The Hammett Hex

The Hammett Hex
Author: Victoria Abbott
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2016-10-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0425280365

The national bestselling author of The Marsh Madness takes rare book collector Jordan Bingham on a trip to San Francisco—home to Dashiell Hammett’s hard-boiled heroes—where nothing is as it seems. On a getaway to the City by the Bay, book collector Jordan Bingham becomes entangled in a mystery with more twists than Lombard Street... Jordan has been able to swing a romantic trip to San Francisco with Officer Tyler “Smiley” Dekker on one condition—she must return with a rare copy of Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest for her irascible employer, Vera Van Alst. For his own part, Smiley is full of surprises. He’s a Dashiell devotee himself—excited to be in the city of Hammett’s hard-boiled heroes like Sam Spade and the Continental Op—and also announces he plans to visit his previously unmentioned estranged grandmother, who lives in an old Victorian in Pacific Heights. But the trip goes downhill fast when Jordan is pushed from a cable car and barely escapes death. And when a dark sedan tries to run the couple down, it’s clear someone’s after them—but who? Just like in Hammett’s world, nothing is quite what is seems... INCLUDES RECIPES

The Hammett Hex

The Hammett Hex
Author: Victoria Abbott
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2016-10-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0425280357

The national bestselling author of The Marsh Madness takes rare book collector Jordan Bingham on a trip to San Francisco--home to Dashiell Hammett's hard-boiled heroes--where nothing is as it seems. On a getaway to the City by the Bay, book collector Jordan Bingham becomes entangled in a mystery with more twists than Lombard Street... Jordan has been able to swing a romantic trip to San Francisco with Officer Tyler "Smiley" Dekker on one condition--she must return with a rare copy of Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest for her irascible employer, Vera Van Alst. For his own part, Smiley is full of surprises. He's a Dashiell devotee himself--excited to be in the city of Hammett's hard-boiled heroes like Sam Spade and the Continental Op--and also announces he plans to visit his previously unmentioned estranged grandmother, who lives in an old Victorian in Pacific Heights. But the trip goes downhill fast when Jordan is pushed from a cable car and barely escapes death. And when a dark sedan tries to run the couple down, it's clear someone's after them--but who? Just like in Hammett's world, nothing is quite what is seems... INCLUDES RECIPES

The Christie Curse

The Christie Curse
Author: Victoria Abbott
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2013-03-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101619449

In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared—making headlines across the world—only to show up eleven days later at a spa under an assumed name. During those eleven days, did she have time to write a play? Jordan Kelly needs a new job and a new place to live. She’s back in Harrison Falls, New York, living with her not so law-abiding uncles, in debt thanks to a credit card–stealing ex and pending grad school loans. Enter the perfect job, a research position that includes room and board, which will allow her to spend her days hunting down rare mysteries for an avid book collector. There’s just one problem: her employer, Vera Van Alst—the most hated citizen of Harrison Falls. Jordan’s first assignment is to track down a rumored Agatha Christie play. It seems easy enough, but Jordan soon finds out that her predecessor was killed while looking for it, and there is still someone out there willing to murder to keep the play out of Vera’s hands. Jordan’s new job is good…but is it worth her life?

The Sayers Swindle

The Sayers Swindle
Author: Victoria Abbott
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2013-12-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101627204

Jordan Kelly is delighted to make money tracking down rare and valuable mystery novels for her employer, Vera Van Alst, an avid collector and the most difficult woman in Harrison Falls, New York. But now her boss’s complete set of Dorothy Sayers is missing, and finding them may lead Jordan to a murder suitable for Sayers’s esteemed sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey… When Jordan manages to locate her boss’s missing books, they are in the possession of Randolph Adams, an elderly man in a nearby town. Offering a valuable Hemingway first edition as an incentive, Jordan thinks she’s about to seal the deal—but some of Randolph’s relatives think he should hold out for more. Then the entire family disappears—and a dead body shows up. It’s up to Jordan to collect the clues—and make sure a killer gets booked.

Hex Appeal

Hex Appeal
Author: Jim Butcher
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2012-06-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1466802596

Fall under the intoxicating spell of their hex appeal... In the magical world that lies hidden beneath our own, witches and conjurers play deadly games. They know just the right spell to kill a man with one kiss—or raise him back again. And they're not afraid to exact sweet revenge on those who dare to cross them. But what if you're the unlucky soul who falls victim to a conjurer's curse? And if you had the power to cast a magic spell of your own, would you use it? In this bewitching collection, nine of today's hottest paranormal authors tell all-new, otherworldly tales. Spellbinding stories featuring bigfoot, albino vampires, professional wizards, resurrected boyfriends and even a sex droid from the twenty- third century named Silicon Lily. But as our conjurers are about to discover, it's all fun and games until someone gets hexed. And sometimes, even the best spun spells can lead to complete and utter mayhem. Includes Stories From: Ilona Andrews Jim Butcher Rachel Caine Carole Nelson Douglas P. N. Elrod Simon R. Green Lori Handeland Erica Hayes Carrier Vaughn

The Marsh Madness

The Marsh Madness
Author: Victoria Abbott
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2015-09-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0698191307

The national bestselling author of The Wolfe Widow presents another spine-tingling mystery featuring rare book collector Jordan Bingham and some Ngaio Marsh first editions worth killing for… Jordan works hard to improve Vera Van Alst’s collection of classic detective stories. So when Chadwick Kauffman—heir to the Kauffman fortune—offers a very good price on a fine collection of Ngaio Marsh first editions owned by his recently deceased stepfather, she is thrilled to meet with him at his fabled summer estate, Summerlea. The next day, Jordan and Vera are shocked to read that Chadwick has died in a fall from the grand staircase at Summerlea. But when the picture in the paper is of a different man, it becomes clear that the ladies are victims of a scam. And they’ll have to unmask the imposter fast, because someone is trying to frame them for murder…

The Wolfe Widow

The Wolfe Widow
Author: Victoria Abbott
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2014-09-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0698143213

As Thanksgiving approaches, Jordan Bingham is grateful for her job researching rare books for Vera Van Alst, the infamous curmudgeon of Harrison Falls, New York. But when an uninvited guest makes an appearance, much more than dinner is disrupted—and Jordan is thankful just to be alive… Vera Van Alst doesn’t normally receive visitors without appointment, but she agrees to see the imperious Muriel Delgado upon arrival. Shortly thereafter, Jordan is told that her position is being terminated. Evicted from the Van Alst House, Jordan is determined to find out what hold Muriel has over her erstwhile employer. It seems Muriel has designs on Vera’s money and property—not to mention a particular interest in her collection of Nero Wolfe first editions. When Jordan discovers a deadly connection between Muriel and the Van Alst family, it’s up to her to put the house in order and stop a killer from going back to press.

Agents of Light and Darkness

Agents of Light and Darkness
Author: Simon R. Green
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2003-10-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780441011131

“Simon Green’s Nightside is a macabre and thoroughly entertaining world.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher John Taylor works in the Nightside—the gaudy, neon noir, secret heart of London, where it’s always three in the morning, where gods and monsters make deals and seek pleasures they won’t find anywhere else. He has a gift for finding things. And sometimes what he's hired to locate can be very, very dangerous indeed. Right now, for example, he's searching for The Unholy Grail, the cup that Judas drank from at the Last Supper. It corrupts all who touch it—but it also gives enormous power. So he's not the only one hunting. Angels, devils, sinners and saints—they’re all out there, tearing apart The Nightside, seeking the dark goblet. And it’s only a matter of time until they realize that the famous John Taylor, the man with the gift for finding things, can lead them straight to it…

Brains & Brawn

Brains & Brawn
Author: Annie Gottlieb
Publisher: iUniverse
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2003-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0595298729

BEYOND 'ECSTASY' "MDMA temporarily lowers interpersonal boundaries," said the Harvard doctor. "Hex dissolves them." "The potential for abuse, for mind control, is terrifying," said the Berkeley psychopharmacology professor. Outside, packs of painfully thin kids in hex-sign T-shirts--the "hexies"--quiver and murmur and make their telepathic suicide pacts. Someone is trying to destroy a generation. Sarah "Sunny" Randall wants to know who. The investigative reporter on the story for New York's Metro Magazine, 5'3", Radcliffe-educated Sunny is clueless in the deadly world of dealers and underground labs. But Sunny has a secret weapon: Sasha. Her "boyfriend"--a streetwise, 6'3", 250-pound Soviet prison camp survivor and ex-boxer who is friendly with the Greenwich Village Don. Sasha can help Sunny root out the evil mind at the source of hex. But when her ambition and her passion to save the kids get her in too deep, can he save her life?

Aunt Dimity Goes West

Aunt Dimity Goes West
Author: Nancy Atherton
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2008-01-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780143112914

The world's original paranormal detective returns for the twelfth installment in the New York Times bestselling series. Watch out for Nancy Atherton's latest, Aunt Dimity and the King's Ransom, coming in July 2018 from Viking! Nancy Atherton 's Aunt Dimity series has charmed its way into the hearts of mystery fans everywhere, finding a larger audience with each new book. In Aunt Dimity Goes West, Atherton's vivid storytelling and knack for bringing a setting to life will have fans lassoed to their chairs. Lori Shepherd, still recovering from her most recent adventure, is taking a vacation with her family in the beautiful mountain town of Bluebird, Colorado. But there's something amiss at their seemingly perfect vacation home. Is the place cursed or is a sinister human hand shaping its eerie reputation? With Aunt Dimity's help, Lori sets out to solve a hundred- year-old mystery and discovers that sometimes the strangest places can seem the most like home.