Discover Mysteries to Read
“Suspenseful without ever getting too intense.” – Kirkus Reviews. Ever been scared by strange noises? A scaredy-cat dog faces his fears—with jolts and laughs! Spanish-English with pronunciation guide & finding activity (ages 3+/ESL, 24 illustrations, hard/soft/ebook) ISBN: 978-0985398873
Targeted Age Group:: 3 – 12
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Personal terror experience!
When researcher Grace Talbot and her team discover a possible solution for weight loss, they are targeted by a group dedicated to controlling the diet product industry worth billions. Her unsanctioned testing methods bring tragedy to the family ranch and the attention of the local sheriff’s deputy. With her colleagues either dead, missing, or on the run she soon realizes she must trust the deputy with her life, but can she trust him with her heart?
Targeted Age Group:: adults
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve begun paying more attention to what I eat and my overall health. The more I read about nutrition and fitness the more confused I become, especially when it comes to supplements. There are a myriad of products out there that make all sorts of claims, but what’s true? I’m sure the answer is very complex because there are a lot of variables that influence a products effectiveness, which makes the subject an excellent topic for fiction. Add that to my mild paranoia that forces are always working behind the scenes to influence our choices and manipulate markets, and I had plenty to work with.
The first time we met Jason Davey, he was entertaining passengers aboard the Alaska cruise ship Star Sapphire, Eight ‘til Late in the TopDeck Lounge.
Then he came ashore, got a gig playing lead guitar at London’s Blue Devil jazz club, and gained a certain amount of notoriety tracking down missing musician Ben Quigley in the Canadian north.
Now Jason’s back again, this time investigating the theft of £10,000 from a dancer’s locker at a Soho gentlemen’s club.Jason initially considers the case unsolvable. But the victim, Holly Medford, owes a lot of money to London crime boss Arthur Braskey and, fearing for her life, has gone into hiding at a posh London hotel.
Jason’s investigation takes him from Cha-Cha’s and Satin & Silk (two Soho lapdancing clubs) to Moonlight Desires (an agency featuring high class escorts) and finally to a charity firewalking event, where he comes face to face with Braskey and discovers not everything Holly’s been telling him is the complete truth.
As he becomes increasingly drawn into the seamy underside of Soho, Jason tries to save Gracie, his band-mate’s 14-year-old runaway daughter, from Holly’s brother Radu, a ruthless pimp, while at the same time protecting Holly herself from a vengeful Braskey – nearly losing his life, and Gracie’s – in the process.
Targeted Age Group:: Adult
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
I'd written about my main character, Jason Davey, in a previous novel set on a cruise ship in Alaska (Cold Play). He was such fun to work with that I wanted to bring him back, this time as an amateur sleuth working in London. I'd never written a full-on mystery before, even though I've been a huge fan of mysteries (print, tv and films) all of my life. Jason's working in a night club called the Blue Devil, which is in the heart of Soho, which is an area in transition – it used to have a very dodgy reputation, but it's currently in the process of reinventing itself. I wanted to tap into the last vestiges of the "red light" districts in the heart of Soho. I'd watched "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" on tv, and read the books that the series was based on, and I was intrigued by the life of someone who chose to make a living as an escort. I was also fascinated by the lives of women who chose to perform in "gentlemen's clubs"…and that intrigue and fascination made its way into the story as Jason is asked to investigate the theft of a considerable sum of money from an exotic dancer who is also working as an escort.
[Read more…] about Notes on a Missing G-String by Winona Kent
DS Louisa Williams struggles against the odds to bring the serial killer to justice before he claims any more victims. Two women have already been brutally strangled and Louisa finds herself battling her new DI, as well as the odds, to catch the murderer. With her job on the line, she comes to rely on her colleague Millie and the handsome acting-DC Mark Ward in her fight for justice for the victims and for herself. Mark proves himself to be an invaluable member of the team and Louisa is quick to notice this and seeks his help throughout the case. Will Louisa be able to fit the pieces of this tangled investigation together before her DI transfers her back into uniform? What secret is DI Oakes hiding and will Louisa have the courage to reveal it? Look over your shoulder. You never know who’s behind you.
Targeted Age Group:: 30-70
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
I have always loved reading or watching mysteries. My favourites are Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Lewis and Hettie Wainthrop. I wondered if I could write my own mysteries so I took the plunge. I made lots of notes, researched police procedures and then settled down to write an outline.
Bit by bit, word by word I got to know my characters and began to explore my original idea – murder without too much blood or gore.
My characters soon took on a life of their own and DS Louisa Williams was created.
The Christmas Thief is book 1 of 3 in the Cottage Grove Mystery series (Print available for entire series only. Search Cottage Grove Mysteries).
There’s a thief in Cottage Grove, and Tasha’s a suspect. Not exactly the dream she’d had in mind when she moved into her rustic fixer-upper cottage.
Marc Shepherd wasn’t part of her plans either. The Stetson-wearing contractor moved in next door, kicking up dust and threatening to cut down a beloved pine that shaded Tasha’s cabin.
With Christmas around the bend, and a criminal threatening the community’s peace, will Tasha solve the puzzle … before it’s too late?
“A perfect holiday season escape.” ~ Amanda Flower, USA Today Bestselling Author
Targeted Age Group:: 18-65
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
This one actually began years ago after I'd written a few chapters of a romance and sent them to a publishing house. The editor at the time wrote back and asked, "Would you send the rest?"
I was thrilled. So while my little kids napped and played and wreaked general havoc – they're all young adults now! – I wrote the remaining chapters and sent them to the publisher. The book was rejected. Broke my heart, but I wrote another book – and that one was rejected, too. Sigh.
Eventually, I had my first sale, which led to many other book contracts. I never forgot about Tasha and Marc in the town of Cottage Grove, though. Admittedly, when I dusted off that original manuscript, I realized it needed work. So I called my mom, Elaine, a longtime mystery fan, and asked her to brainstorm with me. The result was The Christmas Thief.
(Humor, bilingual) WHERE did all the crumbs come from? A Hispanic child takes readers on a finding and counting search for the crumb culprit. Includes full text and pronunciation guide in English and Spanish. “Elevando la Lectura Bilingüe” – Tania Navarro, El Observador (ages 2+/ESL, 24 illustrations, hard/soft/ebook)
Targeted Age Group:: 2-12
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
It ambushed me.
For the second time in Joe Stryker’s headline-grabbing career as a street cop, a partner is brutally slain in the line of duty . . . almost in front of Joe’s eyes.
In this sequel to the award-winning Murder on the Tracks, set in 1951 Denver, Joe faces two baffling questions: How did the killer pull off such a brazen murder and escape? And why was Joe’s partner—a by-the-book cop—murdered while burglarizing a pawnshop?
To protect his dead partner’s reputation—and save his own career—Joe must conceal his investigation from his new partner, his superiors, even his wife. All while dodging a homicide detective hell-bent to pin the crimes on Joe.
Facing betrayal from unexpected places, Joe’s investigation leads to a ring of dirty cops—and a dark secret reaching back to the shameful internment of Japanese-American citizens in relocation camps during World War II. Before Joe can answer the baffling questions and track down the brutal killer, he once again must risk his career, his marriage . . . and his life.
“Joe Stryker is back in this tour-de-force novel by award-winning author Bruce Most.”
Novelist Doug Hawk
Targeted Age Group:: 18 and up
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Two things inspired me. After Joe Stryker's debut in Murder on the Tracks, I simply wanted to spend more time with Joe. Like children, characters are your creations, and you want to spend as much time as possible with them. I wanted to follow Joe as he struggles with his strained marriage (now complicated by a child), deals with a changing social and economic world in post World War II, and pursues his quest for justice while clashing with his superiors on the police force.
The second inspiration for the book was two actual historical events I built the plot around: a massive Denver police scandal of crooked cops in the 1950s, and America's abhorrent treatment of Japanese Americans in World War II. So both personal and outside forces twist together for Joe to create what I think is an exciting mystery.
London, November 3rd, 1881. A young woman slips through the curtains of fog down Pendy Corner, to the 26th house in the row. She vacillates at the gate. For past that sullen door, she must seek the help of the distinctively eccentric and impatient young language expert named Basil Collingwood. The fate of Europe, and indeed, the free peoples of the world, may depend upon getting him to understand her. The only trouble? She cannot speak a word.
Brace yourself for a heart-pounding, romantic romp through Victorian London, rivaling the best of Doyle and Dickens–for this is only the beginning of a series that will sweep you from the glittering pomp of Hampton Court, to the smoky slums of Shoreditch, up the stairs to 221B Baker Street, and to the murky waters of the River Thames, alongside brilliant, peculiar and outcast characters who find themselves at home within the walls of a sulking old brownstone wedged into a winding London lane: a house known by both Sherlock Holmes and the Queen of England simply as Pendywick Place.
Targeted Age Group:: young adult/adult
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
I was an English major in college, and I adore British Literature, especially Austen, Dickens, Tolkien, and Doyle. I've loved Sherlock Holmes ever since I met him, my favorite book of all time is "A Christmas Carol," I get swept up in the intrigue and humor of all of Jane Austen's stories, and I so enjoy the rich mythology of Tolkien. I also grew up with the film "My Fair Lady," and had the honor of being in the theatrical production twice: first as Mrs. Higgins, then as Eliza Doolittle. "The Mute of Pendywick Place" is a hybrid of everything I love about British Literature, from the language to the history to intrigue to the humor. And especially the mysterious romance of it all. I love these misfit characters who inhabit this dour old house in the middle of Pendy Corner, and I know you will enjoy having tea and chasing along with them on their adventures as much as I do.
[Read more…] about The Mute of Pendywick Place and the Torn Page by Alydia Rackham
A drought, a flood, an outback pub – and a serial killer. There’s no electricity, no phone and no way out. After years of drought, the rains have finally come and the rivers are rising fast. The roads become impassable. When strangers are stranded at an old isolated pub in Outback Australia in 1957, they soon realise that a serial killer lives among them. Can you guess whodunnit? A quick read novella.
Targeted Age Group:: 18+
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
I like to travel in the outback and have visited lots of isolated pubs, where there are no other people around for hundreds of miles. I wondered what it would be like to be trapped in a wild and lonely place, with a bunch of strangers, and one of them turned out be a cold-blooded killer. I created characters that could easily have existed in 1957, and wanted to give the reader a feeling of what it would be like to live without mobile phones, electricity, enough water to bathe or a proper toilet.
[Read more…] about Seven Deadly Sinners by Carmel McMurdo Audsley
Talia is on a mission. One that will end with her breaking both rules of her Coven—don’t use magic for evil and don’t cross the boundary.
For years, the witches and demons were at war. The only solution was a boundary put between them that neither of them were to cross at the risk of breaking their treaty. To find the truth of her beloved Ian’s death, Talia must follow the clues he’s left behind, the ones that warn he wasn’t the witch she knew. He had a dangerous secret, one that not only caused him to cross the boundary but also left him at the mercy of the demons.
On the other side, Talia realizes the demons are nothing like she’s been told. Wrapped up in the growing mystery of Ian’s death, Talia is joined by a hunky but concerned demon named Marcus. As he guides her through Ian’s secret world, Talia begins to suspect that the demons weren’t responsible for Ian’s fate after all. With the help of Marcus and her familiar, Mushroom, Talia is plunged into the depths of danger and black magic where she makes a startling discovery—the people she loved the most were the dangerous ones all along.
Targeted Age Group:: New Adult
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
This story was actually inspired by an amethyst crystal that I saw in a store. I loved the way that it reflected the light in the store, and I wondered how it would react to moonlight. Somehow, that blossomed to an entire character and world.
[Read more…] about The Moon Warriors: A Novella by Kayla Krantz
