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| The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn ClarkeSix struggling authors are invited to the private Scottish island of bestselling novelist Arthur Fletch, a recluse known for his fiendish plot twists. Upon arrival, they are told Fletch has died and left an unfinished manuscript. It's up to one of them to write the best ending in 72 hours, and whoever wins gets money and publicity. But then a real murder occurs. For fans of: the Knives Out films; Ande Pliego's You Are Fatally Invited. |
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| The Best Little Motel in Texas by Lyla LaneLibrarian Cordelia West never planned on returning to the hometown she last saw as a ten-year-old, but then she inherits the Chickadee Motel. To her shock, she discovers the motel is actually a brothel and home to three "chicks," 60-somethings Daisy, Arline, and Belinda Sue. When an elderly pastor is fatally poisoned and dies in Daisy's bed, hijinks ensue as Cordelia investigates and clashes with the pastor's handsome FBI agent son. Try this next: Jo Nichols' The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective. |
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Robbie McNeil's Hit List: A Mystery
by Brianna Heath
Contract killer Robbie McNeil never asks questions. Her mission is simple. Do the job. Get paid. Get back to running the karaoke bar she co-owns with her queerplatonic partner and fellow contract killer, Dee. And it works... Until their ambitious new theatrical venture breaks the bank. When a mysterious new client hires Robbie for a hit, she takes the job, even though it's sketchy as hell he won't tell her anything but the target's name. But hey, she didn't build her reputation by being curious, and she desperately needs the cash. Except something about this new target doesn't add up. When he disappears with no record he ever existed, she chucks her no-questions-asked policy out the window, determined to figure out who this target really is. But the price for asking questions is high and might just cost Robbie everything she holds dear.
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Tokyo Express
by Seicho Matsumoto
From Japan's Agatha Christie (The Sunday Times): A secluded bay. An apparent lovers' suicide. And a pair of detectives with a nagging suspicion that the pieces don't add up. Can you solve one of the most astonishing literary puzzles ever written? In a rocky cove at Hakata Bay, the bodies of a young and beautiful couple are discovered. Standing on the cold beach, the police see nothing to investigate: The flush of the couple's cheeks and the empty juice bottle speak clearly of cyanide, of a lovers' suicide. But in the eyes of two men, senior detective Torigai Jutaro and Kiichi Mihara, a young gun from Tokyo, something is not quite right. Together, they begin to pick at the knot of a unique and calculated crime. Now widely available in English for the first time, Tokyo Express is celebrated around the world as Seich Matsumoto's masterpiece.
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Reverse
by Steven F. Havill
A joy ride turned fatal and a community rocked by loss. For Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman, the road to retirement is paved with drama in this intricately plotted, warm-hearted Posadas County Mystery, set in small-town New Mexico. If you haven't yet discovered these wonderful mysteries, you are in for a treat Anne Hillerman, New York Times bestselling author A road to nowhere . . . Recovering from a near-death collision with a giant elk, Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman is back to finish her last month at the Posadas County sheriff's office. It's supposed to be a quiet road to retirement, until a body is found at the bottom of a water-filled quarry. The barely alive figure of the grandson of the wealthiest man in town also lies further down the ravine. Figuring out what really happened is going to take everything that Estelle and her understaffed, overworked team have. Especially when there's a vandal on the loose targeting the local airfield and the department has its own internal issues wreaking havoc. Plunged into another tricky investigation, one Estelle hopes will be her last, she can't help but think her retirement can't come soon enough.
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Murder Mindfully
by Karsten Dusse
In this zen and zany crime debut, a shady lawyer transforms his life through mindfulness—and uses his newfound techniques to kill his way to the top. Original series now streaming on Netflix. Criminal defense lawyer Bj rn Diemel has been given an ultimatum: repair his work-life balance, or his wife will leave him—and take their daughter. He reluctantly starts a mindfulness course, and to his surprise, it's a revelation. He becomes calmer, happier, and more focused as he starts to understand what's really important in life. When his worst client, brutal crime boss Dragan Sergowicz, tries to interfere with his precious family time, Bj rn discovers that even murder can be a mindfulness exercise to protect his peace.
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For Better or Murder
by Simon R. Green
It's wedding season with a spooky twist The Holy Terrors are trying to tie the knot while solving a ghostly murder in the latest witty, creeptastic paranormal mystery from New York Times bestselling British fantasy author Simon R. Green. There are those who say seagulls cry over the sins of mankind. And that if we could only get our act together, they could stop crying . . . Holy Terrors dream team - actress Diana Hunt and her partner in crime (solving) young bishop Alistair Kincaid - are getting married The plan is to hold a small ceremony with just some family and friends at a charming and secluded hotel in Cornwall. But in true Holy Terrors fashion, the Pale Rider hotel carries the legend of a killer ghost rider and his skeleton horse, which sets the perfect tone for a cheerful occasion Trying to make the best out of the stormy weekend and seemingly haunted place, spirits fall even lower when one of the guests is found murdered in the hallway. Did the legendary pale rider strike again or is there something more sinister going on - and will Diana and Alistair finally have the chance to say yes?
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To the End of Reckoning
by Joseph Moldover
Dr. Richard Moore is a psychiatrist known for being nearly as misanthropic as he is brilliant, but a recent traumatic brain injury has left him dependent on his begrudgingly attentive son and has changed his worldview in unexpected ways. Attuned to the slightest detail, Dr. Moore now sees mysteries where other people see settled facts—nowhere more so than in the disappearance of his former colleague and neighbor Dr. Jason Grant. One year ago, Jason's shoes, watch, and car were found beside a nearby lake and no trace of him has been found since. The obvious conclusion was suicide, despite Jason's youth, wealth, and successful career as a child psychiatrist. Only two people question his fate: Richard, obsessed with fragments of memory, and Misty, Jason's younger sister and Lukas's high school girlfriend. When Misty asks for the Moores' help in finding out what really happened to her brother, Lukas takes the chance to resolve his father's obsession and to reconnect with someone he may still have feelings for.
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The Monk
by Tim Sullivan
To find a murderer, you need a motive . . . DS George Cross has always wondered why his mother left him when he was a child. Now that she is back in his life, he suddenly has answers-but this unexpected reunion is not anything he's used to dealing with. So when the body of a monk is found savagely beaten to death in a woodland near Bristol, Cross is eager to throw himself into the case. The problem is, no one in the Bristol station has any leads. Nothing is known about Brother Dominic's past. How can Cross unpick a crime when they don't know anything about the victim? And why would someone want to harm a monk? Cross's dogged investigation reveals that while the monk was a much-loved and respected friend and brother, he was also a very wealthy man-before he sacrificed it all for his faith. For a man who has nothing, it seems strange that greed could be the motive for his murder. But greed is a sin, after all.
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Double Trouble
by Joyce Carol Oates
Four decades ago, acclaimed literary author Joyce Carol Oates penned her first novel of psychological suspense under the name “Rosamond Smith.” In the Smith books, Oates explored themes of betrayal and deception, lust and murder, through stories involving twins, doubles, and hidden second identities—initially, keeping her own double identity a secret. Hard Case Crime is proud to bring these extraordinary works of crime fiction, long unavailable in bookstores, back into print in definitive double editions, each pairing two complete novels and two never-before-collected Oates short stories, all linked thematically, to weave a sinister web filled with dark reflections. In this volume, a female serial killer seeks refuge in her twin sister’s home in STARR BRIGHT WILL BE WITH YOU SOON, while a male serial killer murders for the woman he craves in SOUL/MATE—and the echoes continue in the rare short stories “The Murderess” and “An Unsolved Crime.”
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