First Mystery

It's 1956, and the cold war is hot. Hungary has just fallen, and Blackford Oakes is back from Budapest, puzzling over a betrayal and mourning a tragedy he couldn't prevent. But in Washington, all attention is focused on the race to put the first satellite in space. Ironically, Russia and America each have the secrets the other needs to succeed. The solution: kidnap a pair of extraordinary Russian scientists who can put the U.S. in the lead.

Mail Carrier Bernadette Butler just can't stop delivering clues when the clerk of the new book store turns up dead in Sugar Creek Gap, Kentucky, after the town is already shocked over a tell all "fiction" romance novel that hit the shelves filled secrets that were brushed under the rug and now left hung out to dry.

The fact that Katrina Pomeroy had been murdered was in and of itself a newsworthy event. The fact that she had been murdered on Friday October 13 exactly 11 years after she’d been one of five teenagers to survive the Friday the 13th Massacre made her passing worthy of notice by the national news agencies Jillian Hanford used to work for. When an old editor of Jillian's offered her the chance to write a human interest piece about Katrina’s life and subsequent death, she jumped at the chance to relaunch her currently defunct career.

Scottish Police Superintendent Terrence Reid's race to derail the money pipeline fueling a string of deadly terrorist attacks suffers a devastating setback when his informant is brutally murdered. Reid's chief suspect, a ruthless financier, always seems to be one step ahead of him. After one of his men is murdered, Reid suspects he's got a traitor in own camp. When Reid's beautiful young wife becomes deeply embroiled in the investigation, things get dangerously personal.

Adolescence is a time of "firsts." First kiss. First love. First loss. First job. And in this case, a very different type of "first": murder. This short story collection of murder mysteries adds a sinister spin to the joy and pain of firsts that have always been a major part of life, whether it be high school cliques who take the term "backstabbing" too seriously, stumbling upon a body on the way home from school, or receiving a Snapchat message that promises something deadly.

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.

If you devote your life to seeking revenge … Whether Confucius had it right or not is of little consequence to Patricia Fisher right now because she’s on the run from multiple criminals plus the cruise ship’s security team who have orders to arrest her on sight. Her arch nemesis, Angelica Howard-Box, has finally figured out how to win and she is going all out to make Patricia’s life a living hell. Dressed in a pink anime kitten outfit, cut off from her friends, and forced to perform ridiculous tasks because Angelica is suddenly holding all the cards.

Have you ever said to yourself, "wouldn’t it be nice to be a detective"? This is the story of an African girl who says just that. Her name is Precious. When a piece of cake goes missing from her classroom, a traditionally built young boy is tagged as the culprit. Precious, however, is not convinced. She sets out to find the real thief. Along the way she learns that your first guess isn’t always right. She also learns how to be a detective.

Aly and AJ are off on a whirlwind concert tour, and their first stop is New York City! Before their big show, the sisters will be guest stars at the opening of Girls Rock Academy, a school for girls who love to rock. But when the school’s equipment disappears on the day of the opening, Aly and AJ are on the case. Can the girls solve the mystery of the missing guitars in time for the school’s opening?

A dusty old theater that was shut up for years is coming to life again, and the Aldens are there for opening night! They're excited to help out backstage with a brand-new mystery play. But the Trap-Door Theater has mysteries of its own - with rumors of ghosts, disappearing props, and even a haunted seat! What secrets lie behind the scenes?

Bartender Charlie Quinn was found dead in the basement holding cell at the Los Angeles Police Department's Central Station. The police were the first suspects for his death. The LA County Coroner ruled Quinn died by accident. Declared to be intoxicated, Quinn allegedly stumbled and fell against the grating of the cell door and died from a brain hemorrhage. Maisy Malone wasn't buying the coroner's verdict, so she decided to prove the real cause for Quinn's death.

Historical cozy mystery set in Los Angeles, CA, in 1926. Mercy Allcutt, Boston Brahmin, wants to experience life in all its grittiness. How better than by working for a down-on-his luck PI in Hollywood? Once she discovers what PI actually stands for, she knows Mr. Ernest Templeton is the boss for her. Together, they must cope with a stray child, kidnapping, blackmail, murder, a toy poodle, a vamp, a stalker, Mercy's overactive imagination and Ernie's strong protective streak.

It's a warm August morning in 1926 Los Angeles, California. Mercedes Louise Allcutt (Mercy to her friends) is thrilled to be going to her job as secretary to private investigator Ernie Templeton - until she opens the door and discovers her mother on the doorstep. Known to her friends as Honoria and her daughters as The Wrath of God, Mrs. Allcutt is the very last person earth whom Mercy wants to see, barring a couple of coldblooded murderers she's met in the past few weeks.

Set against a backdrop of racial tension and deadly force controversy in Dallas, Open Season introduces Sarah Kingsly and Angel Johnson, homicide detectives who are unlikely and unwilling partners. When people start dying in area shopping malls, the detectives find themselves up against a killer who has his own race card to play.

Venice, 1731. Opera is the popular entertainment of the day, and the castrati are its reigning stars. Tito Amato, mutilated as a boy to preserve his enchanting soprano voice, returns to the city of his birth with his friend Felice, a castrato whose voice has failed. Disaster strikes Tito’s opera premier when the singer loses one beloved friend to poison and another to unjust accusation and arrest.

Brother Cadfael meets Walt Longmire. Everyone has an inner life.... Father Ambrose found a simple, worthwhile path leading a secluded spiritual community in Northern California. He spends his days happily focused on guiding the farming and teaching meditation. Then, someone dumps a body in one of their orchards.

When University of Washington Professor Benjamin Bradshaw discovers the dead body of a despised colleague inside the Faraday cage of the electric machine, his carefully controlled world shatters.

Rinehart's first American mystery published in 1908, reminding Agatha Christie fans of her first country-house English mystery, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, published 12 years later. This book has servants, a secret room, multigenerational goings-on, and more like Styles did.

Just because the coven excommunicated me, doesn't mean I'm a bad witch. Those ladies should learn to take a joke. In the meantime, though, it's left me in a bind. I need to get a real job, in a normal human occupation. Yuck. But when I see a sign at the community centre asking for an assistant - only witches need apply - I feel like my fortunes might be trending up. Sure, there's a murder to solve, a killer on my tail, and a pittance in my bank account, but at least it's not working checkout in a supermarket.

He’s used to catching crooks, not proving their innocence. Can this Hawaiian investigator say aloha to the real killer? Edgar Allan “Poe” Rutherford knows his personal connection to a crime boss is wrong. But when she needs his PI expertise to solve a reopened cold case, he can’t refuse the woman who feels like family. The only catch...the police are convinced she’s the murderer.