Showing results by publisher "Tantor Media" in Animals

Krissy's helping a friend clean out her late mother's house when she learns that although the deceased died peacefully at an advanced age, her brother did not. In fact, Wade was killed more than 30 years ago, and the case was never closed. What surprises Krissy even more is that she has a personal connection to the story - her friend Rita was seeing Wade at the time, scandalizing the town with the couple's large age difference.

Thirty-year-old Charlotte James, better known to her mystery fans as C. J. Barrett, decides to take a break from writing her popular Steve Sheppard mystery series. Leaving New York City, she moves back to her hometown of Austin to wind down, recuperate, and maybe come up with some new ideas for her books.

On North Carolina’s Okracoke Island, Maureen Nash sells exquisite seashells to locals and tourists—with Bonny the shop cat and the ghost of a Welsh pirate for company. And when needed, she steps in to help the police solve a murder… Dr. Irving Allred is boasting around town that he’s about to get his hands on an authentic haunted sword. But minutes after Maureen hears the story, a woman walks into the Moon Shell, sword in hand. She found it while walking her bulldog on the beach—and its blade is stained with what looks like blood. Looks like it’s time to call the sheriff’s department.

Twenty-something bookseller and sleuth Meg Gates has a confession: solving crimes may be easier than writing. She's been working on a guide to becoming a detective—but she's her own worst critic. She needs a how-to in order to write her how-to! At the Bainbridge Island writers' group, she meets freelance food critic Lee Anderson, who invites her to join him for dinner at the Local Crab so he won't be suspected of reviewing the place. Lee is a bit of a crab himself and intends to do a hatchet job on the eatery.

Attorney-turned-freelance-pet-sitter Kendra Ballantyne has found a corpse in a client's apartment, and it's up to her to prove the innocence of the obvious suspects: her client's furry ferrets.

For someone whose greatest culinary skill is ordering takeout, Sarah never expected to be co-owner of a restaurant. But while Sarah and her twin sister, Chef Emily, are tangled up in red tape, an attention-stealing new establishment - run by none other than Sarah's late ex-husband's mistress, Jane - is having its grand opening across the street. Jane's new sous chef, Riley Miller, is the talk of Wheaton with her delicious vegan specialties. Then Riley is found dead outside the restaurant with Sarah's friend, Jacob, kneeling over her.

Georgia "Cussy" Hollingsworth thought she’d left small-town drama behind when she traded Kentucky for city life. But when her beloved uncle dies under suspicious circumstances, she's pulled straight back to the last place she wanted to be—right into the middle of a horse and cattle ranch she never asked for and a murder she can't ignore.

Despite the brutally cold winter, vintage cookware collector Jaymie Müller is happy to help out a friend by looking after a colony of cats while its caretakers are away. The location on a high bluff overlooking the St. Clair River makes for bone-chilling work, and her task takes on an air of menace when an elderly neighbor reports suspicious goings-on at the river. Jaymie's inclined to dismiss the woman's fears as the product of an overactive imagination, but it's not long before she discovers a dead body there.

Sometimes a novel idea can turn out to be a bad one. Sally Simmons was rather misunderstood in the small town of Whitby, North Carolina. An awkward woman with a sly countenance, she became a regular at the library, spending a good deal of time scribbling in a notebook and staring vacantly off...

Waincroft Manor has long been tied to rumors of witchcraft and fatal curses, and to Nora Charles, that makes it the perfect place for a Halloween fundraiser. But her first trip to the deserted old mansion turns out to be truly ghoulish when she discovers a dead body. What's more, the corpse is laid out in a coffin—with two bite marks on its neck. Then the autopsy comes back showing that the body was drained of blood, and there's no stopping the local gossips from whispering the word vampire to anyone who will listen.

With adopt-a-cat month in full swing in Fox Hollow, pet shop owner Shell McMillan decides that hosting a night of murder mystery dinner theater will be a fun way to raise funds for the cause. But she didn't realize that the celebrity chef she'd hired for the event would turn out to be a tyrannical snob, or that her scoundrel of an ex-fiancé would turn up with his own shady agenda. Still, the show must go on, and as the lighthearted plot on-stage unfolds, the scene off-stage turns decidedly darker when the chef is found murdered.

When asked to be the keynote speaker at a writer's conference, Sandie is both delighted and terrified. Public speaking just isn't her forte. But a few days at a swanky resort in Playa del Carmen, with her fiancé by her side? Sounds too good to pass up. Until Sandie's good friend and conference organizer is found dead. As the local police, resort staff, and dozens of guests try to wrap their minds around this tragic event, a likely suspect emerges, but pinning him down as the murderer won't be easy.

Athos, Pearl and their two-leggeds are guests at a beautiful palais in Vienna, Austria. A grand ball is to be held there to celebrate the eighteenth birthday of the family's daughter, and recently Bella, a young Malamute just like Athos, has also moved into the grand historic mansion. But instead of fun and games with the puppy and a glittering night at the ball, a murder takes place—for which Victoria Adler, the Master Sleuths' very own human, is arrested!

It's winter in Blue Lake, and Lena's wedding is weeks away. Before she can focus on the final plans with her fiancé, Sam, she must attend a much-publicized promotional event: a sleuthing competition between Camilla and three other bestselling mystery writers. The event will take place at Green Glass Manor, a mansion belonging to the wealthy Hardwick family, located just outside Blue Lake. The family estate happens to be the home of the publicist running the event, a long-time friend of Camilla's.

Krissy Hancock is a little nervous leaving her bookstore-café in Pine Hills, Ohio, in someone else's hands while she visits family in California. But when a killer strikes during her week out west, it's a good thing she packed her sleuthing skills. When she arrives in her hometown, the owner of Death by Coffee is startled to see a store called Death by Java. She soon realizes the name belongs to a copycat business run by her mean-girl high school rival, Valerie.

After seeing a Great Dane at a dog show, Melanie's son Kevin has become obsessed with the breed. Aunt Peg introduces Melanie and her son to Audrey Kane, a charming older woman who breeds and shows the big dogs. Aware of Melanie's talent for sleuthing, Audrey asks for her help in finding a missing brooch.

A baker opens up a new pastry shop exclusively for pets—but has to do a sleuthing job on the side when a chef turns up dead....

Vintage cookware collector Jaymie Müller is stunned when an irate woman accuses her pharmacist friend Val of tampering with her prescription. When more unfounded accusations follow, it seems clear the woman has a personal grudge against Val. But before they can figure out why, Jaymie and Val stumble upon the woman's dead body on the steps of Val's pharmacy. Given her altercations with the woman and the location of the body, the police naturally suspect Val.

It's been a rough month for Kendra. Her boyfriend and sidekick, Jeff Hubbard, P.I., has gone missing—right after they decided to move in together. It sounds like a case of cold feet until they find his car, submerged and bloody, in a canal. Kendra's panicked inquiries lead her to Jeff's Aunt Lois, an ex-pole dancer and full-time eccentric, who had taken her dog Flisa, a sweet-natured Akita mix, to a company that promised to clone the pup. But poor Flisa never made it out alive. And then, one of the cloners is murdered.

When Helga Oliver, the town's elderly historian, is found crumpled in the basement of the Historical Museum, the close-knit town is devastated. But after some tenacious digging, Stan discovers Helga was pushed down the stairs—and that this picture-perfect New England town may hide some dark secrets.