Private Investigators Mysteries

Full of Miami’s trademark insights into life, and the humor and heart Stewart is famous for, Making the Drop delivers the most personal case Miami Jones has ever taken on.

During a houseboat vacation on the remote Lake of the Woods, a violent gale sweeps through unexpectedly, stranding Cork and his daughter, Jenny, on a devastated island where the wind has ushered in a force far darker and more deadly than any storm. Amid the wreckage, Cork and Jenny discover the body of a teenage girl. She wasn't killed by the storm, however; she'd been bound and tortured before she died. Nearby, underneath a tangle of branches, they also find a baby boy, hungry and dehydrated, but still very much alive.

As the mists roll over the fens and enigmatic lights twinkle in the distance, only the locals know their way along the hidden paths through the mysterious watery terrain of one of England's most beautiful and sometimes dangerous places. Detective Matt Ballard may have retired but there's still plenty going on in the fens to keep him busy. Someone trashes an old lady's garden and daubs her isolated cottage with hateful graffiti. Emilia Swain seems to be totally harmless, so why is she being targeted?

Staten Island would be forgettable were it not for the gleaming Tabernacle of the Silver Spire, where thousands of congregants come every Sunday to hear the sermons of Barnabas Bay. Millions more tune in on television, giving the good Reverend international fame, and a chance to spread the gospel from New York City’s harbor all the way to South Korea. But threatening notes have been appearing in the collection bag, suggesting that one of the faithful has decided it’s time this good shepherd get the hook.

When the last honest citizen of Poisonville was murdered, the Continental Op stayed on to punish the guilty--even if that meant taking on an entire town. Red Harvest is more than a superb crime novel: it is a classic exploration of corruption and violence in the American grain. From the author of The Maltese Falcon.

When the Department of Energy puts an underground iron mine on its short list of potential sites for storage of nuclear waste, a barrage of protest erupts in Tamarack County, Minnesota, and Cork is hired as a security consultant. Deep in the mine during his first day on the job, Cork stumbles across a secret room that contains the remains of six murder victims. Five appear to be nearly half a century old - connected to what the media once dubbed "The Vanishings", a series of unsolved disappearances in the summer of 1964, when Cork's father was sheriff in Tamarack County.

Once a land of Pueblo dwellers, the town of San Geronimo Peak, New Mexico, is prime ski country. PI Howard Moon Deer and ex-cop Jack Wilder are headed there to meet their first client - a former US senator and the ski slope's owner. Instead, they find his body - and a murder case to solve.

Archie Goodwin is not overly fond of Theodore Horstmann, who takes care of the orchids on the rooftop of Nero Wolfe’s West 35th Street brownstone. But as loyal assistant to the legendary private detective, Archie will put his animosity aside when the surly orchid-keeper stumbles through the front door beaten within an inch of his life. While the gardener lies in a coma, Nero sends Archie to poke around his apartment near the river.

The gun was fired close to Charles Childress’ head, and his were the only fingerprints on it, forcing the police to conclude that the author committed suicide. But his friends know this is impossible, because Childress loved himself far too much. He had just begun attracting fame, writing new mysteries starring the iconic Sergeant Barnstable, and he had bright hopes for the future. His publisher hires corpulent genius Nero Wolfe to determine who cut Childress’ career short, and the detective finds no dearth of suspects.

Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni attends a course hosted by the local chamber of commerce entitled “Where Is Your Business Going?”. But rather than feeling energized, he comes back in low spirits, unsure how to grow the already venerable and successful Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. Then an old friend from school approaches him about a new business venture that could be just the ticket. When it turns out he will need to mortgage his property in order to pursue this endeavor, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi wonder what this will mean for his current business - as well as their own.

Lew Archer knew he shouldn't have taken the case, but Alex Kincaid seemed so desperate. Kincaid's loving new bride, Dolly, had just inexplicably walked out on him, leaving Kincaid more than a little fearful for her sanity and her safety. So Archer reluctantly agreed to help Kincaid find his wife.

Dr. Amy Winslow tells the story: in foggy, nighttime San Francisco a jogging SFPD captain is savagely attacked by a Bengal tiger which then vanishes. In her ER, Amy labors unsuccessfully to save the captain’s life, then consoles his aggrieved closest friend, Lt. Luis Ortega. Neither suspects their lives will intertwine in a life-or-death mystery.

Accused of treason and stripped of his knighthood, Crispin Guest has survived on the gritty streets of London by reinventing himself as The Tracker, an investigator for hire who can locate lost objects and uncover secrets. When the merchant Nicholas Walcote hires Guest to investigate his young wife Philippa for adultery, he discovers an underground world of danger and dirty dealings. Philippa is indeed hiding something—but she's not the only one. Walcote himself is rumored to possess a holy relic so powerful that some would even kill for it.

On my last stakeout for Quest Investigations, I nearly got clotheslined by a grove of angry dryads. I expected my bosses to reprimand me, but instead they handed me my first solo assignment. Me! Matt Steinitz, the only human on the Quest roster! Okay, so the mission isn’t exactly demanding. Obviously, the bosses wanted to give me something they think I can’t screw up. I’m determined to show them what I can do, however, so I dive right in with no complaints.

Mick's oldest friend is in trouble. A seemingly successful boxing career has left him broke, battered, and about to lose his family. The sharks are circling for whatever scraps are left from the glory days, and now in his darkest hour, the people who said they would be there have turned their backs. He wants to fight for his family, but the years have taken their toll, and all his family sees is an angry old man with a failing memory.

The sedate English countryside can host - or hide - any number of secrets. Frances, the widowed Countess of Harleigh, needs a venue for her sister Lily’s imminent wedding, away from prying eyes. Risings, George Hazleton’s family estate in Hampshire, is a perfect choice, and soon the guests have gathered to enjoy the usual country pursuits - shooting, horse riding, and romantic interludes in secluded gardens. But the bucolic setting harbors a menace, and it’s not simply the arrival of Frances’ socially ambitious mother. Mysterious accidents befall guests and staff alike.

Set high on top of Widows Hill, Harrow House has remained empty for years. Now, on behalf of a prospective buyer, Ishmael and Penny are spending a night there in order to investigate the rumors of strange lights, mysterious voices, and unexplained disappearances, and establish whether the house is really haunted. What really happened at Harrow House all those years ago? Joined by a celebrity psychic, a professional ghost hunter, a local historian, and a newspaper reporter, it becomes clear each member of "Team Ghost" has their own pet theory as to the cause of the alleged haunting.

Welcome to Sarah’s Eatery, where the food is to-die-for! Escaping a dreadful marriage and an angry ex-husband, Kylie Berry moves to the small town of Camden Falls, Kentucky, to run her cousin’s café, Sarah’s Eatery. Only one problem: Kylie can’t cook to save her life, and the longtime chef walks out on Kylie’s first day. "Winters will have you giggling into your book!" A new home, new friends, and an unexpected series of murders - all par for the course as Kylie embarks on a new life and a series of culinary disasters... Books include: A Berry Deadly Welcome; A Berry Murderous ...

A space shuttle is destroyed during flight, and the CIA recalls disgraced agent Blaine McCracken to uncover the people responsible. A space shuttle disappears during a routine repair mission, 180 miles above Earth’s surface. An intelligence operative with a dark secret is murdered, his car set ablaze, while he is in the middle of fulfilling a depraved fantasy. And a reporter receives a message from a dying man that suggests the organization responsible may be one of the world’s most prestigious corporations. The government knows just one man who can untangle this mystery: a throwaway on the deactivated list. Exiled to a desk job in Paris for stepping on the wrong toes, Blaine McCracken is a killer—a ruthless pursuer of truth who will let no one, friend or enemy, stand in his way when civilian lives are in danger. McCracken gets results, and his country needs him now more than ever.

Ever since disgraced associate Orrie Cather’s suicide, armchair detective Nero Wolfe has relished retirement in his Manhattan brownstone on West 35th Street. Two years after Cather’s death, only a visit from Maria Radovich - and the urging of Wolfe’s prize assistant, Archie Goodwin - could draw the eccentric and reclusive genius back into business. Maria’s uncle, New York Symphony Orchestra conductor Milan Stevens, formerly known as Milos Stefanovic, spent his youth alongside Wolfe as a fellow freedom fighter in the mountains of Montenegro.