It's June in Busman's Harbor, Maine, and Julia Snowden and her family are working hard to get their authentic Maine clambake business ready for summer. Preparations must be put on hold, however, when a mysterious yacht drops anchor in the harbor—and delivers an unexpected dose of murder . . . When Julia's old prep school rival Wyatt Jayne invites her to dinner on board her billionaire fiancé's decked-out yacht, Julia arrives to find a sumptuous table set for two—and the yachtsman dead in his chair. Suspicion quickly falls on Wyatt, and Julia's quest to dredge up the truth leads her into the murky private world of a mega-rich recluse who may not have been all that he seemed . . . Praise for Iced Under "Ross knows her Maine coast and her snowstorms. Both provide an atmospheric backdrop for a cozy that . . . picks up its pace when its focus returns to the living and the newly dead."... Views: 38
The eleventh Jack Taggart Mystery pits Taggart against the ruthless new leader of the Satans Wrath Motorcycle Gang. After the new leader of the Satans Wrath Motorcycle Club ordered the murder and torture of three people — one who was wrongly suspected of being an informant — a bloody message painted on the wall at the murder scene is personally addressed to Jack Taggart. Horrified by the discovery, Taggart's shock turns to rage when the bikers' next stop is to his home. When a new assistant commissioner orders Taggart to stay clear of the bikers, Taggart forms a deadly plan of vengeance to deliver justice as only he could. Views: 38
Three friends have become four. But that's only the beginning. Ruby, Evie, Molly and Chelsea were the bad girls at school. But Ruby was the baddest. Evie fought her anger, Molly fought her mother and Chelsea...well, Chelsea just fought. But Ruby set her sights on a bigger stage. And together, they dreamed of a future where Ruby could sing, Evie could make art, Molly could bake, Chelsea could dance – and all of them could finally feel at home. A decade later, the girls are reunited for the funeral of Ruby, who took the world – and the charts – by storm, before fading too soon. And Evie doesn't know whether to laugh or cry when she learns that Ruby has left them a house on Camden Square – the perfect place for them to fulfil their dreams. But does she dare take the plunge, and risk it all for one last shot at the stars? Goodbye Ruby Tuesday is Book 1 in A.L. Michael's new series, 'The House on Camden Square' Views: 38
"The charming heroine and the supporting cast shine in Clark's fun and funny solo mystery debut...which doesn't take anyone too seriously in the best way possible."—Kirkus Reviews "Cozy fans should enjoy this funny and affecting view into a mystery writer's life."—Publishers Weekly "Charlee Russo is my new favorite amateur sleuth! Wickedly witty author Charlee takes us along on her wild ride to prove her innocence in the murder of her literary agent, a murder based on the plot of one of her own books! Giving readers an inside look at the writer's life, Becky Clark pens a funny, clever page turner of a mystery and I can't wait for the next one in this terrific new series!"—Jenn McKinlay, bestselling author of the Library Lover's Mysteries LIFE BECOMES STRANGER THAN FICTION WHEN CHARLEE'S LATEST NOVEL INSPIRES A REAL MURDER Mystery author Charlemagne "Charlee" Russo thinks the twisty plots and peculiar murders in her books are only... Views: 38
From Publishers WeeklyAt the start of Pence's amusing 13th Angie Amalfi mystery, the sometime chef and her San Francisco homicide detective fiancé, Paavo Smith, are off to reconnect with childhood friends of Paavo's in Jackpot, Ariz., where they'll be staying at the Ghost Hollow Guest Ranch (ostriches, not cattle). On arrival in town, Paavo's old chum, Ned Paulson, fails to meet them as planned. Unfortunately, while off looking for a long-missing stagecoach containing a famous chef from the Waldorf and a pile of money, Ned has been bashed in the head and left in a desert cave. Somehow, during a cook-off for the annual ranch picnic against a local diner owner—who garnishes her rabbit stew with horned toad—Angie manages to figure out the complex inner workings of a very small town (pop. 917) and find the reality behind the polite faces. Good repartee between the lovers, funny (think amorous ostrich) situations, a secret marriage, a surprising dénouement and a great recipe for bourbon pecan pie make this the perfect vacation read. (Feb.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review“[T]he perfect vacation read.” (Publishers Weekly ) Views: 38
In his New York Times notable debut, The Ice Harvest, Scott Phillips gave readers an instant noir classic that spanned twenty-four eventful hours in the life of a mob lawyer hoping to skip town (namely Wichita) with a small fortune. Phillips followed with the acclaimed sequel, The Walkaway, showing how a seeming windfall can wreak wicked havoc on the lives of its recipients. Now this award-winning author broadens his canvas, writing his most accomplished novel yet—one that is rich in suspense, drama, historical sweep, and Phillips’s unique blend of unforgettable characters. In 1872, Cottonwood, Kansas, is a one-horse speck on the map; a community of run-down farms, dusty roads, and two-bit crooks. Self-educated saloon owner and photographer Bill Ogden looks on his adopted town with an eye to making a profit or getting out. His brains and ambition bring him to the attention of one Marc Leval, a wealthy Chicago developer with big plans for the small town. The advent of the railroad and rumors of a cattle trail turn Cottonwood into a wild and wooly boomtown—and with Leval as a partner, Ogden dreams of bringing civilization to the prairie. But civilizing the Great Plains was never that simple. While many in Cottonwood distrust Leval’s motives, and mob violence threatens to derail the town’s dreams of greatness, Ogden finds himself dangerously obsessed with Leval’s stunningly beautiful wife. Meanwhile, plying its sinister trade unnoticed, an apparently ordinary local farm family quietly butchers traveling salesmen, weary travelers, and other unsuspecting wanderers. In his own inimitable brand of narrative wizardry, Scott Phillips traces the metamorphosis of a frontier town that becomes a lightning rod for sin, corruption, and murder. He also brings to life actual crimes that befell Kansas in the 1870s and 1880s, carried out by a strange clan who popularly became known as The Bloody Benders. Brilliantly written, maliciously fun, and full of many surprises, Cottonwood is historical fiction at its finest. From the Hardcover edition.**From Publishers WeeklyWestern epic, black comedy and soft porn are cleverly spliced in this genre-bending offering from Phillips (The Walkaway; The Ice Harvest), which relates the experiences of Bill Ogden, sometime farmer, sometime saloon-owner, sometime photographer in 1870s Kansas. Ogden, 27, is a self-taught Greek and Latin scholar and a sexual libertine capable of seducing almost any woman he encounters. Estranged from his wife, he never brags about his peccadilloes, although it seems that his devotion to oral sex sets him apart from rivals and makes him the heart's desire of the voracious women who seem to be everywhere on the frontier. The story, such as it is, centers on the arrival of Marc Leval and his lovely wife, Maggie, in the tiny farm community of Cottonwood. Marc capriciously selects Bill as a partner in his scheme to attract Texas drovers to a railhead, while Maggie plays a less-than-discreet game of spider and fly with Bill, the Kansas Casanova. In the meantime, an outlaw family embarks on a crime spree that eventually pits Bill against Marc and sends Bill and Maggie fleeing. Jumping ahead 20 years, Bill's story resumes in San Francisco, where he is making his way as a photographer and sexual athlete. He learns that Maggie, from whom he is long separated, has returned to Cottonwood, so he abandons his life in California and returns, bent on rekindling their love affair. Bill's salaciousness rivals Don Juan's and he is utterly devoid of scruples, but his deadpan humor and cunning indifference to life's vicissitudes keep him likable. Lively pacing and artful prose lend polish to Phillips's cheerfully grotesque chronicle of western antics. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistAt first glance, Phillips' third effort seems like quite a departure from his previous noirish crime novels, but it quickly becomes apparent that the author's brand of sly humor and his skilled depictions of nasty human behavior translate well to the historical genre. Set in frontier Kansas, spanning the years 1872 to 1890, the novel tracks the evolution of the young town of Cottonwood, rumored to be a future railroad stop, and its inhabitants, poised to take advantage of the fortunes that will come rolling in on the train tracks. Unfortunately trouble ensues while the residents wait for their ships to come in--most notably, they discover a family of serial killers in their midst (based on a real Kansas family known as the Bloody Benders). Our hero is saloon keeper Bill Ogden, who serves as the town's voice of reason until he takes the wrong married woman to bed. Romance, intrigue, dueling pistols, and a Charles Willeford feel translated to the frontier--a little something for everyone. Carrie BisseyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Views: 38
No one can find it. That's the first thing. The Recording Room is on the eleventh floor, at the end of a rat-hued hallway that some workers at the newspaper have never seen; they give up on the ancient elevator, which makes only local stops with loud creaks of protest. Like New Yorkers who refuse to venture above Fourteenth Street, there are newspaper workers who refuse to go above the fourth floor for fear of being lost forever if they leave the well-lit newsroom for dark floors unknown.In this room you'll find Lena. She works as a transcriptionist for the Record, a behemoth New York City newspaper. There once were many transcriptionists at the Record, but new technology and the ease of communication has put most of them out of work, so now Lena sits alone in a room on the building's eleventh floor, far away from the hum of the newsroom that is the heart of the paper. Still, it is an important job—vital, really—a vein that connects the organs of the... Views: 38
