Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in Mystery

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.

This sixth volume of The Greatest Mysteries of All Time offers a variety of works by some of the most lauded writers in the field of suspense and literature.

When Robin Nevins is denied acceptance into an exclusive university, Spenser is eager to investigate. It seems the denial is tied to the suicide of a young gay activist, and as Spenser digs deeper, he is immersed in a multicultural swamp of politics: black, gay, academic, and feminist. Meanwhile, Spenser's girlfriend Susan asks him to come to the aid of an old college friend who is being stalked.

It's not Carmen Colson and her ironworker husband Wayne's fault that they were in the real estate office when a pair of thugs walked in with extortion on their minds. But as far as aging Ojibway Indian hitman Armand Degas is concerned, the Colsons are going to have to pay dearly for seeing too much, and for the damage Wayne inflicted on Armand and his sicko partner Richie Nix with a tire iron.

Anna has been assigned a three-week posting on Georgia's isolated Cumberland Island. Despite the breathtaking natural setting, Anna finds time weighing heavily as she works tedious fire pre-suppression duty. Her boring routine is shattered when a sudden plane crash in the inland palmetto thickets calls her and the other members of the fire crew to action. When Anna and the crew investigate, they discover the plane was sabotaged. Suspicions smolder over the accident which killed both the pilot and his passenger, Cumberland's lone law enforcement ranger.

Boston hoodlum Julius Ventura wants to find his daughter's missing husband. At least that's how he puts it to Spenser and Hawk, even though it's clear that Julius isn't telling the whole truth—or maybe not any part of the truth. Something about the case appeals to Spenser's passion for justice, though, and he launches an odyssey that leads him and Hawk into the netherworld of organized crime.

Spenser finds himself fighting for his life when he takes on a murder case for Ellis Alves, a Black man with a criminal record who says he was framed. From Boston's back streets to Manhattan's elite, Spenser and Hawk search for suspects. But when an assassin with a .22 puts Spenser in a coma, is the chance for justice dead?

Crime, thriller, and noir fans will delight in this fourth volume of The Greatest Mysteries of All Time, an exciting series featuring short fiction by legendary writers, past and present. From Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway, and Georges Simenon to Lawrence Block and Sara Paretsky, this unique collection—compiled and edited by multi-award-winning mystery connoisseur Otto Penzler—is a captivating mixture of mystery and suspense.

Persuaded by Polly Duncan, his beloved companion, to join her in a group tour of Scotland, Qwill expects to revel in his Scottish heritage while keeping Polly safe from the Pickax Prowler. Instead, his trip is cut short when a thief swipes a suitcase, the bus driver disappears, and a fellow tourist is found dead—all in the same day. Although the town of Pickax is in a tizzy over the recent events, Qwill has other, more puzzling worries on his mind: Who is the fellow still following Polly? Why is Koko licking Qwill's photographs of Scotland and tackling him on the apple barn stairs?

Louise Towers, one of the most powerful and celebrated women in the world, is brutally attacked in her New York mansion. Founder of a mighty cosmetics empire, she is known as one of the most well-guarded, inaccessible people, so both the public and press alike believe that the attack could have only been planned by someone close to her. The investigation to find the perpetrator uncovers an intricate web of family, friends, business associates, and lovers—any one of whom could have been motivated to harm Louise.

An adorable crackpot inventor has developed his latest idea—run-proof, snag-proof pantyhose—just in time for a Miami pantyhose convention. If he can just raise $1.1 million over the convention weekend, he can save the housing project he shares with other retirees from getting sold out from under them. But an industry queen is determined to keep his invention off the market—any way she can.

When Abe Ringel takes the case of Joe Campbell, the "White Knight" of the New York Knicks who stands accused of rape, he thinks he's found the perfect easy victory to get his career on track. But when Ringel's investigations suggest that Campbell is guilty and dangerous, the defense attorney must confront the conflict between his courtroom responsibilities and his ethics as a human being.

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. When his friend, Dennis Hough, becomes the chief suspect, Qwill embarks on a crusade to clear Hough's name and win back Polly's heart.

The Great Food Expo was meant to introduce new restaurants, country inns, and food specialty shops to Pickax - it was not supposed to be a literal explosion. But that's what happened. Luckily, Qwill is on the scene, his mustache twitching with suspicions that the bomber meant to do more than send a warning. His evidence: Koko and Yum Yum's newfound interest in...cheese.

When an affluent railcar owner disappears with millions of dollars belonging to Moose County investors, the international police launch an intense investigation to find the fugitive. But journalist detective Jim Qwilleran and his feline crime-busters find a mystery to unravel that is closer to home: Who blew the whistle on the embezzler — and why?

Soon after banker Willard Carmichael and his young bride arrive in Pickax, a string of petty burglaries follow. Then Willard meets his demise—an apparent victim of a mugging—and the banker's home restoration project goes to the widow's cousin. Though the clues are as elusive as a cat burglar, the suspicious Qwill and his feline companions, Koko and Yum Yum, are determined to catch a thief—and a killer.

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?

What would it take to lure a serious young newswoman from a respectable New England paper to the most notorious supermarket tabloid in America? The call of journalistic adventure? How about a promise of a salary that's triple what she's making? En route to her new job at the Weekly Galaxy, Sara Joslyn stumbles across a bloody corpse in a Buick Riviera. A big story? Not at this paper. The problem is compounded when the dead man vanishes, Buick and all.

Esteemed mystery writer Anne Perry, author of more than twenty-five novels and two acclaimed detective series, heads up a delectable cast of writers, the very best from both sides of the Atlantic. In the tradition of honored crime writers Agatha Christie, Malice Domestic, Volume 6 jumps the pond between Britain and America to deliver 100 percent pure suspense in all its spine-tingling glory. The ten mysteries included here are read by Stephanie Beacham, Christopher Cazenove, Reed Diamond, Judy Geeson, Patrick Macnee, and Emmy winners Juliet Mills and William Windom.

Sunny Randall is a Boston P.I. and former cop, a college graduate, an aspiring painter, a divorcée, and the owner of a miniature bull terrier named Rosie. Hired by a wealthy family to locate their teenage daughter, Sunny is tested by the parents' preconceived notion of what a detective should be. With the help of underworld contacts, she tracks down the runaway Millicent, who has turned to prostitution. Rescuing her from a vicious pimp, Sunny finds herself the unlikely custodian of a difficult teenager when the girl refuses to return to her family.