Poisoned Pen Press

“Clemens will win new readers with this multifaceted crime caper, which makes the most of the 4-H setting”—BooklistTattooed, hard-working, and often crabby dairy farmer and biker Stella Crown is hot—because it's summer and because she has plenty of things to raise her temperature: a nagging sister-in-law, her fiancé Nick's illness, and a bank account in the red. But when a local country star turns up dead at the county fair where Stella's teenage employee Zach is an exhibitor things turn from hot to ugly.Stella had only seen the victim from a distance. But since Stella was the one to dig her out from her deathbed in the calf barn's manure pile, the cops are on her like flies on…well…honey. Why on earth would Stella want to kill a young singer she'd never spoken to?Sick to death of annoying cops and entertainment folks, Stella figures the only way to get her life back is to aim law enforcement in the right direction. If that means having to endure a manicure with her soon-to-be-sister-in-law at the dead singer's favorite salon or stopping by the recording studio to check out the talent Stella figures there could be worse things. Can't a simple farm girl just get married in peace?

How can you make money from a painting that you don't own, can't steal, and couldn't fence even if you succeeded? What if you convince people you already had stolen it? An assortment of shady and brutal players in Collar Robber think that—leaving a corpse or two along the way—they can use that bright idea to gouge fifty million dollars from Jay Davidovich's employer, Transoxana Insurance Company. Davidovich, first met in 2012's Jail Coach, is a Loss Prevention Specialist. Fifty million would be a good loss to prevent.Cynthia Jakubek from But Remember Their Names has jumped from the gilded drudgery of lawyering with a big Wall Street firm to the terrifying adventure of starting her own solo practice in Pittsburgh. One of her clients wants to help Davidovich — for a hefty price — and stay alive in the process. Another wants to get married in the Catholic Church to a fiancée who was briefly wed years before to someone who now has an interest in the painting. An annulment is neededAs Davidovich and Jakubek face brawls on street corners and in court rooms, confrontations in brothels, confessionals, and Yankee Stadium luxury suites, and Tasers, machine guns, and religious vestments used as weapons, they have to remember that “take no prisoners” isn't always a metaphor…

Kate Reilly can't remember a worse time in her life. She wrecks her racecar at Road America in Wisconsin, sending a visiting NASCAR star to the hospital, and loses her cool on-camera, only to end the day by discovering her boyfriend with a friend of hers. A dead friend.With little time to grieve, Kate finds herself the pariah of the racing world, the target of vicious e-mail messages, death threats, and a frenzy of blame on racing sites and blogs. But nothing is as bad as knowing her friend's killer is still out there—and aiming at Kate. Riding a roller coaster of emotion and dodging a pit reporter with a bias against women in racing, Kate redeems herself by delivering stunning performances behind the wheel. Ultimately she learns no one can escape the past—but only a murderer is driven by it.

“As usual, Kaehler combines a credible group of suspects with some detailed racing lore. Even readers who don't care about cars may well be hooked by the feminist angle.” —Kirkus ReviewsAt the end of the first practice session for the iconic Indianapolis 500 race, Kate Reilly is stunned to discover she was the fastest driver on the track. She's even more surprised to learn she wasn't the first woman to top the speed charts in the race's 106-year history. That feat was accomplished in 1987 by PJ Rodriguez—steady, dedicated, immensely promising—who shocked the racing world and the wider one by committing suicide ten days later.When the press, bloggers, and social media go crazy over the connection between PJ and Kate, Kate begins to lose her identity—suddenly everyone's comparing Kate and PJ, calling Kate PJ, and wondering if Kate will kill herself, too. Under siege from various trolls live and digital, Kate feel PJ's story deeply. So she's impelled to listen to PJ's family—which claims PJ did not jump, but was murdered. And she agrees to help them find PJ's killer and restore her reputation…30 years after the fact.PJ's death was a great tragedy; Kate feels it in her bones and believes she is the best person, perhaps the only person, to investigate PJ's story. What evidence is there? She can interview people at the track who were there in 1987. She can consult the press coverage. And she can marshal up help from “Special Team Kate.” They work in an atmosphere of prejudice and chauvinism, the same that surrounded PJ.But Kate is at the Indy to run the biggest race of her career. To prepare she fills her days with driving on the track for practice, fulfilling sponsor obligations, promoting the IndyCar Series and as ever, playing peacemaker between the warring sides of her maternal and paternal families.Before long one suspect in PJ's death turns up dead, all but confirming PJ was killed. So as Kate prepares to run the biggest race of her life she must narrow down the clues to not one but two murders, all while fighting for her own voice and identity through the storm of media attention. Will the past stay buried? Or will history repeat itself and leave Kate dead?Kiss the Bricks is the 5th Kate Reilly mystery and takes its title from the Indy winner's tradition of kissing the track's Yard of Bricks in tribute to its legendary history.Kate Reilly Mysteries:Dead Man's Switch (Book 1)Braking Points (Book 2)Avoidable Contact (Book 3)Red Flags (Book 4)Kiss the Bricks (Book 5)Praise for the Kate Reilly Mysteries:«Read this book—but buckle in first. Believe me, you're in for a bumpy ride.” —WILLIAM KENT KRUEGER, New York Times bestselling author for Braking Points“This series always leaves me wanting more, so I cannot wait to keep reading and see what's next on the horizon for my fellow female racing driver!” —PIPPA MANN, IndyCar driver for Avoidable Contact

David Randall, a private detective short of work, invites his psychic friend Camden into a case. Miss Viola Mitchell, an aging local actress, has recently been reported missing. The Parkland PD's Jordan Finley objects to the pair inspecting Viola's home, claiming the police don't need their help. Moments later, despite the array of birds and cats perfuming the residence, Cam advises Finley, “check the basement.”Viola is neatly planted there in a square of dirt. Who would kill her? Why? Are others targeted? Is a local performer twisted by jealousy? Could a role in a Parkland Little Theatre production have caused her death? Cam goes undercover at the theater while rejecting demands from his fiancée that they marry this month. His psychic gifts have expanded to levitate objects. He fears for their children. She wants to put him on television.Meanwhile, a new Grace Street client, owner of popular BeautiQueen Cosmetics, is searching for her arrogant, absconding partner. Randall tracks him to Clearwater, Florida, and soon finds himself chasing shoplifters stealing pharmaceuticals and helping a jazz musician woo his woman while failing to woo his own love, Kary. Will Randall and Cam piece all this together?

Layers of deadly intrigue bind generations of families in historian Lottie Albright's Western Kansas community. When false accusations threaten senatorial candidate Brian Hadley's political career, secrets whispered to Lottie as editor of the county history books spur a personal search for his aunt's murderer.Ignoring warnings from her twin, clinical psychologist Josie Albright, Lottie dons a badge to gain access to information. She delves into a horrifying cold case to prove her merits as a deputy and impresses Sheriff Sam Abbot with her ability to combine historical research methods and police procedure. Soon Josie and her sister add their helpful expertise in untangling the web of families bound by a lethal legacy of prideful secrets.

“Ramsay skillfully weaves historical fact into his story, all the while blending brisk action with excellent characterization.” —Publishers WeeklyElderly Jonathan Lydell III is proud of his lineage. He is related to the Virginia Lees and to the Custis family. For Lydell, family, status, and history are the only realities—that and his antebellum house.Lydell's house has a very colorful history, and Lydell is committed to restoring it to its pre-Civil War configuration, complete with a “stranger room.” In the 1800s, many family homes sported these attached rooms with separate entrances and locks that were kept ready for unknown travelers. The intent was to protect the family from unsavory guests.Nearly 150 years ago, an inexplicable murder took place inside the Lydell's locked stranger room. The murderer was never caught. Lydell thinks this brutal history adds to the house's rich character. But when an identical murder is committed in the newly restored stranger room, even Sheriff Ike Schwartz and FBI agent Karl Hedrick can't explain it….

In the spring of 1812, the Luddites are on the march, Lord Byron is taking London drawing rooms by storm, and Penelope Wolfe, estranged wife of feckless artist Jeremy, is making her living as a lady's companion. When one of the household's footmen turns up in the garden with a knife in his heart, Penelope and Bow Street Runner John Chase become entangled in a web of family secrets and political conspiracy.With the help of barrister Edward Buckler, Chase follows the trail of a mysterious mad woman caught peeping in the window at the corpse. Penelope, meanwhile, struggles to fit into the fashionable world, encountering people who hide resentment and deceit under smooth smiles.Set against a backdrop of millennial fervor with thousands awaiting the end of the world, Blood for Blood explores the simple truth that every drop of blood spilled will, in time, be avenged.

Night Kill is a mystery set in fictional Finley Memorial Zoo in Vancouver, Washington, seen from an insider perspective on the challenging and dangerous world of zoo keeping. Iris Oakley, a young zookeeper, hopes to reconcile with her husband after he promises to quit drinking. But he's soon found dead drunk and just plain dead in the lion exhibit. A paralyzing mix of grief and anger at his betrayal keep Iris from questioning the assumptions around his death.Her co-workers are soon convinced that she is unhinged by losing Rick, but friends inadvertently motivate Iris to prove that her husband could not have died the way it appears. These same friends impede her progress as she follows ambiguous clues and sorts through unlikely motives.Meantime, Iris must adjust to losing her beloved job as feline keeper and instead learn to be a bird keeper. The veterinarian respects her skills, but the foreman, her boss, would far rather she get a job elsewhere, and the senior bird keeper seems to agree. After Iris survives a series of near-fatal “accidents,” the behavior of a lioness and the death of a penguin at last make clear what happened the night Rick died and who fed him to the lions. Then Iris has to survive to prove it.

“With an ear for intelligent, breezy dialogue and clever plotting, Kahn spins an engrossing yarn.” —Publishers WeeklyWhen Graham Anderson Marshall III of the prestigious corporate law firm Abbott & Windsor dies, even stranger than his bizarre death is the codicil to his will, which provides a large trust fund for the maintenance of a grave at a pet cemetery. The issue? No one in his family has ever owned a pet—much less one named Canaan. And since Abbott & Windsor is named as the sole beneficiary if the trust is deemed invalid, there is a conflict of interest.They turn to Rachel Gold, the savvy young attorney who left the firm to open her own law office. But before she has a chance to find out what is inside Canaan's coffin at Wagging Tail Estates, the grave is robbed. Teaming up with her best buddy, the brilliant Benny Goldberg, Rachel sets out in search of the stolen contents, following an ominous trail of clues which leads into the heart of a secret legacy of three centuries of blackmail, sexual depravity, and murder. While tracking whatever had been in Canaan's grave, it's soon apparent to Rachel that someone has plans for hers…

Missing treasure, murder, possible treason…Emperor Justinian's former Lord Chamberlain, John, gets a letter from his longtime comrade, Felix, and, placing loyalty to a friend above his own safety, risks defying imperial edict by leaving his exile in Greece for Rome where Felix is in some kind of trouble.For years a Captain of the Excubitors at the court in Constantinople, Felix has achieved his ambition to become a General when Justinian sends him to serve under General Diogenes in fighting for Rome against the besieging Goths.John's covert entrance into Rome is ambushed, driving him deep into ancient catacombs before he exits into the heart of the city. Arrested and brought before Diogenes, John learns that Felix is missing. It has been two days since he went to call upon Archdeacon Leon, a troublesome man at the heart of Felix's dispatch to the city.When sent to lodge at Felix's quarters, John finds the household in disarray, evidence that Felix has taken a questionable lover and run up his usual debts, and someone is rifling supplies. Then a young woman servant, also missing, is found dead. John has many mysteries to solve before Diogenes' courier to Justinian can return and prompt John's immediate execution.

Chicago private eye Cat DeLuca, founder of the Pants on Fire Detective Agency, catches liars and cheats—and, from time to time, killers.Cat's brief marriage to runaround Johnnie Rizzo was a bust. But it gave her the mad skills she needed for her agency. She doesn't investigate for insurance companies and she won't find your long lost Uncle Harry. But if you're in Chicagoland and you suspect your partner is stepping out, give her a call.Cat comes from a long line, and big family, of Chicago cops, stretching back to the day when her greatgrandfather gave Al Capone protection and a truck to move bootleg whiskey. Most DeLuca men are straight-up guys. Some are flexible, like Ferrari-driving Uncle Joey. But Cat's Poppa stands above the rest, a man of integrity who one day took a bullet when on duty and became a hero. So why, after someone kidnaps Captain Bob's dog and claims to have evidence of cop corruption, do Captain Bob and Poppa not only deny the accusation, but order Cat to leave it alone?Long ago when they were partners, the two cops responded to a hit-and-run that claimed the life of one of Bridgeport's most beloved citizens. Daniel Baumgarten, owner and proprietor of Baumgarten's Jewelry was killed in the street outside his shop. The unsolved death was relegated to a dusty cold case file where it was almost forgotten. Until now.Meanwhile Cat's romance with FBI Agent Chance Savino still gives her goose bumps. Her Mama's latest scheme to marry her off involves a romantic cruise, insane amounts of champagne, and a hijacked priest to tie the knot. But saving Poppa and Captain Bob comes first.There Was a Crooked Man is another funfilled, surprising page-turner. It's a story of greed and betrayal. And the utterly astonishing things we do to save the ones we love.

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder“Edwards's second winter-themed anthology in the British Library Crime Classics series is a standout. As in the most successful of such volumes, the editor's expertise results in a selection of unusual suspects, expanding readers' knowledge.” —Publishers Weekly STARRED reviewCrimson Snow brings together a dozen vintage crime stories set in winter. Welcome to a world of Father Christmases behaving oddly, a famous fictional detective in a Yuletide drama, mysterious tracks in the snow, and some very unpleasant carol singers. There's no denying that the supposed season of goodwill is a time of year that lends itself to detective fiction.On a cold night, it's tempting to curl up by the fireside with a good mystery. And more than that, claustrophobic house parties, with people cooped up with long-estranged relatives, can provide plenty of motives for murder.Including forgotten stories by major writers such as Margery Allingham, as well as classic tales by less familiar crime novelists, each story in this selection is introduced by the leading expert on classic crime, Martin Edwards. The resulting volume is an entertaining and atmospheric compendium of wintry delights.

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder“Despite its title, this British Library Crime Classics reissue of a 1936 novel isn't just an entertaining Christmas read. It's a fine example of the old-time country-house murder mystery, with loads of suspects, lots of period atmosphere, and much caustic wit.” —BooklistAunt Mildred declared that no good could come of the Melbury family Christmas gatherings at their country residence Flaxmere. So when Sir Osmond Melbury, the family patriarch, is discovered—by a guest dressed as Santa Klaus—with a bullet in his head on Christmas Day, the festivities are plunged into chaos. Nearly every member of the party stands to reap some sort of benefit from Sir Osmond's death, but Santa Klaus, the one person who seems to have every opportunity to fire the shot, has no apparent motive. Various members of the family have their private suspicions about the identity of the murderer, and the Chief Constable of Haulmshire, who begins his investigations by saying that he knows the family too well and that is his difficulty, wishes before long that he understood them better. In the midst of mistrust, suspicion and hatred, it emerges that there was not one Santa Klaus, but two.

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, now streaming on Netflix, starring Essie Davis as the honourable Phryne Fisher“As usual, Greenwood populates the novel with an assortment of offbeat characters…and Phryne has plenty of opportunities to unleash her acid tongue and apply her razor-sharp wit.” —BooklistThe Hon. Phryne Fisher, languid and slightly bored at the start of 1929, has been engaged to find out if the antique-shop-owning son of a Pre-Raphaelite model has died by homicide or suicide. He had some strange friends—a Balkan adventuress, a dilettante with a penchant for antiquities, a Classics professor, a medium, and a mysterious supplier who arrives after dark on a motorbike. Simultaneously, she is asked to discover the fate of the lost illegitimate child of a rich old lady, to the evident dislike of the remaining relatives.With the help of her sister Beth, the cab drivers Bert and Cec, and even her two adoptive daughters, Phryne follows eerie leads that bring her face-to-face with the conquest of Jerusalem by General Allenby and the Australian Light Horse, kif smokers, spirit guides, pirate treasure maps, and ghosts.

Rick Montoya, an American translator travelling through Italy, tries to spend his days reveling in art but soon finds himself wrapped up in a scandalWrapping up an interpreter job in Bassano del Grappa at a conference on artist Jacopo da Bassano, Rick Montoya looks forward to exploring the town. And it would be fun to look into the history of two long-missing paintings by the master, a topic that caused the only dust-up among the normally staid group of international scholars attending the seminar.Bassano has much to offer to Rick the tourist, starting with its famous covered bridge, an ancient castle, and several picturesque walled towns within striking distance. He also plans to savor a local cuisine that combines the best of Venice with dishes from the Po Valley and the surrounding mountains.These plans come to a sudden halt when one of the seminar's professors turns up dead. Rick is once again drawn into a murder mystery, this time with a pair of local cops who personify the best and the worst of the Italian police force.At the same time he's willingly pulled into a relationship with Betta Innocenti, the daughter of a local gallery owner, who is equally intrigued by the lost paintings. They quickly realize that the very people who might know the story are also the main suspects in the murder—and that someone not above resorting to violence is watching their every move.In David P. Wagner's signature style, Murder Most Unfortunate offers a thrilling investigation while allowing you to enjoy the food, drink, and culture of Italy without traveling yourself.Other books in the Rick Montoya Italian Mysteries:Cold Tuscan StoneDeath in the DolomitesMurder Most UnfortunateReturn to UmbriaA Funeral in Mantova

2018 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award nominee“With its strong sense of place, depiction of racial tension that still lingers in the new South, and appealing sleuths, de Castrique's well-plotted mystery is a winner.” —Library JournalWhen Asheville, NC, private eyes Sam Blackman and Nakayla Robertson are asked by an eighty-year-old client to investigate the suspicious death of her brother, they warn her there is little chance of success. Paul Weaver died nearly seventy years earlier. The only documentation she has is the sole surviving copy of a coroner's report stating his death was caused by an accidental fall while hiking.There's a red flag: local son Weaver knew every inch of the mountain trails. The returning World War II veteran had enrolled at Black Mountain College, a liberal local school with an international reputation for innovation, thanks to its stellar faculty and advisers like Buckminster Fuller and Albert Einstein. The college of the 1940s is currently being portrayed in a film being shot on the site of its former location. The plot is based on a book by a local author. The research behind both may provide a lead in the Weaver case.One is drawn from movie crew member Harlan Beale, an octogenarian mountaineer who knew Weaver. In a late-night voice message, Beale tells Sam he's found something to show him. Then Beale is discovered dead in the Black Mountain College Museum. His murder turns the cold case white hot. When a second killing follows, the question becomes how to separate dark doings in the present from dark days and hidden scars of the post-war past. In typical de Castrique fashion, the answers aren't what you expect.No-nonsense Nakayla and veteran Sam with his prosthetic leg love their investigations which always carry a thread from the past, and love each other. An interracial couple in the South, even the new South around Asheville, they've surrounded themselves with a terrific support team including an unorthodox lawyer and a veteran cop, and use humor both to bind them all together and to deflect insults. Plus, it helps deal with the tragedies their work uncovers.

Life in the clergy is quiet, respectful, peaceful, or so Callie Anson believes when she begins her new job as curate to the Reverend Brian Stanford at All Saints' Church in Paddington. Little does she realize how wrong she could be.After the traumatic end of her relationship with fiancé Adam, the last thing Callie needs is more emotional turmoil. But it seems she is not destined for a quiet life just yet. Knowing that women in the clergy are still disapproved of in certain quarters, Callie is prepared to face some criticism. But the deep-seated hatred shown by some of her respected male colleagues takes her by surprise, particularly the spiteful attack made by Father Jonah Adimola, a hard-line conservative Nigerian priest. Luckily, her good friend and mentor Frances Cherry is on hand to jump to her defense. But when Father Adimola is found strangled to death the next day and Frances is suspected of the crime, Callie must call upon her faith to steer her through the troubling and violent times and help prove her friend's innocence. With DI Neville Stewart heading the investigation, it's not long before the ecclesiastical facade is chipped away to reveal the ugly truth of hidden secrets.Evil Intent is a gripping crime novel that pitches the reader into a dark world of concealment, power and deception in the 21st century church.

Winner of the Best Mysteries of 2009 of Library Journal.While running surveillance in an industrial section of Scottsdale, P.I. Lena Jones discovers the body of a woman connected to Second Zion, an infamous polygamy cult based in northern Arizona. With the help of a former “sister wife,” Lena discovers a shocking secret: in a society where one man can have ten wives, nine men will have none. Second Zion makes certain these possible rivals don't stick around by turning these teens into Arizona's “lost boys.”While searching for the dead woman's lost son, Lena is surprised by a visit from Madeline, the beloved foster mother from whom she'd been forcibly parted at the age of nine. Madeline's presence renews Lena's memories of her own damaged childhood and brings new clues to the identity of her biological parents, who seemingly abandoned her when she was four years old.But their joyful reunion is interrupted when Lena learns that her close friend, television star Angel Grey, is being stalked by an increasingly violent mental patient. When Lena flies to Angel's aid, she finds that danger has followed her to Hollywood.Arizona polygamy and its discarded sons, the deceptively insulated world of Beverly Hills, and Lena's lost past converge in a case fraught with danger.

After solving her first big murder case in the small town of Celosia, North Carolina, Madeline Maclin hopes at last to be taken seriously as a private investigator. She's opened an office in the home of her best friend Jerry Fairweather, a man haunted by his past who enjoys running harmless scams. Jerry doesn't feel worthy of anyone's love—bad news for Madeline—although she thinks Jerry's sister Harriet knows more about the accident that killed their parents than she'll say.Madeline is hired to find Kirby Willet, an eccentric inventor who left boxes of his belongings, including one filled with money, at Frannie Thomas' house. Meanwhile Voltage Films director, Josh Gaskins, is in town and thinks Jerry's old house will be perfect for his horror film, “Curse of the Mantis Man,” about Celosia's mythical beast. Is this monster actually real?Celosia is also hopping with the Pageantoids, rabid fans from Madeline's days as a beauty queen, who have come to Celosia to produce more pageants. And then there's Rick Rialto, one of Jerry's shady con artist friends. When Gaskins is murdered, Madeline uncovers several suspects and is forced to make—and investigate—some hard bargains. At least one of which is with Jerry.