A killer plays cat and mouse with a young widow against the snowy backdrop of an Alaskan winter. Branded a black widow after the suspicious death of her millionaire husband, Sarah Palmer flees Seattle for Anchorage. But the peace and quiet she hoped to enjoy in her hometown is soon shattered: The killer is murdering Sarah look-alikes on the fourteenth of each month, taunting Sarah with a valentine of evidence. After her experiences in Seattle, Sarah is slow to go to the police. When she finally does, she finds Detective Steven Quaid, who is called on to protect the beautiful widow from a stalker intent on her destruction. Steven is not entirely sure she is not behind the scheme herself, and before long Sarah has him wound up tighter than barbed wire. Is Sarah a victim or a very skilled manipulator? With a killer on the loose and a climbing body count, Steven can’t afford to hedge his bets-or his life.
Tag: Mysteries
The Graveyard of the Hesperides (Flavia Albia Mysteries, Book 4)
Rome, August AD 89. Flavia Albia, the daughter of Marcus Didius Falco, has taken up her father’s former profession as an informer. On a typical day, it’s small cases — cheating spouses, employees dipping into the till — but this isn’t a typical day. Her beloved, the plebeian Manlius Faustus, has recently moved in and decided that they should get married in a big, showy ceremony as part of beginning a proper domestic life together. Also, his contracting firm has been renovating a run-down building, a bar called the Garden of the Hesperides, where they uncover human remains buried in the backyard. For years there had been rumors that the previous owner of the bar, now deceased, killed a barmaid, and these are presumably her remains. In the choice between planning a big wedding to-do and looking into a crime from long ago, Albia would much rather investigate a possible murder — or murders, as more and more remains are uncovered, revealing that something truly horrible has been going on at the Hesperides.
As Albia gets closer to the truth behind the bodies in the backyard, her investigation has put her in the crosshairs — which might be the only way she’ll get out of the wedding preparations and away from all her relatives who are so very anxious to help out.
An Aria of Omens (Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries)
A cop at the opera…
Wisteria Tearoom owner Ellen Rosings coaxes Detective Tony Aragón to go with her to the Santa Fe Opera, but the magnificent performance of Tosca ends in disaster. In bizarre counterpoint to the opera’s plot, the leading man is murdered in his dressing room, and Tony must rush to secure the crime scene. Ellen is left to comfort Vi Benning, a former server at the tearoom who is now an apprentice at the opera and a protégée of the slain singer. No opera aficionado, Tony turns to Ellen for help navigating the world in which he must now conduct an investigation.
At the same time, Ellen is coping with a sudden, mysterious jump in business at the tearoom. Her problems are eclectic: Who killed the famous baritone? What do the antique letters she’s found have to do with the tearoom’s resident ghost? And will she and Tony ever find time for a normal date? This cozy mystery is the third in the Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries series.
A Devious Lot (Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries)
Molly Appleby has promised her new husband that their honeymoon will be trouble-free-specifically, no sleuthing. Unfortunately, trouble seems to follow Molly wherever she goes, even to England. After a glorious week in London, the newlyweds have escaped the city to visit Molly’s great-aunt in the quaint English village of Marlow Crossing. The setting is idyllic, as beautiful and serene as Molly could hope for, but as the senior staff writer for Collector’s Weekly knows, appearances can be deceiving. And when a local woman turns up poisoned to death, Molly’s convinced there’s more to the story than meets the eye. Putting her honeymoon on hold, Molly agrees to help local inspector Devon Boyle with the case, especially since the sleepy village presents such a small number of suspects. But when two of them go missing and the tragic death of another woman comes to light, Molly realizes she’s up against a much more sinister criminal than she thought. Untangling a web of lies and deceit as she searches for a motive and a murderer won’t be easy, but Molly’s determined to put all of her detective skills to use to catch a killer before her trip, and her life, are brought to a sudden end.
Spell Found: Blackmoore Sisters Cozy Mysteries, Book 7
When the Blackmoore sisters travel to Salem Massachusetts in search of an ancient energy infused relic that has been hidden away since the 1692 Salem witch trials, they find themselves up to their elbows in witches, ghosts, and cats…not to mention murder.
The sisters must depend on their paranormal detective skills to find the location of the relic before one of them becomes the next victim, but when their handsome guardian angel, Mateo, shows up with a surprise revelation about their paranormal gifts, the sisters must face a truth that could change their world forever.
Journey to Munich CD: A Maisie Dobbs Novel (Maisie Dobbs Mysteries)
Working with the British Secret Service on an undercover mission, Maisie Dobbs is sent to Hitler’s Germany in this thrilling tale of danger and intrigue—the twelfth novel in Jacqueline Winspear’s New York Times bestselling “series that seems to get better with each entry” (Wall Street Journal).
It’s early 1938, and Maisie Dobbs is back in England. On a fine yet chilly morning, as she walks towards Fitzroy Square—a place of many memories—she is intercepted by Brian Huntley and Robert MacFarlane of the Secret Service. The German government has agreed to release a British subject from prison, but only if he is handed over to a family member. Because the man’s wife is bedridden and his daughter has been killed in an accident, the Secret Service wants Maisie—who bears a striking resemblance to the daughter—to retrieve the man from Dachau, on the outskirts of Munich.
The British government is not alone in its interest in Maisie’s travel plans. Her nemesis—the man she holds responsible for her husband’s death—has learned of her journey, and is also desperate for her help.
Traveling into the heart of Nazi Germany, Maisie encounters unexpected dangers—and finds herself questioning whether it’s time to return to the work she loved. But the Secret Service may have other ideas. . . .
Dying for a Date: Laurel McKay Mysteries
Unsure if she is looking for Mr. Right, or Mr. Every Other Saturday Night, divorced mother of two, Laurel McKay reluctantly joins THE LOVE CLUB, a popular local dating service. Dressed to kill, she meets bachelor number one at a trendy restaurant. But the date is a bust, literally, when the guy decides Laurel is dessert, and she breaks his nose with her cell phone. It gets even worse when the man is found murdered the next morning, and Laurel has his blood on her clothes.
Despite her now being a person of interest to the police, Laurel bravely ventures out on date number two. When that unlucky bachelor disappears during dinner, Laurel’s only alibi is a bottle of Dom Perignon. The sexy investigating detective thinks she’s innocent and is worried she may be the next target. That’s more than enough motivation for Laurel to find a murderer determined to kill her social life–before dating becomes a dead end she can’t escape.
The Last Call: The Bill Travis Mysteries, Book 1
Bill Travis, an unmarried, unattached investment counselor rapidly approaching his fortieth birthday, conceives that he may not live the most exciting of lives, yet Julie Simmons, his first appointment that Monday, is deeply in trouble. She has taken a North Texas quarter horse racer and liquor baron named Archie Carpin – the last of a dynasty of criminals from the 1920’s – for a ride and cleaned him out of a neat two million bucks. And thus begins the adventure of Bill’s life.
Ensues a chase north across Texas to recover the money and shake the pursuit of a couple of rednecks with a penchant for rifles and rigged explosives. Yet, through all this action the compelling tale of yet another mystery-an 80-year old missing person’s case-begins to unravel.
About the Author: This action/adventure mystery novel is the first of six completed novels in The Bill Travis Mysteries. With a total of twenty-one books planned for the series, including three prequels, Bill Travis, Austin, Texas’ newest hero, is here to stay. George Wier has been writing for over twenty years. His most recent publishing credits include a contribution to Lone Star Noir (Akashic Books 2010). He lives in Austin, Texas with his lovely wife, Sallie.
The Monogram Murders Low Price CD: The New Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)
Hercule Poirot’s quiet supper in a London coffeehouse is interrupted when a young woman confides to him that she is about to be murdered. She is terrified—but begs Poirot not to find and punish her killer. Once she is dead, she insists, justice will have been done.
Later that night, Poirot learns that three guests at a fashionable London Hotel have been murdered, and a cufflink has been placed in each one’s mouth. Could there be a connection with the frightened woman? While Poirot struggles to put together the bizarre pieces of the puzzle, the murderer prepares another hotel bedroom for a fourth victim…
Since the publication of her first novel in 1920, more than two billion copies of Agatha Christie’s books have been sold around the globe. Diabolically clever, packed with style and wit, The Monogram Murders is a splendid addition to the world’s biggest-selling series.
Performed by Julian Rhind-Tutt