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Murder's on the menu in this savory debut. Gwen (nee Katz) Silver heard the brisket at her uncle's Jewish deli, Murray the Pastrami Swami–the only one of its kind in Nashville, Tennessee–was «to die for.» But she didn't realize that meant literally. . .When Gwen learns she's inherited Murray's, the native New Yorker leaves her chaotic career and messy divorce behind to start over in Nashville. But the venture seems doomed from the start. Murray's taken his recipes and secret list of food suppliers to the grave with him, and ruthless real estate developer Royce Sinclair will stop at nothing to try and sandwich Murray's into his already overstuffed portfolio. Then, on Kosher Karaoke Night, longtime customer Buster Sergeant bites into his brisket. . .and bites the dust. The coroner says food poisoning, but Gwen's not convinced. Now, with the help of hunky police detective Beau McClintock, «Nashville Katz»–as Gwen is quickly nicknamed–will find herself adding «private investigator» to her resume–and a new love to her life.A native of Brooklyn, New York, Delia Rosen is the author of A Brisket, A Casket and One Foot in the Gravy. She now lives in Maine. She spends her time between writing and searching for good bagels.

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Wordsmith Jaine Austen's ship has finally come in. Her new teaching gig on a fancy cruise line nabs her a free vacation–and access to a 24-hour buffet! But sooner than you can say «bon voyage,» Jaine's all-expenses-paid trip to the Mexican Riviera seems destined to be a wreck. . .Things are already off to a rocky start when Jaine discovers a stowaway amidst her luggage–her persnickety cat Prozac. Jaine's sinking sensation grows stronger at dinner, where she meets chatty Emily Pritchard, a wealthy seventy-year-old who's traveling with her two nephews. Jaine can't help noticing the tension among them, especially when the cruise's charming–and sleazy–British dancer, Graham, whisks Emily out onto the dance floor. Soon Emily is accepting Graham's invitations to every social event on the ship. Two nights later the bubbly couple announces their engagement, but the news is quickly overshadowed the next morning by the discovery of Graham's body with an ice pick protruding from his chest. . .Between hiding a furry fugitive, flirting with Emily's nephew Robbie, and baiting the hook for a clever murderer, Jaine is about to dive into her most dangerous case yet. . .

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As owner of Maid for a Day, Charlotte LaRue is cleaning up New Orleans house by house. When it comes to hired help, she's the best there is, especially if murder runs in the family. . . Though she's short two employees, Charlotte answers a desperate plea the weekend before Mardi Gras. A woman named Emily Rossi is hosting a huge bash for out-of-town guests, and just lost her maid to a family emergency. And Charlotte soon learns why. Emily's husband, Robert, just happens to be the most ruthless crime boss in the country. Nevertheless, Charlotte agrees to help at the Rossi family's costume ball when one of the servers comes down with the flu. She's beginning to think that the party is a cover for Robert's illegal activities, when the man himself is found dead in the library. The case seems cut-and-dried–to anyone but Charlotte, that is. Although Emily looks guilty as sin, Charlotte has seen enough of the Rossi family's dirty laundry to suspect everyone. But she'd better tread carefully if she doesn't want to spend Fat Tuesday in the bayou, sleeping with the catfish. . . Praise for Barbara Colley and her Charlotte LaRue Mysteries! "Thoroughly enjoyable." – Mystery Scene "An appealingly down-to-earth sleuth. Fans of Southern cozies will enjoy." – Library Journal ". . .Charlotte LaRue will dust her way into readers' hearts. . ." – Publishers Weekly

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Doing a favor for a friend in need has Charlotte cleaning rooms at the New Orleans Jazzy Hotel. The historic Garden District mansion is serving as a home-away-from-home for Shreveport's chapter of the Red Scarf Sorority, a group of socially elite women in their forties.While picking up beautiful red silk scarves from the floor of a room she's cleaning, Charlotte is startled by the sudden arrival of its ranting and raving occupant. Charlotte is stunned into silence, until the Red Scarf Sorority comes to the rescue. The women manage to calm Tessa Morgan, who just had a run-in with her estranged husband's much younger mistress Lisa.The next day, Charlotte gets back to work, only to learn that Lisa has been murdered, strangled by what could have been a red scarf. Now it's time for Charlotte to start scouring through clues before the person who rubbed out Lisa makes a clean getaway. . .

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The first three holiday mini-mysteries in the New York Times bestselling Tourist Trap Mystery series, together for the first time! Jill Gardner, owner of Coffee, Books, and More, knows better than anyone that Sunny South Cove, California, is the picture-perfect place to spend the holidays—solving murders . . .   ROCKETS’ DEAD GLARE   When the local volunteer fire chief is found buried in ashes, Jill will have to work quickly to nab a killer with a short fuse—or else everyone’s Fourth of July will end with a fizzle . . .   A DEADLY BREW   Jill and her friends gather for an overnight Halloween fright fest in an abandoned house. Sounds like fun until a ghost makes contact with Jill IRL.   SANTA PUPPY   Jill Gardner has volunteered to host a Christmas adopt-a-pet party at Coffee, Books, and More. But when a dog owner mysteriously dies, it’s up to Jill to play Santa’s Little Crime Solver . . .   Praise for The Tourist Trap Mysteries   “I love the author’s style, which was warm and friendly . . . [A] wonderfully appealing series.” — Dru’s Book Musings                                                                                                         “Light, fun, and kept me thoroughly engaged.”— The Young Folks

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In this collection of nineteen short stories, Craig Nybo invites you to visit the lives of mostly unfortunate souls as they face the most terrifying moments of their existences. With everything from vampire hunting to zombie bashing, from steampunk death devices to shifty soul brokers, Nybo brings his own sense of perspective and, of course, his sense of humor to this collection of departures from reality. Terrifying Lies contains Nybo's acclaimed story, «The Mechanic,» along with eighteen other tales of the macabre.
Whether you are looking for scary stories for adults or a collection of scary stories for sleepovers, Terrifying Lies sits at the top of even the most discerning list of scary books on the market. If you are looking for a scary book of short departures into darker realms, pick up a copy of Terrifying Lies.
From the Author I love short fiction. Sadly, short stories currently are not in demand. They belong to a bygone world where people subscribed to pulp magazines like Weird Tales and Amazing Stories. There are still periodicals and anthologies around, but they just don’t sell well. It seems now that we short story writers have lost our readers to smart phone aps and social networking. Oh well, times change. Call me a relic, but I still enjoy a good yarn written in 1,500 to 7,500 words.
Short story writing is a craft in and of itself. I have read too many short stories that are nothing more than a snatch of time during a character’s every-day life, or a description of a rogue walking down a dark street. Characters that make life-changing decisions and suffer the consequences drive the best short stories. I hope you enjoy this collection. Consider them peeks into the lives of mostly unfortunate souls as they face their penultimate hours of elation or dread.
The problem of presentation order beset me as I put this compilation together. In the end, I decided to put them in order from longest to shortest. I think it might give you the sense of reading downhill. It’s always more fun to run down than to trod up.

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