English Authors Mystery

This is collection of 18 crime stories with a diverse range of characters and scenarios, from guilt-ridden fraudsters to lovesick murderers.

Kylie got into journalism to write important stories. Ones about gargoyles and dryads, elemental warriors, and thwarted magical attacks on her city. The bigger the story, the better. So when she lands the opportunity to ask an enchanted everlasting tree for the answer to any question she desires, she doesn't have to think about it. She wants the story of a lifetime. So does her nemesis, Nathan.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. What should've been a simple fact-finding visit changed in the blink of an eye. I'm a patriot. A CIA officer. A master at manipulating the double agent schemes. The straight and narrow path I set out on turned into a hundred winding roads, all leading to the same destination: I'm now aiding and abetting a foreign spy. Kira Petrova stole something from me the moment we met - my breath, my heart, my allegiance. If I'm caught, I'll be tried as a traitor. But there's more to her story than anyone knows, and time is not on our side.

To get a fresh start away from a bad relationship, Kylie Strange moves across the country to open a shop in a seemingly quiet town in rural Maine. During renovations on Strange Herbs & Teas, she discovers a peculiar and ancient codex, The Booke of the Hidden, bricked into the wall. Every small town has its legends and unusual histories, and this artifact sends Kylie right into the center of Moody Bog's biggest secret.

Gotcha Detective Agency was hired to protect the author, when it was the assistant who really needed protection. And now it's a race to see who can find the killer. Mimi is determined to make up for puking all over Nick's crime scene by solving the murder before he does. Who will solve this case first?

The Speed of Mercy captures the unbearable cost of childhood betrayal and what happens when history is suppressed, our past is forgotten - yet finding the truth can change the future. Christy Ann Conlin rips into the myths and stereotypes about older women and those on the edge of conventional society to reveal the timeless gift of mercy in this feminist tour de force.

A cemetery tour goes horribly wrong - one of the guests is scared to death! A concerned tour guide calls Midas for help, and the Gulf Coast Paranormal team prepares to investigate the potentially paranormal happenings at a cemetery in rural Eight Mile, Alabama. The GCP crew members spend a few nights getting to know the local ghosts and find themselves doing battle with the spirit of the notorious voodoo queen, Ettawa Maybee.

This quartet of crime stories about deadly books, penned by award-winning contemporary mystery writers, includes The Little Men, What's in a Name?, The Book of the Lion, and From the Queen.

Retired to the English countryside, an 89-year-old man, rumored to be a once-famous detective, is more concerned with his beekeeping than with his fellow man. Into his life wanders Linus Steinman, nine years old and mute, who has escaped from Nazi Germany with his sole companion: an African gray parrot. What is the meaning of the mysterious strings of German numbers the bird spews out-a top-secret SS code? The keys to a series of Swiss bank accounts? Or do they hold a significance both more prosaic and far more sinister?

Though classified as having no magic, Neve March can hear the whispers of the wind and sometimes even control it. But it's a secret she must hold close if she wishes to continue as Nightwatch - the soldiers who guard Winterborne against those who roam the wastelands and feast on human flesh. When Neve investigates a faint SOS signal, she not only unearths a woman close to death, but a plot involving an ancient enemy long thought dead.

After barely escaping with my life, returning to Faerie is the last thing I want to do. But my mission has grown only stronger now that I've sworn to save more held trapped in that realm. If only I know about their fate, then I'm sure as hell going to save them. Even if it means returning to hell.

Elizabeth Peters has attracted a huge following of listeners with her ability to deliver snappy stories, witty dialogue, and appealing characters. In Naked Once More, Peters creates a heroine you won't soon forget, the flamboyant Jacqueline Kirby, popular author and outspoken ex-librarian.

Sophia is finally getting control over her magic. Which is great, because if she takes any more time off work, she and her sister will be out on the street. Being a mercenary keeps her off the Council's radar, so she really doesn't want to get fired. A big job comes her way, and the pay is enough to keep her afloat the rest of her life. Except her client is Liam Pierce, her boyfriend's father and an important member of the Council that wants all Fireborn like her dead or in prison.

Eighteen years ago, tragedy struck The Refuge cult in northern Minnesota. Forty people committed suicide, and the entire compound burned to the ground. At just 13, Clare was the sole survivor found wandering miles from the encampment, hands blistered, memories of the horrific event wiped from her mind. Now a sociology professor and liaison to the FBI specializing in cults, Clare has fought to put the past behind her. But intrusive memories and fear of inheriting her cult-leader father’s mental illness threaten to strangle Clare’s budding life when she receives a call from the past.

Mags Barkworth still suffers the effects of a life-changing tragedy over a decade ago. She knows her husband loves her. She knows he would never do anything to hurt her, or their daughter. But what if the voice in her head, the one she's pushed away with therapy and anti-depressants, is telling the truth? What if it's all a lie? When Tam, their daughter, draws an uncannily detailed picture of a place she's never been, Mags's life starts to unravel. But even in her most paranoid moment, Mags could never have guessed the secret she is destined to uncover.

In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.

It isn't every day that a billionaire pharmacy CEO sails his yacht down to Tequila Key to see how the common folk live. Or in Chadwick Harrington's case, to hide out from the media circus threatening to ruin his not-so-illustrious career after he privatized a patented cure for Alzheimer's. No wonder he's called "The Most-Hated Man in America." When Chadwick is abducted, his security chief forces Althea and Miss Elva to use their extra-sensory powers to find Chadwick within three days...or else.

When the lightning illuminated the night, I saw their bloodied faces. They were no longer the boys from next door. As quick as the storm rolled over the neighborhood, a crime of passion was committed, Lucas and Mason Carter dangerously altering the course of all our lives. Ten years later, on my 26th birthday, when detectives come digging for information on a cold case, I find myself once again unwillingly tangled in the spider's web. I hold information on a heinous crime. I have become the number-one target. More specificly, I have become Mason Carter's obsession.

The threat to the Four Horsemen and the world continues, but now they have solid leads and are closer to uncovering who is behind the attacks. Vee and the Four become closer as barriers fall and trust grows, yet one person remains worried about what will happen if Vee reaches full power. An opportunity to regain Portia's trust, some help from a supernatural mercenary, and an investigation into the Myriad Foundation reveal more answers about the chaos surrounding them.

It's Christmas, and I, ex-witch Stevie Cartwright, declare this my favorite time of year. I love the decorations! The food! The Hallmark Channel holiday specials! This year promises to be better than ever because for the first time in a very long time, I'm going to have more than just Cheez Whiz, Triscuits, and the wish to be surrounded by family and friends. My carefully planned holiday bonanza includes all the usual suspects.