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Final Notice (Miss Zukas Mystery #6)
by Jo DereskeLibrarian Helma Zukas usually keeps her home as well organized as the library where she works so she never expected a visit from her elderly Aunt Em to turn her life into chaos and provide her with the makings of a hair-raising whodunit. The moment Helma and her fearless friend Ruth arrive at the airport to pick up the slightly dotty dowager, the trouble begins when the dear lady's purse is snatched. Thinking the incident is safely filed away, they are shocked to arrive home with the recovered purse only to discover the dead body of the would-be thief outside Helma's apartment. Helma can't believe her favorite aunt would be involved in anything unsavory but, with a little investigation, she discovers that Aunt Em's life is not quite an open book. It appears that some dark secrets are about to come to light, and unless Helma can learn the whole story, the final chapters are about to be written as tale of mystery, mayhem...and murder.
Miss Zukas And The Raven's Dance (Miss Zukas Mystery #4)
by Jo Dereskean invitation to murder A most unusual death has landed Helma Zukas right in the middle of another murder scene. Stanley Plummer had been cataloging a collection of Native American books for Bellehaven's new Cultural Center when his body was found in the Center's ladies room-stabbed through the heart, and clutching a Barbie doll. Miss Zukas is asked by the library to finish the cataloging. Now she's been asked by the victim-in a letter dated the day he died-to get to the bottom of the mystery. Unable to resist the urge to dig into the facts, Helma becomes convinced there's something hidden in the Center that the murderer wants-and it may be worth killing another cataloger to keep it buried...
Miss Zukas Shelves the Evidence (Miss Zukas Mystery #8)
by Jo DereskeTHIS AIN'T NO GARDEN PARTY In a boldly personal move, Police Chief Wayne Gallant has arranged a meeting between his children and Bellehaven's beloved librarian Helma Zukas. But the fates have not yet smiled on this pair, as the long overdue introductions are interrupted-by murder. For not only is Helma's newest neighbor pushing up roses in her garden, her latest crop's a corpse. And when the chief's investigation has him digging too close to the truth, he's helped to a nearly fatal fall from a cliff, a potentially incriminating library book found within reach. The police demand the library turn over the borrower's name. Determined to uphold the privacy rights of library patrons, the ever mindful Miss Zukas deletes the information from library records-but not before she takes note of it. And now it's up to Helma- with teenagers in tow and an assist from bohemian buddy Ruth-to get to the bottom of this murderous mess before Wayne Gallant's assailant makes sure the evidence Miss Zukas holds is shelved...permanently.
Miss Zukas and the Island Murders (Miss Zukas Mystery #2)
by Jo Dereske[From The Back Cover] The ever-conscious Miss Helma Zukas -from Bellehaven, Washington, is not one to renig on a promise-even one made hastily. . . and too long ago to possibly remember! So when an anonymous note in the morning mail reminds her of her vow to bring her high school classmates together for a twenty-year reunion, Miss Zukas begins organizing the perfect celebration ... despite some vague and mysterious warnings about dire consequences. But when a secret saboteur disrupts her well-planned reunion trapping Helma and her old classmates on a fogbound island with a murderer in their midst-the intrepid librarian-sleuth takes charge once again. With a dubious assist from her raffish friend 'Ruth, Miss Zukas is determined to close the books on crimes both current and overdue for solution ... before the killer takes the Ilumni out of circulation permanently.
Miss Zukas and the Library Murders (Miss Zukas Mystery #1)
by Jo DereskeWhen a dead body turns up right in the middle of the fiction stacks, the police are baffled. But Helma Zukas, who never fails to make note of the slightest deviation from the norm of everyday life, is tracking some baffling questions of her own. With the help of her not-so-proper best friend, Ruth, a six-foot-tall bohemian artist with a nose for gossip and a penchant for getting into trouble, the two are soon in hot pursuit of the truth...and getting close enough to find they're about to become the killer's next victims.
Miss Zukas and the Stroke of Death (Miss Zukas Mystery #3)
by Jo DereskeRACE AGAINST DEATH Civic-minded librarian Miss Helma Zukas has reluctantly agreed to use her long-dormant skills as a canoeist to paddle down Washington Bay on behalf of the Bellehaven Library relay race team. But before Helma has a chance to test her aquatic talents, she is once again matching wits with the local police over the identity of a killer. And this time it involves keeping her somewhat flaky artist friend, Ruth Winthrop, off Death Row. When the flamboyant Ruth rejected the attention of a dirty old man in a local bar she never thought it would be to put him off permanently. But when his body shows up just outside her studio, the police consider her a prime suspect. Helma, knows for sure that Ruth is no killer, but she didn't suspect that asking too many questions about the life of the unsavory dead man would unearth some long- buried Scandals...and cause someone to want to close the book on the inquisitive librarian.
Out of Circulation (Miss Zukas Mystery #5)
by Jo DereskeHitting The Books Miss Helma Zukas is reluctant to go hiking on the Cascade mountains, but her friend Ruth is insistent. When she agrees to go, Helma, ever the librarian, does her research, reading up on survival techniques, packing like a pro, and making up a list for her irresponsible friend. As usual, Ruth comes unprepared, having neglected to read Helma's list. But even Helma's careful preparation couldn't have anticipated the discovery of a dead body high in the rocky wilderness. SURVIVING THE TRAIL Since it appears unlikely that the hole in the hiker's chest was caused by a fall, Helma suspects foul play. When the victim is airlifted off the mountain, Ruth is ready to accept a ride back to civilization, but Helma insists they stay and search for the hiker's missing companion. Being good samaritans is one thing, but getting stranded in a blinding snowstorm is quite another. Especially when escaping Nature's deadly fury means holing up in a little cabin with some motley strangers who may be planning a murderous adventure for a couple of dangerously inquisitive women...HITTING THE BOOKS
The Lone Sentinel
by Jo DereskeTHE LONE SENTINEL Erik knew he was doing wrong. His father had been killed and he'd failed to report it. Instead, he'd gone on alone caring for the beam that was the Lone Sentinel. The beam protected biosote, a strange growth needed by an alien race, the Helgatites. People of the Earth colony on the planet Azure guarded the biosote in return for material and protection provided by the Helgatites. Erik had lived all his life at the Lone Sentinel. But he knew that Trust Control, the overseers of all the sentinels, would not let him stay there alone. He would have to move to the only city on Azure, New Province. What that would be like he knew too well from videos: too many people, too many buildings, too much to fear. Erik carefully followed all the rules by which the keepers of the sentinels lived. But nothing in his instructions prepared him for the arrival of Willa and Augusta, two runaways from New Province, or for the failure of his radio contact with Trust Control and the unexpected arrival of the Helgatites, who'd come, they said, to give the biosote a special treatment. What was he to do about Augusta and her mysterious sister, Willa? And what was it, really, that the Helgatites were doing? Sometimes it takes more than one head to solve big problems. It took all three of them, Erik, Augusta, and Willa, to discover what was really going on at the Lone Sentinel. And the only possible way to solve it involved more danger than Erik had ever thought he might face, even in New Province.
The Flock
by Joan Frances Casey Lynn WilsonWhen, as a twenty-six-year-old married graduate student, Joan Frances Casey awoke on the ledge of a building ready to jump, she did not know how she had gotten there. And it wasn't the first time she had blanked out. This time, she thought she would give therapy another try. After only a few sessions, Lynn Wilson, an experienced psychiatric social worker, was shocked to discover that Joan had MPD-Multiple Personality Disorder. And as she came to know Joans distinct selves, Lynn uncovered a nightmarish pattern of emotional and physical abuse, including rape and incest, that nearly succeeded in smothering the artistic and intellectual gifts of this amazing young woman. In an extraordinary move that challenged the medical establishment-many of whom believe MPD does not exist-Lynn embarked on a radical program of reparenting therapy to bring out and individually treat Joans twenty-four separate personalities: Missy, the five-year-old artist; Jo, the scholar, Rusty, the motherless boy, Renee, the people pleaser; Josie, the self-destructive toddler; Joan Frances, the perfect one; and all the other deeply scarred members of The Flock that had been helping Joan Frances Casey function, despite tremendous psychic pain, since she was a child.
Full Stop (Loretta Lawson Mystery)
by Joan SmithFrom the book jacket: "Joan Smith's Loretta Lawson mysteries have been praised by The Washington Post as a "charming combination of sophistication, wit and unpretentious learning," and by Elle magazine as "refreshing." A brilliant British feminist, Loretta Lawson has faced many a challenge in her amateur sleuthing career, but nothing could have prepared her for this surreal adventure on the other side of the Atlantic. Loretta Lawson is already a little apprehensive about spending a hot, muggy weekend alone in New York City at her friend Toni's apartment. And it seems her fears are confirmed when she receives a series of mysterious and threatening phone calls. What's more, as she explores the exciting, unfamiliar city, she has the uneasy impression that someone is watching her, perhaps even following her. As much as Loretta would like to enjoy a carefree holiday, there are other incidents she can't easily dismiss: unsettling encounters in museums and stores, and the frightening fact that someone has been trying to sneak upstairs to her apartment. Is Loretta the target of these unnerving attentions or are they aimed at Toni? Loretta begins to think that she cannot trust her own judgment; the one person who might lend a hand - her ex-husband, journalist John Tracey, also in New York on a story - has too many problems of his own to help. In the end, Loretta must face the terrifying events that unfold alone. Full Stop is a chilling story about pursuit, about being alone in a strange city where every news bulletin reports another violent crime, about the fine line between danger and paranoia. Challenging, witty, and disturbing, it is Joan Smith's most sophisticated and suspense-packed novel to date.
Moonshell Beach (Shelter Bay #4)
by Joann RossHe no longer believed in anything. But she believed in him. J. T. Douchett has returned home to shut out the world and escape the memories that haunt him from his final mission as a Marine. When he reluctantly agrees to provide security for a town event, the last thing he expects is to experience unbidden feelings for Irish movie star Mary Joyce. Mary has surprised everyone—including herself—by accepting an invitation to a film festival in Shelter Bay. The Oregon coastal town immediately charms her, and an even larger surprise is encountering the stoic man who could be everything she's dreamed of. As J. T. struggles to keep Mary at arm’s length, she reminds herself that she’s never been attracted to the strong, silent type. And having known so much sorrow, he’s afraid to risk getting close to anyone. But in Shelter Bay, even the most strongly guarded heart is no match for love.
On Lavender Lane (Shelter Bay #3)
by Joann RossFormer Navy SEAL Lucas Chaffee is settling back into civilian life, refurbishing a farmhouse for an old friend who plans to turn it into a culinary school. Celebrity TV chef Madeline Durand has been publicly humiliated by a philandering husband. So Madeline jumps at the chance to return to Shelter Bay to recover and help her grandmother turn the family farm into a new business. Little does she know that the man who broke her heart years ago is already on the job--or that he's going to cook up a recipe of passion, patience, and perseverance to win her over.
The Chocolate Bear Burglary (A Chocoholic Mystery #2)
by Joanna CarlAfter leaving her bad-news husband back in Texas, Lee McKinney moved up north to a quaint resort town. Now she keeps the books for her aunt's luxury chocolate shop. But Lee soon finds that Michigan winters can be murder.... Lee and Aunt Nettie can't believe their luck. A teddy bear promotion will have tourists flocking to Warner Pier, which could mean skyrocketing sales for TenHuis Chocolade. To help decorate the scrumptious store, Gail, an antique dealer, lends them a collection of valuable chocolate molds. But after a burglary at the shop, Gail meets with a grisly fate-and the main suspect in her murder is Lee's troubled teenage stepson. Lee sets out to clear his name, but awakening long-hibernating family secrets might be more than this daring crime solver can bear....
The Chocolate Cat Caper (A Chocoholic Mystery #1)
by Joanna CarlAfter giving up her career as a Texas trophy wife, Lee McKinney finds herself in a Michigan resort town, keeping the books for her aunt Nettie's luxury chocolate business. But she soon discovers that her new life isn't all truffles and bonbons. Clementine Ripley, the defense attorney everyone loves to hate, is throwing a party that calls for several thousand dollars' worth of custom chocolates-some made in the image of her champion cat. Lee jumps at the job, but sweet success takes a bitter turn when someone adds an extra ingredient-cyanide-to one of their delicious chocolates and it finds its way into Ripley's mouth. Now it's up to Lee to figure out who tampered with the family recipe before she and her aunt end up behind not-so-chocolate bars. INCLUDES YUMMY CHOCOLATE TRIVIA
The Chocolate Cupid Killings (A Chocoholic Mystery #9)
by Joanna CarlThe ninth installment in the scrumptious--and national bestselling--Chocoholic Mystery series finds Aunt Nettie as the unlikely suspect in the death of a private detective. Nettie's associate must find the real killer--whose bitter heart is definitely not made of chocolate.
The Chocolate Frog Frame Up (A Chocoholic Mystery #3)
by Joanna CarlThe quaint resort town of Warner Pier, Michigan, is abuzz with preparations for the Fourth of July. Things are going swimmingly for Lee McKinney and her aunt Nettie as they debut their latest confections at TenHuis Chocolade: chocolate frogs, fish, and lizards of all sizes. The first customer to buy a chocolate croaker is the town crank, Hershel Perkins-only minutes after having a public altercation in the post office with Lee's boyfriend, Joe Woodyard. Lee and Joe are planning a romantic cruise up the Warner River in an antique wooden boat, but their plans are smashed when Hershel's canoe, The Toadfrog, is found half submerged near Joe's boat shop. Hershel has disappeared- and the police presume foul play. Joe seems the most likely suspect, but Lee thinks he's being framed. And it's a chocolate clue that leads her to the killer....
The Chocolate Snowman Murders (A Chocoholic Mystery #8)
by Joanna CarlWith the Warner Pier Winter Arts Festival just days away, everyone in the West Michigan town is looking forward to the big art show--and, of course, the unveiling of TenHuis Chocolade's special holiday chocolates. As treasurer of WinterFest, Lee is up to her elbows in the arguments, egos, and last-minute mix-ups that happen behind the scenes. But she's coping, even when the guest juror of the arts festival shows up drunk. Lee leaves him to sleep it off, but she is stunned the next day when her husband, Joe, discovers that someone has put the visiting dignitary into a permanent state of repose. As the last people spotted near the crime scene, Lee and Joe are in a sticky situation. But after another murder and a run-in with a deadly snowman, they're more determined than ever to find the real killer before someone else comes to a bitter end.
Chestnut Mare, Beware (Nattie Gold Mystery #2)
by Jody Jaffe"Delightful," raved the Washington Post Book World of Jody Jaffe's first mystery thriller, Horse of a Different Killer, "I hope Natalie Gold doesn't wait too long before jumping back into the suspense-story saddle again." Now, the wait is over: Equestrienne journalist Nattie Gold is back--and with the threat of murder afoot, it may just be her final ride. It's Christmas, but at the Charlotte Commercial Appeal two disturbing events nip Nattie's holiday in the bud. One is a chilling anonymous letter that threatens big-wig Carolinians--many of them known to Nattie from the show horse circuit--with horrible death. Then she's approached by a woman with a strange tale about her beautiful dead daughter. The official version of how former beauty queen Josane Ashmore died is that she was trampled by her unruly chestnut mare. Her mother declares that it was murder. Can Nattie go to Virginia and prove it? Nattie and her friend, Henry Goode, the paper's chief investigative reporter, light out for the beautiful green hills of northern Virginia, where great estates shelter the world's finest horses and their wealthy owners. It is the place where Josane rode to her death. Unfortunately, all that Josane's old buddies will say is that she chose to ride a crazy horse and paid the price ... and, well, she may have had a little coke habit. But who set Josane up in her charming Middleburg shop and paid for her horse and her designer gear? What about her abusive boyfriend? Why were her personal belongings disposed of with such unseemly haste? And urgently, who keeps trying to kill Nattie and Henry? The behind-the-print politics of a daily newspaper, the secret lives of the filthy rich, the dirty deals and killing competition of the show horse circuit--in Chestnut Mare, Beware Jody Jaffe creates a brilliant balance of murder, mischief, and menace.
In Colt Blood (Nattie Gold Mystery #3)
by Jody Jaffe"She's pure gold," raves The Philadelphia Inquirer about redheaded Carolina journalist and inspired snoop Natalie Gold--"spunky, quirky, and lots of fun." Now Nattie's mixing it up with a crazy passel of filthy rich Southerners, a horse-whispering beauty, and one grisly murder ... In Colt Blood. When Nattie's boss at the Charlotte Commercial Appeal orders her to find a local horse whisperer to interview, she knows just the person: yellow-haired New Age belle Sarah Jane Lowell, one of the gifted few who claims to have a psychic connection to horses. She not only talks to them, she hears what they answer. Unfortunately, before Nattie can set up a meeting, Sarah Jane vanishes along with her newfound friend: Nattie's eccentric father. Disturbingly, their sudden disappearance coincides with the brutal murder of Fuzzy McMahon, whose bludgeoned body was found at the very stable where Nattie was supposed to meet Sarah Jane. True, Fuzzy was less than popular, but who would stoop to such a bloody act of violence? Although suspicion has fallen on dark-horse candidate Sarah Jane, Nattie's splitting her money between two other front-runners: blacksmith Bobby McMahon, Fuzzy's redneck of a husband, and his tiresome cousin, Jason Sukon, who can only gain by her death--specifically millions of dollars. A sophisticated tale of reckless romance and irretrievable violence, In Cold Blood goes beyond murder to explore the mysteries of fear, love, lust, and hate. And as always, when it comes to the manners and morals of the New South, mystery author Jody Jaffe gets it right every time.
The Littles and the Surprise Thanksgiving Guests (The Littles )
by Joel PetersonThe Little family are small people with long tails, so small they live behind the walls of a house and are never noticed by the people who live there, though they have made friends with the old house cat. It's all Tom and Lucy, the Little children, can do to carry a turkey leg between them. This year they've planned a very special Thanksgiving with aunts and uncles and two tiny families from the country coming to visit. But now they have a very big problem-dangerous mice are about to spoil the fun. Can the Littles save their lives and home by driving the mice away and keeping them out? Bookshare has many more books in the Littles series.
Not Exactly the Three Musketeers (Guardians of the Flame, Book #8)
by Joel RosenbergKethol--The pretty fellow, a long and lanky redhead with an easy smile and an easygoing attitude that his clever eyes deny. He is quick with a quick. . . and quicker with a sword. Durine--The big man, a head taller than most and twice as wide, built like a barrel, with a loyal heart and hands too thick to use anything more delicate than an ax handle. Pirojil--The ugly one, his face heavy-jawed, with an eye ridge that would mark him as a Neanderthal only to the most gracious. But looks deceive, and his might be the rarest gift of all. Athos, Porthos, and Aramis they're not.
Not Quite Scaramouche (Guardians of the Flame, Book #9)
by Joel RosenbergSeveral of them, in fact. He's the heir to an empire--but he doesn't want to be. And nobody believes that he could or would walk away, and give the job of ruling the kingdom to someone else. In this roller coaster of a sequel to Not Exactly the Three Musketeers, it looks like the stage is set for a major shake-up in the kingdom. Jason's help in keeping everything from blowing up are the self-appointed soldiers of the errant Jason, sent by that wily off-worlder Walter Slovotsky to keep Jason in one piece ... more or less. There's Kethol, the long and lanky redhead with an easy smile, who's quick with a quip and quicker with a sword; Pirojil, the ugly one, whose looks deceive and whose might and loyalty are worth a kingdom; and the fledgling wizard Erenor, a man who tries to stay two steps ahead of his enemies--as well as one step ahead of his friends. They're all part of the Cullinane retinue, sworn to protect the Cullinane manse and the sometimes-heroic Jason Cullinane and they have their hands full. Because no one likes a vacuum--or one too many contenders for power, Jason's soldiers are going to have to do some fast adventuring to make it all turn out all right. Next in Joel Rosenberg's bestselling Guardians of the Flame series, Not Quite Scaramouche continues the adventures of the journeyman soldiers of Castle Cullinane (and their sometimes ill-fated leader) in all their raucous glory.
Llama in the Library
by Johanna HurwitzSex education is one of the first subjects taught in fifth grade, so Adam Fine is sure he's learned all he needs to know about it. But when his mom announces that she's expecting her third child and the cool new girl, Alana Brown, catches his attention at school, he begins to realize some facts of life that aren't covered in class. A wacky ghost-hunting episode at the White House, the grand old local hotel, brings Adam and Alana together-and it isn't long before the adventures that they share, whether they're exploring a haunted house or cooking up big plans for Adam's pet llamas, give Adam new notions about the value of a true friend.
The Just Desserts Club
by Johanna HurwitzStraight A student Cricket Kaufman hates to admit it--summer bores her. But when her family has zucchini as the vegetable three nights in a row because they have more zucchini than they can fit in the refrigerator, Cricket decides to find ways to use zucchini to make desserts. It's not long before her sixth grade friends get involved in the food-inspired fun and games. What is the strange secret ingredient in Cricket's "apple" crisp? How many cookies do the girls have to sell to earn more money than the boys collect by recycling cans? And who will triumph with the most original edible treat at the class's April Food's Day party? Fans of Johanna Hurwitz's popular Class Clown series will gobble up these satisfying stories, plus sixteen bonus recipes that are as sweet and simple as Cricket's No-Bake Peanut Butter Balls. You don't have to be hungry to dig into this hearty helping of laughs, surprises, and--best of all-- just desserts! The full page pictures are described and you can depend on the recipes to be accurate because all of the measurements have been double-checked, so get reading and cooking!
The Up & Down Spring
by Johanna HurwitzYippee! It's spring break and Rory, Derek, and Bolivia are together again. Only this time the boys are at Bolivia's house and she's determined to make their visit perfect. She plans every minute of their stay, including special meals, games, and a super-duper birthday surprise. But then Bolivia's plan starts to unravel, bit by bit. How could she have known that Rory has no sense of direction? And who would have guessed that he'd save the day in an emergency? Most of all, Bolivia never planned on the boys having to stay at her house for an extra week! But by the time Rory and Derek go home, the three friends understand one another-and like one another-even better than they did before.