Johnny Liddell was looking forward to his 2:30 a.m. date with Eve Wylie. Eve had thick red hair that fell down over her shoulders like a molten copper cascade, and Eve had a sullen soft-looking mouth that held more than a casual promise for Johnny Liddell. So when he got to her apartment, and found the date was off, it came as an unpleasant shock. Not that it was Eve’s fault. There was very little a girl, with her throat cut from ear to ear, could do about a broken date.
A wild and dangerous ride takes two lonely men into uncharted territory… 1943 Montana. Returning home to Montana after being wounded in the Pacific, Police Chief Robert Garrett was hoping for a little much needed Peace on Earth and Goodwill Toward Man. Instead, he finds himself chasing after a cold-blooded killer on Christmas Day, aided—whether he likes it or not—by eager young reporter Jamie Jameson. Jamie has idolized Police Chief Garrett most of his life. Despite a stolen birthday kiss seven years earlier, he knows his feelings are unreturned. Even if Rob felt the same, there’s no room in their world for such feelings between men. But while Jamie can accept Robert not sharing his feelings, he won’t put up with being treated like a troublesome kid brother. He too has a job to do, and he intends on traveling this bloody and twisted road with Robert Garrett—no matter where it leads.
From a New York Times–bestselling “master of crime fiction and equine thrills,” a private eye investigates the suspicious death of a horseman (Newsday). Dick Francis, Edgar Award–winning master of mystery and suspense, takes you into the thrilling world of horse racing. Champion jockey Robert Sherman has disappeared right before his wife was about to give birth. And right before he was sure to win the National. A coincidence? British investigator David Cleveland doesn’t think so. He’s convinced someone made Sherman disappear, but with every answer David gets, the body count rises. And if he isn’t careful, the next body might just be his own . . . Praise for the writing of Dick Francis: “Dick Francis is a wonder.” —The Plain Dealer “Few things are more convincing than Dick Francis at a full gallop.” —Chicago Tribune “Few match Francis for dangerous flights of fancy and pure inventive menace.” —Boston Herald “[Francis] has the uncanny ability to turn out simply plotted yet charmingly addictive mysteries.” —The Wall Street Journal “Francis is a genius.” —Los Angeles Times “Nobody executes the whodunit formula better.” —Chicago Sun-Times “A rare and magical talent . . . who never writes the same story twice.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune
Enjoy this humorous cozy mystery with a fashionable amateur sleuth and a holiday-themed mystery by national bestselling author Diane Vallere. Bah, Hashtag! When intrepid fashion insider Samantha Kidd lands a temporary assignment as a social media influencer two weeks before Christmas, she dives into the world of lifestyle goals. The job provides props to encourage drool-worthy posts destined to inspire envy and drive customers into last-minute shopping frenzies, but when a colleague goes missing, the illusion of Samantha's perfect life fades like an out-of-date filter. The only clues to her colleague's disappearance are found on his Instagram timeline, which Samantha knows has been staged. Maintaining appearances and influencing Christmas sales trends takes a back seat to finding her friend, but when the lines between authenticity and hype are blurred, she’ll either reveal the truth … or drown in a sea of hashtags. Get slayed! #SamanthaKidd #Totallyfunny #HolidayMystery #YouKnowYouWantTo :) Slay Ride is the humorous tenth cozy mystery in the Killer Fashion mystery series, although each book can be read as a standalone. For fans of Leslie Langtry, Meg Cabot, and Gemma Halliday, this Christmas amateur detective book will appeal to fans of laugh out loud crime fiction with a chick lit feel. If you love humorous suburban crime fiction featuring amateur sleuths and fierce friendships, with a dash of family drama, you'll love SLAY RIDE (and all of the Killer Fashion mysteries!). Diane-Fans describe “her vintage Vallere goodness,” and say she is a “great storyteller” with “a way with creating strong female characters and intrigue” who is “a superb and very humorous writer.” Her gift of creating “spunky sleuths in fun settings” take readers to Dallas, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Pennsylvania, and outer space.
If you dare, get into the sinister spirit of the season and join The Nightmare Keeper for a demented Saint Nick story... one who decks the halls with holiday horror, crafting a very merry macabre Christmas unlike any other! As malls continue to die, a down-and-out former mall Santa named Heinrick Fiddler’s rage turns to madness, and he’s dead-set on making sure department store shopping isn’t the only thing that’s deceased. Treasured Fear Street and Goosebumps author R.L. Stine is joined by Bram Stoker Award-nominated artist Pius Bak (Eat the Rich) for another tale straight from your nightmares!
A special Christmas short story in “one of the funniest cozy series going” (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine). The Christmas rush is on as Brandy Borne and her quaintly quirky mother, Vivian, sniff out plum collectibles for resale, only to find the owner of a Santa's workshop worth of treasures has received some deadly tidings. It's beginning to look a lot like murder. . .but who wanted the deceased closed for the holidays—permanently? Maybe a rival antiques dealer, a Grinch who collects Christmas? Or the victim's suspiciously frosty stepchildren? Brandy and Vivian check their list of who's been naughty or nice, but it may take a Christmas miracle—and some help from Sushi, their elfin shih tzu—to tie a bow around the season's most wanted killer. Includes Brandy Borne’s tips on antiques! Praise for Barbara Allan and the Trash ‘n' Treasures Mystery Series. . . "A humorous cozy that teems with quirky characters." —Booklist "Brandy and her eccentric mother make a hilarious team of snoops." —Joan Hess "Thrills, laugh-out-loud moments and amazingly real relationships." —Romantic Times Book Reviews
A baby-faced sadist sprung from the death-house . . . Two trigger-happy hoods . . . A voluptuous redhead trying to outrun the vengeance of the Mob . . . Here was a carload of killers, ready to fight each other and the world for a chance at the Big Money. $100,000 in unmarked ransom bills was the prize, hidden somewhere in the trackless woods of the Pacific Northwest. And they all knew that only one of them would come out alive. The hunters become the hunted in this vicious game of winner-kill-all.
A teenage girl wishes that a bunch of jocks who sexually harass her would disappear. One by one, they are murdered at the hands of a mysterious Guardian Angel. Andrea is terrified, for this slay ride has gotten out of control, and there's no way to stop it.
Harry Nelson got Dan Henderson out of the pen for his own very special reasons. The price of Henderson’s freedom was simple—he merely had to track down and find Nelson’s voluptuous wife, Connice... Henderson finally found her in far-off Hawaii—but just as dead as they come... Then he discovered that he was the fall guy for her murder and that he had to return to Tampa and kill.. But it was lovely Connice who had the last laugh, as always...
The slay bells are ringing in this festive seventh installment of national bestselling author Vicki Delany’s Year-Round Christmas mystery series, perfect for fans of Amanda Flower and Donna Andrews. Rudolph, New York, shop owner Merry Wilkinson’s best friend Vicky Casey is newly engaged to Chef Mark Grosse and is moving into the historic Cole House–a home surrounded by drama, intrigue, and a possible haunting that is in desperate need of renovation. The wedding is just three weeks away, but all is not bliss for the newly engaged couple as estranged relatives of the late owner fight over her will. Then, late one night, Vicky and Merry come across a dead body in the garden of Cole House–and Mark is the one standing over the corpse. As Detective Diane Simmonds focuses on Mark as the prime suspect, Vicky asks for Merry’s help to clear her fiancé’s name in time for the wedding. As they dig deeper into the connection between the house, Cole relatives, and town residents, past and present, it becomes clear that plenty of people wanted the victim dead. With a bakery to run, the busy Easter weekend fast approaching, a house to renovate, and a fiancé to clear of a murder accusation, Vicky’s wedding may end up on the chopping block. It’s up to Merry to put aside the chocolate bunnies and stuffed rabbits and help her best friend save her wedding–and her life.
