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The Devil's Own Game (Somebody's Bound to Wind Up Dead Mysteries #3)
By Annie Hogsett. 2019
The murder is the messageWhat you don't see is what you get. When a sniper targets a blind man walking…
along the lagoon of the Cleveland Museum of Art, the bullet is a wake-up call aimed straight for Allie Harper and Tom Bennington, shattering their illusion that the Mondo Mega Jackpot Nightmare is over.On the day Allie—sassy, lonely, broke—met Tom—smart, hot, blind—he won $500 million trying to show a kid that gambling doesn't pay. Romance—and multiple murders—ensued, along with a new, opulent lifestyle that the couple had never dreamed possible. Then a ruthless man of formidable skills and resources hacked into the security system in their rented 9,000 square-foot lakeside mansion, and they learned just how far someone who begrudges their good fortune would go to destroy them. Now they know the past six months of peace and quiet were the calm before a rising storm of mayhem and revenge.The new game begins tonight. An old devil. A new devil. And a new case for The T&A Detective Agency. (Yes. They should have put Allie's initial first.) Tom and Allie aren't on the case long before they discover a strong lead that takes them into the heights of Cleveland's upper-crust, where husbands and wives weave webs of betrayal with unfathomable sums of money at the center. As the threats–and murders—multiply, Allie, Tom, and the T&A must fight to beat the devil's own game. Will they get out alive?Somebody's Bound to Wind Up Dead series:Too Lucky to Live (Book 1)Murder to the Metal (Book 2)The Devil's Own Game (Book 3)Praise for Annie Hogsett:"The original voice, humor, and unusual premise will appeal to Janet Evanovich readers." —Library Journal STARRED review for Too Lucky to Live"Fast pacing, multiple plot twists, and humor, including a Stephanie Plum-like main character, enliven the story and keep the pages turning." —Booklist for Too Lucky to Live"The bittersweet mystery, with the open-ended threat of a villainous mastermind, is reminiscent of P.J. Tracy's early 'Monkeewrench' novels." —Library Journal for Murder to the MetalValentino Will Die (Bianca Dangereuse Hollywood Mysteries #2)
By Donis Casey. 2021
From the author of the bestselling Phryne Fisher Series comes Urn Burial, the next historical mystery featuring the sultry, sharp-as-a-whip…
Miss Fisher. Can she find a way to clear up a muddied murder?"Another Down Under adventure that's definitely a cut above."—BooklistLooking for a murder mystery with a touch of romance? This book is for you:Perfect for Fans of Rhys Bowen and Jacqueline WinspearInspired the Netflix show Miss Fisher's Murder MysteriesMovie Currently Streaming on Acorn TVThe redoubtable Phryne Fisher is holidaying at Cave House, a Gothic mansion in the heart of Australia's Victorian mountain country. But the peaceful surroundings mask danger. Her host is receiving death threats, lethal traps are set without explanation, and the parlour maid is found strangled to death. What with the reappearance of mysterious funerary urns, a pair of young lovers, an extremely eccentric swagman, an angry outcast heir, and the luscious Lin Chung, Phryne's attention has definitely been caught. Stuck in the murder mansion, her search for answers takes her deep into the dungeons of the house and into the limestone Buchan caves. What will she find this time?The Heat of the Moon: A Rachel Goddard Mystery (Rachel Goddard Mysteries #0)
By Sandra Parshall. 2006
Winner of the 2007 Agatha Award for Best First NovelIf a door suddenly swings wide in your memory, what would…
you see?Young veterinarian Rachel Goddard's world begins to crumble when a client rushes into the animal hospital with a basset hound struck by a car during a thunderstorm. The dog owner's terrified tot, drenched with rain, loses sight of her mother in the flurry of activity and screams, "Mommy! I want Mommy!" Instantly Rachel is hurled back in time to a day in her own childhood when her baby sister Michelle uttered the same cry while thunder crashed and rain poured down on them. The unearthed memory feels like a fragment from a nightmare, and Rachel doesn't understand its meaning or the anguish it stirs up in her.When she seeks answers she learns nothing from Michelle or from Judith, their loving but manipulative mother. Judith is a psychologist who is only too happy to have her adult daughters still living in her elegant Tudor house outside Washington, DC. But their apparently serene home is a house of secrets where Judith's unspoken rules forbid questions about the family history or the daughters' long-dead father. As more baffling memories surface, Rachel begins to suspect that nothing about her family is what it seems. As her mother's attempts to control her accelerate, Rachel embarks on a quest that takes her deep into her own memory as well as halfway across the country. The heartbreaking truth she uncovers will shatter her world and force her to make an unthinkable choice.Braking Points: A Kate Reilly Mystery (Kate Reilly Mysteries #2)
By Tammy Kaehler. 2013
Kate Reilly can't remember a worse time in her life. She wrecks her racecar at Road America in Wisconsin, sending…
a visiting NASCAR star to the hospital, and loses her cool on-camera, only to end the day by discovering her boyfriend with a friend of hers. A dead friend.With little time to grieve, Kate finds herself the pariah of the racing world, the target of vicious e-mail messages, death threats, and a frenzy of blame on racing sites and blogs. But nothing is as bad as knowing her friend's killer is still out there—and aiming at Kate. Riding a roller coaster of emotion and dodging a pit reporter with a bias against women in racing, Kate redeems herself by delivering stunning performances behind the wheel. Ultimately she learns no one can escape the past—but only a murderer is driven by it.The Spotted Dog (Corinna Chapman Mysteries #7)
By Kerry Greenwood. 2018
Murder is unthinkable to The People—a Paleolithic tribe crossing Alaska. For The People, among the first undocumented immigrants to enter…
the Americas, murder isn't merely tragic, it's forbidden. Murder poisons the entire tribe and puts it at odds with nature, the Spirits, and the mighty Earth Mother. A murderer must be removed in order to set the world back in balance.Raven is the aging Spirit Man to a band where a member has been garroted. Worse, witchcraft is involved—another appalling violation of The People's beliefs. A woman claiming to be The Earth Mother declares only Raven can solve the crimes and restore The People to harmony. But Raven isn't a Spirit Man by vocation. He's an agnostic—his band needed someone for the job and he needed to secure his place with them. He begins having dreams of a strange man holding his, the Spirit Man's, skull in his hands. How will a man who doubts the authenticity of The Earth Mother as a goddess satisfy her demands? What if she and the dreams of some future are both real and solving the crimes must lead to his death? An impossible situation becomes more terrible as Raven realizes he's falling in love with a young woman of his band who, he suspects, is the guilty party.Brooklyn Legacies (Erica Donato Mysteries #5)
By Triss Stein. 2019
Next in the Erica Donato Mystery SeriesMurder strikes the neighborhoods of Brooklyn—the hip, the historic, and the hoodThe search for…
a lost portrait of Brooklyn's own genius Walt Whitman sends urban historian and curator of mysteries Dr. Erica Donato into Brooklyn Heights, a neighborhood of quaint and charming streets, family names out of history, and spectacular views of the harbor and the world-famous bridge. New York's first suburb has long weathered political battles about neighborhood preservation and destruction. Is a new one shaping up?Erica meets an idol, fiery community activist Louisa Gibbs, now locked in a dispute with the Watch Tower Society. One of Brooklyn's biggest landowners, the Jehovah's Witnesses are selling off their holdings. Then at a glittering party, Erica meets the threatening Prinzig clan who are trying to buy the Witness's property adjoining Louisa's historic home.The discovery of the Society's Daniel Towns' body in the Witnesses' underground tunnels reignites old conflicts. Erica learns Louisa has made bitter enemies in her time while she becomes steadily better acquainted with a collection of characters young and old, sane and not-so-sane, living and dead. They all carry bitter secrets and old enmities.The beautiful setting only hides them. Can Erica use her research expertise to expose a killer?When curator of mysteries Dr. Erica Donato takes on a case in the historical neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights, she finds herself facing long-buried, deadly secrets. Can she find answers before more people fall victim to the sins of the past?This intricately woven, Brooklyn-led mystery is:Perfect for fans of Laura Lippman and Reed Farrell ColemanFor readers who enjoy New York City based mysteriesBurgundy: Twisted Roots (Vengeance in the Vineyard Mysteries #3)
By Janet Hubbard. 2017
"Burgundy: Twisted Roots is an intriguing and multi-layered novel about love, wine and intrigue, steeped in a deep knowledge of…
the seductive French lifestyle, from wild boar hunts to wine harves feasts, with side servings of skullduggery and inheritance laws." —MARTIN WALKER, bestselling author of the Bruno, Chief of Police seriesMax Maguire of the NYPD, daughter of a legendary NY cop and a French mother disowned by her aristocratic family when she married, met examining magistrate Olivier Chaumont over murder at the wedding of an old friend in the Champagne wine region. They remained on-again-off-again partners and lovers over more murder again, this time in Bordeaux. And now, six months later, Max is on her way to Burgundy where it's time to give up her promising career and commit—or split.Murder occurs. There's a mystery girl, American. Fractured families. Motives aplenty. But the story's real fascination lies in two things French: the wine culture and French inheritance laws which are convoluted and guaranteed to spark family wars, even unto death. And the French justice system functions differently which frustrates Max, an action-oriented, straightforward investigator, and causes some friction with Olivier. Janet Hubbard wraps up her Vengeance in the Vineyard trilogy with a surprise and solutions that will please readers.Desert Run: A Lena Jones Mystery (large Print 16pt) (Lena Jones Series #4)
By Betty Webb. 2007
Things are never easy for Scottsdale private eye Lena Jones. Her partner in Desert Investigations is leaving for a wife…
and a job at Southwest MicroSystems. Her old captain at the Scottsdale PD is moving home to Brooklyn. Now she's doing security for Warren Quinn, director of a documentary being shot at Papago Park about the German POW camp and the "great escape" of Christmas Eve, 1944, when some prisoners tunneled out and fled. And one surviving escapee, Kapitan Zur See Erik Erns - a man in his nineties confined to a wheelchair after a boating accident - has just been murdered. Worse, his Ethiopian caregiver begs Lena to clear him as a suspect.Lena, experienced in probing the past for answers to the central mystery of her own life, learns that Ernst and two other POWs hid out in the rugged Superstition Mountains. Nearby, on Christmas Night, the Bollinger family was slaughtered. A jury didn't convict the only survivor, the teenage son. What might Chess Bollinger know about Ernst - and vice versa? And how much can Lena trust Quinn, either as a client, a witness, or a lover?Plunder: A Faye Longchamp Mystery (Faye Longchamp Archaeological Mysteries #7)
By Mary Anna Evans. 2012
2012 - Florida Book Award Bronze Medal Winner for General Fiction2012 - Florida Book Award Bronze Medal Winner for Popular…
Fiction"Details of archaeology, pirate lore, and voodoo complement the strong, sympathetic characters, especially Amande, and the appealing portrait of Faye's family life." —BooklistFaye Longchamp and her Native American husband Joe Wolf Mantooth are working near the mouth of the Mississippi, researching archaeological sites soon to be flooded by oil. The Deepwater Horizon disaster has morphed her run-of-the-mill contract job into a task that might swamp her fledgling consulting business.Then her injured babysitter leaves Faye to work with a toddler underfoot. Thankfully, Amande, a bright and curious teen lives nearby with her eccentric grandmother. But when the girl's grandmother and her no-account uncle are murdered, Amande's prospects worsen. The girl has but two known relatives, both battling over her small inheritance: a raggedy houseboat, a few shares of stock, and a hurricane-battered island that's not even inhabitable.Pirate-era silver coins are found and disappear. A murderer is on the loose, and as the oil slick looms, Faye can see that Louisiana is still being plundered....There Was a Crooked Man: A Cat DeLuca Mystery (Cat DeLuca Mysteries #5)
By K. J. Larsen. 2016
Some men are destined for dangerTexas Ranger Tom Bell is simply tracking a fugitive killer in 1931 when he rides…
into Kilgore, a hastily erected shanty town crawling with rough and desperate men—oil drillers who've come by the thousands in search of work. The sheriff of the boomtown is overwhelmed and offers no help, nor are any of the roughnecks inclined to assist the young Ranger in his search for the wanted man.In fact, it soon becomes apparent that the lawman's presence has irritated the wrong people, and when two failed attempts are made on his life, Bell knows he's getting closer to finding out who is responsible for cheating and murdering local landowners to access the rich oil fields flowing beneath their farms. When they ambush him for a third time, they make the fatal mistake of killing someone close to him and leaving the Ranger alive.Armed with his trademark 1911 Colt .45 and the Browning automatic he liberated from a gangster's corpse, Tom Bell cuts a swath of devastation through the heart of East Texas in search of the consortium behind the lethal land-grab scheme.Burials: A Faye Longchamp Mystery (Faye Longchamp Archaeological Mysteries #10)
By Mary Anna Evans. 2017
Top 12 Mystery Novels of 2017 by Strand Magazine2018 - Willa Literary Award Finalist, Contemporary Fiction"Evans' signature archaeological lore adds…
even more interest to this tale of love, hate, and greed." —Kirkus ReviewsA woman waits under five feet of dirt—a woman who is by now nothing but bones stained the deep red of Oklahoma clay. A delicate silver necklace, a handful of ancient pearls, and a priceless figurine rest with her. Twenty-nine years is a long time to wait for a proper burial.Faye Longchamp-Mantooth, who runs a small and shakily financed archaeological consulting firm with her husband, Joe, has come to Sylacauga so she and Joe can join his father, Sly Mantooth, in dispersing his mother's ashes. Fifteen years is a long time to wait for a proper ceremony.Faye has partially financed the trip by hiring on to consult on the reopening of a site closed down 29 years ago when archaeologist Dr. Sophia Townsend disappeared—for good. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation intends to create a park if nothing sacred lies in the soil. What no one expects is the lonely red bones that emerge as the backhoe completes its work. Inevitably they prove to be those of Sophia Townsend. And examination shows Sophia was first killed by a blow to the head.Chief Roy Cloud of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation's Lighthorse Tribal Police hires Faye, who clearly can't be a suspect, to consult. Which is fine with Faye, who won't rest easy until Sophia's murder is solved. But the investigation comes uncomfortably close to home when she learns that her father-in-law knows more about the dead woman than he is willing to admit. So, it appears, does everyone in tiny Sylacauga.Dr. Sophia Townsend had possessed a sexual magnetism as forceful as an Oklahoma tornado, and she had never hesitated to use it to manipulate everyone around her, people whose hearts she broke and whose marriages she destroyed. Was she killed by one of her lovers, or by one of their wives? Or by the woman who became enthralled with her? Or maybe Sly Mantooth? Or was something else elemental—greed, buried treasure, fame—at work?Faye's obsession with this case tests her professional ethics and it tests her marriage. Such was the power of Sophia Townsend that, twenty-nine years after her murder, she wreaks havoc (along with the weather) once again.2018 - Oklahoma Book Award Finalist, Fiction2018 - Will Rogers Bronze Medallion Award Winner, Western FictionTrick or Treat: Corinna Chapman's Murder Mysteries 4 (Corinna Chapman Mysteries #4)
By Kerry Greenwood. 2007
"In this entertaining, sexy debut, Allie is a sharp Stephanie Plum paired up with a hot partner... The original voice,…
humor, and unusual premise will appeal to Janet Evanovich readers." —Library Journal STARRED reviewLonely and broke, Cleveland divorce-survivor Allie Harper believes all her problems would be solved if she could find a nice, smart, hot guy and enough money to get her car fixed.The hot guy arrives first: he's in a crosswalk clutching a bag of groceries while a blonde in a Hummer is leaning hard on her horn, sending the man's groceries and white cane flying. How has this woman missed the fact that the man is blind? From the curb, an outraged Allie jumps to his rescue, rebagging the groceries as well.The money is in the bag. Literally—Thomas Bennington III, for that's who the handsome guy proves to be, has bought a MondoMegaJackpot ticket along with canned tomatoes. Allie takes him home and turns his groceries into dinner for two. Later that night, Tom hears the numbers announced. He's won. And he's less than thrilled. PhD Tom had gambled on the odds of losing (175 million to one) to prove a point to Rune, a kid from the projects he's befriended, that only losers buy lottery tickets. Instead, Rune, who'd helped pick the Mondo numbers, will share Tom's jackpot.Allie and Tom grasp two things: one, they're hot for each other, and two, the ticket is a hot target, and now so are they. Every scheming weasel in Cleveland will be after Tom's millions. $550 of them. Yes, once the Mondo ball drops, it's game on with killers and kidnappers as players.Allie and Tom need to get smarter about the threats all around them. On the run from one fancy hotel refuge to another and from one danger moment to the next, with only Allie's feisty landlady, Margo, and a couple of Cleveland cops for back-up, Allie and Tom evolve a strategy. First, turn in the ticket and claim the jackpot. Second, set up accounts to manage the millions. Third, stay alive to the end of the week...if they can.Too Lucky to Live debuts a talented writer in Annie Hogsett and a couple in Allie and Tom, a modern Nick and Nora Charles, who can power a compelling, amusing series with an excellent future.Somebody's Bound to Wind Up Dead series:Too Lucky to Live (Book 1)Murder to the Metal (Book 2)The Devil's Own Game (Book 3)Praise for Annie Hogsett:"Fast pacing, multiple plot twists, and humor, including a Stephanie Plum-like main character, enliven the story and keep the pages turning." —Booklist for Too Lucky to Live"The bittersweet mystery, with the open-ended threat of a villainous mastermind, is reminiscent of P.J. Tracy's early 'Monkeewrench' novels." —Library Journal for Murder to the MetalBluff
By Jane Stanton Hitchcock. 2019
Winner of the 2019 Dashiell Hammett Prize for Literary Excellence in Crime Writing"Bluff is a triumphant and thrilling return. Not…
only can Hitchcock stage a murder mystery that's as comedic as it is clever, but she also skewers the social elite — a world in which she grew up — with a satirical touch that's both razor-sharp and subtly sympathetic."—The Strand MagazineFrom New York Times bestselling author Jane Stanton Hitchcock comes a noir crime thriller full of wit, charm, and intrigue. For Maud Warner, the only way to get revenge is at the poker table—and she likes her odds. One-time socialite Maud Warner polishes up the rags of her once glittering existence and bluffs her way into a signature New York restaurant on a sunny October day. When she walks out again, a man will have been shot.Maud has grown accustomed to being underestimated and invisible to young New York socialites, and she uses her ability to fly under the radar as she pursues celebrity accountant Burt Sklar, the man she believes stole her mother's fortune and left her family in ruins. Her fervent passion for poker has taught Maud that she can turn weakness into strength to take advantage of people who think they are taking advantage of her, and now she has dealt the first card in her high-stakes plan for revenge.One unexpected twist after another follows as Maud plays a deadly game of poker. The stakes? To take down her enemies and get justice for their victims. Her success depends on her continuing ability to pull off the biggest bluff of her life—and on who will fold.Can she win?Full of both intrigue and wit, this mystery is:Perfect for fans of Linda Fairstein and Tara Isabella BurtonA riveting book for people who love pokerFor readers who enjoy big city mysteries and crime noir fictionThis award-winning thriller from New York Times bestselling author will have you cheering as Maud Warner, ex-socialite and card master, deftly plays her adversaries one-by-one. The necessary ending? Revenge. The plan? A deadly gamble.Wine of Violence: Roman Games, One For Sorrow, Wine Of Violence (Medieval Mysteries #1)
By Priscilla Royal. 2012
With a Foreword by Sharon Kay Penman.It's summer 1270, and England is as weary as its aging king, Henry III.…
The Simon de Montfort rebellion is over, and in the small priory of Tyndall on the remote East Anglian coast, the monks and nuns of the Order of Fontevraud long to return to their tranquil routine. But then the young, inexperienced Eleanor of Wynethorpe is appointed their new prioress. It's a political move and not popular.The day after she takes up her office, a brutally murdered monk is found in the cloister gardens. Then Brother Thomas arrives. Sent to investigate the Order's shaky finances, the young priest is also paying the price for a crime that could see him burn. As Thomas battles to accept his new life, Eleanor, struggling to gain the respect of her terrified and resentful flock, must cope with violence, lust, and greed to find a vicious killer.Effigies (Faye Longchamp Archaeological Mysteries #0)
By Mary Anna Evans. 2006
2007 - Florida Book Award Bronze Medal Winner"As an archeological tour alone the book would be worth reading, but it's…
the fascinating and complex characters that give the story life and vibrancy." —Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling authorFaye Longchamp and Joe Wolf Mantooth have traveled to Neshoba County, Mississippi, to help excavate a site near Nanih Waiya, the sacred mound where tradition says the Choctaw nation was born. When farmer Carroll Calhoun refuses the archaeologists' request to investigate an ancient Native American mound, Faye and her colleagues are disappointed. But his next action breaks their hearts: he tries to bulldoze the huge relic to the ground.Later Calhoun is found dead, his throat sliced with a handmade stone blade. Was he killed by an archaeologist angered by his wanton destruction of history? Did a Choctaw take up arms to defend an embattled heritage? Did someone decide to even the score with an old rival?Convenient Disposal: A Posadas County Mystery (Posadas County Mysteries #0)
By Steven F. Havill. 2010
Sheriff Estelle is called to teenager Carmen Acosta's home. When she arrives, Carmen's father, Freddie, is in police custody and…
an unconscious Carmen is on the way to the hospital "beat to a pulp." There has been a fight over a boy, but it is hard to believe that the also young Deena is responsible. Estelle has many other suspects to choose from, since the Acosta family holds the record for the number of domestic violence calls the police have received. The question is, which of the other four children or two parents is responsible? Or is it someone else entirely?Havill draws his readers into the life of this small border county in New Mexico. Estelle is not only an undersheriff, she is the mother of two delightful little boys, the wife of a warm and likeable surgeon, Mexican-American like herself, and the daughter of a wise old woman whose life has been spent south of the border. But the threats from Havill's fans would have been dire if he had dispensed with Billl Gastner, the dearly loved former sheriff. Bill may officially be retired, but he's quick to give Estelle the value of his experience when she needs it, and proud to have been chosen by the Guzman boys to be their surrogate abuelo--grandfather.Farewell Blues (Lady Adelaide Mysteries #4)
By Maggie Robinson. 2021
"An addictive read from one of my very favorite writers."—DEBORAH CROMBIE, New York Times bestselling authorThe Reverend Callie Anson should…
have learned her lesson by now: revisiting the past is seldom a good idea. But she succumbs to peer pressure and attends a reunion at her theological college in Cambridge, where she is forced to confront painful memories—and the presence of her clueless ex, Adam.Margaret Phillips, the Principal of the college, has a chance for happiness but before she can grasp it she has to deal with her own ghosts—as well as corrosive, intrusive gossip. Both Margaret and Callie learn something about themselves, and about forgiveness, from wise retired priest John Kingsley.Meanwhile, in London, police officers Neville Stewart and Mark Lombardi are involved with the stabbing of a teenager. Was the victim—gifted, popular schoolboy Sebastian Frost—all he seemed to be, or was there something in his life that led inevitably to his death? The police find themselves in the queasy world of cyber-bullying, where nothing may be as it seems.While they're apart, Callie and Mark's relationship is on hold, and his Italian family continues to be an issue. Will Mark realize, before it's too late, that while his family will always be important to him, he is entitled to something for himself?Murder to the Metal (Somebody's Bound to Wind Up Dead Mysteries #2)
By Annie Hogsett. 2018
From the author of the bestselling Phryne Fisher Series comes Murder on the Ballarat Train, the next historical mystery featuring…
the intrepid amateur sleuth Phryne Fisher. What happens when this train reaches its deadly destination? Phryne is determined to find out…"Greenwood's stories are brief, but she holds her own, writing well-thought-out plots starring the intelligent, sexy, liberated, and wealthy Phryne."—Library JournalLooking for the perfect historical murder mystery novels? This series hits all the sweet spots:Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Dorothy SayersInspired the Netflix show Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, starring Essie DavisMovie Now Streaming on Acorn TVWhen the roaring 1920s' most glamorous lady detective, the Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher, arranges to go to Ballarat for the week, she eschews the excitement of her red Hispano-Suiza racing car for the sedate safety of the train. The last thing she expects is to have to use her trusty Beretta .32 to save the passengers' lives. As they sleep, they are poisoned with chloroform.Phryne is left to piece together the clues after this restful country sojourn turns into the stuff of nightmares with a young girl who can't remember anything, rumors of slavery and black magic, and the body of an old woman missing her emerald rings. Unlike typical 1920s books, Phryne dives right into the fray, convention be damned. Will she be able to derail this mystery train before it's too late? Then there is the rowing team and the choristers, all deliciously engaging young men. They're a pleasant diversions, but they seem to be up to something...A Bitter Chill: An Aurelia Marcella Roman Mystery (Aurelia Marcella Roman Series #2)
By Jane Finnis. 2005
In late December 95 AD, Roman settlers in Britannia are preparing to celebrate Saturnalia. Innkeeper Aurelia Marcella's plans for a…
peaceful holiday are shattered when her brother brings bad news. An enemy in Rome is trying to destroy her family by spreading rumors that they are plotting against Caesar. Her brother has lost his job as a government investigator, the mansio is menaced by a gang of native criminals, and when a party of rich, demanding travelers arrive to stay, their quarrels and violence spill over into Aurelia's household. Then the Saturnalia banquet, highlight of the festival, culminates in tragic death. The second installment in the Aurelia Marcella series.Kittens Can Kill: A Pru Marlowe Pet Noir (Pru Marlowe Pet Noir #5)
By Clea Simon. 2015
"As usual, Kaehler combines a credible group of suspects with some detailed racing lore. Even readers who don't care about…
cars may well be hooked by the feminist angle." —Kirkus ReviewsAt the end of the first practice session for the iconic Indianapolis 500 race, Kate Reilly is stunned to discover she was the fastest driver on the track. She's even more surprised to learn she wasn't the first woman to top the speed charts in the race's 106-year history. That feat was accomplished in 1987 by PJ Rodriguez—steady, dedicated, immensely promising—who shocked the racing world and the wider one by committing suicide ten days later.When the press, bloggers, and social media go crazy over the connection between PJ and Kate, Kate begins to lose her identity—suddenly everyone's comparing Kate and PJ, calling Kate PJ, and wondering if Kate will kill herself, too. Under siege from various trolls live and digital, Kate feel PJ's story deeply. So she's impelled to listen to PJ's family—which claims PJ did not jump, but was murdered. And she agrees to help them find PJ's killer and restore her reputation...30 years after the fact.PJ's death was a great tragedy; Kate feels it in her bones and believes she is the best person, perhaps the only person, to investigate PJ's story. What evidence is there? She can interview people at the track who were there in 1987. She can consult the press coverage. And she can marshal up help from "Special Team Kate." They work in an atmosphere of prejudice and chauvinism, the same that surrounded PJ.But Kate is at the Indy to run the biggest race of her career. To prepare she fills her days with driving on the track for practice, fulfilling sponsor obligations, promoting the IndyCar Series and as ever, playing peacemaker between the warring sides of her maternal and paternal families.Before long one suspect in PJ's death turns up dead, all but confirming PJ was killed. So as Kate prepares to run the biggest race of her life she must narrow down the clues to not one but two murders, all while fighting for her own voice and identity through the storm of media attention. Will the past stay buried? Or will history repeat itself and leave Kate dead?Kiss the Bricks is the 5th Kate Reilly mystery and takes its title from the Indy winner's tradition of kissing the track's Yard of Bricks in tribute to its legendary history.Kate Reilly Mysteries:Dead Man's Switch (Book 1)Braking Points (Book 2)Avoidable Contact (Book 3)Red Flags (Book 4)Kiss the Bricks (Book 5)Praise for the Kate Reilly Mysteries:"Read this book—but buckle in first. Believe me, you're in for a bumpy ride." —WILLIAM KENT KRUEGER, New York Times bestselling author for Braking Points"This series always leaves me wanting more, so I cannot wait to keep reading and see what's next on the horizon for my fellow female racing driver!" —PIPPA MANN, IndyCar driver for Avoidable Contact