Collection: Mystery, Thrillers, & Crime

#1 NYT-bestselling author Stephanie Laurens brings you a tale of unexpected romance that blossoms against the backdrop of dastardly murder.

On discovering the lifeless body of an innocent ingénue, a peer attending a country house party joins forces with the lady-amazon sent to fetch the victim safely home in a race to expose the murderer before Stokes, assisted by Barnaby and Penelope, is forced to allow the guests, murderer included, to decamp.

Well-born rakehell and head of an ancient family, Alaric, Lord Carradale, has finally acknowledged reality and is preparing to find a bride. But loyalty to his childhood friend, Percy Mandeville, necessitates attending Percy's annual house party, held at neighboring Mandeville Hall. Yet despite deploying his legendary languid charm, by the second evening of the week-long event, Alaric is bored and restless.

Escaping from the soirée and the Hall, Alaric decides that as soon as he's free, he'll hie to London and find the mild-mannered, biddable lady he believes will ensure a peaceful life. But the following morning, on walking through the Mandeville Hall shrubbery on his way to join the other guests, he comes upon the corpse of a young lady-guest.

Constance Whittaker accepts that no gentleman will ever offer for her--she's too old, too tall, too buxom, too headstrong...too much in myriad ways. Now acting as her grandfather's agent, she arrives at Mandeville Hall to extricate her young cousin, Glynis, who unwisely accepted an invitation to the reputedly licentious house party.

But Glynis cannot be found.

A search is instituted. Venturing into the shrubbery, Constance discovers an outrageously handsome aristocrat crouched beside Glynis's lifeless form. Unsurprisingly, Constance leaps to the obvious conclusion.

Luckily, once the gentleman explains that he'd only just arrived, commonsense reasserts itself. More, as matters unfold and she and Carradale have to battle to get Glynis's death properly investigated, Constance discovers Alaric to be a worthy ally.

Yet even after Inspector Stokes of Scotland Yard arrives and takes charge of the case, along with his consultants, the Honorable Barnaby Adair and his wife, Penelope, the murderer's identity remains shrouded in mystery, and learning why Glynis was killed--all in the few days before the house party's guests will insist on leaving--tests the resolve of all concerned. Flung into each other's company, fiercely independent though Constance is, unsusceptible though Alaric is, neither can deny the connection that grows between them.

Then Constance vanishes.

Can Alaric unearth the one fact that will point to the murderer before the villain rips from the world the lady Alaric now craves for his own?

A historical novel of 75,000 words interweaving romance, mystery, and murder.

Praise for the works of Stephanie Laurens

"Stephanie Laurens' heroines are marvelous tributes to Georgette Heyer: feisty and strong." Cathy Kelly

"Stephanie Laurens never fails to entertain and charm her readers with vibrant plots, snappy dialogue, and unforgettable characters." Historical Romance Reviews

"Stephanie Laurens plays into readers' fantasies like a master and claims their hearts time and again." Romantic Times Magazine

Terry McGinnis defeated the evil A.I. controlling Neo-Gotham and asserted himself as the one true Batman, but his next battle will bring him to the remains of Old Gotham.

Children are going missing and being swallowed by the city's old bones. Batman Beyond will have to go underground, led by a mysterious splicer named Kyle the Catboi, to find the children and confront the city's buried sins.

What happened to the green of the city? What happened to magic? And what villains never left old Gotham?

All these questions will be answered by the red-hot creative team of Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing (Batman - One Bad Day: Clayface) and Max Dunbar (Batman: Urban Legends).

Youth in revolt!

Spinning out of the runaway hit Batman: Beyond the White Knight comes an unforgettable coming-of-age super villain tale starring the children of Harley Quinn and The Joker!

When the rebellious twins run away in a stolen Batmobile, only Joker Jack Napier's quickly fading hologram has any hope of getting them home safely and keeping them out of the family business. But a life of crime isn't the only temptation young Bryce and Jackie are facing: the kids uncover a dark secret that could bring their dad back to life for good!

With a wild array of Batman's former enemies and allies on their tails, will the kids succeed in reviving the Dark Knight's greatest foe?

Find out as Jackie and Bryce take center stage in the White Knight Universe! Collects #1-6.

Four Minutes is the latest brilliant techno-thriller from the #1 internationally bestselling duo behind the Sons of Valor series.

It is said that no plan survives first contact with the enemy, but what if you remove the one thing no one can control: Uncertainty about the future?

Special Operations Chief Tyler Brooks might not know quantum mechanics, or have an eidetic memory, but he is the very best in the world at one thing: leading covert ops. When an unpredictable enemy causes the catastrophic loss of his entire SEAL team, Brooks is recruited by Pat Moody to lead a new elite squad, Task Force Omega. Moody's promise--access to mind-bending tech that grants a glimpse of the future.

Together with Navy Intelligence Specialist Zee Williams, Brooks leads a new kind of counterterrorism task force, one that collects intel from the future to stop attacks in the present. But there's a catch. Each mission can only last FOUR MINUTES. Stakes quickly escalate when Omega discovers an unprecedented future attack against America threatening the lives of millions--including Tyler's daughter.

Despite their prescient advantage, Brooks and Williams find themselves thwarted at every turn as they try to stop the plot. To make matters worse, they have somehow gone from hunter to hunted, targeted by an unknown enemy hidden in the shadows. With the country on the brink of nuclear war, Tyler's daughter in mortal danger, and a commanding officer they're not sure they can trust, Omega Team faces a terrible dilemma: Even if you know the future, is FOUR MINUTES enough time to change it?

The final title in the original KINGDOM KEEPERS series is back with an all new look and new content!

The Kingdom Keepers' senior year in high school is almost over. For more than three years, things have been quiet. Their battles are long behind them, they agree, the threat to the Disney realm silenced-albeit at great cost. But inside the catacombs of the Aztec temple where Finn Whitman faced down his nemesis, the monstrous Chernabog, a new threat brews.

Deception and betrayal rock the Kingdom Keepers as the merciless group of Disney villains known as the Overtakers stage an unexpected comeback. But a discovery by the Keepers provides them with one hope of victory--a lost icon. It was believed to be gone forever. The Keepers have one last chance to preserve the heart of the Kingdom--Disneyland--from a terrifying destruction decades in the making.

An English village cozy that's perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton and Simon Brett...

Location scout and Jane Austen fan, Kate Sharp, is thrilled when her company lands the job of finding locations for a new film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, but after her boss fails to return from a scouting trip, Kate travels to England to salvage the company's reputation before word gets out that he is missing. Things go from bad to worse when Kate arrives in Nether Woodsmoor, a quaint village of golden stone cottages and rolling green hills, only to find no trace of her boss except his abandoned luggage.

Kate embarks on a search that includes a pub-crawl and cozy cottages as well as stately country manors, but with no sign of her boss she begins to suspect that the picturesque village and beautiful countryside may not be as idyllic as they seem.

Death in the English Countryside is the first installment of the popular Murder on Location cozy mystery series.

Grandfather has just bought a plot of land in the Rocky Mountains--complete with a ghost town! When the Aldens hear that the land is haunted, they don't believe it. But when they see a ghostly figure on the main street, they have another mystery to solve!

Follow the money in this gripping literary puzzle--the fourth and final installment of Sarah Caudwell's brilliant Hilary Tamar mystery series.

"Sarah Caudwell is one of my very favorite mystery writers."--A. J. Finn, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

Julia Larwood's Aunt Regina needs help. She and two friends pooled their modest resources and invested in equities. Now the tax man demands his due, but they've already spent the money. How can they dig themselves out of the tax hole? Even more to the point: Can the sin of capital gains trigger corporeal loss?

That's a question for the sibyl, psychic counselor Isabella del Comino, who has offended Aunt Regina and her friends by moving into the rectory, plowing under a cherished garden, and establishing an aviary of ravens. When Isabella is found dead, all clues point to death by fiscal misadventure.

So Julia calls in an old friend and Oxford fellow, Professor Hilary Tamar, to follow a money trail that connects Aunt Regina to what appears to be capital fraud--and capital crime. The two women couldn't have a better champion than the erudite Hilary. Once again Sarah Caudwell sweeps us into the scene of the crime, leaving us to ponder the greatest mystery of all: Hilary themself.

Don't miss any of Sarah Caudwell's riveting Hilary Tamar mysteries:
THUS WAS ADONIS MURDERED - THE SHORTEST WAY TO HADES - THE SIRENS SANG OF MURDER - THE SIBYL IN HER GRAVE

When a handkerchief is left at Hinata's family's veterinary clinic, he and Chris take on the job of returning it to its rightful owner. But when Chris tracks its scent, the pair find themselves in front of a haunted house. And is that a z-z-zombie?! Hinata has no time to be afraid, though, he's got to protect Chris! What mysteries lie inside the haunted house, and just who left behind that handkerchief?

Sherlock Bones, the world's greatest dog detective, and his trusty sidekick Dr. Jane Catson are back for another crime-solving adventure.

When a wealthy dog spots a ghostly figure haunting her kennel in the Catpathian Mountains, she come to Bones and Catson for help. Bones is convinced there are no such things as ghosts ... but even he's at a loss to explain the creepy sounds and strange goings-on that he and Catson encounter after a night in the crumbling kennel. Things get even more spooky when Bones is suddenly called back to London, leaving Catson to crack the case on her own. Can Catson unmask the ghost and escape the haunted kennel in one piece?

The fourth book in Buster's Sherlock Bones mystery fiction series features 28 puzzles - including spot-the-differences, number chains and tangled line games - that are woven into the action, so the reader feels immersed in the exciting detective plot. Told across 14 chapters, this thrilling story is perfect for middle-grade readers.

Also available in the series:
9781780557502 Sherlock Bones and the Case of the Crown Jewels
9781780557519 Sherlock Bones and the Curse of the Pharaoh's Mask
9781780559216 Sherlock Bones and the Mystery of the Vanishing Magician

Should chief investigator James Wiley Redding of the Norwegian Police suspect that any of the doctors working in the small rural hospital of Godshus, located where a fjord meets the North Sea, might be linked to the gruesome discovery made on a December morning after their annual Julebord (holiday party)? Much more whodunit than a diversified nordic noir novel, JULEBORD is laced with what life is like to work in a small rural hospital, where things and humans occasionally get dirty. Not merely a piece of - at times - a bit upmarket crime fiction, the story brings to the realization that in today's small global village we are linked to each other in some way - whether we want to be or not and cannot hide from the events that affect us all.

Three sleuthing sisters become aware of how their spells affect others in book three of this hilarious magical mystery series

It's autumn, and Covenly residents are gathering at the annual fall fair. The three Weird Sisters--Hildegurp, Glubbifer, and Yuckmina--are running a Flying Broom ride for the town's kids and nine-year-old Jessica Nibley is overseeing the petting zoo nearby.

Suddenly, a prized show chicken goes missing and there's a new mystery to solve. Suspecting fowl play, the four friends team up to find the hapless hen in a madcap hunt that involves an enchanted roller coaster, a frog in a top hat, and a sticky trail of goo. As they sleuth, the sisters also discover some unfortunate and unintended consequences of their magic, bringing about a gentle lesson in apologizing.

The third book in this whimsical chapter book mystery series is full of clever wordplay, humorous misunderstandings, and dynamic illustrations. With hints and phrases from Hamlet, readers are reminded that actions have consequences that can't always be undone.

Honesty isn't always the best policy in Kim Hays' third Linder and Donatelli Mystery novel . . .

Andi Eberhart is riding her bicycle home on an icy winter night when she is killed in a hit-and-run. Her devastated partner, Nisha, is convinced the death was no accident. Andi had been receiving homophobic hate mail for several years, and the letters grew uglier after the couple's baby was born.

Bern homicide Detective Giuliana Linder is assigned to investigate what happened to Andi. As she pieces together the details of Andi and Nisha's lives, her assistant Renzo Donatelli looks into Andi's job advising young men drafted into Switzerland's civilian service. Working closely together, Giuliana and Renzo are again tempted to become more than just friendly colleagues.

As both detectives dig into Andi's life, one thing becomes clear: Andi's friends and family may have loved her for her honesty, but her outspokenness threatened others--perhaps enough to get rid of her.

"Powerfully rendered" -The New York Times

" ...a weirdly warm-hearted nightmare." -Booklist (Starred Review)

"...an exceptional, odd mystery." -Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

Perfect for fans of Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Hardy Boys mysteries, The Hobtown Mystery Stories take the teen investigator genre to new levels as they explore small town identity and the surreal.

Welcome to Hobtown, a charmingly bleak village (Population: 2,006) and an easy place to get bored if you don't make your own fun.

Hobtown Regional High's top girl, Dana Nance, runs the Teen Detective Club--a registered after-school program that makes it their business to investigate each and every one of their town's bizarre occurrences including pagan secret societies, psychic assaults, and possible "wee man" sightings. Their small world of missing pets and shed fires is turned upside down when real-life kid adventurer and globetrotter Sam Finch comes to town and enlists them in their first real case: the search for his missing father. Something strange is going on, and no one in Hobtown will talk about it. It turns out Sam's dad is the sixth man to go missing this year. The rot runs deep in Hobtown, and it's up to the teen detectives and associates to stay alive long enough to crack the Case of the Missing Men!

Childhood friends Kris Bertin and Alexander Forbes have built a truly unique and discrete universe in Hobtown--an exploration of small town identity drawing from the world of pulp, filtered through a lens of esoteric spirituality, skewed genre tropes, deft character work, and an incredible eye for detail.

In a vicious, delicious contemporary novel inspired by Shakespeare's Richard III, the lauded author of The Family Fortuna lifts the curtain on a high school thespian who'll stop at nothing to land the lead.

Rory is an antihero for the ages. Like Shakespeare's Richard III, she confides in her audience, telling us exactly the lengths she'll go to to secure the leading role in Bosworth Academy's senior musical, confessing without shame that she is charming and conniving and brutally ambitious, that we will watch and root for her even as she manipulates and endangers those around her. And we do. Perhaps it's because we don't want to believe that she's as relentless as she claims. Rory is an underdog, after all, a scholarship kid teased for her weight. Surely there will be redemption? Surely our dread and patience will be rewarded? Intricately plotted with an ingenious narrative that blends multiple viewpoints with script excerpts and an original musical score, Lindsay Eagar's whip-smart, precision-crafted, and gleefully compulsive page-turner taps into the dark side of high school theater production. A diabolically good read, it forces our complicity as we wince and cheer for an arresting drama queen who just can't help going full-tilt nasty in the pursuit of her dreams.

Carmel-by-the-Sea garden shop owner Courtney Kelly sees things others can't--like fairies, and hidden motives for murder . . .

Courtney is delighted when her tiny friend Fiona returns from the fairy realm, appearing at the base of a Cypress tree. When her Ragdoll cat, Pixie, emerges from her own portal--aka the cat door--the three set off for a busy day. Busier than usual, since Courtney has rented a small plot of land at the Flower Farm, where she hopes to grow her own supplies for her fairy-garden business. Plus, the annual Summer Blooms Festival is coming up, and Courtney has booked a booth . . .

But the murder of Courtney's friend, Genevieve, casts a pall over the festival. Ever since Genevieve sold her floral business, she'd been building a career as an influencer. She was perennially opinionated--but in her new role she'd become surprisingly vicious, dissing local entrepreneurs with nasty posts and unwarranted bad reviews. That's landed a couple of Courtney's other friends on the suspect list--including Flower Farm owner Daphne Flores. And when a second victim is discovered, seeds of doubt about Daphne's innocence sprout in Courtney's mind. With only a germ of a clue, Courtney will have to overturn every rock to get the dirt on the real killer . . .