Showing results by publisher "Books in Motion" in Mystery

The blonde on the beach was screaming. A dead man lay at her feet. But the murder is only the first ingredient J. P. Beaumont discovers in a deadly mixture of politics and passion.

Homicide Detective J. P. Beaumont had little to go on: a body, definitely male and decidedly dead, with strange little puncture wounds.

Monday morning, a young mother disappears after a doctor’s appointment. Monday evening, a young socialite leaves a risqué lounge and never makes it home. Detective Jackson lands both cases, but at first he can’t find signs of foul play. When the socialite turns up dead, his investigation uncovers her dirty secrets, which complicates everything. The case runs into even bigger trouble with a suspect who hasn’t left his house in a year.

When a woman walks into Samantha Sweet’s pastry shop, claiming to have amnesia, it’s a puzzle that seems to have nothing to do with Sam’s new commission for a fantastic one-of-a-kind order of chocolates, although "Jane Doe" seems to know a lot about that. Sam calls Sheriff Beau to solve the mystery of who this stranger is and where she belongs. But Beau’s attention is occupied by other things: nearly his entire force is out sick with some kind of flu bug, and now a murder far from Taos requires his full attention. “Jane’s” forgotten memories become vitally important....

Samantha Sweet learns that an Irish great-uncle left her an inheritance, so she and Beau change their honeymoon plans and go to the Emerald Isle. Will the gift be something lavish and wonderful? Or is there no pot of gold waiting for Sam? Meanwhile, before Sam fully has the answers to her questions, a new mystery presents itself when a local charter boat is found adrift near the rocky Irish coast, its occupants missing. The family of the captain wants answers and when it looks like a group of Americans might be implicated, the Galway homicide detective in charge of the case enlists Beau’s help.

Samantha Sweet and Beau Cardwell are getting ready for their September wedding, with the whole Sweet clan about to show up for the celebration.

Dealing with her mother may turn out to be the least of Sam’s problems when an unwelcome visitor walks into her pastry shop - Sam’s old heartthrob, the charmer Jake Calendar. Jake wants money for a Hollywood get-rich-quick scheme and he wants Sam to finance the deal. Can Sam convince him that the answer is "no"? Or will he sabotage the plans for her wedding?

He’s the new owner of Rockafellers, a vintage record store struggling to find customers. Much of that is due to Headbangers, a competitor with a better product mix and an aggressive owner. There is also a local do-gooder group who wants Owen to fall in line with their vision for a kinder, gentler Costa Buena. None of that worries Owen, though, because he is determined to be the number one used-music store on the boardwalk - even if that means stepping on a few toes. But when a murder occurs shortly after his arrival, he’s identified as prime suspect number one.

One blizzardy New Mexico night, Posadas County Deputy Pasquale picks up a toddler scooting his Scamper along the shoulder of State 56. Yes, it's horrifying - a child apparently dumped out of a truck by his father. Nearly as horrifying is what unrolls while Christmas approaches after dad Darrell Fisher's arrest: a request arrives from the US Forest Service to locate a missing range tech and his unit last reported headed for nearby Stinkin' Springs, and the brutal murder of Constance Suarez in the border town of Regál, population 37.

Talbot Farber, a popular and successful Albuquerque businessman, lost his beloved wife thirteen years ago. There was a fire aboard the ship during their fifth-anniversary cruise. Several people went overboard in the melee; Jenna Farber was the only one whose body was never recovered. Years passed, she was declared legally dead, and Talbot went ahead with his life, raising their young daughter on his own. Now, he tells Charlie and Ron, he has spotted Jenna alive and well in the Denver airport.

It’s spring, Easter is fast approaching, and Samantha Sweet has been so busy at the bakery that she hadn’t quite realized that a lot of the yards in Taos are looking a little ragged. It isn’t until she overhears the gossip in Sweet’s Sweets that she realizes the popular neighborhood gardener and handyman, Victor Martinez, has not come around to do his annual spring cleanup and no one has seen or been able to reach him in months.

When Libby Madsen hosts her first big family-and-friend Thanksgiving, she’s prepared for the usual chaos that comes with relatives, last-minute surprises, and juggling a house full of guests. But when her boyfriend Greg’s family finds a dead body upon checking into their vacation rental, a peaceful holiday becomes anything but. If only it stopped there, but of course one thing after another continues to test Libby's patience as she prepares for the big day.

Known throughout Tennessee as "Old Kate", the Bell Witch took up residence with John Bell's family in 1818. It was a cruel and noisy spirit, given to knocking and gnawing sounds before finding its own voices. With these voices and supernatural acts, the Bell Witch tormented the Bell family. The extraordinary tale recounts the only documented case in U.S. History when a spirit "actually caused a man's death".

Detective Sergeant Eric Logan has taken his wife Belle and their two sons on a vacation to Whispering Rock Montana. Belle’s family has a large ranch and an old western saloon in the town. While there, two people die in what are assumed to be accidents.

Ardis must track the last years of Jenna Carrington, a troubled teenage girl who stole rare black opals from her father and whose skeletal remains were found in the river near Sydney, Australia. A vicious murderer waits in the wings, and he plans to make archaeologist and sleuth Ardis Cole his next victim!

It’s Spring Break, and a trio of California college kids head out, not to the beach, but to the mountains of New Mexico, where they plan on a week of snowboarding, beer, and fun. But the instructions to reach their vacation rental are less than precise, and it’s late and snowy when they arrive at Taos Ski Valley. Days later, Casey’s sister is calling the only friend she knows in Taos—Kelly Sweet—hoping to get word to her brother that their mother’s condition has worsened and she doesn’t have long to live. No one has heard from Casey, and she urgently needs to reach him.

When the mummified remains of a World War II GI are unearthed in the sub-basement of the Crawford County Courthouse, the residents, well-known for their nonstop gossip, are suddenly as quiet as the soldier's grave. Sheriff Charles Matthews is frustrated by the town's silence. He isn't planning to arrest anyone for a murder more than 50 years old, but he does want to bury the soldier's remains with a name other than John Doe. One of the local oldsters must know that name, but no one, not even his spinster dispatcher, Miss Poole, will talk.

When Emily Plankhurst is visited by the ghost of Gabriel Graystone, and learns he was murdered, she knows she must find justice for him. The only problem is, Gabriel was killed a hundred years ago, shortly after he broke off his engagement to the daughter of a prominent Taos family, and there aren’t many other clues to go by in finding his killer.

After Godiva's son Torch buys a condo in Las Vegas, his grandmother Flossie and great uncle Sterling decide to pay him a visit. When the old vaudeville magicians drag him to the Pageant of Peacocks starring sexy Mara the Magnificent, it's love at first sight. The romance blossoms, but when Torch returns from a meeting in LA, Mara seems cold and distant. Torch turns to his mother, the advice columnist, for a helping hand.

Zachariah Smith intends to find the person who shot him and Irene Sandhoff outside her office during a citizen's rally against Sandhoff. Was the bullet meant for Zach or Irene? Or, by luck, did the killer only have to use one bullet for two targets. Zach finds he must give the shooting his full attention when Phil Pauling, the chief of police for Mackie Woods, Oregon, is shot while in Zach's car, and an old friend is found dead in Zach's office.

A body is discovered in a cement pillar. Clasped in his hand is a gold pin shaped like a lightning bolt. What secret did he carry to his grave and why is someone hell-bent on keeping that secret buried? Detective Sergeant Samantha Casey is more than just a cop. She is part Native American with a unique ability to hear the dead speak. They tell her secrets about their life and death. And sometimes what she learns can get her killed.