Faye Longchamp

First in a series of archaeological mysteries featuring Faye Longchamp, who uncovers more than artifacts from the past. "A haunting, atmospheric story." -P.J. Parrish, New York Times bestselling author Faye Longchamp has lost nearly everything except her determination to hang onto Joyeuse, a moldering plantation hidden along the Florida coast. No one knows how Faye's great-great-grandmother Cally, a newly freed slave barely out of her teens, came to own Joyeuse in the aftermath of the Civil War or how her descendants hung onto it through Reconstruction, world wars, the Depression, and Jim Crow. But Faye has inherited the family tenacity. When the property taxes rise beyond her means, she sets out to save Joyeuse by digging for artifacts on her property and selling them on the black market. But instead of pot shards and arrowheads, she uncovers a woman's shattered skull. If Faye reports the 40-year-old murder, she'll reveal her illegal livelihood, risk jail...and Joyeuse. So she probes into the dead woman's history, unaware that the past is rushing toward her like a hurricane across deceptively calm Gulf waters.... Winner of the 2004 Benjamin Franklin award in Mystery/Suspense

"Smashingly good, action-packed."-Publishers Weekly STARRED review "Every element of this rollicking adventure shines."-Booklist STARRED review In Pottsville, Pennsylvania, young Doug Pearce, just fired from his steady job in the brewery, has never strayed far from home. But he's always been fascinated by stories of his Uncle Russ, the family black sheep murdered in Singapore in 1948. In comes a letter from an old friend of his dead uncle inviting him to Toronto. On arrival, Doug learns that wealthy and glamorous Edna has an agenda: she's assembled enough clues to solve the murder and recover a legendary red diamond Russ was thought to be smuggling. Doug, nervous but game, agrees to play detective. But by the end of his first day in Casablanca, Doug knows he's made a mistake. While he meets people eager to help-a retired museum curator, a beautiful and self-absorbed heiress, and her elderly father, a colleague of Russell Pearce-it becomes clear that someone else is looking for the diamond.

Set amidst the political turbulence and social unrest of contemporary Mexico City, An Easy Thing introduces English-speaking readers to Taibo's human and world-weary protagonist, independent detective Hector Belascoaran Shayne. In this debut outing, our hero, who, incidentally, possesses an insatiable appetite for Coca Cola and cigarettes, tackles three cases simultaneously: a killing in a corrupt factory; the deadly threats against a former porn starlet's teenage daughter; and, strangely, the search for Emiliano Zapata, folk hero and leader of the Mexican Revolution, rumored to be alive and hiding out in a cave outside Mexico City. Combining black comedy, social history and a touch of surrealism, Paco Taibo's wonderfully idiosyncratic detective novels are admired the world over and are particularly popular in Europe and in the Spanish-speaking world.

"De Castrique offers original plots, strikingly human characters, and a heartwarming portrait of American culture. His writing is to be savored." -Library Journal STARRED review When Barry Clayton's father developed Alzheimers, Barry gave up his career in law enforcement to return to the North Carolina mountain town of Gainesboro and run the family funeral home. But even a small town in the Appalachians is not immune to crime. At a summer street dance, Barry's friend Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkins is gunned down by an old man distraught at the death of his wife. To the dismay of Deputy Reece Hutchins, hospitalized Tommy Lee appoints Barry as the deputy in charge of the investigation. Who was the old man stalking? Why was a young woman who was wounded at the scene traveling with the intended victim? What at first appears to be a case of a mentally unstable summer tourist quickly develops into a tangled web of deceit stretching from western North Carolina to the Florida coast. Someone is preying upon senior citizens.... Barry realizes Deputy Hutchins is undercutting his investigation, but as potential witnesses and informants begin to die under mysterious circumstances, Barry confronts a conspiracy that runs so deep he no longer knows who to trust. One false step, one betrayal, will make this case Buryin' Barry's final undertaking.

"Pick it up, but only if you can afford to lose a night's sleep, because you won't be able to put it down." -Steve Martini, author of the Paul Madriani novels Several years have passed since we last saw stunning, savvy attorney Rachel Gold. Now she is a mother, a widow, and a reluctant participant in a lost cause: the Frankenstein Case. She represents a blue-collar neighborhood fighting a developer intent on bulldozing their homes to erect a gated community. Rachel's strategy will be based on the wacky judge on the case, known to the St. Louis Bar as "The Flinch Factor." Then Rachel gains a new client: Susannah, sister of Nick Moran, local heartthrob. Nick has been murdered, found slumped on the front seat of his pickup along an isolated lane known as Gay Way. His female groupies are, to say the least, stunned. His sister smells foul play. A skeptical Rachel agrees to check it out and turns up facts suggesting that Nick's death was not an accident. Are Nick's death and her Frankenstein case somehow related? Can Rachel uncover the truth before more lives are lost?

"Ramsay skillfully weaves historical fact into his story, all the while blending brisk action with excellent characterization." -Publishers Weekly Elderly Jonathan Lydell III is proud of his lineage. He is related to the Virginia Lees and to the Custis family. For Lydell, family, status, and history are the only realities-that and his antebellum house. Lydell's house has a very colorful history, and Lydell is committed to restoring it to its pre-Civil War configuration, complete with a "stranger room." In the 1800s, many family homes sported these attached rooms with separate entrances and locks that were kept ready for unknown travelers. The intent was to protect the family from unsavory guests. Nearly 150 years ago, an inexplicable murder took place inside the Lydell's locked stranger room. The murderer was never caught. Lydell thinks this brutal history adds to the house's rich character. But when an identical murder is committed in the newly restored stranger room, even Sheriff Ike Schwartz and FBI agent Karl Hedrick can't explain it....

Some nasty predators dwell in paradise, and they arenat all hiding in the azure waters. The day attorney Storm Kayama arrives in Kahului to help Lara Farrell set up her new dive shop, someone bombs a restaurant. When one of Laraas employees, a recent Japanese immigrant, kills himself and one of his young daughters, Storm begins to ask questions. The tentacles of the Yakuza, the dangerous, Japanese organized crime group, grip local businesses, real estate, and politics. Cunning and deadly, the clan leaders exploit underage women and eliminate anyone who dares face up to them. Storm finds herself up against a lethal and faceless enemy, in a place where disposing of a victim is easy as dumping her in shark-infested waters. But who is hunting whom? In a struggle to the death, Storm begins to realize that surviving doesnat always mean living. For some, the ghosts of the past may be more painful than the anguish of the present. Hawaii lawyer Storm Kayama must battle against the yakuza's presence and an ancient adherence to tradition to save more young girls from a terrible fate.

"The author offers insights into the political, economic, and cultural ramifications of Indian casinos, along with a large cast of believable characters with a wide emotional range." -Publishers Weekly When Cherokee burial remains are unearthed on the site expanding a local cemetery, the dual occupations of Barry Clayton, part-time deputy and full-time undertaker, collide. Then, during the interment of the wife of one of Gainesboro, North Carolina's most prominent citizens, Cherokee activist Jimmy Panther leads a protest. Words and fists fly. When Panther turns up executed on the grave of the deceased woman, Barry is forced to confront her family as the chief suspects. But the case lurches in a new direction with the arrival of Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkin's Army pal, Boston cop Kevin Malone. He's on the trail of a Boston hit man who arrived at the Cherokee reservation only days before the murder. Malone is convinced his quarry is the triggerman. The accelerating investigation draws Barry onto the reservation where Panther's efforts to preserve Cherokee traditions threatened the development of a new casino, a casino bringing millions of dollars of construction plus huge yearly payouts to every member of the tribe. Leading an unlikely team-his childhood nemesis Archie Donovan and his elderly fellow undertaker Uncle Wayne-Barry goes undercover. But the stakes are higher than he realized in this risky undertaking. And the life of a Cherokee boy becomes the wager. Barry must play his cards very carefully...

"A perfect setting and first-rate storytelling."-Ragnar Jónasson, bestselling author of The Dark Iceland series Next book in the Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery Series From international bestselling author Jeffrey Siger comes another heart-stopping story of corruption and intrigue. The idyllic Greek island of Mykonos may be heaven on earth, but it's also the perfect cover for an international organized crime ring… and Chief Inspector Kaldis soon finds himself taking it on. The case begins for Athens' Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis with a literal bang when a corrupt former police colonel who runs a protection racket on Mykonos is gunned down. Suddenly, Kaldis is face-to-face with Greece's top crime bosses on Mykonos, an island whose natural beauty and reputation as an international playground belies the corruption lurking just beneath the surface. While Kaldis and his Special Crimes unit wrestle for answers, his wife, Lila, meets an American expat named Toni, a finder of stolen goods and a piano player in a gender-bending bar who has a zest for life and no apparent regard for rules. As Lila and Toni bond over a common desire to mentor young island girls trapped in an exploitative and patriarchal culture, they soon find that their efforts intersect with Kaldis' investigation in ways that prove to be dangerous for all involved… Rife with intrigue and thrilling action, once again Jeffrey Siger proves himself a master of capturing Greece in fiction. In this newest addition to the acclaimed international mystery series, Chief Inspector Kaldis is forced to dive into an investigation that just might swallow him whole. Because when corruption lies deep beneath the surface, how can the truth come to light? The perfect blend of action and culture, this series is: • Perfect for fans of Martin Walker and Timothy Hallinan • For readers who enjoy international mysteries and political thrillers (Previously published as The Mykonos Mob)

Top 12 Mystery Novels of 2017 by Strand Magazine 2018 - Willa Literary Award Finalist, Contemporary Fiction "Evans' signature archaeological lore adds even more interest to this tale of love, hate, and greed." -Kirkus Reviews A woman waits under five feet of dirt-a woman who is by now nothing but bones stained the deep red of Oklahoma clay. A delicate silver necklace, a handful of ancient pearls, and a priceless figurine rest with her. Twenty-nine years is a long time to wait for a proper burial. Faye Longchamp-Mantooth, who runs a small and shakily financed archaeological consulting firm with her husband, Joe, has come to Sylacauga so she and Joe can join his father, Sly Mantooth, in dispersing his mother's ashes. Fifteen years is a long time to wait for a proper ceremony. Faye has partially financed the trip by hiring on to consult on the reopening of a site closed down 29 years ago when archaeologist Dr. Sophia Townsend disappeared-for good. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation intends to create a park if nothing sacred lies in the soil. What no one expects is the lonely red bones that emerge as the backhoe completes its work. Inevitably they prove to be those of Sophia Townsend. And examination shows Sophia was first killed by a blow to the head. Chief Roy Cloud of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation's Lighthorse Tribal Police hires Faye, who clearly can't be a suspect, to consult. Which is fine with Faye, who won't rest easy until Sophia's murder is solved. But the investigation comes uncomfortably close to home when she learns that her father-in-law knows more about the dead woman than he is willing to admit. So, it appears, does everyone in tiny Sylacauga. Dr. Sophia Townsend had possessed a sexual magnetism as forceful as an Oklahoma tornado, and she had never hesitated to use it to manipulate everyone around her, people whose hearts she broke and whose marriages she destroyed. Was she killed by one of her lovers, or by one of their wives? Or by the woman who became enthralled with her? Or maybe Sly Mantooth? Or was something else elemental-greed, buried treasure, fame-at work? Faye's obsession with this case tests her professional ethics and it tests her marriage. Such was the power of Sophia Townsend that, twenty-nine years after her murder, she wreaks havoc (along with the weather) once again. 2018 - Oklahoma Book Award Finalist, Fiction 2018 - Will Rogers Bronze Medallion Award Winner, Western Fiction

Something frightening is happening in the mountain community of Mason County, Virginia. Pets are vanishing mysteriously and "Missing Dog" posters cover the waiting room walls at Dr. Rachel Goddard's veterinary clinic. A pack of feral canines roams at night, attacking livestock in a desperate search for food. Then prominent physician Gordon Hall is found dead in his yard, his throat ripped open. Sheriff's Department investigator Tom Bridger believes the killing was premeditated murder using a trained attack dog as the weapon. He also suspects it is connected to the resurgence of an old problem: illegal dog fighting. But Dr. Hall's son insists the feral pack killed his father, and he organizes a group of men to find and shoot the animals. Rachel and her friend Holly Turner make enemies by trying to rescue the dogs and move them to the sanctuary Holly has created. Tom, in love with Rachel and worried about her safety, must divide his time between the escalating controversy, shutting down the dog-fighting operation (if he can locate it), and hunting for Gordon Hall's killer....

What secrets lie deep beneath the surface? A deafening explosion rocks a historic Oklahoma City hotel, sending archaeologist Faye Longchamp-Mantooth crashing to the marble floor of the lobby. She's unhurt but shaken-after all, any time something blows up in Oklahoma City, the first word on everyone's lips is the same: bomb. Faye is in town for a conference celebrating indigenous arts, but is soon distracted by the aftermath of the explosion, which cracks open the old hotel's floor to reveal subterranean chambers that had housed Chinese immigrants a century before. Faye is fascinated by the tunnels, which are a time capsule back to the early 20th century-but when the bodies of three children are discovered deep beneath the city, her sense of discovery turns to one of dread…

Foreign Service veteran Richard Michaelson knows that it is often better to talk to secretaries than big wigs in the political jungles of Washington, DC. But when one such ambitious young secretary turns up dead in a locked hotel room, Michaelson suddenly realizes just how much she knew...and that the killer might now be after him. Now everyone is clamoring to get their hands on the mysterious document in the dead woman's possession. Soon investigators, staffers and liaisons are coming out of the woodwork to keep things quiet. But for Michaelson, solving this mystery could be a matter of life and death.