Amateur Detective

Ex-cop Gina Santoro lands in more trouble than ever when her family comes to Hawaii for a once in a lifetime visit. Gina gladly plays tour guide, but when murders plague Honolulu's beautiful Waikiki, trouble gets too close for comfort. When family blood starts to flow, Gina is forced into making a life-changing decision. Catch this 'till death do us part' suspenseful murder mystery that crosses lines drawn in Waikiki beach sand.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Great series of books! Martha and Helen are new friends who now work together in a business concerning old books and manuscripts. Each book has two stories going on, but both end up related. This series has so many different kinds of characters, locations, and conclusions. It is very creative set of stories! I'm sure that you will enjoy all five books. Happy Reading!!!" -- Margaret L. A DELIGHTFUL COZY MYSTERY FULL OF QUAINT VILLAGES, QUIRKY CHARACTERS, AND MADCAP ADVENTURES BY A BESTSELLING AUTHOR. Helen Ryes and Martha Littleword, two Americans living in England, become...

When Kendra Donovan is approached by Mrs. Gavenston with an unusual request - to find her business manager, Jeremy Pascoe, who recently vanished - the FBI agent is eager to accept the challenge. To Kendra's way of thinking, spending her time locating a missing person suits her more than perfecting her embroidery, painting watercolors, practicing on the pianoforte, or any of the other activities that are socially acceptable for young ladies in the early 19th century. Unfortunately, the missing person's case turns into a murder investigation after Kendra finds the man stabbed to death.

In 1956, Kitty Cunningham disappeared on the way to the Starlite Drive-In. Now the first real evidence of foul play is coming to light in the ghostly realm—and it links directly to a modern crime. Only a sleuth with one foot in the past can solve the mystery and make things right.

Gunsten Søren Pedersen knew about baseball and death. A tragedy took the former slugger out of the major leagues, and the only diamonds he sees now are the stars shining in the cold night of Minnesota's North Woods. That is, until Miles Gates—an old friend in big trouble—calls him down to the Sunshine State. What Gun finds there is a trail of brutal killings, some aging ballplayers, shady characters, and the beautiful sister of a reporter who died for his story. Gun discovers the truth behind the murder spree, and he strikes at it as hard as he ever hit a fastball in his prime. But in ...

In The Poisoned Pastry, baker Fiona Turner’s new gourmet doughnut was meant to save her family bakery—until a food critic dies after tasting it. With Sweet Blessings Bakery shut down and her dream in jeopardy, Fiona trades her apron for detective work. Someone’s mixed murder into her recipe, and she’s determined to uncover the truth. Armed with baking instincts, loyal staff, and town gossip, Fiona must catch a killer before her future is left in crumbs.

After a long career as a police officer, Moira hopes a move to a luxury retirement community will mean she can finally leave the detective work to the youngsters and focus on a quieter life. But it turns out The Homestead is far from paradise. When she discovers the body of a young woman floating in one of the pools, surrounded by thousands of dollar bills, her crime-fighting instinct kicks back in and she joins up with fellow ex-cops - and new neighbours - Philip, Lizzie and Rick to investigate the murder.

Newlyweds Brooklyn and Derek are enjoying the final days of their honeymoon in Paris. As they're browsing the book stalls along the Seine, Brooklyn finds the perfect gift for Derek: a first edition James Bond novel, The Spy Who Loved Me. When they bump into Ned, an old friend from Derek’s spy days, Brooklyn shows him her latest treasure. Once they're back home in San Francisco, they visit a spy shop Ned mentioned. Soon after, Derek is dismayed when he receives a mysterious letter from Paris announcing Ned’s death. Then someone is killed inside the spy shop.

On Christmas Eve, 85-year-old Miriam Caravasios steps onto the ice that surrounds her seaside estate on Maine's Mount Desert Island. As a younger woman, she used to steal out on winter nights to meet her lover, walking across the frozen reach to their secret meeting place. She knows the way—but not the year. Miriam, her mind clouded by dementia, doesn’t hear the snap of thin ice until it’s too late.

Vivienne Lane thought she left the drama behind when she traded big-city chaos for the quiet charm of Foxwick Harbor. Now, she spends her days running Lane & Co. Antiques, sipping lattes at Bean & Bloom, and avoiding her nosy neighbor’s unsolicited opinions. But when she stumbles upon the town’s most scandalous socialite dead in a wedding dress—and in a very inconvenient place—Vivi suddenly finds herself at the center of a mystery far messier than her shop’s storage room. Gwendolyn Fairchild wasn’t just any bride-to-be; she was a journalist with a reputation for unearthing ...

Brooklyn and her hunky new husband, Derek, are excited to be guests at Dharma’s first annual book festival. The entire town is involved, and Brooklyn’s mom, Rebecca, is taking charge. Brooklyn couldn’t be more proud of her mom’s do-it-all attitude, so when a greedy local businessman who seems intent on destroying Dharma starts harassing Rebecca, Brooklyn is ready to take him down. Rebecca is able to hold her own with the nasty jerk until one of her fellow festival committee members is brutally murdered and the money for the festival seems to have vanished into thin air.

An ancient ring stolen from a Holocaust victim. A stuffed raven that once belonged to Charles Dickens. An extra body in the New York City Morgue. Only one man could follow these clues to a solution: the legendary Jorge Luis Borges. "... highly recommended for classic detective story enthusiasts who look for complexity and intellectual challenges in their characters and stories." - Midwest Book Review Two years after their collaboration chronicled in The Philosophical Detective, Nick Martin again falls under the spell of the blind poet and fabulist who calls himself Jorge Luis Borges. ...

In The Poisoned Prawn Platter, food vlogger Hannah Sinclair expects beach views and Thai cuisine—not a chef’s death on camera. When world-renowned Chef Pichai collapses mid-demo, her dream assignment turns deadly. As police stall and resort staff stay silent, Hannah uncovers a web of rivalries, fraud, and culinary secrets bubbling beneath the surface. With suspects everywhere and time running out, she must solve the mystery before the next dish on the menu is murder.

Minerva Kenny is a dear woman, but her tendency to "borrow" things without asking has finally caught up with her. William Barrett has learned Minerva's shameful secret, and he's holding it over her head. Mrs. Jeffries and the staff at Upper Edmonton Gardens have hatched a scheme to save her - but when they try to recover the damning evidence from Barrett, they discover something more shocking: Barrett's corpse. Considering the victim's wicked ways, Minerva is far from the only suspect.

Elizabeth Bell runs a quiet household, with no family and no more than the usual number of servants. She passes her time thinking about crime and working on her biography of a relative. When a young cousin comes to stay, life in the house becomes uncharacteristically lively. First, cousin Judy burns a hole in Miss Bell's desk. Next, they spy a burglar on the staircase - a shadowy figure who vanishes without a trace. And finally, Sarah, the nurse, takes the dogs for a walk and never returns.

In 2009, Edie had New York’s social world in her thrall. Mercurial and beguiling, she was the shining star of a group of recent graduates living in a Brooklyn loft and treating New York like their playground. When Edie’s body was found near a suicide note at the end of a long, drunken night, no one could believe it. Grief, shock, and resentment scattered the group and brought the era to an abrupt end.

Julie has her freedom, a dream job as a pastry chef, and a corpse growing cold on her floor... Welcome to Beldoc, a small town in the heart of Provence, imbued with lavender and fresh baked bread! You can idle around, or you can puzzle out a murder mystery. When a man dies on her watch in her pâtisserie, newly divorced chef Julie Cavallo is dismayed. It isn’t that she’s a suspect. The local gendarmerie captain signs off the death as a natural event. A heart attack. But for a reason she won’t discuss, Julie suspects Maurice Sauve was poisoned. What’s a girl to do? She’ll ignore ...

A suspenseful yet delightful cozy mystery that I couldn't put down. The twist and turns kept me reading till the very end. ARC Team reviewer. I wanted to learn calligraphy at the local craft store. I didn't know the owner would kick the bucket after our first class. Her death is too suspicious. As I talk to the craft club who knows everyone that has ever come into the craft store I find out who would have wanted the victim inked out. Everyone saw her cat fight with the town's blabber mouth and her cousin's estranged husband and city councilman just happened to emerge just in time to call ...

An unexpected jackpot win, a handsome new villager, and an angry landlord... When Allie Day wins three-quarters of a million pounds in a mysterious jackpot, she attempts to help out her friend Bree, owner of her favorite Cotswolds cafe. "Winters will have you giggling into your book!" But instead of making things better, Allie's attempts to help lead her into hot water - and straight to a dead body! Before she knows it, Allie is accused of murder, and written up in the local papers as a killer – and worse, she seems to be in the real killer’s crosshairs! When the killer tries to strike ...

The gala engagement party of Imogen Revel is tragically interrupted by the death of her fiance after drinking a glass of poisoned wine. The death becomes even more mysterious when it is discovered that the wine was Imogen's. Which one of the couple was the intended victim? Amateur detective Caroline Kent joins with Newport PD Lt. Hank Nightingale to solve the death.