Recommendations based on "Knot of This World"

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.

From Linda Castillo, the New York Times bestselling author of SWORN TO SILENCE and AMONG THE WICKED, this collection of stories featuring Chief of Police Kate Burkholder combines three amazing novellas for the first time together at a discounted price. Long Lost After closing a difficult case, Kate Burkholder and John Tomasetti look forward to some down time, but their relaxation is cut short by rumors that the old house where they're staying is haunted by a girl who disappeared twenty years earlier, leaving nothing behind but some bloody clothes by the river and rumors of a volatile relationship. Swept up in the girl's story, and a need for justice, Kate and John begin looking into the mysterious disappearance. A Hidden Secret When a baby—only hours old—is discovered on the Amish bishop's front porch in Painter's Mill, Ohio, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called in to investigate. The newborn is swaddled in an Amish crib quilt, and the only other item found with the child is a hand-carved wood rattle, which Kate also recognizes as Amish. With the rattle and quilt as the only clues, Kate must call upon her own Amish roots, and with the help of state agent John Tomasetti, search the Amish and "English" communities of Painters Mill for clues to unravel the poignant, puzzling mystery. Seeds of Deception Readers get a glimpse into Chief of Police Kate Burkholder's past and her Amish roots: Fourteen year old Katie Burkholder has been tasked with picking apples in Zimmerman’s Orchard with her best friend Mattie when a group of older “English” boys, known troublemakers, interrupt. Mattie, no stranger to trouble herself, disappears into the old barn with one of the boys, and moments after they both run out, the Zimmerman’s barn is consumed by fire. Katie suspects the boy had something to do with the blaze, but he denies it. When the facts don’t add up, Katie begins her own investigation—and she doesn’t like what she finds. Will her friendship with Mattie survive the truth?

Murder With a View is the third book in the delightful cozy mystery series from Diane Kelly set in Nashville, Tennessee—where the real estate market is to die for...A DREAM PROPERTYCarpenter Whitney Whitaker, her cousin Buck, and guard-cat Sawdust just scored a hot property near downtown Nashville in a tax sale. While the Music City Motor Court might not be much to look at now, the two plan to transform the motel’s twelve units into six one-bedroom condominiums with popular mid-century styling. But surprises await when Whitney discovers a squatter living in Room 9 and her cat Sawdust uncovers a body in the bed next door.A LIVING NIGHTMAREThe murder victim is none other than Beckett Morgan, an up-and-coming country-western singing sensation who’s taken Nashville by storm with his number-one hit “Party in the Pasture.” Beckett’s left a long trail of broken promises and broken hearts, and the list of suspects seems endless. So does the line of female fans intent on halting the flip and turning the construction site into a shrine for the deceased star. If Whitney and Buck don’t help Detective Collin Flynn nail the killer, they’ll never be able to clear out the star-obsessed groupies, complete the remodel, and recoup their investment. But just who silenced the singer and why?

When it comes to solving cold cases, nothing is ever cut and dried... Quilter Beatrice Coleman is enjoying the sleepy peace of a tranquil afternoon...until it's interrupted by her friend, Miss Sissy. The elderly lady is making wild claims about narrowly escaping an intruder. And intruders are unusual in tiny Dappled Hills. Miss Sissy isn't the most reliable of witnesses, and her claims are swiftly discounted--until her mysterious intruder is found dead. Beatrice won't cut corners as she unravels the threads of both a murder and a puzzling disappearance from decades ago.

Don't miss Concrete Evidence, a Hallmark Movies & Mystery Original starring Jewel, based on Crowned and Moldering—the third novel in the New York Times bestselling Fixer-Upper Mystery series!When Mac Sullivan—famous thriller writer and Shannon’s new beau—first moved to Lighthouse Cove, California, he bought the historic lighthouse mansion that the town is named after. Mac needs help cleaning up the place, and Shannon is more than happy to get her handywoman hands on the run-down Victorian.But during demolition, a grisly discovery is made among the debris—the bones of a teenage girl who went missing fifteen years ago. Locals had always assumed Lily Brogan ran away from her difficult life, but it seems her troubles followed her to the grave. If Shannon has any chance of getting her renovation back on track, she’ll need to tackle the cold case. But with new suspects coming out of the woodwork every day, she’ll have to be careful to pry the right secrets and clues from the poor girl’s problematic past...

Murder at Mount Ephraim is the ninth book in Julie Wassmer's popular crime series - now a major Acorn TV drama, Whitstable Pearl, starring Kerry Godliman as private detective and restaurateur, Pearl Nolan 'While Oxford had Morse, Whitstable, famous for its oysters, has Pearl' Daily Mail Pearl Nolan receives a wedding invitation from an old school friend. Journalist Amy has chosen somewhere very special for the wedding ceremony - the historic Kent manor house of Mount Ephraim - and the invite includes a pre-nuptial stay for Pearl and other guests at this venue. Nestled in an 800-acre estate, and surrounded by beautiful gardens and a lake, Pearl sees this break as a chance to leave crime behind, along with her own detective agency and her restaurant, The Whitstable Pearl. Accepting the invitation, Pearl looks forward to meeting the happy couple's friends and family, as well as Amy's fiancé, Guy, a handsome and successful adventurer who appears to be Mr Perfect. She also has time to reflect on her own engagement to Canterbury CID detective, DCI Mike McGuire... But before any wedding bells sound, murder strikes - and Pearl and McGuire are thrust together again - as partners in crime. Praise for Julie Wassmer's Whitstable Pearl Mysteries... 'One of the best episodes in Wassmer's longrunning Whitstable saga' Daily Mail 'As light as a Mary Berry Victoria sponge, this Middle-England romp is packed with vivid characters' Myles McWeeney, Irish Independent 'All of the thrills without any of the gore' The Sun 'This is a quality title...a very entertaining read' The Puzzle Doctor 'A wonderful way to explore Whitstable . . . if you love cosy mysteries, then get acquainted with Pearl (and her mum and her cats!) and enjoy a trip to Whitstable through the eyes of this very convincing author' Trip Fiction 'Proves she's mistress of her craft' John McGhie, author of White Highlands 'Good, solid whodunits, without gruesome details or gratuitous violence, Murder on Sea may be just your cup of tea' Bec Stafford Praise for the TV series... 'Scandi noir meets the English seaside in Whitstable Pearl, a murder mystery series based on Julie Wassmer's novels...' Drama Quarterly '...explores all the murder and debauchery in the seemingly perfect English seaside town of Whitstable...' Washington Post '...you never know what might turn up, either on the menu or alongside an oyster boat.' Wall Street Journal

Folks in Moraine, Wisconsin, are buzzing about the latest swarm of trouble humming around Story Fischer . . . It's a real buzz-kill when beekeeper Story Fischer gets a visit from her frantic sister, Holly, desperate for help hosting a combative trio of employees that Holly's husband, Max has brought home for a weekend of R and R. Good thing the well-stocked shelves of Story's grocery store, The Wild Clover, can provide assistance. During an afternoon tour of Story's hives, however, one of the guests drops dead. Just what Story needs only days after hunky boyfriend, Hunter Wallace, finally decided to move in. As if a dead body isn't enough to put a damper on romance, Story becomes a prime suspect when the carrot juice she brought with the breakfast fixings is found to contain poison. Now it's up to Story to comb through the evidence and find the real perpetrator before she ends up getting stung herself . . . Praise for the Queen Bee Mysteries'One honey of a tale.' Lorna Barrett, New York Timesbestselling author'Reed's story is first-rate, her characters appealing.' Richmond Times-Dispatch

Rekindling Motives6x9 paperbackWhen Jolie Gentil appraises the vacant Tillotson-Fisher house, she finds the skeleton of Richard Tillotson hidden in an antique attic wardrobe. He vanished just after his sister married his business partner in 1929. Jolie sees a link to the Fisher family's Prohibition era business and works with friends Scoobie and Ramona to gather clues from old photo albums and ledgers. The present day murder of Richard's former girlfriend, Mary Doris, tells them they're on the right track. Did the secret she kept all these years finally kill her? Between running the food pantry at Christmas time and escaping a burning building, they hope to figure out who the modern killer is before someone else gets hurt.

A Good, Clean Mystery full of Good Clean Fun! That's why readers love the Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series. Meet the girl next-door who is everyone's best friend as well as being a talented amateur sleuth, too. As a single mom, Kiki carries a lot of responsibility on her shoulders, but she never lets down her friends. Ever. This is a series filled with love, laughter, and a lot of humanity. Not to mention an entire cast of lovable four-legged fur babies. When it comes to crafting, Kiki's an absolute whiz. A Halloween charity crop planned by Kiki Lowenstein is chopped short when her employee is attacked by a knife-wielding assailant. There's blood on someone's hands--but whose? While Kiki whittle down her suspect list, she's stabbed in the back by someone she trusted. Will our intrepid crafter survive the unkindest cut of all? See why Kirkus Reviews says that this series features "characters so well-developed that each installment leaves the reader yearning for the next."

- "High Country Fall, Margaret Maron's most recent installment in the Deborah Knott series, was published in Mysterious Press hardcover in 8/04, with a first printing of 40,000 copies.- Margaret Maron swept the top mystery awards with her first Deborah Knott hardcover, "Bootlegger's Daughter (Mysterious Press, 1992), receiving the Edgar1 Award for Best Mystery Novel, the Agatha Award, the Macavity, and the Anthony. She also won a 1992 Agatha Award for the short story that introduced the character of Deborah Knott, and later, she received the Agatha Award for Best Novel for "Up Jumps the Devil (Mysterious Press, 1996). Maron was nominated for an Agatha Award for "Home Fires (Mysterious Press, 1998), and most recently, "Storm Track (Mysterious Press, 2000) won the Agatha Award for Best Novel. "Last Lessons of Summer (Mysterious Press, 2003), was also nominated for an Agatha Award.- "Last Lessons of Summer, Slow Dollar, and Uncommon Clay were all selected as Mystery Guild Main Selections.