Maxima Library

A collection of 21 crime stories by women writers, including Sara Paretsky, Amanda Cross, Liza Cody and Gillian Slovo. The stories include old favourites such as V.I. Warshawski, Jemima Shore and Kate Fansler.

An anthology of stories edited by Mary Higgins Clark

From Wall Street to Harlem, the borough of Manhattan is the setting for all-new stories of mystery, murder, and suspense, presented by best-selling author Mary Higgins Clark and featuring Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, S. J. Rozan, and other top Mystery Writers of America authors.

In Lee Child's "The Picture of the Lonely Diner," legendary drifter Jack Reacher interrupts a curious stand-off in the shadow of the Flatiron Building. In Jeffery Deaver's "The Baker of Bleecker Street," an Italian immigrant becomes ensnared in WWII espionage. And in "The Five-Dollar Dress," Mary Higgins Clark unearths the contents of a mysterious hope chest found in an apartment on Union Square. With additional stories from T. Jefferson Parker, S. J. Rozan, Nancy Pickard, Ben H. Winters, Brendan DuBois, Persia Walker, Jon L. Breen, N. J. Ayres, Angela Zeman, Thomas H. Cook, Judith Kelman, Margaret Maron, Justin Scott, and Julie Hyzy,Manhattan Mayhem is teeming with red herrings, likely suspects, and thoroughly satisfying mysteries.

From Publishers Weekly

An all-star lineup of 13 women mystery authors has produced one madcap, murderous tale in the same serial fashion as Naked Came the Manatee (1996). To some extent, position determines each contributor's role, but each author has ample opportunity to display her unique talents. Nevada Barr, who leads off, deserves credit for introducing heroine Caroline Blessing; her surprising mother, Hilda Finch; and several more of the zany inhabitants of Phoenix Spa, snuggled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. J.D. Robb, in the number two spot, wastes no time shifting the plot into gear with the murder of the spa's flamboyant owner, Claudia de Vries. Those who follow (Nancy Pickard, Lisa Scottoline, Perri O'Shaughnessy, J.A. Jance, Faye Kellerman, Mary Jane Clark, Marcia Talley, Anne Perry, Diana Gabaldon and Val McDermid) each get a crack at muddying the waters or putting a new spin on an already dizzy character or in some cases, adding a new victim to the growing pile. Lucky 13 Laurie King dazzles by weaving a prettily finished quilt from the motley patches created by her comrades. Readers will relish the resulting comic soap-opera murder mystery, taking especial pleasure in watching these pros deftly recast a scene, a clue or a character to keep the story rollicking along. (Aug. 13)Forecast: Together these women command a huge fan base, and if enough of them are willing to promote, this collaborative effort could rack up strong sales.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

The promise of discretion and pampering-and a long-overdue reconciliation with her mother-draws Caroline Blessing, the young wife of a newly-elected Congressman, to the fancy Phoenix Spa. But after her first night in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, Caroline wakes to find the rich and famous guests in turmoil and under suspicion: the spa's flamboyant and ambitious owner has been murdered. As the secrets come out-and the body count rises, can Caroline keep herself from becoming the next victim?

An anthology of stories edited by Sara Paretsky

This eclectic anthology from a variety of female mystery writers has something to please every fan. Editor and contributor Paretsky (V.I. Warshawski series) introduces the anthology with a brief history of Sisters in Crime, an organization formed by Paretsky in 1987 to help boost the profiles of women crime writers. The stories range in tone from Sue Henry's (Jessie Arnold series) haunting, lyrical "Sister Death" to "Murder for Lunch," Carolyn Hart's (Death on Demand series) tale of misunderstandings and murder. Libby Fischer Hellmann (Ellie Foreman series) and Susan Dunlap (Jill Smith series) both tackle the turbulent world of 1960s radicals from different perspectives, with tales of a captured fugitive and violent conflicts with the police. The collection also includes an early story from the late Charlotte MacLeod's impressive body of work, as well as a new story from Dorothy Salisbury Davis, a pioneer in the genre since the 1950s. Mystery fans will delight in reading new pieces from old favorites, as well as discovering new voices from every corner of this diverse genre.

A best-selling novelist and Edgar Award winner, Lisa Scottoline brings her mastery of the thriller genre as well as her wit and heart to this collection of the must-reads in mysteries.

Written with the wisdom and grace devoted readers have come to expect from the award-winning author of The Virgin of Small Plains, here is a brilliantly moving tale of family, murder, and redemptive love.

Rose, Kansas, is a quiet town poised between the orderly and the unpredictable, where a terrible secret lies long dormant…until it vengefully stirs to life one fateful day. Young English teacher Jody Linder wakes up one morning to find her three intimidating rancher uncles on her doorstep. They bring shocking news: Billy Crosby, the man convicted of murdering her father-and presumably her mother's killer as well-is being released from prison and coming back to Rose with his son, Collin, an attorney. Convinced of his father's innocence, Collin provokes Jody to face the stunnig mystery behind her tragic past. Enthralling, surprising, and beautifully textured, The Scent of Rain and Lightning blurs the boundaries between suspense and literary fiction.

Small Plains, Kansas, January 23, 1987: In the midst of a deadly blizzard, eighteen-year-old Rex Shellenberger scours his father's pasture, looking for helpless newborn calves. Then he makes a shocking discovery: the naked, frozen body of a teenage girl, her skin as white as the snow around her. Even dead, she is the most beautiful girl he's ever seen. It is a moment that will forever change his life and the lives of everyone around him. The mysterious dead girl – the “Virgin of Small Plains” – inspires local reverence. In the two decades following her death, strange miracles visit those who faithfully tend to her grave; some even believe that her spirit can cure deadly illnesses. Slowly, word of the legend spreads.

But what really happened in that snow-covered field? Why did young Mitch Newquist disappear the day after the Virgin's body was found, leaving behind his distraught girlfriend, Abby Reynolds? Why do the town's three most powerful men – Dr. Quentin Reynolds, former sheriff Nathan Shellenberger, and Judge, Tom Newquist – all seem to be hiding the details of that night?

Seventeen years later, when Mitch suddenly returns to Small Plains, simmering tensions come to a head, ghosts that had long slumbered whisper anew, and the secrets that some wish would stay buried rise again from the grave of the Virgin. Abby – never having resolved her feelings for Mitch – is now determined to uncover exactly what happened so many years ago to tear their lives apart.

Three families and three friends, their worlds inexorably altered in the course of one night, must confront the ever-unfolding consequences in award-winning author Nancy Pickard's remarkable novel of suspense. Wonderfully written and utterly absorbing, The Virgin of Small Plains is about the loss of faith, trust, and innocence… and the possibility of redemption.

The editors of

Many Bloody Returns

deliver the perfect howl-iday gift, with new tales from Patricia Briggs, Carrie Vaughn, and many more.

New York Times

bestselling authors Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, and Carrie Vaughn — along with eleven other masters of the genre — offer all-new stories on werewolves and the holidays, a fresh variation on the concept that worked so well with birthdays and vampires in

Many Bloody Returns

.

The holidays can bring out the beast in anyone. They are particularly hard for lycanthropes. Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner have harvested the scariest, funniest and saddest werewolf tales by an outstanding pack of authors, best read by the light of a full moon with a silver bullet close at hand.

Whether wolfing down a holiday feast (use your imagination) or craving some hair of the dog on New Year's morning, the werewolves in these frighteningly original stories will surprise, delight, amuse, and scare the pants off readers who love a little wolfsbane with their mistletoe.