"In the world of logic, it's always our assumptions that lead us astray."
A spooky old house, rumors of a hidden Civil War treasure, a neighbor’s murder, and an ex-fiancé falling unconscious at her feet—Charlotte Ross has her hands full when she’s invited to stay at her friend, Jane Marshall’s home while her apartment is being renovated.

Jane and her new fiancé have sold everything to move to the large estate she’d just inherited near the small town in Illinois, where she grew up. She’s always loved the house, but the cost of living in, and fixing up, a deteriorating old mansion is more than both their incomes combined. If she can’t come up with the money for the next property tax payment, she’ll be forced to give it up.

Charlotte is intent on winning back her ex, but her efforts are stymied when he’s suspected of murder.

The two couples soon discover the rambling old house holds more than one secret when they join forces to find the real killer—and the elusive, Tarkington treasure.

Forget hard-boiled dicks, fellas... it's hard-boiled chicks!

A mini-anthology featuring a trio of badass leading ladies, Hard-Boiled Chicks is a collection of the grittiest, edgiest, and darkest mysteries award-winning Julie Smith has to offer. These stories highlight cold-blooded cop killing and civilian justice gone awry, murder staged as an overdose on New Orleans' streets, the discovery of a Gatsby girl's body in her own gaudy pool, the steady debunking of layer-upon-layer of a lifetime of an attorney's lies, and a request for a holographic will--one day before the executor is murdered. Not for the faint of heart, these hard-as-nails mystery novels (plus two bonus short stories!) chronicle three celebrated female sleuths at their most thick-skinned--and will leave readers dripping with realism... and shivering.

CRESCENT CITY CONNECTION
“If it’s gritty realism you’re craving, gently simmered with spicy suspense and marvelously memorable characters, Smith is the perfect New Orleans tour guide.” —The Clarion-Ledger

Sure, New Orleans is known for corruption, but suddenly the good guys get a break—an honest police chief. And then someone guns him down. When a terrifying organization called The Jury takes out the cop-killer, Detective Skip Langdon’s on the case. But no one cares! After all, the guy was a cop-killer. Skip cares really a lot—because she suspects The Jury’s the brainchild of her old nemesis, self-described preacher Errol Jacomine.

KID TROMBONE

The troubled heir of a great New Orleans musical legacy has been gunned down. The writer who researched his obituary has met a sudden death. Coincidence? Or did he know too much?

The Big Easy’s premier jazz singer, Queenie Feran, thinks there’s more to it than an accidental overdose, and she hires PI and poet Talba Wallis--AKA the Baroness de Pontalba--to uncover the truth. The Baroness rubs elbows with jazz royalty, sounding them out for clues and swaddling the reader in New Orleans ambience, before she takes to the mean streets to uncover the victim’s secret life.

LOUISIANA LAMENT

"From biker bar to college campus, the chase is on ... readers will remain hooked until the killer's comeuppance in the clever conclusion." -Publisher's Weekly

One stormy day Talba gets an emergency call from Janessa, the sister she barely knows, and arrives to find a body floating in a swimming pool—the mortal husk of Allyson Brown, known in New Orleans literary circles as the Girl Gatsby. Like Gatsby, Allyson was one of those mysterious rich people who move to town, give amazing parties, and seem made of moonbeams. Investigating, Talba finds the reality behind the Gatsby glamour.

OTHER PEOPLE'S SKELETONS

Secrets spill out of these pages like hornets out of a nest, each with its own distinct sting, as author Smith weaves a thrill-packed and complicated San Francisco mystery that’s as much about how little we know about our nearest and dearest as it is about whodunit.

Rebecca’s shocked when Chris Nicholson, her glamorous law partner, is arrested for murder--but not nearly so shocked as when she discovers Chris can’t come up with an alibi. What she was doing, Chris says, involves a secret so damaging she’d be drummed out of San Francisco legal circles if anyone knew. All she’ll say is what her secret isn’t--crime, drugs, sex, alcohol, addiction, illness (mental or otherwise), or an eating disorder. So what’s left? Sure enough, when Rebecca uncovers it, her world tilts on its axis.

BLOOD TYPES

If you’re a lawyer, and someone you haven’t heard from in years calls to ask how to execute a holographic will, what are you to think if he dies the next day? This is a dark, dark story…actually very unlike Rebecca Schwartz’s usual outings.

Having recently come to terms with her psychic gift of communicating with the comatose, all Kat Parker wanted was a bit of relaxation and to replace her broken cell phone. But her uncle's death reveals a new and potentially dangerous wrinkle to her abilities — she can see and talk with the dead.

Phoneless, fed up, and fearful for her sanity, Kat is still determined to help her uncle. Discovering he had more than a few secrets, she embarks on a treasure hunt for the one object she believes will help him rest in peace. Standing in her way is the CIA, a Mexican drug cartel kill squad, a group of mask-wearing gang members, and a wild alligator determined to eat her pet turtle.

As things spiral out of control, the absurdity of it all has Kat wondering if she hasn’t already gone insane, if she’ll be forever saddled with babysitting her uncle’s spirit, and if she should even bother to replace her phone.
 

Travel writer Jae Lovejoy thought her days of crime reporting were over . . . She was wrong.

Jae thought she found her dream job. Being a travel writer let her enjoy all her favorite things: seeing new places … staying on the go … telling unusual stories … until she stumbled across a murder scene.

While she was looking for an interesting twist to spice up her Denver travel story, Jae found the body of the wealthiest woman in Colorado—a reclusive heiress who had her share of enemies. And the accused killer was Mitch Evans, the owner of a microbrewery and the subject of Jae’s travel story.

Now Jae’s editor wants her to put her travel story on hold to cover the crime. Meanwhile, she is assigned to work with Colin Bloom, a handsome and talented photographer who is frustratingly quiet. And family drama from back East is finding its way to Jae in Denver.

Can she keep herself together, personally and professionally, while she tries to solve the case of the eccentric heiress? Read Assignment Denver: The Case of the Eccentric Heiress and find out today!

Pixie is a Novella in the highly entertaining and award winning Dev Haskell series. Dev meets a woman at an open house and they seem to hit it off perfectly. But, Dev's life being what it is nothing is as it it seems. He offers to help her out and then can't quite believe what happens next. A wonderful tale, if you're a Carl Hiaasen or Tim Dorsey fan you're going to love it.

This Southwest-set tale about a hunt for a precious relic offers a “nice mix of comedy and mystery” from an award-winning author (Booklist).

A dealer in traditional Native American pottery, Hubie Schuze scours New Mexico in search of ancient treasures. The Bureau of Land Management calls him a criminal, but Hubie knows that the real injustice would be to leave the legacies of prehistoric craftspeople buried in the dirt.
 
In all his travels across the state, there is one place that Hubie hasn’t been able to access: Trinity Site at the White Sands Missile Range, where the first atomic bomb was detonated. Deep within the range are ruins once occupied by the Tompiro people, whose distinctive pottery is incredibly rare and valuable. When an old associate claims to have a buyer interested in spending big money on a Tompiro pot, Hubie resolves to finally find a way into the heavily guarded military installation.
 
But Hubie has more on his mind than just outwitting the army’s most sophisticated security measures. He’s in love with a beautiful woman who has a few secrets of her own—and his best friend, Susannah, may have just unearthed a lost Georgia O’Keeffe painting. It’s a lot for a mild-mannered pot thief to handle, and when his associate is murdered and Tompiro pots start replicating like Russian nesting dolls, Hubie suddenly realizes he’s caught up in the most complex and dangerous mystery he’s ever faced.
 
The Pot Thief Who Studied Georgia O’Keeffe is the 7th book in the Pot Thief Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A SKETCHY FRENCHMAN AT THE WEDDING…ALONG WITH A FEW DARK SECRETS!

Wedding bells sound in the Scottish countryside as the Bennett sisters travel across the pond to celebrate a very special occasion... A week littered with an unexpected torrential rainstorm, a recalcitrant housekeeper, a sister who tipples, and another who chases after sketchy Frenchmen. 

In spite of her bohemian tendencies and protestations, Annie—the eldest Bennett sister—is finally getting hitched to Callum Logan, the man of her dreams, in the picture-postcard idyllic Scottish Highlands. The mother of the groom has generously put up the Bennett family in her Kincardie House estate, a gorgeous hunting lodge that’s been in the Logan family for generations. Annie knew Callum’s family was well-off, but she didn’t know they lived like European royalty. And the fact that Annie is fourteen years older than her husband-to-be isn’t exactly a tidbit “Mother” Logan is too fond of. That said, Annie has reservations of her own. Is it just pre-wedding jitters? Or is she really willing to relinquish her much-loved independence in her mid-50s?

Merle’s brought Pascal along for the week of jubilee, which she finds to be simultaneously thrilling and incredibly romantic… but is it excitement she’s feeling for her sister? Or doom? For his part, Pascal’s relieved to finally spend time with Merle after six long, dry months apart. But how can they continue like this, an ocean between them—his policeman’s salary hardly permitting flying over to see her on every whim… Does he have to give her up? Or should he find a new job in the States?

Meanwhile, Francie frets about her seemingly perpetual third wheeling in coupledom, a thought she finds herself dulling with a little too much Scotch. Elise plans to dive into exotic Scotland head-first, casting aside previously-upheld polite female lawyer niceties: overseas, all bets are off, and she’s got her roving eye on Bruno, a mysterious man from Paris she met at the Edinburgh railway station—a man whose Napoleonesque looks and furtive behavior put Pascal’s investigator instincts on high alert.

And amidst the Highlands’ signature fog, rain, sheep, and heather—not to mention the festivities’ decadent five course meals, Scottish whisky, fine sparkling wines, and family drama—a rare rainstorm with hurricane-force winds is heading right for the wedding party. And Jinty Arbuckle, the high-strung estate housekeeper, struggles to keep the Kincardie House in order and its brash American guests happy, all the while guarding secrets of her own.

A little bit chick lit, a touch of cozy mystery, a whole lot of humor, romance, suspense, and downright excellent writing. Guaranteed a rollicking ride for fans of all of the above!

A DEAD NUN, A COLD CASE, A MASSIVE SMALL-TOWN SCANDAL…

Keeping out of trouble just isn't on Leah Nash’s list of accomplishments. But reporting is—and she has ten years’ experience to prove it. So if she’s such great reporter, why is she back living with her mom in freezing Himmel, Wisconsin instead of covering crime in sunny Miami?

Answer: Good reporter, even better smartass; fired in disgrace. In other words, everybody’s favorite kind of female sleuth: smart with a smart mouth, intensely independent, willing to go where no one else will, and, when you get right down to it, fearless.

Susan Hunter’s somewhat cozy, sometimes hard-boiled, and altogether absorbing small-town mystery gets off to an action-packed and deliciously chilling start as Leah watches city crews try to stop a dead oak adrift on the swollen Himmel River from colliding with a dam. And suddenly finds herself looking at this potential headline: "Dead Nun Floats Into Town." Because it turns out the oak picked up quite a bit of debris in its journey, including a body.

Small towns being what they are, Leah soon realizes the nun is an acquaintance of hers, someone she’d liked and, much more to the point, someone who worked at the school Leah’s own younger sister attended at the time she died—officially in an accident. Clearly, this death needs to be investigated—Leah’s sure there’s a connection. She's also sure there’s more to her sister’s death than the police ever uncovered.

Everyone else in town is pretty sure Leah’s out of her mind. When that happens in a small town, you can be pretty sure it’s because a good number of them are involved in a murder and cover-up, at the very least. In this case, the crime conspiracy is huge—far bigger than any story Leah’d cover on a balmy day in Miami.

Part of the delight here is in watching the underdog prevail, and also in brave, determined Leah herself, along with the amusing and engaging ensemble every small-town mystery must have—her solicitous mom; Courtnee the airhead receptionist; Miguel, her colleague and gay best friend; and her childhood buddy Coop, now a Himmel police lieutenant.

Fans of MWA Grandmaster Carolyn Hart will eat it up, as will those who love Joan Hess’s Maggody series, Sharyn McCrumb’s Ballad books, plus the more contemporary work of writers like Louise Penny (Three Pines, Canada) and Christine Kling (the Florida Keys). Fans of reporter sleuths like Hank Philippi Ryan’s Jane Ryland will find a new favorite detective in Leah Nash.

A talented but troubled ER doctor will not give up until her patient's mysterious death is explained.
Laura Valorian is an emergency room physician who, because of severe emotional trauma after a missed diagnosis, vows to perfect her diagnostic skills and, as a result, detects subtle evidence of foul play in a surgeon who is declared dead in her ER. When she cannot let go of her suspicions and eventually convinces a private investigator of the possibility of a crime, she begins a relentless quest for suspects and evidence. Now, with angry suspects to deal with, an attempt on her own life, and her struggle with personal demons, she must fight to salvage her self-respect and her professional reputation while pursuing her mission to get at the truth.

Honeymoon and then the persistent shadow of doom.

Belladonna and Ben finally get to take a romantic vacation together, but nothing goes as planned. Will they even survive their first year of wedded bliss?

When they manage to make it back to Winterfield in one piece, a mysterious stranger shows up in town claiming to be the new Mayor. A short while later, the proprietor of one of Winterfield’s favorite eateries turns up dead.

These aren’t your run of the mill tragedies. Something dark is brewing, and it’s up to Belladonna and friends to put a stop to it.

Will they solve the crime and save the town?

Moon Hexed is suitable for readers of all ages who enjoy lighthearted paranormal cozies.

When Agent Kiara Davenport and Agent Jake Carter were assigned new partners, they had hoped the cases would also be new. But, a serial killer is back in town, and Jake has to follow his trail. The only clue left behind is the dying words of the three victims.
And, before he could have asked Kiara's help, she is sucked into a high political game that is spread across continents. Will they be able to solve the cases without each other's help and that too using their new, inexperienced partners?

TALK ABOUT A WINNING HAND! Four Aces – in the form of four hard-boiled (but “wonderfully wry”) adventures of ex-cop Jake Samson—in one handy box set.

Ex-Chicago-cop Jake Samson’s likely to lead with his easy-going Columbo style, but he’s earned a reputation for being a tough guy who occasionally “handles discreet matters.” He takes in stride the parade of Berzerkeley types, intense student activists, and harmless doomsday preppers, and can hold his own in a barroom full of neo-Nazis. He’s just too much of a mensch to let evil triumph without giving it a good fight.

Jake has an iron-clad rule about his unlicensed PI business in the edgy East Bay: “I don’t mind working for crazies, as long as they’re not bad crazies.” But just beneath the sunny California surface simmer the usual urban tensions, along with revolutions of every stripe and hue, and the desperation of people who have pursued their dreams or fled their pasts to the farthest point of a highway that leads to a coastline of steep and jagged jumping-off places. Readers will enjoy the breezy banter between Jake and his tenant and sometime co-investigator, Rosie Vicente, a carpenter who wields a mean two-by-four.

WHO WILL LIKE IT: Fans of Thomas Perry, Harlan Coben, Stephen Dobyns, CJ Box, Timothy Hallinan, Lawrence Block, Steve Hamilton and Tony Dunbar; as well as lovers of San Francisco mysteries like Bill Pronzini's "Nameless" Detective series, Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone series, Susan Dunlap's Jill Smith series, and Julie Smith's Rebecca Schwartz series.

Vol. 3: FULL HOUSE

An ark in the middle of suburban Oakland is interesting but not strange by California standards. Even one built by peaceful cultists preparing for the coming flood. Until sometime private eye Jake Samson is hired to find Noah, their leader, who has disappeared with a lovely devotee and a quarter million in cash. The cult suspects foul play, but the police aren’t convinced.

Vol. 4: SPIT IN THE OCEAN

The North Coast Sperm Bank in tiny Wheeler, California has been knocked over, and the perp’s tossed its assets in the ocean, leaving a religious-nut note of explanation. Just a prank, says Wheeler law enforcement. But the bank hires Jake Samson and his ever-sharp Watson, Rosie Vicente, to find out who made the unauthorized withdrawal. As a storm brutalizes Wheeler, a bank employee slips in the mud and falls to her death.

Vol. 5: SUICIDE KING

Jake's never been a big fan of politics, but Rosie invites him to a posh California fundraiser for an energetic gubernatorial candidate of the liberal underdog Vivo party, and Jake can't resist. It's all fun and political games until the candidate’s aide finds her boss in her backyard, hanging naked from an acacia tree. The police rule the death a suicide, but Jake and the aide suspect foul play, and she hires Jake to find the culprit.

Vol. 6: ROYAL FLUSH

Laid-back, unlicensed PI Jake Samson is understandably nervous about infiltrating a local Marin County neo-Nazi group called the Aryan Command. After all, he is Jewish. But when the doe-eyed teenage goddaughter of his oldest friend begs him to help her boyfriend nice-guy Jake just can't "just say no."

REALLY BAD NEWS--THE BABY-SITTER COULD BE A MURDERER!
A year following Boston-based auto mechanic Alex Glauberman’s first brush with murder, mystery, and the life of an amateur detective (in RETURN TO SENDER), he’s recovered from cancer and chemotherapy; he’s studying tai chi for its pleasures and therapeutic effects; and he’s getting on with his life. Then, in the space of a two-minute phone call, he’s ensnared in another mystery.

His anniversary dinner with girlfriend Meredith comes to an abrupt halt when a quick check-in with the babysitter yields the news from Alex’s sleepy nine-year-old that the babysitter has left: “She said it was an emergency. She said the emergency was that somebody was dead.”

More worrisome still, the babysitter, college student Suzanne Lutrello, cannot be found, and then her ex-boyfriend is savagely killed.

Alex’s newly minted private detective skills come quickly into play, but he soon discovers he isn't the only one looking for Suzanne. As he outruns her pursuers and their threats, he navigates the world of old Boston money to its intersection with small-town corruption, high-end prostitution, and drug-addiction recovery, in a life-or-death finish amid the stark white New England winter woods.

For fans of Jewish detectives like Rabbi Small, Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus, Rebecca Schwartz, Jake Samson—even Moses Wine (without the wisecracks); and those who love vintage male sleuths like Ellery Queen, Gideon Oliver, Stanley Hastings, and almost all British detectives--the ones who're not too cozy, yet not too hard-boiled. This case is more of an action adventure story than a traditional mystery—but trust us, it’ll appeal to fans of the traditional mystery as well as those who’ll appreciate Alex’s putting his tai-chi training to good use. How do we know? Because Alex is one of those dependable detectives all too rare in crime fiction—a private investigator you actually like to be with. Not too smart-mouthed, not too close-mouthed, just…kind of a mensch.
 

Jane Ryland-meets-Cold Case—two killer murder mysteries in one!

Badass reporter-turned-writer Leah Nash is no stranger to danger or deceit. In these two sequels to Susan Hunter’s stunning cozy noir puzzler Dangerous Habits, Leah takes on lies, drugs, and murder in small town Himmel, Wisconsin with the same smartass fearlessness as she did in her chilling debut.

DANGEROUS MISTAKES

Susan Hunter's not quite hard-boiled, not quite cozy sequel catches back up with savvy, independent sleuth Leah Nash along the icy twists and turns of small town mystery in Wisconsin, spiraling down a rabbit hole of fraud, layers upon layers of family secrets, and murder.

“All of us are dying,” states a cryptic Betty Meier to no-nonsense (and oft-accused smart-mouth) reporter Leah Nash one morning, Hours later, Betty’s house ends up torched—and Leah’s covering it for the tiny Himmel Times Weekly. And then she receives a midnight phone call from a mysterious young woman named Isabel, begging her to investigate the death of her wealthy father, Garrett Whiting, a renowned surgeon with possible ties to fraudulent activity. Boohoo, thinks our heroine. Except Isabel found him in his study with a bullet to the brain and a poisonous rum and coke in hand.

DANGEROUS PLACES

Things are finally looking up for Leah Nash. A former investigative reporter (and admittedly reputable smart-mouth), she’s now a full-time true crime writer. And after the publishing of her first book, she’s finally home-sweet-home in small town Himmel after a whirlwind 3-month book tour. But her homecoming library reading is interrupted by Sammy, a childhood friend whose brother was long ago accused of murdering his high school sweetheart, Heather. Sammy begs Leah to re-investigate Heather’s mysterious disappearance—a cold case decades old. And when she does, she discovers town secrets even she never saw coming.

Who will like it: Fans of not quite cozy, not quite hard-boiled mysteries featuring strong female leads: think Nancy Pickard's series featuring true crime author Marie Lightfoot, fans of reporter sleuths like Hank Philippi Ryan’s Jane Ryland, and writers like Louise Penny (Three Pines, Canada) and Christine Kling (the Florida Keys). And, of course, the hit T.V. series Cold Case.

MARSHAL DILLON RIDES INTO DUBLIN …And the bad guy population starts dropping. But maybe you’d better hide your women.WELCOME! is the first tale in the humorous, rollicking series of Dublin tales featuring dashing detective Jack “Dildo” Dillon by Patrick Emmett, the appropriately Irish pseudonym of Mike Faricy. Jack’s no less libidinous than Faricy’s popular Dev Haskell, but he’s a bit more mature, and way better with a gun. Think action-packed: Marshal Dillon Rides Into Dublin.Jack's a U.S. Marshal in Dublin, escorting a fugitive named Daniel Ackerman and having a wonderful time--at first. All goes smoothly and he’s had a splendid tour of the fair city in the company of Garda (Officer) Ann Dumphy, the lovely colleen assigned to mind him, up until the transfer of the prisoner at the airport. It seems Ackerman’s Russian partner would prefer that Ackerman not stand trial in the U.S., and sends a team of his thugs to prevent it. Suddenly Marshal Dillon finds himself in a very wrong place at a very wrong time. He ends up in hot water with the American Embassy for carrying a gun in Dublin, but the Irish authorities might just have a little different take on things...WHO WILL LIKE IT: Fans of Dev Haskell and rascals like him. Also for fans of Robert B. Parker, Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiaasen, Lee Child, strong Minnesota men – especially when transplanted to Ireland, and drinkers of Guinness everywhere. Faricy is the next Carl Hiaasen. Crime Scene Mike Faricy is the author of the bestselling Dev Haskell series as well as the bestselling Corridor Man series which is written under the pseudonym Nick James. He is the winner of the 2016 International Crime Masters Silver Award.

When Lexy Baker temporarily fills in for the pastry chef at a lakeside resort it seems like a great way to combine business and pleasure.

... until the head chef ends up with a knife through his chest and Lexy is found bending over the body.

Suddenly, she finds herself in a race against time and battling a quirky dessert devouring detective to find the real killer in a long line of suspects.

Was it the extravagant spouse? The suspiciously acting sous-chef? The mysterious motorcycle gang?

Luckily Lexy’s iPad toting grandma and three octogenarian friends have turned their cottage into a crime lab in order to help her sift through the sea of suspects.

Will Lexy be able to find the real killer and clear her name or will she find that she’s up the creek without a paddle?

You won't be able to put down Blind River!

Available for $2.99 for a limited time!

Inspired by the captivating crime stories you love such as Mystic River and Gone Girl, Ben Follows's debut novel is a nail-biting, breathtaking, thrill-ride about the disappearances of four young women in the fragile town of Blind River.

Curtis Mackley left Blind River the moment he turned eighteen, fleeing to Manhattan to follow his dream of being an FBI agent. Fourteen years later, he's a respected member of the Bureau, married to the woman of his dreams, and soon to be a father. He's inches away from everything he ever wanted.

Then he and his partner, Frankie Lassiter, are sent to Blind River to investigate the disappearances of four young women, and Curtis's visceral hatred for the town are the least of their problems.

There are almost no clues, the chief is out of ideas, a reporter is exploiting the disappearances to further her own career, and the prison looming over the treetops is a constant reminder of the criminals who ruled Blind River during Curtis's childhood.

When Sam Marino, the man who plunged Blind River into darkness once before, escapes from prison, Curtis and Frankie find themselves in a battle for the soul of Blind River itself.

There's only one way to find out the fate of Curtis and Frankie! Get your copy of Blind River right now!

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!

A reluctant debutante turned crackerjack cop, Skip Langdon’s big, she’s strong, she’s smart and rebellious, she knows everyone in town, and, over the objections of her snotty Uptown family, she finds she was made for the job. (Probably because of her own outlaw tendencies.) Follow this remarkably bold, and refreshingly human New Orleans detective as she tracks a serial killer and takes down the Grinch who almost stole JazzFest.

AXEMAN'S JAZZ

What's the perfect killing field for a murderer? A place where he (or maybe she) can learn your secrets from your own mouth and then make friends over coffee. A supposedly "safe" place where anonymity is the norm. The Axeman has figured it out and claimed his territory—he's cherry-picking his victims in the 12-Step programs of New Orleans.

JAZZ FUNERAL

Skip Langdon is there when Ham Brocato, director of New Orleans Jazzfest, is discovered dead on the kitchen floor in the middle of his own party the evening before the Fest. The victim's sixteen-year-old blues musician sister has disappeared, and Skip suspects that if she isn't the murderer, she's in mortal danger from the person who is.

"Fans of twisty whodunits with a slight supernatural tinge will enjoy this well-constructed mystery set in North Carolina." --The BookLife Prize in Fiction, Publisher’s Weekly

THE WEDDING VOWS DID SAY FOR BETTER OR WORSE, BUT...Somehow, amateur detective Promise McNeal didn't envision herself as a sheriff’s wife. Yet, here she is worrying about her new husband, sexy fiddler Daniel Allen, while Daniel’s out searching for a murderer. That’s usually Promise’s job!

Daniel’s temporarily stepped into the shoes of his murdered cousin, former Sheriff Mac Allen. Before it's over, of course, he's going to need her services—both investigative and psychic. He’s hell-bent to catch Mac’s murderer with the unwittingly amusing help of irascible Fletcher Enloe, one of the North Carolina characters that make this cozy series so enjoyable.

Author James ratchets up the supernatural factor when super-psychic MaMa Allen tells Promise a spirit haunting Fire Mountain is leaving the mountain to prowl among the living. Promise’s stepdaughter Susan, MaMa Allen warns, is in danger and it’s up to Promise to do something. But, as Promise sets a trap for the spirit, a frightening thunder snow moves across Perry County and the hunted becomes the hunter, exposing just how vulnerable Susan is, and how wicked a lost soul can be.

BRRRRR!

The FOURTH entry in this supernatural cozy series will raise goosebumps all around, especially among fans of all cozy mysteries but especially those with a light sprinkling of psychic suspense, amateur sleuths and their close sisters female private investigators, supernatural suspense, and psychic detective fiction of all sorts. It will also appeal to fans of other great North Carolina mystery authors like Margaret Maron, Barbara Neely, Elizabeth Daniels Squire, and Vicki Lane. Admirers of Julia Spencer-Fleming and Louise Penny will also find enjoyment here.

THE RUSSIAN MOB'S NEVER BEEN SO HILARIOUS. OR SO DANGEROUS...

PI Dev Haskell wakes up one morning in dire need of an asprin, a cup of coffee, and an hour in the sauna. It seems he's just spent a wild night with his beautiful bombshell of a client, Kerri, and she's left him a note. A smart and sly man who fancies himself just a little more savvy and debonair than reality confirms, Dev thinks he's got it made. But he has absolutely no idea what he's getting into when he agrees to track down Kerri's sister Nikki. Turns out both women are involved in an elaborate human trafficking ring with Braco the Whacko, a notorious Russian mobster, at the helm. Soon Dev finds himself at odds with local police, Homeland Security, and an FBI task force, as well as in and out of the hospital thanks to a gunshot wound and a bit of shrapnel in the rear, not to mention on the run from a neurotic underworld boss and a psychotic killer: it must be love...

In a bizarre but compelling mixture of crime and offbeat comedy, Dev proceeds to messily balance both sides of the law in a wacky tale that will keep you on your toes while laughing out loud.