This study of crime and masquerade in fiction focuses upon the criminal as a 'performer'. Through stimulating discussions of a wide range of criminal types, Peach argues for the importance of novels that have been neglected. The book integrates incisive literary and cultural criticism with arguments about gender, masquerade, crime and culture.

In this true-life account, Donita Woodruff reveals how her picture-perfect romance with her new husband is shattered after she discovers he is having an affair with a transsexual, who is also a suspect in a 20-year-old murder case. Includes an 8-page photo insert.

This true crime account unravels the bizarre circumstances surrounding the hideous mutilation murder of Dr. Alan Canty, a respected Detroit psychologist. Obsessed with a teenage hooker named Dawn Spens, Canty found himself caught in a horrifying world of double identities, drug addiction, and blackmail, which ended in his brutal murder at the hands of Dawn's pimp boyfriend, John "Lucky" Fry. Photo insert.

In this Rashomon-style mystery story, each member of a high-school literature club presents her own version of the death of the group's leader. At a prestigious girl’s school, a student has died. Itsumi was the most beautiful, charismatic, and popular girl at St. Mary’s Academy for Girls. She was also the president of the exclusive and tight-knit Literature Club. One week after her death, the members of her beloved club gather in her memory. But as they each testify to what happened in the days leading up to the tragic event, their accusations turn shocking— Why, and how, did Itsumi really die? In this glittering and gripping murder mystery, everyone has their own motivations and version of the truth. In its portrayal of the alliances, treacheries, and invisible tensions between friends and frenemies, The Dark Maidens keeps readers guessing and shows that what is sweet can just as easily be poisonous.

Diane and Joseph Pikul seem to have it all. But what looked like a dream was really a nightmare of murder, madness, and dispair.

Since the death of her sister, police force newbie Yuri Uguisu has been chasing the notoriously untraceable serial killer Masquerade. When a new corpse turns up in Odaiba, Yuri immediately goes on alert—only to recognize the victim as an old classmate, the alluring and mysterious Reina Myoko. When the police force calls in long-time consultant psychologist Seiren Higano for assistance in untangling the testimonies of Reina’s father, fiancé, and lover, Yuri meets the riveting, charismatic psychologist for the first time. Little does she know that Higano is none other than Masquerade himself. Faced with Reina’s case, Higano promises to get the answers, but no one is prepared for the conclusion reached in the interrogation room… In this cat-and-mouse tale of hunter and hunted, Eiji Mikage has woven a subtle and twisting tale of clashing motives and murky identities, where nothing anyone says can be taken at face value.

Love is in the Salt Sea Air--and So is Murder! Ellery Page, aspiring screenwriter, reigning Scrabble champion, and occasionally clueless owner of the village's only mystery bookstore, the Crow’s Nest, is both flattered and bemused when he’s invited to the annual Marauder’s Masquerade, the best and biggest social event of the season in the quaint seaside village of Pirate’s Cove, Rhode Island. The event is hosted by the wealthy Marguerite Bloodworth-Ainsley—a descendant of the famed pirate Tom Blood. Ellery doesn’t even know Mrs. Bloodworth-Ainsley—nor, it turns out—does Mrs. Bloodworth-Ainsley know him. But Marguerite’s son, Julian wants to know Ellery. Julian, handsome, rich and engaging, is a huge mystery buff. In fact, he’s bought quite a few books at the Crow’s Nest bookstore, but never quite worked up the nerve to ask Ellery out. As his relationship with Police Chief Carson seems to be dead in the water, Ellery is grateful for a little flattering attention from the village’s most eligible bachelor, but any hopes of romance hit the shoals when Julian is accused of murdering his mother’s unlikable second husband during the Masquerade's annual ghost hunt in the family’s spooky cemetery.

When it was over, there were a lot of questions. The detectives were embarrassed but they still wanted answered, "How did a 15-year-old runaway successfully pose as a world traveled countess?" The newspapers turned it back on them, practically sneering, "How did she do it while under investigation by the FBI, DEA, and Interpol?" The Mafia had been demanding the same thing for six months, "What is your real name?" And the psychologists asked the question they always ask, "Why?" It's the why of it that will keep a girl in trouble. Assuming Names is the true story of a young con artist. It's the tale of a runaway that assumed the title of countess and then went on to fool the FBI, DEA, and Interpol-as well as a number of other celebrities and institutions-with an elaborate tale of world intrigue.

Everyone thinks a ghost is the thief, but Nancy is on the case! A masked Mardi Gras ball turns spooky when revelers are tormented by a what they think are ghosts. When Deirdre Shannon’s antique tiara is snatched Nancy is certain the crook is a guest--not a ghoul.

Describes the author's fifteen-year relationship with eccentric New Yorker Clark Rockefeller, his discovery that Rockefeller was a serial imposter and murderer and how his old friend's murder trial made him face hard truths about himself.