Murder at the Mistletoe Ball


Book Description

Christmas in Tranquility, New Jersey, means togetherness for the Italian-American Ferrara family—and an unexpected reunion for Alberta Scaglione. But someone has murder on their holiday wish list . . . Alberta is delighted that her estranged daughter has arrived in Tranquility, even if Lisa Marie has an ulterior motive. Her son, Alberta’s twenty-one-year-old grandson, Sergio, hasn’t been heard from in six months, shortly after taking up with a woman named Natalie. Maybe Alberta and her crime- reporting partner-in-sleuthing granddaughter, Jinx, can track him down before Christmas? After some fruitless searching, the Ferraras take a break to attend the Mistletoe Ball, a fundraiser for the local hospital. But the night takes a chilling turn when a snowman decoration splits open, revealing a body. Lisa Marie screams that it’s Natalie—and screams again when she sees a man emerge from behind some Christmas trees. The good news is they’ve found Sergio. The bad news: he’s a prime suspect for murder. It seems Sergio’s former squeeze had some shady secrets. And with more than one family member’s future at stake, Alberta and Lisa Marie will have to put their past behind them and work together, or it’ll be a blue, blue Christmas . . . Includes Italian recipes from Alberta’s kitchen! “Imagine the Golden Girls starting a detective agency and you’ll get the general idea of J.D. Griffo’s charming Ferrara Family mystery series.” —Criminal Element




Murder at the Spring Ball


Book Description

An Agatha-Christie-style whodunit with a dash of Downton Abbey thrown in. Master detective Lord Edgington and his hapless grandson Christopher must outfox a killer when murder comes to the spring ball!




The Mystery of Mistletoe Hall


Book Description

As a group of apparently unconnected guests arrive for a Christmas party and a corpse is discovered in the snow, it's down to Lord Edgington to solve "The Mystery of Mistletoe Hall" and outwit the killer before his goose is cooked.




Murder on Memory Lake


Book Description

For Alberta Scaglione, her golden years are turning out much more differently than she expected—and much more deadly . . . Alberta Scaglione’ s spinster aunt had some secrets—like the fortune she squirreled away and a secret lake house in Tranquility, New Jersey. More surprising: she’s left it all to Alberta. Alberta, a widow, is no spring chicken and she’s gotten used to disappointment. So having a beautiful view, surrounded by hydrangeas, honeysuckle, and her cat, Lola, sounds blissful after years of yelling and bickering and cooking countless lasagnas. But Tranquility isn’t as peaceful as it sounds. There’s a body in the water—and it belongs to Alberta’s childhood nemesis. Alberta suspects foul play and when Alberta’s estranged granddaughter, an aspiring crime reporter, shows up, it only makes sense for them to team up and investigate . . . Includes Italian recipes from Alberta’s kitchen!




Wolfsbane and Mistletoe


Book Description

Lycanthropy is the theme of a special anthology of holiday tales featuring an outstanding collection of werewolf stories by Charlaine Harris, Simon R. Green, Keri Arthur, Dana Stabenow, Carrie Vaughn, Patricia Briggs, Rob Thurman, and others.




Tippy Toe Murder


Book Description

Homemaker Lucy Stone investigates the strange disappearance of a retired dance instructor and the slaying of a cantankerous shopkeeper in the Maine coastal town of Tinker's Cove.




Mistletoe Cowboy


Book Description

Book 5 in the Spikes & Spurs Series 'Tis the season for... •A matchmaking grandma on a long-distance mission •Mistletoe temptation in every doorway •A sexy cowboy with a killer smile When Gran Presely agrees to sell Creed Riley the Rockin' C Ranch for a song at Christmastime, he can hardly believe his good fortune. There's just one little catch—her tantalizing granddaughter Sage is part of the deal. Spikes & Spurs Series Love Drunk Cowboy (Book 1) Red's Hot Cowboy (Book 2) Darn Good Cowboy Christmas (Book 3) One Hot Cowboy Wedding (Book 4) Mistletoe Cowboy (Book 5) Just a Cowboy and His Baby (Book 6) Cowboy Seeks Bride (Book 7) Praise for Darn Good Cowboy Christmas: "A story with a cowboy always hits the target, but add a little Christmas flair and a saucy heroine and you have a winner."—Long and Short Reviews "This fast-paced holiday romp brims with music, laughter...and plenty of Texas flavor."—Library Journal "Full of sizzling chemistry and razor-sharp dialogue."—Night Owl Reviews, Reviewer Top Pick, 4 1⁄2 Stars




A Dream of Death


Book Description

This atmospheric debut mystery “is a Scottish delight that will keep you on your toes” with its riveting blend of real history, island legend, and unforgettable characters (Carlene O’Connor, USA Today–bestselling author of the Irish Village mysteries). On a remote island in Scotland, an American antiques dealer a brutal killing staged to recreate a centuries-old unsolved murder. Autumn has come and gone on Scotland’s Isle of Glenroth, and the islanders gather for the Tartan Ball, the annual end-of-tourist-season gala. Spirits are high until an unexpected turn of events takes the floor. A recently published novel about island history has brought hordes of tourists to the small Hebridean resort community. On the guest list is American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton. Kate returns reluctantly to the island where her husband died, determined to repair her relationship with his sister, proprietor of the island’s luxe country house hotel, famous for its connection with Bonnie Prince Charlie. Kate has hardly unpacked when the next morning a body is found, murdered in a reenactment of an infamous unsolved murder described in the novel—and the only clue to the killer’s identity lies in a curiously embellished antique casket. The Scottish police discount the historical connection, but when a much-loved local handyman is arrested, Kate teams up with a vacationing detective inspector from Suffolk, England, to unmask a killer determined to rewrite island history—and Kate’s future.




Unnatural


Book Description

In the town of Eden in northwestern England stands the exclusive boarding school known as Archangel Academy. Ancient and imposing, it's a place filled with secrets. Just like its students ... For Michael Howard, being plucked from his Nebraska hometown and sent thousands of miles away is as close as he's ever come to a miracle. In Weeping Water, he felt trapped, alone. At Archangel Academy, Michael belongs. And in Ciaran, Penry, and especially Ciaran's enigmatic half-brother Ronan, Michael finds friendship deeper than he's ever known. But Michael's only beginning to understand what makes the Academy so special. Ronan is a vampire-- part of a hybrid clan who are outcasts even among other vampires. Within the Academy's confines exists a ruthless world of deadly rivalries and shifting alliances, of clandestine love and forbidden temptations. And soon Michael will confront the destiny that brought him here-- and a danger more powerful than he can imagine ... --P. [4] of cover.




Twelve Slays of Christmas


Book Description

When Holly White’s fiancé cancels their Christmas Eve wedding with less than two weeks to go, Holly heads home with a broken heart. Lucky for her, home in historic Mistletoe, Maine is magical during Christmastime—exactly what the doctor prescribed. Except her plan to drown her troubles in peppermints and snickerdoodles is upended when local grouch and president of the Mistletoe Historical Society Margaret Fenwick is bludgeoned and left in the sleigh display at Reindeer Games, Holly’s family tree farm. When the murder weapon is revealed as one of the wooden stakes used to identify trees on the farm, Sheriff Evan Grey turns to Holly’s father, Bud, and the Reindeer Games staff. And it doesn’t help that Bud and the reindeer keeper were each seen arguing with Margaret just before her death. But Holly knows her father, and is determined to exonerate him.The jingle bells are ringing, the clock is ticking, and if Holly doesn't watch out, she'll end up on Santa's naughty list in Twelve Slays of Christmas, Jacqueline Frost’s jolly series debut.