"Film detective Valentino is summoned to the estate of Ignacio Bozel to collect a prized donation to the university's movie library: Bleak Street, a film from the classic noir period, thought lost for more than sixty years. Bleak Street was never released. Its star, Van Oliver, a gifted and charismatic actor with alleged ties to the mob, disappeared while the project was in post-production, presumably murdered by gangland rivals: another one of Hollywood's...

"Holiday time in the Valley, and in the holiday spirit--despite the dismal shape of the finances at the Little Detective Agency--Bernie refers a potential client to Victor Klovsky, a fellow private eye. It's also true that the case--promising lots of online research but little action--doesn't appeal to Bernie, while it seems perfect for Victor, who is not cut out for rough stuff. But Victor disappears in a rough-stuff way, and when he doesn't show...

"With the spirit of the holidays wafting through the Beacon Bakeshop, Lindsey thinks she has the recipe for the sweetest Christmas ever--winning the town-wide cookie bake-off. Unfortunately, striving for a picture-perfect December in Beacon Harbor is a lot like biting into stale shortbread. Low on staff and bombarded by visits from family, Lindsey can barely meet demands at work, let alone summon the confidence to face fierce competition... Self-appointed...

"Charlie Cook must investigate the disappearance of a local farmer, known for growing giant cabbages, in this charming and enthralling new entry in the Alaskan Diner Mysteries. The newest installment in the Alaskan Diner Mysteries series from Elizabeth Logan"-- Charlie Cooke loves many things, like the Bear Claw Diner, the heated steering wheel of her car, and her orange tabby cat Eggs Benedict. Something she has never loved is the state fair. So...

"Under the cover of night, a figure climbs over the wall of the Botanical Gardens. It's a dicey location in the populous city center, but they're on the hunt--only this time, the nighthawker unearths a body. Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler and his protégé, Detective Constable Mina Rabbani, are shunted onto the murder investigation. When the victim is identified as Chinese national from a wealthy family, in the UK on a student visa, the case takes...

Deadlines: "When Pecan Springs Enterprise crime reporter Jessica Nelson gets an anonymous tip about a year-old death that might be murder, she's already facing too many deadlines, so the story is low on her to-investigate list. Plus, she's distracted by the possibility of a hot lead in the cold-case arson deaths of her parents and twin sister, deaths for which she suffers survivor's guilt and a phobic fear of fire. And time is running out for the...

"Two young girls plot a murder by witchcraft. Soon afterwards a government clerk dies painfully in mysterious circumstances. His colleague James Marwood is asked to investigate--but the task brings unexpected dangers. Meanwhile, architect Cat Hakesby is working for a merchant who lives on Slaughter Street, where the air smells of blood and a captive Barbary lion prowls the stables. Then a prestigious new commission arrives. Cat must design a Poultry...

"Something mysterious is killing the wildlife in the mountains just south of Tucson. When a college intern turned activist sets out to collect her own evidence, she, too, ends up dead. Local law enforcement is slow to get involved. That's when the mobile FBI unit goes undercover to infiltrate the town and its copper refinery in search of possible leads. Quinn and Costa find themselves scouring the desolate landscape, which keeps revealing clues to...

"Jazz Ramsey is just getting used to the idea that her on-again-off-again beau, Nick, might actually be a permanent fixture, when she gets an alarming call in the middle of the night from his mother, Kim: there's a dead man in her backyard. Kim has a long history of drinking and a vivid imagination, so when Jazz's human remains detection dog, Wally, finds no evidence of a body, Jazz thinks she can breathe easy. But when the body of a middle-aged man,...

"Meg's brother Rob and his fiancé Delaney have been engaged for some time now. In fear of their mothers' propensity for over-the-top celebrations, they decide to throw a party just before Christmas and then elope. When a blizzard traps their guests inside, the two mothers find out about the planned elopement and start trying to pull together the kind of over-the-top event the couple was trying to avoid in the first place. To make matters worse, a...