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‘Tis the season for mistletoe and matrimony–with a touch of murder.
3 books. 450+ pages of holiday cozy mysteries that are both merry and madcap.
The holidays are not so holly and jolly for DC’s premier wedding planner. In two novellas and a novel, Annabelle Archer and her zany crew attempt to keep holiday spirits bright as they encounter an abandoned baby, search for a missing Santa Claus, and are snowed in for the holidays–with a killer. On top of all that? They’ve got holiday parties to plan and brides on the verge of throwing holiday hissy fits.
Annabelle Archer’s Holiday Collection contains two novellas and one novel (all previously published) from the award-winning cozy mystery series. Books included:
Marry and Bright, A Novella–Book 11 in the series
Claus for Celebration–A Novel–Book 15 in the series
Slay Bells Ring–A Novella–Book 17 in the series
NEXT VICTIM (Detective Rachel King Thrillers Book 1) (affiliate link)
A young man’s body is found burnt and tortured by a Manchester canal.
He was a journalism student who told his friends he was working on a big story. His death leads the police on a false trail.
Detective Rachel King investigates. She has a secret, the love of her life is a well-known villain. He has recently come back on the scene. But what does he really want?
A brutal serial killer with a taste for good-looking young blonde men.
A student who thinks she has a long-lost brother. But even her own father doesn’t believe her. She was involved with the first victim.
As the murders continue, can Rachel keep her family together and stop the killer?
Pistols and Poinsettias (Smiley and McBlythe Mystery Series Book 5) (affiliate link)
Steve isn’t celebrating Christmas…he’s trying to survive it.
Blind PI Steve Smiley loathes Christmas—too many memories. When his partner secures an invitation for them to teach at a mystery writers’ conference in Miami, what promises to be a welcome early December escape turns into a tidal wave of mysteries to solve.
Steve and Heather walk into the midst of a raging civil war between two factions of the writers’ group. When they agree to locate a missing author slated to be the next organization president, they find themselves plunged into the midst of the battle. Before they can solve that mystery, another one lands at their feet, along with a dead body.
With more than a thousand mystery writers watching, Steve’s reputation is on the line. He and Heather make a plan to unravel the mysteries and expose the murderer. But the killer has a plan too. Steve’s no longer worried about enduring another lonely Christmas…this year he just wants to survive it.
FOCUS – A Memoir (affiliate link)
At the age of 37, Ingrid Ricks walked into an eye doctor’s office expecting to walk outt with a cute pair of red cat-eye frames–only to learn she suffered from Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare, incurable eye disease that was stealing her eyesight and would eventually leave her completely blind.
Gripped with the terrifying fear that she wouldn’t be able to see her two young daughters grow up, would become a burden to her husband, and would lose the career and independence that defines her, Ingrid embarks on a quest to fix her eyes that ends up fixing her life.
Through an eight-year journey marked by a trip to South Africa to write about AIDS orphans, a four-day visit with a doctor who focuses on whole-body health, a relationship-changing confrontation with her husband and a life-changing lesson from her daughters, Ingrid learns to embrace the moment and see what counts in life–something no amount of vision loss can take from her.
Vetted for Murder: A Tori Mulligan Mystery (affiliate link)
Nothing stays secret in a small town…especially murder.
As the obituary columnist for a small NC mountain newspaper, Tori Mulligan is no stranger to death. But when a real-life murder mystery lands at her feet, she discovers that everyone has secrets—some more deadly than others. The sticky situation is further complicated by a handsome widower, an adorable dog, and a slew of sketchy characters. Can the sassy southern sleuth find “whodunit” without adding herself to the body count?
Wallflower’s Christmas Wish: Complete Series Collection (affiliate link)
Blame it on the Champagne (affiliate link)
No Wind of Blame (Inspector Hemingway Book 1) (affiliate link)
Everyone had a motive, but who had the means?
Wally Carter’s murder seems impossible—not one of the suspects was anywhere near the weapon at the time the shot was fired. The superlatively analytical Inspector Hemingway is confronted with a neglected widow, the neighbor who’s in love with her, her resentful daughter, a patently phony Russian prince, and a case of blackmail that may—or may not—be at the heart of this most unusual case…
Beloved author Georgette Heyer brings her inimitable wit and astute examination of human nature to a British country house mystery sure to delight fans of Agatha Christie and Margery Allingham.
Confessions of a Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight (affiliate link)
The memoir of a high-functioning, law-abiding (well, mostly) sociopath and a roadmap—right from the source—for dealing with the sociopath in your life.
As M.E. Thomas says of her fellow sociopaths, “We are your neighbors, your coworkers, and quite possibly the people closest to you: lovers, family, friends. Our risk-seeking behavior and general fearlessness are thrilling, our glibness and charm alluring. Our often quick wit and outside-the-box thinking make us appear intelligent—even brilliant. We climb the corporate ladder faster than the rest, and appear to have limitless self-confidence. Who are we? We are highly successful, noncriminal sociopaths and we comprise 4 percent of the American population.”
At the Edge of the Orchard: A Novel (affiliate link)
1838: James and Sadie Goodenough have settled where their wagon got stuck – in the muddy, stagnant swamps of northwest Ohio. They and their five children work relentlessly to tame their patch of land, buying saplings from a local tree man known as John Appleseed so they can cultivate the fifty apple trees required to stake their claim on the property. But the orchard they plant sows the seeds of a long battle. James loves the apples, reminders of an easier life back in Connecticut; while Sadie prefers the applejack they make, an alcoholic refuge from brutal frontier life.
1853: Their youngest child Robert is wandering through Gold Rush California. Restless and haunted by the broken family he left behind, he has made his way alone across the country. In the redwood and giant sequoia groves he finds some solace, collecting seeds for a naturalist who sells plants from the new world to the gardeners of England.
Murder in the Supreme Court (Capital Crimes Book 3) (affiliate link)
When Clarence Sutherland, chief clerk of the Supreme Court, is found dead, Lt. Martin Teller of the DC police and Susanna Pinscher of the Justice Department are pulled together to find the killer.
It turns out that Sutherland had a lot of confidential information on important people, and any one of them could be responsible for his death. But one startling clue seems to implicate the high court itself: Sutherland was found slumped over in the chief justice’s chair. Did the clerk know something that the top judge, and perhaps even the president himself, didn’t want revealed? Teller and Pinscher intend to find out . . .
From the daughter of President Harry Truman, an expert at depicting the details of life inside the beltway, Murder in the Supreme Court provides an intriguing peek into the world of Washington’s powerful justice system.
To Catch a King (affiliate link)
100 Hoaxes & Mistakes That Fooled Science (Popular Science) (affiliate link)
Even experts get duped from time to time! The stories behind scientific fakes and mistakes, from crop circles to miracle cures and beyond.
Science is an ongoing quest for knowledge filled with discoveries and experiments, trial and error. And occasionally, the errors can be whoppers—especially when hoaxers are involved. Some hoaxes are intended merely as well-intended humorous tricks, while others are serious frauds devised for personal gain of glory and riches. This book reveals the greatest science hoaxes and mistakes of all time.
Discover the truth behind 100 of the most scandalous scientific errors and outright lies in this fascinating read brought to you by Popular Science—from the experiment that suggested time travel was possible, to the pursuit of alchemy, to rumors about red mercury and its mythical powers, it’s an entertaining journey through the history of science.
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 2Page 2