Agatha
Christie’s And Then There Were None meets The
Gilded Age in this delicious, suspenseful murder
mystery.
When Lady Emma Grace Hastings receives a
much-coveted invitation to the most auspicious Christmas party of the
season—one that comes with a 10,000 pound prize for the winner of a
mysterious game—she cannot believe her good fortune.
But
as the guests are assembled at Mistlewaithe Manor, the chilling
intent of the game is revealed. Each guest has cause for alarm,
because all of them have secrets, and to win the prize money, those
secrets must be exposed.
Things take a sinister turn when
Emma Grace finds herself caught between her old love and her
soon-to-be betrothed. Suspicions abound, and old wounds are opened.
The dead body in the study does not help. Nor does the raging winter
storm that prevents escape from the manor. Emma Grace must battle her
heart, use her wits, and put her sleuthing skills to the test to
survive the weekend alive.
AJ Skelly is an author, reader, and
lover of all things fantasy, history, and fairy-tale-romance. And
werewolves. She has a serious soft spot for them. As an avid
life-long reader and a former high school English teacher, she’s
always been fascinated with the written word. She lives with her
husband, children, and many imaginary friends who often find their
way into her stories. They all drink copious amounts of tea together
and stay up reading far later than they should.
The
South's wealthiest, most dysfunctional family is back, with old
scores to settle and a surprising houseguest
Red Pines
Trapnell Thriller
Book 3
by
Jill Hand
Genre: Thriller
“In
this hilarious third installment, Jill Hand gives us the weirdest,
funniest family saga yet.”
–Wayne Turmel, author of Johnny Lycan: The Werewolf
PI series
The discovery of the bodies of
two "honky-tonk hitmen" on land belonging to a former
relative brings the Trapnell siblings, self-centered Aimee, indolent
Trainor, and brilliant Marsh, back to White Oaks, their opulent
ancestral home. FBI Special Agent Carson Burns is tasked with
protecting them, something she finds increasingly difficult, as
sinister events keep occurring which barely avoid being fatal.
Adding to the confusion is a
deposed dictator who has eluded his Secret Service watchdogs and is
pretending to be Marsh's valet.
It becomes clear that someone
intends to murder the Trapnells, but who? And why? A rapper called
Baby Patty Cake insists the Illuminati are to blame, but that can't
be true, can it?
What readers are
saying:
Author Jill Hand
has crafted a thriller that offers the ideal balance of humor and
suspense to create a delightfully entertaining experience filled with
quirky characters and unexpected twists. The dysfunctional dynamics
of the Trapnell family are an absolute joy and a great foil to play
off during the biggest surprises of the plot, while the witty
dialogue and eccentric scenarios provide plenty of laughs along the
way. The clues unfold at a great pace to allow us to figure things
out alongside Agent Burns, yet the reader is kept in a fair amount of
suspense about the true motives behind the attempts on the Trapnells'
lives, leading to a satisfying and surprising conclusion. Overall,
Red Pines is a captivating read that offers equal parts humor and
suspense, making it a must-read for fans of comedic thrillers
everywhere.
A
mysterious cowboy is stalking the eccentric Trapnell siblings. Is he
a supernatural entity or a hired killer? To complicate things, the
will making them heirs to their billionaire father’s estate is
missing and a relative has returned from a watery grave.
Last time, the Trapnells saved
the world from destruction. This time they may not be able to save
themselves. Black Willows is a darkly funny Southern-fried
adventure, complete with Voodoo, arson, and alligators.
“An
ingeniously dark comic thriller about greed, gluttony and murder that
is destined for the big screen.” –Best Thrillers
Aimee Trapnell reluctantly
leaves her apartment on Manhattan’s Central Park West to return to
her childhood home in Georgia for her father’s ninetieth birthday.
Also on hand are her two brothers, wily Marsh and ne’er-do-well
Trainor. With a forty-billion-dollar inheritance at stake, they’re
willing to do whatever it takes to make the old man happy.
To their shock they learn that
what their father wants for his birthday is to kill someone. He
doesn’t care who it is. He just wants to know what it’s like to
commit murder.
Betrayal, double-dealing, and
fast-paced action set the Trapnells on a collision course with an
unexpected villain. Their journey takes them from the swamps of
Georgia, to Italy’s glittering Amalfi coast, to rugged Yellowstone
National Park.
Jill
Hand is a member of International Thriller Writers. Her Southern
Gothic novels, White Oaks, and Black Willows, are available on Amazon
and from the publisher, Black Rose Writing.
Advance readers called White
Oaks a fast-paced, hilarious account of three siblings who are
competing for their father's forty-billion-dollar fortune while
trying to prevent the destruction of Planet Earth.
Diane Donovan, senior reviewer
from Midwest Book Review praised White Oaks, calling it, "an
unusually multifaceted tale that holds the ability to prompt laughter
from thriller-style tension."
A sequel to White Oaks, Black
Willows, follows the adventures of the squabbling, dysfunctional
Trapnell family. Red Pines, third in the series of Trapnell family
thrillers, was just released in April 2024.
A gripping historical novel with a dual timeline linking World War II and the Cold War and one woman’s search for the traitor who betrayed her family. Perfect for fans of The Rose Code.
The War Photographers
by
SL Beaumont
Genre:
Historical Fiction
She
will risk everything to expose the truth
1943
– Bletchley Park, England
Mae Webster, immersed in the
clandestine world of codebreaking at Bletchley Park, is recruited to
help unveil a spy who’s on the brink of exposing Britain's most
guarded secret: the cracking of the Enigma code. As war rages around
her, Mae's life takes an unexpected turn when she falls in love with
the enigmatic New Zealand war photographer Jack Knight. Their
relationship develops at pace, but tragedy strikes when one of Jack's
photographs risks unmasking an elusive double agent.
1989
– Berlin, Germany
Rachel Talbot, a globetrotting
photojournalist, ventures into the heart of a fractured Berlin in
search of the Stasi officer whom her beloved grandmother Mae blames
for betraying their family. Rachel finds herself entangled in the
East German uprising and is irresistibly drawn to a charismatic
activist. As the Cold War threatens to boil over, Rachel races to
expose a traitor before it’s too late.
SL Beaumont is an award-winning mystery and crime writer with a passion for travel and history.
She lives in beautiful New Zealand, which is only problematic when the travel bug bites (which it does fairly often)! Her love of travel has seen her take many long-haul flights to various parts of the world. Her enjoyment of history helps determine the destination, and the places she visits are a constant source of inspiration for her.
Prior to becoming an author, SL Beaumont worked in banking in London and New York and is now a partner of a chartered accounting firm in Auckland.
Shadow of Doubt won the 2020 Indie Reader Mystery/Suspense/Thriller Award and was long-listed for the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel. Death Count was a semi-finalist for the Publisher’s Weekly BookLife Prize.
"A
well-thought out and imaginative novel." - Indies Today
The
blood wasn’t real. Her heart hammered in her chest. The
blood wasn’t real. She could feel the terror coursing
through her veins. The blood wasn’t real. But what if it
was hers?
Ever
since the nightmares started, Josephine “Josie” Benson’s life
had started spiraling out of control. At night, she couldn’t sleep,
and during the day she finds it increasingly more difficult to cling
to reality. Nothing in her twenty-five years of life had prepared her
for this moment, and, somehow, no matter who she turned to no one had
any concrete answers. No one except for the mysterious stranger.
He
swears he knows the answers to all of her questions, but how can
Josie trust him when he only calls her Celine, a name she has no
memory of or connection to.
Can
this stranger who looks at her like she has secrets really be
trusted? Does he know the reason for her nightmares? Or could he
somehow be behind them?
Grayson
Buckley can see the physical toll the nightmares are taking on her
and it breaks his heart. He desperately wants to help her, to free
her mind and awaken her, but he knows it isn’t time yet. He can’t
rush this. One day she will awaken, and when she does all will be
made known.
When
one accident finally reveals the answers she’s been dying for,
Josie finds that her life will never be the same. Will Josie be able
to accept the truth of her past and the power that dwells within her?
Or will she succumb to the evil that now manifests itself in the
world around her?
Find
out in Shadows of the Past: Book One in the Shadows
Slayers Stories!
Things
were supposed to be better now that she had awoken, but somehow, they
seemed to be getting worse.
Celine
Devereaux Buckley, who once lived a mortal, very human life as Josie
Benson, thought that coming home would be safe. She would be
surrounded by those she loved and who loved her most, but her
homecoming was more complicated than she ever imagined.
Shortly
after arriving, she begins feeling strange. As her physical condition
once again worsens, she and her family can’t help but wonder what
could be causing her so much pain. When Damien Sherwood, her beloved
human cousin, connects her missing portrait to Celine’s troubles,
he throws himself into a desperate search to find it. The image, a
portrait of Celine with mystical powers to guard the Buckley
household, has gone missing, and without it, everyone is in grave
danger. But how can they get it back when Celine is already under
attack from its absence?
Damien,
tired of watching Celine suffer, finally comes up with a plan to
retrieve the missing talisman. Crazy though it may be, he’s willing
to try anything. With the help of Celine’s magical gifts and her
former human boyfriend, Michael, Damien travels back in time to track
down the missing portrait. However, unexpected dark forces are
lurking even in the past.
Will
Damien and Michael be able to retrieve the painting before it’s too
late for Celine? Can they change the course of the past without
damaging the future they love? Or will their efforts end up getting
them killed?
Find
out in Stolen
Portrait Stolen Soul.
This is book two in the stunning Shadow
Slayers Stories series
and will keep you on the edge of your seat and holding your breath
until the last page.
Nellie
H. Steele lives in the South Hills of Pittsburgh with her family and
her many fur-babies. When she isn't writing, she enjoys teaching
Statistics at a local university or watching her dogs and cats play
in the yard.
Nellie
is the author of the Cate Kensie Mystery Series, a cozy mystery
series following the adventures of Dr. Catherine Kensie, a history
professor turned Scottish Countess, and her beloved dog, Riley, as
they navigate their new lives in their quirky Scottish highlands
castle, solving mysteries along the way! She is the creator of the
Shadow Slayers series, a suspenseful series with a supernatural
twist! Follow the Shadow Slayers through time as they fight to banish
darkness from the world. Nellie also writes an adventure series,
Maggie Edwards Adventures. Follow Maggie Edwards as she travels the
world solving mysteries and finding unique treasures!
Why does Jessica Hastings come home late several times a week?
Her
husband asks Private Investigator Sam Dyke this simple question. Dyke
doesn't want the case: he doesn't do divorce work ... but Brian
Hastings doesn't want a divorce, he wants an explanation.
When
Sam finds out what Jessica is doing, it opens up more questions. And
when Brian Hastings goes missing, they're questions he feels
compelled to answer.
At
the centre of the mystery is a man who most people in Manchester
don't know--Larry Stone. But those who do know him, know that far
from being the simple florist he seems to be, he's actually the
biggest crook in town. He's powerful, he's dangerous, and he's
currently working a deal with a Dutchman who's even worse.
And
Sam is now caught in Stone's sights as he works to find Brian
Hastings, to solve a couple of murders, and to prevent Stone
corrupting even more members of his own family than he already
has.
Before
the biggest deal of Stone's crooked career goes down.
Keith Dixon was born in Yorkshire and grew up in the Midlands. He's been writing since he was thirteen years old in a number of different genres: thriller, espionage, science fiction, literary. Two-time winner of the Chanticleer Reviews CLUE First in Category award for Private Eye/Noir novel, he's the author of eleven full-length books and one short-story in the Sam Dyke Investigations series and two other non-crime works, as well as two collections of blog posts on the craft of writing.
The
Salem Wildlife Sanctuary is Gwen Taylor's life work. Her Irish Gypsy
heritage provides a hidden talent she uses to help the creatures
under her care. But even her magical skills can't help new rescues in
dire need of veterinary care.
The
opportunity of signing on as the vet for Gwen's sanctuary dropped
into Brock Scutter's lap after he expanded his practice to include
wildlife. The personal attraction he and Gwen experience is
undeniable the more their professional and personal lives
collide.
Touring
the only "non-haunted" house in Salem they both feel a
spark of magic. A trip to his family's cabin uncovers a heritage he
didn't know existed. If they want a future together, it means facing
the consequences of awakening hidden Gypsy magic and a race against
the clock to correct past wrongs.
Elemental
witch, Pepper McKay and former Navy SEAL, Lathen Quartz have built
Lobster Cove Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on enchanted
McKay land. During a romantic interlude on Halloween night, Pepper
happily agrees to become Lathen’s wife.
What better day than Winter
Solstice for their wedding in a town that loves celebrations and
Christmas. However, planning a wedding and operating their wildlife
center takes a toll on both Pepper and Lathen.
When
the couple takes a much-needed break for Thanksgiving with family in
Colorado, a Maine snowstorm fills the center with injured wildlife.
Lathen finds himself drawn into a covert military mission, while
trying to deal with issues with friends and family. Pepper wants to
cancel the wedding. Is she having second thoughts? Will the nosy
McKay ghosts, Lathen's werewolf pack, Pepper's parents, and her best
friend help or hinder the wedding and holiday plans?
Pepper
McKay comes from a long line of powerful witches. Unfortunately,
magic brings her nothing but trouble. She learned the love of
wildlife rescue and rehab from her Aunt Ashling. After graduating
from college, Pepper works for Salem Wildlife Sanctuary and lives
from paycheck to paycheck until she inherits the McKay property in
Lobster Cove. With the family land and resources, she dares to dream
of starting her own wildlife rescue and rehabilitation
center.
Lathen
Quartz, a former Navy SEAL turned handyman maintains the enchanted
McKay property for the McKay estate. But someone is trying to steal
the McKay magic. Lathen offers to help Pepper achieve her life-long
dream of building a wildlife center. During the long hours spent
together on the project, their mutual attraction can’t be denied.
But each harbors a deep, dark secret. Will they overcome their demons
and give love a chance?
With
the majestic Rocky Mountains just outside the window, I sit at my
computer with vampires,demons, witches, faeries, and a variety of
paranormal creatures gathered around telling me their stories! That
makes me an author of paranormal romance novels and cozy mysteries
with magic spark. The everyday world is mundane, but sprinkle a
little magic and you have fantastic!
Colorado
is home. I share my life with a wonderful husband of many moons, our
brilliant Chow Chow, a terribly spoiled companion parrot, and a
forty-year-old box turtle. We enjoy hiking, biking, and camping, also
love water sports including kayaking and whitewater rafting,
especially on the Arkansas River through the Royal Gorge.
Another
passion of mine is reading a good novel. You can find me any winter
evening curled up in front of
a crackling fire with a good book, a mug of hot chocolate, and a big
bowl of popcorn. While growing up, if I didn’t like the ending of a
book, I’d rewrite it, which led to writing my own
books.
Reluctantly,
I discovered that in real life it’s tough to rewrite an ending.
