Mystery Reads

The Curse of Senmut by Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson @vickiebrit

Outside a small village near the Valley of the Kings, archaeologist Ardis Cole arrives in Egypt to help excavate a tomb recently discovered by her mentor, Jane Darvin. When Jane is murdered, Ardis must assume responsibility for the project.
With the help of mysterious Blake Lydon, she must unravel the tomb’s mystery—an ancient secret concerning two miniature obelisks of gold hidden by Queen Hatshepsut’s love, Senmut, over 2000 years ago.
As Ardis uncovers the ancient mystery, she finds herself drawn into a modern action tale of hatred, murder, and revenge.

Targeted Age Group:: General Readership

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Our book was inspired by a fabulous trip to Egypt. We were fortunate to have seen the pyramids and the highlight of our trip was a look at the golden mask of King Tutankhamen. While there, we learned about Queen Hatshepsut, the only woman pharaoh to rule Egypt. Her architect and lover Senmut had sworn to guild two stone obelisks with sold gold in her honor. However, before he could carry out his plans, they were attacked by Tutmose 111. What happened to the gold became the inspiration for our fictional tale.

Murder in Black and White by Loretta Jackson and Vickie Britton @vickiebrit

By Vickie Britton Leave a Comment

Sheriff Jeff McQuede becomes suspicious when a robber breaks into the Coal County Museum and steals only one item – a black-and-white class photograph. Under the name Jerome Slade the photographer had printed two ominous words: never graduated.
When a body is unearthed beneath the newly demolished school, McQuede realizes Slade had not left Black Mountain the night of the spring dance. McQuede soon uncovers hidden rivalries between Slade and his classmates. When he discovers that Heather Kenwell and the woman of his dreams, Loris Conner, were rivals for Slade’s affection, McQuede fears finding out the truth.
Theft, blackmail, and another brutal killing lead back to photographs taken by Black Mountain’s eccentric photographer, Bruce Fenton. While others see an innocent collection, McQuede sees murder in black and white.

Targeted Age Group:: General Readership

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Murder in Black and White is the first book in our High Country Mystery series. Our inspiration for this series sprang directly from setting. I (Vickie) lived for many years in Laramie, Wyoming, and at that time Loretta was teaching at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. In the summers we would travel in depth around Wyoming—savoring the Old West legends, the beautiful, rugged mountains, the petroglyphs and many Indian influences. We made up a fictional town, but what we saw, heard, and experienced is very much present in our novels.

Hanging By A Hair by Nancy J. Cohen @nancyjcohen

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Marla’s joyous move to a new house with her husband, Detective Dalton Vail, is marred by their next-door neighbor who erects an illegal fence between their properties. When Dalton reminds the man of the local permitting laws, tempers flare—and worse, the neighbor is found dead the following day. Dismayed when Dalton is removed from the case due to a conflict of interest, Marla decides it’s up to her to find the killer. Can the intrepid hairstylist untangle the clues and pin down the culprit before he strikes again?

Targeted Age Group:: Adult

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
This book stemmed from personal experiences as well as from the natural progression of my Bad Hair Day mystery series. In Shear Murder–book number ten in this series–hairstylist Marla Shore marries Detective Dalton Vail. So now in Hanging By A Hair, they move into a new house and meet their neighbors, one of whom might be a murderer.