It’s exit stage left, permanently, for a big-time director who lands the starring role in an unscripted death scene . . . Desperate to find a director for their annual production, the Fox Hollow Players have a stroke of luck when Shell McMillan’s actress mother lands a prominent theater director for the job. He’s more gruff and demanding than the small-town cast and crew are used to, but his soft side for animals quickly endears him to pet shop owner Shell. Persuading her to let him use a shed on her property where he can work in peace, Shell is horrified when she finds his dead body there. And with obvious signs of foul play, she can’t help but investigate the murder. As she digs into the man’s past, it becomes apparent that at one point or another he was romantically entangled with just about every woman involved in the play. And just when Shell discovers he may have been blackmailing one of them, other clues surface that suggest a more sinister motive. With her hands already full with a beautiful stray cat she found and christened Princess Fuzzypants, Shell will have to fill two roles, caring for the Maine coon and trying to track down the killer before it’s her turn for a fatal curtain call . . . Praise for the books of T. C. LoTempio, winner of the Firebird Award for Best Cozy Mystery: “If you love cozy mystery books with cats, great characters, yummy food descriptions, and twisty mysteries, you will love A Purr Before Dying!” —Christy’s Cozy Corners “A fabulous addition to the fun cozy mystery series. It can be read on its own but it is so much better if you have read them in order. T. C. LoTempio creates a story that you won't want to put down.” —Books A Plenty Book Reviews “I hope we get more adventures and mysteries with Nora and Nick. There’s so much intrigue in each book with some hints at a potential romance. I know I’m in for hours of enjoyment when I see a new Nick and Nora book out.” —Socrates’ Book Reviews “A Purr Before Dying was so entertaining. I hope this series continues for a long time as these characters are some of my favorites.” —Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book

Hazel and Daisy step into the spotlight to find the stage is set for murder in this thrilling seventh novel of the Murder Most Unladylike Mystery series. Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells return to London to face an entirely new challenge: acting. Danger has a nasty habit of catching up with the Detective Society though, and it soon becomes clear that there is trouble waiting in the wings at the Rue. And when one of the cast members is found dead, the friends and investigative partners must work together to untangle the web of jealousy and threats that surround them to catch the culprit before the curtains rise on opening night…and the murderer returns for an encore.

To save their pet shop, Shell and her two furry sidekicks must cat-ch a killer Crishell "Shell" McMillan sees the cancellation of her TV series as a blessing in disguise. The former actress can now take over her late aunt's pet shop, the Purr N' Bark, and do something she loves. While getting the shop ready for re-opening, Shell is asked to loan her aunt's Cary Grant posters to the local museum for an exhibit. She finds the prospect exciting—until a museum board member, who had a long-standing feud with Shell's aunt, votes against it. When she discovers the board member dead in the museum, Shell becomes suspect number one. Can she, her Siamese cat Kahlua, and her new sidekick—her aunt's Persian Purrday—find the real culprit, or will her latest career go up in kitty litter? Praise: "[A] buoyant start to a new series ... Fans of feline mysteries will relish The Time for Murder is Meow's pet shop framework in this story of finding one's second act."—Foreword Reviews "[An] entertaining series debut. ... Feline-loving cozy fans will be satisfied"—Publishers Weekly

There may be honor among thieves, but a long-ago diamond heist might hold the secret to a man’s murder . . . Pet shop owner Shell McMillan is thrilled to see everyone in Fox Hollow flocking to the local animal shelter’s fundraiser, where they can get their old keepsakes and collectibles appraised and maybe even sell them for a tidy sum. But the event has drawn some shady characters as well, including Pete Martin, who seems determined to get his hands on a beat-up old jewelry box at any cost. Then Martin is found murdered, and Shell has to go from fundraising to finding a killer. It doesn’t take long for Shell to figure out that the jewelry box was concealing diamonds from a long-ago heist, and that Martin wasn’t the only one trying to get his hands on the stash. But to figure out who wanted him dead, she’ll have to uncover who was behind the original heist and who knows where the rest of the gems are hidden. It’s as dangerous a case as Shell has ever faced, and if she’s not careful, her search for the missing stones will leave her stone-cold dead . . . Praise for the books of T. C. LoTempio, winner of the Firebird Award for Best Cozy Mystery: “If you love cozy mystery books with cats, great characters, yummy food descriptions, and twisty mysteries, you will love A Purr Before Dying!” —Christy’s Cozy Corners “A fabulous addition to the fun cozy mystery series. It can be read on its own but it is so much better if you have read them in order. T. C. LoTempio creates a story that you won't want to put down.” —Books A Plenty Book Reviews “I hope we get more adventures and mysteries with Nora and Nick. There’s so much intrigue in each book with some hints at a potential romance. I know I’m in for hours of enjoyment when I see a new Nick and Nora book out.” —Socrates’ Book Reviews “A Purr Before Dying was so entertaining. I hope this series continues for a long time as these characters are some of my favorites.” —Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book

In the first book-length study explicitly to connect the postcolonial trope of hybridity to Renaissance literature, Gary Schmidt examines how sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English authors, artists, explorers and statesmen exercised a concerted effort to frame questions of cultural and artistic heterogeneity. This book is unique in its exploration of how 'hybrid' literary genres emerge at particular historical moments as vehicles for negotiating other kinds of hybridity, including but not limited to cultural and political hybridity. In particular, Schmidt addresses three distinct manifestations of 'hybridity' in English literature and iconography during this period. The first category comprises literal hybrid creatures such as satyrs, centaurs, giants, and changelings; the second is cultural hybrids reflecting the mixed status of the nation; and the third is generic hybrids such as the Shakespearean 'problem play,' the volatile verse satires of Nashe, Hall and Marston, and the tragicomedies of Beaumont and Fletcher. In Renaissance Hybrids, Schmidt demonstrates 'postmodern' considerations not to be unique to our own critical milieu. Rather, they can fruitfully elucidate cultural and literary developments in the English Renaissance, forging a valuable link in the history of ideas and practices, and revealing a new dimension in the relation of early modern studies to the concerns of the present.

In Lydia Cooper's wry and absorbing debut novel, we are introduced to Mickey Brandis, a brilliant twenty-eight-year-old doctoral candidate in medieval literature who is part Lisbeth Salander and part Dexter. She lives in her parents' garage and swears too often, but she never complains about the rain or cold, she rarely eats dead animals, and she hasn't killed a man since she was ten. Her life is dull and predictable but legal, and she intends to keep it that way. But the careful existence Mickey has created in adulthood is upended when she is mysteriously led to a condemned house where she discovers an exquisitely mutilated corpse. The same surreal afternoon, she is asked by a timid, wall-eyed art student to solve a murder that occurred twenty years earlier. While she gets deeper and deeper into the investigation, she begins to lose hold on her tenuous connection to reality--to her maddening students and graduate thesis advisor; to her stoic parents, who are no longer speaking; to her confused, chameleon-like adolescent brother; and to her older brother, Dave, a zany poet who is growing increasingly erratic and keenly interested in Mickey's investigation. Driven by an unforgettable voice, and filled with razor-sharp wit and vivid characters, My Second Death is a smart, suspenseful novel and a provocative examination of family, loyalty, the human psyche, and the secrets we keep to save ourselves.

A January 2023 Once Upon a Book Club Pick "You'll get nothing done until you've reached the end of this excellent book." &―Lisa Regan, USA Today and WSJ bestselling author of the Detective Josie Quinn series "[A] riveting tale . . ." &―Library Journal She wanted the truth. She should have known better. When her sister is found dead in a Baltimore hotel room, reporter Val Ritter's world is turned upside down. An empty pill bottle at the scene leads the police to believe the cause of death is suicide. With little more than her own conviction, Val teams up with Terry Martin, a retired detective who has his own personal interest in the case, to prove that something more sinister is possible. In 1921, Bridget Wallace, a guest on the brink of womanhood, is getting ready to marry an eligible older man. But what seems like a comfortable match soon takes a dark turn. Does the illustrious history of the stately Franklin hotel hide another, lesser known history of death?

The Lost Matriarch offers a unique response to the sparse and puzzling biblical treatment of the matriarch Leah. Although Leah is a major figure in the book of Genesis, the biblical text allows her only a single word of physical description and two lines of direct dialogue. The Bible tells us little about the effects of her lifelong struggles in an apparently loveless marriage to Jacob, the husband she shares with three other wives, including her beautiful younger sister, Rachel. Fortunately, two thousand years of traditional and modern commentators have produced many fascinating interpretations (midrash) that reveal the far richer story of Leah hidden within the text. Through Jerry Rabow’s weaving of biblical text and midrash, readers learn the lessons of the remarkable Leah, who triumphed over adversity and hardship by living a life of moral heroism. The Lost Matriarch reveals Leah’s full story and invites readers into the delightful, provocative world of creative rabbinic and literary commentary. By experiencing these midrashic insights and techniques for reading “between the lines,” readers are introduced to what for many will be an exciting new method of personal Bible interpretation.

From Key Largo to the Dry Tortugas, this true insider’s guide to Florida’s subtropical islands, offers a comprehensive look at famous attractions such as daily sunset celebrations, historic bars, renowned restaurants, and America’s only living coral reef. Supplemented with information about local hidden gems, it offers tips about secret gardens, hip diners, and beachfront bistros. The swashbuckling history of the Keys and some of its most famous inhabitants are brought to life with charming text—from Jimmy Buffett to the ever-present ghosts of Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams.