Constable Molly Smith Novels

2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of Canada It's the end of March and Trafalgar, British Columbia, is preparing for the last influx of the seasonal skiers. Teachers, parents, and students are preparing to relax at home or head off on vacation. But for high school English teacher Cathy Lindsay, the week of relaxation doesn't work out as planned. She's gunned down by a sniper on a hiking trail, her small dog the only witness. Cathy Lindsay is an unlikely candidate for a murderous ambush: she was a respected teacher, in an apparently solid marriage to an Internet developer, living a quiet life. Sergeant John Winters, with the help of young Constable Molly Smith, digs into the Lindsay marriage and friendships, searching for a motive, but one thought continually niggles at the back of his mind: is it possible this was not a random killing but a case of mistaken identity?

"Axelrod's promising debut introduces a protagonist who will remind readers of Robert Parker's sleuths. The two-part story structure ("Premeditation"and "Post Mortem") also gives readers an Ellery Queen type of opportunity to "help solve" the crime." -Library Journal When Nantucket homeowner Preston Lomax is killed, everyone on the island could be a suspect. Lomax lived large, owed money, and the word was spreading he was planning to stiff them all and disappear. Chief of Police Henry Kennis, a newcomer from California, investigates with help from the State Police. Together they solve the case-or so it appears. But Kennis can't shake the feeling that they've missed something. Kennis soon discovers scandals, intrigues and an eclectic cast of local characters-oddball journalists, surfing carpenters, drug dealers, wealthy homeowners and their slacker children. Kennis uncovers a truth that lies somewhere between the bad blood and the good neighbors.

"Irascible, fearless and unapologetic, Maddy is a heroine cozy fans will embrace."-Publishers Weekly Newspaper librarian Maddy Sprowls never gives story ideas to the editors at The Hannawa Herald-Union. She prefers to stay in the newspaper "morgue" and do her job. Then one Saturday she sees four elderly women get out of a taxicab at a garage sale. She figures that those women must hire the cabby every week to drive them from garage sale to garage sale. And wouldn't that make a great feature story for the paper? Monday morning she runs straight to the newsroom with her idea. Shortly after the story runs, one of the four women is murdered: retired antique dealer Violeta Bell. Maddy wants no part of the investigation, but before she knows it, she's on another of her infamous snoopathons. And, good gravy, enjoying every minute. Violeta Bell is an enigma. She even claimed to be the Queen of Romania. Could it be true?

In the late summer of 1274, King Edward has finally been anointed England's ruler, and his queen contemplates a pilgrimage in gratitude for their safe return from Outremer, a journey that will include a stay at Tyndal Priory. Envoys are sent to confirm that everything will be suitable for the king's wife, and Prioress Eleanor nervously awaits them, knowing that regal visits bring along expense and honor. The cost is higher than expected, however, when Death arrives as the unexpected emissary. One of the courtiers is murdered near the hut where Brother Thomas now lives as a hermit. Each member of the party has reason to hate the dead man, including Crowner Ralf's eldest brother, Sir Fulke, and the prioress's nemesis, the man in black. Soon Eleanor is embroiled in the dangerous world of power games, both secular and religious. Indeed, England's future under a new king may offer hope and relief, but skeletons from the past can come back to life like those in the biblical valley of dry bones. Which had cause enough to kill?

Frank Smith, famed writer of murder mysteries, boards Southwest Airlines heading from Phoenix to Baltimore. His goal is his 50th class reunion at Scott Academy, but behind him he leaves the highly suspicious disappearance of his wife into apparent thin air four years ago and the relentless quest of Officer Ledezma whose impulse is that Smith has killed her and buried the body. But another mystery awaits Frank at Scott-a mystery 25 years old. A group of young boys walked from the campus into the woods and disappeared. What could have happened to them? Who better than he to probe the mystery? In doing so, he not only relives his own boyhood when his father was the upright head of Scott's English Department, but that of the classmates of the missing boys, some of whom are back at Scott now for their 25th. Warm yet suspenseful, rich with a floodtide of emotions and packed with little nuggets of pure gold characterizations, Ramsay explores the role of Impulse.

2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of Canada Fifteen years ago a young girl named Moonlight Smith went to her best friend Nicky Nowak's house for a sleepover. Moonlight joined the family for breakfast the following morning and was then picked up by her mother. Shortly after, Mr. Nowak went for a walk. He was never seen again. Autumn has arrived on the mountains above Trafalgar, B.C. and Constable Molly "Moonlight" Smith is cuddled by the fireplace with Adam Tocek of the RCMP when Tocek and his dog Norman are called to a wilderness camping ground to join the search for a little boy who sneaked away from his family looking for bears. The child is found, dirty, terrified, weeping, but unharmed. Then the inquisitive Norman digs up something else: human bones. The ID isn't positive, but it is enough to have Sergeant John Winters of the Trafalgar City Police re-open the Brian Nowak investigation. He finds a family shattered beyond recognition. Mrs. Nowak is an empty shell of a woman, dressed in pajamas, never leaving the house. Her son Kyle haunts the streets of Trafalgar at night and spends his days creating beautiful, but highly troubling, art. Nicky Nowak lives in Vancouver and has grown up to be gorgeous, charming, and elegant. Yet behind that façade lies a woman whose heart has closed so tightly against human relationships that she comes to Trafalgar trailing in her wake a terrifying threat to another innocent family....

With a Foreword by Sharon Kay Penman. It's summer 1270, and England is as weary as its aging king, Henry III. The Simon de Montfort rebellion is over, and in the small priory of Tyndall on the remote East Anglian coast, the monks and nuns of the Order of Fontevraud long to return to their tranquil routine. But then the young, inexperienced Eleanor of Wynethorpe is appointed their new prioress. It's a political move and not popular. The day after she takes up her office, a brutally murdered monk is found in the cloister gardens. Then Brother Thomas arrives. Sent to investigate the Order's shaky finances, the young priest is also paying the price for a crime that could see him burn. As Thomas battles to accept his new life, Eleanor, struggling to gain the respect of her terrified and resentful flock, must cope with violence, lust, and greed to find a vicious killer.

"2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of CanadaPassionate environmentalist, old-time hippy Lucky Smith and Chief Constable of Trafalgar, British Columbia Paul Keller are an unlikely couple. Their vacation to the Rocky Mountains is a chance to explore their fledging late-in-life relationship. But trouble interferes when the pair run into Paul's estranged son, Matt.This chance encounter soon becomes a quagmire of trouble when a frantic Matt calls his father for help. Lucky and Paul rush to his aid to find a body, but no Matt. All signs indicate that Matt—an experienced wilderness adventurer—has escaped into the backcountry. To RCMP Sergeant Eddie Blechta, running is all the proof of guilt he needs.Lucky's daughter, Constable Molly Smith of the Trafalgar City Police, rushes to offer her mother support. Though she has no intention of meddling in the investigation, when Matt's girlfriend, Tracey, asks for her help, Molly Smith finds herself deep in the case. Can they find Matt and clear his name?"