Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

A veteran CIA agent dies unexpectedly, and officials panic when they discover that foul play may be afoot. The victim's son takes it upon himself to uncover the startling facts behind the mystery.

Like millions of Americans, journalist Gus Bailey is drawn into the vortex of the O. J. Simpson trial. By day, Gus is a fixture at law offices, newspapers, courtrooms, and even judge's offices. By night, he is feted by celebrities who delight in the hottest news from the courtroom corridors. Interweaving fact and fiction surrounding "The Trial of the Century," Another City, Not My Own illuminates the meaning of guilt and innocence, of justice served and justice denied, and of the price of celebrity in today's America.

In summer of 1144, a strange calm has settled over England. The armies of King Stephen and Empress Maudhave temporarily exhausted each other. Brother Cadfael, herbalist-sleuth of Shrewsbury's Benedictine Abbey, agrees to accompany wise young Brother Mark on Church business in Wales. But the brothers soon find themselves caught up in yet another feud. A Welsh prince has banished his brother, accusing him of the treacherous murder of an ally, and the country teeters on the brink of civil war. Cadfael has to survive the brotherly quarrel that could plunge an entire kingdom into chaos.

The only three females in a group of new residents, the women quickly become roommates and friends, face long hours, a frenetic work pace, and unwanted advances from male colleagues. One becomes involved in unsavory underworld activities, another employs questionable medical skills that are overlooked by the male administrators who value her other services, and another tries to forget a lost love.

Back in Pickax, Jim Qwilleran expects to resume a quiet life, but the people and animals of Pickax have other ideas. A noisy cardinal wakes him every morning, nosy neighbors drop by uninvited, and the Siamese cats—Koko and Yum Yum—misbehave, even sneezing on guests. As if they weren't bad enough, Qwill's long-time companion, Polly Duncan, acts as though she is in love—with another man. Worst of all, Qwill finds a body in his apple orchard.

In the near future, U.S. forces are completing their final withdrawal from bases in the Philippines. The navy of the People's Republic of China lays claim to the Spratly Islands, decimating a Philippine drilling platform when its occupants refuse to knuckle under.

Off the coast of southern Florida, a deadly war is being waged that threatens our national security. Thousands of kilos of illicit drugs are dumped on our shores annually. But "business as usual" takes a different turn when Sandra Geffar, head of the U.S. Customs Department, and Ian Hardcastle, Commander of the Coast Guard, put their departmental and personal squabbles behind them and team up. In a daring plan to put an end to airborne smuggling, their operation— dubbed "Hammerheads"— proposes nothing less than to fight the Colombian cartel with the latest hi-tech weaponry available.

Police Chief Jesse Stone has a problem—actually, several problems: dead bodies keep turning up. Investigating a serial killer in an affluent suburban town is difficult, and with the added pressures from the town selectmen and media, the heat is turning up on Jesse. The harder these outside forces push against him, the more Jesse retreats into himself. Despite all the odds, he's convinced it is up to him alone to stop the killings.

When Jim Qwilleran's friend Polly decides to spend two weeks on vacation with an old girlfriend in Oregon, he finds himself at a loose end—but not for long. A visit from Nick Bamba brings news of a hotbed of mystery.

A young man resurfaces from Spenser's past to seek out the likeable P.I.'s guidance and help to solve the mysterious and sudden disappearance of the boy's mother. The most personal and revealing Spenser thriller of all, the hardboiled yet caring detective faces danger and a reckoning with his own past. Pastime is Robert B. Parker's electrifying masterpiece of crime fiction, both personal and revealing.

When Qwill rents Euphonia's Gage's mansion in Moose County, he and Koko soon discover closet after closet jammed with several generations of junk. Meanwhile, the mansion's former occupant is enjoying a new life in warm, sunny Florida. Or is she? Word soon comes that Euphonia is dead, an apparent suicide. Why would someone so happy and full of life kill herself? And what is the connection between the Gage family and potato farmer Gil Inchpot, who is found buried in the snow with a bullet in his head? Can Qwill and the cats uncover a family secret before the winter yields another dead body?

Spenser is forced by loyalty into an alien world where violence is a way of lie and outsiders enter at a lethal risk. When Spenser's cohort Hawk is hired by the tenants of a gang-plagued Boston housing project known as "Double Deuce," he enlists his friend's aid. A friend's girl and her infant daughter have been gunned down. Though the act at first appears to be an accidental drive-by shooting, it soon becomes clear that it was premeditated murder.

Spenser is investigating the Port City Theater Company, where the director claims he's being stalked. When an actor is shot dead during a performance, all clues lead to the local Chinese Mafia, whose roots run deep in this drab waterfront city. With Hawk and ex mobster Vinnie assisting, Spenser eventually triumphs in one of his most compelling adventures.

Pickax loves a big occasion. The Great Food "Explo" is about to begin, introducing new restaurants, country inns, and food specialty shops. Lurking in the background, though, is a killer determined to make this an event Pickax City will never forget. The Expo begins with a literal bang: a bomb wrecks the hotel, killing a housekeeper and causing extensive damage. Luckily for Pickax, Jim Qwilleran is on the scene, with suspicions that the bomb was intended as something stronger than a warning to someone.

Steel-nerved master thief Parker has his eyes on a fat prize. The prize, a slow stuffed with money—a gambling casino on the Hudson River. It is not in Parker's nature to gamble, so he leaves nothing to chance. From the phony politician to the getaway boat, from bringing guns on board to getting the money off, Parker has it all planned. There are only a few problems.

Hanson died quickly—with a knife in his back. Carole was next—covered with acid and tortured to death. Now it's Judd's turn—a New York pschoanalyst, he'd known them both. Two faceless executioners on a murderous mission, searching for a secret which is unknown to Judd. Not safe at home or at work, Judd feels his professional grip slipping while he faces constant threat of imminent attack. To whom can he ultimately turn?

A.J. Lewinter is an American scientist, for years an insignificant cog in America's complex defense machinery. While at an academic conference in Tokyo, Lewinter contacts the KGB station chief and says he wants to defect. He tantalizes the Russians with U.S. military secrets he claims to possess, but is his defection genuine? Neither the Russians nor the Americans are sure.

On one fateful day in Britain, fortunes change hands as a suicidal Junior Minister, an avaricious tycoon, and a seasoned criminal all play parts in a scheme that moves paper money around at a dizzying pace. Meanwhile, an ambitious young reporter for the Evening Post scrambles to crack the story. This early novel from Ken Follett, the author of On Wings of Eagles and The Key to Rebecca, plunges the reader into the worlds of crime, high finance, and journalism on the way to a masterfully plotted dramatic climax.

Jamie McGregor founded a family empire on diamonds stolen from South Africa - and a ruthless need for revenge. As control of McGregor's fortune falls into the capable hands of his granddaughter Kate, his business expands into a worldwide conglomerate. The cunning Kate proves herself a true master, using her own son and granddaughters as pawns in a game where the stakes are bigger than life or death.

After five years of legal wrangling, Jim Qwilleran has officially inherited his fortune. He looks to seek isolation in the Potato Mountains to contemplate his future, and instead, ends up in the middle of a nasty dispute between roughneck mountain folk and greedy developers. What's worse, one mountain man, Forest Beechum, has been convicted of the murder of millionaire developer J.J. Hawkinfield. Foregoing solitude, Qwill does some investigating of his own. It turns out that Forest may not have done the dirty deed...but who did?