A Villa in Sicily: Olive Oil and Murder (A Cats and Dogs Cozy Mystery—Book 1)


Book Description

"Very entertaining. Highly recommended for the permanent library of any reader who appreciates a well-written mystery with twists and an intelligent plot. You will not be disappointed. Excellent way to spend a cold weekend!" --Books and Movie Reviews (regarding Murder in the Manor) A VILLA IN SICILY: OLIVE OIL AND MURDER is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by bestselling author Fiona Grace, author of Murder in the Manor, a #1 Bestseller with over 100 five-star reviews (and a free download)! Audrey Smart, 34, is a brilliant vet—yet fed up by her demanding clients who think they know more than her and who don’t care about their animals. Burnt-out with the endless hours, she wonders if the time has come for a new direction. And when her 15th year high school reunion (and her hopes for re-sparking on old flame) end in disaster, Audrey knows the time has come to make a change. When Audrey sees an ad for a $1 home in Sicily, it captivates her. The only catch is that the house requires renovation, something she knows little about. She wonders if it could be real—and if she may really be crazy enough to go for it. Can Audrey create a life and career—and the home of her dreams—in a beautiful Sicilian village? And perhaps even find love while she’s there? Or will an unexpected death—one that only she can solve—put an end to all of her plans? Are some dreams too good to be true? A laugh-out-loud cozy packed with mystery, intrigue, renovation, animals, food, wine—and of course, love—A VILLA IN SICILY will capture your heart and keep you glued to the very last page. Books #2 and #3 in the series—FIGS AND A CADAVER and VINO AND DEATH—are now also available!




Togakushi Legend Murders


Book Description

Murder and mayhem are coupled with Japanese folklore and fable in this riveting tale of suspense. When the body of one of Nagano Prefecture's most prominent businessmen is found propped against a tree on Poison Plain, home of the legendary Demoness Maple, Inspector Takemura finds himself searching for the killer with the help and hindrance of an esteemed Tokyo professor and a beautiful university student. As the bodies begin to multiply in the sleepy mountain town of Togakushi, the three learn that the resemblance of the murders to those of regional folklore is more than a coincidence. This novel based on Japanese legend and written by famed author Yasuo Uchida will mesmerize mystery buffs as well as those interested in the culture and folklore of Japan.




The Amityville Horror


Book Description

“A fascinating and frightening book” (Los Angeles Times)—the bestselling true story about a house possessed by evil spirits, haunted by psychic phenomena almost too terrible to describe. In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into their new home on suburban Long Island. George and Kathleen Lutz knew that, one year earlier, Ronald DeFeo had murdered his parents, brothers, and sisters in the house, but the property—complete with boathouse and swimming pool—and the price had been too good to pass up. Twenty-eight days later, the entire Lutz family fled in terror. This is the spellbinding, shocking true story that gripped the nation about an American dream that turned into a nightmare beyond imagining—“this book will scare the hell out of you” (Kansas City Star).




The Menopause Murders


Book Description

"It's a slippery slide from hormones to homicide!" Meet Debbi Dickerson: mousy, codependent housewife who, at age forty-seven, feels her life is over. Her dreams of being an artist have long been discarded in the wake of her failing marriage, and her kids think she’s invisible. She’s stuck on the hamster wheel, going nowhere. That is, until menopause blindsides her. Derailed by one symptom after another, Debbi struggles to find a way to quell the hot flashes, night sweats, sudden panic attacks, and unbridled rage. The gals in her scrapbooking club give her advice on how to survive menopause, but nothing seems to help ... except killing. Meet Jerry Dickerson, Debbi’s husband: arrogant, insensitive, all-around jerk, whose greatest dream as a homicide detective is to catch a serial killer and be admired, for once. So when a series of strange deaths break out in Tacoma, Washington, Jerry is elated, but the pressure is on to catch the killer. Jerry’s boss, Sergeant Myra Manners, is also going through menopause and makes his life hell. And then there’s his teenage daughter dishing out hormones like Girl Scout cookies. Seriously, what’s a misogynist to do? Have an affair with some bubblehead, of course. As the bodies pile up, more than dishes are going to fly. Yet, there is light at the end of the tunnel of menopause and Debbi can see it. But is it a bright future or the headlights of an incoming train with Jerry's name on it? Don't miss this hilarious dark comedy caper! Your sides will hurt from laughing. The Menopause Murders, through poignant comedy, explores deep themes of sexism, ageism, and self-image issues that millions of women (and men!)—particularly those of the baby boomer generation—are facing daily and struggling with, in order to find sense, meaning, and sanity amid the insanity that is our current political and cultural state. Praise for this dark comedy women's fiction! "The Menopause Murders is a fabulous book that is not only well written but the characters will make you identify and scream with laughter. As an age activist, I found the stories are right on about ageism and all the pressing issues women today face. Not one to miss!" —Barbara Rose Brooker, author, The Viagra Diaries, and founder of the Age Equality Movement "If you like your comedy dark and dotty, check out THE MENOPAUSE MURDERS by Mary Maloney and Ed Markel. Times are changing for Debbi Dickerson, dutiful housewife, loving mother, and … serial killer? Turn down the thermostat before you turn the first page, because THE MENOPAUSE MURDERS is a hot (flash) romp through the world of female friendships, mendacious men, and hormonal horrors." —Melissa DeCarlo, author of The Art of Crash Landing "This book was everything!! Dark comedy galore. I know that it sounds odd. But I was entranced by this book. I couldn't put it down it was so good." —Lori C. "Loved this book, it was very descriptive of menopause, a quiet woman who literally loses the plot with a cheating husband, who just happens to be the detective on the job, loved it. Excited to read more books from this author." —Debbie D.




Death Descends on Saturn Villa


Book Description

The new mystery novel in the evocative Victorian crime series starring the charming March Middleton and the most curmudgeonly private detective in London, Sidney Grice. Gower Street, London: 1883. March Middleton is the niece of London's greatest (and most curmudgeonly) private detective, Sidney Grice. March has just discovered a wealthy long-lost relative she never knew she had. When this newest family member meets with a horrible death, March is in the frame for murder—and only Sidney Grice can prove her innocence. Grice agrees to investigate (for his usual fee) but warns that he is not entirely convinced of her innocence. If he were in her position, he might have been tempted. But the more he uncovers, the more all the clues point to Grice himself . . .




Codename Villanelle


Book Description

The basis for KILLING EVE, now a major BBC TV series, starring Sandra Oh, written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge 'Gloriously exciting' Metro She is the perfect assassin. A Russian orphan, saved from the death penalty for the brutal revenge she took on her gangster father's killers. Ruthlessly trained. Given a new life. New names, new faces - whichever fits. Her paymasters call themselves The Twelve. But she knows nothing of them. Konstantin is the man who saved her, and the one she answers to. She is Villanelle. Without conscience. Without guilt. Without weakness. Eve Polastri is the woman who hunts her. MI5, until one error of judgment costs her everything. Then stopping a ruthless assassin becomes more than her job. It becomes personal. Originally published as ebook singles: Codename Villanelle, Hollowpoint, Shanghai and Odessa. Villanelle: No Tomorrow is available for pre-order now! Praise for Killing Eve TV series 'A dazzling thriller . . . mightily entertaining' Guardian 'Entertaining, clever and darkly comic' New York Times




Badmen, Bandits, and Folk Heroes


Book Description

Badmen, Bandits, and Folk Heroes is a comparative study of the literary and cinematic representation of Mexican American masculine identity from early twentieth-century adventure stories and movie Westerns through contemporary self-representations by Chicano/a writers and filmmakers. In this deeply compelling book, Juan J. Alonzo proposes a reconsideration of the early stereotypical depictions of Mexicans in fiction and film: rather than viewing stereotypes as unrelentingly negative, Alonzo presents them as part of a complex apparatus of identification and disavowal. Furthermore, Alonzo reassesses Chicano/a self-representation in literature and film, and argues that the Chicano/a expression of identity is characterized less by essentialism than by an acknowldgement of the contingent status of present-day identity formations. Alonzo opens his provocative study with a fresh look at the adventure stories of Stephen Crane and the silent Western movies of D. W. Griffith. He also investigates the conflation of the greaser, the bandit, and the Mexican revolutionary into one villainous figure in early Western movies and, more broadly, traces the development of the badman in Westerns. He newly interrogates the writings of Américo Paredes regarding the makeup of Mexican masculinity, and productively trains his analytic eye on the recent films of Jim Mendiola and the contemporary poetry of Evangelina Vigil. Throughout Badmen, Bandits, and Folk Heroes, Alonzo convincingly demonstrates how fiction and films that formerly appeared one-dimensional in their treatment of Mexicans and Mexican Americans actually offer surprisingly multifarious and ambivalent representations. At the same time, his valuation of indeterminacy, contingency, and hybridity in contemporary cultural production creates new possibilities for understanding identity formation.




The Murder on the Links


Book Description

Monsieur Renauld dies on a golf course just days after sending a plea for help to detective Poirot. Since Renauld possessed a plundered fortune, a scorned wife, a mistress, and an estranged son, there is no lack of suspects. It's up to Poirot to put the police onto the culprit before more murders occur.




Badmen, Bandits, and Folk Heroes


Book Description

Badmen, Bandits, and Folk Heroes is a comparative study of the literary and cinematic representation of Mexican American masculine identity from early twentieth-century adventure stories and movie Westerns through contemporary self-representations by Chicano/a writers and filmmakers. In this deeply compelling book, Juan J. Alonzo proposes a reconsideration of the early stereotypical depictions of Mexicans in fiction and film: rather than viewing stereotypes as unrelentingly negative, Alonzo presents them as part of a complex apparatus of identification and disavowal. Furthermore, Alonzo reassesses Chicano/a self-representation in literature and film, and argues that the Chicano/a expression of identity is characterized less by essentialism than by an acknowldgement of the contingent status of present-day identity formations. Alonzo opens his provocative study with a fresh look at the adventure stories of Stephen Crane and the silent Western movies of D. W. Griffith. He also investigates the conflation of the greaser, the bandit, and the Mexican revolutionary into one villainous figure in early Western movies and, more broadly, traces the development of the badman in Westerns. He newly interrogates the writings of AmŽrico Paredes regarding the makeup of Mexican masculinity, and productively trains his analytic eye on the recent films of Jim Mendiola and the contemporary poetry of Evangelina Vigil. Throughout Badmen, Bandits, and Folk Heroes, Alonzo convincingly demonstrates how fiction and films that formerly appeared one-dimensional in their treatment of Mexicans and Mexican Americans actually offer surprisingly multifarious and ambivalent representations. At the same time, his valuation of indeterminacy, contingency, and hybridity in contemporary cultural production creates new possibilities for understanding identity formation.




Pompeii: the Peacock Murders


Book Description

WINNER SILVER AWARD Literary Titan One by one the young women of Pompeii are disappearing and the body count is rising. As the eruption of Vesuvius grows ever closer, a serial killer roams the dark, narrow streets at night. In desperation the city magistrate, Julius Polybius, seeks assistance from Rome. Cletus Asper the Praetorian Guard’s most successful undercover investigator and his assistant, Felix, the retired head of Rome’s urban vigiles are sent to Pompeii to catch the killer. The murderer has left behind unmistakable similarities at each crime scene, however, the motive for the murders is anything but clear. The investigators must delve into the horrors of the past. The Peacock Murders is a chilling crime thriller set amongst the people and places in Pompeii. Vesuvius erupts and amidst the devastation, lives are ripped apart as terror grips the city. One shocking twist, however, remains to be revealed after its annihilation.