Mystery Reads

Featured Book: Mystery at Pima Point by J B Clemmens

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While waiting for the wedding of his nephew, Lieutenant Eli James enjoys a mini vacation at the fabulous Pima Point Resort near Phoenix. When the bride disappears and one of her bridesmaids is murdered, he reverts to his NYPD homicide detective status and investigates some shady business at the spa and resort. But drug trafficking and illegal plastic surgery are secondary to finding the killer and his nephew’s bride-to-be before the wedding.

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The Crimson Masquerade by Vickie Britton

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Trouble precedes Ardis Cole to the site of a Han Dynasty tomb in China. Dr. Yong Po, who has asked for her assistance, is being stalked by a person wearing a crimson opera mask. Ardis is concerned when her co-worker, Grant Merlin, fails to arrive at the project, and his ex-wife, Sheri, takes his place. More problems arise when Sheri is attacked on the cliffs by the same masked intruder. Ardis’ search for the tomb of emperor Sun Yan leads to ancient intrigue surrounding a captive princess, referred to in his poetry as the “Lady of White Jade.” As Ardis delves deeper into the tomb’s secret, a centuries old crime of passion is eerily replayed in the present.

Targeted Age Group:: General Readership

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
A fabulous, exotic trip to China and a visit through an old tea plantation was the inspiration for this mystery set China. We were also fascinated by the many tombs which still remain unexcavated throughout China and the fascinating legends that surround them.

Unmarked Grave by Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson

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Ardis Cole travels to Scotland to do a facial reconstruction on a skull her friend Bruce McBrier has discovered in the woods outside his ancestral castle. Because of an ancient ax buried in the skull, Bruce presumes the skull to be a historical relic, possibly the remains of a medieval ancestor murdered in battle. When Ardis makes the shocking discovery that the remains are that of a more recent murder, Constable Mark Ridley asks her help in going ahead with the facial reconstruction in hopes the victim can be identified. But someone is willing to go to great lengths … even murder … to keep the skull’s deadly secret.

Targeted Age Group:: General Readership

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
My sister and I took a trip to Scotland and we saw many interesting castles and heard intriguing stories about Scottish history. We just had to write a book set in Scotland, so we chose this setting for our second Ardis Cole mystery.

A Deal on a Handshake by Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson

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What a deal! This short story book introduces Sheriff Jeff McQuede, the hero of the High County Mystery Series. In these seven mysteries Sheriff Jeff McQuede finds himself square in the middle of a deal made on a handshake—where the result is murder. Set in modern-day Wyoming, the stories take place at an old-time mountain man rendezvous, in a pawn shop where traders vie over rare Native American pottery, and after an engagement ceremony where two family patriarchs pretend to bridge a lifetime of feuding by the gift of a rare peace pipe. McQuede’s arch-enemy Ruger, is a suspect in many of these tales, and just manages to evade his traps. In each of these stories McQuede= relentlessly seeks out the dangerous men who have broken trust.

Full-length novels in the High Country Mystery Series include Murder in Black and White, Whispers of the Stones, Stealer of Horses, and The Executioner’s Hood.

Targeted Age Group:: General Readership

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
The inspiration to write this book and all the books in the High Country Mystery Series arose from the Wyoming setting and the many stories we’ve heard, both past and present. Our background in antique dealing also led to the creation of many stories that deal with rare finds and artifacts discovered in unusual place such as swap meets. The High Country of Wyoming seemed a perfect place to tell our tales.

Red Dog Saloon by R.D. Sherrill

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Six men commit an unspeakable act during the foolishness of their youth while at a country bar. Twenty years later, long after the Red Dog Saloon has burned to the ground, someone has come back for revenge. Now they fear for their lives as the mysterious reaper takes them one at a time. Meanwhile the county sheriff is trying to unravel the mystery of why his normally quiet town has become a killing field.

Targeted Age Group:: 15 and up

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
The inspiration came during a Sunday morning service. The minister was preaching about how you can be forgiven for your sins in Heaven but you still have to pay the price here on earth. That’s what gave me the idea of that for some acts there is no redemption.

The Origin Of Murder by Jerold Last

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Roger and Suzanne take a vacation cruise through the Galapagos Islands, 600 miles west of Ecuador. Suzanne finds a dead body floating with a couple of bullet holes in its back floating in the Pacific Ocean and we’re off to solve another deadly mystery. Among the suspects is a treacherous travel agent with an eye-opening secret, a cheerful couple of bird watchers from Germany, a happy honeymooning couple, two sensual sisters from San Francisco, two recent retirees from Australia working through their bucket list, and two middle-aged Montevideo residents seeing the wonders of the world while they can. Lurking in the background behind the scenes is a mysterious Ecuadorian general. One reviewer says, “A fast-paced, exciting mystery I didn’t want to set aside till finished… A great continuation of the series!”

Targeted Age Group:: Adult

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Rediscovering my wife’s journal from our own tour of the Galapagos Islands a few years ago. It gave me most of the background material I needed to write this novel.

The Deadly Dog Show by Jerold Last

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Private detective Roger Bowman is hired to impersonate a wealthy sponsor showing a champion German Shorthaired Pointer named Juliet at dog shows in California. His undercover assignment is to ferret out whether some of the winners are cheating. Before long, bodies of murdered judges start popping up at dog show venues and Roger’s wife Suzanne is being stalked by a mysterious admirer. With Juliet’s help, Roger and his fellow detective, professional dog handler Bruce, find a key clue. The trail leads from San Francisco to West Texas. Reviewers love the whodunit mystery and the inside information about how dog shows work.

Targeted Age Group:: Adult

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
My wife breeds and shows German Shorthaired Pointers. I write mystery novels. The stars converged and we decided it was time to have my series characters solve a series of murders at dog shows.

Featured Book: The Executioner’s Hood by Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson @vickiebrit

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Special Price on New Release: Only $1.99 May 30-June 5
“An interesting American mystery book outside the box.” customer review

Sheriff Jeff McQuede finds Durmont’s highly respected judge, Phil Grayson, bludgeoned to death in his study, a black executioner’s hood shoved over his head. Behind him on walls and in display cases is his Old West outlaw collection that includes a death mask, a hangman’s noose, and a Peacemaker.

The judge has many enemies, one, Darin Keefe, just released from prison after serving seven years for a crime involving a city scandal. Judge Grayson’s best friend, John Harwood, was believed to have taken a bribe from Keefe Construction and to have committed suicide rather than face conviction. Has the killer singled out some rare item in this macabre collection to steal and left the rest behind, or is this a modern-day example of vigilante justice?

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Satan’s Garden: A Novel by Kit Lyman

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Dani and Keely imagined that life was more magical than others believed. If they had to be summed up, their one plus one would equal three. Together, they became something greater. It was twin sisters against the world.

But the world had different plans.

The man followed them to their secret tree house that unusually warm day in September. He only came for one, there and gone in the blink of an eye.

“Satan’s Garden” takes you on the six-year journey of two sisters who learn what it means to survive. It’s a story of resiliency, hope, and above all, a bond that cannot be taken away. It teaches us how quickly life can change and yet how much of it we can change ourselves.

Targeted Age Group:: 16+

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Although I originally pursued comedy as a screenwriter, I have always been drawn to the thriller genre and its evolution over the years. Psycho-thrillers are challenging to write and exciting to imagine, and their authors have been pushing the boundaries more and more. Desensitization is a concern for writers because it creates this plaguing pressure to be more shocking than the next, to be darker and more twisted. I was inspired to take a step back and not give in to that pressure. “Satan’s Garden” does capture the horrors and devastation that we may come across in life, but those parts aren’t what I hope to leave behind.

The Doppelganger’s Dance by Libi Astaire

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Jane Austen meets Sherlock Holmes when a crime wave sweeps through Regency London’s Jewish community and the adventures of wealthy-widower-turned-sleuth Ezra Melamed are recorded for posterity by Miss Rebecca Lyon, a young lady not quite at the marriageable age.

In this fourth volume of the series, David Salomon, a young violinist and composer, has left New York to find fame and fortune in Regency London. But disaster strikes not long after he arrives. Someone is stealing his compositions before he can perform them and soon he is the laughingstock of the beau monde that he had hoped to conquer.

With few friends and even fewer resources, he turns to Ezra Melamed for help with finding the thief. But who would wish to harm a young stranger? The deeper Mr. Melamed looks into the violinist’s story the more jarring notes he finds, making The Doppelganger’s Dance one of the most discomposing mysteries of his career.

Targeted Age Group:: Adults

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
While doing research for an earlier book in my Ezra Melamed Mystery Series, which is set in Regency England, I ran across a mention of a piano-making shop. Since I love music, I had to read about this shop, the sorts of pianos that were made there, the new technologies that were being used in the race to construct a better pianoforte, etc. And as I was reading it occurred to me that I had found the subject of a future mystery story – which became The Doppelganger’s Dance, a mystery about technology, greed and, of course, music.