Star Tangled Murder

Star Tangled Murder
Author: Nancy J. Cohen
Publisher: Orange Grove Press
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2023-03-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1952886244

Hairstylist Marla Vail and her husband get tangled up in murder when their Fourth of July visit to a living history village ends with a bang—and a body. Salon owner Marla Vail and her detective husband Dalton are having a blast visiting a Florida living history village over Fourth of July weekend. But when a Seminole battle reenactment turns up a real dead body, it sets off fireworks among the villagers. One of the cast members has gone off script to murder the town marshal with a tomahawk. As Dalton gets involved in the investigation, Marla determines to help him solve the case. Her flare for uncovering secrets reveals that everyone in the village is a suspect. Instead of celebrating the holiday with red, white, and barbecues, she discovers secrets, lies, and false avenues. Did the marshal’s murder have anything to do with a lost Confederate payroll, or did his plans to renovate the park light a fuse that he couldn’t snuff out? In a place where history comes alive, the dead bodies are piling up. Marla would rather be chilling and grilling, but somebody’s mind is on killing. If she’s not careful, her sleuthing might blow up in her face like a faulty firecracker and she’ll become the next victim. Recipes Included! **** “Star Tangled Murder shines with excellent plotting, lots of twists and turns, and a satisfying ending. Highly recommended.” Suspense Magazine “Another delightful installment brought to life, Star Tangled Murder finds Marla facing more changes in her life as she investigates a murder that connects to history while she balances motherhood, the salon, and sleuthing.” Readers’ Favorite “History and mystery entangle in unusual manners as the story unfolds, revealing a series of lies and possibilities that become even more convoluted and puzzling as Marla and Dalton delve deeper.” Midwest Book Review

Styled for Murder

Styled for Murder
Author: Nancy J. Cohen
Publisher: Orange Grove Press
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2021-11-16
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 195288621X

Hairstylist Marla Vail flushes out a killer when murder disrupts her mother’s home renovation plans in this stylish cozy mystery. When hairstylist and savvy sleuth, Marla Vail, gets a frantic call from her mother that there’s a dead body in her shower, Marla realizes this wasn’t part of the home renovation plans. The victim turns out to be the project manager, who had an untrustworthy reputation in town. Disgruntled customers, unpaid suppliers, and the design company’s staff are among the suspects. Which one of them wanted the foreman to pipe down about their shady dealings? Meanwhile, the lead investigator sets his sights on Marla’s stepfather, Reed, who’s keeping secrets from his family. Reed has a past connection to the victim and won’t come clean about what he knows. As Marla drills deeper, she’s showered with suspicions, but nobody’s willing to leak any information. She needs to hammer down the prospects, or time will drain away and the murderer will strike again. To flush out the culprit, Marla taps into her pipeline of resources. Can she assemble the clues and demolish the alibis to nail a killer? Or has someone designed the perfect murder? Recipes Included! “Best of 2021” Cozy Mystery by Suspense Magazine Bronze Award Winner in the 2022 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards Finalist in the 2022 American Fiction Awards Finalist in the Royal Palm Literary Awards “A charmingly funny whodunit!” Woman’s World

Trimmed to Death

Trimmed to Death
Author: Nancy J. Cohen
Publisher: Orange Grove Press
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2021-09-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0998531758

Hairstylist Marla Vail enters a bake-off competition that’s a real killer when a contestant ends up dead. Savvy hairstylist and amateur sleuth Marla Vail enters a charity bake-off contest at a fall festival sponsored by a local farm. While she waits to see if her coconut fudge pie is a winner, Marla joins a scavenger hunt where people playing character roles are the targets. Instead of scoring points with a live person, she finds a dead body planted face-down in the strawberry field. Who would want to cut short the life of food magazine publisher and fellow bake-off contestant, Francine Dodger? As she investigates, Marla learns there’s no shortage of suspects. A celebrity TV chef, food critic, olive oil importer, food truck owner, pastry chef, and cookbook author may be stirring up more than their next recipe. Can Marla unmask the killer before someone else gets trimmed from life? Recipes Included! Finalist in the American Fiction Awards! “If you enjoy cozy mysteries and female sleuths, you'll enjoy Trimmed to Death. Besides, you get some recipes!” Christa Nardi, Christa Reads and Writes

Tangled Truths

Tangled Truths
Author: Lindsay Buroker
Publisher:
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2020-04-02
Genre:
ISBN: 9781951367053

Dealing with dragons is hard. Dealing with a teenage daughter is even harder. My new mission involves both. Weird things are happening in Northern Idaho, and my boss is sending me to investigate. Unfortunately, my daughter and ex-husband are vacationing in the town that's at the center of the trouble. Coincidence? Or is someone targeting them to get at me? I'm a wanted woman right now. Not only by the criminal werewolves, orcs, and trolls that I'm often hired to kill. But by the Dragon Justice Court. An organization full of arrogant, powerful dragons is exactly as horrible as it sounds. They're the last beings you'd want after your family. If I can't get to the bottom of the mystery and convince the dragons I'm not their enemy, I stand to lose far more than my own life.

Formula for Murder

Formula for Murder
Author: Diana Orgain
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2011-03-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101477385

Sleuth and first-time mom Kate Connolly and her baby are the victims of a hit-and-run, but escape unharmed. A witness identifies the car's French diplomatic license plates, yet when Kate and her hubby try to get some answers, they get le cold shoulder. But there's something going on at the French consulate that's dirtier-and far deadlier-than any diaper.

Tangled Vines

Tangled Vines
Author: Frances Dinkelspiel
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2015-10-06
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN: 1250033225

Noted California historian rips the oh-so-laid-back label off the California wine trade to show the violent and obsessive world underneath

Murder by the Book

Murder by the Book
Author: Rex Stout
Publisher: Bantam
Total Pages: 257
Release: 1995-09-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0553763113

“It is always a treat to read a Nero Wolfe mystery. The man has entered our folklore.”—The New York Times Book Review Introduction by David Handler It wasn’t Leonard Dykes’s writing style that offended. But something in his unpublished tome seemed to lead everyone who read it to a very unhappy ending. Now four people are dead, including the unfortunate author himself, and the police think Nero Wolfe is the only man who can close the book on this novel killer. So the genius sleuth directs his sidekick to set a trap . . . and discovers that the truth is far stranger—and far bloodier—than fiction. A grand master of the form, Rex Stout is one of America’s greatest mystery writers, and his literary creation Nero Wolfe is one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time. Together, Stout and Wolfe have entertained—and puzzled—millions of mystery fans around the world. Now, with his perambulatory man-about-town, Archie Goodwin, the arrogant, gourmandizing, sedentary sleuth is back in the original seventy-three cases of crime and detection written by the inimitable master himself, Rex Stout.

Star Spangled Murder

Star Spangled Murder
Author: Leslie Meier
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2011-10-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0758275412

New York Times-Bestselling Author: A peaceful Maine town erupts in fireworks over nudists, lobster poachers, and a fatal hit-and-run… Lucy Stone is in the doghouse with her next-door neighbor, Mrs. Prudence Pratt. It seems that Kudo, the Stones’ misbehaving mutt, has developed a taste for Mrs. Pratt’s blue-ribbon winning chickens, as well an escape artist’s talent for sneaking out. With the Fourth of July coming up, Lucy doesn’t want to set off any more fireworks with the crabby Prudence. Another sign that the crazy days of summer are in full swing arrives when a group of naturists—a.k.a. nudists—descends on Tinker’s Cove, skinny-dipping at the pond that borders Mrs. Pratt’s property, giving her something else to complain about. Worse still, the local lobstermen are upset about poachers, and suspicion falls on Mrs. Pratt’s husband and son. Then the July Fourth fireworks are canceled to protect a patch of extremely rare purple-spotted lichen, and Mrs Pratt is the victim of a hit and run. Tinker's Cove is full of suspects, but none with so personal a motive as the Stones. Their feud with Mrs. Pratt has put them at risk of losing their freedom this Independence Day—unless Lucy can start things off with a bang by catching a killer… “Leslie Meier writes with sparkle and warmth.”—Chicago Sun Times “A down-to-earth sleuth.”—Library Journal “Leslie Meier has created such a wonderful series, I always look forward to reading the next book, and I'm never disappointed.”—I Love a Mystery

Old World Murder

Old World Murder
Author: Kathleen Ernst
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2010-10-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0738727377

Trying to leave painful memories behind her, Chloe Ellefson is making a fresh start. She's the new collections curator at Old World Wisconsin, an outdoor ethnic museum showcasing 1870s settlement life. On her first day, Chloe meets with an elderly woman who begs her to find a priceless eighteenth-century Norwegian ale bowl that had been donated to the museum years ago. But before Chloe can find the heirloom and return it to her, the woman dies in a suspicious car crash. Digging up the history and whereabouts of the rare artifact quickly turns dangerous. Chloe discovers that someone is desperately trying to cover up all traces of the bowl's existence—by any means necessary. Assisting Chloe is police officer Roelke McKenna, whose own haunting past compels him to protect her. To catch the covetous killer, Chloe must solve a decades-old puzzle...before she becomes a part of history herself. Praise: "Clever plot twists and credible characters make this a far from humdrum cozy."—Publishers Weekly "This series debut by an author of children's mysteries rolls out nicely for readers who like a cozy with a dab of antique lore. Jeanne M. Dams fans will like the ethnic background."—Library Journal "Information on how to conduct historical research, background on Norwegian culture, and details about running an outdoor museum frame the engaging story of a woman devastated by a failed romantic relationship whose sleuthing helps her heal."—Booklist "Old World Murder is strongest in its charming local color and genuine love for Wisconsin's rolling hills, pastures, and woodlands...a delightful distraction for an evening or two."—New York Journal of Books "A wonderfully-woven tale that winds in and out of modern and historical Wisconsin with plenty of mysteries—both past and present. In curator Chloe Ellefson, Ernst has created a captivating character with humor, grit, and a tangled history of her own that needs unraveling. Enchanting!"—Sandi Ault, author of the WILD Mystery Series and recipient of the Mary Higgins Clark Award "Propulsive and superbly written, this first entry in a dynamite new series from accomplished author Kathleen Ernst seamlessly melds the 1980's and the 19th century. Character-driven, with mystery aplenty, Old World Murder is a sensational read. Think Sue Grafton meets Earlene Fowler, with a dash of Elizabeth Peters."—Julia Spencer-Fleming, Anthony and Agatha Award-winning author of I Shall Not Want and One Was A Soldier "Museum masterpiece."—Rosebud Book Reviews "A real find...5 stars."—Once Upon a Romance

Murder at Honeychurch Hall

Murder at Honeychurch Hall
Author: Hannah Dennison
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2014-05-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250036860

In Hannah Dennison's Murder at Honeychurch Hall, Kat Stanford is just days away from starting her dream antique business with her newly widowed mother Iris when she gets a huge shock. Iris has recklessly purchased a dilapidated carriage house at Honeychurch Hall, an isolated country estate located several hundred miles from London. Yet it seems that Iris isn't the only one with surprises at Honeychurch Hall. Behind the crumbling façade, the inhabitants of the stately mansion are a lively group of eccentrics to be sure—both upstairs and downstairs —and they all have more than their fair share of skeletons in the closet. When the nanny goes missing, and Vera, the loyal housekeeper ends up dead in the grotto, suspicions abound. Throw in a feisty, octogenarian countess, a precocious seven year old who is obsessed with the famous fighter pilot called Biggles, and a treasure trove of antiques, and there is more than one motive for murder. As Iris's past comes back to haunt her, Kat realizes she hardly knows her mother at all. A when the bodies start piling up, it is up to Kat to unravel the tangled truth behind the murders at Honeychurch Hall.