“Janet Evanovich is best known for her mystery series featuring bounty-hunter-in-training Stephanie Plum, who is often assisted by her eccentric grandmother and equally inept friends and co-workers. While she’s sassy and “smart-mouthed,” Stephanie’s incompetence invites both sympathy and humor. The villains are also more incompetent than evil, and solving the mystery simply creates a backdrop for Stephanie’s antics. Though set in urban New Jersey, these slapstick mysteries have a small town feel as the neighborhood’s denizens play minor roles. Evanovich also wrote humorous contemporary romances and has produced some other slapstick mystery/adventure series.” NoveList Description
If You Llike Janet Evanovich, You Might Like…
Murder with Peacocks
Donna Andrews
While trying to manage being the maid of honor in three weddings, Meg Langslow finds herself in the midst of a mystery when her former sister-in-law's soon-to-be stepfather is found dead
View in CatalogCalamity Jayne
Kathleen Bacus
How does a blonde spell "Farm"? E-I-E-I-O Tressa Jayne Turner has had it up to here with the dumb-blonde jokes and a childhood nickname that's harder to get rid of than her favorite pair of cowboy boots. Thanks to one Rick Townsend, Iowa Department of Natural Resources officer, local hottie, and general pain in Tressa's behind, everyone knows her as "Calamity Jayne". Just because she may be a little accident prone and trouble seems to sometimes find her, Tressa can't get anyone in her small town to take her seriously. That is, until Tressa finds a seriously dead body and an opportunity to get "Ranger Rick" and a skeptical citizenry to see that she's no longer that skinny kid with scraped knees. How? By resurrecting her job as a reporter for the hometown paper and solving a murder no one else believes happened... no one, that is, except the killer. Now Tressa is one not-so-dumb blonde who's out to gain a little hometown respect—or die trying. Calamity Jayne Mysteries: Calamity Jayne – book #1 Calamity Jayne and the Fowl Play at the Fair – book #2 Calamity Jayne and the Haunted Homecoming – book #3 Calamity Jayne and the Campus Caper– book #4 Calamity Jayne in the Wild, Wild West– book #5 Calamity Jayne and the Hijinks on the High Seas– book #6 Calamity Jayne and the Trouble with Tandems– book #7 What critics are saying about the Calamity Jayne Mysteries: "Filled with dumb-blonde jokes, nonstop action and rapid-fire banter, this is a perfect read for chick-lit fans who enjoy a dash of mystery." ~ Publishers' Weekly "Fun and lighthearted with an interesting mystery, a light touch of romance and some fascinating characters." ~ RT Book Reviews "Throw in two parts Nancy Drew, one part Lucille Ball, add a dash of Stephanie Plum, shake it all up and you’ve got a one-of-a-kind amateur sleuth with a penchant for junk food and hot-pink snakeskin cowgirl boots. A word to the wise: if you’re prone to laughing out loud when reading funny books, try not to read Calamity Jayne when you’re sandwiched between two sleeping passengers on an airplane…sometimes we learn these things the hard way." ~ Chick Lit Cafe "Bacus provides lots of small-town fun with this lovable, fair-haired klutz and lively story, liberally salted with dumb-blond jokes." ~ Booklist *starred review*
Read More View in CatalogTrack of the Cat
Nevada Barr
Fleeing New York to find refuge as a ranger in the remote backcountry of West Texas, Anna Pigeon stumbles into a web of violence and murder when fellow park ranger Sheila Drury is mysteriously killed and another ranger vanishes. Reprint.
View in CatalogThe Quiche of Death
M. C. Beaton
The first book in M. C. Beaton's beloved Agatha Raisin mystery series—now a hit show on Acorn TV and public television. Putting all her eggs in one basket, Agatha Raisin gives up her successful PR firm, sells her London flat, and samples a taste of early retirement in the quiet village of Carsely. Bored, lonely and used to getting her way, she enters a local baking contest: Surely a blue ribbon for the best quiche will make her the toast of the town. But her recipe for social advancement sours when Judge Cummings-Browne not only snubs her entry—but falls over dead! After her quiche's secret ingredient turns out to be poison, she must reveal the unsavory truth... Agatha has never baked a thing in her life! In fact, she bought her entry ready-made from an upper crust London quicherie. Grating on the nerves of several Carsely residents, she is soon receiving sinister notes. Has her cheating and meddling landed her in hot water, or are the threats related to the suspicious death? It may mean the difference between egg on her face and a coroner's tag on her toe...
Read More View in CatalogBody Movers
Stephanie Bond
So Carlotta Wren's life hasn't turned out as she'd planned. She didn't plan for her parents to skip bail for a white-collar crime, leaving her to raise her brother. She didn't plan on having the silver spoon ripped from her mouth and forgoing college to work retail. She didn't plan on her blue-blood fiancé dumping her. And she didn't plan on still being single ten years later, working at Neiman Marcus, with no idea where her fugitive parents are. But she's coping. Until— —her lovable brother is arrested, and the hunky cop decides to reopen her parents' case. —her brother becomes a body mover for the morgue, and his sexy boss gets Carlotta involved. —her former fiancé's wife (a good customer) is murdered, fingering Carlotta. With three men in her life, Carlotta has added motivation to help bag a murderer to keep her own well-dressed body from being next on the list! Look for all six books in Stephanie Bond's Body Movers series, available now from Harlequin MIRA!
Read More View in CatalogGoodnight, Irene
Jan Burke
For thirty-five years the identity of the dismembered woman found under the Las Piernas pier has remained a mystery. What secret did she take to her grave? Southern California reporter Irene Kelly has uncovered a maze of forensic records and confidential files that suggest a motive far more sinister than anyone imagined. The discovery has brought her close to Detective Frank Harriman, and closer still to exposing a killer who will resort to anything to keep his secrets buried -- and Irene silenced forever.
Read More View in CatalogSize 12 Is Not Fat
Meg Cabot
Heather Wells Rocks! Or, at least, she did. That was before she left the pop-idol life behind after she gained a dress size or two -- and lost a boyfriend, a recording contract, and her life savings (when Mom took the money and ran off to Argentina). Now that the glamour and glory days of endless mall appearances are in the past, Heather's perfectly happy with her new size 12 shape (the average for the American woman!) and her new job as an assistant dorm director at one of New York's top colleges. That is, until the dead body of a female student from Heather's residence hall is discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft. The cops and the college president are ready to chalk the death off as an accident, the result of reckless youthful mischief. But Heather knows teenage girls . . . and girls do not elevator surf. Yet no one wants to listen -- not the police, her colleagues, or the P.I. who owns the brownstone where she lives -- even when more students start turning up dead in equally ordinary and subtly sinister ways. So Heather makes the decision to take on yet another new career: as spunky girl detective! But her new job comes with few benefits, no cheering crowds, and lots of liabilities, some of them potentially fatal. And nothing ticks off a killer more than a portly ex-pop star who's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong . . .
Read More View in CatalogThe Thin Woman
Dorothy Cannell
In the delectable debut that earned her instant acclaim, award-winning author Dorothy Cannell serves up a murder mystery to be savored. . . Ellie Simons longs to be thin—and married. But with her single-minded passion for éclairs and clotted cream, her prospects on both counts seem dim. That's why the summons to attend a family reunion at the old ancestral home is about as welcome as a snakebite. How can she show up with her embarrassingly full figure in her humble unmarried state and keep her chins up? Enter Bentley T. Haskell of Eligibility Escorts, a devastatingly attractive writer of smutty novels who also cooks like a dream. With Bentley posing as her besotted beau, Ellie feels brave enough to beard her batty relations in their den. . . . But mouldering Merlin's Court is nothing like Ellie remembers, and with her wretchedly beautiful cousin Vanessa making eyes at Ben, and her malevolent old uncle Merlin popping up in the most unexpected places, it's enough to put Ellie off her food. And the best—and worst—is yet to come, as the weekend leads to sudden death, unexpected romance, and a treasure hunt that promises epicurean Ellie wealth, hearth, and happiness . . . if she survives. Praise for The Thin Woman “[Dorothy] Cannell makes a delicious debut; discriminatory whodunit fans will want more of her inventions.”—Publishers Weekly “A likable debut—combining fairy-tale romance, treasure hunts, and a homicidal mania.”—Kirkus Reviews
Read More View in CatalogSofie Metropolis
Tori Carrington
Struggling to find her place in working-class Queens, Greek-American private investigator Sophie Metropolis takes on as her first assignments the cases of a missing dog, an elusive vampire, and an attractive bounty hunter. Reprint.
View in CatalogSince You’re Leaving Anyway, Take Out the Trash
Dixie Cash
The strongest, sexiest, and sassiest debut contemporary romance we've seen since Rachel Gibson! The quality of Dixie's writing combined with the pure romance of the story guarantees that Avon Romance has just acquired a new star. Debbie Sue Overstreet is still the best-looking gal in Saltlick, TX-and her ex-husband Buddy is still the best-looking sheriff. Thanks to a thriving gossip mill (also known as Debbie's hair salon), there isn't a thing in Saltlick that she doesn't know about before anyone else. That is, until somebody offs snooty Pearl Ann Carruthers. With Buddy on the case, the woman who has to know everything is stumped by not just one, but two questions: first, who killed Pearl Ann and why, and second, how on earth did she ever let Buddy Overstreet get away? Lucky for Saltlick and Buddy both, she means to find out the answers, no matter what it takes!
Read More View in CatalogDeal Breaker
Harlan Coben
Softhearted sports agent Myron Bolitar must unravel a complex mystery involving blackmail and family tragedy when his client, celebrated rookie quarterback Christian Steele, receives a phone call from a supposedly-dead ex-girlfriend. Reissue.
View in CatalogThe Alpine Advocate
Mary Daheim
The debut of the Emma Lord murder mystery series. After a year as publisher-editor of the Alpine Advocate, Emma Lord feels fine about her move to this small town in the foothills of Washington's Cascade Mountains. What she really needs for her paper, though, is a big story. And she gets it--when handsome Mark Doukas, grandson of rich, old Neeny Doukas is murdered. Emma discovers that trying to get straight answers out of Neeny and his thin-lipped son is like poking a nest of sleeping rattlesnakes. What begins with an innocent story about the murdered man, ends with Emma conducting the most interesting, and probably the last, interview of her career from the wrong end of a .38.... From the Paperback edition.
Read More View in CatalogTressed to Kill
Lila Dare
First in the brand-new Southern Beauty Shop mystery series St. Elizabeth, Georgia, offers charm, Southern hospitality-and, most recently, murder. When hairdresser Grace Terhune and her mother, Violetta, gussy up all the high-society ladies attending the town meeting, they find their snobbiest client dead. The police believe the mother-daughter duo did her in. But before things get snarled beyond repair, Grace sets out to clear their names.
Read More View in CatalogCatering to Nobody
Diane Mott Davidson
Catering a wake for her son's teacher leads Goldy Bear into the detective business when rat poison turns up in her food and the police, except for investigator Tom Schulz, begin to treat her like a suspect.
View in Catalog“A” is for Alibi
Sue Grafton
READ THE SENSATIONAL BLOCKBUSTER THAT STARTED IT ALL! Take it from the top in #1 New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton's knockout thriller that introduced detective Kinsey Millhone—and a hot new attitude—to crime fiction... A IS FOR AVENGER A tough-talking former cop, private investigator Kinsey Millhone has set up a modest detective agency in a quiet corner of Santa Teresa, California. A twice-divorced loner with few personal possessions and fewer personal attachments, she's got a soft spot for underdogs and lost causes. A IS FOR ACCUSED That's why she draws desperate clients like Nikki Fife. Eight years ago, she was convicted of killing her philandering husband. Now she's out on parole and needs Kinsey's help to find the real killer. But after all this time, clearing Nikki's bad name won't be easy. A IS FOR ALIBI If there's one thing that makes Kinsey Millhone feel alive, it's playing on the edge. When her investigation turns up a second corpse, more suspects, and a new reason to kill, Kinsey discovers that the edge is closer—and sharper—than she imagined. "A" Is for Alibi "B" Is for Burglar "C" Is for Corpse "D" Is for Deadbeat "E" Is for Evidence "F" Is for Fugitive "G" Is for Gumshoe "H" Is for Homicide "I" Is for Innocent "J" Is for Judgment "K" Is for Killer "L" is for Lawless "M" Is for Malice "N" Is for Noose "O" Is for Outlaw "P" Is for Peril "Q" Is for Quarry "R" Is for Ricochet "S" Is for Silence "T" Is for Trespass "U" Is for Undertow "V" Is for Vengeance "W" Is for Wasted "X"
Read More View in CatalogGame of Bones
Carolyn Haines
The next charming mystery from Carolyn Haines featuring spunky southern private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney. Dr. Frank Hafner is an archeologist working on excavating a new-found Native American temple site in the Mississippi Delta. He's also too handsome for his own good, and a bit of a flirt. Oddly enough, it's the first quality that gets him in trouble when he discovers the ritualistic murder of one of his archeological crew. When Coleman Peters, Sheriff and Sarah Booth's boyfriend, takes Dr. Hafner in for questioning in the murder, the accused doctor hires Sarah Booth to clear his name. Soon, Sarah Booth has uncovered a number of possible suspects, but she can't narrow them down fast enough to stem the continuing violence that seems to trace back to Dr. Hafner's dig. When Peter Deerstalker, a member of the Tunica tribe, mentions a curse, it doesn't seem so far-fetched--especially when a young graduate student on the site claims someone on the site is searching for something much more precious than ancient pottery... Something spooky is going on in the Mississippi Delta, and though Sarah Booth isn't sure who to trust, or what to believe, she knows she won't rest until she's dug up the truth.
Read More View in CatalogA Clue for the Puzzle Lady
Parnell Hall
Cruciverbalists, rejoice!!! Pick up a pencil and get ready to solve the puzzle--and a puzzling murder--in this lively debut of a unique amateur detective, Miss Cora Felton, the reigning queen of crosswords. Cora's an eccentric old lady with a nationally syndicated puzzle column, an irresistible urge to poke into unsettling events, and a niece who's determined to keep her out of trouble. In a slyly amusing and wickedly suspenseful mystery, this delightful heroine takes her first crack at playing sleuth. Only this isn't fun and games....It's murder. Violent crime is rare in tiny Bakerhaven. When the body of an unknown teenage girl turns up in the local cemetery, Police Chief Dale Harper finds himself investigating his first homicide. Nothing about this case is straightforward. Even a thorough search of the crime scene fails to reveal who she was, the murder weapon, or why the killer left her body in a graveyard minus her shoes. A cryptic message on a scrap of paper she carried seems to be a crossword puzzle clue. Could it have been left by the killer? If so, what does it mean? Fortunately for Harper, Bakerhaven is the new home of Miss Cora Felton, the famed "Puzzle Lady" herself, whose popular crossword puzzle column graces newspapers nationwide. Yet bringing Cora Felton into this case could be his most costly mistake. For though she may look like someone's sweet old grandmother, behind those twinkling eyes and that slightly mysterious smile lies a woman with a whopping secret...and some hidden vices. What's worse, one whiff of mystery turns Miss Felton into a modern-day Miss Marple. Now Cora is snooping through crime scenes, questioning witnesses, and gaining a lot of unwanted attention. It's just the sort of meddling, mischief-making behavior that drives Chief Harper to distraction and inspires many cross words from her long-suffering niece Sherry. But when another body turns up in a murder that hits much closer to home, Cora must find a killer--before she winds up in a black box three feet across...and six down. A delicious brew of colorful characters, irresistible intrigue, and dazzling plot twists, Parnell Hall's A Clue for the Puzzle Lady is just what a mystery should be--a generous helping of fun and a puzzle that never fails to surprise and entertain. From the Hardcover edition.
Read More View in CatalogMalice in Maggody
Joan Hess
After a crossbow killing at a cheap roadside motel, Ozarks police chief Arly Hanks finds herself investigating her first murder case. Her marriage over and career gone bust, Arly Hanks flees Manhattan for her hometown: Maggody, Arkansas. In a town this size, nothing much ever happens, so Arly figures she’s safe as the town’s first female chief of police—until the husband of one of the local barmaids escapes from state prison and heads for town. And that’s not all. An EPA official with ties to polluting the local fishing hole has suddenly vanished off the face of the earth. As if two manhunts aren’t enough to contend with, a body has been discovered at the pay-by-the-hour Flamingo Motel, shot clean through the neck with an arrow. For some reason, Maggody’s residents—all 755 of them—have gone tight-lipped, stonewalling Arly’s investigations, and Arly hasn’t a soul to trust but her half-wit deputy. Now, as Maggody’s finest, she’ll have to show a little muscle and a lot of cunning to curtail the inhospitable mountain malice that’s overtaken her town. And she’ll have to watch her own back every step of the way. From Agatha Award–winning author Joan Hess, Malice in Maggody is the novel that introduced police chief Arly Hanks—the indomitable sleuth of the popular and long-running Maggody series. Malice in Maggody is the 1st book in the Arly Hanks Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Read More View in CatalogDesert Heat
J. A. Jance
A cop lies dying beneath the blistering Arizona sun—a local lawman who may well have become the next sheriff of Cochise County.?The police brass claim that Andy Brady was dirty, and that his shooting was a suicide attempt. Joanna Brady, his devoted wife and mother of their nine-year-old daughter, knows a cover-up when she hears one . . . and murder when she sees it. But her determined efforts to hunt down an assassin and clear her husband's name are placing Joanna and her surviving family in harm's way—because in the desert, the one thing more lethal than a rattler's bite . . . is the truth.
Read More View in CatalogKat’s Cradle
Karen Kijewski
Hired by twenty-one-year-old "orphan" Paige Morrell to unravel the mystery of her past, Sacramento private eye Kat Colorado finds herself following a trail of lies, greed, and deceit. Reprint.
View in CatalogDating Dead Men
Harley Jane Kozak
Wollie Shelley, a greeting card artist and small business owner, is dating forty men in sixty days as a participant in a social science research project when she stumbles over a dead body. Wollie decides to investigate the murder because she is afraid her paranoid schizophrenic brother may be involved.
Read More View in CatalogAbby Cooper, Psychic Eye
Victoria Laurie
Private investigator Abby Cooper relies upon her psychic abilities to help her do her job, but when she fails to foresee the death of one of her clients, her future suddenly appears bleak. Original.
View in CatalogThis Pen For Hire
Laura Levine
"I'm crazy about Laura Levine's mystery series. Her books are so outrageously funny." --Joanne Fluke Smarmy personals ads. Daring declarations of love. Freelance writer Jaine Austen has penned them all. But no one needs her help more than geeky, gawky Howard Murdoch. His request is simple enough: a letter proclaiming his undying love for Stacy Lawrence, a gorgeous aerobics instructor. The fact that he's never actually met the woman gives Jaine pause--yet she soon overcomes her misgivings, and the unlikely Romeo lands a date! But his triumph is short-lived. On Valentine's Day, Howard finds Stacy bludgeoned to death with a Thigh Master--and is quickly named the prime suspect. Jaine is shocked. Sure, Howard's awkward and eccentric. But a murderer? That's hard to believe. Especially after a little sleuthing reveals a plethora of people who harbored less-than-loving feelings towards the svelte Stacy. Now Jaine had better wrangle her clues quickly, before a crafty killer catches on--and puts a whole new spin on her ghost writing career. . . "Sheer fun!" --Carolyn Hart
Read More View in CatalogThe Spellman Files
Lisa Lutz
Izzy Spellman launches her career as a private investigator while working for the firm of her outlandishly dysfunctional family.
View in CatalogDeath Pays the Rose Rent
Valerie S. Malmont
A New York reporter, Toni Miracle, attends a rose festival in Pennsylvania's Amish country and stumbles on a series of murders, each of which is accompanied by a rose. As she investigates, the town's age old secrets emerge.
View in CatalogHow to Murder a Millionaire
Nancy Martin
Society columnist and former debutante Nora Blackbird gets back in high society's good graces when she discovers the murdered body of a wealthy Philadelphia art collector. Reissue.
View in CatalogBlue Blood
Susan McBride
Mixing a dash of Dallas society, a pinch of Janet Evanovich, and murder in the land of big hair, Blue Blood is the first installment in award-winning author Susan McBride's sassy Debutante Dropout mystery series. To the dismay of her high society mother, Cissy, Dallas heiress Andy Kendricks wants no part of the Junior League life—opting instead for a job as a website designer and a passel of unpedigreed pals. Now her good friend Molly O'Brien is in bad trouble, accused of killing her boss at the local restaurant Jugs. Though no proper deb would ever set foot in such a sleazy dive, Andy's soon slipping into skintight hot pants and a stuffed triple D bra to gain employment there and somehow help clear Molly's name. But Andy's undercover lark soon brings her into too-close contact with all manner of dangerous adversaries—including a shady TV preacher, a fanatical Mothers Against Porn activist … and a killer who is none too keen on meddling rich girls.
Read More View in CatalogKnock Off
Rhonda Pollero
Hold on for a rollicking, wickedly fun new mystery series from USA Today Bestselling Author Rhonda Pollero. Shopping, murder and romance all in one book? What a steal! Meet Finley Anderson Tanner. FAT to her enemies. A West Palm Beach paralegal who hates the gym, still rents her condo, and loves two-hour lunches with her friends. But what really gets Finley hot is hunting down deeply discounted designer goods she can wear at her upscale law firm. Too bad work isn't all about fashion. Especially when a grieving widow is sitting in your office, convinced that her husband's accidental death wasn't. Investigating murder isn't really Finley's bag (that would be Prada, 75% off), but the deeper Finley digs, the stranger things get, and this discount shopper knows slightly irregular when she sees it. Kind of like sexy Liam McGarrity. Everything about the hot, hunky P.I. screams, "Get out while you still have your underwear!" For a girl whose biggest ambition is take-out Moo Shu at 5:01, life is taking some exciting, unpredictable, and decidedly dangerous turns. Someone doesn't like Finley's new work ethic. And if this paralegal wants to bring home the real goods, she'll have to keep from becoming a killer's total knock off. . . "A great read with plenty of attitude!" --Janet Evanovich Top-Dollar Praise For Bestselling Author Rhonda Pollero: "Rhonda Pollero delivers a snappy heroine who pops off the page and a clever mystery. Don't miss this great story!" --Leanne Banks "Rhonda Pollero's humor and compelling mystery will keep you turning the pages!" --Tess Gerritsen "Rhonda Pollero is an amazing talent. . .murder has never been this much fun!" --Cherry Adair "A stylishly entertaining new amateur sleuth series. . .certain to be a runway hit." --Booklist
Read More View in CatalogGlory in Death
J. D. Robb, Nora Roberts
In Lieutenant Eve Dallas's latest case, two murder victims have one connection--Eve's lover, Roarke.
View in CatalogCaught Dead in Philadelphia
Gillian Roberts
Amanda is suspected of murder when an acquaintance is found dead in front of her fireplace. She joins forces with Officer Mackenzie to solve the case.
View in CatalogWorking Stiff
Annelise Ryan
When Mattie Winston catches her husband Dr. David Winston receiving some very special loving care from R.N. Karen Owenby, she quits her job and moves out. Mattie's best friend Izzy offers her a place to stay and suggests she'd be a natural as deputy coroner. Now, instead of taking patients' pulses, Mattie's weighing their hearts and livers. But Mattie's first homicide call turns out to be for none other than Nurse Karen, and even though she saw her ex in a heated argument with the newly deceased the night before, she refuses to believe David could be a killer. Keeping mum about what she saw, Mattie is also left speechless by the sight of hunky Detective Steve Hurley. . . From learning the ropes on her new job to sorting out her feelings about her ex and dealing with her growing attraction to Detective Hurley, Mattie's in deep water and in danger of sinking quickly, especially when she places herself dead center in the path of a desperate--yet determined--killer. . . Praise for Annelise Ryan and Working Stiff "Sassy, sexy, and suspenseful, Annelise Ryan knocks 'em dead in her wry and original Working Stiff." --Carolyn Hart, author of Dare to Die "Make way for Mattie Winston, the funniest deputy coroner to cut up a corpse since, well, ever." --Laura Levine, author of Killer Cruise "Ryan brings her professional expertise to her crisp debut." --Publishers Weekly
Read More View in CatalogMama Does Time
Deborah Sharp
Meet Mama: a true Southern woman with impeccable manners, sherbet-colored pantsuits, and four prior husbands, able to serve sweet tea and sidestep alligator attacks with equal aplomb. Mama's antics — especially her penchant for finding trouble — drive her daughters Mace, Maddie, and Marty to distraction. One night, while settling in to look for ex-beaus on COPS, Mace gets a frantic call from her mother. This time, the trouble is real: Mama found a body in the trunk of her turquoise convertible and the police think she's the killer. It doesn't help that the handsome detective assigned to the case seems determined to prove Mama's guilt or that the cowboy who broke Mace's heart shows up at the local Booze ‘n' Breeze in the midst of the investigation. Before their mama lands in prison — just like an embarrassing lyric from a country-western song — Mace and her sisters must find the real culprit. TV APPEARANCES ◊ NBC's Today Show from November 4, 2008 ◊ "Mayor's Book Talk" from January 14, 2009 ◊ NBC6 "South Florida Today." from July 17, 2009 ◊ NBC's Today Show from August 4, 2009
Read More View in CatalogBubbles Unbound
Sarah Strohmeyer
She may be a hairdresser with the body of a Barbie doll and a fatal weakness for hot pants, but Bubbles Yablonsky is not just another dumb blonde. She's determined to turn her taste for gossip into a talent for journalism, and she knows a secret about the death of Laura Buchman that could be her Big Break. Plus, she gets to work with photographer Steve Stiletto - a dead ringer for Mel Gibson, and exactly the kind of mysterious, dangerous man her mother warned her against. But Bubbles soon discovers that while brazen bravado gets results, some people will do anything to keep her quiet...
Read More View in CatalogShop Till You Drop
Elaine Viets
From Anthony and Agatha Award-winning author Elaine Viets—the thrilling mystery series about one woman trying to make a living... while other people are making a killing. Helen Hawthorne had a high-finance job, a beautiful home—and a good-for-nothing husband she caught in the act with their neighbor. But when she tried to divorce the bum, the judge decided that Helen had to pay—and Helen decided the only way to keep her dignity would be to defy the courts, refuse to pay, and run for it. Now hiding out in Fort Lauderdale, Helen is working as a lowly sales clerk at a high-fashion boutique. But keeping out of trouble proves difficult when she discovers the manager is running her own side business stealing from the store and selling drugs to customers. Helen’s discomfort is short lived when the felonious fashionista suddenly goes on vacation—and turns up dead in the water. In desperate need of cash, Helen decides to try and find out who killed the woman for an offered reward. But she soon uncovers even more nefarious goings-on that put her new career—and her new life—in mortal danger...
Read More View in CatalogNursery Crimes
Ayelet Waldman
“Smart sleuthing…the way [Juliet] maintains her sense of humor while juggling detective chores and baby duty is awesome.”—The New York Times A public defender turned Stay-at-home mom, Juliet Applebaum is bored with playdates and trips to the park—so near the end of her second pregnancy, she gets off the mommy track to track down a murderer…. Juliet isn’t too surprised when her feisty, tantrum-throwing two-year-old daughter doesn’t get into Hollywood’s premier preschool—but she’s shocked and suspicious when the school’s principal is killed in a hit-and-run accident. Against the advice of her screenwriter husband, and with her rambunctious toddler in tow, Juliet heads to the local playground to dig up some dirt on a disgruntled studio executive whose daughter wasn’t offered a place in the school. But she has some surprising new suspects to consider when her investigation takes her into a seedy on-line newsgroup—and the most dangerous parts of the human heart…. “[Juliet is] a lot like Elizabeth Peters’s warm and humorous Amelia Peabody—a brassy, funny, quick-witted protagonist.”—The Houston Chronicle
Read More View in Catalog