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Juicy Jersey by Lizz Lund

Summertime, and the living is… not as easy as Mina had hoped. But, she finally has a full-time job, working alongside her new boyfriend, Jack (that is, Chef Jacque, when they’re at Squirrel Run Acres.) That’s good, right? Except that poor Mina and Jack have been working together a lot lately–specifically fourteen hour shifts in a sizzling kitchen–for months.

When tempers flare hotter than fat on a fire, Jack steps up and splurges for a romantic get-away to Cape May Point, New Jersey. All is forgiven and soon sunset beaches wink from the distance, until Mina’s stuck with dog sitting duties for Jim, her buddy Bauser’s three-legged dog. Complicating the canine conundrum is Bauser’s last minute plea to deliver Jim to a client location, in Bumville, New Jersey. No biggie, except that Bumville lies in the polar opposite direction from Cape May. And Vito and Miriam also happen to be visiting the client–who is none other than Vito’s niece, Helena Pryzchntchynzski. Oy.

Further jeopardizing their journey through Jersey is Jim’s discovery of Babette Bernstein. Her murder launches a connect-the-dots of corpses that ripples dangerously around Mina and Jack. Oh–and the kidnappings, plural–are a little scary, too.

Will Mina and Jack escape the bad guys? Will they survive their first vacation together? More importantly, will they finally have one?

If you’re in the mood for funny fiction, a cast of chatty pets, and unsolved murders–read on. Juicy Jersey packs a roller coaster ride of murders, mayhem and mojitos. Come root for Mina, boo the bad guys and nibble a nosh, courtesy of the author’s recipes in the back of the book, vetted by Lund’s real-life favorite chef, her husband, Chef Andrew.

Featured Book: Vanished? by Christer Tholin

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“He could only hope he’d get out of here in one piece.”
Hunt across Sweden

To come to terms with his recent divorce, Martin, an attorney in Berlin, plans a peaceful vacation – two weeks in a Swedish summer house seem to be the solution. It won’t be peaceful, however, and those two weeks will change his entire life. He takes a liking to Liv, a Swedish woman whom he meets in the neighbourhood. Unfortunately, they don’t get to have their first date – Liv disappears under mysterious circumstances. Martin begins his search but soon realises he can’t find Liv in a foreign country by himself. He hires two private investigators, and their discoveries make everything seem even stranger.
The complexities in this suspenseful criminal case lead to a hunt across Sweden. Martin comes close to finding answers, but his search lands him in very real danger, eventually leading to the first deaths. Soon he’s wondering if he can get Liv and himself out of this situation alive.

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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.

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?

Buy The Executioner’s Hood Here

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Stealer of Horses by Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson @vickiebrit

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The famous Carlo painting Stealer of Horses sells for cash in a small Wyoming town and gallery owner Sheldon Spence gives the $200,000 to his wife, who walks over to the bank to make the deposit…and never returns.

A witness claims to have seen a frightened-looking Susan Spence in a battered old Chevy, speeding out of town. And each succeeding clue reveals a different angle on her disappearance. Sheriff Jeff McQuede begins to wonder if this is more than a simple case of kidnapping and robbery. Was Sheldon involved in Susan’s disappearance? Or did Susan and a lover fake the scheme, planning to run off with the money they stole from Sheldon? The identity of a victim found shot behind the wheel of the Chevy holds the key to one ominous question: Is Susan Spence a kidnap victim—or is she part of some sinister ploy?

Targeted Age Group:: General Readership

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
We actually heard a similar story about a woman who went to make a large bank deposit and didn’t return for a long period of time. There were concerns at the time that she might have been kidnapped and abducted. While there was a logical reason for her temporary disappearance, this event inspired our story.

Whispers of the Stones by Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson @vickiebrit

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Sheriff Jeff McQuede finds ‘Bartering Bill’ Garr murdered at his rural antique store. Only one item is missing — a rare artifact believed to be the Pedro Mummy. First discovered in a cave in Wyoming, the Pedro Mummy was reported missing in the 1950s. Dr. Seth Talbot, newly arrived in town, has put out a fifteen-thousand-dollar reward for any information on the mummy, hoping that modern technology will prove his theory that a tiny race of people actually existed: one the Shoshones call the Nimerigar, or Little People.
McQuede is astounded to find the mummy in the trunk of Seth Talbot’s car. Talbot swears he;s being set up by rival co-workers — Dr. Arden Reed, in particular — who plans to benefit from his research.

McQuede suspects the theft of the mummy is a red herring used to cover up the true motive for the crime. The closer he comes to the truth, the deeper McQuede is drawn into an elaborate hoax that threatens his career and places him in grave danger.

Targeted Age Group:: General Readership

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
When I was living in Laramie, Wyoming, I heard tales of the Pedro Mummy which caught my interest. In the 1930s a tiny mummy was discovered by miners in the Pedro Mountains The mummified remains of a tiny man only 14 inches tall was found sitting cross-legged on a stone ledge in a cave. At the time of the mummy’s discovery, it was thought to be the remains of a tiny, ancient little man in his late sixties. Many people believed that the tiny mummy might be proof that the “Little People” of Native American legends actually existed.
This curious artifact passed from hand to hand until it finally disappeared from history without anyone really knowing who he was or how he got there.

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

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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.