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Festive Mayhem: Nine Stories of Holiday Mystery, Crime, and Suspense

Nine crime writers of color have teamed up to offer you the gift of escape this holiday season. From Christmas crime capers to Thanksgiving thrillers, historical hard-boiled to contemporary cozies, mystery fans of all genres will find something to love in this limited-time collection of exclusive, never-before-published seasonal short stories.

What you'll find inside:

• "The New Year's Hex" by Carolyn Marie Wilkins. Carrie McFarland finds her New Year's plans derailed when a psychic vision pulls the 1920s African American amateur sleuth into someone's evil scheme.
• "Pipe Dreams" by S.G. Wong. In this hard-boiled Crescent City short story, infatuation and passion drive Minnie Chen straight into danger as she tries to best the City's most glamorous private detective in a reimagined 1930s-era Chinese Los Angeles.
• "A Christmas Tip" by Elizabeth Wilkerson. A surprise Christmas bonus becomes too tempting for Philadelphia nursing assistant Brianna Byers to resist—even if accepting requires some skillful skirting of the law.
• "The Stranger in the House" by Stella Oni. This London House Mystery prequel stars Elizabeth Ojo, a Nigerian housekeeper at a posh guest house, who finds her Christmas intersecting with that of a mysterious resident in trouble.
• "What Lies Inside" by Kia Dennis. A tormented university professor falls deeper and deeper into a destructive obsession in this harrowing tale of love and longing.
• "A Deadly First" by Delia C. Pitts. Thanksgiving takes a fatal turn when New York private eye SJ Rook finds himself thrust into his first murder case in this darkly atmospheric tale of noir.
• "The Holiday Murder Mélange" by Myra Jolivet. This Sarah Doucette Jean-Louis short story follows the Creole P.I. around the San Francisco Bay Area on her quest to figure out who killed a man outside of her office.
• "Those Holiday Blues" by Jennifer J. Chow. Jasmine, aka "Jazz," can't escape the tragic past when an old boyfriend asks to meet on the anniversary of his mother's death.
• "Holiday Holdup" by Paige Sleuth. In this Cozy Cat Caper Mystery Short, Imogene Little gets tangled up in a Christmas Eve bank robbery orchestrated by none other than Santa Claus himself.

This anthology is only available for a short time, so grab it now before it's gone. It would be criminal to miss it!

Never Go Back

Beyond the glitz and glamour of the Las Vegas Strip, someone is about to die.

Alison Carter's world is upended when her boss is murdered in front of her eyes. What she doesn't know is things are about to get much, much worse.

Detective Brad Gilmore has dealt with his fair share of homicides, but he's about to face the biggest challenge of his career. What he expects to be a straightforward murder investigation turns into anything but. Yet with all evidence pointing to Alison, he's under pressure to wrap things up quickly.

Now Alison and Brad are in a race to find a killer. If Brad fails, this may be the end of his career. But for Alison, the stakes are much higher. The happy life she once took for granted is in danger of being shattered forever . . . and she just might end up serving time for a crime she didn't commit.

(Published August 2016)

Springtime Murder

Polly Blake never expects her annual spring barbecue to kick off with her uncle dropping dead in her backyard. When his death is ruled a homicide, Polly must turn her focus to finding a murderer. Unfortunately, her investigation soon reveals there's no shortage of suspects within her own family. Will the amateur sleuth be able to figure out "whodunit" before the killer strikes again?

This murder mystery novelette was previously published as part of the Seasons collection.

(Published August 2016)

Murder in White Sands

On the night of her engagement, Rae Lynn Dobbs stumbles across a dead body on the beach of White Sands, Florida. Not only does she recognize the murder victim as one of the retirement-home residents where she serves dinner, but it looks increasingly likely that someone there also killed him.

To her fiancé's dismay, Rae Lynn launches her own investigation. Between the gossipy widows, the home's last surviving bachelor, and her coworkers, Rae Lynn doesn't have any shortage of suspects. But the more she learns, the more it seems anyone could be guilty. And if she doesn't find out "whodunit" quickly, her fiancé might just become fed up enough to leave.

(Published July 2015)

Fatal Fire

All Amy Wagner wants to do is find out who murdered her sister. Is that too much to ask?

Unfortunately, life is conspiring against her. Not only is Amy one of the few who believes Gina's fatal fire was more than a tragic accident, but her amateur sleuthing keeps getting interrupted by two parents who can't get along and one ultra-demanding bridezilla.

Luckily, she does find one ally: Trent Steinbeck, Gina's former colleague. As Trent and Amy work to uncover what really happened that fateful night, Amy finds her attraction deepening as much as their investigation. But to get to the truth, Trent may need to put himself in danger. And if they can't figure out what's going on before he becomes the killer's next victim, Amy might soon find herself seeking justice for two deaths.

(Published November 2014; revised February 2016)

Blind Justice

How far will she go for justice?

Haley Winequest will do anything to avenge her fiancé's premature death, including going after the people who sold him inferior marijuana. Armed with the knowledge that the narcotics group operates out of Sobaco, Oregon, Haley moves to the small town. Her decision pays off when her first romp through the woods leads her to not only the marijuana plants but a member of the drug ring. Unfortunately, identifying the man proves more complicated than she expects.

But Haley refuses to give up. Once she learns her incompetent neighbor serves on the local police force, Haley embarks upon her own investigation. Pretty soon Haley's amateur sleuthing has her questioning everything about the case. And if she's not careful, her snooping could turn her into a murder victim.

(Previously published as Secret Agenda.)

(Published July 2014 as Secret Agenda; revised August 2016)

The Amicable Divorce

Thanksgiving isn't turning out the way she planned . . .

Already dealing with a suspended driver's license, despised job, and looming thirtieth birthday, Vanessa Collins doesn't think much more can go wrong . . . until her husband Brian announces he's filing for divorce.

Vanessa isn't going down without a fight. If she can't keep Brian, she's determined to either escape her marriage with a six-figure settlement or day trade her way into retirement. But it doesn't take long before Vanessa realizes something much bigger than her relationship with Brian might be responsible for the demise of their marriage . . . and now it's up to her to rescue the man she loves.

(Published November 2013; revised March 2015)

Lost Witness

Single mom Betsy Holmes gets more drama than she bargained for when her mother Claudia drops a bomb that rocks her to the core: Betsy's father wasn't alone the night of his fatal car crash three years ago. Determined to prove Claudia wrong, Betsy investigates—and in the process she uncovers some disturbing family secrets that will change her life forever.

"... goes further than the regular whodunit and delves into the hilarity that is family life"—Louise Woods (Readers' Favorite five-star review)

(Published September 2013; revised January 2015)

Lethal Injection

A Las Vegas stripper turns up dead. Only one woman has the courage to ask why.

Exotic dancer Megan Kelley never expects the police to show up on her doorstep with the news that Carly, her pregnant roommate, is dead. Now Megan not only has to come up with the full rent by herself, but she seems to be one of the few convinced that Carly's death isn't as straightforward as it appears. But was Carly murdered, or had her life simply spiraled out of control? And, if she was a victim of foul play, "whodunit"?

Megan is determined to solve the mystery of what really happened to Carly, even if that means infiltrating a clinic for unwed mothers-to-be or partnering with a grumpy exotic dancer to help with her sleuthing efforts. But instead of getting answers, Megan's quest turns into more questions . . . until her investigation leads to a horrifying truth more shocking than anything she imagined.

(Published March 2013; revised May 2015)