Amateur Sleuth Suspense

Carrie Singleton is just about done with Clover Ridge, Connecticut until she is offered a job as the head of programs and events at the spooky local library, complete with its own librarian ghost. Her first major event is a program presented by a retired homicide detective, Al Buckley, who claims he knows who murdered Laura Foster, a much-loved part-time library aide who was bludgeoned to death 15 years earlier. As he invites members of the audience to share stories about Laura, he suddenly keels over and dies.

June 1920, Ireland: The streets of Dublin seethe with revolution as the Irish Republican Army clashes with British authorities. Roving assassination squads mean nowhere is truly safe, particularly for Verity Kent and her war hero husband, Sidney. Given their celebrity as society darlings and intrepid sleuths, they must tread carefully to go unnoticed—nearly impossible when they are called upon to search for Verity’s fellow spy and friend . . .

Meg Langslow's summer is not going swimmingly. In her small Virginia hometown, she's the maid of honor at the nuptials of three loved ones - each of whom has dumped the planning in her hands. One bride is set on including a Native American herbal purification ceremony while another wants live peacocks on the lawn. But when an offensive newcomer, who hints at skeletons in the guests' closets, is found dead under suspicious circumstances, level-headed Meg's to-do list extends from flower arrangements and bridal registries to catching a killer - before the next event is her own funeral.

Carrie Singleton is ready to kiss the single life goodbye. Her wedding to Dylan Avery is just a few weeks away, and a happy ending is about to be hers. But when a body is found on the lawn of their wedding venue, happily-ever-after is looking deadlier than ever. The victim turns out to be Billy Carpenter, a young man recently released from prison after serving time for a bank robbery. The stolen money he’d buried is gone and Carrie and the police suspect Billy’s two alleged co-conspirators, his friends Luke Rizzo and Tino Valdez. But then Luke is murdered and Tino is nowhere to be found.

A routine weekend visit by the Gillibry Bird Observatory Trust is made memorable by the owner’s announcement that he is going to sell the island. A sale would mean the end of the Observatory, which for some of the birders made life worth living. A fire in Charlie Todd’s cottage added to their distress. And when, next morning, after a fierce storm, they found Charlie dead in a bird hide, their pleasant September weekend assumed a dangerous new face.

Summer descends over the picturesque King’s Cove as Darling and Lane’s mutual affection blossoms. But their respite from solving crime is cut short when a British government official arrives in Nelson to compel Darling to return to England for questioning about the death of a rear gunner under his command in 1943. In Darling’s absence, Ames oversees the investigation into the suspicious death of a local elderly woman and uncovers a painful betrayal inflicted 40 years earlier.

C.S. Harris’ best-selling Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries transport listeners back to the elegance and courtly drama of Regency England. When a wealthy diamond merchant turns up dead, Sebastian sets out to prove the innocence of the man accused - his former lover Kat’s husband. A missing gem seems to be the key, but as Sebastian traces its origins, he discovers unsettling ties to black magic.

Verity Beresford is worried about her husband. Oliver didn’t come home last night so of course Verity goes straight to Judith Potts, Marlow’s resident amateur sleuth, for help. Oliver, founder of the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society, had hired The Marlow Belle, a private pleasure cruiser, for an exclusive party with the MADS committee but no one remembers seeing him disembark. And then Oliver’s body washes up on the Thames with two bullet holes in him—it’s time for the Marlow Murder Club to leap into action.

To a jockey, losing his license is the equivalent of being struck off, or disbarred, or cashiered. When steeplechase rider Kelly Hughes lost his license his first feelings were of bewilderment and disbelief, for he was not guilty of the charges. Nor, to the best of his knowledge, was the trainer he had ridden for, who lost his livelihood as well. When his first stunned state of shock subsided, Kelly began to wonder why he had been framed, who had done it, and how it had been achieved.

To Clare Cosi's surprise, this fall's hottest fashion trend is anything caffeinated - because designer Lottie Harmon, a loyal coffeehouse customer, has just created an ingenious collection of coffee-inspired fashion accessories. So naturally Lottie chooses the Village Blend as the perfect backdrop for fall Fashion Week insiders to view her new line of "Java Jewelry." When barista Tucker unwittingly serves a poisonous latte to a prominent figure on the fashion scene, Clare suspects that the real target may have been Lottie. Now she must protect her thriving business, Lottie, and Tucker....

Late summer 1933. After a quarrel with too-plucky-for-her-own-good amateur sleuth Kitty Underhay, dashing ex-army captain Matthew Bryant is nursing his wounds, and a tumbler of brandy, when there’s a heavy knock at the door and he finds himself arrested for murder. The body of aspiring actress Pearl Bright has been found, strangled with one of Matt’s own bootlaces, and the evidence seems to be stacked against him. The local constabulary might have locked Matt up, but before they can throw away the key, Kitty hears the news and hies to his aid, determined to prove his innocence.

The sole witness to a horrific crime, Kaylee Ramay flees to the Colorado Rockies to start a new life. There, she becomes Grace, a dog kennel employee desperately trying to avoid attention - especially from dangerously attractive K9 Officer Hugh Murdoch. Because Hugh is tall, dark...and nothing but trouble. Hugh is anxious to get back in the field after an act of heroism left him warming the bench. Until then, he and his K9 partner Lexi spend their hours teasing the town's mysterious newcomer.

Persuaded by Polly Duncan, his beloved companion, to join her in a group tour of Scotland, Qwill expects to revel in his Scottish heritage while keeping Polly safe from the Pickax Prowler. Instead, his trip is cut short when a thief swipes a suitcase, the bus driver disappears, and a fellow tourist is found dead—all in the same day. Although the town of Pickax is in a tizzy over the recent events, Qwill has other, more puzzling worries on his mind: Who is the fellow still following Polly?

Miracle Springs is a place of healing. Strangers flock there hoping that the natural hot springs, five-star cuisine, and renowned spa can cure their ills. And, if none of that works, they often find their way to Miracle Books, where, over a fresh-baked scone from the Gingerbread House bakery, they exchange their stories with owner Nora Pennington in return for a carefully chosen book. That's Nora's special talent: prescribing the perfect novel to ease a person's deepest pain and lighten their heaviest burden.

Meg's husband has decided to escalate his one-man show of Dickens's A Christmas Carol into a full-scale production with a large cast including their sons Jamie and Josh as Tiny Tim and young Scrooge and Meg helping as stage manager. When a famous, although slightly over-the-hill, actor comes to town to play the starring role of Scrooge, no one expects that he's bringing a lot of baggage and enemies with him.

A hotshot real estate developer arrives in Sully's Landing, touting his plans to build a tacky amusement arcade smack dab in the middle of the tasteful cliffside town. No one in Sully's Landing can stand the gaudy developer, but it's still a shock when he ends up murdered. It's even more shocking when Liza's friend Doug emerges as the chief suspect. Melanie and Liza put on their sleuthing caps yet again and set out to clear Doug's name.

fter an elegant new customer has a breakdown in her shop, Penelope suspects there is something bogus behind the biggest best-seller of the year. This popular potboiler is so hot that folks in her tiny Rhode Island town are dying to read it - literally. First, one customer turns up dead, followed by another mysterious fatality connected to the book, which Pen discovers is more than just fiction. Now, with the help of her gumshoe ghost, Pen must solve the real-life cold case behind the bogus best-seller before the killer closes the book on her.

When The Cookie Jar becomes the setting of a star-studded TV special about movies filmed in Minnesota, Hannah hopes to shine the spotlight on her bakery - not the unsavory scandal swirling around her personal life. But that’s practically impossible with a disturbing visit from the shifty character she once believed was her one and only love, a group of bodyguards following her every move, and a murder victim in her bedroom.

After a brutal breakup and a dramatic workplace walkout, Lana Lee figures that helping wait tables at her family's restaurant is her best option for putting her life back together. Even if that means having to put up with her mother, who is dead set on finding her a husband. Lana’s love life soon becomes yesterday’s news once the restaurant’s property manager, Mr. Feng, turns up dead - after a delivery of shrimp dumplings from Ho-Lee. But how could this have happened when everyone on staff knew about Mr. Feng’s severe, life-threatening shellfish allergy?

Still staying at the Hill House hotel while her beloved home is being rebuilt, Jessica Fletcher finds herself sharing the space for a weekend with a dozen members of a wedding party who have gathered there for a rehearsal dinner. The families of the bride and groom can't stand each other but have agreed to put aside years of long-simmering tension to celebrate the nuptials. Unfortunately, a historic blizzard that dumps nearly five feet of snow on Cabot Cove, leaving everyone stranded. But the hotel guests have bigger things to worry about, because a murderer has shown up uninvited.