Humor Crime

Bark Twice for Murder When the prestigious National Dog Show rolls into Turtle Cove, The Willowrose Inn is packed with champion canines and their competitive owners. But the excitement turns deadly when Victor Vance, a ruthless trainer with a talent for blackmail, is found lifeless outside the grooming tent— an apparent accident, according to the authorities. But Lily and Grace Garrison aren’t convinced. With their beagle, Rocky—an expert in sniffing out trouble— leading the way, the sisters dig into a tangled web of rivalries, grudges, and showbiz secrets. From feuding handlers to ...

(Edited February 7th 2018) I’m running for my life. The last place I need to be is in the arms of the man who knocked me up. But that’s exactly where I end up. Livie They’re hunting me. I witnessed something I shouldn't have and now they want my life to keep their secret. I’m pregnant and alone. And there’s only one person who can help me now. The only safety in sight is my baby's father, Brandon. He’s bad, completely bad for me. I hate him…and maybe I love him a little to. Which is just another reason this is a bad idea. My back is against the wall. I’m out of options. ...

Cultured and cool, Asher takes on a black market drug lord while making love to the ladies. When wealthy, sophisticated Asher is drawn into investigating a sex-murder mystery with a vulgar, New York PI, action ensues. Together, they work to solve a murder mystery, involving a black market drug that gives women a two-to-four hour orgasm. The two of them are aided in their investigation by Asher’s supercilious valet, a dark-skinned man of Asian descent, and a mystery unto himself. “Asher St. James” is a crime drama with lots of comic relief. Look for Asher’s first appearance in Theron...

A Commissario Beppe Stancato novel (5) The discovery of a man's body hanging from an ancient olive tree outside the little town of Picciano, in Abruzzo, is dismissed by the local police as a simple case of suicide, not worth investigating. An anonymous caller from Picciano to the Questura in Pescara hints at a far more sinister explanation. Beppe and two of his colleagues take one look at this solitary olive tree outside the town and come to the conclusion that a murder has been committed. A post-mortem confirms a mafia-style killing. It does not take long for the reticence of the town-...

Everybody's going nuts over the Biggest Slot Machine in the World. Octogenarian skinflint Elmore Joad thinks it will attract enough "suckers" to put his aging Mother Lode Hotel and Casino back in the black, especially since he's had the giant slot rigged never to hit the million dollar jackpot. Part time guitarist and full time slot cheat Darryl "the Wire" Miller wants to beat the big machine in the worst way, and if he plays his cards right he may get Kitty Carson, Reno's best card mechanic, to help him do it. Then there's Gaming cop Jaime Gabrón, who's stalking the suspicious slot and ...

Deputy sheriff Constance Kopp is outraged to see young women brought into the Hackensack jail over dubious charges of waywardness, incorrigibility, and moral depravity. The strong-willed, patriotic Edna Heustis, who left home to work in a munitions factory, certainly doesn't belong behind bars. And 16-year-old runaway Minnie Davis, with few prospects and fewer friends, shouldn't be publicly shamed and packed off to a state-run reformatory. But such were the laws - and morals - of 1916.

When Carl Coulton is finally released from prison his kindly probation officer suggests cycling as a form of therapy. Carl needs to let off steam, and how better to do it than by pounding the pedals on the leafy Lancashire lanes close to his home? Therapy it proves to be, but of a kind that no-one but Carl could have imagined. In a story which will cause motorists to give those dratted bikes a wider berth and allow harassed cyclists to live out their wildest fantasies, we follow Carl’s progress from rehabilitated ex-con to the most perilous man on two wheels in living memory. With ...

The question is not whether monsters walk among us. They do. They have. For thousands of years. On the borders of humdrummia and every day reality, be it the forest’s edge or a moonlit graveyard draped in gossamer spiders’ webs, the macabre is all about. For our souls, our sanity, the vital question to answer is: Just WHERE are all these blankety-blank monsters? Santa Clarita is a riparian bedroom community, an hour’s drive north of Los Angeles. It’s been home to giant, man-eating grizzly bears, ghosts, serial killers, devil cults, more ghosts, Bigfoot, werewolf encounters, UFO ...

When she finds a wounded member of British Intelligence in her bedroom, Patricia really isn’t that surprised. I mean, it happens all the time, doesn’t it? However, she is surprised, and really not delighted, to hear that he has a secret task for her. Find his contact, hand over a harmless looking data storage device that just happens to have the details of a superweapon on it, and save the world from certain disaster. Her country needs her. Well, that’s just perfect.

When a mysterious letter arrives at the Shady Pines Library, Librarian Maggie Montgomery never expects it to lead her to Everwood Manor- a crumbling estate steeped in secrets. The new owners have uncovered a bundle of old letters and a diary in the attic. They believe Maggie, with her knowledge of local history, is the perfect person to unravel their secrets. Joined by her loyal beagle Sherlock and her two best friends, Tessa and Hannah, Maggie begins digging into the story of the Van Allen family— The manor’s previous residents who vanished without a trace decades ago. Once the ...

There's a dead armadillo on my sidewalk; there's a dead 'possum right behind my tire. There's a groundhog stuck behind my car's grill; there's a raccoon crawling up my wall. There's a shuffling in my attic; the squirrel must be going nuts again. There's skunk smell wafting through my windows… Oh my God! What was that hideous, twangy song? Was it some sort of country genre called "Southern Gothic Grotesque?" The man behind me hummed along cheerfully with the upbeat tune which contrasted with the bizarre lyrics. The line moved and I suddenly had something else to ponder that wiped all ...

Well, Key West Normal is when two friends in need of a place to live drag away an abandoned hot dog truck in the middle of the night.... But an insomniac New Yorker has got himself trapped inside it while searching for his neurotic cat.... And the truck is the secret hub of a global smuggling operation and holds a stash worth millions.... But the tough guy sent to recover the fortune is way more interested in being reunited with his one true love.

“Steve Rockfish is back and kicking militia ass. In fact, the whole crew is back, busting balls as they solve crimes and track down the bad guys. The wisecracks fly fast and furious. So do the twists and turns. The bad guys are badder, the danger more dangerous, and every character as endearing as they are dysfunctional. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.” –Haris Orkin, award-winning author of The James Flynn Escapades Private investigators Steve Rockfish and Jawnie McGee's loyalty is tested when they are called upon to rescue a friend whose plan to grift a local militia goes ...

Phoebe has a dream - a very modest dream. She wants to own a Sno-Cone truck at the beach in Key West. Nicky, her would-be boyfriend, also dreams small. All he wants is a decent gig as a guitar player in a bar. Doesn't seem like too much to ask of life, does it? So why do things keep going so dreadfully wrong for Phoebe and Nicky? Is it just plain bad luck? Or is it the decidedly bad intentions of a sleazy local cheat, a Miami gangster desperate to stay in business, and a murderous Cuban smuggler looking for a fall guy?

James was handsome, successful, wealthy. Lucy was besotted. When he offered her an all-expenses paid trip to a luxury lodge in an isolated part of New Zealand's beautiful Marlborough Sounds, she didn't hesitate. This decision would test her survival skills to the limit and open her eyes to a world she never knew existed.

Death wears many faces in New York City—and this time, John Keegan is staring straight into its eyes. When the daughter of a renowned scientist is found strangled in Central Park, the whole city calls it a tragedy. When a ruthless drug dealer is slain in his apartment soon after, most call it justice served. Detective John Keegan is assigned the second case, and he’s not exactly shedding tears for the victim. Still, the law demands answers, and Keegan can’t ignore a deadly pattern emerging in the city’s shadows. As more criminals turn up dead, it becomes clear a vigilante is on the ...

In the height of summer, it’s not just holidaymakers who are drawn to the seaside town of Skegness. Desperate thieves and callous killers are searching for a hidden treasure, and they don’t care who they hurt in their quest to claim it. The most important question of all is if Sam can get to the bottom of this mystery before those closest to her are put in further danger?

He killed my brother. He destroyed my life. Now, he wants my body. Smokey is a ruthless biker who rides with the Steel Reapers MC. Years ago, he betrayed and killed my brother. Ever since, I’ve been driven by a burning need for vengeance. Now, I've finally caught him. But just as I'm about to take my revenge, we're attacked. And he saves my life. Forced together by enemies out to kill us, I learn a dark secret that hints there’s more to my brother’s death. But the only way to the full truth is to get closer to Smokey. The closer we get, the more my defenses shatter, Smokey is the most...

"When you say you'd do anything to lose the weight, do you really mean it?" Desperate people make stupid mistakes, and Marilyn Channing is no exception. Emerging from the wreckage of a messy divorce, she's determined to lose the weight gained from twenty years spent swallowing her pride. Enter The Vale, a spa nestled deep in the bush, miles from temptation, miles from help. In return, the retreat promises spectacular weight loss and a respite from the chaos of everyday life. It all sounds so lovely and supportive, so deceptively easy. Marilyn should have read the fine print. Because more ...

Catching a killer is a piece of cake... Or is it? When socialite Celeste Rocheford is murdered, Mindy’s best friend Beth Miller finds herself the prime suspect. Mindy must prove Beth's innocence and find the real killer – while dealing with her meddling high-school nemesis, Neve, and her former flame, Ethan Macaulay. Praise for A.R. Winters: "The perfect balance of being lighthearted, but still a serious page-turning mystery." - Jaycie D, Amazon.com "A fun cozy mystery with engaging and entertaining characters" - lq, Amazon.com "A cute light read with a final twist at the end." - Stacey...