Nine months after the same sex marriage of retirees FBI senior investigator Charlotte Diamond and movie box-office actress Brenda Brandon/Boynton (See the eighth in the Charlotte Diamond Mystery Series, Horrid Honeymoon) the two are putting on a Christmas program at the Curtain Call retirement home for movie folks. The Christmas concert is intended to bring together the townspeople of the riversidA special Christmas Mystery gift from Olivia Stowe.Nine months after the same sex marriage of retirees FBI senior investigator Charlotte Diamond and movie box-office actress Brenda Brandon/Boynton (See the eighth in the Charlotte Diamond Mystery Series, Horrid Honeymoon) the two are putting on a Christmas program at the Curtain Call retirement home for movie folks. The Christmas concert is intended to bring together the townspeople of the riverside village of Hopewell, Maryland, and the residents of the new retirement home, which has become a major part of the town. Efforts at melding the two communities aren’t looking like they will be successful, though.The plot thickens when the Christmas program’s lead actress, Cassandra Carlisle, who fancies herself as competition for Brenda Brandon for the queen of the movies spotlight, mysteriously disappears at night in a snow storm and another resident of the home declares that she has been murdered by her visiting son.Charlotte and Brenda’s canines, Sam the husky and Rocket the boxer, take charge to try to save the day. Views: 292
When powerful Minneapolis art critic Hale Micklenberg is murdered, there aren't too many mourners. A master of the bad review, Micklenberg was bad news for a lot of people.Food critic Sophie Greenway is nonetheless troubled to learn that her college-student son could be involved in the murder. But so could a host of others -- including Hale Micklenberg's artworld colleagues, various so-called friends, and the not-so-bereaved widow. Review"A Fair-Play Plot and contemporary characters that leap off the page. Stir in Martha Grimes with P.D. James and add a dash of Christie and Amanda Cross, and you begin to get the idea: a cozy with a brain." -- Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine "Another Splendid Specimen of the classical mystery story, nicely updated and full of interesting and believable characters." -- The Purloined Letter From the PublisherIf you've read an Ellen Hart mystery, aside from a murder or two, you know to expect descriptions of mouth-watering food. I can't read one of her books without frequently feeling hungry (note: dieters beware!). FOR EVERY EVIL is the second of a new series starring Sophie Greenway, amateur sleuth and food critic for the Minneapolis Times-Register, and her husband Bram Baldric, local radio talk show host and Cary Grant lookalike. Prepare to be charmed. Readers will discover a lot of smart humor, a well-crafted crime, scandalous secrets, and someone unhesitant to kill again if it will keep buried some long-ago crimes. --Patrick Price, Senior Publicist Views: 292
In Blue for Christmas, a nosy private eye gets more than she bargained for when a suspicious wife suspects her husband of foul play.This 4,530-word short story is 29 pages long.In this 21st Century, the Age of Technology, we are still plagued by religious beliefs that are a contributing cause toward terrorism, killings and wars between nations. Belief in a deity, who has caused catastrophes, thereby punishing people, was brought about by hysteria and superstitions. These thought processes need to be reassessed and brought up to date. Open-minded people must use common sense to determine whether God was incorrectly perceived, misinterpreted and misunderstood by the masses of a bygone era. Views: 292
Measured Mayhem, Donut Mystery #42, from New York Times Bestselling Author Jessica Beck.When Suzanne gets an urgent call from her old college roommate, she drops everything and rushes to help her. When she arrives, Suzanne learns that someone may be trying to drive her best friend from school crazy, or worse yet, kill her, and Suzanne must dig into what's really happening. Is her friend just being paranoid, or is there really a target on her back? Views: 292
SUMMARY: Bestselling author Elizabeth Peters, a writer so popular that the public library has to keep her books under lock and key (Washington Post Book World) here continues her series of mysteries starring Amelia Peabody. Views: 292
*When James Sheridan Rafferty died in the famed Saint Valentine's Day massacre, he'd no idea that Cupid's wicked angels would give him a second-chance ... in 1993. All he had to do was fall madly in love within forty-eight hours.
But could a real Chicago gangster with a chip on his shoulder - and a down-and-dirty twenties style even Bogart would envy - fall truly in love? It hardly helped that the day of hearts and flowers fell on Friday the 13th.
Helen Emerson complicated matters, since the good-hearted gangster didn't have time to save damsels in distress. No doubt Helen would make a fabulous lover, but she was no gun moll. Still, with time running out, she was Rafferty's only hope.* Views: 292
Captain Lacey accepts a position at the Sudbury School to find the person behind a series of malicious pranks. But when the mischief takes a deadly turn, Lacey must teach a murderer a lesson. Views: 292
Two hundred years after his humiliating defeat at the hands of Earthman Elijah Baley, Keldon Amadiro still dreamed of revenge. Now, finally, he set into motion a plot that would totally destroy the planet Earth.
But Amadiro had not counted on the power Baley still exerted long after his death. For Baley's vision continued to guide his robot partner, R. Daneel Olivaw, and the extraordinarily gifted robot Giskard—and they were the only ones who could save Earth.
Fortunately for Amadiro, Daneel and Giskard were restrained by the Three Laws of Robotics. Or were they? Views: 292
"Happy 53rd birthday, Doctor. Welcome to the first day of your death.
"
When a mysterious letter bearing these threatening words is delivered to Dr. FrederickStarks, his predictable life is thrown into chaos. Suddenly, the psychoanalyst is plunged into a horrific game designed by a man who calls himself Rumplestiltskin. The rules: in two weeks Starks must guessRumplestiltskin's identity and the source of his fury. If he succeeds, he goes free. If he fails, one by one, Rumplestiltskin will destroy fifty-two of Dr. Starks' loved ones-friends, relatives, children-unless the good doctor agrees to kill himself.
"
You ruined my life. And now I fully intend to ruin yours."
Ignoringthe threat is not an option. When one of his patients dies under the wheels of a subway train and a detective investigating the case is struck by a hit-and-run driver, Starks knows his tormentor means business. And thenthere are the messengers sent to guide Starks on his descent, from the seductive woman in a trench coat who calls herself Virgil to a lawyer named Merlin weaving a spell of havoc and lies. His bank account rifled, hiscredit ruined, and his reputation dragged through the mud, Starks must rouse himself from the cocoon of his life, unlock the secret of Rumplestiltskin, and find a way to stop the madman-before he himself isdriven mad.
One thing of which you can be absolutely certain: My anger knows no limits.
A mesmerizing thriller that gives a wicked new twist to the doctor-patientrelationship, "The Analyst's Last Days" weaves a blistering race against time with a tale of identities shattered and chosen, disguises taken and discarded. With his trademark style, breathlessplots, and brilliantly realized characters, John Katzenbach proves once again why both critics and fans alike have crowned him the master of suspense. "From the Hardcover edition." Views: 292
The shocking death of a young woman leads Detective Dave Robicheaux into the dark corners of Hollywood, the mafia, and the backwoods of Louisiana in this gripping mystery from "modern master" (Publishers Weekly) James Lee Burke. Detective Dave Robicheaux's world isn't filled with too many happy stories, but Desmond Cormier's rags-to-riches tale is certainly one of them. Robicheaux first met Cormier on the streets of New Orleans, when the young, undersized boy had foolish dreams of becoming a Hollywood director. Twenty-five years later, when Robicheaux knocks on Cormier's door, it isn't to congratulate him on his Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. Robicheaux has discovered the body of a young woman who's been crucified, wearing only a small chain on her ankle. She disappeared near Cormier's Cyrpemort Point estate, and Robicheaux, along with young deputy, Sean McClain, are looking for answers. Neither Cormier nor his enigmatic actor friend Antoine... Views: 292
Stan is asked to defend a young college girl charged with murdering her newborn child. Knowing he lacks the experience for such an undertaking, he enlists his former criminal law professor to be "Second Chair." What he doesn't know is the professor, who everyone calls "Snake" is a drunk and a womanizer. When Snake fails to show up for the last few days of trial Stan is devastated.It's 1981 in Dallas and Stan decides to throw a Christmas party at his home as a way of saying thanks to the clients who have sustained him during his first tumultuous year in the practice of law. As Stan's luck would have it, a client is killed in a freak accident and Stan is blamed for his death. While trying to shield himself from the wrath of the grieving widow, he's asked to defend a young woman charged with murdering her newborn child. Since Stan has only been practicing a year, he knows he shouldn't take the case, but his client begs him to do it. Reluctantly, he agrees but enlists the aid of his former criminal law professor at SMU to be "Second Chair." He thinks everything is going to be okay now, but what he doesn't realize is that his professor is a drunk and probably won't show up for trial. Views: 292
