Peril at Pennington Manor

Peril at Pennington Manor
Author: Tracy Gardner
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2022-06-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1643859072

Perfect for fans of Jane K. Cleland and Ellery Adams, the second volume in Tracy Gardner’s antiques-themed mystery series finds appraiser Avery Ayers sleuthing a murder in a castle. Thanks to Aunt Midge’s unlikely friendship with Nicholas Pennington, the Duke of Valle Charme, Avery Ayers and her associates at Antiques and Artifacts Appraised head off to their most glamorous assignment yet—cataloguing and appraising the contents of a castle-like mansion on the Hudson River. But regal splendor becomes a backdrop to mayhem when the precious Viktor Petrova timepiece disappears—and housekeeper Suzanne Vick plummets from a parapet to her death. Avery, her dad William, and colleagues Micah Abbott and Sir Robert Lane soon learn that Suzanne’s predecessor also met with an untimely end. Further, the housekeeper’s suspicious demise coincides with Avery’s discovery that many of the Duke’s most priceless heirlooms have been replaced by fakes. Detective Art Smith lends his expertise, but the suspect list encompasses the Duke’s entire retinue—including his family. Could the killer be someone intimately familiar with the Pennington estate, such as caretaker couple Ira and Lynn Hoffman, the Penningtons’ chauffeur Roderick, or even one of the heirs to the Pennington fortune? Then the duke himself is injured in an inexplicable riding accident, and the clock swiftly ticks toward a reckoning with a cold-blooded killer. A criminal mastermind is making a desperate bid for ill-gotten riches…can Avery bring the culprit to justice before her time is up?

Ruby Red Herring

Ruby Red Herring
Author: Tracy Gardner
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2021-06-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 164385660X

A 2022 MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD Nominee In this Avery Ayers Antique Mystery series debut, perfect for fans of Ellery Adams and Jane K. Cleland, an antiques appraiser hunts a missing gem while probing her parents' deaths. After her parents' deaths, Avery Ayers takes over the family business, Antiquities & Artifacts Appraised, from the home office in Lilac Grove and a branch in Manhattan. Now living back at home with her younger sister Tilly and their newly moved-in, eccentric Aunt Midge and her Afghan hound, Avery's life is filled with jewels, tapestries, paintings, and rare finds. But their world is rocked when Avery learns that the theft of a priceless ruby may be connected to her parents' demise. The trouble starts when the Museum of Antiquities hires Avery to appraise a rare, resplendent ruby. It bears a striking similarity to a solitary stone in the museum's prized Xiang Dynasty bejeweled dragon medallion exhibit, which has long been missing one of its ruby eyes. Now, Avery and her colleagues--ostentatious Sir Robert Lane and fatherly Micah Abbott--suspect they may have the missing gem. But facets of the case remain cloudy. Security guard Art Smith is always underfoot but is not what he appears. Another body turns up connected to the appraisal. And Avery receives mysterious notes that begin to put her life in danger. Avery enlists possible ally Art's help in cutting the list of suspects who might have polished off her parents and swiped the jewel. Was it art collector Oliver Renell? Curator Nate Brennan? Acquisitions Liaison Francesca Giolitti? Actor Tyler Chadwick? Was the crime impersonal or perpetrated by someone all too close to Avery? If she can't find the culprit, lovely Lilac Grove may be the setting for Avery's own death.

Out of the Picture

Out of the Picture
Author: Tracy Gardner
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2019-09-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1947892630

Join the Shepherd sisters in solving a mystery…before it’s too late! This artful cozy mystery is perfect for fans of Krista Davis and Joanne Fluke. Savanna Shepherd is a former art authenticator—someone who can tell a forgery from the real thing. She’s got a talent for spotting secrets hiding in plain sight. In the wake of a painful breakup, she moves back to her idyllic hometown on the banks of Lake Michigan. At least she’s close to her sisters again, and she’s enjoying her new job as a grade school art teacher. Savanna even rediscovers her creative soul when an old family friend hires her to paint a mural. But sad and strange incidents occur at the woman’s mansion, compelling Savanna to investigate. With a little help from her sisters—and from Aidan, the intriguing town doctor—will she be able to figure out what’s wrong with this picture? This intriguing cozy mystery includes a free Hallmark original recipe for Holy Yum Baked Chicken.

The Voyage of the Space Beagle

The Voyage of the Space Beagle
Author: A. E. van Vogt
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2008-07-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780765320773

An episodic novel filled with surprises and provocative ideas, this is the story of a great exploration ship sent out into the unknown reaches of space on a long mission of discovery. They encounter several terrifying alien species, including the Ix, who lay their eggs in human bodies, which then devour the humans from within when they hatch. Reissue of a classic.

No Way Out

No Way Out
Author: Andrea Kane
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 468
Release: 2001-11-15
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0743418808

New York Times bestselling author Andrea Kane creates a sizzling mix of emotions, white heat, and pulse-pounding suspense in one of the biggest knockout thrillers of the season. With a child's life at stake, a woman's deepest fears and desires careen toward an explosive climax where there is no time to hesitate, no going back, and NO WAY OUT Something is wrong with teacher Julia Talbot's favorite second-grader, the mayor's son Brian. Seeing the outgoing little boy become increasingly anxious and withdrawn, she suspects problems at home, inside the mansion of a high-profile political family. But even Julia doesn't know the real truth. Venture capitalist Connor Stratford, the boy's powerful uncle, does. Intrigued by Julia, Connor plans a campaign of seduction designed to keep her from snooping -- and to get her into his bed. Yet Julia has already learned too much. As danger bears down on her like a runaway freight train, Brian vanishes, and a desperate hunt to find him draws Julia deeper into a family's secrets and an irresistible passion -- and closer to a place where a child's future, and her own fate, hang in the balance.

The Onion Book of Known Knowledge

The Onion Book of Known Knowledge
Author: The Onion
Publisher: Little, Brown
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2012-10-23
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 031613323X

Are you a witless cretin with no reason to live? Would you like to know more about every piece of knowledge ever? Do you have cash? Then congratulations, because just in time for the death of the print industry as we know it comes the final book ever published, and the only one you will ever need: The Onion's compendium of all things known. Replete with an astonishing assemblage of facts, illustrations, maps, charts, threats, blood, and additional fees to edify even the most simple-minded book-buyer, The Onion Book of Known Knowledge is packed with valuable information -- such as the life stages of an Aunt; places to kill one's self in Utica, New York; and the dimensions of a female bucket, or "pail." With hundreds of entries for all 27 letters of the alphabet, The Onion Book of Known Knowledge must be purchased immediately to avoid the sting of eternal ignorance.

Behind the Frame

Behind the Frame
Author: Tracy Gardner
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2020-08-11
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1947892983

When art in the park leads to murder in the dark, the Shepherd sisters have another crime to solve. Savanna Shepherd, an art expert turned elementary art teacher, is planning the Art in the Park festival for her hometown of Carson. But apparently, someone isn’t happy that Carson got to host the event: the beloved statue in the park is destroyed. Not long after, Savanna finds the dead body of one of the people on the planning committee. Savanna and her sisters are convinced that the arrested murder suspect didn’t do it, despite strong evidence to the contrary. With the help of Dr. Aidan Gallager, Savanna’s new romantic interest, they uncover hidden resentments and intrigue. Several people in Carson had a motive for the murder. Can they find out which one of them is behind the framing of an innocent person? This intriguing mystery includes a free Hallmark original recipe for Mini Rhubarb Pies.

The Girl Who Disappeared Twice

The Girl Who Disappeared Twice
Author: Andrea Kane
Publisher: MIRA
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2019-04-15
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1488054916

New York Times Bestseller: A judge’s daughter is abducted in this gritty thriller from an author who “sets new standards for suspense” (Lisa Gardner). Despite all her years determining the fates of families, judge Hope Willis couldn’t save her own. Her daughter taken, she’s frantically grasping at any hope for Krissy’s return. Desperate, Hope calls upon an unconventional team of experts for help. Casey and her team at Forensic Instincts, LLC will dig through each tiny clue, working around the clock. But time is running out, and they know that the difference between getting Krissy back and losing her forever could be as small as a suspect’s rapid breathing, or as deep as Hope’s dark family history . . . “Smooth prose and engaging characters.” —Publishers Weekly “Kane succeeds once again.” —Booklist “A skilled writer.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “Fascinating . . . sharply drawn characters, fast-paced dialogue, dark and dangerous minds.” —RT Book Reviews

Digging Up Trouble

Digging Up Trouble
Author: Kitt Crowe
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2021-10-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 164385769X

Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Joanne Fluke, a bitter discovery is made in a sweet-as-candy town, in Kitt Crowe's Sweet Fiction Bookshop series debut. Life is sweet when you live in Confection, Oregon. Or, at least, that's how it's supposed to be. But on a summer day, when tourists and locals alike gawk at the majestic mountains, quaint Craftsman houses, and lovely flowers--particularly the renowned Confection Rose--the last thing anyone has come to see is a dead body, unearthed from a shallow grave by a curious dog. A bathrobe-clad Lexi rushes next door to her neighbor's backyard to find her pooch, Cookie, stalwartly sitting watch over a body in the vegetable garden. Cookie, encrusted in dirt, grips a copper pipe between her teeth. Was this the murder weapon? And was Lexi the murderer? It sure looks that way, seeing as she was spotted squabbling with the victim just the day before. The case becomes all the more perplexing when the real murder weapon turns out to be a garden stake. Then where does the copper pipe fit in? And might a more likely suspect let Lexi off the hook? All the volumes in the Sweet Fiction Bookshop, and all the specials at Eats n' Treats, prove of little help in jogging Lexi's brain to find a solution. Fortunately, Cookie is not finished digging up clues. As the fur flies, can this trusty border collie mix save sweet Lexi from a bitter end?

The Line Between Here and Gone

The Line Between Here and Gone
Author: Andrea Kane
Publisher: Harlequin
Total Pages: 381
Release: 2013-07-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1460315073

The man she loved is gone forever. The child she lives for could be next. Each day is a struggle for Amanda Gleason’s newborn son as he battles a rare immune deficiency. Justin’s best chance for a cure lies with his father&151;who was brutally murdered before Amanda even realized she carried his child. Or was he? One email changes everything—a recent photo of a man who looks exactly like Paul. Could Justin’s father be alive? Amanda is frantic to find out. But tracking down a ghost when every second counts is not for amateurs. Forensic Instincts is the one team up for the challenge. Forensic Instincts has built their reputation on achieving the impossible. Now they’re up against ruthless people who are willing to risk it all to make the FI team forget about the man Amanda desperately needs to find. But when Forensic Instincts takes the case, nothing will stop them from uncovering the shocking truth that transcends the line between here and gone.