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Shadow Hill (Geneva Chase Crime Reporter Mysteries #4)
by Thomas KiesLord Chamberlain John spends his days counseling Emperor Justinian and passes the small hours of night in conversation with the solemn-eyed little girl depicted in a mosaic on his study wall. He never expected to meet her in a public square or afterwards find her red-dyed corpse in a subterranean cistern. Had the mysterious woman truly been the model for the mosaic years before as she claimed? Why had she sought John out? Who wanted her dead—and why?The answers seem to lie among the denizens of the smoky streets of the quarter of Constantinople known as the Copper Market, where artisans, beggars, prostitutes, pillar saints, and exiled aristocrats struggle to survive within sight of the Great Palace. In his investigations, John encounters a faded actress, a patriotic sausage maker, a sundial maker who fears the sun, a religious visionary, a man who lives in a treasure trove, and a beggar who owes his life to a cartload of melons. But before long he suspects he is attempting to unravel not just a murder but a plot against the empire....
Eight for Eternity: A John The Lord Chamberlain Mystery (John, the Lord Chamberlain Mysteries #8)
by Mary Reed Eric MayerIn January 532, mobs ruled Constantinople, capital of the Roman Empire. Against a backdrop lit by raging fires, John, Chamberlain to Emperor Justinian, must find those who would use the Nika Riots to dethrone the emperor. But are the ringleaders still in the city—or even alive?Porphyrius, the famous charioteer, may know more than he tells about the disappearance of two men under imperial guard. What of the brothers with a distant claim on the throne? Or the headstrong young girl? Will General Belisarius and his armed troops side with the rioters or remain loyal to Justinian?John must untangle a web of intrigue before the escalating violence in the streets removes all hope of finding those he seeks.
The Texas Job
by Reavis Z. Wortham"Edwards and Muller have assembled top-notch talent in this entertaining anthology of 20 original short stories... High-quality entries from the likes of Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, and Ian Rankin, as well as from lesser-known authors such as Bill Beverly, elevate this above similar volumes."—Publishers WeeklyThe twenty brand new crime stories in this book have been specially commissioned to celebrate the tenth anniversary of CrimeFest, described by the Guardian as "one of the 50 best festivals in the world." Contributors come from around the world and include the legendary Maj Sjöwall who, together with partner Per Wahlöö, was the originator of Nordic noir. The editors are Martin Edwards and Adrian Muller. Martin Edwards is responsible for many award-winning anthologies and Adrian Muller is one of the co-founders of CrimeFest.Contributors to Ten Year Stretch are:Bill Beverly, Simon Brett, Lee Child, Ann Cleeves, Jeffery Deaver, Martin Edwards, Kate Ellis, Peter Guttridge, Sophie Hannah, John Harvey, Mick Herron, Donna Moore, Caro Ramsay, Ian Rankin, James Sallis, Zoë Sharp, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, Maj Sjöwall, Michael Stanley and Andrew Taylor.
Where There's a Will (Rowland Sinclair WWII Mysteries #10)
by Sulari GentillWinter is hard in Beauville, where the melting snow can reveal much more than last season's dead leaves. So when a wealthy, obnoxious tourist and his ski bunny girlfriend surface in Pru Marlowe's little Berkshire town, she knows she should stay out of their way. The bad-girl animal psychic has to focus on more immediate concerns, including a wild rabbit named Henry, supposedly tamed and illegally living with an eighty-four-year-old lady in her home. Henry, who seems to be acting out and hiding, avoids responding to Pru.Yet when Pru discovers the tourist murdered and his girlfriend's high-maintenance spaniel falls to her care, she gets dragged into a complicated case of crime and punishment that involves some new friends, an old nemesis, and her own shadowed past. A recent museum art heist draws the feds into the investigation along with a courtly gentleman radiating menace, who represents secretive business interests in New York and shows a surprising awareness of Pru. Her on-again, off-again romance with police Detective Creighton doesn't stop him from warning her to steer clear of the inquiry. The spaniel, however, lures her in.Pru lives in a world where only her crotchety tabby Wallis knows the whole truth about her past, her flight from Manhattan, and her unique gift that surfaced abruptly one day. Fearing the worst, Pru now comes dangerously close to being exposed. With everything in motion, Pru, Wallis, and everyone they hold dear will be lucky to escape...by a hare.
A Specter of Justice: A Sam Blackman Mystery (Blackman Agency Investigations #5)
by Mark de Castrique"A good choice for anyone who enjoys small-town mysteries and ghost stories." —BooklistWhen private detective Sam Blackman agrees to help his partner and lover, Nakayla Robertson, conduct a fundraiser for orphaned twin boys, he does so to ease his conscience. The boys' parents were killed in a courtroom shootout where Sam was the key witness against the twins' father.The charity event, a nighttime ghost tour of the legendary haunted sites of Asheville, North Carolina, seems harmless enough. Sam only has to tell the story of a grief-stricken woman who hanged herself from an old, arched stone bridge. "Helen, come forth!" he cries. Sam and his tour-goers expect the actress playing Helen's ghost to walk toward them from the bridge's dark recesses. Instead, her body tumbles from overhead and dangles at the end of a noose. Someone has reenacted the legend with deadly authenticity.When a second murder mimics another old ghost tale, the police fear a macabre serial killer is on the prowl. But the case isn't Sam's to solve. Then, a tidal wave of evidence begins to point to one man—Sam's friend, defense attorney Hewitt Donaldson. Sam and Nakayla, firmly believing in Donaldson's innocence, must not only prove it, but halt a murderer seemingly bent on retribution. Does the killer's motivation rise from the present, or is Team Donaldson dealing with some specter from the past?
Forsaken Soul (Medieval Mysteries #5)
by Priscilla Royal"Like Corinna's earlier adventures, this episode is cleverly written and chock full of charming characters, interesting puzzles and luscious descriptions of food with appended recipes." —Kirkus ReviewsCorinna Chapman, owner of the bakery Earthly Delights, detests Christmas. The shoppers are frantic and the heat oppressive in Melbourne, Australia, where Christmas is a summer festival. Corinna is a perfect size 20 with a genius for baking bread. And while dreaming of air-conditioned comfort, she finds herself dealing with a rose-addicted donkey named Serena, a maniacal mother with staring eyes, a distracted assistant seeking the definitive glacé cherry recipe, her friend the fearless witch Meroe, and the luscious Daniel with whom she would like to spend a lot more time.But Daniel is on the track of two runaways, Brigid and Manny. Their Romeo-and-Juliet romance is not as straightforward as it seems, and the pair will go a long way to avoid being found. With the help of a troupe of free-spirited "freegans," three very clever internet hackers, and a bunch of singing vegans, Corinna and Daniel go head-to-head with a sinister religious cult on a mission and a band of Romanies out for revenge in a wild and wonderful chase against the clock.
Out of Season (Posadas County Mysteries #7)
by Steven F. HavillBill Gastner, Undersheriff of Posadas County, New Mexico, is about to lose his valuable deputy when she goes to Minnesota with her doctor husband. Then his life becomes even more complicated when his boss, the sheriff, dies in a private plane crash piloted by his brother-in-law. Questions about why the men were flying (the sheriff hated to fly), especially in bad weather are overshadowed when the coroner finds that the pilot was killed by gun shots originating from the ground....
A Cold Touch of Ice (Mamur Zapt Mysteries #13)
by Michael PearceThe world is changing around the Mamur Zapt, British Chief of Cairo's Secret Police. It's 1912 and there's a war on that no one's heard of. When an Italian man is murdered in the city's back streets, there is concern that this could be some kind of ethnic cleansing. "One of us" Morelli may have been, but was he "one of us" enough? And were the guns in his warehouse anything to do with it? Gareth Owen - the Mamur Zapt - has to find out fast.And then, as external pressures crowd in, other difficult questions arise. What is Trudi von Ramsberg really doing in Cairo? Not to mention that other noted traveller, Gertrude Bell, or the irritating little archaeologist, T.E. Lawrence? And why has the post of Khedive's Librarian suddenly become so important?As Cromer's Egypt gives way to Kitchener's Egypt, Morelli is not the only one who has problems over where his allegiance lies. Maybe the solution is for Owen to go to Zanzibar....
Less Than a Moment (Posadas County Mysteries #24)
by Steven F. Havill"Clemens will win new readers with this multifaceted crime caper, which makes the most of the 4-H setting"—BooklistTattooed, hard-working, and often crabby dairy farmer and biker Stella Crown is hot—because it's summer and because she has plenty of things to raise her temperature: a nagging sister-in-law, her fiancé Nick's illness, and a bank account in the red. But when a local country star turns up dead at the county fair where Stella's teenage employee Zach is an exhibitor things turn from hot to ugly.Stella had only seen the victim from a distance. But since Stella was the one to dig her out from her deathbed in the calf barn's manure pile, the cops are on her like flies on…well…honey. Why on earth would Stella want to kill a young singer she'd never spoken to?Sick to death of annoying cops and entertainment folks, Stella figures the only way to get her life back is to aim law enforcement in the right direction. If that means having to endure a manicure with her soon-to-be-sister-in-law at the dead singer's favorite salon or stopping by the recording studio to check out the talent Stella figures there could be worse things. Can't a simple farm girl just get married in peace?
The Sandburg Connection: A Sam Blackman Mystery (Blackman Agency Investigations #3)
by Mark de CastriqueThe summer of 1276 at Tyndal Priory is passing peacefully until a villager's corpse is found floating in the millpond. The murder victim, a newcomer, was greatly disliked in Tyndal. Yet no villager wants to see one of their own hanged for the deed. Fingers quickly point to a trio of Jewish refugees—husband, mother-in-law, and very pregnant wife—forced to take shelter while relocating under the provisions of King Edward's Statute of the Jewry. Riots loom; threats against the Jews mount. Eleanor and Ralf have little time to gather evidence before popular opinion rules the murder solved. But when the prioress' maid Gytha joins the suspect list, the inquiry takes an even more troubling turn. Murder investigations are always grim, but this one grows as ominous as a North Sea storm....
Cries & Whiskers (Theda Krakow Series #3)
by Clea SimonWhen an animal rights activist is killed by a hit-and-run driver on an icy Cambridge street, music critic Theda Krakow can't get too upset. Besides, Theda is busy investigating the rise of a dangerous new designer drug that threatens the musicians and fans who make up the popular club scene.But when Theda learns that the accident victim was defying her own radical group to rescue feral cats on the eve of a ferocious winter storm, she puts her own prejudices aside to help investigate. As Theda and her buddy Violet race to save these half-wild felines from the freezing New England winter, they uncover simmering tensions that make the activist's death seem more than accidental. Could a friend have been the fatal driver? Is Violet more involved with the extremist group than she's let on? Then Theda's cat Musetta goes missing....
Who's Sorry Now?: A Lady Adelaide Mystery (Lady Adelaide Mysteries #2)
by Maggie RobinsonVenice, 1745, is an age of reckless pleasures, playful artifice, and baroque excess. An accident has reduced Tito Amato's glorious singing voice to a husky croak. But now the male soprano is determined to prove himself as a director. As the Teatro San Marco is losing subscribers to a rival company, the theater's Maestro Torani charges Tito with locating the perfect opera to fill the seats in time for Carnival.Surprisingly, a second-rate composer provides the very thing—an opera so replete with gorgeous melodies the public speculates it was written by the late Antonio Vivaldi. Even more disconcerting are the rumors swirling around Angeletto, a male soprano imported from Naples to sing the lead. Is the singer truly a castrato or a female soprano engaging in a daring but lucrative masquerade?Both matters turn dangerous when Maestro Torani is viciously attacked and killed. And Tito is the prime suspect. His own life as well as the future of Teatro San Marco now depend on his skills as a sleuth....
The Twice-Hanged Man (Medieval Mysteries #15)
by Priscilla RoyalThird book in the Posadas County Mystery Series"Gastner is an incisive investigator whose two most valuable qualities are compassion and insomnia. Unlike other fictional detectives who approach murder as a personal affront, Gastner sees himself as the victims' advocate, striving to even the scales of justice for those no longer able to do it themselves."—BooklistWhen two baffling crimes strike Posadas County, New Mexico, Undersheriff Bill Gastner knows they're connected somehow. But as the case heats up he may have to call in reinforcements…Bill Gastner, Undersheriff of Posadas County, may be getting on in years, but he's still as sharp as any other small town sheriff. When he gets a call that an elderly schoolteacher was found dead at the bottom of her basement stairs, he suspects it wasn't an accident. Something strange is going on…He's also sure that elderly Reuben Fuentes knows nothing about the bodies scattered on his dusty, southern New Mexico ranch. Although the other county sheriffs want to arrest Fuentes and be done with the case, Bill isn't convinced. No spring chicken himself, Bill summons his former deputy, Estelle Reyes-Guzman, from Mexico to help clear the old man of suspicion. She's used to handling people who call her a 'lady cop' and can take anything thrown her way. Eventually this generation-spanning law enforcement team finds a thread tying all the crimes together—a killer with no conscience.In this thrilling addition to Steven F. Havill's posadas County Mystery Series, Undersheriff Bill Gastner will have to rely on former deputy Estelle Reyes-Guzman to help him unravel a harrowing case that spans all of Posadas County.Check out the iconic series:Perfect for fans of C.J. Box and Michael McGarrityFor readers who enjoy police procedurals and Southwest desert mysteries
Murder at the Manor: Country House Mysteries (British Library Crime Classics #0)
by Edited by Martin EdwardsMystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder"[T]he entire book is filled with country-house-mystery wonders: the closed-circle puzzle, the dying-message clue, and the sociopathic guest who invades the weekend house party." —BooklistThe English country house is an iconic setting for some of the greatest British crime fiction. This new collection gathers together stories written over a span of about 65 years, during which British society, and life in country houses, was transformed out of all recognition. It includes fascinating and unfamiliar twists on the classic 'closed circle' plot, in which the assorted guests at a country house party become suspects when a crime is committed. In the more sinister tales featured here, a gloomy mansion set in lonely grounds offers an eerie backdrop for dark deeds.Many distinguished writers are represented in this collection, including such great names of the genre as Anthony Berkeley, Nicholas Blake and G.K. Chesterton. Martin Edwards has also unearthed hidden gems and forgotten masterpieces: among them are a fine send-up of the country house murder; a suspenseful tale by the unaccountably neglected Ethel Lina White; and a story by the little-known Scottish writer J.J. Bell.
The Otter of Death (Gunn Zoo Series #5)
by Betty Webb"While examining some timely social issues, Webb also delivers lots of edifying information on the animal kingdom in an entry sure to please fans and newcomers alike." —Publishers WeeklyWhile taking the yearly "otter count" at a marsh near Gunn Landing Harbor, California, zookeeper Theodora Bentley sees Maureen, her favorite otter, swimming around clutching someone's expensive smartphone. When Teddy rescues the device, she discovers a photograph of a murder-in-progress. A hasty search soon turns up the still-warm body of Stuart Booth, PhD, a local Marine Biology instructor.Booth was a notorious sexual harasser of young female students, so the list of suspects is long enough to make Teddy wonder if the crime will ever be solved. But when her friend, Lila, one of Booth's original accusers, is arrested and charged with his murder, Teddy begins to investigate. This creates considerable tension with Teddy's fiancé, Sheriff Joe Rejas. He believes the ever-inquisitive zookeeper might be putting her own life at risk, and so orders her to butt out.Concerned for her accused friend, Teddy ignores Joe's ultimatum. She questions not only members of Gunn Landing's moneyed social elite, but also the other side of the financial spectrum—the financially strapped young women willing to do almost anything to pay for their college tuition. Alarmed by Teddy's meddling, Booth's killer fights back—first with a death threat, then via gunshot.In this fifth Gunn Zoo Mystery, Teddy is torn between living a peaceful life on her Monterey Bay houseboat with her three-legged dog DJ Bonz, or moving inland to marry Joe, who comes with kids and a mother who has her own mysterious agenda. The choice is scary for Teddy—who has barely been managing her own many-times-married mother, and her imperious employer, Aster Edwina Gunn, overlord of the famed Gunn Zoo. Teddy's life is further complicated by a wayward snow monkey named Kabuki, taunter of teenage boys. The zookeeper's dedication to her charges—including the anteater, the koala, the llama, and Magnus, the polar bear cub from Iceland (met in Teddy's last adventure, The Puffin of Death), never falters in a cleverly plotted series rich in characters and in animal lore.Gunn Zoo series:The Anteater of Death (Book 1)The Koala of Death (Book 2)The Llama of Death (Book 3)The Puffin of Death (Book 4)The Otter of Death (Book 5)Praise for the Gunn Zoo series:"'High Society meets Zoo Quest.' I've always been a sucker for zoos, so I also relished the animal details in this highly enjoyable read." —RHYS BOWEN, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author"Webb skillfully keeps the reader guessing right to the dramatic conclusion." —Publishers Weekly for The Puffin of Death"Teddy's second case showcases an engaging array of quirky characters, human and animal." —Kirkus Reviews for The Koala of Death
The Girl They All Forgot (Lake District Mysteries #8)
by Martin Edwards1909 Egypt. It's easy to go adrift in the complex political currents swirling through a country that has long been "advised" by the British after the mess it made of its finances, but now swelling with nationalism. And you can't discount the self-interest of the Khedive, the Royal Family, and of the country's pashas. Nevertheless, Captain Gareth Owen, Head of the Cairo Secret Police, has to ask, "Where's the body?" The girl, perhaps a woman of ill repute but one definitely lost overboard, had been glimpsed lying on a sandbank in the Nile. Then she vanished. Why had Prince Narouz hired the dahabeeyah? Surely not just to cruise to Luxor—the man has no interest in antiquities. And why was Miss Sekhmet on the boat anyway? Was it for the Prince's pleasure, or to embarrass him? Under heavy pressure from politicos and his own mistress, the strong-minded Zeinab, Owen steers a difficult course after a murderer....
A Perilous Conception: The Detective Baumgartner Mysteries, Book 1 (Detective Baumgartner Mysteries #1)
by Larry KarpLauren Rose moved to Phoenix to begin a new life as she starts a prestigious emergency medicine residency, but she could end up doing life in the Arizona State penitentiary instead.Lauren has always lived in the shadow of her more glamorous sister Liz, the wife of baseball superstar Jake Wakefield. But when Liz is found viciously murdered in her Scottsdale home, the spotlight turns to Lauren as prime suspect in the high-profile investigation.Having lost both parents at an early age, Liz's death leaves Lauren all alone in a new city. Jake's support proves invaluable as she navigates the nightmare her life has become. As Lauren spends time with Jake, they develop a closeness that she finds both comforting and confusing. It's an intimacy forged by their shared grief, their mutual love of baseball, and by the thrill of him pitching a perfect game for the Diamondbacks.Meanwhile, the Scottsdale police repeatedly question Lauren. She objects to a lie detector test as bad science. An arrest warrant is issued. The ensuing trial leads the evening news every night as a rabid public just can't get enough of the sordid proceedings, quickly dubbed "The Trial of the Millennium." Will the outcome be influenced by this media circus?
Primitive Secrets: A Storm Kayama Mystery (Storm Kayama Series #1)
by Deborah Turrell AtkinsonOne beautiful Hawaiian morning Storm Kayama walks into her lucrative Honolulu law office to find her adopted uncle, Miles Hamasaki, at his desk, stiff and cold. Years before, Miles had fulfilled a promise to Storm's father to raise Storm with his own family. But now questions emerge about Hamasaki's death and her adopted family, and Storm's suspicions rise.Heading to the Big Island for a weekend away from escalating pressures, Storm narrowly escapes a terrible accident. Later, with her "aunt" Maile, a traditional Hawaiian healer, and Keone, a paniolo on the huge Parker Ranch, Storm encounters a legend from her youth and a family totem, or 'aumakua, which they say will protect her. Or will it? As Storm struggles to heal wounds from her childhood and bring justice to Hamasaki's killer, she also must come to grips with rifts in her life and culture.
Buffalo Mountain (Ike Schwartz Series #3)
by Frederick Ramsay"Ramsay demonstrates once again that he is a superb storyteller, adroitly mixing the spy and small-town mystery genres and shocking us with one walloping big surprise midway through the book." —BooklistIt's midwinter and the Shenandoah Valley is poised on the brink of an unusually icy and snowy season. Alexei Kamarov's body is discovered in a forest within the Picketsville town limits. His driver's license identifies him as Randall Harris. The last Sheriff Ike Schwartz heard of Kamarov, he was reported missing—presumed dead in Russia—the victim of intelligence game-playing.Ike is not happy this piece of his past has resurfaced. Especially when Ike's former CIA colleague and friend Charlie Garland asks Ike to keep a lid on the investigation.Slowly, interagency rivalries emerge as local petty criminals vie with international assassins and plotters for attention. All the while, Buffalo Mountain looms in the background....
Morgue Mama: The Cross Kisses Back (Morgue Mama Mysteries #1)
by C. R. CorwinShe was 1932 Broadway's newest sensation. Then she was murdered.Three years after the Crash that ushered in the Great Depression, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and playwright Edna Ferber finds herself a guest at Noël Coward's lavish birthday party. The British wit, enjoying the Christmas holiday season in New York and bracing for a trip to Cleveland in the new year, has filled his room with rich, famous folks whose lives continue in stark contrast to those being lived out in the city's streets and poorer neighborhoods.Edna is haunted by the dark landscape of Manhattan outside Coward's elegant rooms: the snake-like breadlines, the shanty village in Central Park, the gaunt apple sellers in threadbare suits on freezing sidewalks. She has yet to be introduced to the Automat where a few cents are the difference between nourishment and starvation.Among those who've kept fortune intact is Dougie Maddox, the financially astute but socially naïve only son of a Fifth Avenue dynasty. His widowed mother, known as Lady Maud, has kept the thirty-five-year-old on a short leash, but Dougie has crossed paths with Belinda Ross, the new Broadway songbird. He's mesmerized by her, a woman flagrantly courted by other men. But Belinda seems besotted by Dougie. Gossip flourishes—she has a shadowy past and a producer brother anxious to break onto the Great White Way.When Belinda is found strangled late one night in a Times Square Automat, jealous, hot-tempered Dougie is the prime suspect. But Noël, who had befriended him, and Edna, who likes him, team up to clear Dougie's name. Their investigation inevitably takes them deep into Belinda's circle and her past.As the crowds in Time Square ready for a half-hearted New Year's celebration, are Noël and Edna watching the last act of a New York Othello, or is there some other killer-maybe more than one-afoot on the icy pavements of New York City?
Floodgates (Faye Longchamp Archaeological Mysteries #5)
by Mary Anna Evans"Pick it up, but only if you can afford to lose a night's sleep, because you won't be able to put it down." —Steve Martini, author of the Paul Madriani novelsSeveral years have passed since we last saw stunning, savvy attorney Rachel Gold. Now she is a mother, a widow, and a reluctant participant in a lost cause: the Frankenstein Case. She represents a blue-collar neighborhood fighting a developer intent on bulldozing their homes to erect a gated community. Rachel's strategy will be based on the wacky judge on the case, known to the St. Louis Bar as "The Flinch Factor."Then Rachel gains a new client: Susannah, sister of Nick Moran, local heartthrob. Nick has been murdered, found slumped on the front seat of his pickup along an isolated lane known as Gay Way. His female groupies are, to say the least, stunned. His sister smells foul play. A skeptical Rachel agrees to check it out and turns up facts suggesting that Nick's death was not an accident. Are Nick's death and her Frankenstein case somehow related? Can Rachel uncover the truth before more lives are lost?
Tears of the Dragon: An Elodie Browne Mystery (Elodie Browne Mysteries #0)
by Holly Baxter"Target: Tinos [is] another of Jeffrey Siger's thoughtful police procedurals set in picturesque but not untroubled Greek locales."—New York TimesIn an isolated olive grove on the Aegean island of Tinos lies the remains of two charred bodies chained together amid pieces of an incinerated Greek flag. An enraged press screams out for justice for the unknown victims, until the dead are identified as Gypsies. Then the story simply dies. Is it a Gypsy clan war, a hate crime, or something else? With no one seeming to care, the Greek government has no interest in resurrecting unwanted media attention and orders the investigation closed. But Andreas Kaldis, head of Greece's special crimes division, has other plans. He presses on to unravel a mystery that yields more dead, a modern secret society, and questions about the sudden influx of non-Greeks and Gypsies to Tinos. Now Andreas must find the killers before more die, stop the robbery of the century, and get married in the process.
Champagne: The Farewell (Vengeance in the Vineyard Mysteries #1)
by Janet HubbardNYPD detective Max Maguire flies to France to attend her friend Chloé Marceau's wedding in the Valley of the Marne in Champagne, an hour and a half east of Paris. She meets the older and urbane Olivier Chaumont, an examining magistrate, and experiences a fairy tale evening. But when Chloé's beautiful and successful aunt Léa de Saint-Pern, is found murdered after the wedding dinner, Max and Olivier are shocked back into their professional roles. But to Max's chagrin, Olivier is put in charge of the investigation.Olivier learns that several people were attempting to gain control of Léa's business at the time of her death. Quietly using the skills inherited from her detective dad, Max insinuates herself into the victim's family until their long-held secrets begin to spill out like marbles from an overturned dish....
Blood and Circuses: A Phryne Fisher Mystery (large Print 16pt) (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries #6)
by Kerry GreenwoodFrom the author of the bestselling Phryne Fisher Series comes Blood and Circuses, the next historical mystery featuring an unstoppable, elegant amateur sleuth. Can Miss Fisher uncover the truth without losing her life?Looking for a thrilling detective novel? This story is:Perfect for Fans of Rhys Bowen and Jacqueline WinspearInspired the Netflix show Miss Fisher's Murder MysteriesMovie Currently Streaming on Acorn TVPhryne Fisher is bored. Life appears to be too easy, too perfect. Her household is ordered, her love life is pleasant, the weather is fine. And then a man from her past arrives at the door. It is Alan Lee from the carnival. Alan and his friends want her to investigate strange happenings at Farrells Circus, where animals have been poisoned and ropes sabotaged. Mr. Christopher has been found with his throat cut in Mrs. Witherspoon's irreproachable boarding house and Miss Parkes, an ex-performer, is charged with his murder.Phryne must go undercover deeper than ever to solve the circus malaise. She must abandon her name, her title, her protection, her comfort, even her clothes. She must fall off a horse twice a day until she can stay on. She must sleep in a girls' tent and dine on mutton stew. She must find some allies—and maybe a circus romance. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, the young and fresh-faced policeman Tommy Harris has to solve his own mysteries with the help of the foul-spoken harridan Lizard Elsie, or Miss Parkes will certainly hang. Can Phryne take on this great circus mystery before disaster strikes?
The Puffin of Death: A Gunn Zoo Mystery (Gunn Zoo Series #4)
by Betty WebbCalifornia zookeeper Theodora Bentley travels to Iceland to pick up an orphaned polar bear cub destined for the Gunn Zoo's newly installed Northern Climes exhibit. The trip is intended to be a combination of work and play. But on day two, while horseback riding near a picturesque seaside village, Teddy discovers a man lying atop a puffin burrow, shot through the head.The victim is identified as American birdwatcher Simon Parr, winner of the largest Powerball payout in history. Is Teddy a witness—or a suspect? Others include not only Parr's wife, a famed suspense novelist, but fellow members of the birding club Parr had generously treated to their lavish Icelandic expedition. Hardly your average birders, several of them have had serious brushes with the law back in the States.Guessing that an American would best understand other Americans, police detective Thorvaald Haraldsson grudgingly concedes her innocence and allows Teddy to tag along with the group to volcanoes, glaciers, and deep continental rifts in quest of rare bird species. But once another member of the club is murdered and a rockfall barely misses Teddy's head, Haraldsson forbids her to continue. She ignores him and, in a stunning, solitary face-off with the killer in Iceland's wild interior, concludes an investigation at once exotic, thrilling, and rich in animal lore.