Mystery Reads

Featured Book: The Body Next Door by Gay Yellen

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$0.99 AWARD WINNER! Trouble sticks to Samantha Newman like gum on the sole of a shoe. She’s in desperate need of a new job, a place of her own, and a fix for her rocky relationship with cyber-security expert Carter Chapman. Now there’s a dead man next door, and his missing wife is holed up in the borrowed apartment where Samantha is staying. Dragged into the investigation, Samantha catches the attention of a suspicious homicide detective. To make matters worse, there’s a stalker haunting her balcony. Could it be the real killer? Nearly undone by fear and uncertainty, she must navigate a minefield of secrets to redeem her reputation and reclaim the life she deserves. Chanticleer Mystery & Mayhem and Reader’s Favorite Award-winner!

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Featured Book: Murder à la Carte by Susan Kiernan-Lewis

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When her French chef boyfriend inherits an ancient vineyard in Provence, Maggie Newberry leaves Atlanta for the tiny village of St-Buvard and the rich tastes, smells and sights of French country life. But murder has gone long before them and follows close behind.

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Vardin Homecoming by Maggie Spence

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Vardin Homecoming by Maggie Spence

Six former friends from Vardin Village reluctantly reunite eight years after the devastating homecoming weekend that tore apart their lifelong friendship.
When they were seniors at Vardin Village High, they weren’t supposed to be in the abandoned Butler Building after the homecoming dance but the adventure seemed harmless enough… until they find their friend’s dead body.
After fleeing the building just one step ahead of the police chief, the six teenagers make a decision to keep quiet about their presence at the crime scene and never tell a soul.
Fast forward eight years; the murder has never been solved. The teenagers are now young adults with successful careers and unlimited potential. Andrea is the only one of the six still living in Vardin Village and when new evidence comes to light, she knows the truth must be told. She contacts her former friends who have more reasons now to keep their secret than they did eight years ago. This homecoming weekend means they’re all coming home to face the consequences and hopefully, solve the murder.

Dangerous Habits by Susan Hunter

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Dangerous Habits by Susan Hunter

After receiving a mysterious message from a dead nun, journalist Leah Nash reopens the investigation into her teenage sister’s death. As she starts closing in on the answers, someone starts closing in on her. Leah races down dangerous paths in this twisting tale of hidden motives and long buried secrets—until she finds the stunning truth.

Featured Book: Rippling Red by Brigid George

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New Release! FREE! (August 11 to August 15, 2017)

Behind the friendly laid-back facade of Darwin, Australia’s northern capital, a crocodile roams the waterways in search of revenge and evil ripples in the hearts of humans.

The suicide of Cody Bongiorno is devastating to those left behind. But was this gentle young man manipulated into taking his own life? Is there a link between Cody’s death and the horrific crocodile attack on his comical friend, Jerry Lucas? Following on from her stunning success in solving the murder of a famous Byron Bay resident, amateur sleuth and investigative journalist Dusty Kent is once again determined to bring resolution to the families left behind in the wake of these tragedies.

Rippling Red, the third novel in the Dusty Kent murder mystery series, unfolds against a backdrop of spectacular sunsets as layers are stripped away to reveal twists, surprises, shocking truths and finally, the dark secrets that lie beneath still waters.

Brigid George is the pen name of JB Rowley, author of Amazon #1 best sellers Whisper My Secret and Mother of Ten.

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Featured Book: Missing Mona: A Tommy Cuda Mystery by Joe Klingler

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$29 – Post Pinned to Mystery Reads Home Page for 7 days

“A private investigator, a mysterious hitchhiker, dancers, gangsters, a mysterious bag …and twists and turns that will have the reader unable to put it down, Missing Mona…has it all.” — San Francisco Book Review (5 stars)

As Tommy looks squarely at his next decade his smartphone convinces him the time is ripe for a change. So he hits the road.

He immediately meets a damsel in distress named Mona. She persuades him that the bright lights and dark clubs of Chicago might be his kind of town. So on a summer Saturday night they settle into a fancy hotel.

On Sunday…Mona disappears.

After truth and lies are stirred like a blue martini, being assaulted, and witnessing a shooting that drowns a Ferrari–Tommy is desperate to help Mona.

If he can find her.

“This engaging and romantic story is packed with action and intrigue.” — Foreword Reviews

“Klingler presents his craftiest yarn to date, summoning the pulpy spirits of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.” –Kirkus Reviews

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Featured Book: The Miss Fortune Series: The Stiletto Scandal (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Riley Blake

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Unlikely Suspects…

When a former Sinful resident turns up dead in Fortune Redding’s backyard, Deputy Carter LeBlanc springs into action, but Fortune can’t help but wonder about his motives. Is he afraid a killer will strike again and she’ll become the next victim or is he trying to keep her away from the new man in town?

Motivated Killers…

Now considered an assassin-in-hiding thanks to an unfortunate stiletto scandal, Fortune has a nice price on her head and unlikely hitmen are in the killing game. With a borrowed identity and new place to call home, Fortune soon discovers Sinful isn’t as it seems. Since her Louisiana arrival, the former agent has been involved in one murder investigation right after the next. And things are about to get a lot worse for Fortune and a few of her closest friends.

Buy The Miss Fortune Series: The Stiletto Scandal (Kindle Worlds Novella) Here

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Featured Book: Vintage Whispers (A Cozy Retirement Mystery Book 1) by Riley Blake

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Best friends since childhood, Mary Louise, Opal, and Pearl enter a retirement community with plans to live out their golden years reminiscing about the good old days while embracing the new, but when rocking chair discussions reveal different versions of bygone days, investigations are in order. Soon, three blue-haired ladies are doing what they must to find suspects in an unsolved murder, but a cold case is the least of their worries when they discover the buried bodies are a little too close to home.

What ARC readers are saying:

“Mary Louise, Opal, and Pearl must’ve lived next to the Golden Girls. Loved it from start to finish!”
“One-day reading. Laughed until I cried!”
“Immediately went to Amazon to see what else the author had written. Outstanding!”
“Retailers should stamp a BEST VALUE sticker on this one. Laugh out loud at the funny moments and treasure the more serious lines. Creative, brilliant, exceptional!”
“Hilarious moments and well written dialogue.”

Buy Vintage Whispers (A Cozy Retirement Mystery Book 1) Here

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Featured Book: Mai Tai One On by Jill Marie Landis

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Six months ago, if anyone would have told Em Johnson she’d end up divorced, broke, and running the dilapidated Tiki Goddess Bar on the magical North Shore of Kauai she would have told them to shove a swizzle stick up their okole. As if all that isn’t bad enough, when an obnoxious neighbor with a grudge is found dead in the Goddess luau pit, suspicion falls on Em and the rest of the Goddess staff. With the help of a quirky dance troupe of over-the-hill Hula Maidens, Em and the cast of characters must ban together to find the killer and solve the mystery before the next pupu party.

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Crying Woman Bridge by Loretta Jackson and Vickie Britton

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Haunted bridge, crying woman, missing baby! While returning from Professor Dawson’s lecture on haunted places, the last thing Sheriff Jeff McQuede and Dawson expect to encounter is a terrified woman clinging to the railing of Mirabella’s Bridge, crying for her lost baby. It looks as if Rae Harris has thrown the infant over the bridge in a fit of despair, but she claims he has been stolen by a ghostly figure she calls Mirabella. Similar to the La Llorona legend Dawson just spoke about, Mirabella was a local pioneer woman who was rumored to have drowned her infant after being abandoned by a lover. At first McQuede believes Rae was driven by madness, but he soon finds evidence that her story may be true, and the perfectly timed kidnapping of her child may be in some way related to lecture attendee and local celebrity, Jim Royce, and his vast fortune.

Targeted Age Group:: general readership

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
We were inspired by the legend of La Llorona and other tales throughout the United States about haunted bridges. We found these stories fascinating, and created a story of our own that is a blend of these tales, yet unique in its setting.