Crooked Lane Books strana 5 z 7

When their late aunt Dolly passes away, twins Beth and Seth Lloyd inherit a chicken themed food truck. Despite the challenges, the siblings rise to the occasion, even going as far as signing up their truck Kluckin'' Good to compete on a top cooking show and ruffle a few feathers for some good publicity. But the competition goes from heated to lethal when a contestant is found dead. With the elimination competition becoming far too literal, Beth and Seth will need all the help they can get to get out of the frying pan without landing in the fire. Relying on their assistant-turned-friend Rylie for help, they''ll have to follow the bread crumbs to untangle a very twisted case before either one of them is put on the chopping block. This humorous series debut with a mouthwatering mystery will charm readers and keep them guessing right until the not-so-bitter end.

This striking novel is perfect for fans of the feminist ideals in When Women Were Dragons (2022) and the unique magic system in One Dark Window (2022). Once a vicious street rat, Prudence Merriweather has clawed her way to the top of society and now enjoys newfound power as the Duchess of Talonsbury. All she has to do to protect her fragile position is maintain the act of gentility, make her husband happy - and keep her monstrous magic a secret. Puck Reed, the Thief Lord of Talonsbury, once delighted in taking risks and humiliating the social elite at any cost, but now lives a quieter criminal lifestyle. With a daughter of his own to protect, Puck tries to lay low and stay safe for her benefit. His daughter, Bea, suffers from a mysterious illness bent on killing her, and Puck will stop at nothing to find a cure. When Prudence''s magic betrays her, she has no choice but to flee - and who better to smuggle her out of the city than her childhood best friend and former sweetheart, Puck Reed? With the help of old friends and new allies, they learn about Stormlash, a safe haven miles beyond the city walls where women and their magic can flourish beyond the oppressive eye of Leora''s religious fanatics. Stormlash may also hold the key to curing Bea''s illness. The challenge? Keep her alive long enough to get there. With Bea''s illness claiming more of her strength, Puck and Pru must work together to reach Stormlash and, in the process, confront a growing evil threatening to devour the country they call home. Perfect for fans of Carissa Broadbent and Hannah Whitten, this second-chance romantic fantasy features monstrous women stepping into their full power, a father who will do anything to save his daughter, and the rekindled flame of an old, enduring love.

It''s Christmastime in Mistletoe, Maine, and the Historical Society has launched a widespread campaign to celebrate the town''s 150th anniversary. Descendants of the founding family, the Snows, have returned for the first time, and Holly is determined to make the family''s visit magical. In an attempt to put Mistletoe on the map, Holly''s mother, a respected local baker, attempts to break a record by baking the world''s largest gingerbread man, but her plans are whisked away when Mr. Snow''s body ends up in the batter. When Mr. Moore, the local mistletoe farmer, is accused of the crime, Holly reprises her role as amateur sleuth to protect the sweet older man. Between hosting the inconsolable Mrs. Snow and other guests at the inn, receiving threatening messages telling her to stop her investigation, and preparing for her first wedding anniversary with Sheriff Evan Gray, she might need a Christmas miracle to survive. When someone breaks into Holly''s office and scratches a warning into her desk, she knows she has little time left. Can Holly uncover the killer before someone else gets burned, or is her involvement a recipe for trouble?

Ellie Isles first became obsessed with the I-64 Strangler when she saw her own face on one of his victims. Identical to every detail, the woman wasn''t her, but she could have been. Unable to stop herself from obsessing over her doppelganger''s death, Ellie wrote a true crime book about the Strangler and became a bestselling author. Four years and a dozen more victims later, the Strangler still hasn''t been caught, and many of his victims remain unidentified. Ellie has created an online true crime network with millions of followers and a massive database of people at risk of becoming Jane and John Does: the homeless, the drug-addicted and downtrodden, the unwanted and uncared-for, with the hopes that if they become victims, they might at least be identified. Some people think Ellie is crazy. She''s convinced that the victim with her face was her own unknown long-lost twin, and her determination to build the Doe database borders on manic. But with multiple victims successfully identified from her database, the task force trying to catch the Strangler can''t deny her utility - and Ellie is more determined than ever to help catch the Strangler. With striking prose and a horror flair, Spider to the Fly is an engrossing serial killer thriller perfect for fans of The Whisper Man.

Kansas,1896. After a tornado destroys the Gale family farm, 11-year-old Dorothy goes missing. As the days pass by, the Gales are increasingly terrified the worst has happened. But when the girl turns up unharmed four days later, the townsfolk breathe in a sigh of relief. That is, until Dorothy herself relates her account of the events that took place after her disappearance. In vivid detail, Dorothy describes a fantastical land and its magical inhabitants, from the scarecrow, the tin man, and the cowardly lion to the wizard and the witch. Her recollections are not only regarded as delusional, but also as pagan and diabolical in nature, especially when the body of a local spinster is found. Making connections between the evil witch Dorothy claims to have defeated and the ill-tempered old crone, authorities find what they believe to be incriminating evidence, sentencing Dorothy to the Topeka Insane Asylum. When 28-year-old psychologist Dr. Evelyn Grace Wilford arrives at the asylum to interview Dorothy, she begins to wonder if Dorothy truly committed the crime or if something unfathomable has really occurred. In a small town full of insidious secrets, will Evelyn be able to save Dorothy from her terrible circumstances? Or is something menacing lurking just out of sight?

Noland Twice, a star athlete turned private investigator, can find anyone, no matter how far they run or how well they hide. He works the Orlando-Tampa corridor, a bizarre land where theme parks and tourists coexist with drug deals and crooked businessmen. When a shady local executive, Valkenburg, goes missing, Noland is the only man for the job. Within hours of taking the case, Noland realizes nothing about this case is going to be easy, and he recruits his friend Kiril to help him with the dirty work when he finds a dead body. But the corpse isn''t the missing man - it''s the body of one of the partners of his construction firm. There''s only one clue as to Valkenburg''s whereabouts: a set of strange numbers hastily scrawled on the dead man''s arm. When Noland discovers that the numbers are a set of GPS coordinates, he follows the trail to a construction site. At the exact location inscribed on the body, there''s a box buried in the dirt. Inside, he finds a handwritten journal - and a woman''s severed head. Propulsive and unpredictable, this gritty P.I. thrill ride races through a criminal world where nothing is ever as it seems.

A warm, spellbinding tale about a witch and the secrets her coven has been keeping from her, with echoes of the classic Hades and Persephone story, in the tradition of Practical Magic and Witch of Wild Things. Hecate Goodwin, Kate to her friends, has curated the perfect life as a hedge witch, living in a secluded cottage with only a black cat for company. She spends her days foraging herbs from the Ipswich forest, gardening, and creating tinctures to sell at the apothecary she owns. Most evenings pass without her speaking to another human being, an arrangement she quite prefers. Kate''s solitude is thrown into disarray when her older sister, Miranda, reaches out and asks her to host their coven''s annual Halloween gathering. The day marks the beginning of the new year for witches and is also Kate''s birthday. The pressure from her coven to make the evening memorable mounts as the event draws near. To complicate things further, a handsome man from Kate''s past turns up at her cottage, asking for sanctuary. It is Kate''s duty as a hedge witch to honour this request, much to her dismay. Matthew Cypher is no ordinary lost soul - he''s a practitioner of forbidden magic who''s tricked Kate once before, and her guard is up. As she juggles Matthew''s arrival and the preparations for Halloween, Kate comes across an old tome shrouded in dark magic. She is horrified when she realizes the blood-red inscription is written in familiar handwriting: her recently deceased mother''s. Afraid to even touch the dark magic her mother secretly studied, Kate can turn only to Matthew for help. Her idealized memory of her mother begins to distort, and as she and Matthew grow closer, Kate has to re-evaluate whom she can really trust. A DARK AND SECRET MAGIC is a celebration of the Halloween season and a love letter to anyone who drinks pumpkin spice in August and carries the spirit of a witch inside their heart all year long.

One night in college changed the course of Avery''s entire life. Her rapist took everything from her - including the trust of her friends and long-term boyfriend, who were convinced she cheated. A year later, she still can''t bear to tell the truth about what happened and risk her friendship with Morgan, the only friend she has left. Instead, Avery finds her way under a man or into a bottle just to convince herself that she has power over her feelings and her autonomy - that her body still belongs to her. That is, until she meets Pete, a man so kind and good that he awakens a part of Avery that makes her want to try something new. But somehow Avery''s rapist has resurfaced in her life as the best man in Morgan''s wedding. And as maid of honour, there''s no way Avery can avoid him. His mere presence grates at Avery''s already raw emotional state, and she begins to drive away the final few who care about her - including Pete. As the wedding nears, Avery must decide whether to finally let her walls down and tell her truth or risk spiralling toward a darkness she may never be able to recover from.

With terror mounting in 1940 London, thousands of ''Guest Children'' were evacuated out of England to escape the bombings. Two of those children, Michael and Frances Hawksby, were never seen again. Randall Sturgess wanted to do his part in the war - but stayed home instead to look after his troubled younger brother. Impoverished, shamed as a coward, and running out of work options as veterans come home, when he''s asked to investigate the disappearance of the Hawksby children, he agrees. Reluctantly leaving his brother behind, Randall follows the children''s trail to a remote corner of northern Ontario, where he finds an isolated resort. There, he discovers the secretive couple who initially took in the young Hawksbys, along with their collection of strange, seemingly permanent guests. But there''s still no sign of the children. Plagued by vivid nightmares and a persistent feeling that he''s being watched, Randall searches the imposing woods and lake for any trace of Michael and Frances. Randall''s certain something terrible has happened to them, linked to a spectral presence he senses around the lodge and glimpses out of the corner of his eye. Appearing first in his dreams and then in waking life, strange visions call to Randall, even as his every instinct tells him to stay away - and he''s increasingly convinced that if he ever wants to find the children, he must succumb to the call. Vividly atmospheric, layered and twisty, THE GUEST CHILDREN is sure to appeal to fans of Shutter Island and The Others.

Mo Denton has been obsessed with the classic feminist novel The Proud and the Lost for as long as she can remember. When Mo puts everything she has into writing a modern adaptation of her all-time favourite book, her agent Yuri loves it - but can''t pitch it anywhere. The original author''s estate must approve any adaptation, and so far, it has never allowed one to go forward. The agent who represents the estate - Wes Spencer - is also working on an updated version of the beloved story. Promoting Mo''s project would go against Wes''s own interests, and he''s reluctant to bring it to Estelle Morgan, the elderly daughter of the original novelist. But when Yuri contacts Estelle herself, Estelle invites Mo and Wes to her home for a weekend where they will pitch each book to her and let her decide whose book will be approved - and whose work will be destined for deletion. Soon, Mo and Wes realise that they have more in common than just their love of the original book. As they grow closer and wait for the estate''s decision, will the secrets Wes is keeping ruin the bond between them, or can they find their way to a happy ending?

Anderson Tupper, a member of one of Atlanta''s richest families, has been murdered in the dugout of the Little League field where he was a volunteer coach, and it''s up to Detective Shay Claypool, a single mother from the other side of town, to find his killer. With the exclusive area of Buckhead threatening to secede from the city of Atlanta and take its tax revenue with it, Shay is under pressure to solve the murder of one of Buckhead''s own. Accustomed to handling drug dealers and prostitutes, she must now contend with an even more sinister group: the Buckhead Betties, the insufferably entitled women of Georgia''s most affluent zip code. One of them might be a murderer, but who? Is it the old-money queen of Buckhead? The mysterious new girl in town? The drug dealing trophy wife? It seems secrets and lies are as plentiful as luxury handbags in Atlanta and everyone''s guilty of something. Shay''s investigation will make her examine her own prejudices and discover that, as women and mothers, she might not be that different from the Betties after all. And if she isn''t careful, they just might take her down with them.

Anderson Tupper, a member of one of Atlanta''s richest families, has been murdered in the dugout of the Little League field where he was a volunteer coach, and it''s up to Detective Shay Claypool, a single mother from the other side of town, to find his killer. With the exclusive area of Buckhead threatening to secede from the city of Atlanta and take its tax revenue with it, Shay is under pressure to solve the murder of one of Buckhead''s own. Accustomed to handling drug dealers and prostitutes, she must now contend with an even more sinister group: the Buckhead Betties, the insufferably entitled women of Georgia''s most affluent zip code. One of them might be a murderer, but who? Is it the old-money queen of Buckhead? The mysterious new girl in town? The drug dealing trophy wife? It seems secrets and lies are as plentiful as luxury handbags in Atlanta and everyone''s guilty of something. Shay''s investigation will make her examine her own prejudices and discover that, as women and mothers, she might not be that different from the Betties after all. And if she isn''t careful, they just might take her down with them.

Maeve Gardner kills people for a living. A dodgy occupation perhaps, but as ghostwriter for the long-running Simon Hills mysteries, Maeve has planned the perfect murder time and again and she enjoys it. She dreams of writing something under her own name someday rather than babysitting her adopted character Simon, but at least she''s writing. And as one of the burnt-out souls who''ve run away from dry land to live on London''s waterways, she has the joy of working from the home she loves: a colorful houseboat. Life on the canals is grand, but when her cheating ex-boyfriend turns up floating face down in the water outside her boat, murdered, and the police arrest her, the plot takes a wayward turn. Suddenly, Maeve is thrust into one of her own crime dramas, complete with missing money, violent thugs, extortion, and conspiracy. Only this time, there is no real-life Simon Hill to come to her aid. Instead, with the help of friends from the river - India, owner of a popular floating bookshop; Paul, the exceedingly attractive landlord of the local pub; and Ash, Maeve''s quiet, nerdy neighbor who is keeping some secrets of his own - Maeve may have a shot at saving herself. As Maeve and her motley crew of would-be investigators find themselves wondering if they are in over their heads, a killer lurks and won''t hesitate to kill again...

Library director Amy Muir has always been suspicious of wealthy art dealer Kurt Kendrick. As a close family friend, the ties that bind them are strong, but his murky past is concerning, especially since he is the godfather to Amy and her husband Richard''s six-year-old twins. When a visitor to their small, historic Virginia town is found dead after publicly accusing Kurt of committing a decades-old murder, Amy is determined to prove that Kurt didn''t kill anyone, in the past or the present. But the evidence Kurt''s accuser sent to Sheriff Brad Tucker before her untimely demise indicates otherwise. With Amy''s own aunt and other older town residents corroborating some of the details related to the first murder, and a witness placing Kurt near the scene of the second crime, it seems Kurt is doomed to swift, and severe, justice. Amidst the fun and excitement of an arts festival that features the premiere of Richard''s new dance company, Amy faces her own challenging performance-balancing her work and family life while dancing on the edge of danger. With family and friends harbouring suspicions about Kurt, and Amy bedeviled by her own wavering trust in his innocence, she must fight to uncover the truth before a hidden killer strikes again.

When food critic Hayley Snow receives an intriguing email about a mysterious, decades-old disappearance, her curiosity is piqued. Writer Catherine Davitt has returned to the Keys to research a book about Hemingway''s wives, but she''s also on the hunt for the truth about her missing friend. Hayley quickly agrees to help investigate and they hit the road to see what clues they might find. Back in the late 1970s, Catherine and her friend Veronica were part of a group of lost souls camping in the mangroves of Big Pine Key, until Veronica vanished, and the sheriff''s office cleared out the camp. Catherine and Hayley begin interviewing Big Pine Key residents who were around at the time of Veronica''s disappearance, but uncover more questions than answers. Catherine and Hayley stop to speak with a motel owner who frequented the fringes of the commune, but they find him stabbed to death. Then Catherine also goes missing, and signs point to a connection between the old case and the new murder. It''s up to Hayley to unravel the knot of secrets and lies before time runs out.

Cassidy Cantwell has devoted her life to becoming a detective, never forgetting the cold case that has influenced her entire career: the unsolved murder of her best friend. Cassidy tries to balance her demanding job with her suffocatingly close-knit family and her increasingly clingy boyfriend, but when a strange new murder case comes across her desk, she''s determined to solve it, especially when it turns out the victim was the wife of her college ex-boyfriend. While Cassidy''s partner, Bryan, works to prove that her ex is their suspect, Cassidy can''t shake the feeling that there''s something more to the case that they''re not seeing. When she notices a strange ring among the victim''s personal effects that the husband insists didn''t belong to his wife, she starts to notice other odd details from a previous crime scene-details that seem to have an uncanny connection to a Greek myth. When another body attracts public attention and the FBI intercedes, the case gets increasingly complicated-and solving it seems further and further out of reach. With anonymous emails about her best friend''s death dragging her attention away, Cassidy finds herself pulled in different directions-sacrifice her personal life for the sake of her career, or put everything she has into finding years-old answers to a case that haunts her still. And the killer behind the murders isn''t done yet.