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The Incredible Crime: A Cambridge Mystery (British Library Crime Classics #0)
by Lois Austen-Leigh2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of Canada Trouble is brewing in the small, bucolic mountain town of Trafalgar, British Columbia. An American who came to Trafalgar as a Vietnam War draft dodger has left land and money to the town. But there's a catch. The money must be used to build a garden to honor draft dodgers. This bequest has torn the close-knit, peaceful town apart. Then the body of a leading garden opponent is found in an alley, dead from a single blow to the head.Constable Molly Smith is assigned to assist veteran Detective Sergeant John Winters in the investigation. But Winters doesn't want the help of the enthusiastic rookie and suspects that he's been assigned Smith for political reasons: her mother, a life-long activist, is the leader of the group arguing for the park.Egged on by a muck-raking TV personality, outside agitators from both sides are soon streaming into Trafalgar. In the meantime, Smith and Winters search through small-town secrets for a killer.
All Men Fear Me: An Alafair Tucker Mystery (Alafair Tucker Mysteries #8)
by Donis Casey"Casey's skill at making you care about the injustices of a time and place not often covered in history books is second to none. The admirable mystery is the cherry on top." —Kirkus ReviewsThe U.S. has finally entered the First World War and scheduled the first draft lottery. No one in Boynton, Oklahoma, is unaffected by the clash between rabid pro-war, anti-immigrant "patriots" and anti-conscription socialists who are threatening an uprising rather than submit to the draft.Alafair Tucker is caught in the middle when her brother, a union organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World, pays her a visit. Rob Gunn is fresh out of an internment camp for participants in an Arizona miners' strike. He assures Alafair that he's only come to visit family, but she's not convinced. More unsettling, Alafair's eldest son enlists, and a group calling itself the "Knights of Liberty" vandalizes the farm of Alafair's German-born son-in-law.Alafair's younger son, 16-year-old Charlie, is wildly patriotic and horrified by his socialist uncle. With his father's permission, Charlie takes a part-time war job at the Francis Vitric Brick Company. Soon several suspicious machine breakdowns delay production, and a couple of shift supervisors are murdered. Everyone in town suspects sabotage, some blaming German spies, others blaming the unionists and socialists. But Charlie Tucker is sure he knows who the culprit is and comes up with a plan to catch him red-handed.And then there is old Nick—a mysterious guy in a bowler hat who's been hanging around town.
Scone Island: An Ike Schwartz Mystery (Ike Schwartz Series #8)
by Frederick RamsayA man's body is found in the unforgiving New Mexico desert, his face so smashed that identification is impossible. It's the beginning of a brutal murder spree that will soon take Posadas County's new undersheriff, Estelle Reyes-Guzman, into a case that has roots on both sides of the border.With retired Sheriff Bill Gastner—now a livestock inspector for the state—still close at hand to offer unerring logic and horse sense, Reyes-Guzman attempts to identify the "Juan" Doe. Another body turns up in a shallow grave, revealing little about the killer, but more about the victims. And when a suspicious fire takes a third life, the terrible twist finally offers the break Estelle has been looking for, one that will lead her back into a harsh, merciless desert where death welcomes all.
Jail Coach (Jay Davidovich Mysteries)
by Hillary Belle LockeFlorida Book Awards Finalist"A worthwhile addition to Faye's long-running series that weaves history, mystery, and psychology into a satisfying tale of greed and passion." —Kirkus ReviewsArchaeologist Faye Longchamp-Mantooth has dug herself a deep hole and she can't make her way out of it. As she struggles to recover from a shattering personal loss, she sees that everyone she loves is trying to reach out to her. If only she could reach back. Instead she's out digging holes all over her home, the Florida island of Joyeuse.In their old plantation home, Joe Wolf Mantooth is surrounded by family—Faye, the wife he loves; their toddler son he adores; and his father, who hasn't gotten around to telling him how long he's been out of prison or how he got there—yet Joe has never felt so helpless or alone.Then a close friend at the local marina is brutally murdered, the first in a string of crimes against women that rocks Micco County. Joe, desperate to help Faye, realizes she is in danger from both her inner demons and someone who has breached the island's isolation. Local law and environmental officials say they want to help, but to Faye and Joe they feel more like invaders. A struggling Faye reaches back over a century into her family's history for clues. And all the while, danger snakes further into their lives, threatening the people they love, their cherished home, even the very ground—some of it poisoned—beneath their feet.
Hunter's Dance (John McIntire Mysteries #0)
by Kathleen Hills"This fun romp covers it all—car chases, shootings, eccentric-uncles-turned-amateur-playwrights and end-of-the-world computer viruses."—Publishers WeeklyCharley Fairfax—heiress, theatrical producer, newlywed—is intent on living happily ever after with her tall, dark, and sarcastic husband Jack. The only mysteries before her are which play to choose for next season and how to decorate her dining room.But when Jack is hired to investigate mysterious events at a local San Francisco software company where high-tech executives are brought low—actually, dead—Charley finds herself poised to do the unexpected. Charley has to get a job.Okay, so maybe the job is a sham and Jack isn't exactly crazy about the plan that she and her band of irregulars from the repertory theater go undercover to find a killer, but Charley is determined to trade in her Prada for a laptop. She quickly finds herself wishing she'd had more than one crash course in corporate double-speak before her first day on the job. But faking it has always been Charley's strong suit.Charley and Jack are starting to get the hang of this marriage thing. If only people would stop talking about babies, introducing them to decorators, and trying to kill them, they might even get to take a honeymoon.
The Eighth Veil (Jerusalem Mysteries #1)
by Frederick RamsayIt is 28 CE, the time of the feast of Tabernacles. A servant girl is found in the baths of the palace of King Herod Antipas, her throat cut. Jerusalem is buzzing over the brutal death of a prophet, John, known familiarly as the Baptizer, and Prefect Pontius Pilate wants no more trouble. So he coerces Gamaliel, the chief rabbi and head of the Sanhedrin, into investigating the girl's death. Gamaliel is a Talmudic scholar, not a sleuth. But as he learns more of the dead girl's background and that of some key suspects, he begins to fit the evidence together. The entwined histories of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Herod the Great, Anthony, and Augustus Caesar suddenly gain relevance to affairs in Jerusalem. And all the while, an itinerant rabbi from Nazareth with his ragged band of enthusiasts and his habit of annoying Caiaphas, the High Priest, moves enigmatically in the background....
Die I Will Not: A Regency Mystery (Regency Mysteries #3)
by S. K. RizzoloUnhappy wife and young mother Penelope Wolfe fears scandal for her family and worse. A Tory newspaper editor has been stabbed while writing a reply to the latest round of letters penned by the firebrand Collatinus. Twenty years before, her father, the radical Eustace Sandford, also wrote as Collatinus before he fled London just ahead of accusations of treason and murder—a mysterious beauty closely connected to Sandford and known only as N.D. had been brutally slain. Now the seditious new Collatinus letters that attack the Prince Regent in the press seek to avenge N.D.'s death and unmask her murderer. What did the dead editor know that provoked his death?Her artist husband Jeremy being no reliable ally, Penelope turns anew to lawyer Edward Buckler and Bow Street Runner John Chase. As she battles public notoriety, Buckler and Chase put their careers at risk to stand behind her and find N.D.'s killer. They pursue various lines of inquiry including a missing memoir, Royal scandal, and the dead editor's secretive, reclusive wife. As they navigate the dark underbelly of 1813 London among a cast driven by dirty politics and dark passions, as well as by decency and a desire for justice, past secrets and present criminals are exposed, upending Penelope's life and the lives of others.
Evil Turns: A Madeline Maclin Mystery (16pt Large Print Edition) (Madeline Maclin Series #5)
by Jane TeshMurder by witchcraft?Private investigator and former beauty queen Madeline Maclin thought she'd seen it all in her small North Carolina town of Celosia. Yet Evil Turns, fifth in the lively series by Jane Tesh, opens with a young man's body covered in strange occult symbols found in a local vineyard, putting Maddy on notice that there is more than one witch in the neighborhood.Years ago, a group of women in town formed Darkrose Coven, a practice now taken up by younger residents who insist that their dark rose tattoos only honor their favorite character from the popular Pagan Desires books and movies. Has the old coven reappeared? Is the new coven responsible for the ritualistic murder? Intrigue unfolds as Celosia prepares for its centennial. The Women's Improvement Society, led by wealthy, obnoxious Amanda Price, plans to create an outdoor musical drama, Flower of the South, extolling Emmaline Ross, one of the state's first vintners. Amanda steamrolls past City Councilmember Harold Stover, who fears Celosia cannot afford this costly venture, and Nathan Fenton, who refuses to let her use his Camp Lakenwood land for the production. When Harold is murdered, Amanda is the prime suspect. She hires Maddy to prove her innocence. Are the two murders connected? What about Megan Underwood, a local wiccan from the defunct commune, Peaceful Meadow, which had ties to the Darkrose Coven? Megan complicates Maddy's inquiries, drifting in and out of town claiming she is Emmaline reborn.What is the secret the Darkrose Coven is so desperate to hide? Maddy is stretched to the limit. Not only is she juggling her time investigating murder suspects, feuding locals, and a long-ago missing infant, she also has to fend off threats by a disreputable goon from her husband's past—her talented and charming spouse, Jerry Fairweather, had once been a con artist. Their current life together, committed to the straight and narrow, could be totally wrecked. Madeline needs magic of her own to unravel the twists and turns of tangled relationships and to find one singular lost soul.
Matricide at St. Martha's (Robert Amiss/Baroness Jack Troutbeck Mysteries #5)
by Ruth Dudley Edwards"The clever plot takes second place to the ebullience of the writing and spot-on inventiveness of the satire."—The TimesSt. Martha's College, Cambridge, had been staggering along on a shoestring for decades. Then alumna Alice Toon leaves her old school a huge fortune. The dons immediately fall to fighting over the spoils. The Virgins, led by Dame Maud Theodosia Buckbarrow, believe the bequests should be spent on scholarships. The Dykes—fewer in number but better street fighters—want to raise a center of Gender and Ethnic Studies. The Old Women (mostly men) dream of fine vintages to be laid down in a decent new wine cellar. Impasse!They've reckoned without the Bursar, Jack Troutbeck. She elects to infiltrate this maelstrom of politics with her own agent, Robert Amiss, a former civil servant with a talent for sorting things out. No sooner does he arrive on the scene where the Virgins are getting the upper hand than Dame Maud is murdered, leading into what Mike Ripley of The Daily Telegraph described as: "An acidly funny romp... Superbly bitchy on the none-too-fragrant groves of academe."
Dead Weight: A Posadas County Mystery (Posadas County Mysteries #0)
by Steven F. HavillA well seasoned sixty-nine, Sheriff Bill Gastner knows his Posadas, New Mexico, territory as well as he understands the foibles of the human condition. So when a backhoe crushes a man to death, it's more instinct than fact that leaves him feeling there's more to this "accident" than meets the eye. Adding to his problems, anonymous letters charging his best deputy, Tom Pasquale, with hustling Mexican nationals for cash are being dispatched around town. Gastner takes this one personally; he's fond of his deputy, but he does want the truth. He also knows it's an election year and dirty politics can happen anywhere. So can murder. Soon he's got not just one, but two dead bodies. And a strong desire to make sure that when he does retire . . . It's not by way of a well-aimed bullet.
Bag Limit: A Posadas County Mystery (Posadas County Mysteries #0)
by Steven F. HavillParked high on a side road on the flank of the second highest peak in the San Cristobal mountains, peacefully surveying what soon would no longer be his responsibility as a sheriff, almost-seventy Bill Gastner could think that the night would be without incident. He'd be wrong. He doesn't foresee that a car full of alcohol-inspired adolescents would run into his automobile. Nor that the driver would take off and disappear in the nearby woods. Far from uneventful, this night turns out to be one of the toughest in Bill Gastner's many years as undersheriff and then sheriff in this sparsely populated border area of New Mexico. Gastner knows the young driver and his family - including the soon-to-be-sheriff, Bobby Torrez. Taken into custody from his home, the prisoner seems far too upset about being arrested. During the trip to the jail he makes a desperate attempt to flee again, an attempt that ends in his being hit and killed by an oncoming truck. Gastner has to dig deep to learn what is behind this tragic overreaction to a serious but unfortunately common DWI arrest. With the imminent election, the visit of Gastner's former deputy with her surgeon husband and their two very active young ones and the near riot the dead youth's neighbors stage when his father dies suddenly, the sheriff's last few days in office are not as uneventful as he had hoped. But Gastner stoically retrieves the law-enforcement tools he has packed away, including his talent for detection, his diplomacy, and his just plain common sense. He has used them all successfully for many years, and it's a joy to watch him use them one more time.
Lost Luggage (Cyd Redondo Mysteries #1)
by Wendall ThomasMystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder"Tired of newspaper headlines that accuse cops of malfeasance or worse? Veteran editor Edwards has the perfect antidote: 15 reprints of stories from 1908 to 1966 showing English police officers at (generally) their most sterling." —Kirkus ReviewsIn classic British crime fiction, dazzling detective work is often the province of a brilliant amateur—whereas the humble police detective cuts a hapless figure. The twelve stories collected here strike a blow for the professionals, with teasing mysteries to challenge a hard-working police officer's persistence and scrupulous attention to detail. As in his previous anthologies for the British Library Crime Classics series, Martin Edwards introduces readers to fascinating neglected gems of British crime writing as well as uncovering lesser-known stories by the great novelists of the golden age. Each of these stories combines realism with entertainment, skilfully blending the conduct of a criminal investigation with a compelling murder-mystery plot.
Cold Morning (Edna Ferber Mysteries #Bk. 7)
by Ed IfkovicJanuary 3, 1935. The trial opens in Flemington, New Jersey, for the man accused of "the crime of the century." And Edna Ferber is there to cover it.1932. On a windy March 1 night, Charles Lindbergh, America's hero, discovers that his twenty-month-old son has been snatched from his crib. A ransom is arranged. Yet two months later, Little Lindy is found in a ditch near his Hopewell home, several weeks dead from a blow to the head.It takes over two years to arrest a suspect. Bruno Richard Hauptmann is caught passing one of the marked ransom bills. Press from across the world swarm to his trial. Bestselling novelist Edna Ferber and raconteur Aleck Woollcott, both hired by the New York Times to cover it, are part of the media frenzy, bickering like the literary lions they are. Did this immigrant carpenter really commit the crime? Alone? Observant sometime-sleuth Edna is not so sure.Local citizens, whipped into a frenzy by the yellow press, march through the streets demanding Hauptmann burn. Walter Winchell takes the lynch mob sentiment national. A British waitress at Edna's hotel, who'd hinted she had priceless information that could blow the trial wide open, is murdered. Edna begins to suspect a miscarriage of justice is underway, fueled in part by anti-German sentiment, in part by class privilege.Edna doesn't find Colonel Lindbergh the golden boy of legend. But there he is, entering the courthouse flanked by a quartet of New Jersey troopers. There's Hauptmann, handsome and calm despite his date with the electric chair—unless Edna can alter the course of justice.
A Funeral in Mantova (Rick Montoya Italian Mysteries #5)
by David P. WagnerSensational crime, intrepid reporter, deaths too close to home…Seeing Sammy "the Bull" Gravano strut through a Phoenix restaurant shocks investigative reporter Joya Bonner. The notorious Mafia hitman—nineteen murders and FBI snitch—his testimony sent Godfather John Gotti to prison—is hidden in the federal Witness Protection Program, yet here he is, visible in public and clearly up to something. Joya's instincts for a hot story kick in despite the danger. By working with surprising allies, her research reveals tragedy that extends beyond the Southwest to hit Joya's Midwest hometown, where grief turns to revenge, violence, and murder. Because she's chasing the biggest scoop of her career, Joya risks her job, her love, and her life to see if Sammy can be stopped. Can she spur her family and neighbors at home to do more than let sleeping dogs lie?
Fire Prayer: A Mystery (Storm Kayama Series #0)
by Deborah Turrell AtkinsonStorm Kayama and her partner Ian Hamlin are excited to get away from Honolulu for the weekend. While they will both be doing work on this trip, it is a much needed break from the routine. Storm is supposed to check on an old friendas diabetic son. This should be easy, but when the boyas mother, Jenny Williams, turns up dead, Storm must find the boy before the murderers do.In the meantime, Ian is investigating the disappearance of Brock Liu, the son of an Oaahu shipping magnate. Are Jenny Williamsa death and Brock Liuas disappearance related? Or are they both linked to an older unsolved crime?
Murder in the 11th House: A Starlight Detective Agency Mystery (Starlight Detective Agency Mysteries #1)
by Mitchell Scott Lewis"It's a perfect afternoon read that will provoke smiles. Almost cozy, with a Mr. Monk like ensemble cast, this series debut has tremendous potential."—Library JournalAstrological detective David Lowell must use his chartsand knowledge to solve the murder of a state judge in a New York City parking garage. At the urging of his daughter Melinda, a young defense attorney, Lowell tries to prove the innocence of Johnny Colbert, a loud-mouthed bartender wrongly accused of the crime. Lowell's hacker sidekick Mort, his vivacious assistant Sarah, and their bodyguard Andy join them in their race against time. With birth charts and street smarts, Lowell sorts out a cast of characters, from the judge's clerk and her lawyer boyfriend to the judge herself, and traces the reason for the crime back to a surprising source.
Assassins of Athens (Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mysteries #2)
by Jeffrey Siger"Jeffrey Siger's Assassins of Athens is a teasingly complex and suspenseful thriller....Siger and his protagonist, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, are getting sharper and surer with each case." —Thomas Perry, New York Times bestselling authorWhen the body of a boy from one of Greece's most prominent families turns up in a dumpster in one of Athens' worst neighborhoods, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis of the Greek Police's Special Crimes Division is certain there's a message in the murder. But who sent it and why? Andreas' search for answers takes him deep into the sordid, criminal side of Athens nightlife and then to the glittering world of Athens society where age-old frictions between old and new money breed jealousy, murder, revenge, revolutionaries, and some very dangerous truths. It is a journey amid ruthless, powerful adversaries that brings Andreas face-to-face with old grudges, new emotions, ancient Athenian practices, and modern political realities once thought unimaginable.
Scavengers: A Posadas County Mystery (Posadas County Mysteries #0)
by Steven F. HavillA man's body is found in the unforgiving New Mexico desert, his face so smashed that identification is impossible. It's the beginning of a brutal murder spree that will soon take Posadas County's new undersheriff, Estelle Reyes-Guzman, into a case that has roots on both sides of the border.With retired Sheriff Bill Gastner—now a livestock inspector for the state—still close at hand to offer unerring logic and horse sense, Reyes-Guzman attempts to identify the "Juan" Doe. Another body turns up in a shallow grave, revealing little about the killer, but more about the victims. And when a suspicious fire takes a third life, the terrible twist finally offers the break Estelle has been looking for, one that will lead her back into a harsh, merciless desert where death welcomes all.
Double Prey: The Posadas County Mysteries (Posadas County Mysteries #0)
by Steven F. HavillAlan Saxon, pro golfer and amateur sleuth, has hit rock bottom. After a disastrous season on the golf circuit, he is hounded by his bank, harassed by his ex-wife and on the verge of losing his current girlfriend. So, when his friend and fellow pro golfer, Zuke Everett, invites him to trade another dreary English winter for a tournament at the posh new Golden Haze Golf Club in sunny California, he leaps at the chance.However, Saxon soon finds himself enmeshed in a tenacious web of violence and intrigue as he attempts to find his friend's killer and free himself from suspicion. Beatings, betrayal and police badgering are par for this, the most treacherous course of Saxon's life.Double Eagle, Miles' second Saxon mystery, with its clever plotting, humor and breathless suspense, will delight readers—whether they golf or not.
One on One (Buddy Steel Thrillers #2)
by Michael Brandman"Another great read. Buddy Steel is my kind of Sheriff." —Tom SelleckWhen legendary Sheriff Burton Steel summoned his son Buddy home from LAPD Homicide, a reluctant Buddy agreed. Burton is debilitated by ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease. While Buddy is to cover his back, not an assignment he wants, the clincher is it's his last chance to connect with his proud, overbearing parent.What Buddy didn't expect was to encounter crime in Freedom, a privileged coastal community a hundred miles north of Los Angeles, as vicious and challenging as that of the city.One spring morning, the latest challenge erupts. The brutal murder of a prominent Freedom High School sports coach leads Buddy into a clandestine universe of sexual deception, play parties, unwitting athletes, over-privileged youths, treacherous bullies, and shocking malfeasance.At the same time, a sudden scourge of graffiti is disfiguring both public and private property, despoiling the beauty and serenity of Freedom's unassuming landscape. Outraged, knowing he has few legal weapons to wield, Buddy is forced to find new and challenging ways to thwart the street artist, or artists, responsible. Irreverent and imaginative, not to say manipulative, Buddy is just the man for the job.Buddy's plate is soon full and the stakes are enormous as he sets about bringing resolution to a glut of seemingly irresolute occurrences.One on One follows Missing Persons, Buddy's first investigation in Freedom.
Ten Lords A-Leaping (Robert Amiss/Baroness Jack Troutbeck Mysteries #0)
by Ruth Dudley EdwardsThe House of Lords will never be the same again. Disinclined to watch her language or moderate her manners, Jack Troutbeck, assisted by her old friend Robert Amiss, plots vigorously with others to scupper an anti-hunting bill of which she violently disapproves. But she hadn't reckoned with the campaign of intimidation mounted by the animal activists and the attempt on the life of one of her allies, shortly followed by scenes of horrifying carnage amongst the peers...
Isolation: A Faye Longchamp Mystery (Faye Longchamp Archaeological Mysteries #0)
by Mary Anna Evans"A perfect setting and first-rate storytelling."—Ragnar Jónasson, bestselling author of The Dark Iceland seriesNext book in the Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery SeriesFrom international bestselling author Jeffrey Siger comes another heart-stopping story of corruption and intrigue. The idyllic Greek island of Mykonos may be heaven on earth, but it's also the perfect cover for an international organized crime ring… and Chief Inspector Kaldis soon finds himself taking it on.The case begins for Athens' Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis with a literal bang when a corrupt former police colonel who runs a protection racket on Mykonos is gunned down. Suddenly, Kaldis is face-to-face with Greece's top crime bosses on Mykonos, an island whose natural beauty and reputation as an international playground belies the corruption lurking just beneath the surface.While Kaldis and his Special Crimes unit wrestle for answers, his wife, Lila, meets an American expat named Toni, a finder of stolen goods and a piano player in a gender-bending bar who has a zest for life and no apparent regard for rules. As Lila and Toni bond over a common desire to mentor young island girls trapped in an exploitative and patriarchal culture, they soon find that their efforts intersect with Kaldis' investigation in ways that prove to be dangerous for all involved…Rife with intrigue and thrilling action, once again Jeffrey Siger proves himself a master of capturing Greece in fiction. In this newest addition to the acclaimed international mystery series, Chief Inspector Kaldis is forced to dive into an investigation that just might swallow him whole. Because when corruption lies deep beneath the surface, how can the truth come to light?The perfect blend of action and culture, this series is:Perfect for fans of Martin Walker and Timothy HallinanFor readers who enjoy international mysteries and political thrillers(Previously published as The Mykonos Mob)
The Arsenic Labyrinth: A Lake District Mystery (Lake District Mysteries #3)
by Martin Edwards"Fans of this increasingly popular series will be in line for this one, and it should be recommended to readers of such similar British authors as Peter Robinson and Sally Spencer." —BooklistAfter ten years, Guy—a drifter with a taste for deception—has returned to Coniston in England's Lake District. Local journalist Tony di Venuto is campaigning to revive interest in the disappearance of Emma Bestwick, and Guy knows what happened to her.When Guy tips off the newspaperman that Emma will not be coming home, DCI Hannah Scarlett, head of Cumbria's Cold Case Review Team, re-opens the old investigation. Her inquiries take her to the Museum of Myth and Legend and to the remote and eerie Arsenic Labyrinth—a series of stone tunnels used to remove arsenic from tin ore.Meanwhile, historian Daniel Kind is immersing himself in the work of John Ruskin, whose neighbors created the Arsenic Labyrinth. A shocking discovery made against the stunning backdrop of the Lake District in winter makes it clear to Hannah that there is more than one mystery to solve, and she turns to Daniel for help in untangling the secrets of the past....
Rogue: An Ike Schwartz Mystery (Ike Schwartz Series #7)
by Frederick Ramsay"An unpretentious gem written to the hilt and harrowing in its unpredictability."—Kirkus Reviews STARRED reviewThe first book in the Texas Red River Mystery series, The Rock Hole is the gripping story of a rural community shaken to its core by a killer, and the man who will stop at nothing to protect his own…When your family's safety is threatened, what wouldn't you do to defend them?Lamar County, Texas: Summer, 1964. Life is idyllic for ten-year-old Top Parker, who has come to live with his grandparents in the small, rural town of Center Springs. Yet while Top runs the woods and countryside with his near twin cousin, Pepper, his Grandpa Ned—a small town constable—witnesses the spreading menace of a deranged killer. Out of his element, Ned reaches out to neighboring law enforcement and then the FBI.Local news sources tag the budding serial killer "The Skinner," and the label is chillingly accurate. Beginning with the torture and killing of small animals, the monster quickly moves to humans, displaying their mutilated corpses as gruesome trophies, with no apparent pattern to grab hold of. Lamar County cowers. Meanwhile, Constable Ned is convinced that a vendetta is involved, and though the why of it is murky, he can no longer deny that something horrific and dangerous is heading for the Parkers. Now the law can't help him, and he must use whatever means necessary to protect himself and his family.Is Ned up to the fight of his life?Set in the Texas panhandle and perfect for fans of C.J. Box and Craig Johnson, The Rock Hole is a riveting mystery that explores the worst—and best—parts of humanity.Top 12 Mysteries of 2011 by Kirkus ReviewsFinalist in the Benjamin Franklin Awards, Mystery
Server Down: A Mad Dog And Englishman Mystery (Mad Dog & Englishman Series #5)
by J. M. HayesAttending the Yaqui tribe's Easter Ceremonies in Tucson should be a dream come true for Cheyenne-wannabe-shaman Mad Dog. But immediately after his arrival, he is accused of being a witch. Then a policeman is murdered, and suddenly Mad Dog and his wolf-hybrid, Hailey, are targets of a city-wide manhunt with shoot-first overtones. Mad Dog's niece, Heather English, a part-time deputy for her father in Kansas, comes to Tucson to arrange a peaceful surrender or find the real killer.Back in Kansas, someone has blown Mad Dog's house off the face of the Great Plains. Sheriff English learns Mad Dog has been playing an online computer game, War of Worldcraft, where a vampire wizard has been tormenting him. Mad Dog claims the creature has come after him in the real world. The sheriff isn't convinced...until he begins receiving threats from a vampire wizard on his office computer....