Synopses & Reviews
Portis House emerged from the fog as we approached, showing itself slowly as a long, low shadow....” In 1919, Kitty Weekes, pretty, resourceful, and on the run, falsifies her background to obtain a nursing position at Portis House, a remote hospital for soldiers left shell-shocked by the horrors of the Great War. Hiding the shame of their mental instability in what was once a magnificent private estate, the patients suffer from nervous attacks and tormenting dreams. But something more is going on at Portis Houseits plaster is crumbling, its plumbing makes eerie noises, and strange breaths of cold waft through the empty rooms. Its known that the former occupants left abruptly, but where did they go? And why do the patients all seem to share the same nightmare, one so horrific that they dare not speak of it?
Kitty finds a dangerous ally in Jack Yates, an inmate who may be a war hero, a madman
or maybe both. But even as Kitty and Jack create a secret, intimate alliance to uncover the truth, disturbing revelations suggest the presence of powerful spectral forces. And when a medical catastrophe leaves them even more isolated, they must battle the menace on their own, caught in the heart of a mystery that could destroy them both.
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“An excellent mystery author.”
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"Davis finely blends mystery and comedy."
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"[A] good culinary cozy series."
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Praise for the novels of Elaine Viets
“[A] heroine…with wit, intelligence, and a sense of humor.”—Mystery Scene
“Elaine Viets knows how to orchestrate a flawless mystery with just the right blend of humor, intrigue, and hot romance.”—Fresh Fiction
“Viets has written one of the funniest amateur sleuth mysteries to come along in ages.”—Midwest Book Review
“Fans will laugh at the predicaments this mystery shopper finds herself in on the job and sleuthing.”—The Mystery Gazette
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Praise for Silence for the Dead
“Vivid, eerie and atmospheric. St James latest will simultaneously tug at your heart strings and send chills down your spine. Absolutely riveting.”—Anna Lee Huber, award-winning author of the Lady Darby Historical Mystery series
“Kudos for Simone St. James. I was swept away by this atmospheric and truly spine-chilling page turner, a riveting tale of dark suspense set in 1919 within a crumbling mansion turned mental hospital. If you love a good ghost story, you will be entranced.”—Mary Sharratt, author of Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen and Daughters of the Witching Hill
Praise for the novels of Simone St. James
“Downright scary and atmospheric. I flew through the pages of this romantic and suspenseful period piece…”—New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner
“Anyone who loves Daphne du Maurier and Victoria Holt will enjoy this book… highly recommended.”—Historical Novels Society
“The perfect book to curl up with by the fire on a stormy night...although perhaps not by yourself in an empty house!”—Katherine Webb, author of The Unseen
“Another chilling story.…St. James delivers a quickly paced read that will satisfy both new and old fans.”—Publishers Weekly
“A perfectly balanced combination of mystery, romance, ghost story and history.”—Romantic Booklovers, Top Pick
“An inventively dark gothic ghost story. Read it with the lights on. Simply spellbinding.”—Susanna Kearsley, New York Times bestselling author of The Winter Sea
Synopsis
On Josie's latest assignment, her former teacher-now working in a lingerie shop-is in need of some serious support when a customer is found murdered. Unfortunately, the teacher's alibi is flimsier than the camisoles she sells, so Josie will need to bust out her sleuthing skills to expose the real killer...
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Josie Marcus has been hired to check out a big pet store?s involvement with puppy mills. When an employee who clued her into the mills? existence shows up dead, Josie realizes that sinking her teeth into this case could mean getting bitten back?
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Trouble in spades… Determined not to be a garden-variety diva, Sophie Winston’s neighbor, Natasha, cultivates a plan to shine on television—using Sophie’s backyard. As the cast and crew of the makeover show Tear It Up With Troy bulldoze through her backyard—and vacation—Sophie retreats to her perennial boyfriend Wolf’s to replace a dead rose bush. But her tender deed goes awry when she digs up a purse belonging to Wolf’s missing wife. As speculations sprout, Wolf bolts, and then a body crops up in a garden. Is Wolf’s thorny past raising a dead head? This is one case the domestic diva can’t let wither on the vine…
Synopsis
Mystery shopper Josie Marcus has been happily married to veterinarian Ted Scottsmeyer for months. But her newly wedded bliss is about to be cut short....
Josie and Ted have finally tied the knot, and theyre ready for the next step: buying a house. Teds business partner, Christine, has one shes willing to sell, but it needs a lot of love. Luckily, the newlyweds are up for the challenge.
But when they tear down a rickety gazebo in the backyard, they find the body of Christines sister, a free spirit who supposedly took off six months before. The police arrest Christine for murder, leaving Ted to work overtime at the office to cover for his partner. With no time to work on the house or be with her husband, Josie will have to find the real killer quickly, before both her house and marriage are beyond repair....
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About the Author
Elaine Viets has actually worked those dead-end jobs in her mystery novels, just like her character, Helen Hawthorne. Over the years, Elaine has been a dress store clerk, phone book proofreader, babysitter, telemarketer, bookseller, and weed puller at fifty cents a bucket. She is also the author of the Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper series and numerous short stories. Elaine has won an Anthony Award and an Agatha Award. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with her husband, author and actor Don Crinklaw. Please visit her blog: The Lipstick Chronicles.