Mystery Reads

Never seen before private diary entries they don’t want you to know about. Peek into the mind of the making of a maverick, a window to the soul of an angry, young girl, who will come of age in a city on the verge of total annihilation.

Angie Deacon was the last to see Nolan Little alive. Which makes her a prime suspect in his death. Sure, he was gruff and insensitive. Treated his wife like dirt. But besides Valerie, why would any of the five strangers on board want him dead? None of them knew him before today. Or did they? Police detective Colby Jarvis storms the boat determined to unveil the killer before they get back to shore. What a feather in the widower's cap that would be. He falls hook, line, and sinker at his first sight of Angie, but she is married and off limits.

In the 1990s, middle school was a treacherous time for young Susan, where her lifelong friendship with Maddie is put to the test. Determined to win back her friend from the clutches of the school bully, she is willing to do anything. When she stumbles upon a chilling discovery in the woods—the enigmatic "Book of Fear," she is torn by the sinister promise of one wish granted if she is willing to face one night of all her fears.

September, 1821. When her father announces that she must marry the ancient, grim-faced vicar, Lucy decides upon a desperate plan. Stealing his prized stallion, she escapes across the moors, only to fall into the hands of notorious horse thieves and the cheating arms of their rough but charming leader. She is forced to take part in their crimes, but when she tries to deceive Philip, son of the Earl of Darwell, Lucy meets her match.

Seven of Charles Dickens' best ghost and thriller stories, which have been widely read and beloved worldwide. This collection celebrates the 200th anniversary of his birth. These stories provide a wonderful introduction Dickens before embarking upon his long novels; after these stories, listening to his longer novels becomes even more of a pleasure. Perfect for students and teachers seeking an understanding and appreciation of Dickens, without the time to engage with his long novels.

It's Mardi Gras, and ace crime reporter Sam Adams has flown to New Orleans to visit her old college roomie, Kitty, whose debutante niece is about to be crowned queen of Comus. At the airport, Sam first glimpses Harry Zack, a songwriter-turned-insurance-investigator, who's way too cute. When death stalks St. Charles Avenue in the wake of Comus' ball, Sam and Harry's paths collide...and sparks fly in more ways than one.

After the remains of a teenaged boy are unearthed on newly acquired Twin Lakes property, Lydia Krause has a worrisome conversation with her elderly neighbor. Daniel Korman hints at having known the dead boy and wonders if he should let sleeping dogs lie. Then Daniel dies under suspicious circumstances, and Lydia suspects that his two surviving childhood friends are responsible for both deaths. Or did one of Daniel's money-hungry relatives decide to end his life?

Stand-up comic Beau Maxwell is accused of killing the owner of a Boston comedy club and the evidence looks damning. His only option: escape from jail and prove he’s innocent. With Detective Bookton hot on his trail, can Beau chase down the killers before he gets caught or killed? It’s time to drop the mic…and run!

When divers discover an antique car with a skeleton inside, the Beacon Group dispatches TK O’Connor to lead the investigation into the 60-year-old cold case. It’s TK’s first chance as lead investigator, and the former marine is determined not to let her team down. But, almost as soon as she arrives in the downtrodden rustbelt city, her challenges mount.

After leaving the FBI, Lucy Guardino still feels like the new kid on the block with her team at Beacon Falls. But then, a new case involving a young woman with amnesia searching for her lost memories shines a spotlight on a past case involving one of Lucy's team members. Dr. Tommy Worth left his job as a pediatric ER physician to join the Beacon Group after his wife went missing, leaving him to raise their five-year-old daughter alone. Now, the press is hounding him on the anniversary of his wife’s disappearance.

The fourth suspenseful mystery starring ace crime reporter Sam Adams - from the author of First Kill All the Lawyers. Sam has just turned 40, and the last thing she wants to do is cover the Miss America Pageant. But in Atlantic City Sam discovers what's beautiful and what's deadly when an obnoxious pageant judge mysteriously disappears.

When Randolph Percy, a silver-tongued charmer with manners to burn, comes sniffing around Felicity Morris, a wealthy fading flower of Atlanta's elite, Samantha Adams, reporter for the Journal-Constitution, rides to the rescue of her old family friend. On the other side of town, young debs are playing a dangerous game stripping, and more, for thrills and pocket change. There's dirt here aplenty for Sam to unearth, including a 50-year-old scandal...and murder.

Home again in Atlanta after years on the Left Coast, crime reporter Samantha Adams finds that the more things change, the more they remain the same. Beau, the boy who broke her heart eons earlier, is more handsome than ever and is now the medical examiner. Sam finds herself deep in the kudzu once more when a lawyer, a family acquaintance, goes missing, then turns up dead. When the sheriff rules it an accident, Sam and Beau team up to deliver their own unique brand of justice.

From the Big Island to Kauai, the far side of Maui to the bustling streets of Honolulu, experience paradise in all its glory...and darkness. This collection of 10 stories brings out the beauty of the islands, the passion of the tropics, and, yes, murder. Join 10 writers who love the islands and want you to savor the tropics while benefiting literacy in Hawaii.

Benedict Archer, who is manager of Thornton Antiques in Melbourne and who has been secretly helping Alexandra learn more about her family business, is also invited. Alexandra asks Benedict and Edith Blackburn, her friend since childhood, to be with her when she approaches her father.

At the gala opening of a new library filled with homosexual writings collected by the late Charles Burrows, known for both his taste in writing as well as his eccentricity, Dick Hardesty and his partner Jonathan are enjoying a rare night out since four-year-old Joshua joined their household. The evening takes an abrupt turn when cataloger Taylor Cates is found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs in the library.

Twenty years ago, in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas, Annie Randall took her dog for a walk. The dog returned. Annie did not. When her body was found, cruelly broken and posed like a runner, there was only ever one suspect: Annie’s husband, Frank. Now he’s served his time and come home–but the locals won’t let him forget. Especially when there’s a new ‘running girl’ murder…

Liv Travers never knew real friendship until she met fellow mums Beth and Binnie. The three women become inseparable as they muddle through early parenthood together. Then along comes Ange. Ambitious, wealthy and somehow able to do it all. Under Ange’s guiding presence, the group finds new vigour and fresh aspirations. But Liv can’t keep up and is increasingly edged out. When the four families take a three-week trip to a luxurious holiday resort, Liv seizes the opportunity to reclaim her place at the heart of the group, only to discover the true cost of a friendship with Ange.

Forced to choose between abortion or adoption, Olivia Carson’s younger sister, Lily, runs away from home. Sixteen and pregnant, she never returns. But she writes. Once a year, Lily mails a picture of her son, Josh, to Olivia until his thirteenth year. Then it’s Josh himself who arrives at Olivia’s house, alone, terrified, and in possession of a notarized declaration from Lily. It begins, “In the event I go missing...”

Twenty years ago, Ray Campbell, now a cautious risk-management consultant, was a well-intentioned aid worker dedicated to improving conditions in Lubanda, a newly independent African country. He is forced to reconsider that year of living dangerously when a friend from his time in Lubanda is found murdered in a New York alley. Signs suggest that this most recent tragedy is rooted in the far more distant one of Martine Aubert, the only woman Ray ever truly loved and whose fate he’d sealed in a moment of grievous error.