mystery

Featured Book: Spouse Trap by Cynthia Hamilton

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

Blackmail, sabotage, and blood-chilling suspense converge in this psychological thriller meets detective mystery.

Madeline Ridley had it all: a handsome, successful husband, a place at the top of Santa Barbara society and every luxury money could buy. In all respects, her world was perfect…until she awoke in the early morning hours in an unfamiliar hotel room, alone, unclothed, with a splitting headache and no memory of how she got there.

When Steven Ridley comes home in the middle of a weekday and throws a sheaf of damning photos at her, Madeline’s enviable world collapses in a swirl of blackmail, sabotage and deceit. Hoping to convince Steven of her innocence, Madeline drives to his office and witnesses a scene that makes her realize who the enemy really is.

From that point on, Madeline deconstructs herself, reverting back to Madeline Dawkins while she tries to salvage what’s left of her life. In the process, she discovers where her true strengths lay. Utilizing those, she steels herself for battle, while her life hangs in the balance.

An action-packed ride full of unexpected twists. A must-read for fans of Ruth Ware, Karin Slaughter, and Mary Stone.

Buy Spouse Trap Here

Cynthia Hamilton’s Website
Follow Cynthia Hamilton on Facebook
Follow Cynthia Hamilton on Twitter
Cynthia Hamilton’s GoodReads Profile

Featured Book: Hostile Witness by Rebecca Forster

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

A troubled teen accused of a brutal murder. An attorney adrift seeking salvation. Together they are strong…or dead.

Buy Hostile Witness Here

Rebecca Forster’s Website
Follow Rebecca Forster on Facebook
Follow Rebecca Forster on Twitter
Rebecca Forster’s GoodReads Profile

Dare to Tell by Tara Fox Hall

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

Dare to Tell by Tara Fox Hall

Urban single woman Jean Bane denies her dreams and ghostly visitations of impending death until a horrific active shooter event clarifies the messages as portents. In the aftermath, more ghosts visit Jean, saving her yet again in a car accident and asking for her to “come to Evergreen Hall”, to “bring it to justice”. Dreading their requests for aid, Jean ignores the ghosts and tries to go back to her former life. But after ghostly interference saves her life a third time, Jean leaves her boyfriend and friends for the small town of Blodgett Mills, to help restore the old estate called Evergreen Hall.
The new owner Carlton Fairhaven IV, real estate developer and recovering alcoholic, has grand plans for the family property, including transforming it into a bed and breakfast capitalizing on the Fairhaven family’s colorful history while downplaying the double series of murders of young girls decades before. But the crumbling mansion has ghosts of its own, many of which have witnessed or committed murder. When local young women began to go missing as they did ten years prior, Jean must decide if she dares to expose the hidden truth that has long festered within Evergreen Hall.

Featured Book: Falling into Magic : Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic Series Book 1 by Elizabeth Pantley

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

FREE from July 15-19!

An accidental journey through a magic mirror. A portal to an enchanted land. A mysterious family she never knew she had. Hayden’s life is upended with the wonder of Destiny Falls. But it is tainted by the danger that brought her here and that threatens her newfound family. Can Hayden and her sassy sidekick remove the threat, so that she can begin her magical new life in this captivating world?

~~~ Nominated by The Cozy Escape Book Club for BEST BOOK in the Cozy Escape Awards ~~~

…When Hayden was a child, she lost her cat. Adults told her the cat ran away, but she knew the truth. The mirror had taken her. She knew because the mirror gave her a glimpse of an alternate world and had nearly pulled her in, so she was certain the cat had suffered that fate.

Twenty years later, Hayden discovers the secret of the mirror when she is thrust into it. She learns of an enchanted world she never knew existed, and a family she never knew she had.

But danger brought her here, and it followed her. Now, Hayden is on a mission to remove the threat, so that she can begin her magical, meaningful new life in this enchanted world.

Buy Falling into Magic : Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic Series Book 1 Here

Elizabeth Pantley’s Website
Follow Elizabeth Pantley on Facebook
Elizabeth Pantley’s GoodReads Profile

Featured Book: Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic: Box Set Books 1-3 by Elizabeth Pantley

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

The Destiny Falls Mystery and Magic Box Set (1-3) is now on sale for only 1.99!

An accidental journey through a magic mirror. A portal to an enchanted land. A mysterious family she never knew she had. Hayden’s life is upended with the wonder of Destiny Falls. But here always seems to be a mystery to unravel and a murder to solve. Luckily, Hayden, her sassy sidekick Latifa, and their growing circle of family and friends are always up for the task. There’s never a dull moment in this captivating world.

Book 1 – Falling into Magic

When Hayden was a child, she lost her cat. Adults told her the cat ran away, but she knew the truth. The mirror had taken her. She knew because the mirror gave her a glimpse of an alternate world and had nearly pulled her in, so she was certain the cat had suffered that fate.

Twenty years later Hayden discovers the secret of the mirror when she is thrust into it. She learns of an enchanted world she never knew existed, and a family she never knew she had.

But danger brought her here, and it followed her. Now, Hayden is on a mission to remove the threat, so that she can begin her magical, meaningful new life in this enchanted world.

Book 2 – The Disappearance of Emily

Destiny Falls is charming, and the amazing mansion Hayden lives in changes to meet the needs of the people who live there, including her! Every day she discovers a new enchantment.

But something is amiss. Hayden gets an ominous warning from a strange woman, who promises to tell her the town secrets and give her a package – if she’ll meet her at the mysterious ferry that lacks a published destination. The ferry visit is cancelled, but the package is delivered. Once it arrives, someone turns up dead. Then the suspicious episodes start, too many to call them coincidences. She and her family are targeted and in danger.

Who or what is causing the chaos? All signs point to the mysterious disappearance of her mother – way back when Hayden was just two days old. Can she identify and eliminate the threat before another person in her life is stolen away? Can she learn more about the secrets kept for her lifetime? With the help of her high-spirited sidekick cat, and a host of new family and friends, Hayden finds herself surrounded with support as she solves the mystery of the death and learns shocking secrets about herself.

Book 3 – The Ghost Camper’s Tall Tales

A mysterious old man keeps popping up to tell Hayden a series of tall tales. Who is he? And is he actually glowing? Are his stories fiction, or is he telling her the history of her family, the enchanted islands, and the witch? And why did a dead body show up . . . of someone who is already dead?

Can Hayden and her quirky sidekick, Latifa unscramble this mystery?

Hayden’s adventures in the magical world of Destiny Falls continue in this gripping story that answers your questions about the mysterious world she entered through a mirror in book one, Falling into Magic. We learn more about her missing mother, whose story begins in book two, The Disappearance of Emily.

Buy Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic: Box Set Books 1-3 Here

Elizabeth Pantley’s Website
Follow Elizabeth Pantley on Facebook
Elizabeth Pantley’s GoodReads Profile

Featured Book: Fault Line by H.N. Hirsch

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

Newly minted 25-year-old lawyer Bob Abramson joins the DA’s office in San Diego and soon finds himself leading an investigation into the politically charged murder of the mayor’s husband–a powerful, wealthy developer with too many secrets for his wife’s political ambitions. Meanwhile Marcus, Bob’s partner, has accepted a new position at UC San Diego. As they settle in to their new home, they’re thrust into the murder investigation and its political ramifications. A sequel to last year’s popular mystery “Shade.”

Advance review:

Written in the classic style of James Ellroy, Fault Line is a murder mystery you won’t soon forget. With a full cast of characters, a scenic setting, plus a laundry list of suspects, I couldn’t stop reading until the dramatic conclusion. Fans of L.A. Confidential will enjoy this political murder mystery. 5+ stars!
–N. N. Light’s Book Heaven

Buy Fault Line Here

H.N. Hirsch’s Website

Within and Without Time by D. I. Hennessey

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

Within and Without Time by D. I. Hennessey

Experience the Origin of a Prophet … A boy is caught up in a miraculous adventure that transforms his life and changes the world! – A Powerful book!

When a sixteen-year-old boy is suddenly caught up in a series of miraculous encounters, it heralds the start of a profound journey. For Jimmy Moretti it is the beginning of an adventure that will forever transform his life, rock his town, and trigger events that will ultimately change the world!

Befriended by a powerful angelic warrior, Jimmy finds himself in the center of God’s plan for Earth’s final Great Revival. The beginning of God’s amazing harvest at the End of the Age. Like an intense roller coaster, the journey he experiences is exciting and unpredictable. Heartwarming, as well as heart-rending. God prepares him for a mission more extraordinary than anything he could have imagined, placing him in the rare company of ancient prophets and apostles alike.

WITHIN & WITHOUT TIME, melds powerful Biblical truths with an imaginative and engaging story that envelopes the reader in an intense range of human experiences. Be prepared to laugh and cry, to be inspired, and find your heart rejoicing as Jimmy experiences the most profound truths of God’s immense power and immeasurable love.

Eagle Rock by Fran Tabor

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

Eagle Rock by Fran Tabor

Murder & Romance: Montana Style
Kila Kincaid never understood how her brother could leave Hollywood style civilization to buy Eagle Rock, a primitive Montana ranch. When an accident kills him, she rushes to Montana to bury her brother and sell the ranch.
Kila learns Eagle Rock holds more than scenery. It cradles a dream.
Warriors fight for their dreams, and for the people they love.
Eagle Rock awakens Kila’s warrior spirit. Blake Black Bear awakens her heart.
Eagles, warriors of the sky, mate only with those willing to plummet to the ground, risk death, together.
Only if Kila and Blake possess true Eagle Love, will they survive a killer’s onslaught. If either falters, both will surely die.

The Trash Harem by Marilyn Meredith

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

The Trash Harem by Marilyn Meredith

Now retired from her job as a sheriff’s deputy, she receives a message from friends who once lived in Bear Creek and attended her husband’s, Pastor Hutch, church. The friend, Jonathan, is a suspect in a murder of one of the residents in a retirement community in Temecula where he and his wife now live. The retirement community includes many quirky individuals who might have had a better motive than Jonathan While attempting to solve the mystery; Tempe has several visitations by Earle Stanley Gardner, the famous mystery writer who gives her some suggestions. A bit of history of the Pechanga Indians is woven in including the revered Pechanga Old Oak. You’ll have to read the book to find out what a trash harem is.

Featured Book: Star Tangled Murder by Nancy J. Cohen

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

Hairstylist Marla Vail and her husband get tangled up in murder when their Fourth of July visit to a living history village ends with a bang—and a body.

Salon owner Marla Vail and her detective husband Dalton are having a blast visiting a Florida living history village over Fourth of July weekend. But when a Seminole battle reenactment turns up a real dead body, it sets off fireworks among the villagers. One of the cast members has gone off script to murder the town marshal with a tomahawk in his head.

As Dalton gets involved in the investigation, Marla determines to help him solve the case. Her flare for uncovering secrets reveals that everyone in the village is a suspect. Instead of celebrating the holiday with red, white, and barbecues, she discovers secrets, lies, and false avenues. Did the marshal’s murder have anything to do with a lost Confederate payroll, or did his plans to renovate the park light a fuse that he couldn’t snuff out?

In a place where history comes alive, the dead bodies are piling up. Marla would rather be chilling and grilling, but somebody’s mind is on killing. If she’s not careful, her sleuthing might blow up in her face like a faulty firecracker and she’ll become the next victim. Recipes Included!

Buy Star Tangled Murder Here

Nancy J. Cohen’s Website
Follow Nancy J. Cohen on Facebook
Follow Nancy J. Cohen on Twitter
Nancy J. Cohen’s GoodReads Profile