The Eyes on Utopia Murders


Book Description

"The Most Peaceful Town in the World" boasts the sign leading to the quiet adult community of Young Lake. And it was—until they started shooting across the generation gap. First there were the "incidents": a broken arm, a scorpion sting, rocks hurled at the school bus. Next little Timmy Barkus was missing—until they found his body. And then the little girl... Gerritt DeGraaf had never seen such an unlikely assembly of suspects. And yet it had to be—one of these mild old people was frightened enough or insane enough to murder.




The Doctor, The Murder, The Mystery


Book Description

WINNER OF THE ANTHONY AND AGATHA AWARDS FOR BEST TRUE CRIME In 1968, Dr. John Branion was found guilty of murdering his wife in their posh Chicago home. After exhausting his appeals, he evaded authorities by fleeing to Africa. He was finally captured in 1983—but his case was far from over. It would take another seven years for Dr. Branion to finally win his freedom—and for those who prosecuted him to admit that he could not have committed the murder, and that they knew it all along. Acclaimed mystery writer Barbara D'Amato was drawn to this story two decades after the murder, as Dr. Branion languished in prison, ill and without hope. Her meticulous research repeatedly led her to one startling conclusion: that it was impossible for Donna Branion's murder to have unfolded the way the police alleged. In this award-winning account, D'Amato deftly explores the intriguing facts of this shocking case—from the tragic blunders made by authorities to Branion's arrest, conviction, and years practicing medicine in Africa as a fugitive from justice. The result is a damning indictment of our criminal system—and the vindication of an innocent man. The Doctor, The Murder, The Mystery by Barbara D'Amato won the Anthony and Agatha Awards for Best True Crime. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed Cat Marsala mysteries, including Hard Case and Hard Christmas. She lives in Chicago.




The Hands of Healing Murder


Book Description

After dinner, Dr. Adam Cotton settled in a chair by the fireplace to read, while his guests made up two tables of bridge. Engrossed in their game, no one left the room. And the two servants who were sitting in the hallway all evening, deep in conversation, claim that no one entered the room. But someone inserted a small surgical scalpel into the parietal bone of Dr. Cotton's temple, killing him instantly.




White Male Infant


Book Description

Dr. Dooley McSweeny and his wife, Claudia, dearly love the son they adopted from Russia four years ago. But when medical tests indicate that their little boy could not possibly have come from Russia, the couple is plunged into the dark, complex, and emotionally fraught world of international adoption. Who is their son? Where did he come from? How did he come to them? The answers to these questions threaten to destroy their marriage, their happiness—and their lives—as they explode a powder keg of betrayal and deceit.




Hard Evidence


Book Description

It begins with a romantic dinner for three: Chicago journalist Cat Marsala, her semi-significant other, Dr. Sam Davidian, and a temporary houseguest named Dapper, a Dalmatian with a bone to pick. Unfortunately, Dapper's doggie treat happens to be from a human cadaver. It's just one piece in a grisly puzzle that leads Cat to a panic-stricken butcher—and an elite catering service that's feeding the appetite of an ingenious killer. And piecing the mystery together has left Cat to wonder... What other evidence in this grisly murder remains to be seen?




Murder Cum Laude


Book Description

The next bubble to burst will be the education bubble. Make no mistake about it, education is big business and, like other big businesses, it is in big trouble. -Professor Mark C. Taylor, Columbia University, New York Times, Opinion, July 12, 2009. A young, salt-of-the-earth family is caught up in a cyclone of greed, after Dennis Winecoop accepts a position at Washington, D.C.'s Utopia University. Believing he was hired to advise graduate students in history, Professor Winecoop finds he is teaching a full schedule of Murder 101. The first lesson, it seems, occurred just days before he was hired, when his predecessor was found grotesquely murdered in his bath. The intrigues of multiple murders are the catalysts that drive this dynamic and compelling tale to a shocking conclusion. The events and characters of Murder Cum Laude reveal the ugly reality of Washington politics and one man's aggressive efforts to uncover the truth. A graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, author Bruce Zortman served as a top secret courier during the Korean Conflict. He was awarded a one-year Taussig Fellowship to the Free University in Berlin. As an NDEA Fellow, he earned his PhD with distinction from UCLA. His 25 years as a professional educator include positions at Santa Monica College and American University in Washington, D.C. He is the author of Hitler's Theater (1985), an acting textbook, scholarly articles and several produced plays. Presently, he is Commodore of the Tucson Sailing Club. Publisher's website: http: //www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/MurderCumLaude.htm




Hard Tack


Book Description

DEAD MAN'S FLOAT Good food, rich company and a great story on how the other half lives combine for an assignment free-lance journalist Cat Marsala just can't pass up. Except for the fact that all this eating and making merry will take place on a gorgeous sixty-two-foot sloop—and Cat hates boats and water. But she has a nose for trouble even if she lacks sea legs, and trouble is definitely brewing aboard the Easy Girl. The yacht's passenger list reads like a television drama—complete with characters whose real lives are laced with passion, scandal, vengeance... and murder. The killer strikes behind a locked door—and there are witnesses to prove no one went in or out of the victim's stateroom. It's a crime that couldn't have happened. Now Cat is hunting a killer in the middle of Lake Michigan—risky business for a woman who can't swim.




Crime Fiction and Film in the Southwest


Book Description

When Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, Tony Hillerman's oddly matched tribal police officers, patrol the mesas and canyons of their Navajo reservation, they join a rich traditon of Southwestern detectives. In Crime Fiction and Film in the Southwest, a group of literary critics tracks the mystery and crime novel from the Painted Desert to Death Valley and Salt Lake City. In addition, the book includes the first comprehensive bibliography of mysteries set in the Southwest and a chapter on Southwest film noir from Humphrey Bogart's tough hood in The Petrified Forest to Russell Crowe's hard-nosed cop in L.A. Confidential.




Hard Bargain


Book Description

She's an ace reporter. An amateur sleuth. And she's always clued in. But now Cat Marsala is faced with her toughest case, one that could put a friend's job—and life—on the line. A domestic-violence call turns into a case of murder—of one cop by another. The alleged killer is an officer in the unit of Cat's friend, Chief McCoo, and now his reputation is on the line. Department leaks begin to destroy his career—and dangerous incidents around the station soon follow. Now Cat must sift through the conspiracy to clear McCoo's name—before the unknown traitor resorts to murder...




Murder Being Once Done


Book Description

A young girl is murdered in a cemetery. And Wexford's doctor has prescribed no alcohol, no rich food and, above all, no police work. When a young girl's body is found in a London cemetery and the local police, under the command of Wexford's nephew, are baffled, Wexford decides to brave his doctor's wrath and the condescension of the London police by doing a little investigating of his own. A compelling story of mysterious identity and untimely death, Murder Being Once Done is Rendell at her most sublime. With her Inspector Wexford novels, Ruth Rendell, winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award, has added layers of depth, realism and unease to the classic English mystery. For the canny, tireless, and unflappable policeman is an unblinking observer of human nature, whose study has taught him that under certain circumstances the most unlikely people are capable of the most appalling crimes.