Mystery Short Stories For Adults

Family meant everything to Ayden Stratton. It always had even when he didn’t always allow it to show. Because of that, he understood the fury in Tobias Blaise’s eyes when they learned that his sister had been dragged out the backdoor of her restaurant despite every effort to stop her from being kidnapped. Fury didn’t begin to describe what he saw in his brother’s face. Cassidy Blaise might be Tobias’s sister, but she was Benjamin’s entire world. Tobias Blaise never expected to find any woman he wanted to spend his life with, let alone one who looked at him the way Ellis did, ...

Heart-pounding Fear. Chilling Anguish. Heartbreak. Priceless Love. The Ultimate Sacrifice. All in less than a minute. Sometimes precious moments is all there is. Between one heartbeat and the next, Susa is plunged into a devastating nightmare, wounded and broken, yet desperate hope filled her heart and soul. Nothing in her life had ever prepared her for this. Adam Manning arrives at a crime scene and quickly sees that not everything is as it seems. Unknown to the town’s small police force, neither is he. If you enjoy clean mystery romance and inspirational women’s fiction filled with ...

The seasons have changed in Scotland and rather than prowl in the cold, Leger has chosen to spend his evenings dining at his good friend Winter's home or sleeping in front of the fire. But peaceful nights watching snow fall from the windowsill will have to wait as there is a new case to solve. His friend Winter has gone missing! Leger has his paws full and is distracted from the job in hand. He has a new hibernation spot to find for an insomniac hedgehog friend, hears news of an unexpected pregnancy and as ever, Leger struggles to communicate with his human companion, Annabella. If he did ...

It's the start of a new year, full of possibilities and potential, but Annabella is stuck at home with flu and Leger is happy to sleep on her lap while she recovers - but when he finds two crimes are committed within minutes of each other, his detective instincts kick in. While Hugh braves blizzard conditions to help out at the scene of a hit and run, Leger finds an elderly man has been beaten and left for dead. Wondering if the two crimes could be linked, Leger struggles to piece the events of that day together and is hindered by meddling humans, freezing conditions and the disappearance ...

The past isn't always how we picture it. Thirty years after his father’s death, a drifter stumbles across a painting that changes everything. The man in the portrait looks exactly like his father… only older than he was when he died. As he digs into the painting’s origins, he uncovers a trail of secrets, lies, and a love story buried beneath the ashes. The Painting is a haunting story of memory, loss, and the lies we live with.

Family meant everything to Ayden Stratton. It always had even when he didn’t always allow it to show. Because of that, he understood the fury in Tobias Blaise’s eyes when they learned that his sister had been dragged out the backdoor of her restaurant despite every effort to stop her from being kidnapped. Fury didn’t begin to describe what he saw in his brother’s face. Cassidy Blaise might be Tobias’s sister, but she was Benjamin’s entire world. Tobias Blaise never expected to find any woman he wanted to spend his life with, let alone one who looked at him the way Ellis did, ...

Heather Clemens never thought that life would turn out like this. Single, alone, and stuck fortune telling out of her house for a meager living, Heather could really use some good news. So she does what she vowed never to do: Read her own fortune. What she sees is shocking and impossible… but that’s when the impossible happens, and Heather finds herself looking into the eyes of Rhys Vandell, a fierce and sexy warrior prince from another world. Heather is his fated prize, the key to completing his rite of passage and earning his royal birthright: the power of the dragon shift. Now, ...

A Romantic Tourist Town, Cafés…and Dead People? Discover Miranda Rose Barker’s The Fatal Family Reunion Cozy Mystery When Conley George, a widely-disliked man in the small town of Sycamore Grove appears to be murdered during a family reunion, his errant soul comes to the only ghost whisperer in town, Eden Kyle. But the last thing she wants is to help this guy, dead or not. “Do you plan on staying in the kitchen the whole time?” I ask, putting the bat down and walking about the corner. “Ahh! What the -?” “He’s dead, Eden. Just like us.” “I know that. But why is he with ...

Sophie has always been the independent type, but when her online dating ventures lead her to a woman who is more headstrong than she is, she’s forced to adapt. It’s not that Sophie minds adapting though, in fact she soon finds that the things Christina is asking of her are much more than pleasurable…as long as she does them well. When a night out turns in to a night in Christina’s ‘fun room’ Sophie comes to learn that there’s much she doesn’t know about her new dark horse. Lucky for Sophie that Christina doesn’t mind showing her the ropes and luckier still that Sophie can ...

When he believed there was little time left, there were only two people he wanted to talk to while he still could. One was the only woman he’d ever loved. And always would. Rendon was seriously wounded…in searing pain, and up until the last hour, exposed as he’d never been before. Getting himself to the little known and forgotten small town in the middle of nowhere had been a risky choice, and taken the last of his quickly dwindling strength. It was the last place anyone would think to look. He never expected to survive. After a brazen rescue, Rendon is determined to be part of the ...

Matchmaker Eve Brantley, who happens to be a billionaire in her own right, likes all of her ducks in a row. She’s knowledgeable, has an innate knack for reading people and is generally successful at matching people with potential partners; except for when it comes to herself. Hannah Dillard hasn’t been to Aruba since her high school graduation trip. During her stay she bumps into a beautiful woman who definitely makes her look twice. Deciding a matchmaker’s conference might be fun; she pays the fee at the door and roams the halls, where she finds the beautiful woman again. Can these ...

This book is a collection of 10 short horror stories. The Pantry in The Basement A lot of people think that basements can be a bit on the scary side, but there was always something about that house with the blocked off pantry in the basement. Secret rooms aren't always a pleasant surprise for everyone, as Paul and Stephanie would learn. The Girl Who Loved to Smile Everyone talks about the importance of smiling. They say it makes you look more attractive and charming. What they fail to mention is that the reason for smiling can be more important than the smile itself. Everyone talks about ...

A scientist suffering from PTSD is faced with the terrible knowledge of the impending destruction of our species. In his desperate attempts to prevent humanity's fate, he commits violent acts and is branded a terrorist. How far would you go to save the planet from annihilation? Where do humans come from and how did we get here? Scientists have theorized about the human race's origins for many years. But no one was prepared for what was found in orbit, seven ancient alien probes that have been monitoring the planet for billions of years. The data and video images recorded inside them show ...

Margaret Faith Ellenwood, Maggie to her friends, never wanted to run her parent’s candy shop in Marblehead, Massachusetts. But when her parents are suddenly killed in a car accident, she finds herself hanging on to the one thing she has left of theirs – the Candy Castle. The small family business has been a fixed feature in the small town for years and Maggie arrives just in time for the Christmas rush. Only, she soon finds out that the shop is far from thriving and the only rush she faces is the annual candy cane order from the Marblehead Girl Scouts troop. For the last seven years, ...

While housesitting in a remote mountain location while on spring break, young coed Livvy gets an unexpected visitor . . . When a young housesitter turns the tables on an intruder… he’ll have met his match and anything goes! He wants her, but what happens when she decides she wants him EVEN MORE? He's a BIG man... and she has a BIG appetite - plus a BIG secret she's saving till the end. She's NOT the only one who gets a BIG surprise! What happens when these two collide you'll NEVER believe! Who will be owned? Novella. Apprx. 10,000 words. Includes BDSM explicit encounter… with surprise...

With his player past, will she ever be able to trust him? Maggie Emerson has had a crush on her brother's friend Declan for years. She knows he's not into girls like her - he's always surrounded by skinny model types. With her curvy body and a career choice that never made her wealthy family happy, Maggie is sure Declan will never fall for her. Except now that her job is in jeopardy, she has no one else to turn to... Declan Archibald knows he wants no one else but Maggie. He wasn't ready for her before, but now he can't get her out of his mind. He tried wooing her a few months ago, and it ...

Suzie Whitsett loves Kyle Jones and when he gives her an amazing necklace for their two month anniversary, she is over the moon. Twenty-four hours later, it's gone and Suzie has to find out who took it before everything she has with Kyle falls apart right before New Year's...and their first New Year's kiss. Attention Funeral Crashing Fans! Make sure to check out the BONUS SCENE at the end of the book that details Kait and Ethan's New Year's Kiss! Although the characters from the Funeral Crashing Series make an appearance in this novella, it is a standalone cozy romantic mystery story. The ...

A Vet and a Shifter... A match maybe in heaven? ... or in the other place... Can this unlikely shifter and veterinarian pair find a way to team up to rescue the strays, thwart the witches, and save the town before they kill each other first? Jeanine Lourdes knows one thing for sure - she can’t stand Bo Kent. And now, to help the animals she has always protected, she is stuck working with him. She can handle the way he looks at her, but the worst part are the feelings he gives her… feelings she would rather ignore. She can smell trouble a mile away. God knows she has had enough of it in ...

Set in Crestwood High, where the sudden disappearance of its blueprint overshadows the excitement of a new science wing, the story follows Mia Chen, a bright and resourceful 16-year-old with a knack for solving puzzles. Alongside her friends Jake and Emma, Mia dives into a thrilling adventure, piecing together clues and navigating unexpected twists. As they race against time to recover the blueprint before the school's grand unveiling, they uncover deeper secrets that test their courage, teamwork, and resilience.

When the world's most horrible editor turns up dead, investigator Jon Scieszka has his work cut out for him. The suspect list is long. Very long. Think eighty-three-famous-YA-authors long, including Libba Bray, David Levithan, John Green, Lemony Snicket, Lauren Myracle - you get the picture. They've all got alibis, collected in this very anthology. But the question is ... Who done it? A 2013 AudioFile Editors' Pick.