Members' New Publications

Mary Tucker McElroy, well-known patroness of Southern writers, asks Ernestine Carpenter (Ernie to her friends) to join her and her guests at Idlewild, the McElroy estate, to help her solve the mystery behind the death of one of her protegees. A promising young writer, Sukey Litton, had died at Idlewild the previous Christmas, apparently a suicide, but Miss McElroy thinks that Sukey may have been murdered. Among the guests at Idlewild are Russell Bertram, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and his nasty wife Alice, literary enfant terrible Brett Doran, bestselling novelist Lurleen Landry, and superslick agent Hamilton Packer. They all had reasons to wish Sukey Litton dead, but which one of them actually killed her? The murderer will strike a second time before Ernie discovers the truth. “Big-city PIs would envy Ernestine Carpenter’s intimate knowledge of small-town relationships and how family secrets can fester into murder. Dean James writes with equal intimacy and knowledge of those relationships, and in crafting another thoughtful problem for Ernie to solve, he gives us a compelling mystery in the Carolyn Hart tradition.” ~ Margaret Maron Romantic Times has chosen Closer Than The Bones as a Mystery Top Pick for May 2001.

As Christmas approaches, Laura only wants to curl up in her Boston apartment with her English professor husband, Richard, while they happily await the birth of their first child. But when her cousin, Vasti, calls wanting Richard to direct a production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Laura finds herself packing for another trip to Byerly. When she gets there, Laura finds Byerly full of surprises. First, the responsibility of helming a play has transformed her mild-manndered hubby into a screaming backstage tyrant. Second, the usually savvy Vasti has cast furniture maker Seth Murdstone as Scrooge, even though Seth is clearly a wash-out as an actor. But the biggest surprise of all --grimmer than the Ghost of Christmas Yet to come-- while on a break during rehearsal, Seth is brutally murdered. With the help of her host of quirky aunts and cousins, who know everything about everyone in Byerly, Laura learns that Seth just have had more enmies than Ebenezer Scrooge himself. With a killer in the wings, reading to strike again, it's up to Laura --Band Junior Norton, Byerly's fearless female police chief-- to catch him, before he decides to bring down the final curtain... Kelner's characters may be mad as the dickens, but reviewers are anything but mad. Publishers Weekly praises the book's "...dramatic and well-done conclusion..." and says the book is "...sure to charm Kelner fans." According to John Rowen of Booklist, "...the puzzle is difficult to solve, the characters are endearing, and the dialogue is witty. As bonuses, Kelner supplies interesting details about making moonshine and producing community theater." Bookbrowser says, "Mad as the Dickens is a down home regional mystery starring a cast of eccentric characters that add atmosphere to the story line. The trials and tribulations of a five month pregnant woman will bring smiles to the faces of those readers where were pregnant as well as their spouses. Toni L.P. Kelner has written another absorbing installment in her long running and enjoyable mystery series."

Gary C King

Stolen in the Night, by Gary C King

A KNOWN SEXUAL PSYCHOPATH. Joseph Duncan had been convicted of raping and torturing a 14-year-old boy in Tacoma, Washington. On the Internet he proudly boasted of his perversions. But the system turned Duncan loose, and no one would stop him from committing an even more horrifying act... AN INNOCENT FAMILY. This time, he prepared meticulously. He chose his getaway car. He chose his murder weapon and loaded a video camera. Then, when he saw young Shasta and Dylan Groene playing outside their Idaho home, he struck—killing their mother and her boyfriend, and their older brother…and vanishing into the night with Shasta and Dylan. A CRIME THAT SHOOK THE NATION Detectives pored over the bloody murder scene. The FBI scrambled to find the children and the abductor. And even when Duncan was finally located, the story was not yet over: Dylan was still missing…and the depth of one man’s evil was still coming horribly to light….

Christina Larson's childhood was wrenched awry by the suicide of her beloved grandfather. Now a grown-up Chris has returned to Port Silva, intent on hiring Patience Smith, Investigations--Patience Mackellar and her daughter, Verity, first met in KEEPERS--to identify the anonymous callers whose accusations drove Edgar Larson to his death. The Mackellars are initially reluctant to take the case: Patience believing it will only reopen old wounds, Verity seeing success as unlikely and onetime soccer-teammate Chris as disagreeable. Then Verity reads the old man's bitter suicide note: "They've left me nothing . . . I damn them to hell, whoever they are." "Lush prose, hard-edged, complex characters, and a good measure of wry humor: another rich entry in the Port Silva Series (2001, etc.)" Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2004 "One of my all time favorite mystery craftswoman is Janet Lapierre who expertly weaves together mysteries in her Port Silva Series. In the latest, Patience and Verity Mackellar are a mother and daughter private investigative team who get the job done with class and distinction. DEATH DUTIES (Perseverance Press, $13.95) is a story of a deathbed promise that unsettles the lives of many and uncovers suicide, deception and murder elegantly. Love these atmospheric visits to Port Silva and the lush prose of this writer." MysteryLovers.com, September 2004