Crime & Passion: Three Short Stories by Francelia Belton is now available.

Love and betrayal—the ingredients in any crime of passion. But how dangerous can desire be? For the women in these tales, falling in love may prove to be deadly.

In “Lewenda Gets Married,” a cold-blooded killer questions if happily ever after is possible for someone like them.

In “Sorry, Wrong Address,” a mix-up in house addresses gives pause to immediate revenge.

In the never published before “Collateral Damage,” a railyard robbery gang member will learn if blood is truly thicker than water.

Philosophers and playwrights say, “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” but will these women find their better angels and learn to live and let live?

Read Crime & Passion: Three Short Stories to find out.

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“The elegant, tightly written stories in Francelia Belton’s collection Crime & Passion slip under your skin with the ease and suddenness of an assassin’s knife. The takeaway? Beware a woman scorned. She’ll unman the villains, clean up the mess, and be on her way before the bad guys know what hit them. Readers who love strong women and terrific writing will applaud this anthology.”
—Barbara Nickless, Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author

Available at all these retailers: https://buy.bookfunnel.com/4b0cf2yykn

How to Book a Murder (Starlit Bookshop Mystery #1) by Cynthia Kuhn is now available from Crooked Lane Books.

Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Kate Carlisle, in award-winning author Cynthia Kuhn’s series debut, small-town bookseller and literary event planner Emma Starrs is out to close the book on a killer intent on crashing the party.

To help save her family’s floundering Colorado bookstore, Starlit Bookshop, newly minted Ph.D. Emma Starrs agrees to plan a mystery-themed dinner party for her wealthy, well-connected high school classmate Tabitha Baxter. It’s a delightful evening of cocktails and conjecture until Tabitha’s husband, Tip—hosting the affair in the guise of Edgar Allan Poe’s detective C. Auguste Dupin—winds up murdered.

In a heartbeat, Emma and her aunt Nora, a famous mystery writer, become suspects. Emma is sure the party’s over for Starlit events, until celebrated author Calliope Nightfall, whose gothic sensibilities are intrigued by the circumstances, implores the bookseller to create a Poe-themed launch event for her latest tome. Throwing a bash to die for while searching for additional clues is already enough to drive Emma stark raven mad, but another shocking crime soon reveals that Silvercrest has not yet reached the final chapter of the puzzling case.

Someone in this charming artistic community has murder on the mind, and if Emma cannot outwit the killer, she and her beloved aunt will land behind bars, to walk free nevermore.

Website: cynthiakuhn.net

How to Book a Murder: https://bit.ly/3hvzCgw

Barbara Nickless is thrilled to announce the start of a new series.

Ritual murder. Archaic clues. A visionary killer. In this heart-stopping novel by the Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Sydney Rose Parnell series, words can kill.

On the muddy banks of the Calumet River, a body has been found posed next to a series of mysterious glyphs and bearing wounds from a ritualistic slaying. Chicago detective Addie Bisset knows only one man who can decipher the message left by the killer: her friend Dr. Evan Wilding. A brilliant forensic semiotician, Evan decodes the etchings as Viking Age runes. They suggest either human sacrifice or righteous punishment. But to what god? And for what sins?

Only one thing is clear from the disturbing runic riddles: there are more victims to come.

As Evan races to determine the identity of the Viking Poet, he and Addie uncover the killer’s most terrifying secret yet: the motive. This startling discovery puts Evan’s life in mortal danger, and verse by ancient verse, time is running out.

“… At First Light is reminiscent of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. I highly recommend this book to fans of fast-paced thrillers that include riddles, ancient languages and literature.” — Jacksonville Florida Times-Union

More information about Barbara and her books can be found at: https://www.barbaranickless.com/