Thursday, March 13, 2014

Murderous Beginnings, 5 complete mystery thrillers from 5 outstanding authors

Today the HBS Author's Spotlight is showcasing Murderous Beginnings, 5 complete mystery thrillers from 5 outstanding authors! (Kathy Bennett, RP Dahlke, Maria Grazia Swan, Maggie Toussaint)

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Murderous Beginnings

Price: $ 0.99


AVAILABLE at Amazon


A Deadly Blessing by Kathy Bennett The critically ill daughter of the governor of California has been kidnapped. LAPD Detective Maddie Divine is assigned to find her before it’s too late. But this high-profile case comes with secrets on every side: cops, politicians, even the innocent.

Author's Note: This book contains commonly used street language.

A Dead Red Cadillac by RP Dahlke Twice divorced NY model, Lalla Bains, now runs her dad’s Crop-Dusting business in Modesto, California where she’s hoping to dodge the inevitable fortieth birthday party. But when her trophy red ‘58 Cadillac is found tail-fins up in a nearby lake, the police ask why a widowed piano teacher, who couldn’t possibly see beyond the hood ornament, was found strapped in the driver’s seat. Reeling from an interrogation with local homicide, Lalla is determined to extricate herself as a suspect in this strange murder case.

Unfortunately, drug running pilots, a cross-dressing convict, a crazy Chihuahua, and the dead woman’s hunky nephew throw enough road blocks to keep Lalla neck deep in an investigation that links her family to a twenty-year old murder only she can solve.

Love Thy Sister by Maria Grazia Swan Italian-born Mina Calvi lives in a mansion in idyllic Orange County, California with her protective older sister, Paola. Unemployed again and aimless, Mina can’t seem to find her niche in her adopted country, but confusion and restlessness soon become the least of her problems. Someone is stealing from the software business owned by Paola and her husband, losses so great the business is sinking like the Titanic. And the strange death of a company employee turns out to be murder. Then, while, facing a loss so terrible she can’t bear it, Mina discovers an old family secret that turns her world upside down. There’s some solace in the arms of her blue-eyed lover, amateur sleuth Brian Starr, but danger still stalks her at every turn, edging closer and closer as Mina tries to untangle the web of lies, adultery and treachery, and put her life back together

Sweet Masterpiece: The First Samantha Sweet Mystery by Connie Shelton Amazon.com #1 selling mystery author Connie Shelton has wowed readers with her down-to-earth female sleuth in her Charlie Parker mystery series. Now she introduces a new set of characters in a mystery series that contains a little romance, a little magic and a lot of chocolate! Samantha Sweet is a lady who breaks into houses for a living, and the things she discovers often lead to trouble. When she finds an unmarked grave on a property in a remote spot in Taos County, New Mexico, Sam calls the authorities. A small mural painted inside a closet in the abandoned house provides clues and Sam is caught up in an investigation. A fortune in artwork, a bogus will, and a wooden box that seems to give Sam powers she never dreamed she possessed--all lead to a genuine mystery for Sam to solve.

In For A Penny by Maggie Toussaint Amateur sleuth Cleopatra Jones of rural Hogan’s Glen, Maryland faces an unwanted hazard when she skulls her golf ball across the number six green and it lands in the inseam of a very dead banker. Though the victim is a longtime friend of Cleo’s, his ongoing dispute with Cleo’s best friend and golfing partner, Jonette, is public knowledge. When the police key in on Jonette as the prime suspect, Cleo sets out to find the real killer.

Amidst the fun of wacky meals, dueling daughters, Mama’s heart problem, lovesick Saint Bernards, a sexy golf pro, a repentant ex-husband and a host of murder suspects, Cleo does what she does best. With her trusty spreadsheets and logical accountant’s brain, she organizes the information and ferrets out a crazed killer.

Set against the lush splendor of mid-Atlantic springtime, this fun-packed mystery with a dash of romance will keep you turning the pages to see what happens next.



A Deadly Blessing

LAPD Detective Maddie Divine


Author: Kathy Bennett

AVAILABLE at Amazon


The critically ill daughter of the governor of California has been kidnapped. LAPD Detective Maddie Divine is assigned to find her before it’s too late. But this high-profile case comes with secrets on every side: cops, politicians, even the innocent.

Maddie Divine: Her marriage hangs by a thread, her SWAT-officer husband has lost it, and almost as bad, she can’t trust her detective partner.

Travis Divine: After the death of a SWAT teammate, he’s a shell of the man he used to be. He’s lost touch with his work, his wife and occasionally even reality. Can he regain the warrior mentality needed to support Maddie and do his job?

Preston Truesdale: The California governor’s daughter has gone missing, and so has her only bone marrow donor. Is it coincidence or something more sinister?

Pilar Luna: The mayor of Los Angeles is a media favorite, and she plays Preston like a Vegas pro would play a Midwestern farmboy…all in hopes of reaching the White House. Will she hit the jackpot?

Tiffany Truesdale: The brainiac teenager evaded her security team to spend a night on the town with her girlfriends, but can she outwit the man who kidnapped her before time runs out?

A Deadly Blessing is a lightning-paced story of suspense that will keep readers on edge from beginning to end. Author's Note: This book contains commonly used street language.


Author: Kathy Bennett

Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers - Women Sleuths

Website: Kathy Bennett
Author's Blog: Kathy Bennett
Twitter: @kathywriteslapd
E-Mail: KathywritesLAPD@sbcglobal.net
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Pinterest: Check Out Pinterest
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Author Description:
Kathy Bennett is no stranger to murder and mayhem. A veteran of many years with the Los Angeles Police Department, her authentic crime experience results in arresting stories.

Most of Kathy's career was spent working patrol in a black and white police car. Prior to retirement, Kathy was assigned as a Senior Lead Officer, with approximately five square miles in the San Fernando Valley her responsibility regarding crime and quality of life issues.

Kathy also served as a Firearms Instructor at the LAPD Police Academy, a crime analyst in the 'War Room', a Field Training Officer, and worked undercover in various assignments. She was named Officer of the Quarter twice, and Officer of the Year once.

In addition to working on her next novel, she writes a weekly blog that can be found on her website, and writes a monthly column for the North Valley Community News, in Northridge, California.

She's married to a Los Angeles Police Officer, and they have one daughter and one granddaughter. Kathy has written two romantic suspense manuscripts and is currently revising her third book - a suspense novel.


A DEAD RED CADILLAC

Author: R.P. Dahlke

AVAILABLE at Amazon


"I've been married so many times, they should revoke my license," says NY model, and reluctant pilot Lalla Bains.

Running her dad's Crop-Dusting business in Modesto, California she's hoping to dodge the inevitable fortieth birthday party. But when her trophy red '58 Cadillac is found tail-fins up in a nearby lake, the police ask why a widowed piano teacher, who couldn't possibly see beyond the hood ornament, was found strapped in the driver's seat.

Reeling from an interrogation with local homicide, Lalla is determined to extricate herself as a suspect in this strange murder case. Unfortunately, drug running pilots, a cross-dressing convict, a crazy Chihuahua, and the dead woman's hunky nephew throw enough road blocks to keep Lalla neck deep in an investigation that links her family to a twenty-year old murder only she can solve.


Author: R.P. Dahlke

Author Genre: Mystery, Romance, Humor

Website: R.P. Dahlke
Author's Blog: R.P. Dahlke - Infrequent Blog
All Mystery E-newsletter
Twitter: @rpdahlke
E-Mail: rp@rpdahlke.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Pinterest: Check Out Pinterest
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight

Author Description:

R.P. (Rebecca) Dahlke was raised on her father’s 80 acres of Almonds & crop dusting ranch south of Modesto, California. She’s been writing since 1994, first with a writing group in the East Bay Area and then when she and her husband went sailing, via the Guppies of Sisters in Crime, National.

When they settled in Southern Arizona, Rebecca started a chapter of Sisters in Crime and A Dead Red Cadillac was published by Treble Heart Publishing.

She was doing the rewrite on her second Lalla Baines Novel, A Dead Red Heart when her son, John Shanahan, died in a tragic crop dusting accident in California. Writing about anything, much less crop-dusting became too painful and she stopped writing until 2010.

I sort of fell into the job of running a crop-dusting business when my dad decided he'd rather go on a cruise than take another season of lazy pilots, missing flaggers, testy farmers and horrific hours. After two years at the helm, I handed him back the keys and fled to a city without any of the above. And no, I was never a crop-duster.


Love Thy Sister

Mina's adventures


Author: Maria Grazia Swan

AVAILABLE at Amazon


Italian-born Mina Calvi lives in a mansion in idyllic Orange County, California with her protective older sister, Paola. Unemployed again and aimless, Mina can’t seem to find her niche in her adopted country, but confusion and restlessness soon become the least of her problems. Someone is stealing from the software business owned by Paola and her husband, losses so great the business is sinking like the Titanic. And the strange death of a company employee turns out to be murder. Then, while, facing a loss so terrible she can’t bear it, Mina discovers an old family secret that turns her world upside down. There’s some solace in the arms of her blue-eyed lover, amateur sleuth Brian Starr, but danger still stalks her at every turn, edging closer and closer as Mina tries to untangle the web of lies, adultery and treachery, and put her life back together.


Author: Maria Grazia Swan

Author Genre: Suspense, Nonfiction, Mystery

Website: Murder Italian Style
Twitter: @scrittrice
E-Mail: mariagswan@gmail.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

Author Description:
Maria Grazia Swan was born in Italy, but this rolling stone has definitely gathered no moss. She lived in Belgium, France, Germany, in beautiful Orange County, California where she raised her family, and is currently at home in Phoenix, Arizona--but stay tuned for weekly updates of Where in the World is Maria Grazia Swan?

As a young girl, her vivid imagination predestined her to be a writer. She won her first literary award at the age of fourteen while living in Belgium. As a young woman Maria returned to Italy to design for--ooh-la-la--haute couture. Once in the U.S. and after years of concentrating on family, she tackled real estate. These days her time is devoted to her deepest passions: writing and helping people find happiness.

Maria loves travel, opera, good books, hiking, and intelligent movies (if she can find one, that is). When asked about her idea of a perfect evening, she favors stimulating conversation, Northern Italian food and perfectly chilled Prosecco--but then, who doesn't?

Maria has written short stories for anthologies, articles for high profile magazines and numerous blogs tackling love and life. She engaged her editorial and non-fiction skills for Mating Dance: Rituals for Singles Who Weren't Born Yesterday. Her romantic suspense novels Love Thy Sister and Bosom Bodies are available at Amazon.com.


Sweet Masterpiece

The Samantha Sweet Mysteries


Author: Connie Shelton

AVAILABLE at Amazon


Amazon.com bestselling author Connie Shelton has wowed readers with her down-to-earth female sleuth in her Charlie Parker mystery series. Now she introduces a new set of characters in a mystery series that contains a little romance, a little magic and a lot of chocolate!

Samantha Sweet is a lady who breaks into houses for a living, and the things she discovers often lead to trouble. When she finds an unmarked grave on a property in a remote spot in Taos County, New Mexico, Sam calls in the authorities. A small mural painted inside a closet in the abandoned house provides clues and Sam is caught up in an investigation. A fortune in artwork, a bogus will, and a wooden box that seems to give Sam powers she never dreamed she possessed--all lead to a genuine mystery for Sam to solve.

Then there is all that chocolate! Sam's real goal in life is to use her elegant baking skills to open her own pastry shop, Sweet's Sweets. She's gaining quite the reputation as a baker with a magical touch, but a few obstacles stand in her way. Her grown daughter shows up on her doorstep--jobless and homeless; her bank account is at an all-time low; and trying to work from the tiny cramped kitchen in her home is becoming impossible.

Somehow, Sam copes and she finds that her dreams might just have a chance of coming true.


Author: Connie Shelton

Author Genre:

Website: Connie Shelton
Twitter: @connieshelton
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

Author Description:
...Every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, somewhere in the world, someone downloads a Connie Shelton mystery...

A personal Thank You to all my readers who make this little statistic possible. Having fun with my writing, and connecting with readers--that's what being a mystery writer means to me. And I LOVE what I do!

It began in 1985 when I started writing my first novel, without much clue how to go about it. Two years and 500 pages later, when I finally typed 'The End,' I felt a huge rush of excitement. That book took third place in the Southwest Writers competition and began making the rounds of publishers. I simply started writing my second, and then my third books.

After publishing ten of my Charlie Parker mysteries, I decided to branch out with a second series and I created the character of Samantha Sweet. One of the ways in which I earned a little extra pocket money during my high school years was to bake and decorate cakes--hence, a career for Samantha based on my own experiences.

In 2009 I switched publishers and was off on a new adventure, seeing all of my books made available for Kindle and the other ebook devices that were just beginning to take off in the book world. It's been an exciting time in publishing and I'm loving the new formats and the ability to personally connect with readers all over the world via my newsletter and my website at connieshelton.com.


In For A Penny

The Cleopatra Jones Mystery Series


Author: Maggie Toussaint

AVAILABLE at Amazon


Amateur sleuth Cleopatra Jones of rural Hogan’s Glen, Maryland faces an unwanted hazard when she skulls her golf ball across the number six green and it lands in the inseam of a very dead banker. Though the victim is a longtime friend of Cleo’s, his ongoing dispute with Cleo’s best friend and golfing partner, Jonette, is public knowledge. When the police key in on Jonette as the prime suspect, Cleo sets out to find the real killer.

Amidst the fun of wacky meals, dueling daughters, Mama’s heart problem, lovesick Saint Bernards, a sexy golf pro, a repentant ex-husband and a host of murder suspects, Cleo does what she does best. With her trusty spreadsheets and logical accountant’s brain, she organizes the information and ferrets out a crazed killer.

Set against the lush splendor of mid-Atlantic springtime, this fun-packed mystery with a dash of romance will keep you turning the pages to see what happens next.

"an amusing addition to the cozy ranks"
Kirkus

"reading a Cleopatra Jones mystery is a nice way to spend the afternoon"
Romantic Times


Author: Maggie Toussaint

Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Romance,Suspense

Website: Maggie Toussaint - Romance Danger Mystery
Author's Blog: Mudpies and Magnolias
LinkedIn
Twitter: @MaggieToussaint
E-Mail: maggie@maggietoussaint.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Pinterest: Check Out Pinterest
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight

Author Description:
Award-winning southern author Maggie Toussaint is published in romance and mystery genres. She's a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Romance Writers of America.

Maggie uses real life inspiration to flavor her books. Her rich scenery and colorful characters have received much notice, but at heart, she tells a darn good story.
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