Mortar and Murder

Mortar and Murder
Author: Jennie Bentley
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2011-01-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101476788

A designer and a handsome handyman hammer out the details of a cold case, in this must-read for lovers of HGTV’s home renovation shows. Avery Baker was once a New York textile designer, but inheriting her aunt's old Maine cottage has led her down a new career path-home renovation. Finding a property's hidden potential has rewards and challenges-especially when a mystery surfaces from behind the walls of a centuries-old house on an island that has more than its share of deadly secrets.

Premeditated Mortar

Premeditated Mortar
Author: Kate Carlisle
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2020-12-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1984804421

Contractor Shannon Hammer gets tangled up in murder at a spooky old asylum in the latest Fixer-Upper Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Kate Carlisle. . . . Shannon Hammer is about to embark on one of the biggest projects of her career. Her best friend Jane Hennessey has purchased one wing of the Gables, formerly the old state insane asylum, located on a bucolic hillside two miles northeast of Lighthouse Cove. Jane plans to turn her section into a small luxury hotel complete with twenty ocean-view rooms, a spa, and a restaurant. Shannon is raring to get started on the enormous project and is shocked when a group of unruly protesters shows up at the groundbreaking ceremony and wreaks havoc. She’s even more freaked-out when someone pushes her into a pit of bricks in a closed-off room of the asylum. Despite her close call, Shannon wants nothing more than to get back to work . . . until she finds a body not far from where she was pushed. Now Shannon is determined to get to the bottom of the goings-on at the Gables even if it kills her. . . .

Home For the Homicide

Home For the Homicide
Author: Jennie Bentley
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2013-12-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101627220

In this Do-It-Yourself mystery series that's perfect for lovers of HGTV home renovation shows, a designer will attempt to put the finishing touches on a decades-old mystery. Avery Baker was a big city textile designer, until she inherited her aunt’s old Maine cottage and found her true calling—home renovation. But she never expected her latest job would come to such a bone-rattling dead end... For Avery and her husband Derek, renovating the Craftsman Bungalow was like stepping back in time. The quaint old home was just as its original owners had left it—from the beautiful butler’s pantry to the surprisingly exquisite ribbon tile. But it’s the attic that yields the most heart-stopping surprise. In a discreetly hidden antique crate, Avery finds a clue to a decades-old missing persons case. As Avery works on the house and delves deeper into the sinister story, it becomes clear that someone very crafty wants the Craftsman home’s secrets to stay that way!

Blood in the Low Country

Blood in the Low Country
Author: Paul Attaway
Publisher: Linksland Publishing
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2023-07-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Blood in the Low Country, the first of the Atkins Family Low Country Sagas, tells the story of a southern family living in Charleston, South Carolina in 1973. The book follows the lives of Monty Atkins, his wife Rose, and their sons Eli and Walker. Rose’s childhood is plagued by poverty, abuse, and tragedy. Determined to prove she’s better than her past, she relentlessly pushes her sons to succeed in proper Charleston society. When Rose’s oldest son Eli, the product of her first, failed marriage, is accused of murdering his girlfriend Kimberly, Rose fears losing everything. Monty believes his son is innocent and hires a detective to find the killer. But when the murderer is revealed, Monty’s marriage and everything he holds true are tested. Can Monty and Rose save their family and confront Rose’s demons? Only time will tell. A story of love, faith, and redemption, Blood in the Low Country is a must-read for fans of Southern family sagas.

Murder by Moonlight

Murder by Moonlight
Author: Vincent Zandri
Publisher:
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2021-05
Genre:
ISBN: 9781643962061

Would you try to save your son from a death sentence if he tried to murder you in your own bed? In Murder by Moonlight, Vincent Zandri's cunning detective Dick Moonlight returns with his toughest case yet: proving an open-and-shut murder investigation isn't over at all. Joan Parker is the last woman private eye Dick Moonlight would ever expect to see in his Albany office. From the right side of the tracks-neighboring Bethlehem-she bears her upper class upbringing as effortlessly as a string of pearls. She also bears a scar running down her head and face-a brutal reminder of the ax attack that took the life of her husband. Her twenty-one-year-old son, Christopher, now sits in jail charged with the crime. According to the official report-based on Joan's answers to police when they arrived at the house and found her barely alive-she identified Christopher as the culprit. But sitting in Moonlight's office, she reveals that she has no recollection of the event, yet is certain of one thing: Christopher didn't do it. Moonlight knows a thing or two about being nearly dead. And he also knows the tragedy of the police jumping to the wrong conclusions-a past case of a falsely accused client still haunts him-so he agrees to take the job and get to the truth of what happened that day. At first the trail of clues-from the crime scene to Joan's original accusation-keeps the finger pointed at Christopher. But soon Moonlight turns up something he never expected, something more sinister than anything he's ever come up against. Vincent Zandri's latest Dick Moonlight PI thriller, Murder by Moonlight is a fast-paced, whip-smart tale of a guy who can't always remember getting into trouble-and can't seem to stay out of it. For fans of Robert B. Parker, Michael Connelly, Ace Atkins, Brett Battles, Don Winslow, and more comes an unputdownable mystery based on a true story that's sure to keep you up all night...in a good way.

No Place Like Murder

No Place Like Murder
Author: Janis Thornton
Publisher: Quarry Books
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2020-09-29
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 0253052793

A modern retelling of 20 sensational true crimes, No Place Like Murder reveals the inside details behind nefarious acts that shocked the Midwest between 1869 and 1950. The stories chronicle the misdeeds, examining the perpetrators' mindsets, motives, lives, apprehensions, and trials, as well as what became of them long after. True crime author Janis Thornton profiles notorious murderers such as Frankie Miller, who was fed up when her fiancé stood her up for another woman. As fans of the song "Frankie and Johnny" already know, Frankie met her former lover at the door with a shotgun. Thornton's tales reveal the darker side of life in the Midwest, including the account of Isabelle Messmer, a plucky young woman who dreamed of escaping her quiet farm-town life. After she nearly took down two tough Pittsburgh policemen in 1933, she was dubbed "Gun Girl" and went on to make headlines from coast to coast. In 1942, however, after a murder conviction in Texas, she vowed to do her time and go straight. Full of intrigue and revelations, No Place Like Murder also features such folks as Chirka and Rasico, the first two Hoosier men to die in the electric chair after they brutally murdered their wives in 1913. The two didn't meet until their fateful last night. An enthralling and chilling collection, No Place Like Murder is sure to thrill true crime lovers.

Muffin But Murder

Muffin But Murder
Author: Victoria Hamilton
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2014-07-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0698143159

Muffin maker Merry Wynter hopes to find a buyer for the castle she’s recently inherited. But when she throws a party to draw interest, she finds someone who’s bought the farm instead… Merry’s career as a New York City stylist has crumbled, but her passion for muffins has helped her rise upstate in Autumn Vale. Everyone in town loves the tasty treats. Still, she would like to return to her glamorous life. Besides, the upkeep of Wynter Castle is expensive, and Merry’s cup isn’t exactly overflowing. So in order to bring some prospective buyers into the mix, Merry whisks together a spooky soiree and decorates the castle with dashes of fabric and a sprinkling of spider webs. Friends new and old are invited, and everyone has a blast. But as the revelers empty out, Merry notices one partygoer who isn’t leaving—or breathing. Now Merry must hurry to unmask a killer before her perfect plans turn into a recipe for disaster…

A Rumor of War

A Rumor of War
Author: Philip Caputo
Publisher: Picador USA
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2017-08
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1250117127

The author recounts his experiences during the sixteen months he spent as a Marine infantry officer in the Vietnam war.