Category Archives: Mystery

Emily Swift 2: Homicide in Hawaii

Emily Swift Travel Mystery #2

by Lorrie Holmgren

HomicideTravel writer Emily Swift looks forward to a romantic trip to Hawaii with her boyfriend Jack. It’ll be a snap to write about the breathtakingly beautiful Hawaiian Islands – especially with a friend, who lives in Waikiki, as her guide. But Emily’s hopes are dashed when Amanda’s dead body is found in an ancient Hawaiian ritual site. Who would kill a woman whose friends describe her as “saint like”? Emily uses her reporter’s skills to find out. Did Amanda discover her husband’s philandering? Who is the father of Amanda’s Native Hawaiian goddaughter Kari? Why was Amanda obsessed by her family’s role in the history of Hawaii? What secrets lurk in old letters and photos? As Emily delves into the past to find the killer, she finds herself in danger. Finally, she realizes that the murderer is closer than she thinks––and a Hawaiian tourist spot may prove to be her grave as well as Amanda’s.

Publisher

Published by: Cozy Cat Press

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About the Author

Lorrie Holmgren is the author of two Emily Swift travel mysteries -- Murder on Madeline Island, and Homicide in Hawaii. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, busily penning mysteries when she isn't traveling the world. Lorrie has a special affection for Madeline Island, one of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior, which she often visits with her writing group, friends and husband. She is currently writing her third travel mystery novel about Emily Swift.

Emily Swift 1: Murder on Madeline Island

Emily Swift Travel Mystery

by Lorrie Holmgren

MurderWhen travel writer Emily Swift agrees to join her boyfriend Chet for a romantic getaway on Madeline Island, she has no idea she will end up accused of murder. But that’s what happens when she finds a dead lawyer stashed in an abandoned refrigerator. Who could have killed him? Could the fact that he was on the island to help Chet’s grandmother rewrite her will be a motive? Chet’s family is outraged by a will that excludes them unless they find Gram’s Ojibway half-brother. But surely they aren’t angry enough to kill. Or are they? When everyone on the island assumes that Emily and Chet are engaged and the victim’s blood stains are found in her car, she quickly becomes the prime suspect. Can Emily clear herself and solve the case in time to prevent the killer from striking again? Or will her sleuthing lead her into a new romance and even greater danger? Find out in Murder on Madeline Island.

Publisher

Published by: Cozy Cat Press

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About the Author

Lorrie Holmgren is the author of two Emily Swift travel mysteries -- Murder on Madeline Island, and Homicide in Hawaii. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, busily penning mysteries when she isn't traveling the world. Lorrie has a special affection for Madeline Island, one of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior, which she often visits with her writing group, friends and husband. She is currently writing her third travel mystery novel about Emily Swift.

A Necessary Act

by Tony Wirt

ACan you stop a serial killer before he starts? If so, should you? How far would you go?

The students at Lake Mills Community High School knew there was something wrong with Scott – but what David saw firsthand was more than they could ever imagine. He and his best (only) friend Matt were content to keep their suspicions to themselves until a simple trip to the library sets them on parallel trajectories where even the most careful plans have unexpected consequences that can rock a community and reverberate long after they're gone.

Fifteen years later, Matt loses his high-profile reporter gig and is forced to return to the town he did everything he could to leave behind. He gets a shot at redemption with the small-town weekly where he started and quickly discovers a community that has moved on from the past. Well, everybody but David. He remembers everything and doesn’t buy a thirty-something Scott’s “normal” act. There's a madman hovering inside. After all, some people never change, right?

Something the entire town is reminded of when the first dead girl turns up.

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About the Author

I got my first taste of publication in first grade, when my essay on Airplane II: The Sequel appeared on my elementary school’s Creative Courier.

Seriously.

Questionable parental movie supervision notwithstanding, seeing something I had written in print was invigorating. So after spending my formative years running around a small town in rural Iowa, I enrolled in the University of Iowa and eventually picked up degrees in Journalism and Communication Studies. During that time I also spent three years writing for the Daily Iowan.

After graduation crossed over to the media relations world in the University of Iowa Sports Information Department, where I spent nine years on the road, running stats and frantically writing post-game stories before the team bus left.

I only got left behind once.

Marriage and a baby made road trips an impossibility, so I thought the life of a stay-at-home dad would be the perfect way to finally write that novel that had been bouncing around my head for years.

How cute is that?

Needless to say, caring for a 6-month-old leaves precious little time to breathe, let alone write. I was barely able to keep up with the fake blog I decided to make for her at 3 a.m. the day she was born.

But despite being parented by me, the kid got older and my novel idea poked its head out from under an avalanche of dirty diapers. I was ready to start writing.

Just in time to find out we were having another kid.

This time I knew what I was getting into, however, and I hustled to get whatever I could down before the next avalanche arrived. It was about 14,000 words, and it wasn’t good, but it was the seed from which A Necessary Act grew.

That was six years, six drafts and a move to Minnesota ago. There were plenty of detours along the way, including a stint writing opinion pieces as a member of the Rochester Post-Bulletin’s Editorial Advisory Board, but I finally got the book done.

I can’t say if it’s good or not—that’s your job—but it’s full of the things I like. Creepy bad guys, twists and bad decisions made for good reasons.

Hope you like it.

The Smart Kid

The Chrysalis Chronology #1

by Bob Miller

TheMichael Shale looks like a sixth grader.
On the outside.
Inside, he holds a biological secret, that could change the world.

Senator John Perkins, the head of a committee on military development, covets the genetic secret that Michael hides and will not stop pursuing until he’s captured— again.

Charleen Therry, the school counselor, befriends the mysterious sixth-grader and uncovers a history of lies, false identities, and a relentless pursuit by a shadowy government organization that covers a thousand miles and the colorful decades of the sixties and seventies.

If the Senator captures Michael again, a god-like power may be granted to greedy men who would only abuse it.
And Michael would rather die than let that happen.

When he's discovered, Charleen and a special person from his past convince Michael to stop running and to start fighting. If they fail, Michael just may get his death wish.

The Smart Kid is a mystery/thriller with the heart of a son who just wants to find his way back home.

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About the Author

Bob Miller (b.1960) has lived in Minnesota his whole life. His interests include science fiction, computer programming, and magic tricks. A professional magician for 20 years, he has created tricks, DVDs, software and books for performers.

The Smart Kid is his first novel. Four more books are planned in the series.

Eclectically Criminal

Eclectic Writing Series #2

by Meg Hafdahl

EclecticallyThis second volume of the Eclectic Writings Series is an anthology of short stories from a variety of genres and authors all of which revolve around a crime. From a funny tale of a bank robbery gone awry to the poignant pain of a young girl's rape, each tale is well-crafted and sure to entertain.

Publisher

Published by: Inklings Publishing

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Eclectically Criminal is available from:

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  • Barnes & Noble in Nook.
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About the Author

Meg Hafdahl was raised in both British Columbia, Canada and Minnesota. Meg’s short story Dark Things was a finalist for the 2014 Jane Austen Short Story Award. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies including Spider Road Press’s Eve’s Requiem: Tales of Women, Mystery and Horror. Her first book, Twisted Reveries: Thirteen Tales of the Macabre was released by Inklings Publishing in 2015. The second volume of Twisted Reveries will arrive in the fall of 2016 and her first novel is slated for release by Inklings in 2017. She lives in Rochester, Minnesota with her husband and two young sons.

Eve’s Requiem

Tales of Women, Mystery, and Horror

by Meg Hafdahl

Eve'sThis spine-chilling collection includes horror, dark mystery, historical mystery, and suspense stories by celebrated and emerging writers. Enjoy a good fright? Dive into these eerie tales by masterful storytellers. These thirteen stories of peril and survival also feature complex female characters.

Five percent of the proceeds from this book and ebook will benefit rape crisis centers and veterans' charities.

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About the Author

Meg Hafdahl was raised in both British Columbia, Canada and Minnesota. Meg’s short story Dark Things was a finalist for the 2014 Jane Austen Short Story Award. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies including Spider Road Press’s Eve’s Requiem: Tales of Women, Mystery and Horror. Her first book, Twisted Reveries: Thirteen Tales of the Macabre was released by Inklings Publishing in 2015. The second volume of Twisted Reveries will arrive in the fall of 2016 and her first novel is slated for release by Inklings in 2017. She lives in Rochester, Minnesota with her husband and two young sons.

Dead Girl Running

The New Order #1

by Ann M. Noser

DeadEight years ago, Silvia Wood's father died in an industrial accident. After suffering through years of Psychotherapy Services and Mandated Medications for depression and multiple suicide attempts, she longs to work in Botanical Sciences. When the Occupation Exam determines she must work in Mortuary Sciences instead, she wonders if the New Order assigned her to the morgue to push her over the edge.

To appease her disappointed mother, Silvia enters the Race for Citizen Glory, in an attempt to stand out in the crowd of Equals. After she begins training with "golden boy" Liam Harman, she discovers he also lost his father in the same accident that ruined her childhood. Then Silvia meets and falls for Liam's older cousin, whose paranoid intensity makes her question what really happened to her father.

As the race nears, Silvia realizes that she's not only running for glory, she's running for her life.

Publisher

Published by: Curiosity Quills

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My to-do list dictates that I try to cram 48 hours of living into a day instead of the usual 24. I’ve chosen a life filled with animals. I train for marathons with my dog, then go to work as a small animal veterinarian, and finish the day by tripping over my pets as I attempt to convince my two unruly children that YES, it really IS time for bed. But I can’t wait until the house is quiet to write; I have to steal moments throughout the day. Ten minutes here, a half hour there, I live within my imagination.

Like all busy American mothers, I multi-task. I work out plot holes during runs. Instead of meditating, I type madly during yoga stretches. I find inspiration in everyday things: a beautiful smile, a heartbreaking song, or a newspaper article on a political theory. For example, a long drive in the dark listening to an NPR program on the SMILEY FACE MURDERS theory made me ask so many questions that I wrote HOW TO DATE DEAD GUYS to answer them to my satisfaction.

I’d love to have more time to write (and run, read, and sleep), but until I find Hermione Granger’s time turner, I will juggle real life with the half-written stories in my head. Main characters and plot lines intertwine in my cranium, and I need to let my writing weave the tales on paper so I can find out what happens next.

On a Silver Platter

Alexis Pope Mystery Series #3

by Linda Morganstein

OnWhen a film company begins production of a low-budget modern-day horror movie based on the beheading of Saint John the Baptist, Alex is asked to lend a hand as a stunt double. In no time, she's immersed in the intrigues of the cast and crew, culminating in a terrible calamity that sends her, once again, on the trail of a killer. On A Silver Platter is the third of the Alexis Pope mystery series.

Publisher

Published by: Regal Crest Enterprises

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Linda Morganstein is an award-winning, overeducated writer of who also happens to be the product of a Borscht Belt childhood in the Jewish hotels of the Catskills. In the seventies, she dropped out of Vassar College and drove a VW van to California, where she lived in Sonoma County for many years. Later, she studied with Jane Smiley in Iowa. She currently resides in Saint Paul, Minnesota with her understanding spouse Melanie and her exceptional dog, Courage. In addition to writing, Linda is avid golfer and sourdough bread-baker. In short, she has a phobia for boredom. Due to her Borscht Belt background, she has a distinct interest in humor as an antidote to the complications of life. This includes an arsenal of jokes supplied by her late father, a master comedian.

Harpies’ Feast

Alexis Pope Mystery Series #2

by Linda Morganstein

Harpies'In Dante's circle of hell for suicides, those who take their own lives are transformed into dead trees that can still feel pain. Sitting on their withered branches are the harpies, birds with women's faces, who peck at their limbs. In Harpies' Feast, the second in the Alexis Pope mystery series, Alex is once again confronted with a crime that doesn't seem to be what it really is. She is plunged into a mystery exploring suicide and its repercussions.

After solving a crime at the Overlook Lodge in Ordinary Furies, Alex no longer feels welcome in the resort town of Guerneville, California. She flees down the road to the village of Sebastopol, home to a melting pot of old hippies, wine estate owners, apple farmers and retired baby boomers. She gets a job teaching "cardio self-defense" at a trendy fitness center, courtesy of her new landlady, Sandy Knight, bisexual personal trainer and part-time philosophy professor.

Through the class, Alex meets two intriguing newcomers to town, a teenage actress and a striking lesbian playwright who've both arrived to work on a local theatre production. Much to her dismay, Alex feels attracted to Nickie, the playwright, and maternally protective of Jaycee, the teenager, who is becoming the victim of a group of jealous local girls.

The bullying and nastiness lead to disaster. In their search for answers to the perplexing events, Alex and her friends, both old and new, explore the glory and sting of relationships and confront the bounds of sexual orientations and attractions.

Publisher

Published by: Regal Crest Enterprises

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About the Author

Linda Morganstein is an award-winning, overeducated writer of who also happens to be the product of a Borscht Belt childhood in the Jewish hotels of the Catskills. In the seventies, she dropped out of Vassar College and drove a VW van to California, where she lived in Sonoma County for many years. Later, she studied with Jane Smiley in Iowa. She currently resides in Saint Paul, Minnesota with her understanding spouse Melanie and her exceptional dog, Courage. In addition to writing, Linda is avid golfer and sourdough bread-baker. In short, she has a phobia for boredom. Due to her Borscht Belt background, she has a distinct interest in humor as an antidote to the complications of life. This includes an arsenal of jokes supplied by her late father, a master comedian.

Ordinary Furies

Alexis Pope Mystery Series #1

by Linda Morganstein

OrdinaryAlexis Pope's life has come undone. Just when she thought she'd found a life of guaranteed security and comfort, her husband's death in a sky-diving accident has cast her into self-imposed solitary confinement in her Northern California suburban mansion.

Unsure as to whether she'll ever stop grieving, or whether she'll ever want to, it's no wonder she's reluctant to accept her gay cousin Jeffrey's offer to come up and work at the Russian River resort where Jeffrey runs the dining room.

Then, a revelation in the form of a nosy fundamentalist neighbor signals enough. Enough hiding, enough lethargy. Little suspecting she's almost literally jumping from the frying pan into the fire, Alex plunges into the refreshingly frantic world of restaurant resort cooking and dining in the funky chic town of Guerneville, California.

Unfortunately, when it finally seems she's climbing out of her malaise, a series of increasingly vicious events at the resort forces her to revive her abandoned skills as a self-defense instructor and--to her great dismay--face up to her own involvement in her husband's death.

Publisher

Published by: Spinsters Ink

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About the Author

Linda Morganstein is an award-winning, overeducated writer of who also happens to be the product of a Borscht Belt childhood in the Jewish hotels of the Catskills. In the seventies, she dropped out of Vassar College and drove a VW van to California, where she lived in Sonoma County for many years. Later, she studied with Jane Smiley in Iowa. She currently resides in Saint Paul, Minnesota with her understanding spouse Melanie and her exceptional dog, Courage. In addition to writing, Linda is avid golfer and sourdough bread-baker. In short, she has a phobia for boredom. Due to her Borscht Belt background, she has a distinct interest in humor as an antidote to the complications of life. This includes an arsenal of jokes supplied by her late father, a master comedian.