When the quiet Little Vestry of St. Matthew's Church becomes the blood-soaked scene of a double murder, Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh faces an intriguing conundrum: How did an upper-crust Minister come to lie, slit throat to slit throat, next to a neighborhood derelict of the lowest order? Challenged with the investigation of a crime that appears to have endless motives, Dalgliesh explores the sinister web spun around a half-burnt diary and a violet-eyed widow who is pregnant and full of malice--all the while hoping to fill the gap of logic that joined these two disparate men in bright red death. . . .
The follow-up to Murder in Chianti finds ex-NYPD detective Nico Doyle recruited by Italian authorities to investigate the murder of a prominent wine critic. One year after moving to his late wife’s Tuscan hometown of Gravigna, ex-NYPD detective Nico Doyle has fully settled into Italian country life, helping to serve and test recipes at his in-laws’ restaurant. But the town is shaken by the arrival of wine critic Michele Mantelli in his flashy Jaguar. Mantelli holds his influential culinary magazine and blog over Gravigna’s vintners and restaurateurs. Some of Gravigna's residents are impressed by his reputation, while others are enraged—especially Nico's landlord, whose vineyards Mantelli seems intent of ruining. Needless to say, Mantelli’s lavish, larger-than-life, and often vindictive personality has made him many enemies, and when he is poisoned, the local maresciallo, Perillo, has a headache of a high-profile murder on his hands—and once again turns to Nico for help.
A delightful new series featuring two sleuthing sisters who run the Hemlock Falls Inn. While Sarah takes care of business, her sister Meg runs the inn's kitchen. During the annual History Days festival, a mock witch stoning takes a grisly turn when a guest at the inn is substituted for the fake witch.
USA Today bestselling series! Sally Muccio’s had her crosses to bear: a cheating ex-boyfriend, crazy Italian parents, and an unfaithful husband, just to name a few. After her divorce, she returns to her hometown to start a novelty cookie shop whose specialties include original fortune cookies, served with a sprinkle of foreshadowing. But there’s no warning when her ex-husband’s mistress drops dead on Sal's porch, and police confirm it’s a homicide. Determined to stop her life from becoming a recipe for disaster, Sal takes matters into her own hands. With two very different men vying for her affection, dead bodies piling up, and a reputation hanging by an apron string, Sal finds herself in a race against time to save both her business and life—before the last cookie crumbles. The Cookies & Chance Mysteries: Tastes Like Murder (book #1) A Spot of Murder (short story in the "Killer Beach Reads" collection) Baked to Death (book #2) Burned to a Crisp (book #3) Frosted With Revenge (book #4) Silenced by Sugar (book #5) A Drizzle Before Dying (short story in the "Pushing Up Daisies" collection) Crumbled to Pieces (book #6) "The delightful whodunit kept me guessing until the end, and the tasty treats had my mouthwatering from start to finish! A fantastic culinary mystery in the vein of Joanne Fluke and Diane Mott Davidson!" —Gemma Halliday, New York Times & USA Today bestselling mystery author "Catherine Bruns has found a winning recipe for an exciting mystery mixed with a dash of humor and a heap of danger. Add in a little romance for spice, and you get one sweet reading treat." —Mary Marks, bestselling author of the Quilting Mystery series.
As seen on Investigation Discovery: “A true crime murder mystery that will leave you gasping for breath.” —Steve Jackson, New York Times–bestselling author of No Stone Unturned Frank Rodriguez, a much-loved counselor of troubled teens, lies dead on the bedroom floor. His wife and stepdaughter are in shock, and so is the medical examiner when he performs the autopsy. Aside from being dead, Frank is in perfect health. Demanding to know the cause of her husband’s death, Angie Rodriguez badgers the police, insisting that Frank was murdered. The cops attribute her assertions to overwhelming grief, but soon they too believe that Frank didn’t die of natural causes. When the police enlist their number one suspect to help in the investigation, things spiral out of control until law enforcement is dealing with a daring plot to murder Angie’s best friend, and allegations of another homicide so evil and perverse that even seasoned LA County Detectives are shocked beyond belief . . . New York Times–bestselling and Edgar Award–winning author “Burl Barer, with co-author Frank Giradot, has hit yet another home run with this crime story. A smart and well-written who-dunnit tale” (Cathy Scott, Los Angeles Times–bestselling author of The Killing of Tupac Shakur). “A doozy of a murder.” —Suzy Spencer, New York Times–bestselling author of Breaking Point
Kitty Blakemore is not really ill. That is what Anne Harrison is told when she goes to work as a private nurse for the famous author. Or is she? Is someone trying to poison Mrs Blakemore? Why are the servants in the house so strange? Soon it becomes a matter for the police, and Nurse Harrisonfinds herself involved in a murder.
“A fascinating tale of poisons and poisonous deeds which both educates and entertains.” --Kathy Reichs A brilliant blend of science and crime, A TASTE FOR POISON reveals how eleven notorious poisons affect the body--through the murders in which they were used. As any reader of murder mysteries can tell you, poison is one of the most enduring—and popular—weapons of choice for a scheming murderer. It can be slipped into a drink, smeared onto the tip of an arrow or the handle of a door, even filtered through the air we breathe. But how exactly do these poisons work to break our bodies down, and what can we learn from the damage they inflict? In a fascinating blend of popular science, medical history, and true crime, Dr. Neil Bradbury explores this most morbidly captivating method of murder from a cellular level. Alongside real-life accounts of murderers and their crimes—some notorious, some forgotten, some still unsolved—are the equally compelling stories of the poisons involved: eleven molecules of death that work their way through the human body and, paradoxically, illuminate the way in which our bodies function. Drawn from historical records and current news headlines, A Taste for Poison weaves together the tales of spurned lovers, shady scientists, medical professionals and political assassins to show how the precise systems of the body can be impaired to lethal effect through the use of poison. From the deadly origins of the gin & tonic cocktail to the arsenic-laced wallpaper in Napoleon’s bedroom, A Taste for Poison leads readers on a riveting tour of the intricate, complex systems that keep us alive—or don’t.
Join Po and her sleuthing quilter friends, the Queen Bees, as they uncover murders in this fourbook mystery series. These books can be read in order or as standalone novels.
What's worse than a string of calls from a telemarketer? Elise Pepper is about to find out. Her return to her southern hometown after a scandalous divorce is stressful enough, but when she trips over the body of the town playboy, her stress meter hits an all-time high. Between bizarre phone calls and more, the victim has left behind a heap of trouble that includes missing money, missing pets, and mourning lovers. Add in a growing list of suspects and Elise is neck deep trouble. Stuck in the middle of her personal drama and the small town rumor mill, there’s no shortage of theories. But when she discovers her best friend, Lavina is the number one suspect, she knows what she has to do. The question is will it help or hurt? Can amateur sleuth Elise clear her friend's name, or will her friendship blinders shield her from the truth? Find out more in the first book of this 6 book cozy murder mystery series, the Angel Lake Cozy Mysteries! Cozy mystery books free
Introducing an animal-loving Gal Friday with a telepathic cat, a shapeshifting dog, and a ghost of a chance of solving supernatural crime... Meet Deirdre "Foxtrot" Lancaster. Trusted employee of eccentric zillionairess Zelda Zoransky, Foxtrot manages a mansion, a private zoo, and anything else that strikes her boss's fancy. Her job title is Administrative Assistant, but chaos handler would be more accurate. Especially after she glimpses a giant ghost-beast in Zelda's pet cemetery. For some strange reason, Foxtrot is seeing animal spirits. And, ready or not, in this mystery from Dixie Lyle, the fur's about to hit the fan... A TASTE FUR MURDER Still reeling, Foxtrot comes home to find her cat Tango—her dead cat Tango—alive and well and communicating telepathically. But that's not all: There's an ectoplasmic dog named Tiny who changes breeds with a shake of his tail...and can sniff out a clue like nobody's business. So when a coworker drops dead while organizing closets, Tiny is on the case. Can Foxtrot and her new companions ferret out the killer among a menagerie of suspects—human and otherwise—before death takes another bite?
