Christmas, 1940. A temporary truce between the German and Allied forces is a welcome respite from the relentless air raids over London. Down Street underground station, in the heart of Mayfair, is now a secret retreat for Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his cabinet. In this supposedly secure location, the body of a woman is found, stabbed in the heart. Detective Chief Inspector Coburg and Sergeant Lampson are called to investigate. However, whispers of treason as well as the suspicion of insidious Russian plots muddy the waters of the case, and personal resentments strike far too close to home. Everything is on the line for Coburg and Lampson as the body count steadily rises.
March, 1941. London is the scene of nightly destruction as the Blitz continues, and the bombing is taking its toll on the city's inhabitants. Detective Chief Inspector Coburg and Sergeant Lampson are recovering from a devastating bomb attack on the Café de Paris when they receive a call asking them to go to the disused Lord's Underground station where the body of a man has been discovered outside the formerly busy station. The dead man was the victim of a brutal attack, beaten to death by what appears to have been a cricket bat. Could the dead man be associated with the British Empire XI, made up of players from Great Britain and far-flung corners of the globe, who are playing at the world-famous Lord's cricket ground? Coburg and Lampson are put in a spin by this complex case.
When Washington’s splendid Union Station opened its doors in 1908, the glorious structure epitomized capital stylishness. Today, restored and refurbished, the station is again a hub of activity where the world’s most famous and infamous people meet–and often collide. Now, in Margaret Truman’s new Capital Crime novel, this landmark locale becomes the scene of a sensational shooting whose consequences ricochet from seedy bars to the halls of Congress. Historic Union Station means nothing to the elderly man speeding south on the last lap of what turns out to be a one-way journey from Tel Aviv to D.C.–on a train that will soon land him at Gate A-8 and, moments later, at St. Peter’s Gate. This weary traveler, whose terminal destination is probably hell, is Louis Russo, former mob hit man and government informer. Two men are at the station to meet him. One is Richard Marienthal, a young writer whose forthcoming book is based on Russo’s life. The other is the man who kills him. Russo has returned to help promote Marienthal’s book, which, although no one has been allowed to read it, already has some people shaking in their Gucci boots. The powerful fear the contents will not only expose organized crime’s nefarious business, but also a top-secret assignment abroad that Russo once masterminded for a very-high-profile Capitol Hill client. As news of Russo’s murder rockets from the MPD to the FBI and the CIA, from Congress to the West Wing, the final chapter of the story begins its rapid-fire unfolding. In addition to the bewildered Marienthal and his worried girlfriend, there is an array of memorable characters: rock-ribbed right-wing Senator Karl Widmer; ruthless New York publisher Pamela Warren; boozy MPD Detective Bret Mullin; shoe-shine virtuoso Joe Jenks; dedicated presidential political adviser Chet Fletcher; and President Adam Parmele himself–not to mention freelance snoops, blow-dried climbers, and a killer or two. There’s no place like the nation’s capital, and as her myriad fans know, Margaret Truman always gets it right. Murder at Union Station is a luxury express, nonstop delight.
August 1940. On the streets of London, locals watch with growing concern as German fighter planes plague the city's skyline. But inside the famous Ritz Hotel, the cream of society continues to enjoy all the glamour and comfort that money can buy during wartime - until an anonymous man is discovered with his throat slashed open. Detective Chief Inspector Coburg is called in to investigate, no stranger himself to the haunts of the upper echelons of society, ably assisted by his trusty colleague, Sergeant Lampson. Yet they soon face a number of obstacles. With the crime committed in rooms in use by an exiled king and his retinue, there are those who fear diplomatic repercussions and would rather the case be forgotten. With mounting pressure from various Intelligence agencies, rival political factions and gang warfare brewing either side of the Thames, Coburg and Lampson must untangle a web of deception if they are to solve the case - and survive.
THE FIRST IN A NEW BOOK THEMED COZY MYSTERY SERIES You won't be able to stop turning the pages of this small town mystery, which is: Perfect for fans of Ellery Adams and Lorna Barrett A riveting bookclub cozy mystery Full of quirky, Southern charm Not every murder is by the book... As Sugar Springs gears up for its all-class high school reunion, Mississippi bookstore owner Arlo Stanley prepares to launch her largest event: a book-signing with the town's legendary alum and bestselling author, Wally Harrison. That's when Wally is discovered dead outside of Arlo's front door and her best friend is questioned for the crime. When the elderly ladies of Arlo's Friday Night Book Club start to investigate, Arlo has no choice but to follow behind to keep them out of trouble. Yet with Wally's reputation, the suspect list only grows longer—his betrayed wife, his disgruntled assistant, even the local man who holds a grudge from a long-ago accident. Between running interference with the book club and otherwise keeping it all together, Arlo anxiously works to get Chloe out of jail. And amidst it all, her one-time boyfriend-turned-private-eye returns to town, just another distraction while she digs to uncover the truth around Wally's death and just what Sugar Springs secret could have led to his murder. If you love women's murder club books, Amy Lillard's cozy mysteries are just for you!
After exhausting their resources in the slums of Los Angeles, a junkie and his wife settle in London's "murder mile," the city's most violent and criminally corrupt section. Persevering past failed treatments, persistent temptation, urban ennui, and his wife's ruinous death wish, the nameless narrator fights to reclaim his life. In prose that could peel paint from a car, Tony O'Neill re-creates the painfully comic, often tragic days of a recovering heroin addict.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air, this extraordinary work of investigative journalism takes readers inside America’s isolated Mormon Fundamentalist communities. • Now an acclaimed FX limited series streaming on HULU. “Fantastic.... Right up there with In Cold Blood and The Executioner’s Song.” —San Francisco Chronicle Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the renegade leaders of these Taliban-like theocracies are zealots who answer only to God; some 40,000 people still practice polygamy in these communities. At the core of Krakauer’s book are brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a commandment from God to kill a blameless woman and her baby girl. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this appalling double murder, Krakauer constructs a multi-layered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, polygamy, savage violence, and unyielding faith. Along the way he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America’s fastest growing religion, and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief.
This story of a real-life Victorian mystery is a “meticulously researched true-crime account . . . its final revelation is a showstopper” (The New York Times). In July 1864, Thomas Briggs was traveling home after visiting his niece and her husband for dinner. He boarded a first-class carriage on the 9:45 pm Hackney service of the North London railway. A short time later, two bank clerks entered the compartment and noticed blood pooled in the seat cushions and smeared all over the floor and windows. But there was no sign of Thomas Briggs. All that remained was his ivory-knobbed walking stick, his empty leather bag, and a bloodstained hat that, strangely, did not belong to Mr. Briggs. The race to identify the killer and catch him as he fled on a boat to America was eagerly followed by the public on both sides of the Atlantic. The investigation and subsequent trial became a fixture in New York newspapers—and a frequent distraction from the Civil War that ravaged the nation. In Murder in the First-Class Carriage, Gold Dagger Award nominee Kate Colquhoun tells the gripping tale of a crime that shocked an era. “A suspenseful, well-paced account of a baffling mystery.” —The Washington Post “Deploying her skill as a historian, Colquhoun turns a single curious murder case into a fascinatingly quirky portrait of the underside of mid-Victorian London. I found it unputdownable.” —Daily Telegraph
THE FIRST VICE LORD is the story of the life and death of Big Jim Colosimo and Chicago's infamous segregated red-light district--the Levee. For the first time, the true story is told of the colorful characters who peopled the Levee from the time of the Columbian Exposition to the Roaring Twenties, clearly the most colorful period in Chicago's history. The product of five years of research through Chicago daily newspapers, magazines, and periodicals, and books on the city's history, it documents the story as it occurred, with all of the sights, sounds, and smells of that lusty, unruly era. THE FIRST VICE LORD is the story of an immigrant Italian lad who grew up in the tenements of Chicago, where he worked first as a lowly street sweeper, then as a brothel operator and vice lord, and finally as the owner of the most famous restaurant of his day. His story is told against the backdrop of an open red-light district so famous it was known to the crown heads of Europe.
The first comprehensive study of serial homicide in South Africa is intended primarily for psychologists, students, educators and police officers who require background on the behavioural patterns, motives and other details about serial killers. It is a serious attempt to understand the mind of the serial killer so that he may be identified and apprehended as soon as possible. For, as the author points out, serial killers' prospects of rehabilitation are negative - and they need to be removed from society for the remainder of their lives. Detectives need specific training to investigate serial homicide and Pistorius believes that an understanding of the psychodynamics of serial killers should be extended to state prosecutors, judges, parole officers and pathologists. She also believes that those who work with children need to be aware that all documented cases of serial killers reveal either childhood abuse or neglect and that children displaying antisocial behaviour should be identified and receive counselling. Only in being proactive in preserving the mental health and well-being of children can the double tragedy of serial homicide ultimately be prevented.
