The arrival of a talented, ambitious and unusual new family leads to mayhem and murder in the peaceful Cotswold village of Folly-on-Weir The idyllic Cotswold village of Folly-on-Weir, with its traditional pub, sumptuous tea rooms and fragrant bakery, is a piece of paradise found ... until ‘those incomer Quillams’ arrive. A young piano virtuoso and his neglected but talented half-sister, their controlling father, the pianist’s beautiful, acquisitive and passionate mother, an ambitious family retainer, and an intimidating woman who has always run the Quillam household form a successful little empire - until it starts to crumble. The Quillams’ arrival has also attracted the attentions of a sly, clever and perverted killer who desperately needs a jackpot and knows where to find one – if the obstacles can be removed. Once again pub owner Alex Duggins and her veterinarian friend Tony Harrison must use their wits and resourcefulness to prevent further carnage – and ensure that they themselves don’t become the killer’s next victims.
From the national bestselling author of Murder on a Hot Tin Roof. Paige Turner’s skills as a crime reporter and mystery novelist have earned her an intriguing job opportunity. Sabrina Stanhope of Gramercy Park wants her to look into the murder of Virginia Pratt, a young secretary whose naked body was found in Central Park—with the understanding that Paige keeps her exclusive investigation off the record and out of her work for Daring Detective magazine. Virginia was more than a secretary—she worked nights as a high priced call girl in Sabrina’s employ. Should word get out, the resulting scandal could be devastating not only to Sabrina’s secret enterprise, but to some of Manhattan’s wealthiest movers and shakers. Now, Paige must become a daring detective herself, even if it means going undercover to entice the interest of a killer. Praise for the Paige Turner Mysteries “Prepare to be utterly charmed by the irrepressible Paige Turner.”—Dorothy Cannell “Great writing by a fresh talent.”—Nelson DeMille “Funny, fast, and suspenseful.”—Max Allan Collins
Ally McKellar loves owning and running her own restaurant, Belle Rose. After working in a busy New York restaurant, managing her own kitchen is like a breath of fresh air. Even better, it’s rapidly becoming the local favorite place to go in the quaint, mountain town of Calendar. But if people knew about Ally’s recent past, her customers might not be so keen to sample her delicious dishes. When the local newspaper’s food critic makes a reservation to try out her new menu, Ally knows she’s got to nail every course to ensure good publicity. There’s only one problem: the critic dies during the second course and everything points towards food poisoning. Suddenly, Ally’s success as an entrepreneur is in jeopardy while her past is hastily dredged up, threatening to destroy the new life she has recently managed to create. With the help of Jack Harper, her handsome sous chef with a questionable past of his own, Ally must discover the real killer or risk losing not only Belle Rose, but her desire for a happy new life as well.
From R. Barri Flowers, award-winning criminologist and the bestselling author of Murderess on the Loose, Murder of the Doctor’s Wife, Murder at the Pencil Factory, and The Sex Slave Murders, comes the gripping historical true crime short, Murdered by the King of Western Swing: The Beating Death of Ella Mae Cooley in 1961. On Monday, April 3, 1961, thirty-eight-year-old former vocalist Ella Mae Cooley was beaten to death in her home in Willow Springs, an unincorporated area located in Kern County, California. The cruelty of the crime was shocking to local residents in the normally idyllic community. A greater shock was that the murder was committed by the victim’s fifty-year-old husband, Donnell Clyde Cooley, a well-known big band leader, musician, actor, host of a television variety show, and businessman. Ella Mae and Donnell Clyde, who generally went by the name Spade Cooley, were both struggling with accusations of unfaithfulness in their marriage that had produced two children. They were in the midst of a divorce when tragedy struck. Cooley snapped in deciding to end the marriage prematurely by murdering his wife The horrific assault was witnessed by the couple’s fourteen-year-old daughter, Melody, who would testify against her father at his trial. In spite of her untimely presence at the crime scene, Cooley sought to attribute Ella Mae’s death to an accident. This fell flat, as did a short-lived attempt to plead insanity in the death of his wife. Spade Cooley would be convicted of murder and sent to prison for his heinous act of criminality, forever casting a shadow over a successful career in Western swing music and television. See how this tragic story of celebrity, suspicion, and homicidal rage unfolds in the historical crime of passion. Included is a complete bonus historical short tale, The Gold Special Train Robbery: Deadly Crimes of the D’Autremont Brothers, as well as excerpts from the author’s bestselling true crime book, Serial Killer Couples; the riveting historical true crime short, Murder of the Banker's Daughter: The Killing of Marion Parker; and the gripping historical true crime tale, Mass Murder in the Sky: The Bombing of Flight 629.
Four Corners sleuth Annette Trieri doesn't want it to happen, but it does anyway: she gets sucked into the investigation of a mysterious death in the Arizona desert, a death that hits close to home because the victim graduated from Frémont State University, where Annette's husband is Dean of Natural Sciences. It's one of his students who's dead. With her newly minted PhD and a prestigious post-doctoral appointment at the Ecological Archive Research Center near Tucson, Melody Witherspoon has a bright future, bright, that is, until her body turns up half-buried in the Center's research greenhouse. Everything looks neat and clean when the local sheriff, preoccupied with re-election, takes the low road and arrests an undocumented worker from Mexico-case closed. Or is it? Annette can see that there is more to the story, and her investigation takes her places that Melody's family and friends in the small community of Durango just don't want to know about. Corruption in the sheriff's office, a stalker among Melody's co-workers, and academic politics also confuse the issue. But one thing is for sure: the Murder Under Glass needs an explanation, and Annette is the one who has to provide it.
On the day that Ed Ingel is shot to death in his home, Dr. Karl Graham and his secretary, Daisy Winslow, start out for a weekend environmental conference in Montreal, only to end up in a crash on a northwestern Maine country road. While the search for Ingel's killer in Fairchance unearths more than anyone could guess about the victim, Daisy's foray to summon help for her trapped employer lands her in the hands of two brothers whose hospitality includes promise of a deadly ritual.
Murders are committed on different time schedules. While some are planned out months in advance and others are committed with very little preparation, there are varying amounts of time spent in the majority of killings. The ticking clock measures all them; both for the actual crimes and also for the solving by detectives. It is a 'cat and mouse' game between commission and solution, but the clock ticks loudest against the criminal. While detectives can make many mistakes finding the solution, the criminal is caught if he makes one error. That is the nature of crime. Follow it in the three named The Tick-Tock Murders.
Skip-tracer Renee Stratford-Knight's life is becoming stable again. Eighteen months prior, the murder of her sister and the soon-to-follow collapse of her marriage left her reeling. She made it through those dark days with the help of family, embracing faith and starting her own skip-tracing business, New Beginnings, which specializes in relocating abused women. Now, her ex-husband -- and former business partner -- Jonas Knight shows up asking about her most vulnerable client. & ;& ;Jonas knows his ex-wife helped embezzler Gina Howard elude the authorities and plans to bring the young woman to justice. When Renee is threatened, Jonas grows suspicious of his client's reason for finding his niece. In order to uncover the secrets their clients hold, Jonas and Renee must struggle through distrust and the pain of their pasts to work together to save the life of a teenage girl -- and their own. & ;
