“A gripping story with dramatic twists, and a memorable heroine.” —James Patterson, #1 New York Times bestselling author

McCown County assistant prosecutor Elsie Arnold is prepping an assault case when a girl is found beaten and bloodied at a roadside no-tell motel. Elsie tries to convince the teen to reveal who attacked her, but Mandy is too scared—and stubborn—to cooperate… and then she disappears. Elsie’s positive a predator is targeting the Ozark hills, yet the authorities refuse to believe their small town could be plagued by sex trafficking.

Then middle school student Desiree Wickham goes missing, but only Elsie suspects it could be connected to Mandy’s assault. As she digs deeper into the events leading up to Desiree’s disappearance, she stumbles upon an alarming discovery: local girls are falling prey to a dubious online modeling agency, and never seen again. Elsie shares her concerns with Detective Ashlock and the FBI, but they shut her out. 

She takes matters into her own hands and lands an interview with the head of the modeling agency. But when she meets him face-to-face, she discovers the fate of Desiree and Mandy… and becomes his newest captive. Elsie’s desperate to free the girls—and save herself—before the unspeakable happens. And she’s in for the fight of her life.

THREE DELICIOUS FUNNY MYSTERIES...AT A YUMMY BARGAIN PRICE!

Funny, lively lawyer Rebecca Schwartz is a perennial favorite among cozy readers who can't get enough of smart-mouthed women sleuths. You can't read just one, they're like chocolates! So pretend they are—here's a succulent sampler at a delectably tempting bargain price –barely more than half price. That’s what we call a delicious Kindle deal! (And by the way, they go well with chocolates. )

DEATH TURNS A TRICK

A rollicking tale of murder, romance, and bordellos…

“A lively romp of a novel … Smith shows an Agatha Christie-like capacity for making much ado about clues, concocting straw hypotheses, and surprising us, in the end." -San Francisco Chronicle

“Funny and witty, with a clever, outspoken heroine.” —Library Journal

Rebecca Schwartz, nice Jewish lawyer with a few too many fantasies, is happily playing the piano in a whorehouse when she suddenly finds herself assigned to make sure a near-naked state senator escapes a police raid. That dirty job done, a lovely evening turns even more delightful when she’s picked up by the cops and spends the next two hours at the Hall of Justice. Could this day get any worse? Of Course! Guess who arrives home to find a dead hooker on her living room floor? Fans of Janet Evanovich, Joan Hess, and Elizabeth Peters will get a kick out of this one.

THE SOURDOUGH WARS

“…a brisk and breezy item, which—like sourdough itself—has its own distinctive and satisfying flavor.” -San Diego Union

TO YOU, IT’S JUST A FROZEN LUMP OF DOUGH; BUT TO SOME, IT’S LIFE AND DEATH…

Especially to handsome Peter Martinelli, who wants to auction off the fabled sourdough starter from his family’s famous bakery. But who’d buy a frozen hunk of flour and water? Only, it turns out, every bakery in San Francisco, a national food conglomerate, and an upstart ringer with a mysterious backer.

Someone would even kill for it. And does.

A tasty treat of a San Francisco mystery. A crisp, tangy story you’re sure to get a rise out of. You won’t find it a bit crumb-y.

TOURIST TRAP

Fear stalks the streets! reports the San Francisco Chronicle. It also stalks these pages, and so do a lot of laughs.

You just know the Easter sunrise service is going to be a bummer when the San Francisco fog lifts to reveal a body nailed to a landmark cross. Next: mass shellfish poisoning at Pier 39. A very different kind of serial killer is operating here—one who seems to have a grudge against the whole city.

And this is a very different kind of serial killer tale—a funny one. Well, actually, what serial killer’s funny? But lawyer sleuth Rebecca Schwartz is warm and witty, never takes herself too seriously, and on one occasion offers closing testimony with green hair.

Rebecca Mayfield has always been a by-the-book cop until Richie Amalfi enters her life--and makes her want to throw the book at him! Now, Richie's accused of murder and runs to Rebecca to help him prove his innocence. She's completely flummoxed by this, but the more she learns about the case, the more convinced she is that he's not guilty. Will she break all the rules to help him, or do her job the way she's been taught? And what are the consequences for either choice?

As dangers lurk and more deaths happen, Rebecca discovers there's a lot more to Richie than she thought and a lot more to like than she imagined, she fears not only for her life, but also her heart.

If you've missed TV shows like Castle or Remington Steele, you'll enjoy reading about Rebecca and Richie because they, too, give you mystery and humor with a touch of romance. Start this first book in the best-selling Inspector Rebecca Mayfield "Clock" series, and you'll soon find the hours seem to fly by ...

"Joanne Pence is a master of the mystery genre. She pulls the reader in and sets the roller coaster in motion."--Carolyn Haines, USA Today bestselling author

"Joanne Pence provides laughter, love, and cold chills." --Carolyn Hart, NY Times bestselling author

North American Book Award recipient - Mystery Category
 

Bag the ENTIRE AWARD-WINNING Jeri Howard murder mystery series for barely a buck a book!

Fans of hard-boiled women sleuths and detective novels with a twist will love P.I. Jeri Howard. If you like Sue Grafton, Marcia Muller, T.R. Ragan, Laura Lippman, Sara Paretsky, and Alison Gaylin, this intelligent, action-packed anthology is a mega bargain!

"Jeri combines V.I.'s social conscience with Kinsey's badass attitude and a snappy narrative voice..."
-Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post Book World

Jeri's as savvy as Sam Spade, with something of Spade's seen-it-all outlook. She handles the daily bread and butter without breaking a sweat, and she's got the street smarts to handle the bad guys, always managing somehow to land a well-deserved punch. What she doesn't know, her chic lawyer pal, Cassie, can supply; and her cop ex-husband's on hand to make trouble.

"Dawson keeps suspense and interest at high pitch." -Publishers Weekly

KINDRED CRIMES
A puzzling missing persons case--a wife who disappears with the grocery money--keeps winding backward, revealing brand new secrets as fast as ancient skeletons can fall out of closets.

TILL THE OLD MEN DIE
The grisly murder of a sedate, widowed history professor, is written off as a random street crime until a woman turns up at his university, claiming to be his widow and demanding access to his "papers."

TAKE A NUMBER
Out of loyalty to a former client, Jeri takes on a nasty divorce case. The soon-to-be ex-husband winds up with a bullet in his back, and the prime suspect is Jeri's client.

DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON THE OCEAN
Jeri is looking to catch a respite from the PI life to relax and visit family in lovely Monterey on the California coast. Now, what's the worst thing that could happen on a PI's vacation? A dead body on the beach, most likely.

NOBODY'S CHILD
Is a Jane Doe uncovered at a construction site the body of her client's long-lost daughter Maureen? If so, what's become of Maureen's two-year-old daughter?

A CREDIBLE THREAT
A UC Berkeley undergrad fears the worst when her shared house receives multiple threats from an unknown antagonizer.

WITNESS TO EVIL
A seventeen-year-old Jeri tracked down when she swiped her mother's credit card and took off for Paris is now a "person of interest" in a murder case--and, once again, in the wind.

WHERE THE BODIES ARE BURIED
Jeri's newest client was about to blow the whistle on a large food manufacturer just before he took a header out his fifth-floor apartment window--but he hadn't yet told her what it was about. Next step: Undercover in the corporate office.

A KILLING AT THE TRACK
Set in the fascinating and forbidden racetrack backside. Dawson's complex plot is a pleasure--one dead jockey, then two dead jockeys, three exotic poisons, and several possible payoffs.

When Maggie May Carver moved to Baker Valley, Colorado she wanted two things: to open a dog barkery with her best friend, and to take care of her aging grandpa.

But when her grandpa is accused of murder--a crime he may well have committed--Maggie finds herself in the role of amateur detective.

With her faithful Newfie, Miss Fancypants, at her side, Maggie is determined to find the real killer and clear her grandpa's name.

Assuming he isn't the real killer, that is.

THE INQUISITION IS BACK! AND THIS TIME THEY HAVE TECHNOLOGY.

An action-packed unraveling of the secrets of ancient history mixed in with a chilling conspiracy that brings to mind Dan Brown’s bestseller INFERNO.

“Swigart is one of the few thriller writers with a poetic sense … [who] knows how to give high velocity to an action mystery.” -San Francisco Chronicle

Papyrologist Lisa Emmer’s world flips when the Surete meets her at her Metro station with news of the savage murder of the esteemed Paris historian Dr. Raimond Foix, her friend and mentor in the study of ancient documents. Horrified, Lisa finds clues at the crime scene left behind for her by her mentor—clues to a secret kept hidden for centuries. These clues make her a prime suspect in the murder investigation, and also put her directly in the cross-hairs of a deadly commando group that proves to be none other than a contemporary offshoot of the Inquisition.

They want an ancient document that reveals a secret so explosive it could change the world—a document they’ve been tracking for centuries. Led by a sadistic priest and a vicious but very accomplished nun with excellent military cred, their mission is to destroy the document—no matter what the cost in blood.

Desperate to clear her name and to stay alive, with the help of a handsome yet mysterious banker, Lisa must solve the clues and uncover the millennia-old secret before her adversaries can find and destroy it. Since she was a child Lisa had suffered from uncontrollable fugue states. Now she discovers just in time that what she always thought was a liability may in fact be an almost paranormal ability to see things in ways others cannot. The trail leads everywhere from ancient cemeteries and tombs throughout France to Istanbul and Greece, as Lisa and Steve desperately stay one step ahead of their enemies, solving the clues to a dangerous treasure hunt their lives now depend upon.

A must-read for fans of Steve Berry, Dan Brown and Raymond Khoury!

Praise for Rob Swigart's THRILLER IN PARADISE series

“Bold and brassy … a breathless romp with prose that crackles like a live wire, bites like a rabid dog, [and] smooths like 30-year-old Scotch.” -San Francisco Review of Books

"With a dose of Southern charm and a bad boy you won't want to forget, A Cutthroat Business has enough wit and sexual chemistry to rival Janet Evanovich!" - New York Times bestselling author Tasha Alexander

"VERDICT: The hilarious dialog and the tension between Savannah and Rafe will delight fans of chick-lit mysteries and romantic suspense." - Jo Ann Vicarel, Library Journal


Savannah Martin has always been a good girl, doing what was expected and fully expecting life to fall into place in its turn. But when her perfect husband turns out to be a lying, cheating slimeball—and bad in bed to boot—Savannah kicks the jerk to the curb and embarks on life on her own terms. With a new apartment, a new career, and a brand new outlook on life, she’s all set to take the world by storm.

If only the world would stop throwing her curveballs...

Everyone has warned new-minted realtor Savannah Martin that real estate is a cutthroat business. But Savannah doesn’t think she’s supposed to take the warning literally ... until an early morning phone call sends her to an empty house on the ‘bad’ side of town, where she finds herself standing over the butchered body of a competitor, face to face with the boy her mother always warned her about.

Rafe Collier is six feet three inches of testosterone and trouble; tall, dark, and dangerous, with a murky past and no future—not the kind of guy a perfect Southern Belle should want to tangle with. In any way. But wherever Savannah turns, there he is, and making no bones about what he wants from her.

Now Savannah must figure out who killed real estate queen Brenda Puckett, make a success of her new career, and avoid getting killed—or kissed—by Rafe, all before the money in her savings account runs out and she has to go back to selling make-up at the mall.

"A frothy girl drink of houses, hunks and whodunit narrated in a breezy first person ... If you love an umbrella in your drink, grab A Cutthroat Business for a quick beach read." -Lyda Phillips, Nashville Scene

Winner of the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards.

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, just north of the U.S. border, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it's a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul in these remote woods, and is soon certain that Jane Neal died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter.

Still Life introduces not only an engaging series hero in Inspector Gamache, who commands his forces---and this series---with integrity and quiet courage, but also a winning and talented new writer of traditional mysteries in the person of Louise Penny.

"An addictive first entry in the Julie Madigan Thriller series... fortunately for us, a second Julie Madigan book awaits." –Best Thrillers

Julie Madigan’s career with the New Mexico State Police ended in a puddle of her own blood after having her throat cut, barely able to lift her gun to shoot and kill the man who almost ended her life. But survival led to a year of recovery and left her desperate to hide the scars and to escape her past. She moved to Michigan, away from friends and coworkers who knew her secrets.

Now a Medical Examiner Investigator, Julie Madigan loves her job and her team, but when a killer sends her clues and evidence about two of his victims, taunting her with his unusual methods of murder, she is pulled into a twisted game that eventually targets those she cares about. The killer’s goal – to prove that not only will Julie kill again, but that she will enjoy it as much as he does. While trying to identify him, Julie discovers that this monster has been much closer to her than she ever imagined, leaving her in a race to save the victims he has selected, forcing her to choose who lives and who dies.

ADVENTURE TRAVEL IN AN ARMCHAIR … AT AN UNBEATABLE PRICE!

Armchair travelers who happen to love cozy puzzlers won't be able to resist this deal. Four of Michaela Thompson's delightful international mystery novels—set in France, Italy, and India—each featuring bright and funny leading ladies, are on sale as a box set.

Take the grand tour! Cuddle up and enjoy these exotic and thrilling adventures one after the other.

MAGIC MIRROR

SACRE BLEU! THEY KILLED A MAN FOR A MIRROR!

Florida transplant Georgia Lee Maxwell doesn't take to Paris at first, despite the fact that she's at least leaving a no-good man and a hated job as a society editor. Now she's a Paris correspondent, thank you very much—a dream come true for any journalist.

There's just a slight down side—she arrives in freezing rain, gets caught in a traffic jam caused by a bomb scare, and hates her apartment; but the real Bonjour is finding herself face down on a museum floor during a robbery. Three terrifying masked gunmen shoot the unfortunate security guard and make off with only a mirror. Does it have some prophetic ability? Does someone know something the gendarmes don't? Here's what Georgia Lee knows: If she finds out first, she's a journalistic hero. If she doesn't, she's dead.

A TEMPORARY GHOST

A GHOST-WRITING GIG IN PROVENCE--SHE'S LIVING THE DREAM! UNTIL THE KILLING STARTS...

In journalist Georgia Lee Maxwell's second adventure, she leaves her new home in Paris for Provence, where she's been offered a lucrative ghost-writing job. But her co-author, suspected murderess Vivien Howard, the widow of a wealthy New York financier, seems strangely uninterested in writing her memoir Vivian was widely believed to have murdered her husband but was never charged with the crime, and now she promises to tell all.

Amid the beauties of Provence, settled in, a charming renovated farmhouse, Georgia Lee finds a household full of ill-feeling, not to mention suspicious characters. Frustrated by Vivien's lack of cooperation and unnerved by threatening letters, Georgia Lee soon realizes that she has become a player in a more dangerous game than she could have imagined. And then there's another murder.

VENETIAN MASK

AT CARNIVAL IN THE FLOATING CITY—AN ARTLESS YOUNG AMERICAN, A MYSTERIOUS MASKED COUNT, AND MURDER

The surreal splendor of Venice glitters and mesmerizes as six so-called friends who, it turns out, barely know each other meet at Carnival to play a malignant game that quickly turns murderous. Sally, the “Tallahassee lassie” spurned by the rest as a virtual hayseed, is swept up by a mysterious count, attending masked balls, operas, and Carnival revels even as she mourns her marriage and dodges a deadly pursuer. “Things should happen at Carnival,” says her unlikely protector, who resembles Harlequin in more than his costume. “If they go on just the same, there’s no reason for Carnival at all.” There’s absolutely no chance of that in this psychological tour de force of surging identities wrestling to emerge in people forced by violence to confront their inner Harlequins and Medusas.

FAULT TREE

HELLO, IT’S YOUR PAST CALLING…

“Placing blame” thinks Marina Robinson, “is my life’s work. And why?” There’s a lot in her past to account for—nightmares and terrors, crimes and betrayals that happened half a world away, ten years go. Now she’s an engineer with a great job. She’s a failure analyst, an investigator who figures out what causes accidents, and she’s working on her most fascinating case—the fatal crash of a roller coaster--when suddenly the phone rings. And her world tilts…

The elusive, unidentified caller can be only one perso

The New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julia Grey mysteries returns once more to Victorian England and introduces intrepid adventuress Veronica Speedwell.... 

London, 1887. After burying her spinster aunt, orphaned Veronica Speedwell is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as with fending off admirers, Veronica intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.

But fate has other plans when Veronica thwarts her own attempted abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron, who offers her sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker, a reclusive and bad-tempered natural historian. But before the baron can reveal what he knows of the plot against her, he is found murdered—leaving Veronica and Stoker on the run from an elusive assailant as wary partners in search of the villainous truth.

All the soft-boiled Bay Area adventures of hardboiled-wannabe Paul Mcdonald-- now in a two-volume box set at a great price!
 

Wise-cracking ex-journalist Paul Mcdonald’s main confidant is a cat named Spot; his best friend’s a burglar who’s trying to quit; his relationship status is commitment-phobic … what makes this Great American Novelist-in-waiting think adding “P.I.” to his resume is a good idea? Well, his boss was just poisoned in Paul’s living room right in front of him, and then somebody broke into his apartment; now he thinks they’re trying to kill him. Finally Paul’s got a story he can sell, if he can catch the murderer before the murderer catches him. And maybe he will … after all, there’s a Volume 2: HUCKLEBERRY FIEND, a risible treat for the rigorous bibliophile (and anyone else who loves a good puzzle) …

"I've been a scoundrel, a thief, a blackmailer and a whore, but never a murderer. Until now..."

The year is 1929. As the world teeters on the brink of a global recession, Bletchley Park plays host to a rather special event. MI5 is celebrating its twentieth anniversary and a select band of former and current employees are gathering at the private estate for a weekend of music, dance and heavy drinking. Among them is Sir Hilary Manningham-Butler, a middle aged woman whose entire adult life has been spent masquerading as a man. She doesn’t know why she has been invited – it is many years since she left the secret service – but it is clear she is not the only one with things to hide. And when one of the other guests threatens to expose her secret, the consequences could prove disastrous for everyone.
 

An Amazon Charts bestseller.

A missing child. A desperate mother. And a house full of secrets.

Two years ago, Julia lost her family in a tragic accident. Her husband drowned trying to save their daughter, Lily, in the river near their rural home. But the little girl’s body was never found—and Julia believes Lily is somehow still alive.

Alone and broke, Julia opens her house as a writers’ retreat. One of the first guests is Lucas, a horror novelist, who becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Lily. But within days of his arrival, the peace of the retreat is shattered by a series of eerie events.

When Lucas’s investigation leads him and Julia into the woods, they discover a dark secret—a secret that someone will do anything to protect…

What really happened that day by the river? Why was Lily never found? And who, or what, is haunting the retreat?

From the bestselling author of Follow You Home and The Magpies comes his most terrifying novel yet.

A “superior thriller”(Oakland Press) about a man, a dog, and a terrifying threat that could only have come from the imagination of #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz—nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.

On his thirty-sixth birthday, Travis Cornell hikes into the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. But his path is soon blocked by a bedraggled Golden Retriever who will let him go no further into the dark woods.

That morning, Travis had been desperate to find some happiness in his lonely, seemingly cursed life. What he finds is a dog of alarming intelligence that soon leads him into a relentless storm of mankind’s darkest creation...

The SECOND book in Edgar-winning author Julie Smith’s Rebecca Schwartz series.

DEATH TURNS A TRICK, FIRST IN THIS SERIES, IS NOW AVAILABLE AS AN EBOOK!
A tasty treat of a San Francisco mystery—a crisp, tangy story you’re sure to get a rise out of.
"…a brisk and breezy item, which—like sourdough itself—has its own distinctive and satisfying flavor.” -San Diego Union
“…an awful lot of fun, and it will make you unbearably hungry for fresh-baked bread.” -San Jose Mercury-News

TO YOU, ITS JUST A FROZEN LUMP OF DOUGH; TO SOME, IT'S LIFE AND DEATH...

Especially to handsome Peter Martinelli, who wants to auction off the fabled sourdough starter from his family’s famous bakery. But who’d buy a frozen hunk of flour and water? Only, it turns out, every bakery in San Francisco, a national food conglomerate, and an upstart ringer with a mysterious backer.

Someone would even kill for it. And does.

Enter lawyer sleuth Rebecca Schwartz, whose client is her own partner, glamorous Chris Nicholson, Martinelli’s main squeeze before the ill-starred auction.

Rebecca noshes her way through the case in hilariously unorthodox style, tasting some great bread along the way, but also uncovering so many ancient jealousies, long-simmering feuds, and seething resentments that she barely escapes death by doughball.

NOTE: THIS STORY IS COMPLETELY REALITY-BASED! A SAN FRANCISCO BAKERY MADE PAGE ONE NEWS BY FREEZING THEIR STARTER --ONLY WITHOUT THE BLOODSHED.

The slapstick style, over-the-top action, and witty dialogue make Rebecca Schwartz an easy choice for fans of Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Bond, Dorothy Cannell, Elizabeth Peters, Sarah Strohmeyer, and Jennifer Crusie.

Samantha never intended to kill the President. As a doctor, she swore an oath to protect life – not take it. But that was before he ordered the murder of her family.

Swept from the frigid New York City winter, Dr. Samantha Bartlett returns to the Midwest to once again confront the sting of death – and face those she left behind. But she’s not alone. A strange man she dubs “Shades” haunts her every step as she seeks answers to the inferno which claimed her grandmother’s life, an eerie reminder of her parents’ deaths. The secrets Samantha uncovers forever shatter the image of those she only thought she knew.

Confronted by Shades, Samantha joins a secret underworld known only as the Elite, where a web of power and control is woven deep within governments worldwide. Their sights are set on the seat of domination behind the Resolute desk that is the powerhouse of nations – the presidency of the United States of America. Samantha becomes the Elite’s unlikely key to infiltrating the White House at its most intimate levels.

The Hippocratic Oath. All doctors swear by it. But the most despicable deeds must be avenged. The quest for blood swallows Samantha in a veil of darkness and threatens to destroy everything she once stood for.

And from the darkness there is no escape.

Books 7-9 of the Pineapple Port Mysteries - Wall Street Journal and USA TODAY Best-Selling author Amy Vansant introduces you to even more wonderfully lovable Pineapple Port characters in this three-pack collection of the hilarious mystery series keeping readers on the edge of their seats!

Fans of female-sleuth authors like Jana Deleon, Lilian Jackson Braun, Gina Lamanna and Janet Evanovich will love the Pineapple Port series' abundant humor and clever plots --- as well as Charlotte's sharp intellect and the love and loyalty she holds for the wacky 55+ community who raised her.

Pineapple Gingerbread Men

Sheriff Frank asks newly-minted private detective Charlotte to help him crack the case, but she has no idea those darn gingerbread men will start showing up everywhere. What did Santa do that made them so angry? And what's the secret in his colorful Christmas-themed bureau?

Charlotte is forced to split her time between searching for Santa's killer and helping Declan's crazy ex-Stephanie stop a corrupt district attorney in exchange for a book that could help solve more crimes in the future. She never thought she'd help calculating Stephanie with anything...but as this story comes to it's shocking ending, you'll find it could be Stephanie who's finally bitten off more cookie than she can chew..

Pineapple Jailbird

Book EIGHT of the hilarious Pineapple Port mystery series from Wall Street Journal and USA TODAY Best-Selling author Amy Vansant has Charlotte awaking to find Mariska and Bob gone, kidnapped from their home. Their disappearance is a message from a familiar killer: Help me or your friends will disappear.

To save her loved ones, Charlotte must find a way to clear her boyfriend's crazy ex of a killing. It may be the only crime the woman didn't commit...but things don't get any easier when someone mistakes Charlotte as a traitor and sends a madman with a distinctive "tattoo" and unusual gang of deadly pets to stop her.

Pineapple Puppies

Someone has left puppies on the doorsteps of Pineapple Port's residents, but the adorable balls of fur seem to be connected to the murder of a nearby millionaire with too many heirs of his own. Meanwhile, Mariska's been framed for baking a killer cake, and Charlotte must clear her name

PEOPLE MAGAZINE called Venetian Mask “…kaleidoscopic, satisfyingly intricate … a brainy, psychologically astute cut above most mysteries.”
THE NEW YORKER called author Michaela Thompson “An enthralling entertainer, and one familiar with every nuance of Venice and Carnival.”
MURDER AT CARNIVAL IN THE FLOATING CITY

The surreal splendor of Venice glitters and mesmerizes as six so-called friends who, it turns out, barely know each other meet at Carnival to play a malignant game that quickly turns murderous. Sally, the “Tallahassee lassie” spurned by the rest as a virtual hayseed, is swept up by a mysterious count, attending masked balls, operas, and Carnival revels even as she mourns her marriage and dodges a deadly pursuer. “Things should happen at Carnival,” says her unlikely protector, who resembles Harlequin in more than his costume. “If they go on just the same, there’s no reason for Carnival at all.” There’s absolutely no chance of that in this psychological tour de force of surging identities wrestling to emerge in people forced by violence to confront their inner Harlequins and Medusas.

The characters change costumes, alter egos, sex partners (and preferences), and most of all, their stories while Carnival swirls around them, each more desperate by the hour to solve the murder, commit another, save a career, escape a past…whatever it is that Carnival, as much a character as the humans, seems to command them to do. The guignol grows ever grander, the danger more heightened as the clock ticks toward midnight on Fat Tuesday and Sally finds she has more enemies than she thought.

Who will like it: Fans of THE SECRET HISTORY, Commedia dell’arte, French Comedy (there’s more than a little Molière here), and all things Venice, particularly Daphne du Maurier’s DON'T LOOK NOW, John Berendt’s CITY OF FALLING ANGELS, and Donna Leon’s Guido Brunetti mysteries.

"The decaying splendor of Venice forms the backdrop for a complex and unusual murder mystery … an elaborate, surrealistic book ripe with atmosphere, plot and characterization.” —Publishers Weekly

The FIRST book in the Kate Benedict paranormal mystery series.

SHE KNOWS WHO'S GOING TO DIE! BUT NO ONE WILL BELIEVE HER...
Life spins out of control for London architect Kate Benedict when she sees a dancing aura above certain people’s heads that seems to signal death. Suddenly she’s psychic. But that can't be! Psychic’s not acceptable in her circle, where the supernatural is strictly for the superstitious. And yet…people are dying. People close to her.

Kate's tentative attempts to talk about her new-found metaphysical gift are met with eye rolls, so much so that she can’t even tell the nice Scotland Yard detective who's investigating the death of a close friend, Rebecca Williams. And now Rebecca’s neighbor has an aura.

So what's Kate to do but try to save him by turning detective herself? A break-in and attack on her boyfriend confirm that the murderer’s catching on that Kate knows too much. But he (or maybe she) has no idea that what Kate knows is a little on the paranormal side.

Fans of traditional British mysteries (and female sleuths) will love watching competent, reasonable Kate try to harness supernatural abilities she not only doesn't understand, she doesn't even believe in! And those who love international mysteries will particularly enjoy the vivid scenes in Italy, where the story begins and, in some ways, ends.

WHO ELSE WILL LIKE IT: Anyone looking for a new, fresh female sleuth, as well as fans of paranormal suspense, traditional (yet not too cozy) stories, contemporary British women detectives like the ones found on the BBC’s ROSEMARY AND THYME and MURDER IN SUBURBIA, and mysteries with a metaphysical twist, like Kay Hooper’s Bishop Files series, Iris Johansen’s THE PERFECT WITNESS, and Heather Graham’s Krewe of Hunters books.

"Carrie Bedford is a real find, and The Aura is engaging paranormal suspense ... Bedford is a fine writer, an accomplished novelist, and a terrific storyteller whose characters ring true and pull us deep into the mystery." -Shelley Singer, author of the Jake Samson-Rosie Vicente mystery series and Torch Song, first in the Blackjack near-future thriller series.

"...a terrific book with a likable protagonist, skilled plotting and a supernatural spin. This gripping mystery had me hooked from the first chapter." -Janet Dawson, author of the Jeri Howard series