A “throwback” series, John Headston is a 21st century P.I. with 20th century sensibilities. John Headston is a private detective who, early in his career, was very successful, running a 12-man operation called THE HEADSTONE DETECTIVE AGENCY, mainly because the guy who painted the name on the door added the “e” at the end without realizing it was wrong. As the book opens, however, Headston is now 50, and the agency is down to just him. In his past he had run-ins with not only the law, but with the New York State Agency who had licensed him. As a result he spent some time in jail, and had his license revoked. Now he has it back, and is trying to get started again. His first case is a missing persons case, a wealthy woman whose husband just seems to have vanished from his Wall Street stockbroker job. Headston finds the man, who is now living under very odd circumstances, but the missing persons case quickly turns to murder. Aided by a tattooed young lady who decides she should work for him, Headston decides to work on the murder case, while attempting to avoid running afoul of the law and having his licensed revoked again—and possibly for good, this time.
A fun, quirky read in the form of a fantasy, adventure-come detective novel told from the perspectives of the two main characters. Set in the medieval cathedral town of Rochester, Kent and its surrounding areas, 'The Tombstone Detective Agency' tells the story of the county's mysteriously disappearing Ghosts (with a capital G!). Why? How? Who's responsible? As the Kent Board For Ghostly Behaviour is about as effective in protecting its citizens as a leaky umbrella is in keeping out the rain, it's up to Edwardian Ghost Girl Tessie and her detective obsessed Mortal (capital M!) friend Alex to find out by setting up their own detective agency and employing a bunch of eccentric spooks to help with their investigations. Will they succeed in solving the mystery or is there a traitor within their ranks? Aimed at children aged 9 - 12, the book is a fast-paced, imaginative read, packed with colourful characters, vivid descriptions of setting, and events, humour and twists and turns. Designed to encourage reading for pleasure, the novel also offers opportunities for parent/child and class discussion on themes such as friendship, the importance of making good choices, and celebrating differences. 'The Tombstone Detective Agency' is in line with the literacy goals for reading and writing at KS2 including 'show don't tell'. Note: Log on to the writer's website at www.kdgreaves.com to find further information about this book and other works by the author.
"It’s a delight to see Asha and Alex solve clues and help some clueless adults right a wrong. I can’t wait for the next book!” —Margaret Peterson Haddix, New York Times bestselling author of the Greystone Secrets series on The Fairfleet Affair How do you save a witch who’s been dead for centuries? Alex and Asha of the A&A Detective Agency are on the case! Summer is over, and Asha and Alex haven't had a decent case in months. But just as a chill begins to stir the air, and the autumn leaves start to turn, Dr. Wright from the Fairfleet Institute comes to them with a cryptic note, signed by “The Witch of Waverly College,” about Hannah Grimthorpe, the notorious witch from Northbrook’s colonial past. This is the perfect case to reinvigorate Alex and Asha's interest in keeping up the agency, but distractions come their way as school activities divide their attention. When more clues appear and Dr. Wright is forced out of the Institute, the two detectives decide they are going to need help from their classmates to solve the mystery. With sneaky adults out to thwart the kids' mission, shadows lurking in corn mazes and cemeteries, and a Halloween deadline looming to uncover the truth about Hannah Grimthorpe, it's a race against time and a lesson in who to trust for the young detectives of Northbrook. The A&A Detective Agency: The Grimthorpe Grave is the perfect autumnal read for kids ages 8 to 12.
John Headston took a bad step 12 years ago, and it cost him his freedom and his career. But now that he’s been pardoned, and has reopened his Headstone Detective Agency, he’s ready to start again. But into his office walks the woman who was the reason he lost it all, and she wants to use him again. She wants him to find out who’s trying to kill her wealthy, older husband. Will Headston risk it all again, or will he realize the folly of that action and turn her down?
Sister Eve, Private Eye Sister Eve knows God moves in mysterious ways. And Eve adores a good mystery. Especially a murder. Two decades into her calling at a New Mexico monastery, Sister Evangeline Divine breaks her daily routine when a police officer appears, carrying a message from her father. Sister Eve is no stranger to the law, having grown up with a police captain turned private detective. She’s seen her fair share of crime—and knows a thing or two about solving mysteries. But when Captain Jackson Divine needs her to return home and help him recover from surgery, Sister Eve finds herself taking on his latest case. A Hollywood director has disappeared, and the sultry starlet he’s been running around with isn’t talking. When the missing man turns up dead, Captain Divine’s case escalates into a full-blown murder case, and Sister Eve’s crime-solving instincts kick in with an almost God-given grace. Soon Sister Eve finds herself soul-searching every step of the way: How can she choose between the vocation in her heart and the job in her blood? The Case of the Sin City Sister She’s not your average nun. And now Sister Eve Divine’s risking it all, searching for a mission person in Vegas. Sister Eve Divine recently discovered she’s got a gift: turns out she’s a natural at private detective work. But is it a temptation or a calling? As Eve wrestles with this question, she’s taking a leave of absence from the convent, investigating a case with her PI father. But something else troubles Eve. It’s been weeks since Eve heard from her sister, Dorisanne. And Eve’s gut tells her that something sinister has happened to her difficult sibling. There’s only one place Eve can find the answers she’s looking for: in Dorisanne’s world, under the bright lights of Sin City—Las Vegas, Late night visits to the casino and some clever clues hidden in an address book set Eve on a trail that soon reveals that Dorisanne’s life is darker and more complicated than Eve ever expected. In the end, Eve’s ability to understand her sister—and herself—may be a matter of life and death. Sister Eve and the Blue Nun When Sister Eve returns to the monastery, the last thing she expects there is murder. After solving several mysteries with her father at the Divine Private Detective Agency, Sister Eve finds herself torn between her calling as a nun and the thrill that comes with detecting. She knows she’s been using her father’s health as an excuse to extend her leave of absence from the monastery, but that excuse is running thin. She prays that a return visit to the monastery for a conference on the Blue Nun will help bring clarity to her calling, but when the conference speaker is murdered, Sister Eve’s two worlds collide. Sister Eve knows the number one suspect, the victim’s brother and monk in residence, couldn’t possibly have committed the crime, and she’s determined to find the real killer. To do so means she must track down some mysterious newly discovered writings from the Blue Nun, said to date from the 17th Century, when the sister bi-located to the New Mexico region from her home in Spain. Could these texts from long ago be the key to today’s mystery? And will they offer any guidance to Sister Eve as she chooses which calling to follow
Dya is a girl from the deepest end of the ocean. Though likely nearing one hundred years old, she nonetheless looks to be—and for all intents and purposes is—a sixteen-year-old girl. Once, while very young, Dya ventured too close to land and found herself on a pebble beach off the coast of Maine where she came face to face with another young girl named Mary Louise. Though from completely different worlds, Dya and Mary Louise became very close (and secret) friends. Dya returned often over the years to visit Mary Louise, each time spending more and more time on land, and wanting less and less to return to her home in the deep. However, it was starting to become clear to Dya that she could not keep splitting her time between the two worlds, as it was literally, physically, tearing her apart. Soon she would have to decide—will she give up the sea once and for all and live out the reminder of her now shortened life in a world in which she’ll never truly belong…or will she remain in the deep and pine forever for the life she truly wanted? Back home beneath the sea, Dya is torn about what to do. For as much as she loves and misses her friend on land, and has fallen madly in love with the land itself, she’s afraid to leave the ocean world. This is not only because it is all she has ever known, but because her people are feral and aggressive folk by nature (particularly the men), besides being ferociously secretive and isolationist. They will not take kindly to having one of their own abandon the deep for the land, and there may very well be brutal and devastating consequences. The world of her people is an ancient culture, largely unchanged for thousands of years. And like any young immigrant caught between the modern world and that of her people, she fears what could happen if these very different worlds were to collide. Finally she decides to make the commitment once and for all, come what may. And with that, she makes the journey upward, and casts her fate to the whims of the coastal winds… Praise for THE SONG IN THE SQUALL: “The Song in the Squall is a unique and musically-charged tale of wanderlust, growing pains, and bonds that run deeper than the sea.” —Jessica McHugh, author of Rabbits in the Garden and the Darla Decker Series “Great young adult literature often explores the power of friendship. Add a component of magic, and the quest to find out what is really important in life, and you have the basic elements of a great story. Add a sharp, focused writing style and you have Nathan Singer's The Song in the Squall. Original and compelling—do not miss it!” —Carolyn Haines, USA Today bestselling author of the Sarah Booth Delaney and Pluto’s Snitch mystery series. “Nathan Singer’s The Song in the Squall is a glorious book, redolent with the taste of the salt sea and the sharp odor of an approaching thunderstorm. Dya is a young girl making the difficult transition from the depths of the sea to the land, finding friendship as well as conflict along the way. Dya, Molly, Malik, Mary Louise, and the other characters are drawn with emotion and an unflinching honesty that grips the reader’s heart and refuses to release it until the final, bittersweet conclusion. Open this book and follow the shimmering footsteps in the sands. You won’t regret the journey!” —Stephen Leigh, author of Crow of Connemara and A Fading Sun
Three Stories. Three Eras. Three Crimes. A 1960s mob fixer is drawn into a Vegas fix that might just put the fix on him. Dead Chinese immigrants wash up on the beaches of 1889 Seattle and one government official refuses to look the other way. An Italian ex-galley slave, sometime thief, and full-time rogue masterminds a one-of-its kind jail break in 1581 Constantinople. Praise for SUICIDE BLONDE: “Brian Thornton’s trio of historical novellas—Suicide Blonde—affirms his status as a star of the genre. A true wordsmith, Thornton paints rich, evocative portraits of early 1960s Las Vegas mobsters, nineteenth-century Pacific Northwest racial strife, and sixteenth-century Venetian maritime adventures. These novellas brim with characters full of life and personality, and the storytelling transports the reader to fascinating—and dangerous—times. Top-drawer stuff.” —James W. Ziskin, Anthony and Macavity Award-winning author of the Ellie Stone mysteries “Evoking Dashiell Hammett and Phillip Kerr, Suicide Blonde conjures a world of pulp adventure and hardboiled grit. From the Vegas Strip to the Mediterranean, this trio of historical crime tales surges with period precision and Black Mask-worthy thrills. Thornton delivers.” —Sam Wiebe, award-winning author of Invisible Dead and Last of the Independents “A trio of tales that span the globe and the centuries, each one told with a historian’s eye for detail and a storyteller’s gift for pacing. Suicide Blonde is not to be missed.” —Renee Patrick, Anthony and Macavity Award-nominated author of Design For Dying and Script For Scandal
Winter has set in a small town on the California coast and a fishing vessel has been lost amongst the gray waves. Grace runs the bowling alley and ghosts through his own life. He lives in the layer of fat between the underbelly and society. He completes tasks given to him by the people who run the town and is grounded only by his aging grandmother and her weekly bingo trips. Grace is charged with issuing payments to the fishermen’s widows. He pulls on his funeral suit and borrows his grandmother’s New Yorker. When Grace is unable to find one woman, he uncovers something that threatens the oligarchy’s reign and his way of life.
In 2017, Kate and Dan Malmon edited Killing Malmon, a unique anthology with short stories featuring the death of “Dan Malmon”. 100% of the profits went to the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Some stories were scary, some were funny; some were random, some were heroic. But they all featured his death. Dan Malmon’s widow would not sit idly while her husband was killed multiple times. Editors Kate and Dan Malmon are back with a second anthology, Revenge of the Widow Malmon. In this collection, all the stories feature “Kate Malmon” plotting and executing her bloody revenge. As with the first anthology, all profits from Revenge of the Widow Malmon will go to the Multiple Sclerosis Society. So if you hate Multiple Sclerosis as much as we do, or just want to see Kate get her sweet revenge on some fools, please join us as we continue to raise money to battle this disease. Featuring stories by E.A Aymar, Sean Chercover, Joe Clifford, S.A Cosby, Libby Cudmore, Nikki Dolson, Matthew FitzSimmons, Jordan Harper, Shaun Harris, J.J. Hensley, Jennifer Hillier, Aimee Hix, Matthew Iden, Renee Asher Pickup, and Eryk Pruitt.
Jimmy Buffett is one of the great contemporary singer/songwriters, and it’s hard to imagine a citizen of Planet Earth unfamiliar with such classic hits as “Margaritaville.” Jimmy has also written novels, children’s books, memoirs, and a stage musical based on Herman Wouk’s Don’t Stop the Carnival, and his family-friendly concerts almost always sell out to audiences comprised of a mix of dedicated Parrotheads, casual fans, and newbies. In The Great Filling Station Holdup, editor Josh Pachter presents sixteen short crime stories by sixteen popular and up-and-coming crime writers, each story based on a song from one of the twenty-nine studio albums Jimmy has released over the last half century, from Leigh Lundin’s take on “Truckstop Salvation” (which appeared on Jimmy’s first LP, 1970’s Down to Earth) to M.E. Browning’s interpretation of “Einstein Was a Surfer” (from 2013’s Songs from St. Somewhere). If you love Jimmy’s music or crime fiction or both, you’ll love The Great Filling Station Holdup. Mix yourself a boat drink, ask Alexa to put on a buffet of Buffett tunes, kick back, and enjoy! Table of Contents Introduction by Josh Pachter Down to Earth (1970) “Truckstop Salvation” by Leigh Lundin A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean (1973) “The Great Filling Station Holdup” by Josh Pachter A1A (1974) “A Pirate Looks at Forty” by Rick Ollerman Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes (1977) “Tampico Trauma” by Michael Bracken Son of a Son of a Sailor (1978) “Cheeseburger in Paradise” by Don Bruns Volcano (1979) “Volcano” by Alison McMahan Coconut Telegraph (1981) “Incommunicado” by Bruce Robert Coffin Somewhere Over China (1981) “If I Could Just Get It On Paper” by Lissa Marie Redmond One Particular Harbour (1983) “We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About” by Elaine Viets Riddles in the Sand (1984) “Who’s the Blonde Stranger?” by Robert J. Randisi Last Mango in Paris (1985) “Everybody’s on the Run” by Laura Oles Hot Water (1988) “Smart Woman (in a Real Short Skirt)” by Isabella Maldonado Off to See the Lizard (1989) “The Pascagoula Run” by Jeffery Hess Don’t Stop the Carnival (1998) “Public Relations” by Neil Plakcy Beach House on the Moon (1999) “Spending Money” by John M. Floyd Songs From St. Somewhere (2013) “Einstein Was a Surfer” by M.E. Browning
