Valentines Mystery

Owning her own business seemed like pie in the sky to Valentine Harris when she moved to the coastal California town of San Nicholas. But when one of her regulars keels over at the counter while eating a quiche, Val feels like she's living a nightmare. After the police determine the customer was poisoned, business at Pie Town drops faster than a fallen crust, and Val must expose the truth - before a crummy killer tries to shut her pie hole.

Is it a gift if it’s taken by force? Treat yourself to this steamy anthology all centered around love, dominant men and their (mostly) willing Valentines. This set includes six brand new, scorching novellas by USA Today and other bestselling authors… Mr. Imperfect by Carolyn Faulkner Nina is a curvy girl who is wary of men who seem too perfect. She always seems to lose her heart to them when they want nothing to do with her. Then along comes Clete. He's entirely too perfect, although the first thing he does is treat her the way she's always wanted to be treated by a man. But is he just ...

**Previously Published as The Protector's Promise** No matter how strong love is, every love story has its challenges. The same rings very true for Karmen and Desmond. Their love has been a rollercoaster from the beginning, but when Desmond’s past resurfaces, it makes their ride even bumpier. Desmond moved back home, trying to outrun his demons. Soon he realizes there’s only so much running he can do before they catch up with him. When they do, they threaten the life of Karmen and his own. Karmen’s past relationship caused her to keep guys at arm’s length. She’s lived by the motto...

Falling for my ex’s billionaire dad was a danger I never saw coming. Alaric Briton is grumpy and devastatingly gorgeous. Restoring his haunted mansion was supposed to save my failing career, Not pull me into its deadly secrets—or him. The chandelier crashing to the floor. The haunting melody of a piano playing itself. The mysterious fire that no one can explain. They all whisper of a brutal murder that happened here half a century ago. Alaric keeps one room locked tight, And the more he hides from me, The more I see the cracks in his icy exterior. One stolen night, we crossed the line. ...

Paris—the city of love, lights … and murder? Join tour guide Lana Hansen as she escorts five couples on an unforgettable Valentine-themed vacation to France! Unfortunately it will be the last trip for one passenger… Lana Hansen’s future is looking bright. She has money in her bank account, a babysitter for her cat, and even a boyfriend. Regrettably she won’t get to celebrate Valentine’s Day with her new beau, Chad. Instead, she will be leading a lovers-only tour in France. Luckily for Lana, her best friend, Willow, and her partner, Jane, will be joining her. Things go downhill ...

For a witch trained as a demon hunter, werewolves, ghouls, and vampires are all in a day’s work. But Red has no memories of her past — not even her real name — and her cases keep inching her closer to the truth. She comes to LA to solve a murder. The trail leads to Kristoff. Handsome and dangerous, the vampire is more than her prime suspect. He might hold the key to her mysterious origins. As the death count grows, she sinks into a supernatural conspiracy as the city teeters on the brink of civil war. Red needs to keep her wits sharp. And her stake sharper. Or she'll die before she ...

OVER-THE-TOP INSTA-LOVE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN . . . So many Valentine's Days alone . . . *sigh* No cards . . . *sigh* No flowers . . . *sigh* No heart-shaped boxes of candy . . . *sigh* But this year in my mailbox I see something! It's red and heart-shaped! A heart-shaped card? A heart-shaped gift? Um, no. It's a heart-shaped . . . HEART! I scream and fumble for my phone so I can call the cops, the FBI, the CIA, maybe even the freakin' psychic hotline . . . But then my mystery admirer emerges from the shadows. And he says I'm his. His Valentine. Over-the-top novella with drama and darkness...

The New York Times Review of Books Have you heard the one about the canny granny who won a pot of money by card-counting on her rosary beads? How about the mother-and-son team whose method of palming cards at the blackjack table was ''pure poetry''? And what about the sweet techniques of guys like Jake the Snake and Larry the Lightbulb? James Swain, who came to his expertise on gambling hustles by way of his skills as a sleight-of-hand magician, uses the crooked play of these inspired cheats to pull us into GRIFT SENSE, a flashy, funny novel about a cool scam to break the bank at a Las ...

After years of playing the field, I'm finally ready to settle down. Rather than waste time with the endless aggravation and frustration of dating, I decide to go through the What The Heart Wants matchmaking service. When the matchmaker pairs me with Scarlett, I'm more than intrigued. She's smart as hell and incredibly sexy, but too many cheating boyfriends have left her with a singular focus: getting pregnant and raising a child on her own. I may want a wife and family, but being an absentee baby daddy is a whole different story. Too bad Scarlett is more interested in her pregnancy project ...

The Valentine Ball, the glittering social event of 1932 Boston. Who would want to spoil a debutante cotillion with a murder? Nurse Aggie Burnside goes to Boston to assist her cousin Amanda with the final touches on the dazzling debutante presentation to raise funds for a major hospital. But it seems there are new obstacles every day: the budget gets cut, the band quits, the finance manager interferes and the hospital board members argue. Despite the hurdles, the evening comes together without a hitch. And then someone is murdered, and a large amount of money disappears. What was the motive...

Joshua Valentine is a down and out private detective on the verge of giving up his practice. But one last case has popped up. He has been hired to find the murderer of his best friend's husband. Now he must stumble from problem to problem in hopes of finding the biggest snake in the snake pit. Can our hero satisfy his friend and save the day? Find out.

“An accident, a death, and a curse? I, Abby Knight Salvare, must find out how these three are connected . . . and the anticipation is killing me.” Roses are Red, Violets are blue, Sugar is sweet . . . unless murder’s involved. Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and Abby Knight Salvare and her crew at Bloomers Flower Shop are hard at work preparing for the busiest day of the year. But after Abby attends a play at the town's theater, and the director, Richard Rose, is found dead, she's convinced that Rose's death is no accident and sets out to uncover the truth. Rumors of a ...

What really happened that tragic Valentine's night on Lake Erie? No one knows. Three old buddies - reckless Matty, successful Clark, clever Val - decided to cap Val's birthday celebration with a stroll across the frozen lake. They never returned. Matty's scarf was found snagged on broken ice. After the thaw, only the bodies of Clark and Matty are recovered - the latter with a bullet in it. Val remains missing, now a murder suspect. His desperate wife pleads with ex-nun investigator Christine Bennett to find him and prove his innocence.

A Student in Trouble Missing Chocolates Valentine’s Day will never be the same Rylly is sure she won’t survive Valentine’s Day. Her boyfriend is missing in action. She’s agreed to do another fund raiser, this time to help a boy get the surgery he needs, her first cooking class students are graduating, and there’s a dead body on her kitchen floor. If having a dead body on the kitchen floor isn’t enough, her close cop friend Mac has suddenly lost his mind. Even though she has an alibi for the murder, he keeps twisting her testimony so that she looks guilty. Then she wipes out her ...

Mysterious men have a way of showing up in Stephanie Plum's apartment. When the shadowy Diesel appears, he has a task for Stephanie - and he's not taking no for an answer. Annie Hart is a "relationship expert" who is wanted for armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Stephanie needs to find her, fast. Diesel knows where she is. So they make a deal: he'll help her get Annie if Stephanie plays matchmaker to several of Annie's most difficult clients.

Love is in the air... and so is murder. Mrs. Claus thought a Valentine's Day getaway to the Venus Heights Love Lodge would be a much-needed break after saving Halloween. But when dignitaries start dropping like heart-shaped flies at the annual Gala, it’s clear someone’s got a grudge against love itself. With the holiday’s magical heart missing and a masked killer known only as The Heartbreaker on the loose, Mrs. Claus must team up with the ever-frosty Jack Frost, sass-slinging reindeer diva Felicia Sparklehoof, and the hyperactive squirrel techie Nibbles to crack the case. As ...

She lost her heart to a vampire. Will she lose her life too? Juniper is a witch, hidden amid the gas lamps of Victorian society, who knows the bloody shape of the future. When she is imprisoned in a vampire's lair alongside an officer from Scotland Yard, she faces his interrogation about a murder that rocked the front page of newspapers around the globe. She knows that he sees her as a courtesan with dangerous social ambitions, but the truth would scandalize him more. It is a story of outcasts, warlocks, werewolves, finishing schools, dark prophecies, and supernatural threats that he won't ...

The Valentine Adventures of the Clever Black Kids Detective ClubIntroducing the newest collection of short stories for kids ages 8-12, "The Clever Black Kids Detective Club Valentine Adventures"! These engaging and captivating stories are written especially for children aged 8-12 and are full of relatable, inspiring, and empowering tales that can help shape young minds. Join the Clever Black Kids Detective Club on new exciting adventures as they learn valuable lessons about understanding identity, building self-esteem, and helping others. INSIDE THE BOOK Engaging and captivating stories ...

Mirabeau LaRouche knew she had a job to do, but she never expected her assignment to take her through New York City's dark, dank underground - in her bridesmaid gown, no less! And when her partner turns out to be mortal private investigator Tiny McGraw, Mireabeau knows it's no ordinary Cupid's arrow that has struck her heart this Valentine's Day.

Two leaders, two fleets, two wars. The Rawtenuga war is effectively over, although dealing with the remaining fleets will take time. On the other hand, the Trixone war keeps getting bigger. Jon's problem is how to wield the growing Thorn's Cluster Militia among all the other problems of a growing Imperium. But even with a Grand Master Mage coming into his power, the sheer scale of the war seems to nullify any advantages they have. For Jon, it comes back to one repeating question. What the hell do I do next? Bud’s problem is dealing with people thinking a Grand Master Mage can do anything....