Rural Mystery

When a big New York theater production comes to Zinnia, Mississippi, murder takes center stage - and Sarah, it turns out, is the star suspect.

It's 1933 in East Texas and the Depression lingers in the air like a slow-moving storm. When a young Harry Collins and his little sister stumble across the body of a black woman who has been savagely mutilated and left to die in the bottoms of the Sabine River, their small town is instantly charged with tension. When a second body turns up, this time of a white woman, there is little Harry can do from stopping his Klan neighbors from lynching an innocent black man.

Betsy Devonshire has settled into her new home in Excelsior, Minnesota, as owner of the town’s needlecraft shop. So why is she suffering from terrifying nightmares? She hasn’t a clue—but thinks maybe it would help to get away for a while. With her friend Jill in tow, she heads north for a “stitch-in” at a remote, rustic lodge. But her nightmares only get worse—especially after she finds a dead woman no one else had seen.

What happens when a police officer goes outside the law? When wealthy housewife Ella Watson is brutally stabbed to death in broad daylight it sends shockwaves through the Lake District community. Later that day, Keira Bradley meets the same fate but on the notoriously rough Beacon Estate. DI...

The town's psychic cat, Irene Peggledrip, is being visited by a band of malevolent spirits who all claim to be murderers. The stage is set for Hettie and Tilly to solve an old murder mystery, where all the cats involved appear to be dead. Will our feline sleuths finally lay the ghosts to rest? Can Molly Bloom’s new cafe survive the seance? And will the moving claw give up its secrets before the gravy congeals? Join Hettie and Tilly for another spirited adventure.

All Parker Hayes wanted was a fresh start, serving up frothy lattes and decadent desserts at her charming new cafe, Catch You Latte. But just as she's perfecting her caramel drizzle, her grand opening takes a bitter turn when a face from her past turns up dead… right behind the cafe. Suddenly, Parker's at the center of town gossip—and the prime suspect. Dodging murder accusations was definitely not part of her business plan. Then an ominous text turns everything upside down, and the clues start pointing to one of Magnolia Grove's most upstanding citizens.

Hot-blooded Georgiana Stockwell will break a man's heart while he's eating out of her hand. Moving from the East to join her schoolteacher sister in the rugged wilds of Tonto Basin, Arizona, Georgiana makes quite an impression. Despite her sister's best efforts, Georgiana creates a culture clash as her modern, free-spirited personality comes up against the code of the West, the unwritten law of the range that everyone is expected to follow.

With this follow-up to The Royal Wulff Murders, acclaimed author Keith McCafferty brings back fly-fishing PI Sean Stranahan for a second quirky adventure. When two graves are found on the mysterious Sphinx Mountain, the local sheriff suspects murder and calls on Stranahan to join the case. Then a vintage Gray Ghost lure from a riverside cabin disappears, and Stranahan begins to suspect that a deeper mystery is lurking just beneath the surface.

Don't miss the final instalment in the Dales Detective series! 'A rollicking tale of everyday crime life among rural folk' - Daily Mail From death to danger and malice to mystery, Samson and Delilah have weathered many storms. Finally, things should be going smoothly. Except life’s never that...

Wesley Crocker is accused of the murder of young Maria Ibarra, who was found near the "camping place" of the drifter. Crocker's account of the previous night leads Undersheriff Bill Gastner to more troubling questions.

Attorney Deborah Knott is North Carolina's answer to V.I. Warshawski, a legal sleuth with a knack for sniffing out the most baffling crimes. Deborah has just done the unthinkable: entered the heated race for judge of old-boy-ruled Colleton County. The only female candidate, she's busy reeling in voters and giving campaign speeches. There couldn't be a worse time for Gayle Whitehead to beg Deborah to investigate the 18-year-old unsolved murder of Gayle's mother, Janie.

When Edward Townes - famed writer of novels about knights and maids, and castles and conquering - attends a medieval launch party for his latest book, he arrives ready to do more than celebrate. But party night brings a blizzard, a once-in-a-century storm that sees Townes staggering home, alone ... only to be found dead the next day. With Cherringham cut-off and the blizzard still raging, Jack and Sarah start investigating. Their questions reveal that many of those still stranded in the dark village have secrets. And Townes' killer is still in the village.

It's 1997. Scarclaw Fell. The body of teenager Tom Jeffries is found at an outward bound centre. Verdict? Misadventure. But not everyone is convinced. And the truth of what happened in the beautiful but eerie fell is locked in the memories of the tight-knit group of friends who took that fateful trip and the flimsy testimony of those living nearby.

When young Daniel Whitman is killed at a high-school party, the community is ripped apart. The death of Sanctuary's star quarterback seems to be a tragic accident, but everyone knows his ex-girlfriend Harper Fenn is the daughter of a witch - and she was there when he died. Was Daniel's death an accident, revenge, or something more sinister? As accusations fly, paranoia grips the town, culminating in a witch-hunt...and the town becomes no sanctuary at all.

Tucked away in the foothills, surrounded by pine forests, loaded with kids who still play outside, Millwood is the small town everyone knows. For Heather Bradley, it's a place that keeps her family safe; her biggest worries are the daily grind of her job and the kids coming home late. She doesn't know that unfathomable forces are set to converge on her town and thrust their neat lives into darkness, but when her oldest son Stuart opens a one-sided door in the woods and a black cloud pours out, the Bradleys and their whole town find themselves locked in a desperate struggle for survival.

In this original short story in the Mike Bowditch mystery series from bestselling author Paul Doiron, Mike is drawn into the story of a gruesome case from his mentor Charley Steven’s past. Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch accompanies his old friend and mentor, retired bush pilot Charley Stevens...

Popular author Susan Wittig Albert and her China Bayles Herbal Mysteries have been hailed for their intelligent plots and quirky characters. China is a member of the Pecan Springs, Texas Picklefest planning committee. When the Pickle Queen disappears just days before the festival, China and her husband P.I. Mike McQuaid relish searching for the clues in this dilly of a case. This exciting whodunit is packed with plenty of pickle jokes, folklore, and homespun recipes.

In this atmospheric and profoundly moving debut, Cathy and Daniel live with their father, John, in the remote woods of Yorkshire, in a house the three of them built themselves. John is a gentle brute of a man, a former enforcer who fights for money when he has to, but who otherwise just wants to be left alone to raise his children. When a local landowner shows up on their doorstep, their precarious existence is threatened, and a series of actions is set in motion that can only end in violence.

After a long hot summer in Balsam Dell, Carly Hale is ready for crisp Vermont weather and gourmet grilled cheeses at her Grilled Cheese Eatery. And the upcoming Halloween food competition is the perfect way to impress the locals. But Ferris Menard, the owner of Sub-a-Dub-Sub, is nursing a serious grudge against Carly. Two days before the competition, one of Carly's employees quit his part-time gig at Menard's sub shop, sending Menard into a serious snit. In a confrontation at the Eatery, Menard accused Carly of sabotage and vowed to bring her down.

No one worries much about the scantily clad woman found strangled in the Orchid Motel, she must be a tourist who brought along her own problems. But when the victim turns out to be the wife of an up-and-coming lawyer, people begin looking suspiciously among themselves for the culprit, and Judge Deborah Knott learns her cousin possesses a mighty powerful motive. While Deborah searches for the vicious killer, a deadly hurricane rages up the Carolina coast, bringing destruction and its own kind of justice.