Harlequin.com has released the list of March 2012 titles for its Worldwide Mystery imprint, your partner in crime. Amateur sleuths, traditional cozies, police procedurals and private-eye fiction, written by award-winning authors.
For more information about the book from Harlequin.com, click on the title or cover.
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Island Life
Non-Series
Jack Holm begins to find out when his wife of twenty years doesn't return to their suburban Seattle home after a trip to the mall. Her absence is not unusual, given her job as a flight attendant, and it's a respite from recent marital discord. But after a few days with no word, Jack's relief turns to worry … then fear.
When he finally reports his wife missing, his world begins to crumble. The police suspect him of foul play. Children and Family Services think he's an abuser. And someone is spying on his teenage daughter and ten-year-old son. Facing life as a single dad, Jack tries to help his kids deal with their mother's disappearance, but when he's arrested on suspicion of murder, he stands to lose it all.
Abandoned by friends and family, and with the evidence mounting, Jack knows that the only way to stay ahead of the law and keep his children out of foster care is to find out what really happened to his wife. But the path to the truth may end up putting Jack and all the people he loves in mortal danger.
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Dead Silent
A Dylan Scott Mystery (2nd in series)
Despite the statistics of cold cases, Dylan Scott wants to believe that Sam Hunt is alive. Not only because her father, Dylan's client, is desperate to find his missing daughter before he dies of cancer, but also because by all accounts Sam was a lovely girl—devoted to her younger stepsisters, well liked at her job, in love with her boyfriend.
But not everything is as it appears in sleepy Dawson's Clough. Soon questions arise about the violent past of Sam's boyfriend, and the rumored affair that the missing young woman was supposedly having with her boss. Plus, Dylan can't shake the feeling that Sam's stepfather is keeping secrets. And when someone tries to scare him off the case, Dylan is more determined than ever to find out who wanted Sam silenced and why. But the truth turns out to be worse than anyone could have expected …
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Bean There, Done That
A Maggy Thorsen Mystery (3rd in series)
When Maggy Thorsen's ex-husband's trophy wife shows up at her door, pleading for help, Maggy could have said no. But perhaps her maternal instincts overpowered reason—after all, Rachel was barely older than Maggy's college-age son. Or maybe she felt compassion for teary wife number two having suspicions of an affair. Either way, Maggy finds herself stuck in the middle of a marital mess not her own when Rachel's body washes up on the shores of Lake Michigan and her cheating ex, Ted Thorsen, is suspect number one.
Maggy knows Ted is a hound dog, but he's not a killer. And they have a son to protect. So in between whipping up lattes at her coffeehouse, Uncommon Grounds, she takes it upon herself to dig through Ted's dirty laundry—again. But will a double caramel macchiato be liquid courage enough to go after a killer who vows Maggy won't live long enough to brew another cup?
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Birthdays Can Be Murder
A Jenny Starling, Traveling Chef Mystery (1st in series)
Hired to cater the swanky birthday soiree of wealthy twins Alicia and Justin Greer, chef Jenny Starling arrives at their estate just in time for murder. It seems a servant was found floating in the goldfish pond, but lovely, spoiled Alicia won't let that wreck her party. And luckily for the birthday girl, Jenny is not one to back down from any challenge. Not even when the body count rises.
But she begins to rethink her resolve when a champagne toast leaves Justin dead on the floor and his sister clinging to life. The party guest list of friends, enemies and jilted lovers is a ready-made set of suspects, and in a quaint village where secrets are everybody's business, the Greers' multitude of scandals whet everyone's appetite. With her reputation hanging perilously in the balance, Jenny searches for someone who had both motive and opportunity to poison the bubbly—before this party becomes the death of her.
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Murder at Spouter's Point
A Miranda Lewis Mystery (3rd in series)
History writer Miranda Lewis arrives in Rhode Island looking forward to a weekend with old friends, which includes plans to attend Native American ceremonies and partake in some fun at the casino. But tensions and terror mount when the body of her friend's fiancé washes up on shore, brutally murdered with a whaling tool. Miranda's romantic partner, Native American activist Nate Barnes, is caught in the middle when suspicion falls upon a close friend, who has conveniently disappeared.
Determined to help Nate clear his friend's name, Miranda's keen eye for detail spots scattered clues to a deeper mystery. What she finds in the victim's scandalous past leads Miranda to believe her girlfriend's brother may be the real bad guy. That is, until she discovers a shocking, seemingly impossible coincidence. When a second murder occurs, Miranda realizes she's neck-deep in dangerous waters—and the target of a deranged killer.
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Death is Disposable
An Anna Winthrop, Hidden Manhattan Mystery (1st in series)
As New York Sanitation Department garage supervisor, Anna Winthrop thought she'd seen it all, until a homeless man she'd befriended is found murdered behind her apartment building. And Anna's taking this personally. The man had asked for her help, but was killed before he could tell her why. So now she wants answers. She immediately delves into the poor man's life, following the trail of slim clues left behind, and makes a shocking discovery about his past, only leading to more questions.
As Anna pieces together a puzzle that spans upscale art galleries, homeless shelters and encampments in abandoned subway tunnels, she realizes that her friend's life was much bigger and more complicated than she ever would have thought. But the true motive for the murder is the most bizarre revelation of all—and makes this crime much more personal than she could have imagined.
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