The Terrific Second Book in the New Horseshoer Mystery Series, Featuring the Incorrigible Female Horse Shoer Rainy Dale A dead blow hammer leaves little to no mark on the surface it strikes. It’s not a shoer’s tool, but horseshoer Rainy Dale knows them and knows there are more questions than answers about how her new client became a widow. The old woman says there was hardly a bruise on her dead husband. Why was he driving his tractor so dangerously near the killer bull? How long did it take him to die after the machine rolled and pinned him? The whole town seems aware of the dead man’s wandering eye. Did the widow know? It all happened just before Rainy came to town, about the time that her fiancé, Guy, volunteered with his buddy to help search for a young woman who went missing from Cowdry, Oregon. Rainy is supposed to be making wedding plans and friends, but she can’t help being drawn into the town’s old intrigues. Once again, Rainy will have to dig deep and use all the tools in her box to both defend herself and the people she's just learning to love.

Dead Blow: A Horseshoer Mystery (Horseshoer Mystery Series)

Literature & Fiction

Preston, Lisa

Genre Fiction

Arcade Crimewise

Gemma: A Novel

Forry, Lauren A.

"Mr. Paul, a veteran rancher as well as an author, writes fine action scenes, and his descriptions of nature and animals can seem just as thrilling." --Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal For readers of Craig Johnson and C. J. Box, a taut, fast-moving contemporary thriller that builds to an explosive, action-filled conclusion. The third book in the acclaimed western thriller series that debuted with Under Tower Peak--named one of the Ten Best Mysteries of the Year by the Wall Street Journal--See That My Grave Is Kept Clean once again features Iraq War sniper and Eastern Sierra packer Tommy Smith. With his new wife, Deputy Sheriff Sarah Cathcart, and their baby daughter, he is building a home and a new life as he opens his own pack outfit in the high country of his youth. When a young girl is reported lost in the canyon above their home, Tommy leads the search, but instead of the missing child, he discovers a corpse that may hold the key to a long-unsolved local bank theft and a fortune in stolen cash. The FBI is called in. Though Tommy tries not to get involved, the promise of easy money has lured unsavory characters from the hard streets of Reno, and speculation about the missing cash is undermining the social fabric of their little town. Facing threats to his family and the way of life he is fighting to preserve, Tommy must call on all his skills to uncover the connection between the missing girl and the long-dead body--a link that will inevitably lead to an explosive showdown deep in the Sierra wilderness.

See That My Grave Is Kept Clean: A Tommy Smith High Country Noir, Book Three (3)

Paul, Bart

United States

A House of Ghosts: A Gripping Murder Mystery Set in a Haunted House

Finalist for the Irish Book Award for Crime Fiction Book of the Year, a Classic Cozy Big-House Mystery Haunted by the Specters of World War One—For Readers of Agatha Christie and Simone St. James Winter 1917. As the First World War enters its most brutal phase, back home in England, everyone is seeking answers to the darkness that has seeped into their lives. At Blackwater Abbey, on an island off the Devon coast, armaments manufacturer Lord Highmount has arranged a spiritualist gathering to contact his two sons, both of whom died at the front. Among the guests, two have been secretly dispatched from the intelligence service: Kate Cartwright, a friend of the family who lost her beloved brother at the Somme and who, in the realm of the spiritual, has her own special gift; and the mysterious Captain Donovan, recently returned from Europe. Top secret plans for weapons developed by Lord Highmount’s company have turned up in Berlin, and there is reason to believe enemy spies will be in attendance. As the guests arrive, it becomes clear that each has something they would rather keep hidden. Then, when a storm descends, they find themselves trapped on the island. Soon one of their number will die. For Blackwater Abbey is haunted in more ways than one . . . . An unrelenting, gripping mystery, packed with twists and turns and a kindling of romance, A House of Ghosts is the perfect cold-weather read.

Ryan, W. C.

From the New York Times bestselling and internationally acclaimed author comes a Hollywood crime drama set in the 1940s and present day that tackles racism, sexism, and murder. Karissa Glover is a movie producer who moves into a decrepit but functional old mansion in the West Adams Heights area of Los Angeles, where black celebrities of yesteryear—Hattie McDaniel, Louise Beavers, and others—once resided. The former owner was a white actress, Blair Kendrick, who often starred as the "bad girl"—a femme fatale—in films noirof the 1940s. However, Blair’s career was cut short when she was tragically killed by the mob after allegedly witnessing the slaying of a corrupt studio head in 1949. As Karissa and her producing partner decide to develop a modern film noir about Blair Kendrick, malevolent forces from the past attempt to stop them—first with intimidation, and then with the thread of murder. Is this because Karissa has learned that Blair was involved in a then-taboo interracial relationship with jazz musician Hank Marley? What really happened on the night that death struck in a dimly lit studio mogul’s office? The consequences of Blair and Hank’s doomed love affair still resonate in the present day as Karissa attempts to unravel Blair’s secrets. Seeping with mystery, intrigue, Hollywood history, and forbidden romance, Blues in the Dark is Raymond Benson at his most insightful and page-turning best.

Blues in the Dark: A Thriller

Benson, Raymond

From the New York Times bestselling author of the continuation James Bond novels comes a new novel of suspense about coming-of-age in the 1960s, and the neighborhood street where first love, a child abduction, and abuse collide.\nSixty-one-year-old Shelby Truman, a romance novelist, has received a request to visit her childhood friend, Eddie, who is on Death Row. Though mentally ill, Eddie is scheduled to be executed for the disturbing, brutal murders of his wife and unborn child.\nAs Shelby travels home to Texas for the unnerving reunion, she steps back into memories of her past, recalling her five-decade-long relationship with Eddie in order to understand what led the beautiful but troubled boy who lived across the street to become a murderer. Shelby and Eddie used to visit an abandoned fallout shelter in his backyard, their "secret hiding place" where they could escape Eddie's abusive father, enjoy innocent playtime, and, later, adolescent explorations. As they grow increasingly close, a tragedy occurs one July fourth, an event that sets in motion a lifelong struggle against an Evil—with a capital "E"—that has corrupted their all-American neighborhood.\nWith only a few days left for Eddie to live, Shelby braces herself for a reunion that promises to shed light on the traumatic events that transpired on her street, changing everything Shelby thought she knew about the boy on Chicory Lane.

The Secrets on Chicory Lane: A Novel

Winner of the 2018 Grandmaster Award in Clive Cussler's Adventure Writers Competition Winner of the 2019 National Indie Excellence Award in the Action/Adventure category Winner of the 2019 IPPY Award for Mystery/Thriller 2019 Oregon Book Awards Finalist For fans of Clive Cussler and Michael Crichton, a thrilling tale of an underground expedition to the deep . . . and the ultimate struggle for survival. Milo Luttrell never expected to step inside the mouth of an ancient cave in rural Tanzania. After all, he's a historian--not an archaeologist. Summoned under the guise of a mysterious life-changing opportunity, Milo suddenly finds himself in the midst of an expedition into the largest underground system in Africa, helmed by a brash billionaire-turned-exploration guru and his elite team of cavers. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to finally solve a century-old disappearance of the famed explorer Lord Riley DeWar, an enigmatic figure who both made--and nearly ruined--Milo's fledgling career. Determined to make the most of his second chance, Milo joins the team and begins a harrowing descent into one of Earth's last secrets: a dangerous, pitch-black realm of twisting passages and ancient fossils nearly two thousand feet underground. But when a storm hits the surface base camp, stranding the cavers and washing away supplies, all communication to the outside world is lost. As the remaining resources dwindle and members of the team begin to exhibit strange and terrifying abilities, Milo must brave the encroaching darkness to unearth the truth behind DeWar's fascination with the deep--and why he never left.

The Maw: A Novel

Zajonc, Taylor

The follow-up to Under Tower Peak is another taut, fast-moving thriller that builds to an explosive, action-filled conclusion.\nUnder Tower Peak was acclaimed by the Wall Street Journal as one of the Ten Best Mysteries of 2013. In this sequel, Tommy Smith, the Iraq War vet and former Eastern Sierra packer, is home from war after re-upping for a tour in Afghanistan. When his old friend Dave Cathcart disappears from his ranch, Tommy answers the call to help find him. What he learns is that his love for Dave's daughter, his old flame Sarah Cathcart, has never died, but the country where he grew up is undergoing change. Stockmen are selling off water rights to the highest bidder, rendering ranches barren and the community bitter, as drugs and a dangerous new element have moved in.\nWhen Sarah confides that her husband, a smooth-talking entrepreneur, has lost her trust and may not be all he seems, Tommy begins to investigate. Soon another disappearance leads to a gruesome discovery, and a brutal sequence of events takes Sarah and Tommy to old haunts in the high country, where once again he will need to call on his sniper's skills to save them both and to rescue her missing father.

Cheatgrass: A Tommy Smith High Country Noir, Book Two

The Accident on the A35: An Inspector Gorski Investigation

A&nbsp;Wall Street Journal&nbsp;Best Mystery!&nbsp; A GUARDIAN BEST CRIME BOOK AND THRILLER! Longlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award The Accident on the A35 returns to the scene of Burnet's accomplished first novel, The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau:&nbsp;the small French town of Saint-Louis. Detective Gorski is called away from his night of solitary drinking to the site of a car accident that left Bertrand Barthelme, a respected solicitor, dead. When the deceased's rather attractive wife suggests that the crash may not have been an accident, Gorski looks closer into Barthelme's circumspect movements on the night of his death. His investigation leads him to various bars, hotels, and brothels in the nearby city of Strasbourg. At the same time, Barthelme's rebellious son, drunk on Jean Paul Sartre novels, is conducting an investigation of his own. Their independent, dual inquiries lead the reader down a twisted road marked by seedy back rooms, bar brawls, a moment of accidental incest, and--as we have come to expect from Burnet--copious amounts of wine. The Accident on the A35 is a darkly humorous, subtle, and sophisticated novel that burrows into the psyches of its characters and explores the dark corners of life in a sleepy town.

Burnet, Graeme MaCrae

Dramas & Plays

The first book in the Horseshoer Mystery series by bestselling novelist Lisa Preston featuring farrier and amateur detective Rainy Dale, for fans of William Kent Kruger and Craig Johnson.\nRainy Dale is The Clincher, a twenty-something high school-dropout turned farrier (horseshoer) who is haunted by a secret she carries. Estranged from her California D-list actress momma and her ranch hand Texas daddy, she tracked down her childhood horse in small-town Oregon—a land full of cowboys and their horses—then stayed to build a life with her tools, steel, and forge. She's sleeping in a garage and trying not to fall for her landlord, the hapless and hopeful chef, Guy, who is determined to create the perfect soufflé while Rainy would prefer to just stuff her mouth with fuel for her physically demanding job.\nAs the new kid in town, Rainy has an uphill battle to prove herself in order to make a living by her trade, especially to her male clients who look down their noses at a female farrier. She finds herself in over her head, however, when one of her clients turns up dead, setting her up as both a suspect and a seeker of the truth. If she plans on setting down roots in her new town, Rainy will have to find the killer and clear her name. But it a country as wild as the mustangs that used to run free, finding the truth just might get her killed.

The Clincher: A Horseshoer Mystery (Horseshoer Mystery Series)

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