Download or read book Old World Murder written by Kathleen Ernst and published by Llewellyn Worldwide. This book was released on 2010-10-08 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trying to leave painful memories behind her, Chloe Ellefson is making a fresh start. She's the new collections curator at Old World Wisconsin, an outdoor ethnic museum showcasing 1870s settlement life. On her first day, Chloe meets with an elderly woman who begs her to find a priceless eighteenth-century Norwegian ale bowl that had been donated to the museum years ago. But before Chloe can find the heirloom and return it to her, the woman dies in a suspicious car crash. Digging up the history and whereabouts of the rare artifact quickly turns dangerous. Chloe discovers that someone is desperately trying to cover up all traces of the bowl's existence—by any means necessary. Assisting Chloe is police officer Roelke McKenna, whose own haunting past compels him to protect her. To catch the covetous killer, Chloe must solve a decades-old puzzle...before she becomes a part of history herself. Praise: "Clever plot twists and credible characters make this a far from humdrum cozy."—Publishers Weekly "This series debut by an author of children's mysteries rolls out nicely for readers who like a cozy with a dab of antique lore. Jeanne M. Dams fans will like the ethnic background."—Library Journal "Information on how to conduct historical research, background on Norwegian culture, and details about running an outdoor museum frame the engaging story of a woman devastated by a failed romantic relationship whose sleuthing helps her heal."—Booklist "Old World Murder is strongest in its charming local color and genuine love for Wisconsin's rolling hills, pastures, and woodlands...a delightful distraction for an evening or two."—New York Journal of Books "A wonderfully-woven tale that winds in and out of modern and historical Wisconsin with plenty of mysteries—both past and present. In curator Chloe Ellefson, Ernst has created a captivating character with humor, grit, and a tangled history of her own that needs unraveling. Enchanting!"—Sandi Ault, author of the WILD Mystery Series and recipient of the Mary Higgins Clark Award "Propulsive and superbly written, this first entry in a dynamite new series from accomplished author Kathleen Ernst seamlessly melds the 1980's and the 19th century. Character-driven, with mystery aplenty, Old World Murder is a sensational read. Think Sue Grafton meets Earlene Fowler, with a dash of Elizabeth Peters."—Julia Spencer-Fleming, Anthony and Agatha Award-winning author of I Shall Not Want and One Was A Soldier "Museum masterpiece."—Rosebud Book Reviews "A real find...5 stars."—Once Upon a Romance

Download or read book The Light Keeper s Legacy written by Kathleen Ernst and published by Llewellyn Worldwide. This book was released on 2012-10-08 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Past and Present Collide Beyond Death's Door Solitude at last! Museum curator Chloe Ellefson leaps at the opportunity to be a consultant for the historic lighthouse restoration project on Rock Island, a state park in Wisconsin's scenic Door County. Hoping to leave her personal and professional problems at home, Chloe's tranquility is suddenly spoiled when a dead woman washes ashore. Determined to find answers behind the mystery, Chloe dives into research about the island's history and discovers the amazing, resilient women who once lived there. But will the link between the past and present turn out to be a beacon of hope or a portent of doom? Praise: Winner of the Lovey Award for Best Traditional/Amateur Sleuth Mystery "Chloe's third combines a good mystery with some interesting historical information on a niche subject."—Kirkus Reviews "Framed by the history of lighthouses and their keepers and the story of fishery disputes through time, the multiple plots move easily across the intertwined past and present."—Booklist "A haunted island makes for fun escape reading. Ernst's third amateur sleuth cozy is just the ticket for lighthouse fans and genealogy buffs. Deftly flipping back and forth in time in alternating chapters, the author builds up two mystery cases and cleverly weaves them back together."—Library Journal "While the mystery elements of this books are very good, what really elevates it are the historical tidbits of the real-life Pottawatomie Lighthouse and the surrounding fishing village."—Mystery Scene "Kathleen Ernst wraps history with mystery in a fresh and compelling read."—Jane Kirkpatrick, New York Times bestselling author

Download or read book Heritage of Darkness written by Kathleen Ernst and published by Llewellyn Worldwide. This book was released on 2013-10-08 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dark Secrets Hidden in Norwegian Traditions For curator Chloe Ellefson, a family bonding trip to Decorah, Iowa, for rosemaling classes seems like a great idea—until the drive begins. Chloe's cop friend Roelke takes her mother's talk of romantic customs good-naturedly, but it inflates Chloe's emotional distress higher with each passing mile. After finally reaching Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, Chloe's resolve to remain positive is squashed when she and Roelke find Petra Lekstrom's body in one of the antique immigrant trunks. Everyone is shaken by the instructor's murder, and when Mom volunteers to take over the beginners' class, Chloe is put in the hot seat of motherly criticism. As she investigates, Chloe uncovers dark family secrets that could be deadly for Mom...and even herself. Includes photos of featured artifacts from the real Norwegian-American museum! Praise: "Chloe's fourth...provides a little mystery, a little romance and a little more information about Norwegian folk art and tales."—Kirkus Reviews

Download or read book The Heirloom Murders written by Kathleen Ernst and published by Three Towers Press. This book was released on 2021-03-31 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As collections curator for Old World Wisconsin, Chloe Ellefson delights in losing herself in antiques and folk traditions-and forgetting her messy love life. But her peace is destroyed when her ex-boyfriend unexpectedly turns up, followed by a break-in at her friend Dellyn's historic house-a potential treasure trove of priceless antiques. Was the intruder hunting for the missing Eagle Diamond, a legendary gemstone unearthed in 1876? When a grisly murder takes place on the museum grounds, Chloe is further drawn into a mystery involving a rare variety of Swiss cheese, a nearly extinct heirloom flower . . . and plain, old-fashioned murderous greed.

Download or read book Old World Murder written by Kathleen Ernst and published by Llewellyn Worldwide. This book was released on 2010 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chloe Ellefson, starting fresh as curator of Old World Wisconsin, finds herself in the middle of a mystery when a woman looking for a priceless eighteenth-century Norwegian ale bowl dies in a mysterious car crash and Chloe beings to realize that someone is trying to erase all traces of the bowl's existence.

Download or read book Murder in Old Bombay written by Nev March and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2020-11-10 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nominated for an Edgar Award for Best First Novel! In 19th century Bombay, Captain Jim Agnihotri channels his idol, Sherlock Holmes, in Nev March’s Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut. In 1892, Bombay is the center of British India. Nearby, Captain Jim Agnihotri lies in Poona military hospital recovering from a skirmish on the wild northern frontier, with little to do but re-read the tales of his idol, Sherlock Holmes, and browse the daily papers. The case that catches Captain Jim's attention is being called the crime of the century: Two women fell from the busy university’s clock tower in broad daylight. Moved by Adi, the widower of one of the victims — his certainty that his wife and sister did not commit suicide — Captain Jim approaches the Parsee family and is hired to investigate what happened that terrible afternoon. But in a land of divided loyalties, asking questions is dangerous. Captain Jim's investigation disturbs the shadows that seem to follow the Framji family and triggers an ominous chain of events. And when lively Lady Diana Framji joins the hunt for her sisters’ attackers, Captain Jim’s heart isn’t safe, either. Based on a true story, and set against the vibrant backdrop of colonial India, Nev March's Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning lyrical debut, Murder in Old Bombay, brings this tumultuous historical age to life.

Download or read book Death on the Prairie written by Kathleen Ernst and published by Llewellyn Worldwide. This book was released on 2015-10-01 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chloe Ellefson and her sister, Kari, have long dreamed of visiting each historic site dedicated to Laura Ingalls Wilder. When Chloe takes custody of a quilt once owned by the beloved author, the sisters set out on the trip of a lifetime, hoping to prove that Wilder stitched it herself. But death strikes as the journey begins, and trouble stalks their fellow travelers. Among the "Little House" devotees are academic critics, greedy collectors, and obsessive fans. Kari is distracted by family problems, and unexpected news from Chloe's boyfriend jeopardizes her own future. As the sisters travel deeper into Wilder territory, Chloe races to discover the truth about a precious artifact—and her own heart—before a killer can strike again.

Download or read book Mining for Justice written by Kathleen Ernst and published by Llewellyn Worldwide. This book was released on 2017-10-08 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The eighth in the series contrasts the difficult life of Wisconsin's Cornish miners with the heroine's burgeoning romance, highlighting both her researching skills and her unusual feel for the past."—Kirkus Reviews Digging Up Secrets Uncovers a Legacy of Peril Chloe Ellefson is excited to be learning about Wisconsin's Cornish immigrants and mining history while on temporary assignment at Pendarvis, a historic site in charming Mineral Point. But when her boyfriend, police officer Roelke McKenna, discovers long-buried human remains in the root cellar of an old Cornish cottage, Chloe reluctantly agrees to mine the historical record for answers. She soon finds herself in the middle of a heated and deadly controversy that threatens to close Pendarvis. While struggling to help the historic site, Chloe must unearth dark secrets, past and present, before a killer comes to bury her. Praise: "Richly imagined and compelling, Mining for Justice once again highlights Kathleen Ernst's prowess as a storyteller...Ernst is a master of reconstructing the past."—Susanna Calkins, author of the Macavity-winning Lucy Campion Mysteries

Download or read book A Nearly Normal Family written by M. T. Edvardsson and published by Celadon Books. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now a Netflix Limited Series "...A compulsively readable tour de force." —The Wall Street Journal New York Times Book Review recommends M.T. Edvardsson’s A Nearly Normal Family and lauds it as a “page-turner” that forces the reader to confront “the compromises we make with ourselves to be the people we believe our beloveds expect.” (NYTimes Book Review Summer Reading Issue) M.T. Edvardsson’s A Nearly Normal Family is a gripping legal thriller that forces the reader to consider: How far would you go to protect the ones you love? In this twisted narrative of love and murder, a horrific crime makes a seemingly normal family question everything they thought they knew about their life—and one another. Eighteen-year-old Stella Sandell stands accused of the brutal murder of a man almost fifteen years her senior. She is an ordinary teenager from an upstanding local family. What reason could she have to know a shady businessman, let alone to kill him? Stella’s father, a pastor, and mother, a criminal defense attorney, find their moral compasses tested as they defend their daughter, while struggling to understand why she is a suspect. Told in an unusual three-part structure, A Nearly Normal Family asks the questions: How well do you know your own children? How far would you go to protect them?

Download or read book Murder on Astor Place written by Victoria Thompson and published by Penguin. This book was released on 1999-05-01 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first novel in the national bestselling Gaslight Mystery series introduces Sarah Brandt, a midwife in the turn-of-the-century tenements of Manhattan who refuses to turn a blind eye to the injustices of the crime-ridden city… After a routine delivery, Sarah visits her patient in a rooming house—and discovers that another boarder, a young girl, has been killed. At the request of Sergeant Frank Malloy, she searches the girl’s room. She discovers that the victim is from one of the most prominent families in New York—and the sister of an old friend. The powerful family, fearful of scandal, refuses to permit an investigation. But with Malloy’s help, Sarah begins a dangerous quest to bring the killer to justice—before death claims another victim...

Download or read book Murder Under Her Skin written by Stephen Spotswood and published by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard. This book was released on 2022-10-11 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice • Rex Stout meets Agatha Christie with a fresh twist in the new Pentecost and Parker Mystery, a delightfully hardboiled high-wire act starring two daring women sleuths dead set on justice as they set out to solve a murder at a traveling circus “A delight.... It’s a pleasure to watch [Pentecost and Parker] sifting through red herrings and peeling secrets back like layers of an onion.” The New York Times Book Review Someone’s put a blade in the back of the Amazing Tattooed Woman, and Willowjean “Will” Parker’s former knife-throwing mentor has been stitched up for the crime. To uncover the truth, Will and her boss, world-famous detective Lillian Pentecost, travel to the circus, where they find a snake pit of old grudges, small-town crime, and secrets worth killing for. Will called Hart & Halloway’s Traveling Circus and Sideshow home for five years, and Ruby Donner, the circus’s tattooed ingenue, was her friend. To make matters worse, the prime suspect is Valentin Kalishenko, the man who taught Will everything she knows about putting a knife where it needs to go. To uncover the real killer and keep Kalishenko from a date with the electric chair, Will and Ms. Pentecost join the circus in sleepy Stoppard, Virginia, where the locals like their cocktails mild, the past buried, and big-city detectives not at all. The two swiftly find themselves lost in a funhouse of lies as Will begins to realize that her former circus compatriots aren’t playing it straight, and that her murdered friend might have been hiding a lot of secrets beneath all that ink.

Download or read book An Old Money Murder in Mayfair written by Sara Rosett and published by Sara Rosett. This book was released on 2020-08-18 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Midnight treasure hunts, fancy-dress parties, and a blue-blooded murder . . . November, 1923. Olive’s school chum, Gigi, invites Olive to London because Gigi’s dotty grandmother fears for her life—or so she’s said to Gigi. However Olive is surprised to find that the dowager is far from muddled. The sharp and imperious matriarch refuses to admit to her worries and sends Olive on her way. Without a client or case, Olive is swept into the glittering lifestyle of the “fast set,” and their decadent excess. But then among the cocktails and champagne, a murderer strikes during a frivolous party game, and Olive realizes the dowager’s fears were well-founded. Can Olive unmask the upper crust culprit before the party’s over for a Bright Young Person? An Old Money Murder in Mayfair is the fifth installment in the popular High Society Lady Detective series from USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett. Join Olive and her dapper sleuthing partner, Jasper, as they navigate the extravagant parties of the Bright Young People as well as their own budding relationship . . .

Download or read book Murder by the Book written by Rex Stout and published by Bantam. This book was released on 1995-09-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “It is always a treat to read a Nero Wolfe mystery. The man has entered our folklore.”—The New York Times Book Review Introduction by David Handler It wasn’t Leonard Dykes’s writing style that offended. But something in his unpublished tome seemed to lead everyone who read it to a very unhappy ending. Now four people are dead, including the unfortunate author himself, and the police think Nero Wolfe is the only man who can close the book on this novel killer. So the genius sleuth directs his sidekick to set a trap . . . and discovers that the truth is far stranger—and far bloodier—than fiction. A grand master of the form, Rex Stout is one of America’s greatest mystery writers, and his literary creation Nero Wolfe is one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time. Together, Stout and Wolfe have entertained—and puzzled—millions of mystery fans around the world. Now, with his perambulatory man-about-town, Archie Goodwin, the arrogant, gourmandizing, sedentary sleuth is back in the original seventy-three cases of crime and detection written by the inimitable master himself, Rex Stout.

Download or read book The Thursday Murder Club written by Richard Osman and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-08-03 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soon to be a Major Motion Picture The first installment in the beloved and New York Times bestselling series from Richard Osman, also author of We Solve Murders Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves A female cop with her first big case A brutal murder Welcome to... THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club. When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it's too late? “Witty, endearing and greatly entertaining.” —Wall Street Journal

Download or read book A Murder for the Books written by Victoria Gilbert and published by Crooked Lane Books. This book was released on 2017-12-12 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Blue Ridge Mountains, fun historical tidbits, a hint of the supernatural, and a taste of romance—this bookish cozy mystery series debut about a crime-solving librarian is “one of the best” (New York Journal of Books). Librarian Amy Webber must archive overdue crimes and deadly rumors before a killer strikes again in small-town Virginia . . . Fleeing a disastrous love affair, university librarian Amy Webber moves in with her aunt in a quiet, historic mountain town in Virginia. She quickly busies herself with managing a charming public library that requires all her attention with its severe lack of funds and overabundance of eccentric patrons. The last thing she needs is a new, available neighbor whose charm lures her into trouble. Dancer-turned-teacher and choreographer Richard Muir inherited the farmhouse next door from his great-uncle, Paul Dassin. But town folklore claims the house’s original owner was poisoned by his wife, who was an outsider. It quickly became water under the bridge, until she vanished after her sensational 1925 murder trial. Determined to clear the name of the woman his great-uncle loved, Richard implores Amy to help him investigate the case. Amy is skeptical until their research raises questions about the culpability of the town’s leading families . . . including her own. When inexplicable murders plunge the quiet town into chaos, Amy and Richard must crack open the books to reveal a cruel conspiracy and lay a turbulent past to rest in A Murder for the Books, the first installment of Victoria Gilbert’s Blue Ridge Library mysteries.

Download or read book An Old Fashioned Murder written by Carol Miller and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2016-05-03 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Secrets, lies, and a splash of moonshine: a classic country house whodunit with a distinctly Southern twist. After losing her husband and her home, small-town girl Daisy McGovern moves in with her invalid mother at an old inn in sleepy southwestern Virginia. When the inn's eccentric proprietor, Aunt Emily, decides to throw a weekend party for a small group of friends and neighbors, everybody is excited--until a winter storm approaches and one of the guests is crushed by an antique bookcase during the night. At first, the death appears to be an accident. But as the storm worsens and the sheriff is unable to reach them, suspicion slowly grows. Was it murder? After the inn loses power and a second death occurs, it's clear to Daisy that one among them is a killer. But who? The young, new, secretive maid? The antique-peddling pair of spinster sisters? Her not-so-welcome in-laws? The peculiar house-hunting couple? The supposedly stranded motorist? With no way to leave and no way to get help, Daisy's only contacts to the outside world are her best friend Beulah and the always charming (and equally troublesome) moonshiner, Rick Balsam. Trapped with a clever and seemingly undetectable murderer, she must unravel the truth before the party ends with her funeral.

Download or read book A Murder on Wall Street written by Owen Parr and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-01-18 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Murder on Wall Street takes us inside the world of Captain O'Brian's Irish Pub and Cigar Bar in Manhattan, a legendary hotspot in the Financial District. Investigating the death are pub owners Joey Mancuso, fired from the NYPD for his unorthodox methods, and his brother Father Dominic, who isn't your typical priest. Also investigating is Marcy Martinez, a Cuban bombshell and FBI agent who's Joey's girlfriend. When a customer kills himself after celebrating the night before, the three know something's wrong. Turns out, the customer's death coincides with people losing money, and lots of it-and some of those people are very, very dangerous. The apparent suicide of a hedge fund executive and the hit and run accident of his assistant leads Mancuso, Father O'Brian, and FBI Special Agent Martinez into the underworld of Wall Street. Money laundering, insider trading, and a Ponzi scheme are but a few of the crimes they uncovered, as they try and piece together this crime-ridden puzzle. Joey Mancuso spent sixteen years in the NYPD earning his First Grade Detective shield and becoming one of the most successful homicide detectives. His last case, the murder of a homeless person in an alley behind the famed 21 Club, went unsolved. Political pressure undermined the case, as Joey's efforts led him to a congressional candidate and a Wall Street major donor with political juice. His efforts to continue the investigation in spite of the pushback caused his forced retirement from the NYPD. The Internal Affairs Division has sealed his file warning him to cease or else. Now a half-owner, with his half-brother, Catholic priest, Father Mancuso, of an Irish pub, he continues his quest to solve crimes. Both are private investigators and together with Joey's girlfriend, FBI agent Marcy, set out to bring to justice perpetrators of crimes, law enforcement is ignoring. Can a priest, his brother, and the brother's girlfriend solve a murder case and see justice done-or will they be the murderer's latest victim? Fast-paced, suspenseful and thrilling, A Murder on Wall Street is one case you'll want to solve yourself. But the ending is unexpected, as the puzzle finally comes together in this page-turner you won't want to put down. -Parr is a master storyteller, equally adept at weaving a tale of international political intrigue or, as he proves in his latest novel, a classic story of private sleuths cracking a New York murder mystery, with a side order of whiskey and cigars. You'll want to have both on hand when you pick up this book.- -Jim Nesbitt, author of The Last Second Chance and The Right Wrong Number, Ed Earl Burch hard-boiled detective thrillers. -A well-plotted and researched detective mystery novel. As much as I tried to solve the case while I read, Parr proved me wrong every time.- -Oscar Rodriguez, Criminal Attorney -Parr has a knack for creating memorable characters that come to life in the pages of his novels.- -Tom Spencer, Esquire -If Michael Connelly and Robert Ludlum wrote a book together, the result would be an Owen Parr -Crime Mystery Novel.- -Mike Pettit, Best Selling Author -Parr's, A Murder On Wall Street, had me guessing 'whodunit' all the way through the end. The culmination is unexpected. Wow, I thoroughly enjoyed the first Mancuso, O'Brian crime mystery novel.- --Jose Valero, Entrepreneur -Joey's love and relationship with Marcy, makes this crime mystery, a love story. Can't wait for these two to reappear in Parr's next novel. Enjoyed every minute.- -Cheryl Walker Castela, Author