When an orphan boy witnesses a woman's kidnapping just days before Christmas, he is determined to save her, but the woman doesn't want to be rescued and is taking steps to bring her captors to justice for crimes far worse than kidnapping.

"In Laura Childs's New York Times bestselling mystery series, Suzanne, Petra, and Toni--co-owners of the Cackleberry Club Café are equally good at serving up breakfast and serving up justice. This time they turn up the heat on a deadly firebug... As Suzanne is getting her hair colored at Root 66, she's stunned to witness the County Services office next door suddenly go up in flames. Concerned neighbors throng the streets, and the fire department...

It's been a busy year for Alameda County Coroner's Deputy Clay Edison. He's solved a decades-old crime and redeemed an innocent man--earning himself a suspension in the process. Things are getting serious with his girlfriend. And his brother's fresh out of prison, bringing with him a great big basket of crazy. Then the call comes in the middle of the night. It's a bad one. A party in West Oakland. An argument with the neighbors. A crowd in the street....

When a would-be heiress uncovers a murdered body, rather than her hidden inheritance, in a Highland peat bog, DCI Pirie unravels a case where nothing is what it seems.

Accountant Anthony Costello has a talent for manipulating both numbers and people, turning losses into profits, enemies into allies -- and vice versa. When Costello is found murdered in his own home, three suspects had motive. All three had access to his home. And all three women are missing. Are they in the wind -- or in the grave? Eyes are on Detective Sean Walsh, whose personal connection to the case is stronger than leads to solve it. Neither...

"Even if she has to stick to a budget, Stella Reid always makes holidays like Halloween memorable for twelve-year-old Savannah and the rest of her grandchildren. After joining trick-or-treating and the annual parade down Main Street, Granny Reid and the kids head to Judge Patterson's antebellum mansion, where a corn maze awaits. Most of the youngsters are too terrified to make it all the way to the middle. It's lucky for them, because when Savannah...

Theodosia Browning caters a trunk show at a jewelry store that is crashed by masked thieves who steal the jewels on display and leave a dead body in their wake, prompting Theo to investigate suspicions contrary to those of the FBI.

"An invitation from an old friend draws Jack Morgan into a deadly conspiracy. On a cold January morning, Jack Morgan stands inside the New York Stock Exchange with his former US Marine comrade whose company is being launched onto the market, eagerly awaiting the opening bell. But before the bell rings, a bullet rips through the air and finds its mark. In the aftermath of the murder, the victim's wife hires Jack to find the killer. As the head of Private,...

A small town's dark secrets turn deadly ... When an early morning call brings Deputy Ben Packard to the scene of a home invasion, he finds Bill Sandersen shot in his bed. Bill was a well-liked local who chased easy money his whole life, leaving bad debts and broken hearts in his wake. Everyone Packard talks to has a story about Bill, but no one has a clear motive for wanting him dead. The business partner. The ex-wife. The current wife. The high-stakes...

The doors of the Inn at Gloucester are always open to anyone running from trouble or hiding from life. Its owner, former Boston police detective Bill Robinson, welcomes them with no questions asked. Until two strangers arrive for a temporary stay and a longtime resident starts looking over his shoulders. There's another newcomer in town who puts the Inn under surveillance. When the surveillance turns into a series of attacks. Robinson launches an...