New Releases For The Week Of August 29th, 2021–Part 1

Jim Bean comes face to face with his greatest adversary so far—a con woman who is as clever as she is dangerous.

Stella DeSoto has had it with Vegas and her life. She’s experienced the worst of people, and now a sailboat in the Florida Keys is calling Stella’s name. All she needs is the cash to buy it.

And she’s got an idea.

It’s reckless, risky, and downright illegal.

But big risks can mean big rewards… if you don’t get caught.

Then Stella’s mother recognizes her on the news, disguised and on a crime spree. Worried sick, she hires Private Investigator Jim Bean to track her daughter down.

Only after he agrees to help does Jim realize just how cunning Stella is—and how desperate. And a seasoned PI like Jim has enough experience to know that’s a very dangerous combination.

As Stella manages to stay one step ahead of him at every turn, Jim wonders if he’ll ever be able to track her down—and how many more people will get hurt if he can’t.

J.D. Allen’s Flat Black Ford is a fast-paced story of anger, escape, and revenge that will leave you questioning the meaning of right and wrong, and the gray area in between.

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What readers are saying about J.D. Allen and the Sin City Investigations series:

“…extremely vivid noir characters…” —Chris Bauer, author of Hiding Among the Dead and Zero Island

“Secrets abound, and Allen doesn’t shy away from twists…” —LynDee Walker, Amazon Charts bestselling author of Fear No Truth

“Settle in, take a deep breath, and keep those pages turning…” —Tami Hoag, #1 New York Times Best Selling Author

“…characters who will bring you along with them on a great thrill ride!” —Heather Graham, New York Times Best Selling Author

“Overall, a must read for thriller fans and perhaps the best PI story we have read this year so far.” ―Mystery Tribune

“That wonderful and rare combination of high-speed suspense and complex, richly drawn characters will keep you on the edge of your seat.” —Jeffery Deaver, New York Times bestselling author

“…one foot in the classic PI tradition and the other in the new age…a smart, fast-paced book that will keep the reader on edge from start to finish.” ―Reed Farrel Coleman, New York Times bestselling author of What You Break (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback

It’s Halloween season in small town San Borromeo, and partners Abigail and Hyperion are determined to make their Tea & Tarot room spooktacular. But when Hyperion’s boyfriend, Detective Tony Chase, is arrested at Beanblossom’s for murder, the duo is certain someone’s playing a nasty trick. And when the official investigation turns into a witch hunt, the stakes to unearth the truth are raised…

But a clever killer has plans to squash their investigation… and the two amateur detectives. If they don’t solve this puzzle—and fast—it will be out of the cauldron and into the fire for them both.

Never Say Chai is a fast-paced and funny cozy mystery, packed with quirky characters, pets, and murder. Buy the book and start this hilarious caper today!

Tearoom recipes in the back of the book! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Principal Ana Callahan knows a thing or two about turning around troubled schools, but she can’t fix the grief constricting her own heart. Now she must do both… while solving a murder.

Ana Callahan’s life fell apart, so she went out to save the world, one failing school at a time. Fifteen years later she’s back home in Florida, working her magic on the floundering elementary school of her childhood. 

But Moccasin Cove is not the sunny, middle-class beach town she left behind. With one eye on her school rescue plan and the other on her exit plan, Ana gets to work and chalks up a few small victories. 

Her confidence falters when a school contractor is killed, and a friend is implicated in the murder. An ambitious journalist tries to link Ana’s tragic past to the crime, and a powerful charter school corporation seizes on the political chaos by threatening a takeover of Ana’s school. 

Adding “investigate murder” to her lengthy to-do list, Ana finds herself paired with the school district’s handsome new security chief. The disturbing secrets they uncover about her friend and the killer’s twisted motives, force Ana to admit she has a lot to learn about murder. 

If you like your mysteries with a cozy edge, a hint of Southern snark, and always a happy ending, this series is for you. Multi-Award nominated debut series.

“…Savvy readers will enjoy watching the threads come together in this satisfying start to a new series.” — Elizabeth Sims, author of the Rita Farmer Mysteries and the Lillian Byrd Crime Series, Contributing Editor at Writer’s Digest magazine. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Small town traditions are celebrated throughout Maine during the holiday season. But when it comes to Halloween, some people are more than willing to reap a harvest of murder . . .

HALLOWEEN PARTY MURDER by LESLIE MEIER
Tinker’s Cove newest residents Ty and Heather Moon turn their Victorian home into a haunted house to raise funds for charity. But the Halloween fun turns to horrific fright when Heather overdoses on tainted drugs—and Ty finds himself accused of murder. Digging deep into the story, journalist Lucy Stone uncovers some sinister secrets in the Moons’ past linked to a conspiracy in her hometown . . .

DEATH OF A HALLOWEEN PARTY MONSTER by LEE HOLLIS
Everyone attending Island Times Food and Cocktail columnist Hayley Powell’s Halloween bash is dressed as their favorite movie monster from the Bride of Frankenstein and Jaws to Chucky and Pennywise the clown. But when partygoers stumble upon Boris Candy’s bludgeoned costumed corpse, it falls to Hayley to discover who among her guests wanted to stop the man from clowning around permanently . . .

SCARED OFF by BARBARA ROSS
Three teenage girls having a sleepover on Halloween night get spooked when high schoolers crash the house for a party. But no one expected to find a crasher like Mrs. Zelisko, the elderly third floor tenant, dead in the backyard—dressed in a sheet like a ghost. With her niece traumatized, Julia Snowden must uncover who among the uninvited guests was responsible for devising such a murderous trick . . .(Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover

A tragic death, an old-time safecracker, and his young protege. By the time Gene Jacks gets called into a murder investigation by the Houston P.D., it’s anyone’s guess who’s conning whom.

When police summon Jacks to the scene of a crime one steamy summer night, he knows the drill: he’ll be asked to crack a safe left behind by a drug dealer, Mob embezzler, or worse.

He doesn’t expect to waltz into a murder investigation. Especially when police target his young protege as one of their chief suspects.

Can Gene protect the girl, who’s become like a daughter to him, while there’s still time? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

As East Hampton’s go-to life coach, Cat Cooper and her BFF, Gilley, delve into the exclusive personal lives of the rich and infamous. But with local gossip growing vicious, knowing too much information can be a death sentence . . .

Wild rumors are swirling in the Hamptons over “Twelve Angry Men,” a ruthlessly revealing one-woman show written and performed by Yelena Galanis. The well-known socialite dated her way through some of the East End’s most eligible bachelors, and now she’s sparing few details while spilling their humiliating secrets to scandalized crowds. It’s a mean-spirited spectacle that urges Cat to make a beeline for the theater exit during the first act—only to later discover that Yelena was found stabbed to death during intermission that same evening . . .
 
Adding to the disturbing news, Cat realizes she may have had a close encounter with the murderer. But when the one lead gives way to another violent death, her newest client—romantically linked to Yelena—gets tagged as the prime suspect. Believing eleven other barely-anonymous men had reasons to kill the thespian for playing a cruel game of kiss and tell, Cat teams up with her sidekick, Gilley, to track down Yelena’s list of rejected lovers and identify the vengeful culprit stalking around the seaside community, lingering frighteningly close to home . . . (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle Hardcover, Audiobook

A dead woman’s cherished trinkets become pieces to a terrifying puzzle.

Mickie Lambert creates “digital scrapbooks” for clients, ensuring that precious souvenirs aren’t forgotten or lost. When her latest client, Nadia Denham, a curio shop owner, dies from an apparent suicide, Mickie honors the old woman’s last wish and begins curating her peculiar objets d’art. A music box, a hair clip, a key chain—twelve mementos in all that must have meant so much to Nadia, who collected them on her flea market scavenges across the country.

But these tokens mean a lot to someone else, too. Mickie has been receiving threatening messages to leave Nadia’s past alone.

It’s becoming a mystery Mickie is driven to solve. Who once owned these odd treasures? How did Nadia really come to possess them? Discovering the truth means crossing paths with a long-dormant serial killer and navigating the secrets of a sinister past. One that might, Mickie fears, be inescapably entwined with her own. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook