Cozy Detective

Murder, blackmail and drug dealing on the Tiber combine in one of Ngaio Marsh’s liveliest and most evocative novels. When their guide disappears mysteriously in the depths of a Roman basilica, the members of Mr. Sebastian Mailer’s tour group seem strangely unperturbed. But when a body is discovered in an Etruscan sarcophagus, Superintendent Alleyn, in Rome incognito on the trail of an international drug racket, is very much concerned.

The luxury mansion on New Zealand's Lake Waihoe was the ideal place for the world-famous soprano to rest after her triumphant tour. Chief Superintendent Alleyn and his wife were among the houseguests - but theirs was not a social visit. When tragedy struck, the peace of the island was shattered. With a houseful of suspects now isolated by one of the lake's sudden storms, Alleyn was to face one of his trickiest cases....

Holly Miller doesn't believe in spirits, but the Sugar Maple Inn is filled with guests who do. The TV series in development, Apparition Apprehenders, has descended on Wagtail's annual Halloween festivities to investigate supernatural local legends, and Holly has her hands full showing the ghost hunters a scary-fun time. But the frights turn real when Holly's Jack Russell, Trixie, and kitten, Twinkletoes, find a young woman drowned in the Wagtail Springs Hotel's bathhouse.

When Cherringham Drama Society invite a local TV celebrity to direct their Christmas show, they get more publicity than they bargained for. Someone's out to sabotage the event, and rehearsals spin into chaos. Jack and Sarah are asked to investigate and soon discover that there's a darker mystery taking place behind the scenes. Cherringham is a serial novel à la Charles Dickens, with a new audio episode released every two weeks.

Raymond Bannister is a wealthy man living a secure life, but the day that he receives a single slipper in an envelope his world falls apart. He seeks out a place in the bad part of town - is he looking for his own demise? He is found slashed down in a dirty alleyway. The crime and the crime...

It's that time of year again! It's always Christmas in Holiday Haven, but this December is a special one. Carolyn Highcrest is preparing for her parents to visit for the inn's annual celebration . . . and to finally meet her boyfriend, Spencer. But when a mysterious package thief strikes the local postal service, Carol finds herself compelled to help Spencer find the culprit. Someone seems intent on ruining the holiday fun, with presents disappearing left and right and a spate of bad luck, which reminds Carol of the havoc the previous year wreaked by an out-of-control wishing box.

If you haven’t already fallen in love with this internationally acclaimed series by M. C. Beaton, then this cunningly crafted mystery will do the trick. Loaded with authentic Scots dialog vivid enough to make you smell the heather-scented air, Death of a Macho Man is Beaton at her best. Hamish Macbeth - Lochdubh’s one-man police force - has suddenly become a prime murder suspect when a belligerent newcomer turns up dead. To save his career, Macbeth must delve into this Macho Man’s unsavory past. Suddenly, suspects are everywhere....

The picturesque Cotwsold village of Winter Parva has decided to warm the post-Christmas season by roasting a pig in the town square. Agatha, always one for a good roasting, organizes an outing to enjoy the merriment. But as the rotary spit is placed over a bed of fiery charcoals and the pig is carried toward its final resting place, Agatha realizes that things are not as they seem... Stop!" she screams suddenly. The "pig," in fact, is Gary Beech, a policeman not exactly beloved by the good people of the village. Although Agatha has every intention of leaving matters to the police....

"Ms. Grafton writes a smart story and wraps it up with a wry twist." THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW Wendell Jaffe has been dead for five years--until his former insurance agent spots him in a dusty resort bar. Now California Fidelity wants Kinsey Millhone to track down the dead man. Just two...

He calls himself Alvin Limardo, and the job he has for Kinsey is cut-and-dried: locate a kid who's done him a favor and pass on a check for $25,000. Stiffed for the retainer, Kinsey finds out Limardo's real name is John Daggett... ex-con, ex-liar-, ex-alchy, currently dead. The cops call it an...

When the penniless FitzHenrys, proprietors of the rundown Combe Castle Heritage Site, find themselves victims of a threatening campaign to oust them from their ancestral home, Jack and Sarah are called in to track down the culprit. But nothing is what it seems at this castle - from the curious and unnerving waxwork displays of the 'Odditorium' to the in-laws and neighbours who can't wait to see the last of aristocratic couple. Soon Jack and Sarah discover that truth is often stranger than fiction, and in Combe Castle things do indeed go bump in the night.

When a single shot rings out to shatter the quiet at a prominent museum, it signals the start of a new mystery Patricia Fisher cannot avoid investigating. An apparent suicide, a missing woman, a sunken treasure ship worth billions, and suspicious behaviour from almost everyone she meets … well, that might be a lot to take for some people. For Patricia Fisher, it’s just Thursday. She’s in Rio on the trail of an altogether different mystery, however it’s not long before Patricia questions if the two cases might not be intertwined. What did happen to Professor Noriega?

In the small town of Dewstow, 'tis the season for gold, frankincense, and murder... It’s Margery’s first year as kitchen manager for Summerview school and supported by her wife, Clementine, she is trying to stay focused. When a tragic accident claims the life of the music teacher during rehearsals for the Christmas concert planning, they are caught in the crossfire. Mrs Smith, the Head of Drama, becomes the prime suspect, and is desperate for the Dinner Lady Detectives to clear her name.

"This suspenseful story will appeal to readers of contemporary police procedurals like Tana French’s Dublin Murder series and Jane Harper’s Aaron Falk series." —Jane Harper, Booklist Her worst nightmare just returned—but this time she’s ready 1994: When Gardas Julia Harte and Adrian...

Maura Donovan discovers a body in the ravine behind her pub. And then the Irish gardai reveal that the victim's face has been battered beyond recognition. Who is the faceless victim? Who wanted him dead? And why was his body dumped in the backyard of Sullivan's Pub? Even after the dead man is finally given a name, nobody admits to knowing him. In the tight-knit world of Leap, no one is talking - and now, it's up to Maura to uncover the dark secrets that lurk beneath the seemingly quiet town.

A country house murder, artistic insight and the postwar reunion of Alleyn and Troy combine in Ngaio Marsh’s wittiest and most readable novel. Agatha Troy, world-famous portrait painter, is inveigled into accepting a commission to paint the 70-year-old Sir Henry Ancred, Bart., the Grand Old Man of the stage. But just as she has completed her portrait, the old actor dies.

Burned-out chef, and a bit of a hippy at heart if he's honest, Max Effort has had enough. He's packed in his job at a swanky Michelin three-star restaurant, grown his hair, berated his parents yet again for giving him such a "go get 'em" name, accepted he's never going to get his ex-wife back, and he's hitting the road.

In A Fatal Winter, Max Tudor - Anglican priest, former MI5 agent, and village heartthrob - investigates two deaths at Chedrow Castle. But his growing attraction to Awena Owen complicates his case, as does the recent arrival at Chedrow Castle of a raucous group of long-lost, greedy relatives, any one of whom has a motive for murder. With a cozy setting, intricate puzzles, and a handsome (non-celibate) priest doing the sleuthing, the books in this series are destined to become instant classics in the mystery world.

In March of 1926, Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher and her friend and collaborator, Lady Lucy Gerald, head off for several days to a stately home reputed to have the best grotto in the country. Working on a book of architectural follies, they plan to research and photograph it. Leaving her husband and young twins behind, Daisy is expecting a productive weekend at Appsworth Hall, with the only potential difficulty being keeping Lucy from offending the current owner, a manufacturer of plumbing products. Alas, it's not to be quite so simple.

It’s late evening when the Regional Control Centre receives a mysterious 999 call. No one speaks, but the call location is somewhere along a narrow, hardly used tree-lined stretch of road that leads nowhere. With no uniformed officers free to investigate, they pass the call on to DC Judy Lane at Llangwelli station. Lane informs DS Norman Norman who, concerned it may be a trap, agrees to meet her at the scene. But when Norman arrives, he finds a dead motorcyclist sitting against a tree, and the young detective unconscious nearby.