Rural Mystery

Luc Verlains delikatester Fall. Hinter dem Glanz der schönen Welt kulinarischer Hochgenüsse entdeckt Luc Verlain eine raue Wirklichkeit voll Neid, Konkurrenz und brutaler Arbeitsbedingungen. Es ist der Höhepunkt der französischen Gourmetsaison: Die Spitzenköche und Restaurantbetreiber fiebern der Vergabe der Sterne des Guide Michelin entgegen. Ausgerechnet in der renommierten "Villa Auguste" wird der berühmteste Restaurantkritiker des Landes noch während der Vorspeise vergiftet. Dabei sollte seine Höchstwertung doch die Karriere des legendären Auguste Fontaine krönen.

Im tiefsten Sauerland einen Bauernhof voll verrückter Tiere hüten? Davon ist Stadtpflanze Sabin nicht sonderlich begeistert, denn im wahren Leben sucht sie Schwerverbrecher und keine verschollenen Esel. Aber was tut man nicht alles, damit die beste Freundin beruhigt in die Flitterwochen fliegen kann. Dass Sabin gleichzeitig vor Ort ihrem neuen – und sehr heißen! - Kollegen dabei hilft, in einer Diebstahlserie zu ermitteln, braucht ja niemand zu erfahren.

Daniel Kind's relationship with Miranda is on the rocks. After the bright lights of London, Miranda feels isolated in the Lake District and Daniel fears that she will just up and leave. And Miranda wouldn't be the first: ten years ago Emma Bestwick left her cottage and never returned. Her disappearance went unaccounted for, much to the chagrin of DCI Hannah Scarlett, head of the local Cold Case Review Team. But in a small, rural community, someone is bound to know something. And that someone has recently started calling the local newspaper and dropping hints about Emma's death.

Gerne würde Samson O'Brien seine Detektivagentur einfach mal zusperren und gemütlich eine Tasse Tee trinken. Doch der Anwalt Matty Thistlethwaite bittet ihn um Hilfe. Um den letzten Willen einer Verstorbenen zu erfüllen, benötigt er die Sterbeurkunde einer jungen Frau aus Bruncliffe, die vor vielen Jahren den Tod gefunden hat. Eigentlich eine einfache Sache. Aber in Bruncliffe ist selten etwas einfach. Vor allem, da der Anwalt darauf besteht, dass Samson seine Nachbarin Delilah Metcalfe zu Rate zieht, die über einen unerschöpflichen Fundus an lokalem Wissen verfügt.

For decades, the unsolved murder of Father Michael Leary has haunted Billings, Montana, the community he served. And it’s haunted no one more than Lindsay Keller, who admired and confided in him as a teenager. Compelled by his example to work for justice, she became a prosecutor. But after a devastating case left her shattered, she fled the rough-and-tumble for the safety of a desk, handling real-estate deals and historic preservation projects. Now Lindsay finds herself in possession of the priest’s wallet, the photo of a young girl tucked inside.

In the peaceful village of Old Sawrey, a murderer strikes. Warren Howe, a husband and father of two, is brutally slaughtered with his own scythe by a mysterious hooded figure. The police identify several suspects, but due to the lack of evidence they fail to make an arrest. Years later an anonymous tip-off sparks the interest of DCI Hannah Scarlett, who heads the local Cold Case Review Team. Scarlett's investigations lead her to suspect Howe's widow, Tina. Meanwhile, someone is sending vicious poison pen letters to Tina and her two children.

When a drought dries up the contents of a water hole on her uncle's property, the last thing Investigative journalist Phillipa Davenport expected to find was a body. On a deadline and with a severe case of writers block, Pip doesn't have time to investigate this story—she just wants to write her book. However, the universe and her neighbour seem to have other ideas. And then there's the mysterious detective assigned to the case, who Pip is beginning to find very distracting.

The past has always felt near in the historic house of Jonathon Lydell III, who proudly advertises his family connection to the Virginia Lees. But now, history is repeating itself in a truly bizarre and spooky way. Sheriff Ike Schwartz and FBI agent Karl Hedrick are dispatched to resolve the mystery of the strangely identical murders 150 years apart.

Thorny Wallace returns to her hometown for peace and quiet. WWII is distant thunder in the small rural town, but Los Angeles is always a clear and present threat. As she begins to look into an old death, she finds that there is always more going on in the small quiet town than meets the eye. But, when she thinks she has the players figured out, the FBI shows up.

Peace was always an elusive thing for Detective Carter Boyce, even before his wife died. Since then, living has become even harder. Now, investigating what looks like a murder suicide, Carter begins piecing back together a life he didn’t even know was broken. He stumbles back into his childhood neighborhood, where Old Man Kopchek is still missing a leg, but none of his acerbic wit. The old man begins teaching him the magic of savoring the mundane and the seemingly unimportant.

Dark corners, hidden stills, and fast cars linger in the shadow of Devils Ridge. While God rules rural Appalachia, it is soon man's law that is challenged when notorious rum runner Connor Ridge takes on a local deputy who may outpace the moonshiner's illicit enterprise. With the help of the new editor in chief, Deputy Walter Irwin works to bring Ridge and his gang to justice. Can Irwin stop the shadows of Devils Ridge from swallowing his town whole? Or will they overrule the law, once and for all?

Ten years ago, 15-year-old Darren Davies was shot dead at the river mouth. The killer was never found. Now, Darren's mother Sandra receives a visit from the police. Her best friend, Barbara Russell, has also been found dead, out in the bush. And Barbara's DNA matches the DNA found under Darren's fingernails. When the investigation into Darren's murder is reopened, Sandra begins to question what she knew about her best friend. As she digs, she discovers that there are many secrets in her small town - and that her late son had his own, too.

Schweden im tiefsten Winter. Nur widerwillig tritt der ehemalige Großstadtpfarrer Samuel Williams seine neue Stelle in dem verschlafenen Dörfchen Klockarvik an. Doch der Schein trügt: Schon kurz nach seiner Ankunft stößt der Geistliche auf die Leiche des Hotelbesitzers Finn Mats Hansson - und Verdächtige gibt es zuhauf! Samuel Williams macht sich seine Position zunutze, um in seiner neuen Gemeinde nach schwarzen Schafen zu suchen.

Spektakuläre Morde erschüttern Augsburg: Der ansässige Zuhälterkönig und ein respektierter Stadtrat wurden kaltblütig umgebracht. Bei beiden Leichen findet sich ein Bild des Erzengels Gabriel. Offenbar ein irrer Fanatiker - so lautet zumindest die offizielle Devise. Elsa Dorn, ehrgeizige Kommissarin und neu im Revier, hat ihre eigene Theorie. Hilfe findet sie ausgerechnet beim geschassten Polizisten Sven Schäfer. Bald erhärtet sich ihr Verdacht: In Schwaben geht ein Profikiller um - und der hat längst nicht alle Aufträge erledigt.

When Abigail agreed to move to Soap Lake, Washington, for her husband’s research, she expected old-growth forests and craft beer, folksy neighbors and the world’s largest lava lamp. Instead, after her husband jets off to Poland for a research trip, she finds herself alone, in a town surrounded by sand and haunted by its own urban legends. But when a young boy runs through the desert into Abigail’s arms, her life becomes entwined with his and the questions surrounding the death of his mother, Esme.

Jay Porter, the newest employee at NorthEastern Insurance in New Hampshire, is investigating an accident claim when he learns the teenager behind the wheel was arrested for minor drug possession and sentenced to a hardcore behavioral modification center. At the county courthouse, Jay meets Nicki, a young college intern, who tips him off to a possible scandal - first-time juvenile offenders being shipped to private institutions for political kickbacks.

In Wild Thyme, Pennsylvania, secrets and feuds go back generations. The lone policeman in a small township on the sparse northern border, Henry Farrell expected to spend his mornings hunting and fishing, his evenings playing old-time music. Instead, he has watched the steady encroachment of gas drilling bring new wealth and erode neighborly trust. The drug trade is pushing heroin into the territory. There are outlaws cooking meth in the woods, guys Henry grew up with. When a stranger turns up dead, Henry’s search for the killer will open old wounds.

Zahn can't get the missing girl he found—and the one he can't find—out of his mind. Someone in this mountain valley is collecting children, and Zahn is gradually drawn into the case while still trying to break through to his daughter. Then she disappears too.

Its 1943 and the war continues on in Ambridge. But the minds of the villagers are focused a little closer to home. For many centuries, a local tradition has told of a mystic living in a hermit’s cave just outside the village. Legend tells that she has hidden her prophecies around the area, but none have ever been found. When a visiting academic arrives in Ambridge, there for war work, but personally intrigued by the prophecies, he becomes determined to find out more. And as the prophesies are uncovered, it appears the mystic knows more than anyone could have predicted.

Based on true crime, Jar of Pennies follows the story of how a murderer was brought to justice in small town east Texas. A book as much about east Texas culture deep in the pine forests of the state as it is about a chain of murders and the gathering of evidence, this riveting narrative has elements of both humor and noir as it rockets to its conclusion.