Crooked Lane Books strana 3 z 7

It''s Christmastime in Rudolph, New York, which means it''s time for the December Santa Claus parade. This year, shop owner Merry Wilkinson has decided to decorate her float as Santa''s elves'' workshop and invites her landlady, Mabel D''Angelo, to help supervise the excited children playing the elves. But when Mrs. D''Angelo doesn''t show up, Merry begins to worry. Worry quickly turns into frustration when Mrs. D''Angelo reveals she was delayed by new neighbors moving in. As the center for all things gossip, Mrs. D''Angelo is determined to introduce the new arrivals to the neighborhood. As the days pass, Mrs. D''Angelo notices strange things about the newcomers, but Merry, busier than an elf in Santa''s workshop, has little time for matters that really don''t concern her. But things turn from jolly to downright concerning when Mrs. D''Angelo disappears, and Merry is forced to admit that something might be terribly wrong. With family and friends counting on her during this stressful holiday season, it is up to Merry to make sure this Christmas doesn''t end up wrapped in blood red.

This hilarious and compelling whodunnit mystery has the ''crime close to home'' feel of Only Murders in the Building and is perfect for readers who loved Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect and Finlay Donovan Is Killing It. Brad Hanson''s life in his suburban Atlanta subdivision is unremarkable. He investigates insurance fraud, which is as dull as it sounds, though if he''s able to get a good bonus this year, his wife Rhonda will finally get to have her new kitchen. His highest achievement in life is being secretary and de facto parliamentarian on the homeowners association board, which is the center of all the neighborhood drama. As frustrating - and heated - as the arguments over tennis court resurfacing and dog droppings may be, much like his subdivision compatriots, Brad would never kill a neighbour, but... he might enjoy thinking about it from time to time. (Who hasn''t?). When someone murders cranky old Inga Oskarsdotter - a frequent source of complaints to the HOA board-a literal smoking gun turns Brad into the chief suspect. But Brad is not waiting around to be arrested - after all, he is an investigator by trade - and he takes it upon himself to find the real killer. Then the body count starts to rise. One thing is sure: A murderer on the block is not good for property values.

Newlyweds Mattie and Cole Walker are teaching Cole''s daughters how to snowshoe in a remote canyon when a shattering scream pierces the air. They know that somewhere ahead, someone has been injured or worse. Cole takes the girls while Mattie and Robo go deeper into the canyon to search for the source of the scream. From a distance, Mattie and Robo see a shadowy figure at the base of a cliff, but a rockslide buries the person under layers of stone and shale before they can provide help. Desperate to uncover the individual in case they''re still alive under the rock, their efforts are in vain. The victim is already dead. When they investigate the canyon rim from which the person fell, they discover evidence that indicates the fall was no accident. To make matters worse, the victim was one of Cole''s friends. The Timber Creek County investigative team springs into action, uncovering a trail of greed that leads to a killer who threatens Mattie''s cherished new family and tests her with the most difficult task she''s faced in her duty as a K-9 handler.

Dave Hendricks was once a respected man in Shady Grove, a tiny town on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. But after his wife leaves him for his best friend, he also loses his job, and his reputation is left in shambles. With nothing but his houseboat and his dog left, he''s working odd jobs and listening to the blues. But when murder strikes their peaceful town, Dave finds himself compelled to team up with Sheriff Victor Burns, the man who betrayed him and took his wife to find the killer. Two bodies are found on Cedar Lake and both murders strike fear in the tight-knit community. Old friends and foes draw back into Hendricks'' life in the investigation, and he''s forced to finally come to terms with what is and what was - or see justice die in the process.  Powerful and intriguing at every turn, Dead Man''s Float asserts S. D. House as a knife-sharp voice in the crime genre.

A remote deserted island off the coast of Maine holds dark memories and disturbing secrets for the family who once lived on its rocky shores. Though nineteen-year-old Sally de Gama remembers nothing about the accident that took place on Captain''s Island and destroyed her family when she was a little girl, she suffers from intense anxiety, pervasive bouts of dissociation, and gruesome nightmares. All Sally knows is that her mother hasn''t spoken since the accident that took the life of Sally''s twin sister. Following the tragedy, her family fled and never looked back. When her mother suddenly dies, Sally and three college friends travel to the island - for her friends it''s an adventure to a strange, abandoned place. For Sally, it''s a desperate bid to recover some of her memories and understand what really happened to her family. But when memories begin to return, Sally is overcome by grief and rage that threaten to plunge her into madness - a madness that is fed by a malevolent presence stalking them on the island.

No one knows that Alice Hardy is alone and walking the dark streets of Chicago after leaving her lover''s apartment. So when a man drags her into an alley at knifepoint, she knows nobody will come to her rescue. Forced into a fight for survival, Alice leaves the man desperately wounded by his own knife and flees with her life. When Alice tells her lover and they rush back to the alley, the ground is bare. There is no wounded attacker. There is no body. There is no blood. There is no knife. There is nothing to report to the police. But unbeknownst to Alice, one other person knows what happened in the alley: Owen Pall, a private detective slumming it with unsavoury divorce work. Hired to tail a possibly straying husband, Owen followed the man to the alley and witnessed the thwarted assault and saved the man''s life. Jake Hinkson weaves a noirish tale of desperate people, whose intertwining secrets and motives will lead to a web of lies, blackmail, and dead bodies in this suspenseful novel for fans of Harlan Coben.

Dave Hendricks was once a respected man in Shady Grove, a tiny town on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. But after his wife leaves him for his best friend, he also loses his job, and his reputation is left in shambles. With nothing but his houseboat and his dog left, he''s working odd jobs and listening to the blues. But when murder strikes their peaceful town, Dave finds himself compelled to team up with Sheriff Victor Burns, the man who betrayed him and took his wife to find the killer. Two bodies are found on Cedar Lake and both murders strike fear in the tight-knit community. Old friends and foes draw back into Hendricks'' life in the investigation, and he''s forced to finally come to terms with what is and what was - or see justice die in the process.  Powerful and intriguing at every turn, Dead Man''s Float asserts S. D. House as a knife-sharp voice in the crime genre.

A secret affair leaves a woman entangled with a web of killers in this striking dark noir for fans of Peter Swanson and Alice Feeney. No one knows that Alice Hardy is alone and walking the dark streets of Chicago after leaving her lover''s apartment. So when a man drags her into an alley at knifepoint, she knows nobody will come to her rescue. Forced into a fight for survival, Alice leaves the man desperately wounded by his own knife and flees with her life. When Alice tells her lover and they rush back to the alley, the ground is bare. There is no wounded attacker. There is no body. There is no blood. There is no knife. There is nothing to report to the police. But unbeknownst to Alice, one other person knows what happened in the alley: Owen Pall, a private detective slumming it with unsavoury divorce work. Hired to tail a possibly straying husband, Owen followed the man to the alley and witnessed the thwarted assault - and saved the man''s life. Jake Hinkson weaves a noirish tale of desperate people, whose intertwining secrets and motives will lead to a web of lies, blackmail, and dead bodies in this suspenseful novel for fans of Harlan Coben.

In Cooking as Therapy, licensed clinical social worker and sous therapist Debra Borden provides you with all the tools and techniques to have therapy sessions in the comfort of your own kitchen. Cooking therapy is an experiential therapy that allows you to conduct a therapy session while you cook a meal. Using cooking processes like chopping, kneading, stirring, and more, you''ll develop the skills to recognise limiting patterns and behaviours, improve self-esteem, and form healthy daily habits, and you might even have fun incorporating techniques cantered around mindfulness - which develops calm, metaphor - which creates clarity, and mastery - which sparks self-esteem. Luckily, you don''t have to be a great cook to try cooking therapy - or even like cooking. You only need an interest in self-exploration. Borden will teach you the processes involved in preparing a recipe or meal that trigger awareness and even ''aha'' moments. Unlike talk therapy, cooking therapy sessions incorporate tangible acts. It is less about what you prepare and more of a guided journey to self-reflection through how you prepare a dish.

Summer is coming to a close on beautiful Sea Isle in Scotland, and Dr. Emilia McRoy is celebrating one year since her big move. With a weeklong festival to end the season, the town gathers for a magical ride on the newly refurbished Storyteller''s Train but the launch''s success is dampened by an unexpected death. What appears to be a case of deadly allergies is soon revealed as murder. As Emilia, her assistant Abigail, and the local constable Ewan McGregor unravel the mystery, the killer sets their murderous intentions on them. If they want to survive, they will need the help of all of their friends, before they become the latest victims.

Clementine Crane has a few things on her plate: She keeps the peace, picks up the slack, and always puts everyone else first. But when her first hot flash strikes, perimenopause sends her into a tailspin. Between a husband who can''t navigate a revolving door without her, three kids who treat her as their fixer, and a career stuck in neutral, Clementine begins to wonder: When is enough enough? Overwhelmed and fed up, Clementine takes a stand - one small refusal at a time. She goes on strike, ditching obligations, setting boundaries, and venting her frustrations on social media. When her raw, hilarious, and unexpectedly poignant videos go viral, Clementine finds herself at the heart of a movement she never saw coming. Clementine can''t stay on strike forever, but can she let a few things fall through the cracks-before she cracks again? Speaking to the emotional, and often invisible, labour that so many women bear, Clementine Crane finally asks: When does it become too much?

Mateo''s mother forbade him from ever using magic, but now that she''s gone, magic''s his only marketable skill, and he''d really like an exorcism - which costs money he doesn''t have. What''s the harm in making a quick buck by calling himself an Occult Specialist and chanting a few half-remembered spells in his crappy Spanish? Enter Topher, a naive nepo baby with a curse that keeps killing people around him. Most importantly, he''s rich, and too clueless to clock that Mateo - and his (absolutely-not-the-assistant) astral-projecting best friend Ophelia - have never actually had a client before. Lifting Topher''s bad luck curse should be simple, but as luck would have it, nothing is simple, and Topher - who Mateo sort of, kind of likes - might be at the centre of a deadly magical conspiracy. To make matters worse, the more magic Mateo does, the stronger the demon inside him grows and the more he wants to eat people. But would caving to the urges of an ancient evil really be that bad if it helps him get a payday? Legends and Lattes meets A Grim Reaper''s Guide to Catching a Killer in this hilarious and charming queer romantic fantasy readers won''t want to miss.

In Cooking as Therapy, licensed clinical social worker and sous therapist Debra Borden provides you with all the tools and techniques to have therapy sessions in the comfort of your own kitchen. Cooking therapy is an experiential therapy that allows you to conduct a therapy session while you cook a meal. Using cooking processes like chopping, kneading, stirring, and more, you''ll develop the skills to recognise limiting patterns and behaviours, improve self-esteem, and form healthy daily habits, and you might even have fun incorporating techniques cantered around mindfulness - which develops calm, metaphor - which creates clarity, and mastery - which sparks self-esteem. Luckily, you don''t have to be a great cook to try cooking therapy - or even like cooking. You only need an interest in self-exploration. Borden will teach you the processes involved in preparing a recipe or meal that trigger awareness and even ''aha'' moments. Unlike talk therapy, cooking therapy sessions incorporate tangible acts. It is less about what you prepare and more of a guided journey to self-reflection through how you prepare a dish.

Clementine Crane has a few things on her plate: She keeps the peace, picks up the slack, and always puts everyone else first. But when her first hot flash strikes, perimenopause sends her into a tailspin. Between a husband who can''t navigate a revolving door without her, three kids who treat her as their fixer, and a career stuck in neutral, Clementine begins to wonder: When is enough enough? Overwhelmed and fed up, Clementine takes a stand - one small refusal at a time. She goes on strike, ditching obligations, setting boundaries, and venting her frustrations on social media. When her raw, hilarious, and unexpectedly poignant videos go viral, Clementine finds herself at the heart of a movement she never saw coming. Clementine can''t stay on strike forever, but can she let a few things fall through the cracks - before she cracks again? Speaking to the emotional, and often invisible, labour that so many women bear, Clementine Crane finally asks: When does it become too much?

This hilarious and compelling whodunnit mystery has the ''crime close to home'' feel of Only Murders in the Building and is perfect for readers who loved Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect and Finlay Donovan Is Killing It. Brad Hanson''s life in his suburban Atlanta subdivision is unremarkable. He investigates insurance fraud, which is as dull as it sounds, though if he''s able to get a good bonus this year, his wife Rhonda will finally get to have her new kitchen. His highest achievement in life is being secretary and de facto parliamentarian on the homeowners association board, which is the center of all the neighborhood drama. As frustrating - and heated - as the arguments over tennis court resurfacing and dog droppings may be, much like his subdivision compatriots, Brad would never kill a neighbour, but... he might enjoy thinking about it from time to time. (Who hasn''t?). When someone murders cranky old Inga Oskarsdotter - a frequent source of complaints to the HOA board-a literal smoking gun turns Brad into the chief suspect. But Brad is not waiting around to be arrested - after all, he is an investigator by trade - and he takes it upon himself to find the real killer. Then the body count starts to rise. One thing is sure: A murderer on the block is not good for property values.

Twenty-five-year-old Jade Crawford spends her days selling crystals, conducting seances, and reading tarot cards in her shop in Winston-Salem, NC. But her connection to the other side is all a facade. After losing their mother to a terrible accident and their father serving jail time, Jade and her younger sister Stevie do what they can to survive. When a local politician goes missing, Jade sees a lucrative opportunity to drum up new clients and inject some much needed cash into their pockets. Jade submits a ''psychic vision'' to the police tipline only to discover that her shot in the dark is chillingly accurate when the police find the politician''s body. Caught in a media whirlwind, Jade revels in her newfound popularity and success, but she quickly finds herself not only the target of a police investigation, but of the killer who is still on the loose. With stunning suspense that is perfect for fans of Samantha M. Bailey, Finley turns the screws tighter into a taunt and thrilling read.