Competition Can Be Murder


Book Description

Praise for USA Today bestseller Connie Shelton and the Charlie Parker mysteries: "Connie Shelton gets better with every book she writes." --The Midwest Book Review "Charlie is slick, appealing, and nobody's fool. Just what readers want in an amateur sleuth." --Booklist Charlie and Drake are spending a few months in Scotland, fulfilling a helicopter contract for a friend. Flying over the frigid North Sea is dangerous enough, but they soon learn that there is an ongoing feud between the helicopter operators in the area and the union-run boat operators. Charlie and Drake find themselves right in the midst of the battle. The upside of the assignment is that they are experiencing life on a Scottish estate, living in a rented cottage on the elegant grounds of historic Dunworthy Castle. The resident lord and lady of the manor have problems of their own--several valuable lambs from their flock have gone missing and Robert Dunbar wants Charlie to investigate. And then there is the Dunbar's grandson, Richie, who is visiting with two friends. When Richie is kidnapped and the ransom demands begin, Charlie tries to convince the Dunbars to call the police but they resist. Before she knows it, Charlie finds herself pulled into the vortex of that dark mystery. Editorial comments about the Charlie Parker mysteries: "...will enthrall purists. Charlie is a fabulous amateur sleuth." -- Midwest Book Review "Charlie is a good detective and a pleasant companion to unravel a mystery with." -- Mystery News Search words: mystery, mystery series, crime fiction, Scotland mysteries, amateur sleuth, female sleuth, series books, kidnapping mystery, international mystery




Killing the Competition


Book Description

Criminologists have known for decades that income inequality is the best predictor of the local homicide rate, but why this is so has eluded them. There is a simple, compelling answer: most homicides are the denouements of competitive interactions between men. Relatively speaking, where desired goods are distributed inequitably and competition for those goods is severe, dangerous tactics of competition are appealing and a high homicide rate is just one of many unfortunate consequences. Killing the Competition is about this relationship between economic inequality and lethal interpersonal violence.Suggesting that economic inequality is a cause of social problems and violence elicits fierce opposition from inequality's beneficiaries. Three main arguments have been presented by those who would acquit inequality of the charges against it: that "absolute" poverty is the real problem and inequality is just an incidental correlate; that "primitive" egalitarian societies have surprisingly high homicide rates, and that inequality and homicide rates do not change in synchrony and are therefore mutually irrelevant. With detailed but accessible data analyses and thorough reviews of relevant research, Martin Daly dispels all three arguments.Killing the Competition applies basic principles of behavioural biology to explain why killers are usually men, not women, and counters the view that attitudes and values prevailing in "cultures of violence" make change impossible.




Holidays Can Be Murder


Book Description




Escapes Can Be Murder


Book Description

“Charlie is a fabulous amateur sleuth.” –Midwest Book Review Charlie and Drake are working a helicopter job in rural Maine when a man approaches and asks for their help. At first glance, it seems he’s just an old man who needs to get to his son’s remote cabin in the woods. But the cabin holds more secrets than Fergus McNab will admit, and it isn’t until Charlie returns to Albuquerque that she discovers they may have just aided and abetted a criminal who has escaped the law back home. The secrets get twistier, the more she looks into the ten-year-old case where Rory McNab, facing a life in prison, seemed to vanish from the reach of the law. Just as Charlie is thinking she should report McNab’s whereabouts, there’s a murder that seems to rock the foundation of the old case. And Charlie is in handcuffs, caught in the middle. Praise for the Charlie Parker mysteries: “Charlie is just what readers want.” –Booklist “Connie Shelton gets better with every book she writes.” –The Midwest Book Review




Alibis Can Be Murder


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Weddings Can Be Murder


Book Description

Charlie Parker's brother, Ron, is ready for the happiest day of his life when he will marry long-time girlfriend Victoria Morgan. Charlie will be matron of honor, her husband Drake the best man. But when Charlie stops by the bride's house to pick her up for the ceremony, the place is in disarray and Victoria is missing. And Ron has no proof of where he was the night before, after he and his fiancée had a terrible argument. Was the fight nothing more than pre-wedding jitters, as Ron claims? Or did the unthinkable happen? Things go from bad to worse when the media jumps on the story and the police treat Ron as a suspect. However, as usual, the answers are not quite so simple. Charlie has her hands full sorting out clues from the distant past, learning things about Victoria none of them knew. Praise for Connie Shelton’s Charlie Parker mystery series: “Connie Shelton gets better with every book she writes.” --The Midwest Book Review “Charlie is just what readers want.” –Booklist “Shelton has done a superb job bringing New Mexico to life.” --Albuquerque Journal “Charlie is a fabulous amateur sleuth.” –Midwest Book Review




Sweethearts Can Be Murder


Book Description

Charlie is alone in the office when a teen girl comes in, wanting to hire RJP Investigations to find her mom, who vanished without a trace years ago. The clues were sparse at the time, and the old police file doesn't have much that can help Charlie with the search. The problem for young Cassie is that the grandmother who has raised her is now dying and Cassie’s life is about to be upended. All that's holding her together is the belief that her mom is out there somewhere. Meanwhile, Charlie’s neighbor Elsa may have a boyfriend! Or not. Iris, a friend from her church is trying to set her up with a buddy of the new hunk she’s dating. But Charlie smells scam all over this deal. Now she just has to keep an eye on both Elsa and her friend … at the same time she’s on the clock with her new missing persons case. Charlie sees so many parallels to her own teen years and her heart goes out to Cassie. Knowing she has mere weeks to find answers the police couldn't uncover in years ... well, the pressure is on! Praise for the Charlie Parker mysteries: “Charlie is just what readers want.” –Booklist “Connie Shelton gets better with every book she writes.” –The Midwest Book Review “A page turner!” - K. Coonce, 5 star review (for Escapes Can Be Murder) “I always love Charlie's escapades. She keeps me glued to the story, unable to put it down. Love the mixture of humor and suspense. Can't wait for the next adventure!” – Meg, 5 stars on Amazon “Each book in the series just keeps getting better and better.” – Vine Voice reviewer on Amazon “Charlie is a fabulous amateur sleuth!” – Midwest Book Review




Partnerships Can Be Murder


Book Description

"Connie Shelton gets better with every book she writes." --The Midwest Book Review USA Today bestselling author Connie Shelton brings the third installment in her popular pet-sleuthing mystery series. Charlie Parker returns from her Hawaiian vacation to find her older brother Ron involved with a much younger woman. The more Charlie sees of cute Vicky, the more she realizes how deceitful Ron’s new love is. Is it simply a case of male mid-life crisis, or is there something more devious going on? Meanwhile, Charlie doesn’t have much time to ponder Ron’s problems. Her friend Sharon Ortega is a partner in a restaurant business with David Ruiz. When David turns up dead, an apparent suicide, Sharon comes to Charlie for help. Sharon’s problem is a double-edged sword. If he did kill himself, David’s life insurance won’t pay and Sharon will probably lose the restaurant because she can’t afford to hire a replacement. But if he didn’t kill himself, then it was murder, and Sharon could very well find herself a suspect. Charlie and her sidekick dog, Rusty, partner up to work on the case, a move that ultimately puts them both in danger. “Charlie is a fabulous amateur sleuth.” –Midwest Book Review “Shelton again has done a superb job.” -- Albuquerque Journal Search words: mystery, private investigator, crime fiction, series books, mystery series, Charlie Parker, Connie Shelton, Albuquerque fiction, New Mexico fiction, pet sleuths, cozy mystery series




Honeymoons Can Be Murder


Book Description

Praise for USA Today bestseller Connie Shelton and the Charlie Parker mysteries: "Charlie is...just what readers want in an amateur sleuth." -- Booklist "Tension is fast paced..." -- Bookwatch "A well written by-the-book who done it that will enthrall purists." --Midwest Book Review Charlie and Drake begin the snowy winter with plans for a dream Christmas honeymoon in a secluded mountain cabin. They will stay three months and operate a helicopter skiing service at the famed Taos Ski Valley, while Charlie works long-distance with her brother's RJP Investigations for the duration of the ski season. No sooner have they settled into their cozy cabin than the mysteries begin to pile up. Drake's assistant, Eloy Romero, is accused of a murder and the evidence looks damning. Charlie agrees to look into the case and finds herself and her sidekick pooch, Rusty, drawn into the world of the Taos art community, entangled with ties to the Catholic church and a fortune in stolen religious artifacts. Here is what others have said: "Shelton again has done a superb job in bringing New Mexico to life in her colorful, vivid description... Readers can only hope the likable characters, fast-paced plots and local color will continue." -- Albuquerque Journal "Connie Shelton gets better with every book she writes." -- The Midwest Book Review Search words: romantic suspense, mystery series, Charlie Parker, Connie Shelton, Christmas mysteries, Christmas stories, holiday stories, religious artifacts, romance, dogs in mysteries, pet sleuths, cozy mystery series




Legends Can Be Murder


Book Description

USA Today bestselling author Connie Shelton takes her readers on a wild trip, in distance and in time, in the fifteenth installment in her original series. Charlie Parker and her husband Drake Langston accept a job with Gold Trail Adventures in Skagway, Alaska, flying visitors by helicopter to remote cabin sites to experience the outdoor lifestyle and seek their fortunes. It isn’t long before one of the guests finds a set of bones in an old mine, remains that date back decades. His hands full with present-day cases, police chief Sam Branson tells Charlie and her new reporter friend, Mina Gengler, that they are free to investigate. A second body is found, bringing up a lot of questions. Charlie gets a peek into the lives and times of Gold Rush-era Alaskans when she discovers a box of old letters written by one of the stampeders and begins to wonder if it's possible that the two bodies are connected. And, ominously, it seems that someone in Skagway today doesn’t want the women to dig for the truth. “Charlie is just what readers want.” –Booklist “Charlie is a fabulous amateur sleuth.” –Midwest Book Review Search words: mystery, crime fiction, bestselling mystery series, series books, Alaska history, Alaska mystery, female amateur sleuth, action adventure, historical mystery, historical fiction, gold rush mystery, mysteries with dogs, pet sleuths