Recommendations based on "Late Checkout"

'Animal lovers will delight' Ann Granger on The Cat and the Corpse in the Old Barn 'A real treat . . . I loved it. Cats, dogs, murder and a credible and relatable heroine' Barbara Nadel on The Cat and the Corpse in the Old Barn Driving home from a ceramics evening class, Clarice Beech reflects on the absence of one of her students, Colin Compton-Smythe. Later, Emily, Colin's daughter, telephones to say her father has died during routine surgery. Distraught, Emily opens up to Clarice about his wretched childhood and the day five-year-old Colin returned home to discover Avril, his mother, gone. Colin never believed she would have left without him and had been trying to find out more about Avril's disappearance all those years ago. Clarice readily agrees to accompany Emily to Colin's funeral. On arriving at the stunning Victorian Gothic manor house, with Bellatrix, the majestic stone Siamese cat reposing at its entrance, Clarice soon becomes drawn into the fractious world of the Compton-Smythe family: Colin's argumentative father Ralph and his equally combative partner Tessa, their daughter, Dawn, being stalked by an ex-lover and, most unsettling of all, Ernestine, Ralph's emotionally unpredictable sister. And then there's Johnson, Ralph's menacing manservant. Clarice discovers the nearer she gets to the truth, the greater she is in danger as somebody is intent that the mystery of the missing wife should never be resolved.

 The Blackbird sisters are back--and as witty and wonderful as ever! For richer, for poorer...                                                               Nora Blackbird, the Bucks County ex-debutante with a haute couture wardrobe, a hot job as a glamorous society columnist and a stone cold bank account, might finally have her own life just right, but everyone around her is going down in flames. Her sister Libby seems destined to be the lead character in a tabloid sex scandal.  Her sister Emma is expecting a mysterious love child.  Her best friend, Lexie Paine, is serving time in the slammer.  And now her mobbed-up boyfriend, Mick Abruzzo--who might actually be her husband--is conducting clandestine capers from Blackbird Farm while under house arrest. What's a good girl to do?  Find a killer, that's what!  Word arrives that the sisters' great aunt, Madeleine Blackbird, has died in a volcanic eruption on an Indonesian island and left her fabulous country estate, worth millions, to the three of them.  But when the Blackbird sisters show up to claim their windfall, they find the house in a state of disheartening decay and all of Madeleine's to-die-for treasures gone. Worse, the mansion has been hiding a grisly secret: the body of a woman who died there many years ago.  All the evidence points to a high society murder... Nora's special bond with flamboyant Aunt Madeleine compels her to seek out the truth.  With her aunt's amorous stepson dogging her footsteps, her unscrupulous lawyer acting like a skunk, and her devoted housekeeper not to be found, Nora's investigation is going nowhere.  Good thing Mick's close by to offer Nora distractions both dark and delightful.  And, as ever, her irrepressible sisters provide some unexpected... and highly unorthodox... assistance when she most needs it.

A pet detective on the hunt for a prominent pooch is found dead, and inn owner Holly Miller has to sort through her guest list for suspects in this all new Paws & Claws mystery in the New York Times bestselling series.The ladies of the Wagtail Animal Guardians, WAG for short, are in town for a pet adoption charity ball, and Holly is making sure to roll out the red carpet for her special guests. She and her furry best friend Trixie are busy keeping the WAG ladies happy and preparing for the ball when they learn that a retired judge has lost his prized pup. The venerable citizen has hired a pet detective who has some personal ties to Holly’s new guests. His presence ruffles some feathers, and when the PI is found DOA not long before the ball, Holly wonders if one of the WAG ladies had a motive for murder. To make matters worse, some pet-loving guests of the ball nearly suffer the same deadly fate. Holly and Trixie will have to sniff out the clues and leash a callous killer before they strike again....

The fourth mystery in the New York Times bestselling series about two extraordinary cats whose owner can't keep her nose out of trouble...   Kathleen Paulson enjoys her life as a small town librarian, but sometimes even small towns can have big problems. The local businesses of Mayville Heights hope to convince Chicago-based company Legacy Tours to sell a vacation package for their town. Legacy Tours partner Mike Glazer grew up in Mayville Heights, but he’s no longer the small town boy people once knew. Even the local bootlegger has an issue with the bossy loudmouth Mike has become—until someone shuts him up for good.   When Kathleen discovers Mike’s body on the boardwalk, she can’t help but get involved in the investigation—even if her beau, Detective Marcus Gordon, would rather she didn’t. Now, with a little help from her cats Owen and Hercules, it’s up to Kathleen to make sure the killer is booked for an extended stay in prison before some else takes a permanent vacation.

Sarah Booth Delaney, a Southern belle known for abiding by tradition only when it suits her, is no stranger to drama. A talented actress and a P.I., she’s chosen to pursue a career in Hollywood when she hears that her best friend’s husband is suddenly on his deathbed back home in Mississippi---and he's not the only one. The vicious illness begins with burning fevers and delirium, quickly plunging its victims into a coma. The Centers for Disease Control is on the scene, but they can’t find a cure for it or the boll weevils that are decimating Sunflower County’s cotton crop. With patients in quarantine and the whole town in crisis, Sarah drops everything to stop the outbreak and save the only place she’s ever been able to call home.From feuding scientists to ailing locals, there is no shortage of bad blood coursing through the little town of Zinnia, Mississippi, as Carolyn Haines’s often steamy and always charming series turns equally intense in Greedy Bones.

"Missing humans, missing cats, what's the difference?" A fire in the seaside village of Molena Point has left a twelve-year-old boy homeless—and the body of his alcoholic guardian is found in the smoldering ruins. A most curious tomcat, feline p.i. Joe Grey wonders if escape was really impossible for the elderly woman or if something more sinister occurred. And when boisterous Debbie Kraft descends uninvited on the Damens' home with her two children, claiming that her ex-husband has left her destitute, Joe really smells a rat—especially when he discovers Debbie is carrying loads of cash . . . and that the dead woman was her estranged mother. This case—a nasty mix of missing persons, abandoned pets, real-estate scams, and murder—has Joe's fur standing on end. But it's not until Debbie's left-behind housecat shows up that Joe and his furry detecting pals find the biggest, most troubling clue of all: a grave that the cops somehow have missed.

DI Vera Stanhope is not one to make friends easily, but she has more tolerance for her hippy neighbours than most. When one of them goes missing she feels duty-bound to find out what happened. It's an easy job to track the young woman down to a country retreat where aspiring authors gather to work through their novels. It gets complicated when a body is discovered and Vera's neighbour is found with a knife in her hand. Calling in the team, Vera knows that she should hand the case over to someone else but the investigation is too tempting. Then another body is found, and Vera suspects that someone is playing games with her.

The New York Times bestselling author of Plot Boiler takes us back to Pettistone’s Fine Books, where Hamlet the cat isn’t the only shadowy figure lurking around the Brooklyn brownstone…   As Thanksgiving approaches, Darla Pettistone is preparing for the busiest shopping season of the year. They’ve recently launched their online store, where one anonymous bidder is offering a suspiciously high price for an antique book—and Darla doesn’t need Hamlet’s special senses to know that something isn’t quite right.   However, there’s no time to think about that after Darla’s roped into helping bridezilla Connie Capello get ready for her big day. After looking at wedding dresses, Darla and Connie head to an antique store to find her “something old”—but they find someone dead instead. When Darla learns that the shop carried a copy of the book that her mysterious bidder is after, she suspects she’ll need Hamlet’s help to discover who penned the poor soul’s final chapter, before someone else is read their last rites…

Pantomime season has arrived in the brand new hilarious murder mystery from Fiona Leitch. Available to pre-order now! 'Murder and mayhem are rarely this enjoyable. Another fantastic entry in this brilliant series that solidifies Leitch as one of the very best and funniest writers around’ Jonathan Whitelaw ‘A wonderful seasonal romp’ Ian Moore It’s Christmas in Penstowan, and local amateur dramatics group the Penstowan Players are putting on their annual pantomime. This year it’s ‘Aladdin’, and half the town have been drafted in to help, including Shirley Parker, who only has a small part in the chorus but will no doubt upstage everybody, and Tony Penhaligon, who’s treading the boards as the baddie, Abanazar. Ex-Metropolitan police officer turned caterer Jodie Parker has managed to get away with not appearing, but only if she agrees to cater the opening night party. But it’s not just terrible jokes, quick costume changes and backstage chaos that wait in the wings... When the Widow Twankey (otherwise known as Tim, the mayor’s husband) trips over a corpse lying next to Aladdin’s bloodstained magic lamp, it’s time for Jodie and her partner, DCI Nathan Withers, to find the killer. Was it the genie of the lamp or an overly harsh theatre critic? Or does someone in the Penstowan Players have a dark secret they will do anything to protect? ‘Funnier than panto, more warming than a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie and completely gripping. Fun, festive and full of red herrings and clever clues, it's the perfect Christmas treat’ Andreina Cordani, author of The Twelve Days of Murder ‘A fun read to curl up with by the fireside this Christmas’ Debbie Young, author of Death at the Village Christmas Fair Praise for Fiona Leitch ‘An absolute joy to read... I read it in a day and highly recommend’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I really love this cozy mystery series’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Love the humour in this... this whole series is a pleasure to read’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Leitch crafts a Cornwall that I want to live in – vibrant, funny and dripping with mystery and mayhem. Brilliant’ Jonathan Whitelaw, author of The Bingo Hall Detectives ‘A terrific summer read... a thumping good whodunnit; this is a murder mystery that wears a flower in its hair and invites us to kick off our shoes’ J.M. Hall ‘The book equivalent of catching up with your favourite old friends over a glass of wine or three... the observational humour is spot on’ Jo Middleton ‘[A] fun, feel-good factor and an intriguing mystery to be solved. And pies. I loved it’ Stephanie Austin, author of the Devon Mysteries series

The brand new crime novel from Kate Ellis, the award-winning author of the 2019 CWA Dagger in the Library. The dead don't always rest in peace . . . On a stormy night in December, a tree is blown down on an isolated Devon farm. And when the fallen tree is dragged away a rucksack is found caught amongst the roots - and next to it is a human skeleton.The discovery of the body and the rucksack revives memories for DI Wesley Peterson. A young hitchhiker who went missing twelve years ago was last seen carrying a similar backpack. Suddenly a half-forgotten cold case has turned into a murder investigation.Meanwhile, in the nearby village of Petherham, a famous TV psychic is found dead in suspicious circumstances whilst staying at a local guesthouse. Wesley's friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, is studying Petherham's ancient mill and uncovering the village's sinister history. Could the string of mysterious deaths in Petherham over a hundred years ago be connected to the recent killings?As Wesley digs deeper into the case, it seems that the dark whisperings of a Burial Circle in the village might not be merely legend after all . . .Praise for Kate Ellis's gripping mysteries:'A beguiling author who interweaves past and present' The Times'Haunting' Independent'I loved this novel . . . a powerful story of loss, malice and deception' Ann Cleeves'Unputdownable' Bookseller'The chilling plot will keep you spooked and thrilled to the end' Closer'A fine storyteller, weaving the past and present in a way that makes you want to read on' Peterborough Evening Telegraph