Donald Bain

Get ready for some serious fireworks with the newest installment in the USA Today Bestselling series? MORE THAN 4.5 million copies in print Every Fourth of July, the town of Cabot Cove hosts an elaborate celebration?and no one is more enthusiastic than the town's newest resident, corporate mogul Joseph Lennon. He's desperate to give the town an unwanted 21st century makeover, including financing a fireworks extravaganza to rival New York City?s. But when Lennon's lifeless body is found floating in the water outside his office, Jessica Fletcher has no choice but to investigate her fellow Cabot Cove citizens to find out if one of them is capable of murder...

Jessica's plans to enjoy a relaxing cruise to Alaska are dashed when her friend Kathy Copeland joins her. Kathy's sister vanished from the very same vessel on a prior voyage, and though Wilimena often disappeared on flights of fancy, this time Kathy is convinced of foul play. The Copeland sisters had a notorious aunt?the most famous madam in Alaskan history?who, rumor has it, struck it rich during the Gold Rush. It seems the daring Wilimena has gone in search of the treasure, and may have attracted the wrong kind of attention. Suddenly, Jessica's vacation becomes a challenging investigation. And before she and Kathy are even halfway to their destination, Jessica senses that someone is watching every move they make.

Score a Home Run with the USA Today Bestselling series-over 3.5 million copies in print Visiting her old friends the Duffys in Arizona, Jessica watches their foster son Ty hit the winning run in an AA league playoff game. She and the Duffys are thrilled, but team owner Harrison Bennett is not-his son Junior and Ty are bitter rivals. Then Junior Bennett is found dead, his head caved in with a baseball bat. He and Ty were last seen fighting outside a bar, and Ty can't remember the rest of the night. Jessica finds it hard to believe such a fine young man would wreck his life in a moment of anger. And when she starts looking into the case, she finds that for some people, baseball is more than just a game...

Arriving in London on the inaugural flight of Wayne Silverton's new airline, Jessica Fletcher finds her reunion with her dear friend, Scotland Yard inspector George Sutherland interrupted by murder when Wayne's body is discovered in the airport. Original.

Bain takes the reader on a journey from Coffee, Tea or Me and the best selling comedy series it spawned to the biographies of Veronica Lake, legendary talk show king Long John Nebel, and top model and CIA mind-control subject Candy Jones; from wildly successful murder mystery novels based on the TV show Murder, She Wrote to one of the most bizarre gang wars in U.S. history, Charlie and the Shawneetown Dame.

San Miguel de Allende is a picturesque town in central Mexico's highlands that attracts artists, retirees, and those in need of some rest and relaxation. So when publisher Vaughan Buckley and his wife, Olga, invite Jessica to join them for a little R & R, she jumps at the opportunity to spend time basking in the sun and enjoying Mexican culture with her friends.But there are those who don't share Jessica's appreciation for the arts. Ruthless kidnappers abduct Vaughan and demand a considerable ransom for his safe return--or else Olga will be made a widow. Jessica can't imagine why local criminals would be interested in Vaughan. To solve the mystery, she turns her attention to his friends in San Miguel--friends who don't appreciate Jessica poking her nose into their business....

Jessica Fletcher is in the Berkshires attending a writers' conference at a historic mansion where her friends the Savoys are hosting a murder-mystery party. As both a crime solver and a mystery author, Jessica is an old hand at this kind of thing. So she swears to the Savoys that she won't reveal the secrets of their play and goes about enjoying the weekend with her colleagues.But when a young actor's murder scene appears all too real, no one can tell what's scripted and what isn't. They say the show must go on, but everyone is wondering: Who really dunit?

Jessica Fletcher is in Washington, D.C., to support a new literary initiative set forth by a prominent senator. But when the senator's chief-of-staff dies mysteriously, Jessica discovers just how deadly politics can be.

Jessica Fletcher is pitching in to help Cabot Cove's first Lobster Festival by writing an article about the lifestyle of the local lobstermen. But instead of getting the story, she becomes tangled in a net of intrigue and murder. And she better sink her claws into this puzzling case-or she may find herself becoming the next catch of the day.

Charlie and the Shawneetown Dame, based on a true story, recounts one of the most famous turf wars waged during that national madness called Prohibition. Charlie Birger's outsized ambitions brought him from New York to Southern Illinois in search of fortune as a big-time bootlegger. He soon found that his dream to be "even bigger than Al Capone" faced a few hurdles - including the Ku Klux Klan; the vicious Shelton Brothers of East St. Louis; and Helen Holbrook, a beautiful, alcoholic socialite from Shawneetown, whose simultaneous affairs with Birger and Carl Shelton led to the escalation of an already bloody and bizarre gang war. Donald Bain vividly captures turbulent Southern Illinois during the Roaring Twenties, and deftly chronicles Birger's journey from charismatic leader with delusions of grandeur to beleaguered general in the harsh reality of hand-to-hand combat, to his demise as a dupe of a far cleverer enemy. Ultimately done in by the ""Shawneetown Dame;"" by his own inflated ego; and by a sly sheriff named Pritchard, who conned Charlie into jail, allowing the area's most famous gangster to bring his sub-machine gun into the cell with him - Charlie and his story are a fascinating piece of Americana - crude, violent, yet often humorous. Charlie and the Shawneetown Dame grandly testifies that truth indeed can be stranger than fiction.

Mystery writer Jessica Fletcher takes a three-night train trip with her friend and his railroad association through scenic British Columbia. But when a member of the entourage takes a sip of a Bloody Mary and dies, police begin investigating.The suspects gather in the Starlight Express dinner car, and it's up to Jessica to do some unplanned sleuthing before everyone's plans are derailed by death.

In Florida for the funeral of Portia Shelby, an old friend from Cabot Cove who had moved to a Florida retirement community, Jessica Fletcher and Dr. Seth Hazlitt soon discover that Portia's death may not have been from natural causes and, aided by a feisty group of retirees, sets out to track down a killer with a penchant for lethal drugs. Original.

Remember when flying was glamorous and sexy, even fun? When airline food was gourmet, everyone dressed up for a flight, and stewardesses catered to our every need-at least in our imaginations? This classic memoir by two audaciously outspoken young ladies, who lived and loved the free-spirited stewardess life, jets you back to those golden days of air travel-from the captain who's as subtle as a 747 when he's on the make to the passenger who mistakes the overhead luggage rack for an upper berth; from the names of celebrities who were a pleasure to serve (and some surprising notables on the "bad guy" list) to the origins of some naughty stereotypes-Spaniards are the best lovers, actors the most foul-mouthed. This huge bestseller, a First Class jet-age journal, offers a hilarious gold mine of outrageous anecdotes from the high-flying and amorous lives of those busty, lusty, adventuresome young women of the swinging '60s known as "stews."

The USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote mystery series continues as Jessica Fletcher uncovers scandal on a college campus... Celebrity mystery writer Jessica Fletcher is riding out Schoolman College's first tornado in over sixty years. As a visiting professor, she is there to teach a creative writing class. But after two men choose to brave the tornado rather than take shelter and one of them is found dead--Jessica finds herself nagged by the question: Why? The local police rule Professor Newmark's demise an accident. But Jessica thinks that someone on the sleepy midwestern campus has been taking lessons in murder. For starters, Newmark feared for his life at the time of his death. Was he just an eccentric academic--or was someone really after him? For persistent Jessica, there is no shortage of clues--or suspects. In fact, hidden behind Schoolman's ivy-covered walls are secrets that even Jessica could not have imagined...and enough motives for murder to produce more than one campus body.

A SETUP IN SIN CITY When her old friend Martha decided to get married in Las Vegas, Jessica Fletcher made the trip to watch her walk down the aisle. But what were the odds that she'd be back two years later--to watch Martha stand accused of her husband's murder? Jessica's never been one to gamble, but she's willing to bet that Martha isn't guilty. Martha's husband was a high-rolling Las Vegas local with three ex-wives and plenty of jealous acquaintances. After joining Martha's defense team, Jessica combs through the man's past to find the real killer. But as the media attention grows--and Jessica is interviewed by the news anchors of Court TV--the stakes are raised, and Jessica learns how to play for keeps.

In her seventeeth book adventure, bestselling author Jessica Fletcher travels to provence for some haute cuisine, and becomes embroiled in a culinary murder mystery.

A Funeral in New OrleansJessica Fletcher has a writer's conference in New Orleans and can't resist staying an extra week for the annual Jazz Festival. In her short time there, she gets a chance to sample everything the city has to offer-- its delectable food, its wonderful music and, of course, its unique brand of murder and corruption... Arts critic Wayne Copely is desperately searching for the fabled recordings of New Orleans jazz legend Little Red LeCoeur. But when he hears that his old friend Jessica Fletcher is in town, he's more than happy to take a break from work and give her an insider's view of the festival. Unfortunately, her jazz lesson and his search are tragically cut short when he turns up dead next to the grave of an old voodoo queen. And when the cops pass off the bizarre event as a mere 'accidental death', it's up to Jessica to get to the bottom of it...

Jessica Fletcher must solve a wine country caper when she takes a trip to Napa Valley in this mystery in in the long-running series. Jessica Fletcher is visiting California wine country while doing research for her next book, and invites her old friend, Scotland Yard detective George Sutherland to join her at a cozy Bed and Breakfast. No sooner do they arrive than they find the valley abuzz over the murder of a waiter at the restaurant owned by infamous ex-Hollywood heavyweight Bill Ladington. Ladington's blatant womanizing and involvement in a bitter vineyard land dispute have already marked him as a dubious character--and a possible suspect.But when Ladington turns up dead himself from a supposed "suicide," Jessica knows that a murderer is on the loose--and with a little help from George, she must try and bottle up a motive for murder from an extensive list of less-than-vintage suspects...

Jessica Fletcher gets spooked in this Halloween mystery in the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series... It's late October in Cabot Cove, and as Halloween approaches, something strange is in the air. The arrival of a self-righteous, fire-and-brimstone spiritual medium has some townspeople on the lookout for curses and evil omens; a reclusive, eccentric woman has others whispering that she is a real-life witch; and the upcoming annual Halloween party has Jessica Fletcher frantically searching for the perfect costume. Then the whole town ends up spooked when the alleged witch ends up dead in the graveyard, and everyone at the party is a suspect. Jess takes it upon herself to stir through a witches' brew of motives--and concocts a scary scheme of her own to make sure a guilty ghoul doesn't get away with murder...