sleuths at Yon Bonnie Books.Heather's unconventional research methods prove deadly when Janet discovers her lifeless body-except the "body" turns out to be a dummy dressed-up to look like Heather. Meanwhile, Heather is sitting at a safe distance observing Janet's reactions.Then Heather is found dead-again-sprawled at the base of an ancient standing stone, and this time it's for real. Clutched in her hand is a valuable miniature book last seen at Yon Bonnie Books, and now the police want to know how Heather, the miniature book, and Janet are all connected. But Janet and her group of sleuths have two questions of their own: Who else is interested in knowing that connection-and is that person a cold-blooded killer?
The simple life gets complicated when death comes calling in the first novel in the national bestselling Amish Mystery series.
Claire Weatherly has fled a high-stress lifestyle for a slower pace-in Amish country: Heavenly, Pennsylvania. She only planned a short visit but instead found herself opening an Amish specialty shop, Heavenly Treasures, and settling in.Claire loves her new home, and she's slowly making friends among the locals, including Esther, a young Amish woman who works in the shop. So when the store's former owner,the unlikable Walter Snow, is murdered, and the man Esther is sweet on becomes a suspect, Claire can't help but get involved.Newly returned Detective Jakob Fisher, who left Heavenly-and his Amish upbringing-as a teenager, is on the case. But his investigation is stalled by the fact that none of his former community will speak with him. Claire's connections make her the perfect go-between.As Claire investigates, she uncovers more than she wanted to know about her neighbors. And suddenly, everything she had hoped to find in this peaceful refuge is at risk...
After returning from her father-in-law's funeral in Florida, Lucy can almost hear the death knell of her part-time reporter job the instant she meets new hire Rob Callahan. He's young, ambitious, and positioning himself to become the Pennysaver's next star reporter. Adding insult to injury, Lucy only gets assigned the local St. Patrick's Day parade once Rob passes on the story. But before beer flows and bagpipes sound, Rob becomes suspected of destroying more than other people's careers... It's a shock when Rob is suddenly charged with sending a corrections officer from town to a fiery death. Contrary to the evidence, Lucy seriously doubts her office rival committed murder, and she's willing to follow that nagging hunch into the darkest corners of the community if it means shedding light on the truth. As an unnerving mystery unfolds, a strange woman reveals news that could change everything for Lucy and her family. Troubles in her personal and professional life are colliding, and Lucy comes to realize that she'll sooner discover a four-leaf clover than confront a killer with the gift of the gab and live to tell about it.
'The Mystery Of Marseilles' is a short story by Matt Newsome. It chronicles a story of mystery, love and hope. Set in France, we learn of a soldier who disappears, never to be seen again. To understand, we must take a journey to the past while we learn many important clues along the way, through the perspective of a first-eye witness from the Sergeant.
(C) Matt Newsome 2021
Nora Pennington is known for her window displays, and as Halloween approaches, she decides to showcase fictional heroines like Roald Dahl's Matilda and Madeline Miller's Circe. A family-values group disapproves of the magical themes, though, and wastes no time launching a modern-day witch hunt. Suddenly, former friends and customers are targeting not only Nora and Miracle Books, but a new shopkeeper, Celeste, who's been selling CBD oil products. Nora and her friends in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society are doing their best to put an end to the strife-but then someone puts an end to a life. Though the death is declared an accident, the ruling can't explain the old book page covered with strange symbols and disturbing drawings left under Nora's doormat, a postcard from an anonymous stalker, or multiple cases of vandalism. The only hope is that Nora can be a heroine herself and lead the Secret, Book, and Scone Society in a successful investigation-before more bodies turn up and the secrets from Celeste's past come back to haunt them all...
Summer in the Twin Cities is hard to beat, and Detective Kate Rosetti is excited to show FBI Agent Jack Russo a nice, relaxing time while he's back in town. Unfortunately, her plans go belly up when Tommy "Two-Toed" Bianchi is found floating face down in Kate's favorite lake.To complicate matters, Alastair Gem turns up with a brand-new girlfriend...which is all fine and dandy until his girlfriend goes missing. Gem begs the already-strapped-for-time detective for help, and Kate can't refuse.One murderer, one kidnapper, and one boyfriend are a lot for the detective to handle. But if Kate doesn't focus on finding the killer before time runs out, she'll be the next victim in his deadly spree...
