Chesapeake Crimes 3 is the latest installment of the Agatha- and Anthony-award-winning Chesapeake Crimes series. "The Chesapeake Bay area is home to strong winds, joys, and fears, where you lock your doors at night in the cities and probably should lock them in the countryside, too, especially after reading this anthology. [It] gave me 15 reasons to wish I had not moved to the Midwest. And for the folks who are still living in this supposedly mild-mannered region, all I can say is, enjoy the weather, but watch your back." -- Sujata Massey

Mystery and magic collide in this thrilling, all-new collection of short stories by some of the top talents in the crime-writing field. Tales of fantasy worlds and stage illusion, of magic-users and magic-abusers, fill these pages with a heady, deadly mix! Here you will find- WHAT'S A LITTLE MURDER BETWEEN MAMMALS, by Rosalie Spielman COURTING DISASTER, by Cathy Wiley THE THIRTEENTH HOUSE, by Jaquelyn Lyman-Thomas THE MIDNIGHT SHOW, by Stacy Woodson THE WIG, by Tara Laskowski A TOUCH OF MAGIC, by Shari Randall THE SNOW GLOBE, by Greg Herren SOMETHING DARK AND DANGEROUS, by Donna Andrews A CHARMING SOLUTION, by Smita Harish Jain WHAT GOES AROUND, by Robin Templeton EVERYDAY MAGIC, by Pam Clark PYEWACKETT, by KM Rockwood BEHIND THE MAGIC 8-BALL, by Marcia Talley WHISKERS McGRUFF AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING CLUE, by Eleanor Cawood Jones ABRACADAVER, by Alan Orloff MR. FILBERT'S CLASSROOM, by Adam Meyer Includes an INTRODUCTION by Daniel Stashower. Edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley

WARNING! DEPRAVED HEARTS, BEASTLY EVIL These are their stories.These stories of murders and of a few cases of attempted murder over sixty years include vivid descriptions of ghastly crimes with explicit photos not intended for the faint of heart or children. Parental Guidance is mandatory. Many of these murders went unsolved for long periods, some still have not been solved, and justice obtained for the victims. One case of a killer allowed out of a mental health facility after he killed two people on the East Coast allowed him to rape and murder 3,000 miles away on the West Coast. Another serial killer wiped out an entire family in one night of terror and is believed to have killed dozens more. A task force that included seventy-five FBI agents and a dozen county and state police from two states found the killer who set the gold standard for serial killers. The story of a rare case of an Amish Murder-Suicide is included along with that of a Navy Ensign who killed his estranged wife's lover with a crossbow and then carved him into pieces with a saw.

What's fun about this thirteen-story anthology is seeing how each of the very talented writers took a few common notes (critters and criminals) and, like the masterful jazz word musicians that they are, concocted such different and delightful tales.

The seventh volume in the Chesapeake Crimes series presents an impressive set of tales by new and wellestablished authors. Included this time are: INTRODUCTION, by Dana Cameron THE DAME AND THADDEUS BIRDWHISTLE, by Karen Cantwell SECRETS TO THE GRAVE, by K.M. Rockwood THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT THE ESCAPE ROOM, by Leone Ciporin THE DOGOODER, by Adam Meyer THE PROBLEM WITH OPENENDED INVITATIONS, by Cathy Wiley MUGGINS, by Josh Pachter THE KILLING WINDS, by Mary Stojak MAKE NEW FRIENDS, BUT KEEP THE OLD, by Jane Limprecht GOOD MORNING, GREEN LEAF CLASS, by Sarah Cotter THE GREAT BEDBUG INCIDENT AND THE INVITATION OF DOOM, by Eleanor Cawood Jones GUNS AND YOGA, by Maureen Klovers RFP/RIP, by Britt Alan AUMAKUA, by Maddi Davidson THE COLOR OF ENVY, by Joanna Campbell Slan TRUE COLORS, by Robin Templeton ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES, by Art Taylor SUNNYSIDE, by Stacy Woodson

13 writers spin tales crime around the theme of animals. A pet groomer. A pet crow. A dog named Rasputin. Exploding cattle. Even an octopus figures in a mystery. Contributors include: Chris Grabenstein (Introduction), Shari Randall, Carla Coupe, KM Rockwood, Alan Orloff, Eleanor Cawood Jones, Robin Templeton, Barb Goffman, Marianne Wilski Strong, Linda Lombardi, Josh Pachter, Joanna Campbell Slan, Cathy Wiley, and Karen Cantwell.

Her hometown of Loomis, Louisiana, holds no charm for Jodie Gilmore. Why be reminded of her mother's abandonment? Then the novice FBI agent is assigned to a missing person's case, and refusal isn't an option. Her coworkers are counting on her. Surely the tight–lipped locals will talk to one of their own. Or will they? A decades–old double homicide is discovered, and Harrison Cahill, the handsome forensic anthropologist on the case, thinks Jodie knows more than she's saying. But speaking freely can be deadly in Loomis....

Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning is the latest installment of the Agatha- and Anthony-award-winning Chesapeake Crimes series. This volume features tales by: Donna Andrews Timothy Bentler-Jungr Shaun Taylor Bevins Carla Coupe Maddi Davidson Linda Ensign Barb Goffman Kim Kash Adam Meyer Alan Orloff KM Rockwood Lauren R. Silberman Marianne Wilski Strong Art Taylor Robin Templeton "The diabolical sisters of the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime have raised the stakes: not only asking their astute members to offer up a gem of a short story, but to add a degree of difficulty. It has to be about the weather.... Rain, snowstorms, hurricanes. The glare of the sun. The shrouding fog. Clouds, mist, hail, and icy roads. The Chessies have used their writerly talent to embrace the weather, to relish it, and to provide us with a raft of meteorological (and deadly) delights." -- Hank Phillippi Ryan, bestselling author of the Jane Ryland series

Real estate rule #1: A dead body creates buzz. A dead body in a house for sale is never the buzz you want.It isn't the first time real estate agent Helen Morrisey has found someone naked in bed while showing a house to a potential buyer. But this one is different. One glance at the bluish cast around his lips and the vacant, staring eyes, and Helen knows big-time developer Al Capelli is never going to sign another sales agreement. His death is big news for a small, top of the Chesapeake water town where a family empire is built around secrets and their brash money style is resented by locals. Within days, his lover, her old friend, begs Helen to find the killer before she's arrested for murder. With her fight for the underdog style, Helen jumps in. She quickly realizes that solving a murder mystery in real life is a lot more dangerous than reading one. Helen decides to create her own Detection Club of expert sleuths-Miss Marple, Jessica Fletcher, Nora Charles, Agatha Raisin, and, yes, Nancy Drew to help unearth the truth.Detective Joe McAlister recognizes the value of Helen's insight into back-office real estate deals and local players. And for the first time since her husband's death, Helen meets a man who might be able to return zingers as quick as she can toss them out. Mystery lovers hungry for a smart gutsy woman, a fast-moving plot, and an insider's look into a business everyone talks about, but few understand, will devour this first in a series Murder in the Master.

"Not many of us would admit, even to ourselves, that we had actually wished for something awful to befall anybody we knew. On the other hand, if we've ever felt exploited by an acquaintance, or undervalued in a job that we felt trapped in-if we've experienced an unappreciative boss, a backstabbing co-worker, a jealous rival, a manipulative friend, a faithless lover, an intrusive neighbor, or even a controlling homeowners' association board . . . well, you get the picture. "Each of us has doubtless gone a round or two with someone whom we secretly felt deserved more than a small dose of Divine Justice. This probably explains why most of us can't help but smile upon hearing that somebody who "done us wrong" has, at long last, gotten his "just desserts." In extreme cases (that is, if you're anything like me) you might even have gone so far, in the past, as to uncork a small split of champagne "I suspect there'll be plenty of bubbly flowing as you relish reading about twenty of literature's most deserving villains, who get their comeuppance in Chesapeake Crimes: They Had It Comin'." --Katherine Neville, from the Foreword