A bed & breakfast on the California coast. A 400-year-old shipwreck. Rumors and roomers, and an 11-year-old girl investigating her suspicions. Of course, there has to be a murder in Treasure Most Deadly, Terry Ambrose’s fifth Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery.
The Treasure King, a boat twice the size of anything at the marina and with a captain whose last visit to Seaside Cove was trouble, has once again docked. The trouble starts immediately when Captain Carroll is asked, more like demanded, to move his boat, which also included a follow-up visit from the law to punctuate the idea of following the rules. The captain is also publicizing he has evidence that shows the location of the San Manuel, a ship that in 1568 sunk with treasure worth millions, if not billions, in today’s market. So is it any surprise that the captain is found dead? Arguments. Threats. Competition. Greed. Murder.
The Poisoned Pen Bookstore was founded by Barbara G. Peters in 1989 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The store carries current and classic works of mystery, thrillers, historical and literary fiction, and literature of the American Southwest, much of it offered in Autographed First Editions. For many bookstores, that would be enough, however, Poisoned Pen isn’t just an independent bookstore, it’s also a well-known publisher of mysteries.
Meet Rick Atwood and his precious ten-year-old daughter, Alex. When a woman's body is found on the beach near their Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast, Rick is determined to keep Alex away from the murder due to her curious nature.
The pedigree of Sisters in Crime reads like a Who's Who of mystery writing. The organization owes its roots to women writers known to most mystery fans, including Sara Paretsky, Dorothy Salisbury and Phyllis Whitney. The organization grew from a few outspoken female upstarts to become a force capable of influencing change in the mystery-publishing industry.
Writers, almost by definition, are dreamers. On January 26, one of my dreams came true. Paradise, Passion, Murder: 10 Tales of Mystery from Hawai‘i was published after nearly two years of preparation and work. This anthology has one purpose, to help improve literacy in Hawai’i. Every participant in this project, from Carolyn Hart --who wrote our Foreword, to the authors of the stories about murder and passion in the islands, wanted to make a difference. Our dream is to see a day when more children--and their parents--can read. Hopefully, together.
In May 2013, Amazon announced the opening of Kindle Worlds. One of the initial offerings in Amazon’s first wave of fan-fiction releases included stories from Pretty Little Liars.
In a world filled with social media sites including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and a nearly endless supply of others, one small mailing list has remained popular for more than twenty years. Known as “DorothyL,” the list began after a 1991 meeting between two librarians, Diane Kovacs and Ann Okerson.
As a man of a certain age and retired on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, Wilson McKenna is making a resolution towards living a life far more open to friends and family. Perhaps that's a decision made a bit on the fly, as he has just boarded a plane to the Big Island in order to help his friend Alexander find the niece who has recently gone missing.
I saved my last Bouchercon column for special friends throughout my career. It is always a pleasure to show off their latest!
How does a hoarder and her fortune connect to a corpse in a limestone cavern in Arizona? Joanna Brady has her hands full in What Remains of Innocence—Joanna Brady #16 by the prolific J.A. Jance.
