Mystery Reads

Three darkly funny thrillers from USA Today best-selling author Angela Pepper writing as Gia Pere! A mysterious woman on the run joins an aging A-list actor on a tropical film set where a sudden tragedy puts everyone in jeopardy. A woman who always wanted her sister's life finally gets it. A young woman steps out of the shadows and into a role as a private investigator.

Terminated from a Topeka law firm for refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccinations, Jeremy Duff drives to the small city of Parsons, Kansas where he purchases the abandoned Bleake Funeral Home at a great price to use the building for both his law office and his residence. On just his second night in the upstairs apartment, Jeremy is confronted by the ghost of Amelia Bleake who was murdered by her own brother in the funeral home in 1962. This story chronicles how Jeremy and Amelia deal with their unintended relationship and the perils they face as the spirit world seeks to abduct Amelia back to...

After a disastrous sixth grade, Jake Herndon is anxiously awaiting his Big Do-Over, starting with his new school's notorious seventh-grade sleepover. Awkward team-building games and forced fun quickly become the least of his problems, however, when a dangerous organization invades and the night takes a shocking turn. Jake and two new classmates, Lucy and TJ, barely escape, only to find themselves in a fight for survival on the streets of Chicago. Over the next 48 hours, they unravel a mystery dating back to the Civil War and an incredible secret about Jake s family.

Livia Andersen was a woman who held her family together with a quiet smile and an iron will. It’s been months since her death and her children and grandchildren she leaves behind continue to grapple with the shifting changes in their lives now that she’s gone. For some of them it is about far more than adjusting to her absence in their lives. Trisha Andersen doesn’t do anything without careful deliberation. She can’t remember the last time she made plans involving a man that had her questioning her own judgment. Maybe it’s the simple fact that she’s never made plans with a man ...

Abandoned by her fugitive ex-husband, Lily Brown is rebuilding her life on the edge of a Kansas town that still feels the sting of his crimes. Lily lies low, managing the isolated storage facility where she lives with her twelve-year-old son, Everett, and planning a better future for them both. That requires keeping secrets. Everett has them too. After breaking into a storage unit, Everett finds photographs and news clippings of five girls missing for decades.

★ ★ ★ Little lies can lead to huge suspense… Victoria: I learn that his name is Massimo Baldini. A good mix between the French complainer and the hot-blooded Italian. My heart accelerates again when he asks me my first and last name somewhat directly… During this holiday, however, I wish to change my life and forget Victoria “the Gray.” I’ve already radically changed my look. Now I have to find another identity for myself. But taken unawares like that, I say “Vicky. Vicky Golden.” I’d just heard the song GoldenEye in the car. And my subconscious had surely caught the ...

Tragedy, secrets, and heartache. It’s been the story of her life for years. Abigail knew that she should be afraid of him…but she wasn’t. Not even when he told her who he was…and why he was there.She’d taken a job on the cruise ship years ago with the thought that if she was never in any one place for very long she would be safe. No one would ever think to look for her here. At least that’s what she believed. Gabe had suspected for a couple of days that something wasn’t quite right. He’d taken this particular job thinking it would be a simple deal and tied up quickly and ...

This is a Box Set of Cozy Mystery Books 4-7 in the Tabitha Clive Amateur Sleuth Short Read Series Bad Guys, Bribery, and Blueberry Muffins - Book 4 Question: What does a dead Kornville councilman, a nationally televised baking competition, and thousands of missing dollars have in common? Answer: Tabitha Clive! The year is 1966 and Abigail Clive is doing an excellent job as the newly appointed mayor of Kornville, Nebraska. Well, it was going well until her harshest critic turns up dead. Amidst all the chaos, a nationally televised baking competition is offering a whopping $10,000 prize for ...

Claire had never been happier. The honeymoon in Thailand was perfect. But the flight home to the Florida Panhandle was long and exhausting. As they made their final descent into the Destin Airport, Claire shook Hobbs and called his name, but he was unresponsive. As Claire screamed for help, a doctor came across the aisle and after a short examination declared Hobbs dead. As the story unfolds, Claire descends into a riptide of conflicting emotions and dark secrets. She realizes she never knew Hobbs at all. Their life together was based on a series of lies. Who was Hobbs? And why are the FBI ...

A serial killer, Enrique Malefico, is fixated on retiring NYPD detective Jed McCain, follows him to his new position as chief of police in Coronado Beach, Florida and on his first day on the job presents him with another victim. Since the killer has changed his MO, McCain doesn’t immediately recognize the handiwork of the Night Fire Strangler. As the bodies pile up, he recognizes his archrival’s signature. Once the city council understands the connection between the killer and McCain, it reconsiders their decision to hire him and sets the date for meeting to terminate his employment. To...

Assassin, Kurt Harm, infiltrates the mob in order to extinguish the increasing threat to New York City's political structure. Things spiral out of control, and Harm finds himself in more danger than ever as he travels to Palermo, Sicily.

No one should die on their birthday! It should be one of life’s rules. Super-rich John Newberry, the most hated man in Nettleton Top, is murdered at his own lavish birthday party but no one hears or sees anything. How can that happen in a mansion overflowing with guests? Unless they each have something to hide? Can the mystery be solved? The clues are there… if you can find them. Local society columnist and amateur detective, Nettie Pidgeon is on the case. Can she discover who the killer is before they strike again? Helping her along is her granddaughter Libby, who runs the Mrs. ...

Faye Adelheim is living a delicious lie. She is wealthy beyond imagination, she is the Chairman of her self-made global cosmetics brand, and her ex-husband, the monster who killed her beloved daughter Julienne, is living out the remainder of his days behind bars. But unbeknownst to journalists, police officers, and investors, and even the lovers she occasionally invites to her bed, Faye has a secret: her daughter is, in fact, alive and well and so is her mother, the woman Faye’s father was sentenced for allegedly killing years ago.

Book #6 in the Phoenix Detective Series finds Ann Essex along with her cohorts, Bill Dancer, Suzanne Beck, Husband John, daughter Robin and her ever present companion Caela, Tom Van Pelt and a few others helping to solve murder on the wedding day of Bill and Suzanne's wedding day. Bodies abound. Who will be next? And will they be able to stave off any threats to young Robin and her friends? And why are the victims looking surprisingly like Bill Dancer?

The story of "The Three Musketeers" continues in "The Man in the Iron Mask" but the plot is even more intricate. D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis return to the scene but this time each of them is fighting for completely different things. D’Artagnan remains in the service of the corrupt King Louis XIV while his "brothers" try to remove him from the throne.

"Great short Halloween mystery." ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ When a prized award for a local haunted house competition suddenly goes missing, Emma Marsh and her sister Lilly set out on a tantalizing adventure to save her candy shop and keep the competition on schedule. Immerse yourself in the delectable world of Candyland Confections, where sugary delights and spine-tingling mysteries collide! Emma Marsh, the owner of a delightful candy shop, is on a mission to save her sweet business when the prized award for a local haunted house contest vanishes. Teaming up with her trusted sister and confidante...

He thought he knew everything about his wife... He was wrong! Tom and Amy Pearce have built a seemingly perfect life - a loving marriage, a beautiful daughter, fulfilling careers, and a comfortable home. They couldn't ask for more. So why is Amy hiding something? When Tom stumbles upon an object he believed was lost in a tragic accident, memories flood back, catapulting him into an emotional whirlwind. A few days later, Tom observes an encounter between Amy and a mysterious stranger. The subtle shift in her demeanour piques his concern, stirring a deep unease within him. Desperate for ...

Maggie Thomas, P.I. and her orthopedic shoe wearing sidekick Dorothy Raye return. When Maggie witnesses a horrific accident it doesn’t take long for her to discover it was no accident. The victim’s wife hires Maggie to find the killer. But Detective Jake Jackson thinks he already knows the identity of the killer. Maggie disagrees. Who is right and will their opposing views cause friction in their new relationship?

Cricket Crosby is back . . . and she's licensed to snoop! Fresh off divorce and a private investigator's course, Cricket's ready to balance running her antiques store with proving her PI chops . . . if someone will take a chance on her. When a local PI catches a case involving the theft of luxury goods, he hires the former debutante to go undercover to trap a thief. But snooping during PTA meetings and cotillion parties is harder than it looks, especially when Cricket's missteps cause a hunky police detective to cast suspicion on her new bestie, Ruby Balthazar.

When family recipes come with a side of danger... Isabella Rossi has spent her life perfecting her craft as an Italian fusion chef, pouring her passion and heritage into her newly opened restaurant, Semolina. But when her lifelong rival, Giuseppe Bellano, collapses at her restaurant’s wine dinner—poisoned, no less—Isabella’s culinary dreams quickly spiral into a nightmare. Accused of murder and faced with a family feud dating back generations, Isabella teams up with her quick-witted best friend, Vee, to uncover the truth. The key lies in an ancient recipe—guarded for centuries—...