A drug researcher develops a Methusaleh serum - a new drug that reverses aging in human cells. While it is being sought by all from crime bosses to the US President, two police must keep the serum and formula safe.

From author Alicia Bessette comes an all-new mystery series featuring Callie Padget, a former reporter turned bookshop clerk in the Outer Banks who is pulled into a deadly web of secrets when a mysterious fall at a lighthouse echoes a tragedy from her past. When Callie is laid off from her reporting job, she returns to her hometown of Cattail Island and lands a gig at the local bookstore—the same one where she found comfort after her mother died. In fact, the anniversary of her mother’s infamous death is approaching. Years ago, Teri Padget tumbled from the top of the lighthouse. As islanders are once again gossiping about the tragedy, devastating news strikes: the lighthouse has claimed another victim. Eva Meeks, of Meeks Hardware. The police are calling it suicide, but Callie does not believe Eva jumped any more than she believes her mother did—especially because Callie knows that before her death, Eva had dug up a long-forgotten treasure hunt that could have put a target on Eva’s back. In Callie’s search for answers, she enlists the help of some beloved books and several new friends, including the handsome local martial arts instructor, Toby Dodge. But when another death rocks Cattail Island, Callie must face her fears alone. As she earns enemies in pursuit of the truth, Callie knows she will either uncover the killer or become a victim herself. Mystery Writers of America’s Lilian Jackson Braun Memorial Award nominee

In the summer of 1967, nineteen-year-old Brenda Joyce Holland disappeared. She was a mountain girl who had come to Manteo to work in the outdoor drama The Lost Colony. Her body was found five days later, floating in the sound. This riveting narrative, built on unique access to the state investigative file and multiple interviews with insiders, searches for the truth of her unsolved murder. This island odyssey of discovery includes séances, a suicide and a supposed shallow grave. Journalist John Railey cuts through the myths and mistakes to finally arrive at the long-hidden truth of what happened to Brenda Holland that summer on Roanoke Island.

Little-known stories of North Carolina’s celebrated barrier islands, with photos included. The history of North Carolina's Outer Banks is as ancient and mesmerizing as its beaches. Much has been documented, but many stories were lost—until now. Join local historian Sarah Downing as she reveals a past of the Outer Banks eroded by time and tides. Revel in the nostalgic days of the Carolina Beach Pavilion, stand in the shadows of windmills that once lined the coast, and learn how native islanders honor those aviation giants, the Wright brothers. Downing’s vignettes venture through windswept dunes, dive deep in search of the lost ironclad the Monitor, and lament the decline of the diamondback terrapin. Break out the beach chair and let your mind soak in the salty bygone days of these famed coastal extremities.

It's mid-August in the Outer Banks village of Corolla in North Carolina and Fire Chief Colleen McCabe is conducting rookie training and spending increasingly more time with her best friend, Sheriff Bill Dorman. The wild horses have been relocated to the sanctuary, and the town is occupied with the upcoming local theatre production. All is right with the world. But when a member of the acting troupe is found dead in the dunes after an emergency training exercise and Bill's ex-fiancée arrives in town, Colleen knows trouble is back with a vengeance. A second member of the theatre company is discovered dead at the Whalehead Club, and Colleen is forced to put aside her feelings about her relationship with Bill and work with him to uncover who is murdering the thespians and why. She discovers as much drama offstage as on and quickly finds herself swept up in the intrigue of the community theatre group, and struggling to keep her men at the firehouse focused. As the danger mounts and the killer's identity becomes clearer, Bill warns her off the investigation. But despite his warning, Colleen is determined to stop the killer before he or she strikes again, to her own peril. In Murder on the Hoof, her sequel to Foal Play, Kathryn O'Sullivan delivers more laughs and mayhem with charming characters mystery readers will love getting to know.

Librarian Lucy’s new historic house comes with a lot of baggage and family secrets. Can she put them to rest or will a killer bring Lucy’s family to their downfall, in the 9th Lighthouse Library mystery. It’s spring in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and Lucy and Connor have moved into their new home at last, a historic cottage on the Nags Head Beach. The house needs a lot of renovations, but they worked hard over the winter to get it ready. Lucy is now happily immersed in her work at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, planning her wedding, and decorating the house. That is, until a dead body disrupts their peaceful new abode. The first night Lucy’s alone in the house, with the company of Charles the library cat, she hears sounds. Investigating they see footsteps in the dust of the unfinished living room, and the door to the outside is open. Lucy's reminded that the house is said to be haunted: forty years ago the teenage daughter of the owners fled in the night, and never again stepped foot inside her family home. But the sounds have an all-too-human origin and one evening Lucy and Connor find the dead body of a man they don’t even recognize in their kitchen. They soon realize he has a long-time connection to their house. Lucy's forced to find out what happened all those years ago and why it’s threatening her happiness today. Meanwhile, the Classic Novel Reading Club is reading The House of the Seven Gables by Nathanial Hawthorne, a book about another old house full of secrets. Can Lucy find parallels to her own situation in Hawthorne’s fiction before the killer strikes again?

Two unscrupulous antiquity dealers, Hugh Underdonk and Alfred Bacon, hope to get their hands on the Dare Diary, a long lost journal written by Eleanor Dare, one of the original members of Roanoke Island's Lost Colony. Detective Weston Wolf is drawn into this web of deception and murder by a beautiful woman who claims to be a descendant of Eleanor. As the bodies pile up, Wolf must untangle this web to save his own neck. In the spirit of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, Joe C. Ellis has weaved together a fast-paced noir detective novel set on the Outer Banks with a menagerie of unusual characters. This novel launches Book 1 of the Weston Wolf -- Outer Banks Detective Series. Praise for Ellis's other series--the Outer Banks Murder Series: "Wow. This guy can write! If you like any of the best selling suspense/mystery writers (Coben, Child, Patterson), give Joe Ellis a try for a refreshing change."Gee Gee Rosell - Island Free Press "Murder at Whalehead will absorb the reader from its firsttantalizing page to its last satisfying conclusion."Michele Rubin - Writers House, NY" Joe Ellis weaves engaging characters, suspense, and triumph of spirit together in a great read."Nancy Haddock - Bestselling Novelist

Book 1 of the Outer Banks Baker Mystery Series Attempting to rebuild her life after the tragic death of her beloved husband, middle-aged widow Melissa Maples moved back to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Part of her 'starting over' meant opening her own bakery - Kill Devil Delicacies - that specialized in artisan breads. Already successful after a few short years, she looked forward to her nephew, Logan, visiting that summer and her competing in the Outer Banks Regional Bake-Off for the chance to appear on a nationally televised cooking show. Although still mourning her husband, Melissa finally felt life was getting back to some sense of normalcy. Her life in Kill Devil Hills was satisfying and peaceful...at least until she opened the bakery door on an early summer morning to discover a mystery that would rock the quaint seaside town to its core!

Hatteras Moon tells the story of Virgil Gibson, an English professor whose friendship with a trawler boat captain and part time smuggler draws him into a world of violence, evil, and revenge. Haunted by the deaths of his friends, Virgil is determined to find their killers and bring them to justice.

Drawing on her love of archaeology and the legends surrounding the Lost Colonists of Roanoke Island, author Deborah Dunn has woven a spell-binding murder mystery about a young archaeologist, Andrea Warren, who goes in search of why her father committed suicide as a young man while looking for the infamous coffins of Beechland, coffins the locals claim belong to remnants of the 117 men, women, and children who vanished without a trace in 1590. But what she discovers soon puts her life in danger. Who wants to stop her? And how far would they go to keep her from making one of the most important archaeological discoveries of all time: What happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island? Where did Virginia Dare go? "Most archaeologists, including myself, rarely have the time or the inclination to read historical novels, particularly those whose themes are archaeology. There are so many errors in the research or the stories are so unrealistic that it is difficult to truly enjoy reading. But The Coffins was the exception. Not only is it a successful blend of historical research and local ethnography, it is a true page-turning crime thriller. Think Sue Grafton meets Ivor Noel Hume. It is historical fiction as it should be written. A great read!" Dr. Charles Ewen, Director of the Phelps Archaeology Lab, Professor, East Carolina University Greenville, North Carolina