Earlier this month Open Road reissued all the mysteries and short stories in the Crossword series by Nero Blanc. Originally published by Berkley between 1999 and 2006, readers help solve the crimes — and the puzzles — in this cozy mystery series. Wordplay's the thing as crossword editor Belle Graham and cop-turned-PI Rosco Polycrates team up to fill in the blanks of cases that baffle the local police.
But as Belle and Rosco discover, nothing is black and white — whether they're racing to unravel a cryptic crossword that could save someone lost at sea; ferreting out the clues to the identity of a killer in an acrostic from Belize; in Philly to help the Feds solve a mobster's last puzzle and testament; or on a crossword treasure hunt in Las Vegas. And when violence rocks their peaceful New England town, not even their canine bodyguards, Kit and Gabby, may be able to keep them off the grid of a killer determined to bury them six feet down — and three across.
Use the link above or click on the graphic below to see all 12 books in the series, which includes two short-story collections (of five tales each).
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Crossword Mysteries by Nero Blanc, Now Available as eBooks from Open Road
Thoreau on Wolf Hill by B. B. Oak, New on the Mystery Bookshelf during October 2014
New on the Mystery Bookshelf during October 2014 …
To see more new paperback titles scheduled to be published this month, visit The Mystery Bookshelf for October 2014. For new hardcover mysteries, visit New Mysteries where for a list of October 2014 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers is provided.
More about our featured title, below …
Far from the tranquility of Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau confronts the chilling reality of an epidemic … as well as cold-blooded murder …
The winter of 1847 has brought a consumption epidemic which is devastating the village of Plumford, Massachusetts. In an atmosphere of increasing hysteria and superstition, country doctor Adam Walker and philosopher Henry David Thoreau seem the only voices of reason.
The winter also brings two visitors to Plumford. Solomon Wiley hails from Rhode Island and offers his services as a vampyre hunter, insisting that the scourge is supernatural in origin. At the same time, Adam's cousin Julia has returned home from France, mysteriously without her new husband.
When a former student of Thoreau's is found mutilated and drained of blood in the woods, Wiley insists that a legendary Indian vampyre has arisen. Dismissing the blustering fearmonger, Thoreau and Adam follow clues to the backstage world of a Boston theater, the smoky decadence of an opium den, and an Indian burial ground. Both men will need to keep their wits about them — or risk ending up in coffins of their own …
— Thoreau on Wolf Hill by B. B. Oak
Plum Deadly, A Maggie Grady, Pie in the Sky Mystery by Ellie Grant, Now Available at a Special Price
Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to present the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Gallery Books …
Plum Deadly by Ellie Grant
A Maggie Grady, Pie in the Sky Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: Gallery Books
Price: $3.99 (as of 10/28/2014 at 1:00 PM ET).
Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.
Who could resist such pies? Who would even want to resist the pie shop that makes them? Certainly not the residents of Durham, North Carolina, and the little bakery and café called Pie in the Sky is one of the most popular meet-up places in town.
Unjustly accused of cooking the books, Maggie Grady is forced to retreat from her high-flying New York financial career to the town where she grew up. Her aunt Clara greets her with open arms and a job at the family-owned business that has baked the best pies in the South for over forty years. Unfortunately, while Maggie is determined to return to banking, her reputation there seems permanently in the pits. That is, until her old boss, Lou, visits with news that he's found the real crook. Before he can reveal the details, though, Maggie finds his body right behind the pie shop.
With only her own word that Lou planned to exonerate her, Maggie is in the spotlight. The police seem to suspect that Aunt Clara's damson pie may not be just dangerously delectable, but downright deadly. Maggie doesn't just have her own name to clear; she has to make sure that her aunt's beloved business isn't harmed, either. Yummy local reporter Ryan Summerour appears eager to help, and Maggie can't help hoping that it's not just the police who find her a person of interest — but Ryan, as well. She'd thought it challenging to make the perfect pie crust that Aunt Clara demands, but that turns out to be nothing compared with finding a murderer …
— Plum Deadly by Ellie Grant
New This Week: Star of the East, A Lady Emily Christmas Story by Tasha Alexander
Tasha Alexander, author of the Lady Emily mysteries, has written a holiday story that will enchant readers and keep them guesing until the very last page.
Star of the East by Tasha Alexander
A Lady Emily Christmas Story
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Price: $1.99 (as of 10/28/2014 at 12:30 PM ET).
Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.
Emily and Colin Hargreaves make it a rule to spend as little time as possible with her parents in Kent, but are unable to refuse Lady Catherine Bromley's invitation to join them for a pre-Christmas party that includes the family of Ala Kapur Singh, a powerful Punjabi maharaja who has come to England after receiving the Order of the Star of India.
Lady Bromley, quite taken with the exotic beauty and spectacular jewels of the maharani and her daughter, Sunita, throws herself with abandon into her own version of Indian culture, planning a feast she is certain will be more spectacular than any seen on the sub-continent. When a priceless diamond maang tika and a simple gold bangle disappear from Sunita's room, a diplomatic incident seems imminent, particularly after the maang tika turns up in Emily's possession.
Emily may have what appears to be the more valuable of the two pieces, but the maang tika cannot be worn without the bangle, upon which is engraved the words necessary to ward off a curse placed on the set five hundred years ago by a princess forced to forsake the man she loved. Sunita must wear the maang tika at her wedding but cannot do so without the bangle. Can Emily convince the maharaja that she is not a thief? And, more important, can she and Colin find the bangle?
— Star of the East by Tasha Alexander
An Excerpt from Detective Lessons, a Crime Novel by Bill Larkin
Detective Lessons
by Bill Larkin
We are delighted to welcome author Bill Larkin to Omnimystery News.
Bill is the author of several short stories and a novella, with his first full-length crime novel, Detective Lessons, being published last month by Spyglass Press.
We are pleased to introduce you to his new book today with an excerpt.
— ♦ —
I GRABBED THE DOOR KEY FROM THE envelope, but before I stuck it in the lock, I knocked. No answer. As I reached to insert the key, the door swung open.
The girl who filled the doorway was striking. My bet was she'd left behind a debris field of men, whoever she was. I guessed her age as early forties but it was always a little hard to tell in Newport Beach. Her long hair was the color of honey and her lips were glossy and just about perfect. She was dressed in jeans and a yellow blouse, and big hoop earrings dangled brightly. I couldn't decide if she was more professional looking or playful looking. She held a cell phone in her hand and gave me an intent stare through pretty green eyes.
I said, "I'm looking for Jimmy Whelan. Is he here?"
"You're Schmitty? Megan McCann. Pleased to meet you," she said in a velvety voice.
She shook my hand then turned and left the door open as she walked inside with a purpose. She was making call on her cell and ignoring me as she poked around the kitchen drawers. Faint perfume lingered in the air and I liked the scent. She was too old be to Jimmy's girlfriend.
She raised the phone to her ear and said, "We're on it."
She ended the call and gave me a look that seemed to say, what are you doing here? I was about to ask her who she was when my cell vibrated.
"Schmitty?"
I recognized Mac Whelan's voice. "Mr. Whelan. I'm at Jimmy's."
"I know. You just met Megan McCann, also known as M Squared. She's going to work with you."
"Doing what?"
"She's a private investigator I know. Extremely good at what she does. You're a cop who knows Jimmy. I have no doubt you'll find him working together."
So life had been mocking me for a while, and now I was wondering if Mac Whelan was too.
"Private investigator? You told me you didn't have anybody else to help."
"Be a team player, Schmitty. And I get to pick the team. Keep me posted." He disconnected.
I stared at the phone a moment then slid it into my pocket and smiled at her. "M Squared? That's cute."
"Not as cute as a Harbor Patrol cop tagging along with me. Triple A on the water with a gun. Are you going to be useful or just full of bullshit?"
I spread my hands. "Resourceful is my middle name."
She smiled. "So mostly bullshit. Don't stand around. Let's turn this place and find something. It would brighten my life considerably."
— ♦ —
Photo provided courtesy of
Bill Larkin
Bill Larkin previously served as a Reserve Deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, then the Los Angeles Police Department where he last worked in a detective assignment. Bill is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. He lives in Orange County, California.
For more information about the author, please visit his website at Bill-Larkin.com.
— ♦ —
Detective Lessons
Bill Larkin
A Crime Novel
When a wealthy real estate developer convinces Orange County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Schmidt to search for his missing son, Schmitty senses trouble. It's not the fact that it's a prohibited side job, it's the fact that he has to team up with Megan McCann, an attractive private investigator with her own set of rules.
Finding a body in the trunk of a BMW sends Schmitty and Megan on an adrenalized trail through Southern California unraveling a sophisticated real estate scam. A run-in with the LAPD and some hardcore gang members opens new perspectives on the case, and they begin to glimpse a shocking web of greed and corruption.
The situation suddenly becomes more complex — and personal — when the billionaire takes matters into his own hands and Schmitty's own department gets involved. When Schmitty and Megan go to Catalina Island to track down the one man who may know everything, they uncover a secret that could make or break the billionaire. And when Schmitty miscalculates the man, it could get them killed. Before all this, Schmitty had been unfairly outcast in his department. Now he's here to protect and serve. To make justice prevail and figure out who to bring down.
