Ex-con Ray Rhodes’ claim he was framed on weapons and drug charges is only the beginning when former cop Lucky Lucas is reluctantly dragged into an investigation as a family favor. Lucas quickly finds himself mixing with crooked cops, Chinese assassins, and a broken family with a disturbing and dangerous history that leads to blackmail and murder.Scar Tissue is the first novel in a projected series of detective/mysteries in the spirit of Raymond Chandler and Robert B. Parker. Robert “Lucky” Lucas, a fifty year old retired police Detective and widow from Southern California, has relocated in San Francisco to be near his son’s family. As a favor to his daughter-in-law Kathleen, Lucas reluctantly agrees to speak with Ray Rhodes, a childhood friend with prison record who has been arrested on weapons and drug charges, but adamantly proclaims his innocence. During his investigation, Lucas becomes convinced Rhodes is the victim of jealousy and crooked cops, and is trapped in the middle of a disturbing and dangerous family history, a history that will lead to murder and attempt on Lucas’ life. Mark Gummere lives in San Francisco, teaches classes in Cinema Studies, and is a former San Francisco Private Investigator. The second Lucky Lucas novel, The Damage, has just been released, and is also available on Smashwords as a downloadable ebook. The third Lucky Lucas Novel is underway. Views: 395
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"You are the comfort of my life, Effie. If you make up your mind to go away, what is to become of me?" The speaker was a middle-aged woman. She was lying on a sofa in a shabby little parlor. The sofa was covered with horse-hair, the room had a faded paper, and faded chintz covered the shabby furniture. The woman\'s pleading words were emphasized by her tired eyes and worn face. She looked full at the young girl to whom she spoke. "What shall I do without you, and what will your father say?" "I have made up my mind," said Effie. "I don\'t want to be unkind to you, mother,—I love you more than words can say,—but I must go out into the world. I must live my life like other girls." "You had none of these ideas until you met Dorothy Fraser." "Yes, I have had them for a long time; Dorothy has given them emphasis, that\'s all. Dorothy\'s mother did not like her to go away, but now she is glad. She says that nothing has made Dorothy into so fine a woman as taking her life into her own hands, and making the best she can of it. Before I go, mother, I will get Agnes to learn all my duties; she shall help you. She is nearly fourteen; she ought to be of use to you, ought she not?" "She would not be like you," replied Mrs. Staunton. "She is very young, remember, and is at school most of the day. I won\'t argue with you, Effie, but it tires me even to think of it." Effie sighed. She bent down and kissed her mother. Her words had sounded hard and almost defiant, but there was nothing at all hard or defiant about her sweet face. She was a dark-eyed girl, and looked as if she might be any age between seventeen and twenty. There was a likeness between her and her mother quite sufficient to show their relationship; both faces were softly curved, both pairs of eyes were dark, and the mother must have been even prettier in her youth than the daughter was now. "As I say," continued Mrs. Staunton, "it fills me with terror to think of doing without you." "Try not to think of it, mother. I am not going yet, I only want to go very much indeed. I am going to talk to father about it. I want to have the thing arranged while Dorothy is here." Here Effie went suddenly on her knees by the sofa and threw one young arm protectingly round her mother. "You do not know what it means to me," she said. "When Dorothy talks of the full life, the keen interest, the battle, the thrill of living, I feel that I must go into it—I must." While Effie was speaking, Mrs. Staunton looked fixedly at her. There are moments which all mothers know, when they put themselves completely out of sight, when they blot themselves out, as it were. This time had come to Mrs. Staunton now. After a pause, she said, and her words came out even without a sigh: "The question, after all, is this, Effie: What will your father say?" "When he thinks it out carefully he will be pleased," replied Effie. "He must be interested in the profession I want to take up. How often—oh, how often, mother—has he groaned and sighed at the bad nursing which his patients get! You know you have always said, and he has said the same, that I am a born nurse. Won\'t he be proud and pleased when I come home and tell him all about the new ways in which things are done in London hospitals? You know there are six of us, and Agnes and Katie are growing up, and can take my place at home presently. Of course I know that father is quite the cleverest doctor in Whittington, but nobody gets ill here, and it is quite impossible to go on clothing and feeding six of us with no means at all. I do not think I am vain, mother, and I do not really care very much about dress, but mine is shabby, is it not? I think I should look pretty—as pretty as you must have looked long ago—if I were better dressed." "No dress can change your face," said Mrs. Staunton, with sudden passion. "You have the sweetest and dearest face in the world to me." Views: 395
The Perfect Veil is book #17 in a psychological suspense series by bestselling author Blake Pierce, which begins with The Perfect Wife, a #1 bestseller with over 5,000 five-star ratings and 900 five-star reviews.Women are found murdered in Los Angeles, all connected to a powerful cult. As Jessie unearths secret after secret about their inside relationships, she soon realizes she is up against forces more powerful than she can imagine. With her investigation seemingly shut down and a killer out there with an active agenda, will Jessie be able to save the next victim before it's too late?A fast-paced psychological suspense thriller with unforgettable characters and heart-pounding suspense, the Jessie Hunt series is a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Views: 395
Love is in the air and it stinks.Mercy Watts thinks things are about to get back to normal. She's back to work at the Columbia Clinic and her mother is recovering from her stroke. But when a patient goes rogue and lands Mercy smack dab in the middle of a lawsuit, she's forced to make a deal and the next thing she knows she's sunk into a world of infidelity and painful passions. Ordinary people are doing unthinkable things and Mercy doesn't know where to turn. Her boyfriend, Chuck, is practically MIA. Her father is out to lunch and Uncle Morty is downright incomprehensible. Add in a new stalker, plenty of jealousy, and a shooting, Mercy is out of her depth and the water is rising. Views: 394
From NY Times Bestselling Author, Angie Fox, a hauntingly fun holiday addition to the USA TODAY bestselling Southern Ghost Hunter series Southern girl Verity Long needs a Christmas miracle... Verity is ready to deck the halls, jingle some bells, and maybe, just maybe have a merry Christmas with her boyfriend's stuffy family. Truly, if she doesn't extend the proverbial olive branch to the overbearing Wydells, she's afraid she'll hit them over the head with it. But when her boyfriend's mother pulls a shocking stunt, Verity finds herself with a big decision to make. And if that's not enough, there's an unexpected guest at her door. It's the ghost of the woman who helped rescue Verity's pet skunk three years ago that very night. And now she's there to change Verity's life as well. *A "between the books" stand-alone holiday story you don't want to miss! Rating: Clean and Wholesome Paranormal Cozy Mystery Romance Views: 394
'On the whole, it was easier than I had expected. Only once did I feel myself at risk. That was when the Inspector suddenly intervened. He said in a harsh voice: "He married your wife, didn't he? Took her away from you some people might say. Nice piece of goods, too, by the look of her. Didn't you feel any grievance?"I had been expecting this question. I knew exactly what I would say.'The late, great P. D. James takes us inside the mind of a murderer. Views: 394
While bullies are beating up Charlie, his ex--bestfriend Jake pulls up in a bright red '67 Mustang--the principal's car--and tells him to get in. It's a choice between a broken nose and the risk of a lifetime, and Charlie, a self-described straight-A student and grade-A geek, decides to take a chance. Now the two teens are on a mission to find Charlie's absent father and avoid arrest for car theft. An eventful journey puts Charlie in the middle of a court case 1,000 miles from home. And in the courtroom, he will have to make the ultimate choice of his life. Views: 394
Most men of middle age would welcome a chance to live their lives a second time. But Coulter did not. Views: 394
When a man is discovered dead by poisoning in his empty home his beautiful wife, Ayane, immediately falls under suspicion. All clues point to Ayane being the logical suspect, but how could she have committed the crime when she was hundreds of miles away?
While Tokyo police detective Kusanagi tries to unpick a seemingly unrelated sequence of events he finds himself falling for Ayane. As his judgement becomes dangerously clouded his assistant must call on an old friend for help; it will take a genius to unravel the most spectacular web of deceit they have ever faced... Views: 393
"Each author captures Christie—and Marple—perfectly, while also displaying just a bit of her own unique touch. . . . This new and entertaining collection by some of our favorite writers will hook a new group of readers to the formidable Miss Marple." — Rhys Bowen, Washington Post"Marple is the best loved [detective]. Also the most influential. . . . It is Miss Marple who introduced the revolutionary notion that people are essentially the same wherever one goes." — Los Angeles TimesAgatha Christie's legendary sleuth, Jane Marple, returns to solve twelve baffling cases in this brand-new collection, penned by a host of acclaimed authors skilled in the fine art of mystery and murderOne doesn't stop at one murder...Jane Marple is an elderly lady from St Mary Mead who possesses an uncanny knack for solving even the most perplexing puzzles. Now, for the first time in... Views: 393
The Queen of Mystery has come to Harper Collins! Agatha Christie, the acknowledged mistress of suspense—creator of indomitable sleuth Miss Marple, meticulous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and so many other unforgettable characters—brings her entire oeuvre of ingenious whodunits, locked room mysteries, and perplexing puzzles to Harper Paperbacks…including one of her own ten favorite novels, Ordeal By Innocence, in which Charles Hayward must solve a devastating family mystery.Review“Writing Crooked House was pure pleasure and I feel justified in my belief that it is one of my best.” (Agatha Christie )“Her sleight of hand is impeccable.” (New Statesman (UK) )“Knock-out!” (Saturday Review of Literature )“We all go where [Agatha Christie] led; you can track us in her snow.” (Reginald Hill, author of the Dalziel and Pascoe MysteriesReginald Hill, author of the Dalziel and Pascoe MysteriesReginald Hill, author of the Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries ) From the Back CoverThe Leonides are one big happy family livingin a sprawling, ramshackle mansion. Thatis until the head of the household, Aristide, ismurdered with a fatal barbiturate injection.Suspicion naturally falls on the old man’s youngwidow, fifty years his junior. But the murdererhas reckoned without the tenacity of CharlesHayward, fiancé of the late millionaire’s granddaughter. Views: 393
After an early morning machinegun attack by a madman called the Digger leaves dozens dead in the Washington, D.C., subway, the mayor’s office receives a message demanding twenty million dollars by midnight or more innocents will die. It is New Year’s Eve, and with the ransom note as the only evidence, Special Agent Margaret Lukas calls upon retired FBI agent and the nation’s premier document examiner Parker Kincaid to join the manhunt for the Digger—or for hundreds, the first moments of the new year will be their last on earth. Views: 393
