As every year goes by... ... the number of people able to give a first hand account of day-to-day life in the early part of the last century naturally diminishes. The small but telling detail disappears. Ethel May Elvin was born in 1906; she recalls her father’s account of standing sentry at Queen Victoria’s funeral, the privations and small pleasures of a working-class Edwardian childhood, growing up through the First World War and surviving the Second. Anyone intrigued by the small events of history and how the majority actually lived day-to-day, will find this a unique and fascinating book.
Agatha Bright has got big problems. Vampire problems. The coven has sent Vlad the vampire to Sea Breeze to investigate Remington’s possession by the man that Agatha has loved her entire life. Meanwhile, Agatha is hired to do her very own investigation. When body parts at the local morgue go missing, the morgue attendant asks Agatha to solve the mystery of the murdered man. The mystery takes her to the local farm where chickens wear pedometers to prove that they’re free range and the farm’s owner has a meditation habit and a vicious temper. Suspects pile up, but Agatha is forced to focus on Vlad and his threats to send John away into oblivion. Can Agatha and her aunts thwart Vlad and the coven so that Agatha can have her happy ending? Can Agatha solve the mystery before the murderer kills again? And can John and Agatha ever consummate their love? Beast of Eden is the Fourth book in the Agatha Bright Mysteries. Agatha Bright Mysteries… Agatha Bright has a delicious recipe for murder. Agatha Bright Mysteries are funny small-town mysteries with a dose of witchcraft.
Trading in Texas heat for Maine's tangy salt air, Natalie Barnes risked it all to buy the Gray Whale Inn, a quaint bed and breakfast on Cranberry Island. She adores whipping up buttery muffins and other rich breakfast treats for her guests until Bernard Katz checks in. The overbearing land developer plans to build a resort next door where an endangered colony of black-chinned terns is nesting. Worried about the birds, the inevitable transformation of the sleepy fishing community, and her livelihood, Natalie takes a public stand against the project. But the town board sides with Katz. Just when it seems like things can't get any worse, Natalie finds Katz dead. Now the police and much of the town think she's guilty. Can Natalie track down the true killer before she's hauled off to jail...or becomes the next victim? Murder on the Rocks is an Agatha Award nominee.
Winner of the 2022 Edgar Award for Best Novel “War, imprisonment, torture, romance…The novel has an almost operatic symmetry, and Kestrel turns a beautiful phrase.” New York Times Five Decembers is a gripping thriller, a staggering portrait of war, and a heartbreaking love story, as unforgettable as All the Light We Cannot See. nominated for Best Novel in the 2022 EDGAR AWARDS NOMINATED FOR BEST THRILLER IN THE 2022 BARRY AWARDS FINALIST FOR THE HAMMETT PRIZE 2021 "Read this book for its palpitating story, its perfect emotional and physical detailing and, most of all, for its unforgettable conjuring of a steamy quicksilver world that will be new to almost every reader." Pico Iyer December 1941. America teeters on the brink of war, and in Honolulu, Hawaii, police detective Joe McGrady is assigned to investigate a homicide that will change his life forever. Because the trail of murder he uncovers will lead him across the Pacific, far from home and the woman he loves; and though the U.S. doesn't know it yet, a Japanese fleet is already steaming toward Pearl Harbor. This extraordinary novel is so much more than just a gripping crime story—it's a story of survival against all odds, of love and loss and the human cost of war. Spanning the entirety of World War II, FIVE DECEMBERS is a beautiful, masterful, powerful novel that will live in your memory forever.
Beast of Eden: Agatha Bright has got big problems. Vampire problems. The coven has sent Vlad the vampire to Sea Breeze to investigate Remington’s possession by the man that Agatha has loved her entire life. Meanwhile, Agatha is hired to do her very own investigation. When body parts at the local morgue go missing, the morgue attendant asks Agatha to solve the mystery of the murdered man. The mystery takes her to the local farm where chickens wear pedometers to prove that they’re free range and the farm’s owner has a meditation habit and a vicious temper. Suspects pile up, but Agatha is forced to focus on Vlad and his threats to send John away into oblivion. Can Agatha and her aunts thwart Vlad and the coven so that Agatha can have her happy ending? Can Agatha solve the mystery before the murderer kills again? And can John and Agatha ever consummate their love? Beast of Eden is the Fourth book in the Agatha Bright Mysteries. Creepy Hollow: In this last installment of the Agatha Bright Mysteries, all will be revealed. Agatha Bright must solve the mystery of her Auntie Prudence’s mysterious death and bring John back from oblivion. It turns out that the two tasks are related, and Agatha is thrust into a battle between good and evil, love and hate. In order to secure her future and find her happy ending, she must right the wrongs of the past and maybe bring one or two people back from the dead. With help from her friends and family, Agatha must pull from all her resources for this final battle. Agatha Bright Mysteries…Agatha Bright has a delicious recipe for murder. * Agatha Bright Mysteries are funny small-town mysteries with a dose of witchcraft. “Elise Sax will win your heart.”—New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis “Sax will make you laugh. Her larger-than-life characters jump off the page and make crazy seem like a fun place to hang out.”—New York Times bestselling author Christie Craig “With quirky characters reminiscent of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series and a small-town heroine redolent of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse” --RT Book Reviews “Fans of laugh-out-loud romantic suspense will enjoy this new author as she joins the ranks of Janet Evanovich, Katie MacAllister, and Jennifer Crusie.”—Booklist, on An Affair to Dismember “A lighthearted and amusing caper with a sexy side order of romance . . . Gladie is an endearing mess of a character, and the book is fast-paced and amusing, with a large cast of quirky, small-town characters.”—Kirkus Reviews, on Matchpoint “There’s plenty for fans to enjoy in Sax’s third Matchmaker installment, complete with energetic narration, zany humor and a mystery that’s as engaging as the details of Gladie’s love life.”—RT Book Reviews, on Love Game
In the states of the former Confederacy, Reconstruction amounted to a second Civil War, one that white southerners were determined to win. An important chapter in that undeclared conflict played out in northeast Texas, in the Corners region where Grayson, Fannin, Hunt, and Collin Counties converged. Part of that violence came to be called the Lee-Peacock Feud, a struggle in which Unionists led by Lewis Peacock and former Confederates led by Bob Lee sought to even old scores, as well as to set the terms of the new South, especially regarding the status of freed slaves. Until recently, the Lee-Peacock violence has been placed squarely within the Lost Cause mythology. This account sets the record straight. For Bob Lee, a Confederate veteran, the new phase of the war began when he refused to release his slaves. When Federal officials came to his farm in July to enforce emancipation, he fought back and finally fled as a fugitive. In the relatively short time left to his life, he claimed personally to have killed at least forty people--civilian and military, Unionists and freedmen. Peacock, a dedicated leader of the Unionist efforts, became his primary target and chief foe. Both men eventually died at the hands of each other's supporters. From previously untapped sources in the National Archives and other records, the authors have tracked down the details of the Corners violence and the larger issues it reflected, adding to the reinterpretation of Reconstruction history and rescuing from myth events that shaped the following century of Southern politics.
"In her astonishing thriller, Sarah Sparrow has joined the ranks of Shirley Jackson and Stephen King. A warning: there is no safe place to read this book." –David Cronenberg Terrifying, thoroughly original and hauntingly written, A Guide for Murdered Children is a psychological thriller—and otherworldly surprise. We’ve heard it said that there is no justice in this world. But what if there really was? What if the souls of murdered children were able to briefly return, inhabit adult bodies and wreak revenge on the monstrous killers who stole their lives? Such is the unthinkable mystery confronting ex-NYPD detective Willow Wylde, fresh out of rehab and finally able to find a job running a Cold Case squad in suburban Detroit. When the two rookie cops assigned to him take an obsessive interest in a decades-old disappearance of a brother and sister, Willow begins to suspect something out of the ordinary is afoot. And when he uncovers a series of church basement AA-type meetings made up of the slain innocents, a new way of looking at life, death, murder—and missed opportunities—is revealed to him. Mystical, harrowing and powerfully moving, A Guide for Murdered Children is a genre-busting, mind-bending twist on the fine line between the ordinary… and the unfathomable.
The Complete Agatha Bright Mysteries Series The Fear Hunter: Living in a haunted lighthouse in the small town of Sea Breeze, California with her two elderly aunts, Agatha Bright has everything she wants. She owns and runs a bookstore / soup shop on the beach, and her soups are loved by everyone in town. Her life is regimented and organized. But Agatha has secrets that might get her in big trouble. Dark secrets. When a woman goes missing, the suspicion falls on Agatha, turning her life upside down. The new detective in town, Remington Cumberbatch, has seen a lot of weird things as a detective in nearby Cannes, California, but he’s in for a surprise with Agatha, her family, and the quirky town of Sea Breeze. He begins to investigate Agatha as the number one suspect, but the attraction is immediate. When the missing woman turns out to be murdered, the mystery deepens, and Agatha must help Remington find the killer before she winds up in prison…or worse. The Fear Hunter is the first installment of the Agatha Bright Mysteries, a funny, romantic, small town cozy mystery series with a touch of magic. It is a spin-off series of the Matchmaker Mysteries and the Goodnight Mysteries with some characters from both. Some Like It Shot: Agatha’s relationship with Remington is complicated. Very complicated. As she tries to navigate it, she’s also investigating her Auntie Prudence’s mysterious death. Meanwhile, business at the soup shop is booming. With a dispensary opened next door and a new delivery app in town, Agatha can’t make soup fast enough to meet the demand. When a taco-eating contest gives her a much-needed respite, Agatha is delighted. But the contest ends abruptly with the winner’s death, and now Agatha must put everything on the back burner to find the killer with Remington before he strikes again. Some Like It Shot is the second installment of the Agatha Bright Mysteries, a funny, romantic, small town cozy mystery series with a touch of magic. It is a spin-off series of the Matchmaker Mysteries and the Goodnight Mysteries with some characters from both. Fright Club: The first rule of Fright Club is…well, there are no rules of Fright Club. Agatha Bright is scared. Her coven is due to arrive in her town of Sea Breeze at any moment, determined to punish Agatha and her aunts for Remington’s unfortunate possession. Meanwhile, her aunts are working around the clock to fix the John / Remington situation before the unimaginable happens. The townspeople are unaware of the impending doom. In fact, life is going smoothly in Sea Breeze. The lifeguard tower is getting rebuilt, and the ocean’s water quality has even improved. Agatha’s friend Amy has become an Influencer, and Frances has a booming new career as the owner of a Porta Potty business. But when John has to fulfill Remington’s MMA fighting contract, he finds himself in the cage with a killer MMA star. Blood flows in the octagon, but not as much as backstage when a body is discovered. The victim has been beaten to death, and all of the clues point to John AKA Remington as the killer. Agatha Bright has to prove his innocence, or this ghost will wind up dead for the second time. Beast of Eden: Agatha Bright has got big problems. Vampire problems. The coven has sent Vlad the vampire to Sea Breeze to investigate Remington’s possession by the man that Agatha has loved her entire life. Meanwhile, Agatha is hired to do her very own investigation. When body parts at the local morgue go missing, the morgue attendant asks Agatha to solve the mystery of the murdered man. The mystery takes her to the local farm where chickens wear pedometers to prove that they’re free range and the farm’s owner has a meditation habit and a vicious temper. Suspects pile up, but Agatha is forced to focus on Vlad and his threats to send John away into oblivion. Can Agatha and her aunts thwart Vlad and the coven so that Agatha can have her happy ending? Can Agatha solve the mystery before the murderer kills again? And can John and Agatha ever consummate their love? Beast of Eden is the Fourth book in the Agatha Bright Mysteries. Creepy Hollow: In this last installment of the Agatha Bright Mysteries, all will be revealed. Agatha Bright must solve the mystery of her Auntie Prudence’s mysterious death and bring John back from oblivion. It turns out that the two tasks are related, and Agatha is thrust into a battle between good and evil, love and hate. In order to secure her future and find her happy ending, she must right the wrongs of the past and maybe bring one or two people back from the dead. With help from her friends and family, Agatha must pull from all her resources for this final battle. Agatha Bright Mysteries…Agatha Bright has a delicious recipe for murder. Agatha Bright Mysteries are funny small-town mysteries with a dose of witchcraft. “Elise Sax will win your heart.”—New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis “Sax will make you laugh. Her larger-than-life characters jump off the page and make crazy seem like a fun place to hang out.”—New York Times bestselling author Christie Craig “With quirky characters reminiscent of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series and a small-town heroine redolent of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse” --RT Book Reviews “Fans of laugh-out-loud romantic suspense will enjoy this new author as she joins the ranks of Janet Evanovich, Katie MacAllister, and Jennifer Crusie.”—Booklist, on An Affair to Dismember “A lighthearted and amusing caper with a sexy side order of romance . . . Gladie is an endearing mess of a character, and the book is fast-paced and amusing, with a large cast of quirky, small-town characters.”—Kirkus Reviews, on Matchpoint “There’s plenty for fans to enjoy in Sax’s third Matchmaker installment, complete with energetic narration, zany humor and a mystery that’s as engaging as the details of Gladie’s love life.”—RT Book Reviews, on Love Game
The pursuit of the man who murdered their life-long friend on the streets of London has forced Giles, Michael, Francis, and their newfound companion Vasily to the shores of far-off Brazil, an unfamiliar land to them. They are forced to rely on themselves only to traverse through dark paths to catch the mysterious fleeing criminal, Alikhan. Unbeknownst to them, they have become players in a global struggle among Illuminati-like forces, each striving to land the ultimate death blow to dominate the other. The mystery cargo transported south by Alikhan is one such terrorism operation that the three friends from London inadvertently have been dragged into. They are forced to confront many terrors as before they lay many crime networks that plague the region. They must find a way to capture Alikhan and stop his supporting gang from transporting the dangerous cargo across southern Brazil. Along their journey, they find themselves always behind their enemy, outgunned and outnumbered, always striving to anticipate the next move and purpose of the criminals. Constantly presented with the natural choice to quit and flee, the four muster their courage to continue, only to find that fortune sometimes smiles on them. They are rewarded with help found from new friends. Their quest stretches from the Atlantic Ocean coast and proceeds further from civilisation towards the sparsely inhabited regions in the interior where bandits reign supreme. As they race further west into Brazil’s interior, the scale and reach of destruction, pillaging and banditry shock and horrify the companions. Unknown to the outside world, long has this region suffered under the persecution of those who seek power and profit. They discover by accident hidden people who still hold out against the evildoers and share a common enemy. But the plans and machinations of the criminals are fast coming to fruition, and the friends are forced to divulge details of the conspiracy of the dangerous cargo they are pursuing. They are thrown into a last desperate war of life and death for the persecuted people of the region. Murder and destruction sweep the lands as the friends are scattered and pushed to oblivion. The search for peace, happiness, and redemption strains their relationship. Giles’ underlying struggles to find joy in this world force him to question the point of continuing towards more significant dangers and seeing him at odds with those who want to persevere. He finds romance with an astute local woman, Elisabetta, who offers Giles the path to a new serene life. Torn in two and faced with the choice to continue pursuing Alikhan or grasp his dreams with Elisabetta, Giles is ultimately forced towards a lonely end where betrayal and death become his last companions.
"A well-crafted tale of murder begotten by the collision of two incompatible worlds." -Kirkus Reviews Some Amish communities aren't so cozy. The death of a teenage Amish girl in a cornfield looks like an accident, but sheriff Serenity Adams suspects foul play. To solve the murder, she must investigate the nearby Amish community with the help of a man who was shunned years ago. At first glance, the case seems obvious. The poor girl was probably accidently shot during hunting season, but when the elders of the Amish community and even the girl's parents react with uncaring subdued behavior, Serenity becomes suspicious. As she delves deeper into the secretive community that she grew up beside, she discovers a gruesome crime from the past that may very well be related to the Amish girl's shooting. Serenity's persistence leads her to a stunning discovery that not only threatens to destroy her blossoming romance with Daniel Bachman, but may even take her life in the end.
