Ike Schwartz and Ruth Harris had to delay a vacation in Las Vegas because at the last moment, Ruth was required to go to Scone Island, Maine to settle an estate. But that task is soon complicated by one, and then another suspicious death. First, a long term resident slips off a cliff. Was he pushed? Then the woman, who found the body, is, in turn, discovered on a foot path dead from an apparent heart attack, but also with a not easily explained head wound. Ruth finds herself briefly cast as a person of interest in the last death. When things seem to be slipping out of hand, Ike arrives just in time to witness the discovery of a third body—Simon Weiss. Weiss had come to the island to purchase properties with an eye to turning it into a high-end resort. His tactics and personality so alienated the residents that it is no surprise his body is found under the community pier, with a very professionally placed bullet hole in his forehead. As his plans were allegedly financed by the New York mafia, it seems obvious who ordered the hit. This brings the FBI into play, to the distress of the local police. With an array of suspects, motives, and even the island’s history to confound the investigation, Ike, with the aid of local Deputy Sheriff, Tom Stone, and the able, if quirky, assistance of Ruth, unravel these three deaths, but not without heavy costs to villains, residents, and their children.ReviewPraise for Frederick Ramsay's Stranger Room:''Ramsay skillfully weaves historical fact into his story, all the while blending brisk action with excellent characterization. Schwartz has matured throughout the series, and readers will eagerly await his next adventure.'' --Publishers WeeklyAbout the AuthorFREDERICK RAMSAY was born in Baltimore, MD, graduated from Washington and Lee University and received his doctorate from the University of Illinois. After a stint in the Army, he joined the University of Maryland, School of Medicine faculty. In 1971 was ordained an Episcopal priest and served in several parishes until retirement. He currently lives in Surprise, Arizona, with his wife and partner, Susan. He writes the 'Ike Schwartz Mysteries', along with a series set in Botswana, and he has two stand alones. Views: 66
Amanda MacLeish might be the only student in Mr. Abrams's fifth-grade class who doesn't mind doing her homework. Now that her father has left home and moved into a motel, the only thing that brings Amanda any joy is writing her fictional diary entries about a young girl named Polly who lives amid the chaos of the Civil War. Polly would understand Amanda. With one brother fighting for the North and one fighting for the South, Polly knows just how it feels to have a family split in half. But if the North and the South could find a way to reunite despite their differences, can't Amanda's family do the same?In this touching novel by Claudia Mills, the heroine learns that enduring a split doesn't have to mean losing a family.The Totally Made-up Civil War Diary of Amanda MacLeish is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year. Views: 65
Nothing big ever happens in The Shores. Ceilidhs, yes. Killings, no. That all changes when amateur sleuth, Hy McAllister trips over a body on the beach and tumbles head first into a murder case. Cottager Lance Lord, dressed like Jimi Hendrix, has had his head split open with an axe. As Hurricane Angus storms up the coast, Hy and Mountie Jane Jamieson vie against the elements to uncover the murderer in a village where almost everyone has something to hide. Hilary MacLeod is a writer and former journalist who divides her time between a cabin in the woods near Ameliasburgh, Ontario, and a house in Sea View, Prince Edward Island. She is a professor of Media Studies at Loyalist College. Her first book, Revenge of the Lobster Lover, won the CBC Book Club Bookies Award for Best Mystery. Canadian author. Views: 65
Product Description"I am the Golem built from the mud of Hollywood. My brain processes life at 24 frames per second; my heart pumps sticky concession-stand muck through veins of curled celluloid. And maybe like the Golem of legend, I too am a soulless creature, animated only by the thousands of hours of pop-culture imagery funneled into my body over the course of a lifetime." SQUIRREL EYES is the story of Alvin Bandy, lifelong movie junkie and would-be filmmaker, who finds himself alone in Hollywood after his girlfriend Alison sends him packing in favor of another man. With his career — if you can call it that, when it consists of one incredibly bad movie he wrote — on the rocks, Alvin hatches a drunken plan to course-correct his screwed-up life: he travels to his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico to seek out his first girlfriend, Kelli, and do what he never did before: have sex with her. Kelli, however, won't be had so easily, and lays down a challenge to Alvin that could either be his undoing or his salvation... Funny, dark, raunchy and sentimental, Squirrel Eyes is a novel about the strength of dreams, the depths of lust, the power of guilt and above all, the glory of cinema and the hold it has on us all. "If you somehow cloned the perfect science bastard love-child of Cameron Crowe, J.D. Salinger and The Kinks, it couldn't build a better story of underdog charm than Squirrel Eyes. Scott S. Phillips creates fascinating and endearing characters, then drops them in the hot zone of their own mangled lives, with nothing but their wits and pop culture to protect themselves." — Axel Howerton, editor, Dark Moon Digest, author of Hot Sinatra "Squirrel Eyes is a crazy journey through Scott S. Phillips' twisted, pop culture cluttered mind. He touches on universal emotions in this insightful, often laugh-out-loud journey through Alvin Bandy's — and the reader's — most denied memories of love lost." — Robert E. Vardeman, author of Burn the Sky "The F@%ker can write!" — Elwood Reid, author of D.B. and If I Don't Six "With his goofball characters, ear for quirky dialogue, and always-colorful turns of phrase, Scott S. Phillips is like a modern beat writer — tempered with postmodern sensibilities and a generous dash of observational comedy... But that's just an erudite, flashy way of saying that no one makes me laugh louder or harder than Scott S. Phillips." — Brian Jay Jones, author of Washington Irving "Scott's narrative blasts and rattles down the road, chasing rabbits and stray chickens out of its path, while his dialogue sprays the countryside like full-automatic fire." — Victor Milan, author of The Wild Cards Series and CLD: Collective Landing Detachment "Triangulate funny, creepy and melancholy, and you'll find Scott S. Phillips, waiting for a bus." — Nathan Long, author of The Blackhearts Series About the AuthorIn addition to his previous careers (installing gas pumps, bussing tables, painting apartments, cleaning toilets, delivering pizza and running his own video store) Scott S. Phillips has written in almost every capacity imaginable: films, TV, comic books and even dialogue for talking dolls. He's the author of the short story collection Tales of Misery and Imagination, the novel Friday the 13th: Church of the Divine Psychopath and his film reviews have been collected in the aptly titled Unsafe On Any Screen. Scott is also the co-editor (with Robert E. Vardeman) of the anthology A Career Guide To Your Job In Hell, and has a story in that collection. Scott has worked in many capacities in the movie industry, including writing and directing his own incredibly low-budget films, Gimme Skelter ($5000) and The Stink of Flesh ($3000). He wrote the screenplay for the cult action flick Drive and wrote several episodes of the CW Network’s Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. He has worked in sound editing, make-up FX, cheeseburger-fetching and even marched around the New Mexico hills in the classic flick Red Dawn. Perhaps most importantly, he once performed as stand-in for the legendary Lemmy in a Motorhead video. Scott can be found online at www.cheese-magnet.com, where he writes about movies and monsters and anything else he thinks is cool. Views: 65
First in the brand-new DI Ben Raveneau crime series - Many consider homicide detective Ben Raveneau to be at the tail end of his career - not least his ambitious young partner, Elizabeth la Rosa. But Raveneau's long experience proves invaluable during the pair's investigation of a murder in San Francisco's China Basin district. The body of a young woman has been found in a derelict building, her ankles and wrists tied. Who was she, and what was she doing there? The more Raveneau uncovers, the clearer it becomes that the dead girl was involved in something sinister indeed . . . Views: 65
Thirteen-year-old Holly is dealing with the major concerns of every preteen and teenage girl: boys, family, and school. But with the help of her friends and her faith in God, Holly is able to survive her first boyfriend and her first breakup, a crush on her student teacher, and a new baby sister "invading" her house. Volume Three features Freshman Frenzy, Mystery Letters, Eight is Enough, and It's a Girl Thing. Views: 65
