Despite the homeowner's attempt to harmonize her household through the Chinese art of feng shui, death and a series of near-fatal accidents stalk a job site manned by Erin Gilbert, returning interior designer and incidental sleuth, and her new partner, Steve Sullivan. Artist Shannon...  more

Despite the homeowner's attempt to harmonize her household through the Chinese art of feng shui, death and a series of near-fatal accidents stalk a job site manned by Erin Gilbert, returning interior designer and incidental sleuth, and her new partner, Steve Sullivan. Artist Shannon Young seeks to remodel her home with the help of Gilbert, Sullivan and a dubious feng shui consultant by the name of Ang Chung. As it turns out, Shannon has a more serious problem than inharmonious design: a predatory neighbor, Pate Hamlin, is after her house and using a series of dirty tricks to get her to sell. When the construction foreman, Erin's half-brother, dies in what might or might not be an accident, an unsatisfactory investigation by local police causes Erin to start following her own leads. It isn't long before a rival designer shows up, trying to steal Steve away from Erin in more ways than professional. 

Lovably troublesome Gladie Burger runs into sizzling danger and a fiery love triangle in the second installment of Elise Sax's hilarious and sexy Matchmaker romance series. Since joining the family matchmaking business run by her eccentric Grandma Zelda, Gladie is always looking for...  more

Lovably troublesome Gladie Burger runs into sizzling danger and a fiery love triangle in the second installment of Elise Sax's hilarious and sexy Matchmaker romance series. Since joining the family matchmaking business run by her eccentric Grandma Zelda, Gladie is always looking for love.  But when an unbearable toothache knocks her out of commission and into the dentist's chair, she prays only for relief.  No such luck.  Emerging from an anesthetic haze, Gladie awakes to find that not only is her tooth still throbbing, but her dentist is dead -- and the lead suspect in the murder, office receptionist Belinda, just so happens to be Gladie's first real client.  Now it's up to Gladie to find Belinda a man and keep her from being locked up behind bars. As if that weren't enough distraction, two gorgeous men are vying for Gladie's attention:  Spencer, the playboy chief of police, and Holden, Gladie's secretive, gorgeously muscled neighbor.  Still, Gladie's not complaining about having a helping hand or two when the case leads her to a dangerously bizarre cult.  She may have met her match -- and if she's not careful, it could be her last.  

Everyone--including mystery bookstore owner Annie Laurance--loves Arsenic and Old Lace. But something wicked is poisoned a local summer stock production as cast members stab each other in the back and props are sabotaged. Worst of all, the star, aging Hollywood beach-blanket hunk Shane Petree,...  more

Everyone--including mystery bookstore owner Annie Laurance--loves Arsenic and Old Lace. But something wicked is poisoned a local summer stock production as cast members stab each other in the back and props are sabotaged. Worst of all, the star, aging Hollywood beach-blanket hunk Shane Petree, butchers his lines--while getting top billing in bed with wives and teenage daughters around town. No wonder somebody wants to draw his final curtain. With a little help from Miss Marple, Poirot, and Agatha the Bookstore Cat, a pompous prosecutor tries to pin a murder on Max, Annie's own leading man. Unless Annie can prove her darling's innocence, their wedding date's off! Invoking the tried-and-true methods of her favorite literary sleuths, Annie snoops around the greasepaint and glitter of the show-stopper scene if she doesn't watch it, because theatrical murderers never play fair.

Perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich, Jennifer Crusie, and Katie MacAlister, Elise Sax’s wickedly funny Matchmaker series proves that the road to love comes with a few dead ends. Five months have passed since Gladie Burger came to Cannes, California, to join her eccentric Grandma Zelda...  more

Perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich, Jennifer Crusie, and Katie MacAlister, Elise Sax’s wickedly funny Matchmaker series proves that the road to love comes with a few dead ends. Five months have passed since Gladie Burger came to Cannes, California, to join her eccentric Grandma Zelda in the family matchmaking business, and Gladie is quickly mastering the rules of attraction. Her latest fix-up is still going strong and Gladie's bank account is back in the black -- until a rival matchmaker arrives in town and has both Gladie and Zelda seeing red. Not only is self-proclaimed psychic Luanda Laughing-Eagle stealing Grandma Zelda's clients, but Zelda is convinced that Luanda’s ESP is total BS. She tasks Gladie with exposing Luanda as a fraud, but Gladie's attention is diverted when murder comes a-calling. Spencer Bolton, the gorgeous chief of police and Gladie’s on-again, off-again flame, wants her to stay out of the investigation -- and away from the deliciously chiseled detective who also aims to win Gladie's heart. But the one thing Gladie's learned is that in business, love and murder... it’s always personal.

At Snapdragon, a high-end designer consignment shop, Helen is at the beck and call of snobby-yet frugal-customers. That alone is a deadly combination, especially with Chrissy, a drool-worthy fashionista who walks in with a purse to sell, and ends up screaming at her husband and another...  more

At Snapdragon, a high-end designer consignment shop, Helen is at the beck and call of snobby-yet frugal-customers. That alone is a deadly combination, especially with Chrissy, a drool-worthy fashionista who walks in with a purse to sell, and ends up screaming at her husband and another customer. Helen is used to dealing with snobby women, controlling husbands, and fashionable politicians. But she's about to have to handle a brand new type of unsatisfied customer-a murderer. Chrissy is found dead in Snapdragon's dressing room, with the hand-painted scarf Helen was just holding tied around her neck. And Helen goes from being low on society's totem pole to high on the police's suspect list.  

Working at Sybil's Full Moon Hotel in Fort Lauderdale keeps Helen both financially and physically fit. But cleaning up after hotel guests is not like cleaning a house -- it's like cleaning fifteen houses in a single day. Not to mention the dreaded room 323, the hotel's most...  more

Working at Sybil's Full Moon Hotel in Fort Lauderdale keeps Helen both financially and physically fit. But cleaning up after hotel guests is not like cleaning a house -- it's like cleaning fifteen houses in a single day. Not to mention the dreaded room 323, the hotel's most notorious. The guests in 323 are always drunk, loud, and rude -- and worst of all, they never tip. When a maid goes missing the day after a disastrous mess in 323, the rest of the cleaning staff chalk it up to job burnout and imagine that Rhonda has finally ditched the housekeeping gig to run off with the dreamy rich boyfriend she's always talking about. But then Rhonda turns up dead in a dumpster, and no one feels safe and snug in South Florida, especially not Helen. Another dead body means another chance for the cops to find her. And to make matters worse, her ex-husband is hot on her trail, checking in to the very hotel where she works. Sadly, the cops don't seem to care much about a murdered maid, but they have noticed there's something shady about the victim's coworker and her not quite truthful story. If Helen doesn't manage to dodge their questions and shake off her ex, it could be checkout time for her.

The national bestselling author who turns "minimum wage into maximum hilarity" (Nancy Martin, author of Murder Melts in Your Mouth) reveals the lifestyles of the rich and murdered... Helen Hawthorne's latest dead-end job is in a country club's complaint department, dealing with the gripes of...  more

The national bestselling author who turns "minimum wage into maximum hilarity" (Nancy Martin, author of Murder Melts in Your Mouth) reveals the lifestyles of the rich and murdered... Helen Hawthorne's latest dead-end job is in a country club's complaint department, dealing with the gripes of the rich and spoiled. Then Rob, her deadbeat ex-husband, sails back into her life aboard the yacht of his new lady, Marcella -- also known as the Black Widow for her string of dead spouses. The next day Rob's reported missing. If the Black Widow has such a murderous reputation, then why is Helen led from the club in handcuffs? When Marcella helps Helen get released, the two form an uneasy alliance to find out what really happened. Helen's barely begun digging when a club patron is discovered beaten to death with a golf club -- his membership permanently expired. Someone got more than a little teed off and it's up to Helen to get to the truth without getting clubbed herself...

The date is Saturday, April 2. Five April brides discover their wedding dresses have been stolen. One of the brides is private investigator Regan Reilly. Her wedding is in seven days. Regan Reilly and her fiance, Jack "no relation" Reilly -- head of the NYPD Major Case Squad --...  more

The date is Saturday, April 2. Five April brides discover their wedding dresses have been stolen. One of the brides is private investigator Regan Reilly. Her wedding is in seven days. Regan Reilly and her fiance, Jack "no relation" Reilly -- head of the NYPD Major Case Squad -- are getting married! Regan had the perfect dress made by two young designers on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Arriving at the bridal salon to pick up her gown, Regan discovers the shop has been broken into, the designers bound and gagged, and wedding dresses for four of the April brides (her dress included) are missing. A fifth dress is in shreds on the floor. Even though it's a week before her wedding, Regan gets on the case, and in the process she meets an unusual mix of brides and grooms-to-be, or -- perhaps "not-to-be." Over at One Police Plaza, Regan's bridegroom, Jack, is trying to solve a perplexing series of bank robberies. The robber, nicknamed "The Drip" by the NYPD because he always strikes during rainstorms, has been eluding the police for months. Jack is determined to crack the case before his upcoming nuptials.

Private Investigator Regan Reilly and her husband, Jack "no relation" Reilly, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, are about to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. They are looking forward to a quiet romantic weekend out of town. Wouldn’t you know their choice of destination...  more

Private Investigator Regan Reilly and her husband, Jack "no relation" Reilly, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, are about to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. They are looking forward to a quiet romantic weekend out of town. Wouldn’t you know their choice of destination provides them with anything but! Regan and Jack had considered going to Bermuda, but instead they decide to spend four days at his parents’ beautiful beachfront home on Cape Cod, a wonderful spot where they’d never been alone. During the summer the house overflowed with Jack’s family, bubbling with activity from morning until night. But to be up there for a weekend in April, just the two of them, sounded like a perfect escape. Arriving at the Cape late at night, Regan and Jack are just in time to experience the beginning of a major storm. The next morning, Cape Cod Bay is quite a sight, churning with whitecaps. The wind is howling ferociously. Sheets of rain are pelting the house. Regan is looking forward to settling in the den with Jack and watching the storm. However, the best laid plans . . . In the bedroom, Regan opens the curtains to find Skip, the Reillys’ young caretaker, pressing his nose against the glass, supposedly checking for leaks. A moment later, Jack arrives home from the market, two gossipy older women who live up the street in tow. A branch crashed through their living room window, and they need a place to stay. When Regan thought things couldn’t get any worse, Skip comes running into the house, distraught that he’d just discovered Adele Hopkins, the woman renting the house next door, in a heap at the bottom of her staircase to the beach. Regan and Jack run back down with him, but huge waves are crashing on the shore. Hopkins is gone, presumably swept out to sea. Who was Adele Hopkins? No one knows. The sixty-ish loner, who moved in five months ago, shunned her neighbors. Even her landlords, friends of the Reillys, have no idea how to locate her next of kin. Discovered in her dining room are stacks of apology cards she’d not yet sent and bags of decorative pillows that are embroidered with the saying grudge me, grudge me not. Regan and Jack begin an investigation to help their friends track down Hopkins’s family. They start by interviewing two young women who own the shop where Adele had bought the pillows. Pippy and Ellen opened Pillow Talk after they both lost their jobs. When a newspaper article revealing the terrible way the women had been treated by their former employers was posted on the Internet, business took off, they started to become well-known, and the Pillow Talk website became a place for people who had had similar experiences to vent their feelings. Pippy and Ellen just received an anonymous e-mail from someone who spews venom about her former rowing coach?Adele Hopkins. Could she be the same Adele Hopkins? Regan and Jack’s search for clues to this mysterious woman’s identity makes for an anniversary weekend they’ll never forget!

Regan had just finished delivering bad news to a high school classmate. Hayley Patton is a successful New York City event planner, who had become suspicious that her beau, Scott, was seeing other women and hired Regan to follow him. When Hayley got the lowdown on Scott's treachery, she vowed...  more

Regan had just finished delivering bad news to a high school classmate. Hayley Patton is a successful New York City event planner, who had become suspicious that her beau, Scott, was seeing other women and hired Regan to follow him. When Hayley got the lowdown on Scott's treachery, she vowed revenge with such vehemence that Regan is worried that Hayley might go too far.

When Regan Reilly returned to the West Coast, where she began her career as a PI, she never imagined that her unsuccessful appearance on a game show seven years earlier would throw her trip totally off course! REGAN REILLY is in Los Angeles with her husband, Jack, head of the NYPD Major Case...  more

When Regan Reilly returned to the West Coast, where she began her career as a PI, she never imagined that her unsuccessful appearance on a game show seven years earlier would throw her trip totally off course! REGAN REILLY is in Los Angeles with her husband, Jack, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad. After Jack finishes his meetings with the LAPD, the couple may head north to the wine country, or may head south to Baja. Their only plan is to see which way the wind blows. The first day back, Regan goes shopping at an upscale new mall in West Hollywood. To her surprise, she runs into Zelda, a woman she’d become friendly with seven years before at a television studio in Burbank, when they were waiting to appear on the game show Puzzling Words. They haven’t seen each other since. Zelda and Regan didn’t win much money, but Zelda made up for it! A year ago an elderly neighbor she barely knew left Zelda eight million dollars. She has been enjoying her newfound wealth but is aware of the need to give back. At a recent fundraiser, she bid on a week’s stay in an old Hollywood Hills estate and was the lucky winner. She’s currently in residence there and invites Regan to a party at the mansion. While Jack attends a business dinner, Regan goes to Zelda’s by herself, unaware that she is being followed. Regan is more than surprised at the run-down condition of the house and grounds. People should be paid to stay here, she thinks. Zelda introduces Regan to a colorful cast of characters, including her old neighbors, friends from her yoga class, a filmmaker, Zelda’s financial adviser, her bookkeeper, and her personal assistant. It’s all good fun. As the guests are leaving, Zelda asks Regan to stay for a cup of tea. They’ve barely sat down to chat when Zelda falls ill. A worried Regan doesn’t want to leave Zelda alone and decides to spend the night at the isolated, aging estate. It’s not long before Zelda asks Regan to investigate people in her life, starting with her father’s new wife, Bobby Jo. The couple said “I do” in the back of a cab at a drive-through chapel in Las Vegas after only three months of togetherness. Has Zelda’s windfall put her in danger? Regan is determined to find out, not knowing that she’s a target herself!

Private investigator Regan Reilly and her husband, Jack, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, plan to spend the weekend at the Jersey shore with her parents. But the weekend gets off to an early start when Regan receives a phone call from her mother Nora asking if she’d hop on a train right...  more

Private investigator Regan Reilly and her husband, Jack, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, plan to spend the weekend at the Jersey shore with her parents. But the weekend gets off to an early start when Regan receives a phone call from her mother Nora asking if she’d hop on a train right away. Hayley Patton is a successful New York City event planner who suspected that her beau, Scott, was cheating and hired her former high school classmate Regan to follow him. When Hayley got the lowdown on Scott’s treachery, she vowed revenge with such vehemence that Regan is worried that Hayley might go too far. Meanwhile, Nora had also just spoken to an agitated high school classmate. Karen Frawley Fulton, who lives in San Diego, called Nora after learning that her mother just sold their home at the Jersey shore and is having a garage sale to end all garage sales. Karen asks Nora to please go to the house and, she hopes, curtail any other outrageous antics her mother probably has in mind. Nora agrees and asks Regan to join her. At the Frawley home Regan is astonished to see Scott’s brand-new fiancee, who quickly makes herself scarce. Once inside the house, Regan becomes increasingly suspicious about why the house was vacated unexpectedly. Turns out, there is a good reason…. 

Normally, Annie Laurence Darling would be eagerly awaiting her trip to Head Island, where this year's Dixie Book Festival is being held. But this year Annie has agreed to be the author liaison to five authors honored with the much-coveted Dixie Book Festival Medallions, and she fears she is...  more

Normally, Annie Laurence Darling would be eagerly awaiting her trip to Head Island, where this year's Dixie Book Festival is being held. But this year Annie has agreed to be the author liaison to five authors honored with the much-coveted Dixie Book Festival Medallions, and she fears she is going to have her hands full juggling murderous egos. What Annie doesn't count on is the untimely death of ambitious Mint Julep Press publisher Kenneth Hazlitt. Hazlitt arrives at the Festival peddling a proposal for Song of the South, a trashy roman-clef that details the indiscretions of some famous Southern authors at a writers' conference -- writers who more than resemble the Dixie Festival Medallion winners. When Hazlitt drops dead after drinking a hit of bourbon from his private stock, the evidence points to Annie -- the fatal glass is imprinted with her fingerprints. As more and more evidence points her way, Annie and Max must act fast to catch a wily killer... before the police throw the book at Annie!

Master mystery spinner Carolyn Hart gives us the tenth high-spirited entry in her Agatha, Anthony and Macavity Award-winning Death on Demand series. The most delectable sleuthing couple since Nick met Nora, Annie and Max Darling manage to find quite a bit of murder in their allegedly safe and...  more

Master mystery spinner Carolyn Hart gives us the tenth high-spirited entry in her Agatha, Anthony and Macavity Award-winning Death on Demand series. The most delectable sleuthing couple since Nick met Nora, Annie and Max Darling manage to find quite a bit of murder in their allegedly safe and serene South Carolina island resort town. After all, murder is Annie's business -- well, sort of. She's the proprietor of the popular Death on Demand mystery bookstore and cafe, and her establishment seems to attract trouble like Annie's pesky felines, Dorothy L. and Agatha, attract hairballs. Now, Annie and Max watch their Fourth of July holiday explode not only with fun and fireworks, but with murder as well.The library board wants to declare its independence from new member, retired Brigadier General Charlton "Bud" Hatch, a man accustomed to being in charge. Hatch's takeover attitude has alienated everyone in town, especially the women. But Annie finds it difficult to ignore him at a crowded patriotic festival -- particularly when he's shot dead before her eyes...