Funny Thrillers Mystery

Sixteen delightful holiday short stories by some of your favorite Soho crime authors! This captivating collection of short mysteries and crime capers - which features New York Times best-selling authors, Crime Writers Association Gold and Diamond Dagger winners, and Edgar Award nominees - contains laughs aplenty, the most hardboiled of holiday noir, and heartwarming reminders of the spirit of the season.

Victoria Cross moved to Spirits Cove to take over her grandfather’s antique bookshop, much to her mother’s displeasure. The mystery-loving Vicky quickly sees herself involved in solving the murders of farmers she barely knows. Those deaths seem accidental or related to rabies-infected wolf attacks at first, but that is not the case. In the midst of this, she quickly becomes friends with the town’s police chief, her grandfather’s best friend, triggering gossip. Vicky is unaware of her heritage and her relevance to that town. She has no idea of either that town’s history or of its ...

Theft, extortion, homicide — there’s no end to the talents of the new men in photographer Sonny Littlefield’s life. Ever since she moved to the strawberry and sheep farm that she inherited from her biological father, her problems have been piling up: her cousins keep robbing her house, she’s rapidly going broke, and she hasn’t had a date in months. Her top priority is figuring out who left a skeleton hand and threatening note in her ramshackle barn. Somebody in Gracious, Maine, is turning human remains into playthings, and it’s all Sonny can do to keep from ending up a pile of ...

There is another 1985, somewhere in the could-have-been, where the Crimean war still rages, dodos are regenerated in home-cloning kits and everyone is deeply disappointed by the ending of 'Jane Eyre'.

Isobel Avery is on her second assignment as an undercover poison taster for Los Angeles's rich and famous. And she's actually enjoying herself. Until her sweet, agoraphobic client mysteriously leaves the safety of his apartment and winds up dead. When crucial evidence goes missing, investigator Connor Stiles will need Izzy's inside knowledge to help track down the killer. But despite three months of absence to make Connor's heart grow fonder, he doesn't seem pleased to be working with her again.

The Headless Horseman. Everyone knows the legend. That’s all it is, right? When a third headless victim is found on Boston’s streets, Chloe Mayfield is tasked with finding the person behind the crime spree – no one else wants a case this weird. It would be easy to dismiss the murders as nothing more than the random acts of a madman with a cosplay fetish, but when her investigations lead her to the morgue, she comes face to face with an apparition she cannot explain. Throw in the stalker-like attentions of a deranged clown, dangerous interactions with the Salem witches, and an enemy ...

Apparently, I've been slacking on the job as a paralegal, even though the firm doesn't know that I'm secretly working as the area's premier Pet Whisperer P.I. to solve our toughest cases behind the scenes. Now, they've hired an intern to "help" me manage my workload.... But what the partners don't realize is that they've let a nefarious criminal into our offices. Trust me, Octo-Cat can smell this guy's stink from a mile away. The worst part? I'm pretty sure he can talk to animals too...and he most definitely isn't using his talents to solve crimes and defend the innocent.

What should you do if you discover you're dead and didn't know it? Murder Detective Kate Madding does as she always has when something emotionally challenging comes along. She throws herself into work. That's why she is known as D.I. Ghost. A serial killer is at large and she joins forces with his victims to bring him to justice. Suffering from posthumous traumatic stress when they first meet, their friendship slowly gives meaning to their afterlife, as Kate also helps her twin sister cope with her death. This is the antidote to the usual serial killer detective story. The victims are ...

This is Book Five in the Scottsdale series....

What would you do if your ex got abducted? Remember, they're an ex for a reason. So let's assume you hate them from the depths of your soul. Line up the tequila shots, right? Not your problem? Now stay with me for a second. What if you were the only person who could save their life? Then would you save them? We are talking about another human being's life, after all. Now, imagine you have seven million dollars in your bank account. Sweet, right? It's seven million dollars or your ex's life. This is a judgment-free zone. Be honest. You'd keep the seven million dollars. Am I right? Yeah, me too.

The latest thrilling collection of “Vampire for Hire” stories featuring vampire private eye, Samantha Moon, including: Silver Hammer - When a silver hammer appears in the hands of one of Samantha Moon’s closest friends―along with a bloodthirsty need to use it―the vampire detective is about to discover just how clever the Universe can be... When Sam Met Santa - When Santa Claus shows up at Sam Moon's door, it's hardly the strangest thing that's ever happened to her. What happens next, however, is another story... One Swallow - A murdered wife. A desperate husband seeking revenge. ...

Clara Cassidy and Samael returned to Crossedlake University after a brief respite from the chaos at the end of last semester; they found that things had changed. The school was on lock-down, Corbin was missing, and they were under suspicion. Their worst fears slowly came true as the arcane investigators patrolling the school slowly unraveled what happened last semester and zeroed in on Clara. One of the detectives, known to be one of the best that ever existed, quickly pieced things together and targeted their group. She interrogated them intensely as she tried to pick apart the origin of ...

Jim and Kram are back in their second hilarious romp around their secluded Southeast Alaskan island. With a serial killer at large (a cereal serial killer, to be more accurate), an unlucky entrepreneur with an out-of-control facial tic, and the nephew of a notorious crime boss setting up shop on the island, Lieutenant Jim Wekle will have his work cut out for him.

MAVERICK: I might have been a crappy excuse for a big brother in the past, but now I’m making up for lost time… And time isn’t the only thing that’s lost. So is my sister, Astrid. So, I do what any good brother would do—I go after her. Concealing my true identity, I attend Blood Rose Academy as a professor of potions. And along for the ride is my new wife, Taliyah. Not only am I hoping we can find Astrid, but I’m really hoping we find her alive. ASTRID: Even though I definitely have a thing for vampires, that doesn’t mean I wanted to become one… And it definitely didn’t ...

Mary Brown notices the man watching her. There's something familiar about him. Who is he? He seems to be following her. What does he want? He knows things he shouldn't know. Mary Brown is concerned and confused. Then her baby is stolen... While a police team search for her missing girl and reporters gather outside the hospital, Mary and Ted must confront the unthinkable: their baby girl is missing, and they have no idea who took her or why. With each passing hour, Mary grows more desperate to find her baby while navigating the exhausting challenges of postpartum life. The book is a ...

Relics. Risks. Revelations. Angus Darrow just wants to finish renovating his Exmouth flat. Charlotte Lockwood just wants something — anything — to distract her from the endless smell of paint. When the local museum reports missing artefacts, Charlotte takes the case. But what seems like a simple undercover job soon turns into something far more sinister. Meanwhile, Angus can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right with his neighbour... As Charlotte and Angus race to uncover the truth, it’s not just missing artefacts they need to worry about… it’s staying one step ...

There’s something precious hidden in the hills. But everyone who seeks it never returns… WWII vet Hayward Yost happily enjoys retirement in small-town Oklahoma, a million miles away from his war years. But when a buddy dies under mysterious circumstances and the police rule it an accident, the grizzled old-timer is convinced there’s something terribly wrong. And as rumors resurface about the legendary lost treasure of Belle Star, he digs into the case that looks more and more like murder. With shifty characters circling the little community and a Cherokee fable of Bigfoot protecting ...

How many concussions have I had this year? That's the only explanation for the news I just received. It’s been a crazy year. I’ve been shot at, blown up, and knocked out more times than I can count. But this next phase takes the cake. Now - you can also add knocked up to that list. Sweet Oprah! If you think a surprise pregnancy at the age of 40 was a shock to me, you should see what happened to Luke. But adding a baby into our lives is going to be a challenge. My cottage is barely big enough for the two of us. Especially since he’s one of those dreaded morning people. Sometimes I ...

Meet Tommy Martini, the monk with an anger management problem. His meditations are interrupted by a legacy from his uncle, a crooked priest. Arriving in a New Age Arizona town to claim his inheritance, Brother Tommy meets a charismatic, smoking-hot cult leader who claims that women are being impregnated by alien beings while they sleep. Tommy’s own sleep is disturbed - by cartel hitmen, Mafia bill collectors, and women intrigued by his vow of chastity.

Class would be different this semester. Clara was going to be sure of that. Her new life at Crossedlake made her feel happier and more at home than anywhere else, regardless of the tragedies that had happened. Although she felt strange after her encounter with the god of another realm, she still felt confident and ready for anything. Her confidence was knocked down a peg when she was thrust into the path of death on her first day of school, barely surviving thanks to a strange creature she promptly forgot about when she returned to the real world. Choosing necromancy as your specialization ...