Kirjahaku

1 DOWN: DEATH BY HOMICIDE Quinn Carr wishes her life could be more like a crossword puzzle: neat, orderly, and perfectly arranged. At least her passion for puzzles, flair for words--and mild case of OCD--have landed her a gig creating crosswords for the local paper. But if she ever hopes to move out of her parents' house, she can't give up her day job as a waitress. She needs the tips. But when a customer ends up dead at her table--face down in biscuits and gravy--Quinn needs to get a clue to find whodunit . . . 6 LETTERS, STARTS WITH "M" It turns out that solving a murder is a lot harder than a creating a crossword. Quinn has plenty of suspects--up, down, and across. One of them is her boss, the owner of the diner who shares a culinary past with the victim. Two of them are ex-wives, her boss's and the victim's. A third complication is the Chief of Police who refuses to allow much investigation, preferring the pretense their town has no crime. To solve this mystery, Quinn has to think outside the boxes--before the killer gets the last word . . . "FRESH, FAST, AND FURIOUSLY FUN . . . Becky Clark writes with wry wit, a keen eye, and no shortage of authority." --Brad Parks, Shamus Award-winning author (on Fiction Can Be Murder) Includes original crossword puzzles

1 DOWN: A PERSON OF INTEREST Quinn Carr has been quietly creating crosswords for the Chestnut Station Chronicle in her small Colorado town since she was in high school, but she has yet to solve the puzzle of how to make a living from her passion. So she lives with her parents and works at the local diner, catering to regulars like The Retireds, a charming if cantankerous crew of elderly men. The most recent member to join the group is a recently retired tailor, the unfortunately named Hugh Pugh.4-LETTER WORD FOR "IMPALE" But Hugh's misfortune dramatically increases when he's arrested for stabbing his husband with a pair of fabric shears. With a cryptic crossword clue left at the crime scene, Quinn seems tailor-made for solving this murder. The local police may be determined to pin the crime on the kindly tailor, but Quinn will use her penchant for puzzles and what her therapist calls her "obsessive coping mechanism" to get the clues to line up and catch the real culprit--before the killer boxes her in. . . ."FRESH, FAST, AND FURIOUSLY FUN . . . Becky Clark writes with wry wit, a keen eye, and no shortage of authority." --Brad Parks, Shamus Award-winning author on Fiction Can Be MurderIncludes original crossword puzzles

1 ACROSS: HUMAN REMAINS Creating crossword puzzles for the Chestnut Station Chronicle won't allow Quinn Carr to quit her diner waitress job any time soon. But it does provide an outlet for her organizational OCD, and also lets her leave subtle hints for police chief Myron Chestnut, an avid puzzler, when his investigations need some direction. Some mysteries, though, leave even Quinn stumped--like the property deed she finds in her grandfather's old desk. The document lists Quinn's mother as the owner of some land on the outskirts of Chestnut Station, but Georgeanne refuses to discuss it.8 LETTERS, STARTS WITH "S" Quinn visits the site, located near a World War II Japanese internment camp that's since been turned into a museum. There she unearths a weathered Japanese doll...and a skeleton. Before she can uncover a killer, she has to identify the victim. Was it an inmate trying to escape? A guard? Or someone closer to home? As Quinn fills in the blanks, she finds an unexpected link between her family and Chief Chestnut's--one that could spell more deadly trouble..."FRESH, FAST, AND FURIOUSLY FUN . . . Becky Clark writes with wry wit, a keen eye, and no shortage of authority." --Brad Parks, Shamus Award-winning author on Fiction Can Be MurderIncludes original crossword puzzles

Life Becomes Stranger than Fiction when Charlee's Latest Novel Inspires a Real MurderMystery author Charlemagne "Charlee" Russo thinks the twisty plots and peculiar murders in her books are only the product of her imagination―until her agent is found dead exactly as described in Charlee's new, unpublished manuscript. Suspicion now swirls around her and her critique group, making her confidence drop as severely and unexpectedly as her royalty payments.The police care more about Charlee's feeble alibi and financial problems than they do her panicky claims of innocence. To clear her name and revive her career, she must figure out which of her friends is a murderer. Easier said than done, even for an author who's skilled at creating tidy endings for her mysteries. And as her sleuthing grows dangerous, Charlee's imagination starts working overtime. Is she being targeted, too?

An author's mysterious disappearance. A pugnacious hired gun holding a pug for ransom. Charlee must find them both before the deadline expires. Charlee Russo's career and bank account will be DOA unless her literary event with bestselling author Rodolfo Lapaglia succeeds. It's her very last chance to revise her life. But when she goes to fetch him from the train station, he has disappeared, much like Charlee's royalty statements. An angry mob wants their refund from the cancelled event, but Lapaglia kept the money and stuck Charlee with the bills. As she searches for him and his checkbook, her neighbor's pug, Peter O'Drool, is dognapped with an ominous demand that Charlee deliver Lapaglia if she ever wants to see the beloved pooch again. Can Charlee solve the mystery of Lapaglia's disappearance and close the book on this fiasco before Peter O'Drool runs out of time?

A Christmas pageant. A dead Santa. All is not calm, and it's definitely not bright.The only thing Charlee Russo wants for Christmas are some silent nights so she can work on her mystery manuscript. Instead, she gets snowballed into writing and directing a Christmas play as a fundraiser for an elementary school to be held at the local senior center. But when the actor playing Santa drops dead at rehearsal, Charlee must deck the halls with thoughts of murder.Rehearsals continue while she is forced to contend with sabotage, assault, and actors-young and old-refusing to learn their lines. As she digs deeper into Santa's so-called accident, she gets a frosty reception from all the suspects on the naughty list. With the school funding at stake and a potential murderer involved in the production, she needs a Christmas miracle. Can Charlee pull off the pageant without anyone else getting sleighed? Police Navidad is the fourth book in the Mystery Writer's Mystery series. If you like fun, fast stories with warm and witty characters you want to hang out with, then you'll love this cozy mystery from Becky Clark.Praise from the readers of the Mystery Writer's Mystery series - Becky Clark's suspenseful but humorous mystery had me hooked from beginning to end. Charlemagne Russo is a delightful, relatable character who I want to continue to get to know and follow in the Mystery Writer's Mystery series. - The characters were complex, the mystery was twisty, and Becky's quirky sense of humor made it fun throughout. - I love a good cozy and this one doesn't disappoint. It's fun with some laugh out loud lines but also a solid, meaty story. - Loved watching her work her way through the clues-the story is creative, suspenseful, and smart. Plus the humor is terrific

A despised landlord. A bookstore owner turned accidental sleuth. Can she inventory her books and the suspects in time?Dena Russo is starting a new chapter of her life in Sugar Springs, Colorado-sinking all her money and energy into launching a bookstore during the Grand Opening of the Sugar Mill Marketplace. She's near the end of her trope, however, as she attempts to turn her novel idea into reality, especially when faced with the ultimate plot twist. Sure, everyone despises the Marketplace landlord, but nobody expected he'd turn up dead Dena uncovers dark secrets and lies, perhaps spelling the end of everything she wanted from her move to Sugar Springs and destroying the Marketplace before it even opens. With unanswered questions and accusations threatening to close the book forever on the Marketplace and perhaps the entire town of Sugar Springs, Dena attempts to decipher who hated enough to murder. Can Dena get the killer booked before the entire Sugar Mill Marketplace gets shelved?BOOKED is the first book in the Sugar Mill Marketplace Mystery series. If you enjoy laugh-filled cozy mysteries with complex and quirky characters, lots of twists and turns, and pages you can't stop turning, then you'll love Becky Clark's fun, fast fiction. Be sure to read the prequel novella RAT RACE first, as it sets the stage for the first few books in the series.

A public argument. A disappearance. Another cliff-hanger for Thrice Sold Tales? After a bumpy start for the Sugar Mill Marketplace, Dena Russo finally thinks she has the ABCs of bookstore ownership under her belt. All is well until the man from whom she bought Thrice Sold Tales returns, accusing her of not fulfilling her contract and demanding the store be returned to him. When he is reported missing after their loud and very public argument, all eyes-and the full force of the internet-turn toward Dena. She's even accused of stealing his dog Dena tries everything to find him, but only manages to find mysterious footprints in her snowy backyard, some financial headaches, and just how unhealthy a viral video can be. With a boycott called against her bookstore, and the internet trolls out for blood, Dena expects the worst. But she has no idea the worst also includes a dead body in her yard. Can Dena file this deadly chapter away before she's forced to file for bankruptcy? PLOTTED is the second book in the Sugar Mill Marketplace Mystery series. These books are best read in order. If you enjoy laugh-filled cozy mysteries with complex and quirky characters, lots of twists, and pages you can't stop turning, then you'll love Becky Clark's fun, fast fiction. Start with the prequel novella RAT RACE, then BOOKED, then PLOTTED.

A mysterious middle-of-the-night visitor. A dangerous blizzard. Someone is bound to make a mistake. Dena Russo is fast asleep in her snug house unaware of the savage storm brewing just outside her door. As her cozy world shatters, she must face both a ferocious blizzard and an equally tempestuous abduction. Nobody at the Sugar Mill Marketplace knows where she is. Will they even realize she's missing with Sugar Springs blanketed in a snow day? The tenants of the Marketplace are bound up in their own avalanche of troubles-life-threatening chest pains, raging personal squalls, and a cryptic discovery buried for more than a century. The survival of each of them depends on shrewd navigation through their deepening storms. Will they melt under pressure? Or are they bound to be stone cold heroes? BOUND wraps up the first trilogy of the Sugar Mill Marketplace mysteries. If you like witty dialogue, unique characters, and a fun setting, all wrapped up in a light mystery that will put a smile on your face, then you'll love BOUND. For maximum enjoyment, read RAT RACE first (the prequel novella), then BOOKED, then PLOTTED, then BOUND ... more fun, fast fiction from Becky Clark