Murder in the Park: Long Climb to the Top

And other beautiful murder settings

It is release day for Long Climb to the Top, Book #2 in the Parks Pat Mysteries series!

These quick reads can be read as stand alone police procedurals mysteries, or read the whole series to get your fill!

Long Climb to the Top

Solving this case is going to be a long climb

Detective Pat is called out to another park homicide scene with disturbing similarities to the Fish Creek murder. Digging more deeply into the evidence reveals something even more worrisome. If her instincts are right, this case may hit a little too close to home.

Is she just imagining the connections? Or could her family be in real danger?

The clock is ticking as Detective Pat homes in on a killer.

The story had a nice flow to it and beautiful and colorful descriptions especially of the parks. There is a lot of attention to detail which helps to enrich the story.
—Joanne

Looking for a police procedural set in picturesque Canada? Let Award-winning and Bestselling Author P.D. Workman take you her favourite Calgary parks, as Métis detective Margie Patenaude investigates a murder in this fast-paced new series.

These short mysteries are just right for those days when you could use a break from your busy life. Take a walk in a Calgary park with Parks Pat.

Climb into in a new mystery today!

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These quick reads are free of sex, gore, and swearing, so you can be confident in reading and sharing them with others.

Want to know more about this series? Check out my Author Q&A.

Book #1 was released last week and book #3 releases next week:

The next three books will be out in April, but you can preorder them now:

More Natural Deaths

Since I featured other new releases last week, I wanted to try something else this week, so I am focusing on other books with murders that take place in parks or natural spaces. Check them out!

The Nature of the Beast

Hardly a day goes by when nine year old Laurent Lepage doesn’t cry wolf. From alien invasions, to walking trees, to winged beasts in the woods, to dinosaurs spotted in the village of Three Pines, his tales are so extraordinary no one can possibly believe him. Including Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache, who now live in the little Quebec village.

But when the boy disappears, the villagers are faced with the possibility that one of his tall tales might have been true.

And so begins a frantic search for the boy and the truth. What they uncover deep in the forest sets off a sequence of events that leads to murder, leads to an old crime, leads to an old betrayal. Leads right to the door of an old poet.

And now it is now, writes Ruth Zardo. And the dark thing is here.

A monster once visited Three Pines. And put down deep roots. And now, Ruth knows, it is back.

Armand Gamache, the former head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, must face the possibility that, in not believing the boy, he himself played a terrible part in what happens next.

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A Witchy Surprise

A magical heritage. A threat in the forest. An explosion of powers.

Charley Cooper is tired of being the lone non-magical person in a family of witches. At the ripe-old age of sixteen, she believes the witchy gene has skipped her. But when something dark in the forest threatens her best friend and her little sister, Charley’s powers appear out of nowhere.

Now Charley’s best friend is angry about the secrecy. Her crush is dating someone else. And, her out of control powers threaten to expose her family’s secret.

When a dangerous enemy tries to silence them forever, Charley knows she must fight back. But can she learn to control her magic before they’re all taking a nap in the local graveyard?

Multiple stores

Canterbury Woods

If Maeve doesn’t face her gift, who else will die?

Maeve knows talking to the dead isn’t hokum but learning to control her gift lands her in deeper water than she could have imagined. Maeve’s feelings for Steve, (Detective Inspector Maguire), resurface.

Managing everyday life, two daughters, an unexpected house guest and her eccentric mother, in lockdown are distracting. So is death.

Set in Canterbury, England, Maeve turns forty as she discovers that the dead can talk to her. This is not good news, she has spent most of her life ashamed of her mother, Ada, the famous psychic and spirit medium. However Ada’s own recent drama means she can no longer commune with the other side. Ada thinks it’s temporary, Maeve’s not so sure.

Tripping over a dead body on her woodland walk, drives Maeve to reconnect with the police and re-evaluate her relationship with Steve, officially D.I. Maguire.

Relationships are hard at any age, but add in ‘social distancing’ and are they even possible?

COVID lockdown resets the family, bringing Maeve’s two fast-maturing daughters home. As they enjoy good food and zoom calls with Ada, the family are drawn into the mystery. Each one has their role to play, unearthing history, and developing relationships.

Maeve is coming to terms with her growing powers. Will they get there in time to stop the next murder?

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Case of the Howling Husky

In Case of the Howling Husky, mystery writer Esther Luttrell presents a treasury of suspense fiction that every fan will cherish.

Scottish novelist Ian Hall sets the lead story, Case of the Howling Husk –  a brilliantly written story of international intrigue – at a ballet performed for the world elite, inside an Antarctic IceStation.  

Mike Graves weaves plots-with-a-twist in The Leaves Never Lie and again in his short, short story Nighty Night.

Emerging author, Marcus Jay, introduces hard-hitting Braxton Carter in his action-packed The Weapon & The Wound. 

Vicki Julian brings readers a relationship tale of Double Deception.

Acclaimed sci-fi writer Dennis Smirl conquers a new genre for himself with Murder at the Liberty Ballroom.

Mystery buffs will delight in the thrilling stories spun by 6 first-rate suspense writers.

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Virtually Harmless

From award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author, P.D. Workman

Micah lived a quiet, comfortable life, her involvement in law enforcement limited to the composite pictures that she produced with her computer and colored pencils.

But everything is turned upside down when she involves herself in the case of an infant found abandoned in the Sweetgrass Hills.

With the help of her knowledge of DNA and law enforcement contacts across the country, Micah is closing in on a killer. But her investigation draws the killer’s attention, and she finds herself in the middle of an operation that could mean the end of her career—or worse, her life.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This cosy thriller with a neurodivergent, aro-ace MC will keep you turning the pages long after you should have logged into your day job. Oops.

Love CSI and other forensic mysteries? Award-winning and USA Today bestselling author brings you this fresh new nail-biter for your next read.

Join Micah as she picks up her pencils and starts on a new case.

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“P. D. Workman has outdone herself with this riveting techno-thriller featuring Micah Miller, a forensic artist specializing in composite renderings based on forensic DNA phenotyping … This book offers plenty of thrills, chills, suspense and white-knuckled tension as the plot unfolds and it kept me turning pages until late into the night. The story is clean and well-written, the plot is fascinating, the pace is relentless and the characters are realistic and relatable. I highly recommend this absorbing and thoroughly enjoyable thriller to anyone who favors CSI, NCIS, Cold Case, Forensic Files or any high-tech inspired crime-solving theme.”

—Kim, Goodreads reviewer

Murder at Pooch Park

Nikki Green thought muddy paws and furry scuffles were the worst troubles she’d encounter at the local dog park. So, she’s shocked when her client’s German Shepherd sniffs out her friend’s dead body. And her confusion only grows when the hunky detective who helped her through a life-changing experience years ago treats her like a total stranger. But with her friend’s killer on the loose, she has little time to ponder the mystery of his baffling behavior.

Side-by-side with her canine companions, she searches for the killer and discovers her detective pal wasn’t the only one acting strangely. To find her friend’s murderer, Nikki must dig through a web of secrets and suspects before the killer strikes again.

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Skunk Man Swamp

Danger lurks in the water!

With the Magical Spring Games approaching, Damon hires Reg to help him to track down a missing contestant deep in the Everglades. If Reg thought this was going to be a walk in the (national) park, she’s got another thing coming.

Covering 1.5 million acres and home to both magical and non-magical predators, including those of the two-legged variety, Reg isn’t sure she is up to the challenge. Could anyone be?

Reg had better hold onto that airboat, it’s going to be a wild ride.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ …an everglades adventure replete mishaps, misunderstandings, magical beings, and mythological creatures.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ …another well-written mystery with a suspenseful plot and strong characters. 

Like paranormal mysteries? Psychics, witches, fairies, and more! Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author P.D. Workman waves her wand to transport readers to the myth- and magic-filled small town of Black Sands for another paranormal cozy mystery to be solved by Reg Rawlins and her friends.

A self-professed con artist practicing as a contact to the dead, a drop-dead gorgeous warlock, and a psychic cat—what could go wrong?

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Murder in Tranquility Park

Ever since Alberta Scaglione inherited her spinster aunt’s Cape Cod cottage, she’s been enjoying the good life in Tranquility, New Jersey, with her black cat, Lola.

But since things are mostly quiet in this town, she finds other things to do—like joining Jinx for morning jogs in Tranquility Park. She has to do something to stay healthy, as long as it doesn’t involve Jinx’s healthful tofu sausages and gluten-free pasta. But when they stumble across a treehouse hidden in the trees, and a dead body underneath it, they take a detour into solving a murder.

Now the Ferrara ladies will have to exercise extreme caution to avoid a permanent decline in their health . . .

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Hot on the Trail Mix

Spelunking isn’t for sissies.

When Vic and Willie discover human remains in a cave they are exploring, the shock waves are felt throughout Bald Eagle Falls. When Willie falls under suspicion, Erin has to do more than just make her awesome new granola bars and trail mix.

Erin’s investigations reveal that there is more to the case than meets the eye, and if she is going to uncover the truth, she had better watch her step.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Fun easy to read mystery. I personally love love love …. the ending.
—Disney, Goodreads reviewer

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This book is everything I expect of Ms. Workman. The characters are well developed and believable, the plot is deliciously twisty, and the writing exceptional.
—Sandy, Goodreads reviewer

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Death on Paradise Island

An island paradise. A grisly murder. Can a detective put his rugby days behind him to tackle a killer case?

Josefa “Joe” Horseman holds out hope for a comeback. But after riding high in top class rugby, returning to the Fiji detective force with a bum knee and a promotion-hungry new partner wasn’t what he had in mind. So he knows he’ll have to up his game when guests at a beachside resort discover a young maid’s corpse snagged on the reef.

Sorting through the victim’s list of jealous admirers, Joe’s under pressure to solve the case before the high-end vacation spot takes a major hit to its reputation… and its bottom line. But just as he uncovers a lead on a sabotage suspect, another body rises to the surface.

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Murder in the Secret Garden

There is a hidden garden bordering the grounds of Jane Steward’s book-themed resort—a garden filled with beautiful but deadly plants such as mandrake and nightshade. Tucked away behind ivy-covered walls and accessible only through a single locked door, as described in the pages of Frances Hodges Burnett’s classic novel, the garden is of special interest to Jane’s current group of guests, The Medieval Herbalists. But when one of them turns up dead, Jane must discover whether a member of the group has come to Storyton Hall to celebrate their passion for plant lore or to implement a particularly cruel means for murder.
 
With thousands of books at her disposal, Jane believes she has the proper materials to solve this deadly problem. If she’s wrong, however, she may lose something far more precious than the contents of Storyton’s secret library…

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In the Woods

A role-playing game staged in the remote woods of the North East Kingdom, turns deadly when a killer uses the game as a means to seize his victims.

A dead body is discovered in the woods by Samantha, a Forest Ranger who works at Maidstone Lake. The locals call her Sam. She swears to bring the killer to justice for the victim but soon finds herself in over her head, as she works alongside New Hampshire Trooper Zachary Gerard assigned to the case. More bodies turn up and motivation to solve the crimes mount.

Old secrets get in Sam’s way, and she isolates herself from others. Mourning her mother, haunted by unanswered questions about the past, she lives with cracked relationships—between herself and her father—her friends.

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