Showing results by publisher "Dreamscape Media, LLC" in Women Sleuths

Two of her four kids may be out of the nest, but Lucy Stone knows only too well that mothering is a lifetime commitment. At least that commitment means she gets to kick back and enjoy a fancy Mother's Day brunch - that is, before the festivities are interrupted by a nasty scene between two moms feuding over the popularity of their teenage daughters. Even after witnessing that scene though, Lucy never expects to see actual blood spilled.

With their reality TV series Antiques Sleuths, Brandy Borne and her quaintly kooky mother, Vivian, have a real hit on their hands. But when another hit enters the picture, Brandy's implicated for the crime. With Brandy now wearing basic jailhouse orange, Vivian must largely investigate alone, sorting through a rogue's gallery of suspects that includes a too-friendly farmer's wife, a ratings-happy TV producer, a questionable husband-and-wife auctioneer team, and even the chief of police himself!

Local artist and amateur sleuth Penny Brannigan has been spending her summer painting views of the once-lovely Gwrych Castle, which is now in a heartbreaking state of disrepair. So when she hears that one of the locals, Mark Baker, is leading a team of enthusiastic volunteers to restore the castle, she is thrilled. However, after disagreements over how the work should proceed break out, the body of an overbearing volunteer is discovered and Mark is implicated.

Julia's husband, Assistant District Attorney David Tanner, is about to bring criminal Nick Rossi to trial for drug trafficking, illegal gambling, bribery, and more. However, when a courthouse bomb claims several victims, including the prosecution's key witness, David is left critically injured. Julia's certain Rossi orchestrated the attack, but she doesn't have a strong case against him, and his power and connections run deep.

Ava Logan, single mother and small business owner, lives deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, where poverty and pride reign. As publisher of the town newspaper, she's busy balancing election season stories and a rash of ginseng thieves. That's when then the story gets personal. After her friend is murdered, Ava digs for the truth all the while juggling her two teenage children, her friend's orphaned toddler, and her own muddied past.

Not many people knew Old Dan Malone. The grizzled barkeep's social circle was limited to the rough-hewn lobstermen who frequented his bar. But when Dan's body is found bobbing in the icy harbor, Lucy Stone makes getting to know more about Old Dan a priority. Rumors abound: Old Dan conned a winning lottery ticket worth five grand from a local musician, Old Dan stiffed a handyman for repair work done to the bar. The confusion is compounded by the arrival of Dylan Malone, Old Dan's brother.

When a rare $5,000 bill arrives in the mail, interior decorator Madison Night knows it's a message from her past. In happier times, she once joked that she could be bought for $5,000 - how could she deny a bill with her name on it? Suspecting the bill indicates trouble, she consults a numismatist. They set up a meet, but upon arrival she finds an abandoned office, a scared dog...and a dead body in the kitchen. The twist? The victim isn't the numismatist; it's a John Doe.

Although Perry, the earl of the house, and his sister, Poppy, are surprisingly accommodating to their jetlagged guests, Lucy feels uneasy after a fallen portrait sparks talk of a deadly family omen. But real trouble begins when a body, bludgeoned by the chapel's gold-plated reliquary, is found in a hidden, sealed off room. Considering the weapon and the clandestine location, Lucy wouldn't be shocked if the murder was an inside job.

When Megan Sawyer gives up her big-city law career to care for her grandmother and run the family's organic farm and cafe, she expects to find tranquility in her scenic hometown of Winsome, PA. Instead, her goat goes missing, rain muddies her fields, the town denies her business permits, and her family's Colonial-era farm sucks up the remains of her savings. Just when she thinks she's reached the bottom of the rain barrel, Megan and the town's hunky veterinarian discover the local zoning commissioner's battered body in her barn.

When a fire ravages the local bookstore late one evening, Liss immediately fears the worst for owner Angie and her two young children. After the terrible blaze dies down, however, the family is nowhere to be found among the ruins. It's as if the three just vanished into smoke. Or, even stranger, like they never existed at all.

From home invasions to cheating spouses, Rest Easy Property Management owner Leticia Tish Ballard thought she'd seen it all. Almost four years sober after flambéing her real estate career in an alcohol-fueled blowout, she's finally in a good place in her life when the discovery of skeletal human remains rocks her world and plunges her headlong into solving a decades-old crime. Now she must delve into the darkness of her own past, including the one-night stand gone horribly wrong with Spence Breedlove, who happens to be the lead detective on the case.

Julia Gooden remembers nothing about the worst night of her life. Thirty years ago, her nine-year-old brother, Ben, was abducted from the room they shared. Now a crime reporter at a Detroit newspaper, Julia tries to give others the closure she's never found. But guilt and grief over Ben's disappearance have left her fearful that whoever took her brother is going to come back. And then, on the anniversary of Ben's disappearance, Julia's worst fears are realized when her two-year-old son, Will, is snatched from his bed.

Brandy Borne's exceedingly eccentric mother, Vivian, has been invited to perform her one-woman interpretation of the Scottish play (sometimes called Macbeth) at the neighboring town of Old York's annual fete. As soon as they arrive, tragedy strikes: the theater owner drops dead onstage while giving Vivian the grand tour. Before they know it, Brandy and Vivian are entangled in a progressively perilous murder plot.

The US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California is responsible for enforcing the federal law of the US for an area that is larger than 14 states and has a population of more than five million people. Here, follow Lizzie Scott as she untangles an excessive-force case against a cop, all while balancing agency turf battles, secret grand jury proceedings, interoffice rivalries, and on-the-make prosecutors.

Bernie's college roommate, Ellen Hadley, is burning the candle at both ends. And after her children forget her birthday and her husband forgets their anniversary, her Mother's Day expectations are understandably modest. When Bernie jokingly suggests Ellen fake her own kidnapping to set her family straight, she never imagines the stunt will find Ellen in a hotel room next to a dead body.

Lucy normally loves planning for the holidays, but this year, Tinker's Cove has fallen on hard times. With so many residents struggling, Christmas festivities are a luxury some can't afford. But the story's not so bleak at Downeast Mortgage, whose tightfisted owners, Jake Marlowe and Ben Scribner, are raking in profits from everyone's misfortune. Half the town is in their debt, so when the miserly Marlowe is murdered, the mourners are few and the suspects are many. Scribner believes Marlowe's ghost has come to warn him of his own demise, and when he starts receiving death threats, Lucy wonders if there's more to the omen....

Lucy Stone has always loved covering the annual Easter egg hunt for the Pennysaver. Hosted by elderly socialite Vivian Van Vorst at Pine Point, it's a swanky event where the eggs are as likely to contain savings bonds as they are jelly beans. But when Lucy arrives, a man dressed as the Easter Bunny emerges, only to drop dead moments later. Lucy discovers the victim is VV's grandson, and soon learns that not all is as it seems at idyllic Pine Point.

As a reporter for the Pennysaver, Lucy is assigned a puff piece on upscale Chanticleer's Chocolates. But when a local fisherman drowns suspiciously, Lucy's certain her investigative skills could be put to better use. Everyone is shocked when Fern's Famous Fudge loses its status as 'Best Candy on the Coast' to Chanticleer's pricey newfangled confections.

Lucy's getting very annoyed that her husband Bill and his friend Evan have been working seemingly nonstop on their potentially prize-winning pumpkin catapult. But when the day of the big contest arrives, Evan is nowhere to be found - until a catapulted pumpkin busts open the trunk of the Dodge. Amid the pumpkin gore is a very deceased Evan. Bill is on the hook for the Halloween homicide, so Lucy knows she's got some serious sleuthing to do.

Tinker's Cove is abuzz with excitement when Norah, the queen of daytime TV, comes to town and selects Lucy and her pals to be featured in her "Women Who Make a Difference" episode. In recognition for their charitable work, the ladies and their husbands are awarded a dream vacation in Paris, complete with classes at Le Cooking School with renowned pastry chef Larry Bruneau. But their bon voyage is cut short when Lucy discovers the chef in a pool of blood on the second day of class.