It's that time of year! Pumpkins and fake body parts appear in yards, and our minds turn to murder... mysteries. I have pulled together a variety of books that are Halloween themed or touch on Halloween in their plots. My recently released medical thriller below, Doctored Death, for example, does not have a Halloween theme, but does take place around Halloween and includes a Halloween masquerade charity ball. ...

It has been a long time since I read any of Lilian Jackson Braun's "The Cat Who..." series, so I am enjoying a return to the series with The Cat Who Blew the Whistle. I haven't read all of the books in this series, but I couldn't tell you which ones I have or haven't read. Enough that I know the main characters, and that coming back to the series is a bit like returning home. ...

Have you been waiting for the next book in the Kenzie Kirsch series? Your wait is over! Doctored Death, book #2 in the Kenzie Kirsch Medical Thriller series, is in the wild. Doctored Death can be read as a standalone medical suspense mystery, or as part of both the Kenzie Kirsch series and the Zachary Goldman series. ...

Many cozy mystery series begin with the sleuth inheriting a store or home, sometimes from a previously unknown relative, so that she is able to fulfill her dream of opening a book store, bakery, bed and breakfast, etc. In Beaches, Bungalows & Burglaries, the opposite happens. Protagonist Mae West's husband has defrauded people out of millions of dollars. He is in prison and the FBI have ceased all of his assets, so that all Mae is left with is a little RV park that she never knew he owned. And... spoiler alert... it is not in the kind of shape it was back in its heyday. ...

Believe it or not, another year has passed, and it is the eighth anniversary of publishing Looking Over Your Shoulder. Who could have foreseen that in the next seven years, I would publish another 74 titles. Together with boxed sets/omnibuses, a couple of shorts, and a recipe book, it comes out to about 118 works in total. ...

Stop at Nothing is the first book in Michael Ledwidge's Michael Gannon series, and it starts off with a splash. A Gulfstream jet ends up in the drink in the Bahamas, with only one witness (and one who cannot call for help, due to a recent fishing mishap involving his radio antennae.) Fisherman Michael Gannon checks out the wreck, and you might think that would be the end of it, especially when he decides to do a little property recovery from the luggage that was on the jet. But Gannon has a rather exciting past, and the retiree fisher is more than meets the eye. ...

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? Give yourself a treat and buy three books in the Reg Rawlins, Psychic Detective series for one low price. ...

Who cut out Crazy Theresa? Erin Price finds herself in the middle of a police investigation when a friend is accused of killing her. ...

Was Pa poisoned? Everything is just fine in Bald Eagle Falls. Auntie Clem’s Bakery is stable and making good money. It seems like ages since anyone was murdered or kidnapped. And it seems like just yesterday. But things are not so rosy in Moose River. When Vic gets the call that her father is on his deathbed, she isn’t sure what to do. Erin takes the trip with her and it soon becomes clear to both of them that all is not right with the Jackson family. Something dark and dangerous is going on in Moose River, and Erin Price is about to get her fill ...

Today's book is The Waters of Eternal Youth by Donna Leon (which I thought was interesting, as Ponce de Leon was supposed to have found the Fountain of Eternal Youth— But this is book number 25 in the Commissario Brunetti series and appears to be the only book with any eternal youth references.) In this case, "eternal youth" does not refer to the body not aging, but to a character whose development was stymied by hypoxic brain damage after a near drowning in one of the canals. ...

Today is National Ice Cream Cone day. Mmmm! I decided that matched up nicely with my latest book release, Dark Water Under the Bridge, which includes mentions of a favourite ice cream parlour in our area, Mackay's: ...

This week's teaser is from All By Myself, Alone by Mary Higgins Clark. I think the first book that I read by Mary Higgins Clark was The Cradle Will Fall, a scary medical thriller that kind of freaked me out as a twelve- or thirteen-year-old. I was hooked. All By Myself, Alone, is part of Mary Higgins Clark's Alvirah & Willy Series, a cozy mystery series far removed from the medical thriller genre. But it is still good. Full of interesting characters, several murders and attempted murders, and a priceless emerald necklace all aboard a cruise ship. ...

It is release day for Dark Water under the Bridge, book #3 of the Parks Pat Mysteries series! These quick reads can be read as stand alone mysteries, or read the whole series to get your fill of the characters and beautiful settings! They are free of sex, gore, and swearing, so you can be confident in reading and sharing them with others ...

In Stalker on the Fens, Nikki Galena is approached by a friend who she had previously saved from a horrific building collapse. The woman thinks that she is being stalked, but her family and friends are apt to put it down as PTSD rather than something that is really happening to her. Bad turns to worse, and before long Galena is trying to deal with a couple of bodies and some significant unrest between two criminal factions. There are plenty of suspects, but trying to narrow it down and rule them out is not easy ...

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

With 28 books in the series, I feel like I should have run into Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano Mysteries before now! These are English translations of the original Italian, a series of Police Procedurals set in Sicily, full of sensory and culinary detail. Rounding the Mark is book #7 in the series. While Inspector Montalbano is threatening to resign, I would assume by the fact that there are 21 more books following this one, that he never quite gets around to retiring. ...

Well, I've been prepping for this for a few months, and the day is finally here! The first release in my brand new Parks Pat Mysteries series. Unlike most of my books which are set in the USA, these ones are set locally, in and around Calgary, Alberta. And that means that they are full of beautiful scenery, history, and Canadiana. ...

Flavia is a rather morbid child (age eleven) with a fascination with chemistry, poisons, bodies, and murder. She is very handy in her chemistry lab and although she often gets in the way of the local constabulary, she is also usually ahead of them in solving murders that take place in the local village (and in this case, even on the de Luce family property.) ...

Read Parks Pat Mysteries, a gripping police procedural mystery series set in Calgary parks featuring Métis Homicide Detective Margie Patenaude ...