Amateur Sleuth Suspense

Geoffrey Lushington, Mayor of Marlow, dies suddenly during a Town Council meeting. When traces of aconite—also known as the queen of poisons—are found in his coffee cup, the police realize he was murdered. But who did it? And why? The police bring Judith, Suzie and Becks in to investigate as Civilian Advisors right from the start, so they have free rein to interview suspects and follow the evidence to their heart’s content, which is perfect because Judith has no time for rules and standard procedure.

Sixty-year-old Jane Hunter, forced into early retirement from her job as a university librarian, is seeking a new challenge to keep her spirits up and supplement her meager pension. But as she’s about to discover, a retiree’s life can bring new thrills—and new dangers. Cameron “Cam” Clewe, an eccentric 33-year-old collector, is also seeking something—an archivist to inventory his ever-expanding compendium of rare books and artifacts.

'Tis the season for mince pies, mulled wine... and murder! A dead body. A locked Christmas stall with no way in or out. A cunning killer who's gone before the tea's gone cold. Christmas in Southbourne should be all twinkly lights and festive cheer, but Fiona, Daisy, and Partial Sue—the retired trio who run Dogs Need Nice Homes charity shop— have little to celebrate. What with the elusive "Southbourne Stalker" prowling the streets of their sleepy seaside town, they're in need of a little seasonal magic.

While some people escape into books or music, Liv Spyers escapes through her camera’s lens, which inspires her to jump into things she might otherwise have no business tackling—like moving to New York City. Hustling to make her dreams come true as a portrait photographer, she runs a studio below her grandparents’ brownstone and key shop, where she also lives and works. Everything changes in a flash, however, when elite events photographer Regina Montague invites Liv to shoot with her at New York City’s most exclusive socialite event of the year—the Holiday Debutante Ball!

1784 London. Miss Tiffany Woodall didn’t murder her half-brother, but she did bury him in the back garden so that she could keep her cottage. Now, the confirmed spinster has to pretend to be Uriah and fulfill his duties as the Duke of Beaufort’s librarian while searching Astwell Palace for Uriah’s missing diamond pin, the only thing of value they own. Her ruse is almost up when she is discovered by Mr. Samir Lathrop, the local bookseller, who tries to save her from drowning while she's actually just washing up in a lake after burying her brother.

In between spring break and summer is usually a downtime for Corrie and the campground, even with Bike Rally Weekend on the horizon. This April, however, peace and quiet are not an option. A disconcertingly attractive biker arrives, who arouses the suspicions of Corrie's childhood friend and one-time ex, Sheriff Rick Sutton. Then, one of Corrie's favorite guests is shot dead in his own RV, leaving his wheelchair-bound wife in the care of a son whom no one knew existed.

In the small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland, Natalie's Bistro has always been warm and welcoming. Nowadays twenty-two-year-old Siobhan O'Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother, along with her five siblings, after the death of their parents in a car crash almost a year ago. It's been a rough year for the O'Sullivans, but it's about to get rougher.

The Tri-County Summer Solstice Celebration has come to town, and even among local artisans, athletes, and marching bands, Hannah attracts fans of her own while serving lip-smacking pink lemonade desserts. But the mood sours when a body turns up, leading revelers to wonder if the festivities mark both the longest day of the year and the deadliest....

Jay Allan and Cindy Cooper were soap-opera stars in the late '90s. When the truth about their sexual orientations came to light, their marriage and TV careers ended, but decades later they have remained friends. Together, they open Palm Springs’ chicest movie memorabilia store, Hooray for Hollywood, but no customers and dwindling finances spell trouble. A Hail Mary arrives in the form of Yana Tosh, a ninety-year-old diva of the silver screen who has amassed a valuable collection of costumes and props and is looking to sell. But first, Jay and Cindy have to beat their competition.

She over 50, feisty, and oh so good at solving mysteries. Patricia Fisher is not your average woman. To start with she lives in a 73-room manor house and travels with a Jamaican butler who is part ninja and fakes his Downton Abbey accent. Then add to those facts that she just opened a private investigations business and throw in the worrying bit where people keep trying to kill her. When a climber suspiciously falls to his death and a local artist has her dog stolen, Patricia finds herself investigating two cases that seem to have no motive and no clues.

Robert Langdon, professeur en symbologie, est convoqué d'urgence par son ami Peter Solomon, philanthrope et maçon de haut grade, pour une conférence à donner le soir même. En rejoignant la rotonde du Capitole, il fait une macabre découverte. Ce sera le premier indice d'une quête haletante, des sous-sols de la Bibliothèque du Congrès aux temples maçonniques, à la recherche du secret le mieux gardé de la franc-maçonnerie.

Jay Hallett leaves a flourishing law career in Boston to return to his hometown of Anchor Point on Cape Cod. He secretly purchases the local lighthouse and surrounding property to open The Shipwreck Cafe. Rich in history, the lighthouse is rumored to be haunted by multiple ghosts and hiding a buried treasure worth millions. But when two murders in as many weeks transpire in Anchor Point, Jay must discover who is killing the locals and why.

Moving back into her parents’ house with her teenage daughter had not been Georgia Thackery’s “Plan A”. But when she got a job at the local college, it seemed the sensible thing to do. So she settled in and began reconnecting with old friends. Including Sid. Sid is the Thackery family’s skeleton. He’s lived in the house as long as Georgia can remember, although no one, including Sid, knows exactly where he came from and how he came to be a skeleton.

When Evie Mead’s husband, Robert, suddenly drops dead of a heart attack, a mysterious note is found among his possessions. It indicates that Evie may own the rights to a crumbling Art Deco hotel on Tregarrick Rock, one of the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of Cornwall. Still grieving, Evie is inclined to leave the matter to the accountant to sort out. Her sister, Margot, however, flown in from her glamorous career in LA, has other plans. Envisioning a luxurious weekend getaway, she goes ahead and buys two tickets to Tregarrick.

It’s amateur hour at the White House. So says New York Times best-selling author Edward Klein in his political exposé The Amateur. Tapping into the public’s growing sentiment that President Obama is in over his head, The Amateur argues that Obama’s toxic combination of incompetence and arrogance has run our nation and his presidency off the rails.

Georgie, or Lady Georgiana Rannoch, is busy planning her upcoming nuptials to Darcy O'Mara. Unfortunately, what has started as a simple wedding has become quite a royal headache and grand affair, thanks to a guest list that includes the queen and the appointment of princesses as Georgie's bridesmaids. “If only Darcy and I had eloped!” she thinks, as she attempts to organize her wedding and find a place for her and her husband-to-be to live. Just as she despairs of ever finding a home, her godfather offers his fully staffed country estate. But something sinister is afoot....

Past midnight, Chyna Shepard, twenty-six, gazes out a moonlit window, unable to sleep on her first night in the Napa Valley home of her best friend’s family. Instinct proves reliable. A murderous sociopath, Edgler Foreman Vess, has entered the house, intent on killing everyone inside. A self-proclaimed “homicidal adventurer,” Vess lives only to satisfy all appetites as they arise, to immerse himself in sensation, to live without fear, remorse, or limits, to live with intensity. Chyna is trapped in his deadly orbit.

Felicity Carrol is interested in everything - except being a proper young matron of Victorian society. Brilliant and resourceful, Felicity took refuge in science and education after her mother died and her father abandoned her to servants. Now, all he wants is for her to marry into a family of status and money. Felicity has other ambitions - but her plans shudder to a halt when her mentor is murdered at the British Museum and his priceless manuscript of King Arthur lore is stolen.

As an experienced journalist, Molly is eager to bring the struggling Britton Bay Bulletin up to speed. But when she pushes Vernon, one of her less welcoming reporters, to dig a little deeper into the story of a prominent local family, the man ends up dead. The fact that he wasn't well-liked makes finding the killer extra complicated. The lists of suspects range from his ex-wife to his own son to Molly's boss, who has a secret of his own. But when Molly's attempts to sleuth out the truth result in her receiving frightening threats, the trouble is just beginning....

Burl Davis checked out of this life a little earlier than expected - before Holly could serve him with divorce papers over his extramarital flings. Unfortunately, it was not before he nearly bankrupted her beloved B&B, Holly Grove, a converted plantation in her family for generations. Holly would never wish anyone dead, but three months later, she's feeling a lot more relief than grief. But then Burl's ghost appears as an unwelcome guest. Before his spirit can move on, her not-so-dearly departed needs Holly’s help to bust up the drug-smuggling ring he was involved with.