ON HER MAJESTY’S FRIGHTFULLY SECRET SERVICE by Rhys Bowen Royal Spyness Mystery #11 In the new Royal Spyness Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Crowned and Dangerous, Lady Georgiana Rannoch juggles secret missions from the Queen, Darcy, and her mother. But it’s all in a day’s work when you’re thirty-fifth in line to the British Crown. When Darcy runs off on another secret assignment, I am left to figure out how to travel to Italy sans maid and chaperone to help my dear friend Belinda, as she awaits the birth of her baby alone. An opportunity presents itself in a most unexpected way—my cousin the queen is in need of a spy to attend a house party in the Italian lake country. The Prince of Wales and the dreadful Mrs. Simpson have been invited, and Her Majesty is anxious to thwart a possible secret wedding. What luck! A chance to see Belinda and please the queen as I seek her permission to relinquish my claim to the throne so I can marry Darcy. Only that’s as far as my good fortune takes me. I soon discover that Mummy is attending the villa party and she has her…

CHIME AND PUNISHMENT by Julianne Holmes Clock Shop Expert clockmaker Ruth Clagan has another murder on her hands in the third Clock Shop Mystery from the author of Clock and Dagger. Years ago, the serenity of picturesque Orchard, Massachusetts, was shattered by a fire that destroyed the town’s beloved clock tower. Ruth inherited the dream of repairing it from her late grandfather. Now that she’s returned home to run his clock shop, the Cog & Sprocket, she’s determined to make it happen, despite wrenches that are being thrown into the works by her least favorite person, town manager Kim Gray. A crowd of residents and visitors are excited to see the progress of the tower at a fund-raiser for the campaign, until Kim is found crushed under the tower’s bell, putting an end to all the fun. The list of suspects is so long it could be read around the clock, and it includes some of Ruth’s nearest and dearest. Time’s a-wastin’ as Ruth tries to solve another murder in her beloved Orchard while keeping the gears clicking on her dream project. Mystery Cozy | Mystery Amateur Sleuth [Berkley Prime Crime, On Sale: August 1, 2017, Mass Market Paperback /…

Hello fiction fans. I’m Anita DeVito and I’m thrilled to share exclusive insider information on my latest release LOST IN DECEPTION. A strong man needs a stronger woman. My hero, Tom Riley, was introduced in the first in the series, Lost in Tennessee. Tom is a structural engineer, build like a brick sh$t house with a mind to match. When it comes to ladies, he was all about appreciating them but commitment was a four-letter word. Finding him the perfect mate was a challenge. I created three or four female leads and Tom kept blowing them off. Until Peach Morales. Ex-military with a flair for being in the wrong place at the right time, Peach was the kind of smart that doesn’t come in a book. She had built her life by thinking two steps faster than her enemies and having the guts to stepped over the line. Peach didn’t want a man in her life…which drew Tom like a moth to a flame. It’s a case of the one thing you want is the one you can’t have. A strong woman needs a creative guy—in and out of the bedroom. Peach didn’t see why she needed a male lead…

The best way to deal with the heat of summer is to find a place in the shade, or the air conditioning;), and read an incredible mystery. Mysteries full of spunky characters who act as spies, and everyday Janes who aren’t about to let the wrong person be accused of murder. Read about a woman who loves her fiancee beyond any claim to the thrown, and a woman who will do what it takes to restore the historical clock tower in the center of town. Get lost in a heroine’s traveling nightmares on her trip to Italy for her queen, and another’s determination to keep love in the air despite the danger lurking in town. Enjoy these mysteries—they’re sure to keep you intrigued! ON HER MAJESTY’S FRIGHTFULLY SECRET SERVICE by Rhys Bowen Royal Spyness Mystery #11 In the new Royal Spyness Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Crowned and Dangerous, Lady Georgiana Rannoch juggles secret missions from the Queen, Darcy, and her mother. But it’s all in a day’s work when you’re thirty-fifth in line to the British Crown. When Darcy runs off on another secret assignment, I am left to figure out how to travel to…

CLAIMING ALEXIS features Blake Anderson, who isn’t thrilled he has to work with the younger, and (so he thinks) spoiled Alexis Grant. But as time goes on, the two find that they have much more in common than a desire to help others. Just when they are settling into life as a couple, the case they’ve been working on heats up and Alexis finds herself smack dab in the middle of a situation she never could’ve imagined. In the beginning of the book, Alexis starts out as a kind of intern at Ace Security. In book one, her brother was kidnapped along with the heroine of that story and Alexis meets the brothers of Ace Security and decides she wants to know more about the security business. She doesn’t expect to fall head over heels in love with Blake Anderson…her boss. She knows it’s not a good idea to date her boss, but when he asks her out, she literally cannot say no. I could just picture her trying to talk herself out of dating Blake in her head by making a list of all some of the reasons why dating her boss is bad news. I would think it…

Miranda Owen: In DRAGONSWORN, Falcyn and Medea are both warriors and have both known bone-deep grief. Do you prefer writing a hero and heroine who have a lot in common, or who are opposites that are thrown together? Sherrilyn Kenyon: Both 🙂 They each have their own challenges and are fun to write, for different reasons. Miranda Owen: Betrayal and trust are hand-in-hand themes in many of your books. What draws to these themes? Sherrilyn Kenyon: Both are part of life. Sadly, almost everyone goes through betrayal at some point, and it’s learning to trust again that’s so hard and yet so important. I had an extremely traumatic childhood that left me with severe trust issues, so I know exactly how hard it is to let down your guard for anyone. To make yourself vulnerable again after you’ve been hurt. But we’re not islands and people need people. That’s something my characters usually have to learn and explore for themselves. That learning to open up and trust again, even when they’re scared to. Miranda Owen: Because Urian and Stryker are both characters in DRAGONSWORN, I can’t help but think to earlier books with those characters. Since DARK SIDE OF THE…

There’s a certain hero cocktail that hits all of my buttons. Big and gruff? Check. But a love on the inside. Also check. Scarred and messed up in so many ways? Check check check. And a loner. Yes. One hundred percent yes. I’ve got heroes who don’t fit this mold, because life is made up of more than just loners and I like to think my books mirror life, but when I can write one, I jump at the chance. And I absolutely love to read them. Luc, the hero of In His Hands, the third book in my Blank Canvas series, is a gruff, but sweet recluse and I absolutely adored putting him on the page. Here are a few other loner heroes who are impossible to forget. In UNBOUND, Cara McKenna gives us reclusive Rob who is kinky and strange and totally my kind of hero. He’s a mess, so of course I love him. The man is in self-imposed exile in the highlands, after his life fell apart in large part due to his alcoholism. By the time the heroine comes across him, he thinks he’s a lost cause. Aren’t lost cause heroes the best? Noah Gideon…

For Women’s History Month, I felt it was only fitting to pay homage to the female authors of the past who continue to captivate mystery readers across generations. With their boundary-breaking literature, these women have influenced and motivated a multitude of incredible female authors who continue to expand upon their foremother’s legacy. To celebrate their achievements, I asked a few women currently making history in the mystery genre about the female inspirations behind their writing. From a few eloquent words, to heartfelt memories, I hope you enjoy the history of mystery through the eyes of a few women I admire and respect. Susan Wittig Albert , author of THE LAST CHANCE OLIVE RANCH “My father loved to read British mysteries, and from him I learned an early love of Agatha Christie (of course), but also of Ngaio Marsh, Patricia Wentworth, Margery Allingham, and Dorothy Sayers. They taught me a great respect for the classical mystery plot: for the way stories hang together (or don’t) from the beginning, through a confusing middle, all the way to the inevitable end. They also taught me that plot absolutely develops from character, and not the other way around.” Winnie Archer, author of KNEADED TO…

Miranda Owen: What is it about vampires that capture your imagination? Kate Baxter: I’ve always been a fan of vampires! I read Anne Rice’s INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE when I was 17, and after that, I was hooked. I love the aura of darkness that surrounds them, the intensity of their emotions, and the potential for so much self-inflicted torture. I love to write internal conflict and with vampires, there is so much opportunity to explore their angst. It’s fun to shed a little light on characters who are condemned to live in darkness! Miranda Owen: The mercenary and morally ambiguous character Christian pops up in THE LOST VAMPIRE. After writing about him, and including him in the past books, is he a character you really enjoy writing for – perhaps more so than when he first appeared? Kate Baxter: I absolutely LOVE Christian. Along with Siobhan, he’s one of my favorite characters to write. I definitely consider him a bit of an antihero and with each book, I fall a little more in love with him! He’s flawed and self-destructive and a little selfish. His character has room to grow and at the same time, his character traits have…

I’ve always been extremely creative. I missed the clues that I might enjoy writing…like loving my creative writing class in high school and even earning an A+ from a tough teacher, but like I said—Duh. I had already decided to pursue fine art, so I stubbornly stuck to that goal. But at Mass College of Art I discovered there were far more talented people than I, and we were all going to starve. LOL Fast forward several years with twists and turns like marriage, birth, divorce, and I became an RN to put food on the table. In nursing, creativity is highly discouraged by doctors who want you to follow their orders to the letter. Sheesh. I needed an outlet! I took a course in screenwriting. That taught me how to tell stories, but Hollywood passed on my romantic comedies. Oh well. I lived closer to New York, anyway. So I turned my ‘movies’ into novels and found where I fit in. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Well behaved women rarely make history.” Well, I don’t have to worry about that! I monitored my reading tastes to see what I might like to spend months writing. (Novels are a hellova lot longer…