Women Sleuths – Page 3

To Catch a Creeper by Ellie Campbell @ecampbellbooks

Cathy is riding high in her brand-new job at a (surprisingly bitchy) top London advertising agency working with best friend Rosa. But when Rosa’s pregnancy goes amiss and enemies sabotage her new career, she finds herself leading a chaotic double life of lies and deception, hiding a shameful secret from all, especially husband Declan who appears in the throes of a nervous breakdown. Meanwhile she’s agreed to unmask the notorious Crouch End Creeper, a burglar terrorizing their neighbourhood. Little does she know that her meddling, assisted by fellow mothers (the Wednesday Once Weeklies) and the Neighbourhood Watch, will lead their dangerous opponent to murder. And that it’s not only the tall elegant transvestite who is placing herself at risk…

Targeted Age Group:: 25-65

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Lots of things. With How To Survive Your Sisters we wanted to explore the dynamics between four sisters, their similarities and differences, the way they can drive you crazy one minute and be your best friend the next. In When Good Friends Go Bad we were imagining what it would be like to meet your old schoolfriends again and how you would get along, what you’d still have in common – especially if you discovered one of them had betrayed you in a significant way. Our third novel Looking For La La was inspired by a postcard someone sent to Pam’s husband, proclaiming passionate love and signing herself La La. We got a kick out of using it as the first chapter of our novel. To Catch a Creeper follows on from Looking for La La, although it is a stand alone novel. We intend it as the second book in a The Crouch End Confidential Mystery series – but it totally stands alone if someone hasn’t read the first. We love human interest stories, the dynamics of relationships and we love using humor to get our point across. And also because life is basically funny.

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Dead Like Me by Kelly Miller @MillerMystery

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On edge after a two-week mandatory leave, Homicide Detective Kate Springer is blindsided when she discovers she shares a link with Tampa’s newest murder victim. A troubled teen found strangled and dumped in a remote part of town. The bond between them threatens to expose Detective Springer’s past—a past she’s been hell bent on keeping secret. When the killer finally emerges from the shadows, Kate’s secrets aren’t the only thing on the line. So is her life.

Targeted Age Group:: 18+

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Having the victim and the case detective look alike isn’t a new idea. But I was inspired to create the Kate Springer character when I was at the park with my then two children. That day I saw a grandfather there with his granddaughter. There was an odd dynamic between the two. Now I’m pretty good at reading moods, and I could tell by the girl’s body language she was uncomfortable with the touch of her grandfather. I’m a mom. I know the difference between when a child is being moody and when something else is bothering them. This was definitely something else. I regret not striking up a conversation with the child but soon after they arrived, my son fell down, scraped his knee, thus ending our day out.

I’ve never been able to get that little girl out of my head. And in my writer’s mind, she developed into something more. Eventually, I created a whole scenario around her thinking what her life would be like if she grew up the victim of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her grandfather. Thus Kate Springer was born. I took it a step further, wondering what if Kate became a detective and one day looked into the face of a thirteen-year-old victim, realizing it was like looking into a mirror. What kinds of emotions would it stir up? Would the memories of Kate’s life at thirteen come rushing back?

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The Profiler’s Daughter: A Sky Stone Thriller by P. M. Steffen @pm_steffen

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A grisly murder. A six-year-old eyewitness. A gun from the grave.

The Profiler’s Daughter is a psychologically haunting thriller that combines murder mystery, love triangle, and family intrigue in one satisfying page burner.

Sky Stone was born into the wealth and privilege of Boston’s oldest Brahmin family but chooses instead to follow in the footsteps of her deceased father, legendary FBI profiler Monk Stone. In the chilly morning hours before the Boston Marathon, when a beautiful university student is found strangled and mutilated, her body left at the base of Heartbreak Hill, Sky returns from self-imposed exile to investigate. Thirty-six hours into the investigation, Sky’s world turns upside down when she is fired from the Homicide team. They pin the murder on an innocent man, forcing Sky into a treacherous game of cat and mouse with the real killer. From the stately mansions of Beacon Hill to the flat scrubland of central Texas, Sky keeps the reader on a razor’s edge, culminating in a no-holds-barred shoot-out.

The Profiler’s Daughter, the first in the Sky Stone Thriller series, introduces a moody, enigmatic, and brilliant female sleuth with the fierce bite of Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander. As adeptly written as Martin Cruz Smith’s complex Arkady Renko novels, this thriller offers an intriguing plot, richly detailed characters, and an astonishing conclusion guaranteed to leave the reader begging for more.

Targeted Age Group:: Adult

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
I wrote the book that I wanted to read, in the sense that I longed for a female protagonist that I could relate to: Sky Stone is the quintessential female, a woman who anguishes over love, who doubts herself, whose search for the killer is fraught with obstacles and and hurdles, both personal and physical, that she must overcome. A woman who prevails in the end.

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The Devil Drinks Coffee by Destiny Ford @AngCorbett

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A cow suicide, a revolving door rescue, and the birth of a bright purple pig are starting to make Kate Saxee wonder if taking a job in her small hometown of Branson Falls, Utah, was such a great idea. As The Branson Tribune editor, Kate covers local news, which, more often than not, involves her accident-prone mom. Nothing truly newsworthy has ever happened in the quiet town until local teen Chelsea Bradford turns up dead in a Branson Falls lake.

The police rule Chelsea’s death an accident, but Kate suspects there’s more to the story—and she’s not the only one. Two of Branson’s most eligible bachelors are determined to help her solve the crime—among other things. But the small town social network is faster than Twitter, and gossip about Kate’s love-life is quickly branding her the Branson Falls hussy.

As Kate learns more about Chelsea, she discovers that plenty of people are trying to cover up the real story behind the girl’s death—including Chelsea’s parents. Now Kate has to juggle work, men, her mom’s most recent disaster involving a low-speed John Deere Combine chase on the freeway, and fend off the Mormons heaven-bent on saving her soul—all while solving Chelsea’s murder. Dealing with this is going to require a lot of coffee, chocolate frosted donuts, Neil Diamond’s greatest hits, and a slew of words not on the town approved imitation swear list.

Targeted Age Group:: 18+

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
I wanted to write a funny mystery/romance about living in a small Utah town.

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Who Killed ‘Tom Jones’? by Gale Martin @Gale_Martin

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Ellie Overton is a 28-year-old rest home receptionist with a pussycat nose who also happens to be gaga for the pop singer Tom Jones. Regrettably single, she is desperate to have a white-hot love relationship, like those she’s read about in romance novels. Following an astrological hunch, she attends a Tom Jones Festival and meets an available young impersonator with more looks and personality than talent. Though he’s knocked out of the contest, he’s still in the running to become Ellie’s blue-eyed soul mate—until he’s accused of killing off the competition. It’s not unusual that the handsome police detective working the case is spending more time pursuing Ellie than collaring suspects. So, she enlists some wily and witty rest home residents to help find the real murderer. Will Ellie crack the case? Must she forfeit her best chance for lasting love to solve the crime?

Targeted Age Group:: 30+

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
A woman from my high school, a close childhood friend, married an Elvis impersonator. I thought this was very funny because he imitated the over-the-top version of Elvis with the white fringed jumpsuit, beer bellied, mutton-chop sideburns–you get the idea. I heard the marriage didn’t last though I am not surprised. While I was never a huge Elvis fan, I LOVED Tom Jones as a kid. I was too young to truly understand why women hurled lingerie at him. But I was intoxicated by the theater of it. So, I doubt this friend from whom I’m estranged knows that her marital (and perhaps connubial bliss, however fleeting) inspired this book.

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