Rachel Reed left Baltimore with a secret that none of her sisters are aware of. A secret so sinister she fears that drastic means need to be taken to protect herself and the ones she loves. She’d hoped she’d left the secret behind in Baltimore, until one fateful day a presence on the streets of Carson City brings the whole matter full circle. Mason Murphy’s on a mission to protect a witness from a group of criminals with one intent—leave no witnesses. Matters become complicated when the witness is the woman he fell in love with. A woman who left Baltimore abruptly and without notice. He could have lived without her. Maybe. But he can’t live with the knowledge that a band of thugs wants her dead.

The last thing an heiress needs is to be suspected of being not only a saloon girl, but also a thief. Especially when the one doing the suspecting is the town’s handsome sheriff. Phoebe Reed made the mistake of going into town. Maybe that wasn’t the mistake. Maybe it was staying in town after dark. Or maybe it was running into the saloon girl. Or maybe it was lying about the stolen wallet the saloon girl slipped her. Maybe it was a series of mistakes that have left her in hot water with the town’s hunky sheriff, Rance Connelly. Rance takes his job as the town’s law seriously. He managed the lawlessness with a sensible head and a no-nonsense manner. He knows this woman’s lying to him. He just can’t peg why. He also knows she’s not a saloon girl. Why won’t she tell him her name? Why won’t she confess to stealing the wallet? He’s got a mystery to solve but darned if his heart doesn’t get in the way of his head when it comes to the mysterious unnamed woman.

Pinkerton detective Maggie Cartwright is tasked with going undercover as a mail order bride. Her “fiancé” is widower Garrett Thomas, aka the suspected Whistle-Stop Bandit. No sooner does Maggie arrive in Arizona Territory when she’s confronted with an early wedding date—the clock is ticking on her detective work or she may end up a criminal’s wife! As the day of the wedding draws near, Maggie begins to panic. The problem is that the more she gets to know Garrett and his two adorable children, the harder it is to keep up the deception. Can a man as kind and gentle as Garrett really be the Whistle-Stop Bandit?

Pinkerton detective Jennifer Layne is on the trail of the Gunnysack Bandit, working undercover as a parlor girl named Amy, when her path crosses with handsome Tom Colton, a man on a mission of his own.

Dreams of home and family in the Smoky Mountains The Reluctant Outlaw Evan Harrison has risked everything to find the men who killed his brother. Saving Juliana O’Malley on a perilous journey through the Smoky Mountains could blow his cover with the deadly gang. Yet her courage and faith make him dream of the home and family he thought he could never have. And suddenly, that future is incomplete—without Juliana in it. The Bridal Swap The heiress Josh O’Malley has courted by mail is on her way to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to become his wife. Together, they’ll create the family of his dreams. But when the stagecoach arrives, it’s not his intended who exits, but her sister! Kate came to end her sister’s engagement, but now she’s in no hurry to leave. If only Josh would realize that his dream can still come true…

he Sheriff’s Fugitive Bride Phoebe Reed made the mistake of going into town. Maybe that wasn’t the mistake. Maybe it was staying in town after dark. Or maybe it was running into the saloon girl. Or maybe it was lying about the stolen wallet the saloon girl slipped her. Maybe it was a series of mistakes that have left her in hot water with the town’s hunky sheriff, Rance Connelly. Rance takes his job as the town’s law seriously. He managed the lawlessness with a sensible head and a no-nonsense manner. He knows this woman’s lying to him. He just can’t peg why. He also knows she’s not a saloon girl. Why won’t she tell him her name? Why won’t she confess to stealing the wallet? He’s got a mystery to solve but darned if his heart doesn’t get in the way of his head when it comes to the mysterious unnamed woman. An Undercover Detective’s Bride Rachel Reed left Baltimore with a secret that none of her sisters are aware of. A secret so sinister she fears that drastic means need to be taken to protect herself and the ones she loves. She’d hoped she’d left the secret behind in Baltimore, until one fateful day a presence on the streets of Carson City brings the whole matter full circle. Mason Murphy’s on a mission to protect a witness from a group of criminals with one intent—leave no witnesses. Matters become complicated when the witness is the woman he fell in love with. A woman who left Baltimore abruptly and without notice. He could have lived without her. Maybe. But he can’t live with the knowledge that a band of thugs wants her dead. An Inconvenient Bride Kidnapped and held for ransom, Holly Reed escapes and makes a run for it. Half Indian, half Scottish, Roan MacIntosh’s just another mountain man. One who wants to be left alone. He doesn’t want company, especially not some yappy female he saves from a blizzard. He also doesn’t need anyone. Until he’s got new set of unexpected visitors. And now, Holly Reed, the one who needed saving is the one to do the saving. A Bargain for a Bride Cate Reed has one ambition. One dream. One goal. A theatre in Carson City. How can they not have one? So uncivilized. This dream of hers goes against the grain of her sisters, and it seems ,of most polite society. Polite society be damned, Cate Reed’s going to get her theatre, come hell or high water. Or a man who has a bargain. Cate Reed’s made a deal with a devil. A devilishly handsome stranger named Landon Jenkins. Landon Jenkins needs an actress to perform the role of a lifetime. Is Cate that actress? And will she get what she wants or what she needs?

This book not only includes chapters on more than twenty new screen sleuths but also updates information on several detectives included in the first two volumes of Famous Movie Detectives. Author Michael Pitts also provides new material on sleuths in silent films and serials, as well as a listing of radio and television detective programs.

What kind of woman would answer an advertisement and marry a stranger? Escape into the history of the American West along with nine couples whose relationships begin with advertisements for mail-order brides. Placing their dreams for new beginnings in the hands of a stranger, will each bride be disappointed, or will some find true love? Perfect for the Preacher by Megan Besing 1897, Indiana Fresh from seminary, Amos Lowry believes marriage will prove to his skeptical congregation that he’s mature. If only his mail-order bride wasn’t an ex-saloon girl, and worse, pregnant. The Outlaw’s Inconvenient Bride by Noelle Marchand 1881, Wyoming After a gang of outlaws uses a mail-order bride advertisement to trick an innocent woman into servitude, an undercover lawman must claim the bride—even if it puts his mission in jeopardy. Train Ride to Heartbreak by Donna Schlachter 1895, Train to California John Stewart needs a wife. Mary Johannson needs a home. On her way west, Mary falls in love with another. Now both must choose between commitment and true love. Mail-Order Proxy by Sherri Shackelford 1885, Montana A mail-order marriage by proxy goes wrong when a clerical error leads to the proxies actually being married instead of the siblings they were standing in for. In their quest to correct the mistake, the two discover outlaws, adventure, and even love. To Heal Thy Heart by Michelle Shocklee 1866, New Mexico When Phoebe Wagner answers a mail-order bride ad that states Confederate widows need not apply, she worries what Dr. Luke Preston will do when he learns her fiancé died wearing gray. Miss-Delivered Mail by Ann Shorey 1884, Washington Helena Erickson impulsively decides to take advantage of her brother’s deception and travels to Washington Territory in response to a proposal of marriage intended for someone else. How will Daniel McNabb respond when Helena is nothing like he expected? A Fairy-Tale Bride by Liz Tolsma 1867, Texas Nora Green doesn’t feel much like Cinderella when her mail-order groom stands her up. But could the mysterious jester from the town’s play be her Prince Charming? The Brigand and the Bride by Jennifer Uhlarik 1876, Arizona Jolie Hilliard weds a stranger to flee her outlaw family but discovers her groom is an escaped prisoner. Will she ever find happiness on the right side of the law? The Mail-Order Mistake by Kathleen Y’Barbo 1855, Texas Pinkerton detective Jeremiah Bingham is investigating a mail-order bride scam bankrupting potential grooms. When unsuspecting orphan May Conrad answers his false ad, she becomes the prime suspect in the case.

"Do not be misled by the title of this book. It is a study of Taiwan's bridal industry but it is also a fine ethnography of marriage in contemporary urban Taipei. With great subtlety, Bonnie Adrian shows us how much marriage in Taiwan has changed and how many of the old ways it has retained. She does so with wit and humor."—Margery Wolf, author of A Thrice-Told Tale: Feminism, Postmodernism, and Ethnographic Responsibility "Faced with the puzzle of the ubiquitous bridal photography in Taipei, Bonnie Adrian has produced a model ethnography of media-saturated contemporary life. Ethnographically adventurous, analytically smart, and warmly human, this book cleverly unpacks the ways women’s canny choices in Taiwan are forged at the intersection of everyday worlds of inter-generational tension, fantasies fed by a keenly competitive local culture industry, and global imagery tied to the transnational beauty industry. Unlike many who work on globalization, Adrian has not lost sight of the ways that gender and family are still at the heart of people’s social worlds and women are not victims."—Lila Abu-Lughod, author of Veiled Sentiments and Writing Women’s Worlds

BLAKE EDWARDS Blake Edwards: Film Director as Multitalented Auteur is the first critical analysis to focus on the dramatic works of Blake Edwards. Best known for successful comedies such as The Pink Panther series with Peter Sellers, Blake Edwards wrote, produced, and directed serious works in radio, television, film, and theater for seven decades. Although hit films such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s and ‘10’ remain popular, many of Edwards’s dramas have been forgotten or marginalized. In this unique book, William Luhr and Peter Lehman draw on original research from numerous set visits and personal interviews with Edwards and many of his creative and business collaborators to explore his dramas, radio and television work, theatrical productions, one-man art shows, and unproduced screenplays. In-depth chapters analyze non-comedic films including Experiment in Terror, Days of Wine and Roses, and The Tamarind Seed, the theatrical feature film Gunn and the made-for-television film Peter Gunn, the musical adaptation of Victor/Victoria, and lesser-known films written but not directed by Edwards, such as Drive a Crooked Road. Throughout the book, the authors apply contemporary film theory to auteur criticism of different works while sharing original insights into how Edwards worked creatively in disparate genres and media using composition, editing, sound, and visual motifs to shape his films and radio and television series. A one-of-a-kind examination of one of the most influential film directors of his generation, Blake Edwards: Film Director as Multitalented Auteur is an excellent supplementary text for university courses in American cinema, genres, auteurs, and film criticism, and a must-read for critics, scholars, and general readers interested in the works of Blake Edwards.