Download or read book Honestly Dearest You re Dead written by Jack Fredrickson and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2009-01-20 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Safe Place for Dying, the first in Jack Fredrickson's highly acclaimed Dek Elstrom mystery series, was nominated for the Shamus Award for Best First Novel. Now, Chicago P.I. Dek Elstrom is back in an electrifying new mystery. A lawyer calls Dek with a fast, seven-hundred dollar proposition. A dead client named Dek to execute her will. No matter that Dek didn't know the woman. No matter, too, that the woman's estate was only worth a few hundred. Happens all the time, the lawyer said. To Dek Elstrom, broke and huddling in a cold stone turret in the middle of February, the sound of seven hundred falling down his chimney is louder than his voice of reason. He agrees, heads up to a hamlet ten miles north of nowhere. But instead of finding an easy-to-close estate, he finds blood and the markers of a shattered life. And something worse: links to the darkest part of his own past. He races to chase down leads to the killer, and his own ghost...before the dead woman is killed again.

Download or read book A Safe Place for Dying written by Jack Fredrickson and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2006-11-14 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An extortion letter arrives at Crystal Waters, one of Chicago's wealthiest gated communities. It makes no specific threats, gives no instructions, demands only that $50,000 be gotten ready---chump change for an enclave where the cheapest house is worth three million. It's easy to see it as harmless---a note from a nut. Then a mansion explodes. The homeowners panic, and want it hushed up. If word gets out that a bomber is targeting Crystal Waters, their multimillion-dollar homes will become worthless, a last catastrophe for people strung out from living the good life too well. They hire Dek Elstrom to investigate. Dek Elstrom used to soar high, too, when he lived with his multimillionaire wife at Crystal Waters, but that was before the dominos of his life tipped over and his ex-wife threw him out. Now reduced to living in a crumbling stone turret, bankrupt of everything but attitude, he's not even his own ideal choice for the job. He's too broke, however, to question the motives of a gift-horse client. He needs the money---and the chance to reconnect with his ex-wife. Another bomb goes off, and Dek realizes the culprit must be someone who is angry, needs money, and used to live at Crystal Waters. Then he realizes something else. He himself is the prime suspect. A sly and clever caper among the richest of the rich, A Safe Place for Dying is for fans of Carl Hiaasen and Robert Crais.

Download or read book Now Write Mysteries written by Sherry Ellis and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-12-29 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essential handbook for writers of whodunits, techno- thrillers, cozies, and everything in between-featuring never-before- published personal writing exercises from some of today's bestselling and award-winning mystery writers. Now Write! Mysteries, the fourth volume in the acclaimed Now Write! writing guide series, brings together numerous bestselling authors-including winners of and nominees for the Edgar, Hugo, and Shamus awards,-for the definitive guide to writing mysteries, thrillers, and suspense stories. Now Write! Mysteries teaches you everything you've ever wanted to know about crafting a page-turning mystery-from creating a believable detective hero (or terrifying villain), to using real-life cutting-edge investigative techniques to bring your story to life-with practical exercises taken directly from the pros: Discover the best techniques for seamlessly integrating action into your story with John Lutz, New York Times-bestselling author of Urge to Kill, Night Kills, and Serial. Learn how to fine-tune your sense of place and setting with Louise Penny, New York Times-bestselling author of the Armand Gamache mysteries. Take advice from Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of Sleepers and writer/producer for Law & Order, on how to compose a scene that lives up to your character's backstory. Let Marcia Talley, Agatha- and Anthony-winning author of the Hannah Ives mysteries, show you how to build a memorable, engaging detective. (Hint: It's not about making him flawless.) Others included are: Simon Brett, Hallie Ephron, Meg Gardiner, Peter James, Christopher G. Moore, Michael Sears, and many others. No other mystery-writing guide offers the road tested wisdom of so many award-winners and bestselling authors in one place.

Download or read book Hidden Graves written by Jack Fredrickson and published by Severn House/ORIM. This book was released on 2017-02-01 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An investigator with a seductive one-two punch—a delectably smart mouth and a delightfully nimble brain.” —William Kent Krueger “Chicago private investigator Dek Elstrom is having a hard time making ends meet, what with the recent collapse of his marriage, the scandal that wrecked his career, and the lack of an actual private investigator’s license. When a woman hires Dek to confirm the whereabouts of three men, Dek’s not exactly in a position to turn down the work, despite his client’s deeply suspicious behavior (Why, for example, does she show up for their meeting wearing an obvious disguise?). When Dek discovers that one of the men is dead and the other two seem to have gone missing, not to mention the fact that the dead man may have taken on a new identity a couple of decades ago, he realizes he’s stumbled onto the kind of case that could resurrect his career―if he can beat a (trumped-up) murder charge, that is. The writing here is splendid, echoing genre veteran Loren D. Estleman, and Dek Elstrom is the kind of guy we genuinely like spending time with.” —Booklist

Download or read book Tagged for Murder written by Jack Fredrickson and published by Severn House Publishers Ltd. This book was released on 2018-05-01 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The “well-crafted seventh mystery featuring wily, wise-cracking Chicago PI Dek Elstrom . . . [a] delightfully eccentric detective series” (Publishers Weekly). When the man who’s hired Dek Elstrom disappears, the private investigator’s search for his missing client unearths some shocking findings. The dead man is found spread-eagled on the top of a box car on an abandoned rail siding. He’s dressed in a $2000 suit, yet half his teeth are rotten and his skin is bad. Who was he . . . and how did he end up there? When he’s offered an exorbitant fee to photograph the scene, PI Dek Elstrom doesn’t ask many questions. But his photos reveal something surprising: there’s a witness to the murder, a tagger who’s returned to the scene to paint what he saw. His work quickly disappears. What is it that the mysterious graffiti artist wants the world to know? Then a second body shows up—and the case takes a shocking new twist . . . “There’s a good story here, and perhaps readers as easy going as Dek won’t mind the laid-back pace.”—Booklist Praise for the Dek Elstrom mystery series “An investigator with a seductive one-two punch—a delectably smart mouth and a delightfully nimble brain.”—William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author “Elstrom has lost none of his initial appeal.”—The New York Times “With a gripping plot and a quirky but determined hero, The Confessors’ Club represents another fine effort from an author who excels at every requirement of the genre—and then some.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch

Download or read book The Works of William Cowper written by William Cowper and published by . This book was released on 1851 with total page 790 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Kill Her Twice written by Jack Fredrickson and published by Severn House Publishers Ltd. This book was released on 2022-03-01 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chicago PI Dek Elstrom is called into action when a man acquitted of his wife's murder asks Dek to investigate the strange circumstances around her death. A shocking chain of events occur after midnight one night on a quiet suburban street in West Chicago. The first neighbor hears a woman scream. The second sees the lights in the Tripps' house being switched on, one by one, room after room. The third receives a call from a voice he doesn't recognize, screaming at him to come over right away. But to where? When the police arrive on the street, Sara Tripp is discovered brutally murdered. Her husband, Martin Tripp, is put on trial for her murder and acquitted. Martin is convinced Sara was scared of something before she died, and he wants private investigator Dek Elstrom to find out what it was. As Dek investigates, he makes a series of disturbing discoveries. Can he get to the truth of what really happened that terrifying night?

Download or read book These Precious Days written by Ann Patchett and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-11-23 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays. "The elegance of Patchett’s prose is seductive and inviting: with Patchett as a guide, readers will really get to grips with the power of struggles, failures, and triumphs alike." —Publisher's Weekly “Any story that starts will also end.” As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart. At the center of These Precious Days is the title essay, a surprising and moving meditation on an unexpected friendship that explores “what it means to be seen, to find someone with whom you can be your best and most complete self.” When Patchett chose an early galley of actor and producer Tom Hanks’ short story collection to read one night before bed, she had no idea that this single choice would be life changing. It would introduce her to a remarkable woman—Tom’s brilliant assistant Sooki—with whom she would form a profound bond that held monumental consequences for them both. A literary alchemist, Patchett plumbs the depths of her experiences to create gold: engaging and moving pieces that are both self-portrait and landscape, each vibrant with emotion and rich in insight. Turning her writer’s eye on her own experiences, she transforms the private into the universal, providing us all a way to look at our own worlds anew, and reminds how fleeting and enigmatic life can be. From the enchantments of Kate DiCamillo’s children’s books (author of The Beatryce Prophecy) to youthful memories of Paris; the cherished life gifts given by her three fathers to the unexpected influence of Charles Schultz’s Snoopy; the expansive vision of Eudora Welty to the importance of knitting, Patchett connects life and art as she illuminates what matters most. Infused with the author’s grace, wit, and warmth, the pieces in These Precious Days resonate deep in the soul, leaving an indelible mark—and demonstrate why Ann Patchett is one of the most celebrated writers of our time.

Download or read book Never Wager with a Wallflower written by Virginia Heath and published by St. Martin's Griffin. This book was released on 2023-11-07 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Never Wager with a Wallflower is the third and final delightful installment in Virginia Heath's Merriwell Sisters Regency rom-com series. Miss Venus Merriwell has been waiting for her prince to come since the tender age of fourteen. She wants a man who is a selfless academic like her, and free from all the wretched vices her gambler father enjoyed far too much before he left the Merriwell sisters practically destitute. Unfortunately, after a slew of romantic disappointments, there is still no sign of that prince at twenty-three and the only one true love of her life is the bursting-at-the-seams orphanage in Covent Garden that she works tirelessly for. An orphanage that desperately needs to expand into the empty building next door. For Galahad Sinclair, gambling isn’t just his life, it’s in his blood. He grew up and learned the trade at his grandfather’s knee in a tavern on the far away banks of the Hudson in New York. But when fate took all that away and dragged him across the sea to London, it made sense to set up shop here. He’s spent five years making a success out of his gaming hall in the sleazy docks of the East End. Enough that he can finally afford to buy the pleasure palace of his dreams—and where better than in the capital’s sinful heart, Covent Garden? The only fly in his ointment is the perfect building he’s just bought to put it in also happens to be right next door to the orphanage run by his cousin’s wife’s youngest sister. A pious, disapproving and unsettling siren he has avoided like the plague since she flattened him five years ago. While Venus and Galahad lock horns over practically everything, and while her malevolent orphans do their darndest to sabotage his lifelong dream, can either of them take the ultimate gamble—and learn to love thy neighbor?

Download or read book The Honest Lawyer written by Gertrude Violet McFadden and published by . This book was released on 1916 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book ST MAWR AND THE MAN WHO DIED written by and published by . This book was released on 1928 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Dearest Dorothy Are We There Yet written by Charlene Ann Baumbich and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2004-01-27 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the legions of readers who enjoy books that celebrate life’s simple pleasures, eighty-seven-year-old Dorothy Jean Wetstra and her beloved farming town of Partonville, Illinois, will become instant favorites. In this hilarious, touching series, Charlene Ann Baumbich introduces readers to Dearest Dorothy, who tools around town in a 1976 Lincoln Continental nicknamed “The Tank,” plays bunco regularly with her pals, and grabs a stool at Harry’s counter often enough to stay on top of the latest-breaking news—which she is often creating. In the series debut, Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet?, Dorothy faces a decision that may change her town forever, and her gift for shaking things up comes in handy. In the second book, Dearest Dorothy, Slow Down, You're Wearing Us Out!, the town’s irresistible cast of characters is back in full swing as they confront some of the many surprises life sends their way. So pull up a chair and get ready for fireworks, laughter, and we’ll-get-through-it-all-with-faith friendships.

Download or read book You re Next written by Kylie Schachte and published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When a girl with a troubled history of finding dead bodies investigates the murder of her ex, she uncovers a plot to put herself -- and everyone she loves -- on the list of who's next. Flora Calhoun has a reputation for sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. After stumbling upon a classmate's body years ago, the trauma of that discovery and the police's failure to find the killer has haunted her ever since. One night, she gets a midnight text from Ava McQueen, the beautiful girl who had ignited Flora's heart last summer, then never spoke to her again. Just in time to witness Ava's death from a gunshot wound, Flora is set on a path of rage and vengeance for all the dead girls whose killer is never found. Her tunnel-visioned sleuthing leads to valuable clues about a shocking conspiracy involving her school and beyond, but also earns her sinister threats from the murderer. She has a choice: give up the hunt for answers, or keep digging and risk her loved ones' lives. Either way, Flora will regret the consequences. Who's next on the killer's list?

Download or read book Liberty written by and published by . This book was released on 1925 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Scribner s Magazine written by and published by . This book was released on 1901 with total page 844 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book If We Kiss written by Rachel Vail and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2012-06-12 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charlie Collins has never been kissed. She’s never been in love, either. Charlie’s beautiful best friend, Tess, has kissed three boys and has loved each one of them. Then Charlie unexpectedly finds herself falling for Kevin, and she’s in a mess of trouble right away. For one thing, Tess is in love with Kevin. Even worse, his father seems to be dating Charlie’s mom, who suddenly can’t stop smiling. With no one to confide in, Charlie has to figure this one out for herself. But even as she tries to pull away from Kevin, she can’t stop wondering, What would happen if we kiss?

Download or read book The Australian Journal written by and published by . This book was released on 1881 with total page 698 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: