Amateur Sleuths

It’s twelve years since teenager Peter Ferguson drowned in Loch Ness—on the same night that Stephanie, her mother and her sister, Aurelie, were camping on its shores. In the shocking aftermath, their family and life as they knew it fell apart, and the sisters no longer speak. But now Aurelie is getting married, and Stephanie realises that a reunion might finally bring the truth about that fateful night to the surface…

After my relationship breaks down, I agree to house-sit my brother Dexter's posh apartment whilst he’s out of the country. It will give me some much needed head space. Sitting on the balcony one sweltering summer's night in the midst of a power cut, I'm given a secret window into the lives of the residents in the opposite building, and I see more than I should. I'm drawn to a man in the Penthouse and watch him closely; when a striking woman joins him on the balcony, I can’t tear my eyes away.

Sunning himself in the south of France, Johnny has started to believe that his life is finally on the up. But the arrival of a face from his past drags him back down to earth with a harsh dose of cold reality. Johnny Klein once again finds himself walking the tightrope between redemption and despair. When his daughter is in danger of getting consumed by the sins of Johnny’s own past, and a dark secret threatens to engulf people he holds dear, light at the end of the tunnel feels further away than ever.

When gossipy notes written in the margins of an old book turn out to be clues to the disappearance of another guest, Mia finds herself diving headfirst into a dangerous adventure. With everyone at the resort hiding secrets of their own, she’ll have to solve this real-life mystery before she becomes the next target.

When barrister Gabriel Ward steps out of his rooms at exactly two minutes to seven on a sunny May morning in 1901, his mind is so full of his latest case—the disputed authorship of bestselling children’s book Millie the Temple Church Mouse—that he scarcely registers the body of the Lord Chief Justice of England on his doorstep. But even he cannot fail to notice the judge’s dusty bare feet, in shocking contrast to his flawless evening dress, nor the silver carving knife sticking out of his chest.

When thirty-four-year-old Cath loses her mostly absentee mother, she is ambivalent. With days of quiet, unassuming routine in Buffalo, New York, Cath consciously avoids the impulsive, thrill-seeking lifestyle that her mother once led. But when she’s forced to go through her mother’s things one afternoon, Cath is perplexed to find tickets for an upcoming “murder week” in England’s Peak District: a whole town has come together to stage a fake murder mystery to attract tourism to their quaint hamlet.

On the eve of Elaine Southey's 21st birthday, Ivan Sweet has been found dead in his flat in the basement of the Southeys' historic north London home. A slick charmer to some of the tenants and a loathsome young scoundrel to others, his death doesn't draw out many tears among the house's residents and neighbours. And yet the sordid truth starts to seep into the heart of their small community. A murderer is living among them, and who's to say when they might strike again?

Prairie Nightingale is both the midlife mother of two teenage girls and a canny entrepreneur who has turned homemaking into a salaried profession. She’s also fascinated with the gritty details of other people’s lives. So when seemingly perfect Lisa Radcliffe, a member of her former mom-friends circle, suddenly disappears, it’s in Prairie’s nature to find out why. Given her innate talent for vital pattern recognition, Prairie is out to catch a few clues by taking a long, hard look at everyone in Lisa’s life—and uncovering their secrets.

Chloe Webster is supposed to be dead. She vanished twenty-five years ago—the night her two friends were brutally murdered at an isolated hot springs. At least…that’s what everyone believes. Everyone except Chloe’s cousin, Frankie, who never gave up hope that she was alive. When Chloe unexpectedly shows up at her own annual memorial event, Frankie is overjoyed. But this isn’t the reunion she had imagined. Chloe has no memory of that night in 1999—or her life before her disappearance.

Boney Creek is a dying town where not a lot happens. The perfect solution for married couple Addie and Toby who are escaping their own personal tragedy. But a quiet and simple life is not exactly possible with so many recent, strange deaths. Seven locals, all gone too soon. That’s the nature of tragic accidents. And in a town this small, there’s no room for too many questions. But Addie isn’t so sure.

Both by calling and conviction Father Brown knew better than most of us, that every man is dignified when he is dead. But even he felt a pang of incongruity when he was knocked up at daybreak and told that Sir Aaron Armstrong had been murdered. There was something absurd and unseemly about secret violence in connection with so entirely entertaining and popular a figure. For Sir Aaron Armstrong was entertaining to the point of being comic; and popular in such a manner as to be almost legendary.

Destiny Whip is a former child prodigy, world-renowned enigmatologist and very, very alone. A life filled with loss has made her a recluse, an existence she’s content to endure until a letter arrives inviting her to interview for the position of Scruffmore family historian. Not only does an internet search for the name yield almost nothing, it’s a role she never applied to in the first place! Interspersed with riddles and puzzles that both Destiny and the listener must solve, A Most Puzzling Murder is a one-of-a-kind mystery that will leave you guessing and gasping until the very last chapter!

When her daughter is abducted, a former military operative faces a chilling choice: reveal her deadliest secret or lose her child forever. In a peaceful small town, Jennifer’s life spirals when her daughter Bella is kidnapped and her husband Ross critically injured. Once a covert military operative, Jennifer's past erupts as a former ally turns foe. With her daughter’s life in the balance, she faces a dire choice: reveal a dangerous military secret or lose Bella forever.

You never forget your first corpse. For former child star Jarrod Jarvis, that discovery was twenty-plus years ago, and a lot has happened since he solved a string of real-life Hollywood murders. Now Jarrod lives in Palm Springs where he writes and directs local theatre while quietly grieving the loss of his partner, police detective Charlie.

Drei Menschen, drei Welten: Lisa Kunz ist die neue Leiterin des Dezernats Leib und Leben der Kantonspolizei Bern, jener Abteilung, die sich mit den schlimmsten aller Verbrechen befasst: mit Totschlag und Vergewaltigung, mit vorsätzlicher Tötung und kaltblütigem Mord. Schon als Kind hat sie lieber Detektivin als mit Puppen gespielt und wähnt sich am Ziel ihrer Träume. Renate Berger hat geglaubt, dass sie es vielleicht doch noch schaffen kann, dass mit der Geburt ihrer Tochter ein neues Leben beginnt, ein Leben ohne Drogen. Aber die Sucht ist stärker.

Some secrets we keep even from ourselves Philosophy professor Neil Weber can't think of one good reason to get up in the morning. His wife has left him, his academic research has sputtered, and the prospect of tenure is more remote than ever. Until Lucia Vanotti disappears. A college student at Neil’s Southern university, Lucia has a secret of her own—one that haunts her relationships and leads to reckless, destructive behavior. When Neil is drawn into the mystery of her disappearance, he finds new energy, purpose, and relevance. But at what cost?

That’s the mantra for the members of the Monthly Murder Movie Club at The Northwoods Movie Theater. Every month, this eclectic group of northern Michigan residents gather to watch a murder mystery movie on the big screen. After stopping the projector in the middle of the movie, the members gather to discuss the crime and suspects, each making a whodunit pick before resuming the movie. The hair dresser with the scissors? The jilted lover with poison?

A town of unpredictable magic. A Pixie with wonky wings. A murder that shakes a SoCal town to its core! Welcome to St. Maurice, a whimsical seaside town built atop a confluence of magical ley lines, where the extraordinary and the bizarre collide. Meet Twizzle Twist, the town's top real estate pixie with a knack for turning dreams into homes—until one home comes with a newly deceased owner in the study–stabbed with her own sword. The vibrant fencer’s demise sends shockwaves through the covens, and sends Twizzle spiraling into a whirlwind of intrigue.

When the local authorities ask Ruby Simpson to help them find a thief in the small town of Castle Cove, she doesn’t have much of a choice. She predicted the most recent theft, and the cops have no other leads. There are just two small problems. One, she’s not psychic. Two, she’s not Ruby Simpson. Okay, maybe they’re not small problems. But Charlotte needs a place to lay low with her younger sister, somewhere her parents won’t find her and the locals won’t ask too many questions. Getting involved with the cops, especially Deputy Jared, isn’t a smart thing for a reformed con artist to do.

Bernie Butz is at it again. This is a man who has a compulsion to help jazz musicians when they're in trouble. He is a jazz reviewer for the Chicago branch of Crazy Cats Magazine by night, as well as an amateur sleuth. In his first chronicles, there were five short mysteries ranging from personal tragedies to murder, but this is one long story involving the antics and problems involving several members of a big band that comes to town in the early '50s that wind up involving the Chicago mob. If you listened to the first chronicles, you know who he is.

Nach einer Razzia wird die Rechtsreferendarin Anne West brutal erschlagen in ihrer Wohnung aufgefunden. Keinerlei Spuren geben Aufschluss über den Hergang, geschweige denn das Motiv, dieser unerklärlichen Tat. Die Dresdner Mordkommission tappt im Dunkeln und auch der private Umkreis der Toten gibt rätselhafte Fragen auf. Allein macht sich Lissy Santhen, eine enge Freundin der Toten, auf die Suche nach dem möglichen Mörder. Bei ihren Nachforschungen muss sie erfahren, dass Anne Geheimnisse vor ihr hatte und auch der ausbildende Staatsanwalt Dr. Martin scheint etwas zu verbergen.

Deep in the rugged mountains of Arizona and New Mexico, wildlife biologist Whip Sawtell witnesses something eerie, a ghost-like predator slipping through the darkness. But before he can process what he's seen, gunshots ring out from across the Mexican border. Someone doesn’t want him there.

In this exciting psychological thriller, after hearing about a coworker's apparent suicide on a notorious bridge, Michelle Rhodes, a recovering drug addict, finds herself plunged into a gripping mystery.

Mariolino Migliaccio non è un poliziotto. Non ha né un ufficio né una licenza. È un investigatore per necessità, un uomo ai margini che conosce bene le ombre di Genova, perché ci è cresciuto dentro. Anche per questo quando Milca, una ragazzina albanese salvata da un giro di prostituzione minorile, gli chiede di indagare sulla morte sospetta di un amico, Mariolino non può tirarsi indietro.

Im malerischen Romantikhotel "Zum Räuberherz" laufen die Vorbereitungen für die Traumhochzeit von Frederik von Thalheim und Constanze Engelhard auf Hochtouren. Doch die Idylle trügt. Nur wenige Tage vor der Trauung wird eine Leiche im hoteleigenen Rosengarten entdeckt. Während die Hochzeitsgesellschaft in Aufregung und Schock versetzt wird, wittert die Rentnerin Anneliese einen nächsten Fall. Loni, ihre engste Vertraute ist sich da noch nicht so sicher. Handelt es sich überhaupt um einen Mord? Oder war es vielleicht doch ein Unfall?