The Alpine Recluse

The Alpine Recluse

Author: Mary Daheim

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Published: 2007-03-27

Total Pages: 335

ISBN-13: 0345468155

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For many mystery readers, Alpine, Washington–Mary Daheim’s fictional small town in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains–has become a beloved second home, a delicious retreat from the stresses of life. Yet the editor of The Alpine Advocate, Emma Lord, knows all too well that the picturesque old logging town is loaded with scandal: family feuds, illicit romance, chicanery, and sometimes deadly violence. THE ALPINE RECLUSE In the middle of a hot midsummer night, Emma is awakened by fire trucks rushing to a blaze at the nearby home of newlyweds Tim and Tiffany Rafferty. At daybreak, Tiffany and her unborn child are safe, but Tim, never blessed with good luck in all his thirty-plus years, has perished in the fierce conflagration. Sheriff Milo Dodge suspects murder and arson, and rumors fly from the Burger Barn and Mugs Ahoy to the Grocery Basket and the Venison Inn. Some swear the Rafferty marriage was crumbling. Others hint at stock fraud. A few mention momentary sightings of a possibly mad recluse known as Old Nick. Sacrificing the heady enticements of a budding romance to nail down a great story, Emma shifts into high investigative gear while her fearless House & Home editor, Vida Runkel, rushes in where angels fear to tread: straight into the private lives of some of Alpine’s most respectable–and now terminally edgy–citizens. But neither Emma nor Vida suspects the unbelievable truth.


The Alpine Scandal

The Alpine Scandal

Author: Mary Daheim

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2008-01-29

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0345468171

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Welcome to mystery lovers’ favorite destination: Alpine, Washington, Mary Daheim’s picturesque old logging town in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. From the Venison Inn to the Upper Crust Bakery, Front Street is jumping–and the nerve center of the community is the office of The Alpine Advocate, Emma Lord’s weekly newspaper, which keeps folks up to speed on everything from joyous weddings to sudden, violent death. THE ALPINE SCANDAL It’s a quiet morning at the Advocate until the mail brings shocking news: a formal obituary for Alpiner Elmer Nystrom. As far as anyone knows, Elmer is alive and well. But he hasn’t turned up for work, so Emma and her unstoppable House & Home editor, Vida Runkel, rush to the Nystrom home, where they find Elmer’s lifeless body in the henhouse, half buried under straw. Not only has he been murdered, but his obituary had been mailed before he died. Though Elmer was well liked by everyone, the same cannot be said of his standoffish wife or his son, the town’s new orthodontist. Rumors fly–straight into the office of the Advocate. Why did Dr. Nystrom’s new receptionist resign at the end of her first day? Why are the Nystroms’ neighbors so close-mouthed? Who mailed that prophetic obituary? With Sheriff Milo Dodge in the hospital, it’s up to Emma and Vida to get to the bottom of the tragedy. Alpiners love scandal, and with Elmer’s murder, they’ll get their fill. The Alpine Scandal, number nineteen in this bestselling series, is as suspenseful and charming as its predecessors, a delicious look into the life of a small town where all inhabitants know one another–just not as well as they thought.


The Alpine Obituary

The Alpine Obituary

Author: Mary Daheim

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Published: 2007-12-18

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0307416852

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SPECIAL EDITION: MURDER Not even in Alpine, Washington, could the death of octogenarian Jack Froland be considered big news—except by his drinking buddies at Mugs Ahoy. But that suddenly changes when in the middle of the funeral, Jack’s widow hysterically insists that he was murdered. Emma Lord, publisher of The Alpine Advocate, who is already investigating a threatening letter received by the town’s beautiful blonde judge, now suspects she has two hot stories to unravel. Backed by her House and Home editor, that bottomless repository of scandal Vida Runkel, she prepares for a triple-threat special: murder, blackmail, and—as wildfire sweeps the mountainside— possible arson as well. But success will not come cheap. With a killer roaming the woods, it may cost Emma her life. . . . READ ALL ABOUT IT! The Alpine Advocate Novels by Mary Daheim


The Alpine Pursuit

The Alpine Pursuit

Author: Mary Daheim

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2005-03-29

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0345447921

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As her myriad of fans can attest, USA Today bestselling author Mary Daheim creates wonderful mysteries peopled with marvelous characters as quirky as they are endearing. The Seattle Times says Daheim is “one of the brightest stars in our city’s literary constellation”—and the popularity of her irresistible Pacific Northwest crime series has swept across the nation. For a small town newspaper like The Alpine Advocate, a new play at the local community college is big news. Editor and publisher Emma Lord is duty-bound to attend opening night, but expects the amateur enterprise will serve only as a cure for insomnia. The play is dubbed “a black comedy,” but the only laughs Emma gets are from the bad acting and the wretched script. And while the turgid production makes Wagner’s Ring cycle seem like a vignette, the real drama begins just before the final curtain. Hans Berenger, dean of students, wasn’t well known or well liked around Alpine, but the audience found his death scene genuinely convincing—until they realized he wasn’t acting. No one can say how or when the blanks in the prop gun were replaced with the real bullets that killed Berenger, but the list of suspects reads like a playbill of the cast and crew. They all had opportunity, access, and their own axes to grind with the thespically challenged dean. Seeking the assistance of Vida Runkel, the Advocate’s redoubtable House and Home editor, Emma Lord vows to unravel a mystery that spirals out into unexpected places. As Emma sets the stage for the most likely suspect, she finds herself in a two-character scene whose next cue could make the resolute editor take a final—and permanent—bow.


The Blue Bistro

The Blue Bistro

Author: Elin Hilderbrand

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Published: 2010-05-25

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1429905492

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Elin Hilderbrand, author of the enchanting Summer People and The Beach Club, invites you to experience the perfect getaway with her sparkling new novel. Adrienne Dealey has spent the past six years working for hotels in exotic resort towns. This summer she has decided to make Nantucket home. Left flat broke by her ex-boyfriend, she is desperate to earn some fast money. When the desirable Thatcher Smith, owner of Nantucket's hottest restaurant, is the only one to offer her a job, she wonders if she can get by with no restaurant experience. Thatcher gives Adrienne a crash course in the business...and they share an instant attraction. But there is a mystery about their situation: what is it about Fiona, the Blue Bistro's chef, that captures Thatcher's attention again and again? And why does such a successful restaurant seem to be in its final season before closing its doors for good? Despite her uncertainty, Adrienne must decide whether to open her heart for the first time, or move on, as she always does. Infused with intimate Nantucket detail and filled with the warmth of passion and the breeze of doubt, The Blue Bistro is perfect summer reading.


Played by the Book

Played by the Book

Author: Lucy Arlington

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2015-02-03

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0425276635

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The New York Times bestselling Novel Idea Mysteries make their return with Lila Wilkins, literary agent and “murder magnet,” planning a book signing garden party. But things aren’t coming up roses when she has to weed out a dangerous killer… The owner of the Novel Idea Literary Agency is thrilled when former local boy and popular television show host Damian York returns to Inspiration Valley, North Carolina, to launch his new gardening book. But Lila is less than excited about the hubbub when she sees her mounting to-do list. Between planning York’s gala and sprucing up her yard for another event, she’s spread too thin—especially after she finds a skull buried in her flowerbeds. As Lila’s macabre discovery leads to other secrets hidden in Inspiration Valley’s past, a member of the local garden club is found slumped over her prize roses—murdered. Now it’s up to Lila to dig through old mysteries and new clues to unearth a murderer before someone else is found pushing up daisies…


V is for Vengeance

V is for Vengeance

Author: Sue Grafton

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Published: 2011-12-16

Total Pages: 455

ISBN-13: 023076116X

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V is for Vengeance is the twenty-second in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton. Las Vegas, 1986. A young college graduate is murdered when he is unable to pay back a loan funded by notorious criminal Lorenzo Dante. Two years later private investigator Kinsey Millhone finds herself assisting to apprehend a shoplifter - Audrey Vance - in a shopping centre. Events take a much darker turn when Audrey's body is discovered beneath the Cold Spring Bridge, a local suicide spot. Unable to believe she took her own life, Audrey's fiancé Marvin Striker hires Kinsey to investigate. It soon emerges that the shoplifter had become caught up in a much larger operation. Meanwhile Lorenzo Dante has begun to grow weary of his life in organized crime and frustrated with his violent and impulsive younger brother Cappi. While the police net begins to close in on him, Dante meets the beautiful Nora, who exerts a powerful pull over the gangster. As Kinsey’s enquiries reach a dramatic head, it becomes clear that she and Dante have one thing in common – they must be careful who they trust . . .


The Alpine Mysteries Omnibus

The Alpine Mysteries Omnibus

Author: Mary Daheim

Publisher: Wings

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780517228531

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Welcome to Alpine, Washington, where murder and mayhem is all in a day’s work! Sassy, intelligent, single mother Emma Lord has always wanted to own a newspaper. And when she inherits half a million dollars from an ex-boyfriend, she is able to do just that. She buysThe Alpine Advocate, local paper of the sleepy town of Alpine, Washington. Unfortunately, there’s not much to write about in a small town. But then the murders start, and Emma finds that not only does she have front-page stories to write, she also has killers to uncover! In this volume, the first three Alpine Advocate novels are included in their entirety. Whether you’re already a fan of Emma Lord and the residents of Alpine, or this is your first visit to the Cascade Mountains, you’ll love the quirky characters, surprising plot twists, and fast-paced writing that exemplify this series. Welcome to Alpine! InThe Alpine Advocate, family drama reaches a fever pitch when rich old Neeny Doukas’ handsome grandson Mark Doukas is found murdered. Evidence suggests that Mark’s brother Chris, the black sheep of the Dooukas clan, may be to blame, but suddenly everyone in the family is acting suspicious. Emma and her trusted assistant Vida, who knows everyone in Alpine and is related to most of them, are on the case! Next inThe Alpine Betrayal, Dani Marsh, who left Alpine years ago to become a Hollywood movie star, returns home to shoot her latest movie. Soon after her arrival, her ex-husband Cody Graf goes berserk with an axe, and is later found dead on a deserted back road. Emma covers the story for the local paper, but she and her friend Milo, the local sheriff, don’t think they’re getting the whole story. Why does everyone in town seem to hate Dani? Did Cody Graff really overdose, or was he murdered? Emma is determined to find out! Finally there’sThe Alpine Christmas. Winter in Alpine is picturesque, with deep snow, Christmas trees, frozen lakes, and carolers. But the beauty is tarnished when a woman’s severed leg is found in the lake, and another woman’s dead body turns up in the forest. Emma Lord is joined on the case by her brother Ben, an irreverent priest visiting from Arizona. Can they find the killer before more women wind up dead?


The Alpine Quilt

The Alpine Quilt

Author: Mary Daheim

Publisher: Fawcett

Published: 2006-03-28

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 034544793X

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“[A] well-paced and compelling murder mystery.”—Romantic Times Quilters at the Burl Creek Thimble Club in Alpine, Washing-ton, are planning a fête to welcome back returning member Genevieve Bayard. But Gen’s homecoming is cut short when she dies suddenly at a dinner party. Emma Lord, owner and publisher of the local newspaper The Alpine Advocate, vows to sleuth her way to the truth, and enlists the help of her trusted “House & Home” editor, Vida Runkel. Surprisingly, Vida seems downright unwilling to get involved. To make matters worse, murder isn’t the only crime in Alpine. There have been several burglaries, which may or may not be connected to Gen’s de-mise. As Emma digs, she uncovers a shocking scandal that may point the finger of guilt at one of her nearest and dearest . . . while changing the history of Alpine itself. “[Daheim] amiably captures the rhythms and crosscurrents of small-town life.”—Kirkus Reviews


The Alpine Betrayal

The Alpine Betrayal

Author: Mary Daheim

Publisher: Fawcett

Published: 2010-07-28

Total Pages: 243

ISBN-13: 0307760103

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"Editor-publisher Emma Lord finds out that running a small-town newspaper is worse than nutty--it's downright dangerous."—Carolyn G. Hart When a local girl, Dani Marsh, returns to Alpine a star to shoot a Hollywood film, the tension in the air is so thick it crackles. Then at the annual Loggerama, Dani's former husband, Cody Graff goes berserk with an axe and is later found dead. Reporting on on all the goings-on as the editor of the ADVOCATE, Emma Lord begins to suspect that neither she nor the sheriff, laconic Milo Dodge, is getting the real story. Why are there such strong feelings among those who knew Dani back when? Why so few tears for Cody Graff? Whence the impenetrable mystery that enfolds Alpine like a shroud? Emma's nose for a story leads her straight into trouble....