Kirjahaku

When Rachel Murdock and her sister Jennifer receive a call for help from their favorite niece, Lilly, in Breakers Beach, CA, they quickly hop a train from Los Angeles to see her -- but not before collecting their prized cat Samantha in a picnic basket and bringing her along for the ride. Samatha, it turns out, is an heiress, the inheritor of a fortune left by a wealthy relative, and so the attempt at the cat's life, made right after they arrive, comes as a shock. The cat survives, but unfortunately, Lilly, murdered soon thereafter, is not so lucky.By the time the police arrive, the clues are already falling into place. The source of Lilly's trouble is revealed to be a gambling debt incurred during an attempt to cheat at bridge, and the suspects in her slaying quickly pile up. But then another corpse is discovered, buried in the nearby sand, and it becomes clear that the killing spree concerns more than just the young lady's personal money trouble. With the authorities distracted by lurid details, it's up to Rachel and her furry friend to uncover the subtleties containing the solution to the puzzle.A prototypical early "cat mystery," written before the subgenre became a staple of cozy mystery fiction, The Cat Saw Murder is an entertaining and endlessly surprising whodunit with a focus on felines. Reissued for the first time in over half a decade, the book, written pseudonymously by the author better known for her hardboiled and suspense novels, is the first in the long-running Rachel Murdock series.Includes discussion guide questions for use in book clubs.

When Rachel Murdock and her sister Jennifer receive a call for help from their favorite niece, Lilly, in Breakers Beach, CA, they quickly hop a train from Los Angeles to see her -- but not before collecting their prized cat Samantha in a picnic basket and bringing her along for the ride. Samatha, it turns out, is an heiress, the inheritor of a fortune left by a wealthy relative, and so the attempt at the cat's life, made right after they arrive, comes as a shock. The cat survives, but unfortunately, Lilly, murdered soon thereafter, is not so lucky.By the time the police arrive, the clues are already falling into place. The source of Lilly's trouble is revealed to be a gambling debt incurred during an attempt to cheat at bridge, and the suspects in her slaying quickly pile up. But then another corpse is discovered, buried in the nearby sand, and it becomes clear that the killing spree concerns more than just the young lady's personal money trouble. With the authorities distracted by lurid details, it's up to Rachel and her furry friend to uncover the subtleties containing the solution to the puzzle.A prototypical early "cat mystery," written before the subgenre became a staple of cozy mystery fiction, The Cat Saw Murder is an entertaining and endlessly surprising whodunit with a focus on felines. Reissued for the first time in over half a decade, the book, written pseudonymously by the author better known for her hardboiled and suspense novels, is the first in the long-running Rachel Murdock series.Includes discussion guide questions for use in book clubs.

A strange encounter with a little girl named Claudia and a dead toad sparks elderly detective fiction fan Rachel Murdock's obsessive curiosity, and she winds up renting the house next door just to see how things play out. But soon after she and her cat Samantha move in, Rachel realizes they've landed right in the middle of a deadly love triangle that's created animosity among the three families who now surround her.When Rachel finds Claudia's great-grandmother dead in her basement, she reaches out to a friend in the LAPD to solve the crime. They soon learn the three households have been torn apart by one husband's infidelity and a complicated will that could lead to a fortune. In a house plagued by forbidden love, regret, and greed, Rachel will have to trust her intuition, as well as Samantha's instincts, to survive--and keep Claudia out of the hands of a killer whose work has just begun....

Walking home wearily from an evening spent poring over the books of the Parchly Heights Methodist Ladies' Aid searching for a fifty-eight-cent error, Miss Jennifer Murdock becomes witness to a terrible scene: A man, stumbling drunk, arrives home--and just as he fumbles with his keys, gunfire erupts and kills him on the spot. Jennifer is determined not to tell her sister, Rachel, anything about it. After all, Rachel considers herself a sleuth, or as Jennifer views it, a busybody who pokes her nose in places it doesn't belong. What she doesn't know is Rachel has just had a visit from a member of that same household, a meek eighteen-year-old taken in after she was orphaned and treated like a servant. Young Shirley has been alarmed by a series of nasty pranks--and now she's heartbroken, and even more frightened, after finding her pet bird dead. There's something awful going on in the house on Chestnut Street, and neither her prim and proper sister nor Det. Lt. Stephen Mayhew can stop Rachel from finding out what it is....The Cat Wears a Noose was previously published under the pseudonym D.B. Olsen.

Walking home wearily from an evening spent poring over the books of the Parchly Heights Methodist Ladies' Aid searching for a fifty-eight-cent error, Miss Jennifer Murdock becomes witness to a terrible scene: A man, stumbling drunk, arrives home--and just as he fumbles with his keys, gunfire erupts and kills him on the spot. Jennifer is determined not to tell her sister, Rachel, anything about it. After all, Rachel considers herself a sleuth, or as Jennifer views it, a busybody who pokes her nose in places it doesn't belong. What she doesn't know is Rachel has just had a visit from a member of that same household, a meek eighteen-year-old taken in after she was orphaned and treated like a servant. Young Shirley has been alarmed by a series of nasty pranks--and now she's heartbroken, and even more frightened, after finding her pet bird dead. There's something awful going on in the house on Chestnut Street, and neither her prim and proper sister nor Det. Lt. Stephen Mayhew can stop Rachel from finding out what it is....The Cat Wears a Noose was previously published under the pseudonym D.B. Olsen.

Unable to stop herself from investigating another murder, Rachel Murdock gets plenty of help from Samantha, the cat who follows her wherever she goes; her much less adventurous sister Jennifer; and Lieutenant Mayhew, who is grateful to have another sharp mind on the case. Miss Rachel, her sister, and her cat are watching with undisguised interest a bandy-legged man who is spying on a house across the street until a speeding black sedan runs him down. The sisters are curious to know why the man was murdered--and just as baffled about what happened to the mysterious tenants of the house, who disappear the next day. Their investigations take Miss Rachel and Samantha to the small mountain town of San Cayetano, where she gets entangled in a property conflict that could have deadly consequences.

Unable to stop herself from investigating another murder, Rachel Murdock gets plenty of help from Samantha, the cat who follows her wherever she goes; her much less adventurous sister Jennifer; and Lieutenant Mayhew, who is grateful to have another sharp mind on the case. Miss Rachel, her sister, and her cat are watching with undisguised interest a bandy-legged man who is spying on a house across the street until a speeding black sedan runs him down. The sisters are curious to know why the man was murdered--and just as baffled about what happened to the mysterious tenants of the house, who disappear the next day. Their investigations take Miss Rachel and Samantha to the small mountain town of San Cayetano, where she gets entangled in a property conflict that could have deadly consequences.

When sisters Rachel and Jennifer Murdock receive a letter from Miriam Hamilton, the daughter of the man who, decades earlier, swindled their father, inviting them to her luxurious home and offering financial amends, the sisters accept and head off with their beloved cat, Samantha, in tow.Shortly after they arrive, they meet their host--or rather, her body. Miriam has been murdered in her bed, and two things become clear: their invitation came with strings attached, and around the many corners of Miriam's capacious home, strange things are afoot.There is no shortage of possible motives for Miriam's murder, given her ruthless business practices and greedy nature. The appearance and subsequent disappearance of a bloodstained doll, which Miriam's two grown stepchildren from previous marriages seem to know more about than they want to let on, raises Rachel's suspicion but the involvement of the local sheriff investigating the case is what ultimately throws Rachel for a loop. No matter--together with the reluctant Jennifer and curious kitty Samanatha, amateur sleuth Rachel is going to make sense of this befuddling case, even if things aren't what they seem.A delightful Golden Age cozy from a master of mid-century domestic suspense, Cats Don't Need Coffins engages playfully with genre conventions to entertaining and often humorous effect. It is the seventh novel in Hitchens' long-running Rachel Murdock series (originally published under the name D.B. Olsen), which can be read in any order.

When sisters Rachel and Jennifer Murdock receive a letter from Miriam Hamilton, the daughter of the man who, decades earlier, swindled their father, inviting them to her luxurious home and offering financial amends, the sisters accept and head off with their beloved cat, Samantha, in tow.Shortly after they arrive, they meet their host--or rather, her body. Miriam has been murdered in her bed, and two things become clear: their invitation came with strings attached, and around the many corners of Miriam's capacious home, strange things are afoot.There is no shortage of possible motives for Miriam's murder, given her ruthless business practices and greedy nature. The appearance and subsequent disappearance of a bloodstained doll, which Miriam's two grown stepchildren from previous marriages seem to know more about than they want to let on, raises Rachel's suspicion but the involvement of the local sheriff investigating the case is what ultimately throws Rachel for a loop. No matter--together with the reluctant Jennifer and curious kitty Samanatha, amateur sleuth Rachel is going to make sense of this befuddling case, even if things aren't what they seem.A delightful Golden Age cozy from a master of mid-century domestic suspense, Cats Don't Need Coffins engages playfully with genre conventions to entertaining and often humorous effect. It is the seventh novel in Hitchens' long-running Rachel Murdock series (originally published under the name D.B. Olsen), which can be read in any order.

STAIRWAY TO AN EMPTY ROOM Monica Marshall's sister Biddy has been murdered by her husband. Biddy has a daughter, Winifred, and with the husband on death row, Monica agrees to take charge of her. Winifred is anxious to leave the house where she has been living with Biddy. The house and the woman who runs it seem so unpleasant to Monica. But nothing prepares her for Stevens. He is managing a mountain retreat where Monica takes her new charge for a getaway--she hates him immediately. Strangely enough, Winifred recognizes the couple in another cabin. Soon Monica realizes that there is something very strange going on here. Her brakes fail ... later she almost drowns in the lake. And Stevens is becoming very protective of young Winifred. What do all these people have to do with Biddy's death, and what is really going on here?... TERROR LURKS IN DARKNESS Kitty has the fright of her life one night when she takes what she is told is a short cut and ends up on a dead end street in the rain. And to make matters worse, there is a savage dog outside her car, causing her to wreck the front end trying to avoid it. Fortunately, the owner of the dog appears and calms the dog, then drives her home. But imagine Kitty's shock when she finds out that Sunny, the woman who told her about the short cut, is found dead later that night on the same road, her throat savaged. Of course, everyone hated Sunny, but that doesn't explain her strange death. And now Kitty's roommate, Ardis, has gone missing ... and two of her friends are asking her to lie about what she knows. No wonder inspector Doyle doesn't believe her story--she has no idea what to believe herself

STRIP FOR MURDERMark Bellew presents himself as a Theatrical Representative, but what he really does is supply strippers for private parties. Years ago he made a mistake, and one of his girls was raped, then killed herself. He got out of the business for a while, but realizing that this is the only business he knows, he now keeps a small office just off Wilshire Boulevard. But someone who knows about his past is now sending him threatening letters. The only person Bellew can ask to investigate these letters is Ed Warne, an insurance adjustor who shares the upper floor with him. Warne agrees to do some checking but gets more than he bargains for-because whoever is writing the letters has now committed murder. And who knows how far they'll go to settle this old score.Also included are two Dolores Hitchens stories from the pages of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.