Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in Crime Fiction

The first entry in Leslie Stewart's diary read: "Dear Diary; This morning I met the man I am going to marry." It was simple, optimistic statement, without the slightest portent of the dramatic chain of events that was about to occur. The Best Laid Plans takes listeners inside two of America's most powerful and ruthless institutions: the world of politics with it's scandals, corruption, and cover-ups; and that of newspaper publishing, where it is not unusual to use the power of the press to destroy lives - or bring down heads of state - in pursuit of a story or to settle a score.

Tracy Whitney is on top of the world. She is young, beautiful, intelligent, and about to marry into wealth and glamour — until, betrayed by her own innocence, she finds herself in prison, framed by a ruthless mafia gang and abandoned by the man she loves.

Marlowe is back...and he's married to a rich, beautiful society lady who wants him to settle down in the posh desert community of Poodle Springs. Marlowe may have married rich, but old habits die hard: he's hired to recover a gambling debt and soon finds himself in a case involving bigamy, pornography and murder. The first four chapters of this final Marlowe mystery were written by noir master Raymond Chandler at the end of his life. Robert B. Parker was chosen by Chandler's estate to complete his last work.

The survivors of The Other Side of Midnight come back for one last round of play in this compelling sequel set in post-war Europe. Catherine Douglas, victim of amnesia, is taken in by the world's richest man, Greek shipping tycoon Constantin Demiris. Haunted by faint memories of the past, Catherine must remember the truth before Demiris, the man who killed her husband, sets his murderous sights on her.

Ironworker Wayne Colson and his spirited wife Carmen are witnesses to a shakedown scam — witnesses who must be eliminated. Enter Armand Degas (a.k.a. Blackbird), the brains of the operation, and his partner Richie Nix, an ex-con whose highest goal is to rob a bank in every state. After the Colsons enter the Federal Witness Security Program, a lively chase ensues — with two bumbling but determined killers on Wayne and Carmen's trail.

Robert Bellamy, an American naval intelligence officer, is called in on a special undercover assignment by the NSA: investigate the mysterious crash of an experimental meteorological balloon in the Swiss Alps and locate the ten known witnesses to the incident. As he crisscrosses the world searching for clues, Bellamy uncovers a murderous governmental plot and a powerful international cabal of corporate CEOs. After narrowly escaping death, he goes into hiding, hunted by an unknown lethal force.

It is the Summer and Autumn of the Year of Our Lord 1143 in which the gentle monk, Brother Cadfael, is forced to leave the tranquility of his herb garden to find the whole truth behind the murder of a young women whose body was unexpectedly discovered in a newly tilled field recently acquired by the Shrewsbury Abbey in a land exchange.

Writer, journalist and chronicler of justice as it relates to the rich and famous, Gus Bailey, like the movers and shakers of Los Angeles, is drawn into the vortex of the O. J. Simpson trial. By day, he is a fixture at the lawyers, the journalists, the hangers-on, and even the judge. By night, he is courted by the most celebrated hosts, from Kirk Douglas to Heidi Fleiss, from Elizabeth Taylor to Nancy Reagan, who delight in the hottest news from the corridors of the courtroom.

It's New Year's Eve, the final night of Virginia's bloodiest year since the Civil War, and another poor soul has turned up dead. Ted Eddings, a scuba diver and investigative reporter who was a favorite at the medical examiner's office, is found 30 feet below the Elizabeth River's icy surface. Kay Scarpetta, chief medical examiner for the state of Virginia, can't help but wonder why she received a phone call from someone reporting the death before the police were notified.

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.

When the bride of a Boston police detective vanishes, he hires Spenser to find her. His path leads from a New England college campus to glamorous L.A. sports clubs. When the trail turns to a world of prostitution, drug abuse, and self-destruction, Spenser must enter ghetto tenements to continue his search. Ultimately, Spenser must hire a Chicago hitman to help him free the girl from a sociopathic ex lover.

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.

Ellis Alves is no angel. But his lawyer says he was framed for the murder of college student Melissa Henderson...and asks Spenser for help. From Boston's back streets to Manhattan's elite, Spenser and Hawk search for suspects, including Melissa's rich-kid, tennis-star boyfriend. But when a man with a .22 puts Spenser in a coma, the hope for justice may die with him.

Tracy Whitney is on top of the world. Young, beautiful, and intelligent, she is about to marry into wealth and glamour—until a ruthless mafia gang frames her, and she is sentenced to prison. Though beaten and broken, Tracy emerges from her savage ordeal determined to avenge herself against those who have destroyed her life. With dazzling ingenuity, she embarks on a series of extraordinary escapades across the globe, as she plays for the highest stakes in a deadly game. Only one man can challenge her—a man handsome, persuasive, and every bit as daring as Tracy.

When Robin Nevins, the son of Hawk's boyhood mentor, is denied at an exclusive university, Hawk asks Spenser to investigate. It seems the denial is tied to the suicide of a young gay activist, and as Spenser digs deeper, he is nearly drowned in a multicultural swamp of politics: black, gay, academic, and feminist. At the same time, Spenser's inamorata, Susan, asks him to come to the aid of an old college friend, K.C. Roth, the victim of a stalker. Spenser solves the problem a bit too effectively when K.C. turns the tables and begins to stalk him.

The Sternwood family, immortalized in Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, is in trouble again. Lovely Vivian's psychotic sister, Carmen, has disappeared from the sanitarium, and Vivian herself has once again fallen into the clutches of the shady underworld character Eddie Mars. Enter Philip Marlowe, the original tough-but-tender private eye, resurrected by Robert B. Parker, creator of his own phenomenally popular Spenser mystery series. He saved the Sternwoods once before. The question is: Can he do it again?

Hired by Loudon Tripp, an aggrieved Boston aristocrat who believes his late wife Olivia's brutal street slaying to be something other than random violence, Spencer immediately senses that his client's picture-perfect portrayal of his family life is false. For starters, the victim's reputation is too saintly, her house is as lived-in as a stage set, and her troubled children don't appear to be the product of a happy home.

Compelling Evidence Paul Madriani was once a promising associate with the prestigious Potter, Skarpellos law firm, co-founded by his mentor, Ben Potter. But after a scandalous affair with Ben's wife, Talia, Paul left the firm to begin a brilliant career as a criminal defense attorney. Ben's impeccable reputation has made him a leading candidate for the Supreme Court, until he is found dead on the eve of the nomination, and Talia becomes the prime suspect.

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?

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.