Mystery

It's Christmastime in Shady Palms, but things are far from jolly for Lila Macapagal. Sure, her new business, the Brew-ha Cafe, is looking to turn a profit in its first year. And yes, she's taken the first step in a new romance with her good friend Jae Park. But her cousin Ronnie is back in town after ghosting the family fifteen years ago, claiming that his recent purchase of a local winery shows that he's back on his feet and ready to contribute to the Shady Palms community. Tita Rosie is thrilled with the return of her prodigal son, but Lila knows that wherever Ronnie goes, trouble follows.

She's soon proven right when Ronnie is suspected of murder, and secrets surrounding her shady cousin and those involved with the winery start piling up. Now Lila has to put away years of resentment and distrust to prove her cousin's innocence. He may be a jerk, but he's still family. And there's no way her flesh and blood could actually be a murderer . . . right?

Queen of French Noir, Johana Gustawsson returns with a spell-binding, dazzlingly dark gothic thriller that swings from Belle É poque France to 21st-century Quebec, with an extraordinary mystery at its heart... FIRST in a bewitching new series

' Intriguingly dark and vivid, and so cleverly told through three different time frames' Essie Fox

' A wonderfully dark, intricately woven historical thriller spanning three generations ... it will have you hooked from the very first page' B A Paris

' This novel is a whirlpool that draws you irresistibly into levels of darkness so much deeper than you can possibly be ready for' Chris Brookmyre

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Three women
Three eras
One extraordinary mystery...

1899, Belle É poque Paris. Lucienne's two daughters are believed dead when her mansion burns to the ground, but she is certain that her girls are still alive and embarks on a journey into the depths of the spiritualist community to find them.

1949, Post-War QuÉ bec. Teenager Lina's father has died in the French Resistance, and as she struggles to fit in at school, her mother introduces her to an elderly woman at the asylum where she works, changing Lina's life in the darkest way imaginable.

2002, Quebec. A former schoolteacher is accused of brutally stabbing her husband - a famous university professor - to death. Detective Maxine Grant, who has recently lost her own husband and is parenting a teenager and a new baby single-handedly, takes on the investigation.

Under enormous personal pressure, Maxine makes a series of macabre discoveries that link directly to historical cases involving black magic and murder, secret societies and spiritism ... and women at breaking point, who will stop at nothing to protect the ones they love...

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' I found myself racing through the book, always wanting one more page, one more chapter. A wonderfully creepy, unsettling read, with a superb twist in its tail' James Oswald

' Gustawsson's writing is so vivid, it's electrifying. Utterly compelling' Peter James

' I was hooked from the first page - a stunning and beautifully written gothic thriller full of atmosphere, intrigue and delight' Alexandra Benedict

' What a brilliant, brilliant book ... the last chapters knocked me sideways, and it's a long time since that's happened' Lisa Hall

' Harrowing, compelling, haunting, vivid, twisty and shocking!' Noelle Holten

' A powerful page-turner' Livres Hebdo

' Fluid, skilful, fearsome and breathtaking ... the ending is horrifying' La Marseillaise

***NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER IN FRANCE***

FOR FANS OF Laura Purcell, Elizabeth Macneal, Bridget Collins, Anna Mazzola, Ambrose Parry and Laura Shepherd-Robinson

Praise for Johana Gustawsson

***Longlisted for the CWA International Dagger***

' A satisfying, full-fat mystery' The Times

' Assured telling of a complex story' Sunday Times

' A real page-turner, I loved it' Martina Cole

' Dark, oppressive and bloody, but it's also thought-provoking, compelling and very moving' Metro

' A bold and intelligent read' Guardian

' Utterly compelling' Woman's Own

' Cleverly plotted, simply excellent' Ragnar Jó nasson

' A must-read' Daily Express

' Bold and audacious' R. J. Ellory

' Gritty, bone-chilling, and harrowing - it's not for the faint of heart, and not to be missed' Crime by the Book

' A relentless heart-stopping masterpiece' New York Journal of Books

Rhys Bowen's deft touch and charming wit make Bless the Bride another stellar addition to her Anthony and Agatha Award--winning historical series.

Irish sleuth Molly Murphy is hired to find a girl on the run in Chinatown only to find that the man who wanted her found has been killed in Rhys Bowen's tenth in this award-winning series.

With Molly Murphy's wedding to NYPD Captain Daniel Sullivan quickly approaching, the Irish sleuth heads to the Westchester County countryside, where his mother can lend her a hand and advise her on a bride's proper place. And shockingly, Molly seems to be agreeing. She has already promised that she'll close up her P.I. business and settle down after marrying, but she isn't a married woman yet. So, when she gets word of a possible case, she sneaks back into the city to squeeze in a little more sleuthing before the wedding bells can ring.

A wealthy Chinese immigrant wants her to find his missing bride, and Molly--sure she isn't getting the whole story--suspects that his bride ran off. But where could she go? The only Chinese women in early-twentieth-century New York are kept under lock and key, and Molly can't help but wonder if she's saving the woman from the streets or helping to lock her away for good.

As Billy gradually recovers his memory, he recalls that he is his Uncle Ike's personal investigator in the European Theater of War. Before Billy can remember the dangerous task that has been entrusted to him and do his best to carry it out, several people are murdered. Those opposing him include members of various factions of the American Mafia, as well as soldiers of the German and Italian Armies.

Billy finally remembers his name, but to truly resolve the question of his identity he must dig deep into his soul to discover what kind of man he is.

On a cold Venetian night shortly before Christmas, a street vendor is killed in a scuffle in Campo San Stefano. The closest witnesses to the event are the tourists who had been browsing the fake designer handbags that the man was selling. The dead man is one of the many African immigrants purveying goods outside normal shop hours and trading without a work permit. Like everybody involved, Commissario Brunetti wonders why anyone would kill an illegal immigrant. But once Brunetti begins to investigate this unfamiliar Venetian underworld, he discovers that matters of great value are at stake within the secretive society. Warned by Patta, his superior, to resist further involvement in the case, Brunetti only becomes more determined to unearth the truth behind this mysterious killing. Reluctant as he is to let this event be smugly relegated to the category of not worth dealing with, how far will Brunetti be able to penetrate the murky subculture in this illegal community? Blood from a Stone is an exquisite and irresistible mystery offering an unexpected take on life in contemporary Venice.

A subtle and sophisticated mystery-New York Times

Stunning... Leon combines an engrossing, complex plot with an indictment fo the corruption endemic in Italian society. -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Richly atmospheric, Leon introduces you to the Venice insiders know. -USA Today

The evocative Venitian setting and the warmth and humanity of the Brunetti family add considerable pleasure to this nuanced, intelligent mystery; another winner from Venice-based Leon. Highly recommended -Library Journal (starred review)

Chief Inspector Mario Silva of Brazil's Federal Police is a good cop in a bad system--Brazil's justice system is rife with corruption, and constantly a beat behind criminal elements. But Silva and his team of colorful sidekicks--baby-faced Gonçalves, who is irresistible to lady witnesses; chubby, crass Nuñes; Mara Carta, the chief of intelligence with a soft spot for Mario--crack their difficult and sometimes ugly cases with pizazz.

In the interior of Brazil, landless workers battle the owners of vast fazendas. When a visiting archbishop is assassinated, Mario Silva is called upon to investigate. Then a newspaper owner, a TV journalist, a landowner's son, and a priest are brutally killed. In a country where dead street kids are known as hams, justice is scarce.

It's 1922. Joe Sandilands is just back in England from his trip to India, and he has learned that his role at the Metropolitan Police has been expanded. Not only is he responsible for running CID, he is now also supposed to take up the reins on the Special Irish Branch, and he's juggling Irish terrorism and high-profile assassination attempts on prominent political officials. To top it all off, Joe locks horns with a Russian princess who is running a spy network out of Kensington. Then one of the assassination attempts is successful, and the pressure escalates. Joe must find out who is behind the violence: Irish or Russians?

Rick Cahill can't escape his past--or his father's

Rick Cahill has long feared the truth about his own blood--the blood of his father coursing through his veins.

When a long-hidden safe unlocks clues about why his father was kicked off the police force twenty-seven years ago and then spiraled into an early drunken death, Rick determines to find the truth even if it proves the one thing he's always feared.

But as he grapples with his father's past, the woman he still loves pleads with him to find out if her husband is having an affair--or is involved in something much more sinister. Could the truth send her back into Rick's arms? Would he have a last shot at happiness?

He may never get the chance to find out, as killers who will do anything to protect their secrets lurk in the shadows.

A hard-boiled PI novel for fans of Raymond Chandler, Ross MacDonald, and Dashiell Hammett

While all of the novels in the Rick Cahill PI Crime Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is:

Yesterday's Echo
Night Tremors
Dark Fissures
Blood Truth
Wrong Light
Lost Tomorrows
Blind Vigil
Last Redemption (out November 2021)

An ITW Thriller Award and Anthony Award winner.

Perfect town. Perfect homes. Perfect families. It's enough to drive some women mad...

In a tale inspired by real events, pregnant journalist Joan Harken is cautiously excited to follow her fiancé back to his Minnesota hometown. After spending a childhood on the move and chasing the screams and swirls of news-rich city life, she's eager to settle down. Lilydale's motto, "Come Home Forever," couldn't be more inviting.

And yet, something is off in the picture-perfect village.

The friendliness borders on intrusive. Joan can't shake the feeling that every move she makes is being tracked. An archaic organization still seems to hold the town in thrall. So does the sinister secret of a little boy who vanished decades ago. And unless Joan is imagining things, a frighteningly familiar figure from her past is on watch in the shadows.

Her fiancé tells her she's being paranoid. He might be right. Then again, she might have moved to the deadliest small town on earth.

The fate of the allied forces lies in the hands of Joanna and the Watsons in the next Daughter of Sherlock Holmes mystery from USA Today bestselling author Leonard Goldberg.

During a critical stage in World War One, the Governor-General of South Africa journeys to London for a meeting of The Imperial War Conference. Days prior to the conference, the Governor-General is scheduled to have an audience at Buckingham Palace at which time a most precious blue diamond will be presented to King Edward as a symbolic gesture of the colonies' resolute and never-ending allegiance to England.

The flawless blue diamond, with its magnificent luster, weighs nearly 3000 carats which renders it one of the world's largest and most valuable gems. On the Governor-General's arrival, he is ensconced at the fashionable Windsor Hotel under the tightest security, with his entire entourage and formidable security team occupying the entire penthouse floor. All entrances and exits are locked down and closely guarded, and no one is allowed entrance after 6 PM.

Despite the extreme precautions, the famous diamond is stolen from the Governor-General's suite in the middle of the night, with no clues left behind. With Scotland Yard baffled, Joanna and the Watsons are called in to investigate the theft and it becomes clear that the crime is not simply the work of a master thief, but one that could greatly aid the Germans and turn the tide of war in their favor. Time is of the essence and the blue diamond must be recovered before it begins its travels which could cause irreparable damage to the allied war plans.

Blue Lightning is the fourth in a stellar suspense series from Ann Cleeves set on the Shetland Islands, the basis for the hit BBC show Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall.

Inspector Jimmy Perez takes his fiancé home to Fair Isle, the tiny island he comes from, to meet his parents. The island is a magnet for bird watchers, who congregate at the local inn and lighthouse. When a local married celebrity, who had an eye for the lads, is murdered, Perez discovers that the suspects are very close to him indeed. With a sensational ending destined to create much buzz in the mystery world, Blue Lightning will thrill suspense fans everywhere.