Working on the Godding Museum's annual local artist show is the perfect way for English teacher Sarah Deane to earn a few dollars, relax in the sun and sea air of coastal Maine, and spend the summer with her boyfriend, Dr. Alex McKenzie. But when Sarah and Alex discover the body of Nate Harwood, a cranky local artist, caught in an offshore fish trap, they know they'll have no vacation from amateur detecting until they catch his killer. Could his death be related to the "accidental" drowning of two elderly tourists shortly after they had brought a painting from Prior's Gallery? Is one of the contestants in the museum show willing to go to any lengths to win? Or does someone have strong feelings against seascapes? Sarah and Alax canvass Weymouth Island trying to draw a clearer picture of the killer lurking among them--before they find the next victim.

In two classic mysteries, an English teacher by profession discovers that sleuthing—of the strictly amateur variety—may be where her truest passions lie. J. S. Borthwick’s debut novel, The Case of the Hook-Billed Kites, takes Sarah Deane, still a grad student at this point, out of her natural New England habitat and into the wilds of Texas, where her maybe-boyfriend is keen on a spot of birdwatching. But birds are not all that she spies through her binoculars, and so the adventures begin. In The Down East Murders, Sarah is glad to be back on home ground, but somebody, it appears, is not happy in any way at all, and Sarah is forced (and secretly thrilled) to put her newfound detecting skills to use again. Praise for the first two mysteries featuring Sarah Deane “Miss Borthwick has a keen eye and a sharp pen.” —The New York Times “Borthwick . . . has the right stuff.” —The Washington Post Book World “A top-notch mystery that also gives the smell of the sea fresh in your face.” —The Houston Post “Very much in the Christie tradition . . . will challenge the wits of the most veteran of armchair detectives!” —Library Journal “Witty, appealing, and thoroughly delightful . . . an ingenious, richly satisfying mixture of the classic elements of a murder mystery.” —Mystery News

A chilling account of the murders of two hunters in rural Michigan—a mystery that haunted a community and baffled the police for two decades. In the bitter cold of 1985, two buddies from Detroit embark on a hunting trip to the Michigan wilderness, unaware they will soon become the hunted. The eerie silence surrounding their sudden disappearance is broken after nearly two decades when a relentless investigator inspires a terrified witness to break her silence. The witness narrates a haunting scene that had unfolded years back, pointing fingers at the prime suspects—the Duvall brothers. With no bodies unearthed, the justice system is riveted by the startling revelations during an electrifying trial in 2003. The brothers, Raymond and Donald Duvall, had bragged about the murders, evocatively explaining how they dismembered their victims and fed them to pigs. Despite the shocking confession, the case holds its ground purely on a single witness’s account, taking the courtroom through a labyrinth of dark secrets and sinister acts. This gripping thriller presents a vivid tale of crime that reveals the devastating power of evil.

"The Rue Morgue Murders" is a pioneering tale in the mystery genre, in which detective Auguste Dupin uses his acute observation and logic to solve a brutal double murder in Paris, revealing a surprising and unusual outcome.

When a murder occurs after the arrival of three new families in the quaint Ocean Tide community on the coast of Maine, Sarah Deane, a recently unemployed Ph. D., delves into the investigation, discovering dark secrets that could shatter the peaceful town.

Mount Desert Island has attracted scoundrels and scandals for more than 100 years. Steady as the tide, every summer brings a rush of summer residents from eastern cities to the island and nothing thrilled them so much as a good scandal. In its heyday, Mount Desert was a wild oasis where the summercators could carry on in comparative privacy. Today, unfortunately, unlike Las Vegas, what happened on Mount Desert doesn’t always stay on Mount Desert. The scandals that were the talk of the picnics and outings that filled the summer visitors' days are brought back to life in Bar Harbor Babylon. Murderers, thieves, cheaters and scammers have all made their mark on the tiny towns of Mount Desert. This book will take the reader on a tour of the misadventures and misfortunes that punctuate the island's wealthy and privileged past.

Murder begins with the click of a button in this true crime story of Facebook, catfishing and deadly jealousy—as seen on Investigation Discovery. Chris was a CIA agent worried for the safety of Jenelle Potter. Contacting her parents and boyfriend, Chris warned them that Billy Payne and Billie Jean Hayworth were bullying Jenelle online and posed an imminent, physical threat. Something needed to be done, Chris said. And he’d have their backs if they took action to protect Jenelle. And so they did. Jenelle’s father and boyfriend murdered Payne and Hayworth in their own home—mercifully leaving the couple’s infant unharmed. But when they told their story to the police, they discovered a devastating truth: there was no Chris. It had been Jenelle the entire time, catfishing them to exact revenge over a Facebook feud. Using forensic linguistics and diving through the brambles that Jenelle laid to cover her tracks, police were able to put together a chilling portrait of a sociopath who set a double murder in motion from the shadows of the internet. Dennis Brooks, the lead prosecutor in this strange and tragic case, examines the crime and trial from all angles in Too Pretty to Live. What the police investigation turned up, though, made this crime all the more terrifying. Jenelle had been Chris the entire time, catfishing her family and her boyfriend to act in vengeance on her behalf. Using forensic linguistics and diving through the brambles that Jenelle laid to cover her tracks, police were able to put together a chilling portrait of a sociopath, made all the more ruthless by the anonymity of her online life. Bizarre and unforgettable, Dennis Brooks examines the crime and trial from all angles, bringing his expertise as the lead prosecutor in the strange and disturbing case.

Many bibliographers focus on women who write. Lawyer Barnett looks at women who detect, at women as sleuths and at the evolving roles of women in professions and in society. Excellent for all women's studies programs as well as for the mystery hound. Look at the popularity of such reading guides as Willetta Heising's Detecting Women (3rd ed. 0-9644593-7-X) or Amanda Cross' fiction (Honest Doubt 0-345-44011-0 11/00).