Recommendations based on "Deadly Appearances (Kilbourn series)"

Originally published: London: Collins, 1930.

J is for Jaffe: Wendell Jaffe, dead these past five years. Or so it seemed until his former insurance agent spotted him in the bar of a dusty little resort halfway between Cabo San Lucas and La Paz. In truth, the facts about Wendell Jaffe had nothing to do with my family history, but murder is seldom tidy and no one ever said revelations operate in a straight line. It was my investigation into the dead man's past that triggered the inquiry into my own, and in the end the two stories became difficult to separate. Five years ago, when Jaffe's thirty-five-foot Fuji ketch was found drifting off the Baja coast, it seemed a sure thing he'd gone overboard. The note he left behind admitted he was flat broke, his business bankrupt, his real estate gambit nothing but a huge Ponzi scheme about to collapse, with criminal indictment certain to follow. When the authorities soon after descended on his banks and his books, there was nothing left: Jaffe had stripped the lot. Given my insatiable curiosity and my natural inclination to poke my nose in where it doesn't belong, it was odd to realize how little attention I'd paid to my own past. I'd simply accepted what I was told, constructing my personal mythology on the flimsiest of facts. But Jaffe wasn't quite without assets. There was the $500,000 life insurance policy made out to his wife and underwritten by California Fidelity. With no corpse to prove death, however, the insurance company was in no hurry to pay the claim. Dana Jaffe had to wait out the statutory five years until her missing husband could be declared legally dead. Just two months before Wendell Jaffe was sighted in that dusty resort bar, California Fidelity finally paid in full.Now they wanted the truth. And they were willing to hire Kinsey Millhone to dig it up. As Kinsey pushes deeper into the mystery surrounding Wendell Jaffe's pseudocide, she explores her own past, discovering that in family matters as in crime, sometimes it's better to reserve jud

The new Blackbird Sisters mystery from the bestselling author of A Crazy Little Thing Called Death. Down-to-earth debutante Nora Blackbird is having a meltdown-and it isn't because of Philadelphia's heat wave, or an overdose at the city's Chocolate Festival. A noted Philly philanthropist has taken a swan dive from an office balcony-and Nora's friend Lexie stands accused of the murder. Then Nora's scheming parents reappear, sending all three Blackbird sisters into a panic. Now Nora must uncover the scandalous hijinks her parents are plotting-before she winds up taking all the heat and strangling her father with his own ascot.

Murder under the stars... Nora Blackbird--pregnant at last --is spending summer afternoons wallowing in the Bucks County pool of her best friend, Lexie Paine, who has just been released from prison. At night, Nora is covering Philadelphia's high-society events for the local newspaper. And this time she doesn't have to look far for a good story. Next door, a Broadway show is in rehearsal at the estate of Toodles Tuttle, the long-deceased but ever-legendary composer. Reigning over the estate is Toodles's diva widow, Boom Boom. The demanding old broad still rules with an iron fist, and considering the chorus line of enemies she's racked up over the years, her death has been a hotly anticipated event. So imagine everyone's dismay when it's her beloved daughter, Jenny, who drops dead--from a cause that is anything but natural--just as the lights are set to go on for the lucrative new Toodles musical. Yet murder is only an overture to the drama to come.... Nora's sister Libby, a soon-to-be-grandmother, has gotten herself into a sticky situation, wooed by both a lowly bug exterminator and a cheesecake-loving Broadway impresario. Edgy sister Emma has a dangerous new boyfriend who may jeopardize her show-jumping exploits. And the love of Nora's life, Mick Abruzzo, has been desperate to prevent Nora from meeting the most notorious member of his mobbed-up family--his mother. Now Nora has to deal with the bump-and-grind of her personal life, and also bring the curtain down on a daring killer--before he forces her to exit stage left, permanently.

Uncovering the past… Can be deadly When a body is found buried in the garden of a vacant house, acting police chief Caralee Patterson finds herself investigating a murder that happened thirty years ago. The new property owner, ex-con Will Viveners, refuses to cooperate. But when old secrets are unearthed, Caralee and Will must trust each other to catch a killer who will stop at nothing to keep the truth from coming out…

Plus-sized P.I. Savannah Reid and her pals at the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency know a thing or two about fine dining. But when murder shows up on the menu, it's time to go back to the kitchen. . . When the Moonlight Magnolia gang learns their friends Ryan Stone and John Gibson are planning to open a chic new restaurant, they eagerly offer their input on everything from what dishes to serve to how many calories they should contain. But all Ryan and John can think about is how excited they are to have hired the temperamental but talented chef Baldwin Norwood. Too bad the only thing being sliced and diced in the kitchen is the chef himself. . . As Savannah turns her attention from munchies to murder, she quickly realizes the cantankerous chef left a bad taste in everyone's mouth, and any number of people could have whipped up a recipe for revenge. Could the jilted sous chef he stabbed in the back have done the same to him? Perhaps the loyal girlfriend he took for granted was finally fed up. Or maybe the business partner whose career he ruined had an appetite for blood. Savannah has her work cut out for her, and just when she thinks there couldn't be any more suspects, she uncovers a plot more precarious than a perfect souffl�. . .

"When Juno Browne finds a life-sized effigy floating in the River Ashburn, a note attached claims it as the work of Cutty Dyer, Ashburton's mythical blood-drinking demon. At first, the police dismiss Juno's find as a practical joke. Then the body of a woman is discovered by the river and it becomes clear that a real killer has taken on Cutty's identity. The murder of an officer from Dartmoor prison throws suspicion on recently released prisoner, Luke Rowlands. But when a third corpse is discovered, an old adversary of Juno's, it seems that the killer is striking at random. Juno, convinced of Luke's innocence, finds herself drawn into solving the mystery, especially as the killer is someone close at hand, close enough to send her their own personal message. As the rain falls steadily, and the level of the River Ashburn continues to rise, Juno must unmask the real identity of Cutty Dyer, or risk being swept away on a murderous tide."--Provided by publisher

With the festive season fast approaching, amateur sleuth Juno Browne helps organise a Christmas Fair to raise funds for Ashburton's local animal sanctuary. The event is a success, but whilst Santa is handing out presents in the fairy-lit grotto, a murder is being committed in a dark corner of the garden. Juno discovers the body of Bob the Blacksmith, found clutching a horseshoe decorated with a sprig of elder. Suspicion falls on Bob's longsuffering wife, Jackie, and on Don Drummond, with whom Bob violently quarrelled in the past. From this cloud of suspicion, Juno begins to make connections between Bob's murder and previous 'accidental' deaths, but her course is obstructed by those who insist on links to ancient folklore. Determined to take the evidence with a generous pinch of salt, Juno navigates pagan ceremonies and astrological connections that turn up yet more bodies on a deadly path to the truth.

When a celebrated ACTOR IS FOUND MURDERED IN HIS DRESSING ROOM, all signs point to Drew's old flame. But behind the curtains nothing is what it seems and this quickly becomes his MOST puzzling case YET.Just as Drew Farthering thinks his life has calmed down some, Fleur Landis, a former girlfriend, reappears, in dire need of his help. She's married now, no longer an actress--but the lead actor in her former troupe's production of The Mikado has been murdered, and Fleur is the police's number one suspect.Drew would rather focus on his fiancée, Madeline Parker, and their upcoming wedding, but he can't leave Fleur and her family in the lurch--even if she did break his heart once. As Drew, Nick, and Madeline begin investigating, they discover more going on behind the scenes of the theater troupe than could ever have been imagined. It seems nearly everyone had a motive, and alibis are few and far between.Both the murder case and the presence of the beautiful, exotic Fleur put a heavy strain on Drew and Madeline's relationship. Will their still-young romance survive the pressure?"Deering gives us an enchanting mystery set around an England country estate in the 1930s... Rules of Murder is a wonderful, inspirational novel for those of you who love a good murder mystery."--Fresh Fiction

★★★★★ - "If you love mysteries with humor, light romance and action, this book is for you." - Reader reviewSecrets. Lies. Cookie-baking rivals. And a dead guy!Everybody's got a secret. A secret crush. A secret liaison. A secret recipe. And for a deadly few . . . a secret murder! Port Merritt's most notorious bad boy was a seasoned veteran of secret liaisons. But after the guy's body washes up on the shore of Merritt Bay, Deputy Coroner and human lie detector, Charmaine Digby, suspects one of those liaisons got him killed. Char's on the case and is determined to find the killer . . . if the killer doesn't find her first!If you enjoy small town life, quirky characters of all ages, and whodunits with a splash of romance, you'll love Sex, Lies, and Snickerdoodles. Grab this fun cozy today and start reading!Sex, Lies, and Snickerdoodles is book 2 in the award-winning Working Stiffs Mystery series.While the books can be read out of order, starting with book 1 is recommended as some story threads run from book to book.The Working Stiffs Mystery series: Trudy, Madly, Deeply (#1)Sex, Lies, and Snickerdoodles (#2)There's Something About Marty (#3)You Can't Go Gnome Again (#4)Dogs, Lies, and Alibis (#5)No Wedding For Old Men (#6)Crazy, Stupid, Dead (#7)A Kiwi Before Dying (#8)Farewell, Mr. Lovely (#9)Better Wed Than Dead (#10)