Humorous Mysteries

Violet Parker has big troubles these days—the ticking kind. To duck the Grim Reaper, she needs to get her hands on eighty-plus rare, mystical clocks locked up tight by a thick-headed detective. The solution? Hijack the truckload of ticking time bombs out from under Johnny Law’s nose. But no caper ever goes according to plan. What starts out as a game of clocks and robbers twists and turns into a chaos of cops and clobbers. Will Violet beat the detective in time? Or will she spend Valentine’s Day behind bars?

Plain Heathen Mischief ups the existential ante, as Joel King, a defrocked Baptist minister, finds life even more bedeviling once he's served six months for a career-ending crime he might not even have committed. Now his incommunicado wife wants a divorce, the teenage vixen of his disgrace is suing him for a cool $5 million, a fresh start in Montana offers no hope for ex-cons of any religious persuasion, and the refuge provided by his sister turns as nasty as his parole officer. Talk about a crisis of faith.

Theft, extortion, homicide — there’s no end to the talents of the new men in photographer Sonny Littlefield’s life. Ever since she moved to the strawberry and sheep farm that she inherited from her biological father, her problems have been piling up: her cousins keep robbing her house, she’s rapidly going broke, and she hasn’t had a date in months. Her top priority is figuring out who left a skeleton hand and threatening note in her ramshackle barn. Somebody in Gracious, Maine, is turning human remains into playthings, and it’s all Sonny can do to keep from ending up a pile of ...

The Byzantine Fire is much more than a flawless ninety-carat ruby. As a stone it's worth over a million dollars, a value vastly increased by its pure gold band - but its history is what makes it priceless. A ring that has been fought for with sword and pen and passed from nation to nation by all manner of theft and trickery, has finally made its way to the United States. The US agrees to return it to Turkey, but it's about to be stolen twice more.

For the past year and a half, Willem has been an outcast in his hometown. Everyone believes he’s a killer. On top of the murder accusations, his “biofuel/fertilizer” business is failing. He’s well over knee-deep in inventory with no chance of a sale in sight. When Murven, his out-of-work best buddy, volunteers to help him with his daily collection, they discover Willem is stockpiling more than he bargained for as an "entre-manure."

A holiday is a time to relax, unwind and see the sights. But for two adventurous sexagenarians, the sights have a tendency to include dead bodies. Etta and Dora, both newly retired teachers, travel from their home in Southern Italy to a fairy-tale German town for their first home swap holiday, delighted by their neighbours’ warm welcome. But the welcome turns sour when the Night Watchman of Rothenburg is brutally murdered while his tour group takes photographs nearby, a halberd buried in his chest and a peculiar iron mask by his side. When the murderer claims a second victim and the son ...

Albert and Rex are going to the palace. It’s the day the Kings' birthday honour list recipients get their knighthoods, but like everywhere else they go, there is trouble to be found. With his three children and youngest granddaughter, Apple-Blossom, in tow, Albert is a little embarrassed by the lavishness of the affair. Yet all that is forgotten when he spots a man he knows. A man guilty of murder. A man who can only be at the palace for one thing. But Albert is about to be presented to the king, now is not the time to be chasing criminals. I guess that's why he's Rex's sidekick. Step ...

Rebekah, Mouse, and RJ each have their own fun short story series and sometimes they come together, bringing you these special editions. They all love hanging out, solving mysteries, and playing pranks together and we hope you will enjoy these special times as well.

Welcome to The Berry Home: where the food is to-die-for! Life is sweet for Kylie Berry: rebranding Sarah’s Eatery into her very own The Berry Home, tackling new recipes one step at a time, juggling two gorgeous suitors, and surviving near-death experiences by the skin of her teeth! "Winters will have you giggling into your book!" When another murder mystery lands smack dab on Kylie’s doorstep—in the most literal way—she swears off her sleuthing in favor of safer pursuits. But then her gorgeous suitor Brad comes calling with a highly unusual request: “I need you to investigate ...

Welcome to Sarah’s Eatery, where the food is to-die-for! Kylie’s move to Camden Falls didn’t go quite as she expected: now she's got two hunky men fighting for her affections, more culinary mishaps on her café's Oops Board, and ex in-laws who won’t leave her alone. "Winters will have you giggling into your book!" And, of course, there's the latest murder that Kylie gets drawn into... When local real estate bigshot “Mean Mike” Pratt is found dead in his office, accusations fly from every other storefront—in no small part because he owned them! Kylie’s hairdresser, Susie, is ...

Returning from a riding trip through New England, Freddy the pig, Jinx the cat, and Samuel Jackson the mole are surprised at the cool reception they get from the people of Centerboro. It seems that some animals have been raiding gardens, stealing bicycles, and breaking into houses. And they'e led by a pig that matches Freddy's description!

Eleven-year-old math prodigy Ada Lovelace, daughter of the famous and infamous poet Lord Byron, is a genius. Isolated, awkward and socially inept - but a genius. Mary Godwin, age 14, daughter of radical philosopher William Godwin and feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft, is a romantic. It has been arranged for Mary and Ada to be tutored by the young man who calls himself Percy B. Snagsby, a nervous fellow who may or may not be a spy.

Skeeve is a powerful magician, and he always means well...but he is more than a bit naive when it comes to romance. And suddenly, he’s drowning in a sea of romance! There’s Bunny, the brilliant mob moll, Cassandra, the friendly neighborhood vampire night-club queen...and of course, there’s the sexy but dangerously twisted Queen Hemlock. Only one of his nubile suitors can assure his future - and maybe even keep him alive.

Welcome to Sarah’s Eatery: serving hot breakfast daily, with complimentary curbside murder! When Cameron Caldwell, infamously bad waiter and known womanizer, is found dead on the doorstep of Sarah’s Eatery, new owner Kylie Berry yet again becomes the talk of the town. After very publically rejecting Cam’s amorous advances the day before his death, Zoey Jin, Kylie’s regular customer and fledgling best friend, becomes the prime suspect in his murder. To complicate matters, Zoey’s estranged ex, Max, breezes back into town to exonerate the woman he not long ago abandoned… "Winters ...

Auntie Poldi, sassy, brassy, and 60, moves to Sicily for a quiet alcohol-fuelled retirement. A murder spoils her plans. This is the first novel in a charming new mystery series set in Sicily and laced with Italian sensuality and humor. It features an amateur sleuth, the sassy and foul-mouthed Auntie Poldi. Recently widowed Poldi moves to Sicily in order to quietly drink herself to death with a sea view, but fate intervenes. When she finds the corpse of a young man on the beach, his face blown off with a sawn-off shotgun, she becomes a potential suspect in his murder case.

It's going to be a great weekend because RJ is coming to Curtis Bay to hang out with his fun detective cousin Rebekah and her best friend Mouse. What RJ doesn't know is that they are planning to introduce and invite him to join Mouse's Secret Club...introduce him to it with a funny prank that is on him until it looks like it might be on the whole town! Yikes! It looks like the gang might have some explaining to do!

Tom Angleberger scored two critical and popular hits with his Star Wars–inspired The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and Darth Paper Strikes Back. In the hilarious Fake Mustache, young Lenny Flem Jr.’s friend Casper disguises himself with a shockingly convincing handlebar mustache and begins robbing banks, quickly amassing a fortune. Setting his sights on the presidency, Casper is working on plans for world domination—and only Lenny stands in his way.

How to Assassinate an Incubus Step 1: Disguise yourself as his new butler. Step 2: Fall in love? Lucian Darksbane has been tormenting men since the Middle Ages. The charming, sadistic incubus has left a trail of broken hearts and ravaged bodies in his wake. But now, he lives a secluded life in his countryside manor, haunted by his dark past. Luckily, Lucian’s delicious new butler may be exactly what he needs to… distract himself. Wilder Wrenfield is hired to assassinate the mysterious demon of Thornwood Manor. Audacious, wild, and too brave for his own good, Wilder jumps headfirst into ...

Karen Drayson was a rising star in the Terran Fighter Corps. But being a woman and a star in the Terran military was a problem. Banished to command an old cruiser and sent out on pirate patrol, she’s been recalled home early. After two years away, she and her crew need a rest. But what they need, and expect is there, is not what awaits them. What Karen’s about to find will completely redefine the term, ‘Glass Ceiling’. The Hunter Imperium Universe Is best read in this order: The Spacemage Chronicle Yesterday's Spacemage Today's Spacemage Tomorrow's Spacemage The Hunter Legacy ...

After finding herself suddenly penniless, Emily is on the verge of homelessness when she lands a job as a sorority house mom. Finally, her life is back on track! After a year of turmoil, she’s got a steady source of income, a roof over her head (albeit, a decrepit one) and a welcome, but unexpected, frequent dose of eye candy. Especially, Michael, the sexy contractor. If only that darn federal investigation weren’t lurking in her background… Emily teams up with a zany PI to dig up the truth about her family’s sketchy past. But investigating crime while babysitting Gamma Delts makes ...