English Authors Mystery

When a federal judge’s daughter goes missing without a trace, it will be up to recently-reinstated FBI agent Emily Slate to find her. Only Emily doesn’t realize what dangers lurk at the edges of this unique case.

Running from a world which wants him dead, ex-detective Sergeant Jake Pettman journeys to the isolated town of Blue Falls, Maine, home of his infamous murderous ancestors. But Jake struggles to hide from who he is, and when a child disappears, he finds himself drawn into an investigation that shares no parallels to anything he has ever seen before.

When single mother Maríanna disappears from her home, leaving an apologetic note on the kitchen table, everyone assumes that she's taken her own life...until her body is found in the Grábrók lava fields seven months later, clearly the victim of murder. Her neglected 15-year-old daughter, Hekla, has been placed in foster care, but is her perfect new life hiding something sinister?

When last we met, dear friends, a man had come calling, claiming to be Crispin Alistair Winterbottom, my dead British ex-spy. A notion I'd find ludicrous, if the handsome imposter didn't, in fact, look exactly like my dead British ex-spy. But there's no time for that mystery when a quiet walk on our private stretch of beach turns up something far more pressing - another tragedy in my beloved small Washington town. That's right. I, Stevie Cartwright, ex-witch turned amateur sleuth, have stumbled upon another murder. But this time it's closer to home, more personal.

Mystery Writers of America is proud to present Deadly Anniversaries, a collection of crime and mystery stories from some of the best contemporary authors, all of whom have been invited to put their own unique spin on what it means to recognize a certain day or event every year. An anniversary can take many forms, and by the time this group of best sellers and award winners is through, none of us will ever look at anniversaries the same way again. Edited by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini, this collection features original stories from 20 industry giants.

New Year's Eve, 1999. A grisly machine gun attack in the Washington, D.C. subway leaves dozens dead and the city crippled with fear. With a ransom note as the only scrap of evidence, Special Agent Margaret Lukasa calls Parker Kincaid, the top forensic document examiner in the country.

Mystery and horror. Poe, who remains one of the most iconic of American writers, died under haunting circumstances that reflect the two literary genres he took to new heights. Over the years, there has been a staggering amount of speculation about the cause of death, from rabies and syphilis to suicide, alcoholism, and even murder. But many of these theories are formed on the basis of the caricature we have come to associate with Poe: the gloomy-eyed grandfather of Goth, hunched over a writing desk with a raven perched on one shoulder, drunkenly scribbling his chilling masterpieces.

When his wife, Grace, and their new sailboat go missing, Nathan Fitzgerald will do anything and everything to get her back. Nathan, a high school football coach in the Florida Keys, is in way over his head. Turning to strangers when authorities are reluctant to help, he begins a frantic international hunt. Buckle up as Graceless takes you on an exhilarating chase around the Caribbean with twists at every stop. Written in four parts by four best-selling Tropical Authors, the story plunges Nathan into the worlds of each author's characters in a desperate search for Grace.

QuadFilium is a secret, private military group, well-funded, with the highest tech spy equipment, aimed at eradicating human traffickers worldwide. Wade Maley, QuadFilium's top operative, finds himself hidden in a conference room in a compound owned by criminal mastermind Alistair Watson. Wade is meant to kill this man and escape... and he does... barely, because his pilot, Teska Lando, the slang-slinging Texan, saves his butt. But that's just the beginning of their adventure.

Summer tourist season is winding down, but the Cape Bay police find a dead body in the alley beside Mary Ellen's Souvenirs and Gifts. Police rule it a suicide, but Francesca Amaro knows it's murder. Who would buy a bag of souvenirs, including a box of delicious marzipan, only to commit suicide moments later? Even though the police tell her to stay out of the case, Fran is too curious not to investigate, even though she's running a busy and popular cafe.

Fran is anticipating her trip to Italy with Matty...until a precious diamond ring is stolen from the town's jewelry store and an employee is murdered. Fran suspects the store owner of insurance fraud, but what if she's wrong? Would her life be at stake again if she butts in on another police investigation?

What will happen when the world goes ka-boom? The assassin known as The Priest was tasked with a series of three hits, and the last one blows up in his face - literally. People will die. People will go on. Unlikely alliances will be formed. And when British intelligence learns that a series of nuclear backpack bombs were smuggled into their country, there's a lot more to worry about than discovering why a covert agent was assassinated over six years ago, or what's going to start in Montrovia.

It's 1831, and Lady Gwendolyn Crichton has been appointed royal sorceress following the tragic events known as the Swing. Now alone at the head of the Royal College of Sorcerers, Gwen must overcome prejudice against her gender and age if she is to exercise her authority and fulfill her responsibilities. Soon, an unexpected responsibility is made manifest when Sir Travis Mortimer, a senior magician recently returned from India, is found murdered in a locked room.

Trouble is brewing in New Orleans. Shifters are moving in, and vampires are being picked off in record numbers. And vampire hunter Phoebe Kilsen is right in the middle of the war. When Phoebe's best friend goes missing along with the consort of the most powerful vampire in New Orleans, Phoebe betrays her heart and her shifter partner by teaming up with the one vampire she's never trusted.

Ever since raiders from the north began attacking villages, Lady Nicole Montagna has known that defending her people would come at a cost. The betrothal of her sister Chloe to a neighboring lord seems the perfect solution, forging a powerful alliance. But shortly before the wedding, Nicole is shocked to discover that her sister is with child - and not by her husband-to-be. Now she must make a choice, and she has just hours to decide.

Reverend Willie Maxwell was a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members for insurance money in the 1970s. With the help of a savvy lawyer, he escaped justice for years until a relative shot him dead at the funeral of his last victim. Despite hundreds of witnesses, Maxwell's murderer was acquitted—thanks to the same attorney who had previously defended the reverend. Casey Cep brings this story to life, from the shocking murders to the courtroom drama to the racial politics of the Deep South.

Vivian Lestrange - celebrated author of the popular mystery novel The Charterhouse Case and total recluse - has apparently dropped off the face of the Earth. Reported missing by his secretary Eleanor, whom Inspector Bond suspects to be the author herself looking for publicity, it appears that crime is afoot when Lestrange's housekeeper is also found to have disappeared. Bond and Warner of Scotland Yard set to work to investigate a murder with no body and a potentially fictional victim.

What was supposed to be an Italian vacation for forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver and his wife turns into a busman's holiday when their hosts' only child goes missing - and nearby construction workers unearth human bones. The family awaits Oliver's conclusions with both dread and cautious hope. But along the way, he'll expose some extraordinary deceptions that lay bare the long-hidden secrets at the dark heart of a highborn family.

Sister Trixie Lavender here! After a rocky start (read: murdered landlord) to our arrival in Cobbler Cove, Oregon, things have finally slowed down. Er...mostly. My demon buddy Coop and I, along with our sassy talking owl Livingston, have settled nicely into our newly opened shop, Inkerbelle's Tattoos. We've met some awesome people, including new friends Higgs and Knuckles, and we're forging friendships with our fellow business owners. And sure, we've had a few glitches (see Jeff), but we've found our groove, our clientele is growing, and everything's pretty great.

When a blackmailed drag queen walks into Cal Corwin's P. I. agency, she quickly throws herself into the investigation, but with each new clue she finds the case gets murkier, its web of lies more tangled. When murder rears its ugly head, it becomes clear more is at stake than money, and Cal must watch her own back even as she tries to find the culprit.