In the small fishing village of Parkers, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay, there is no more independent soul than the lone oysterman or crabber who sets out every morning in pre-dawn hours to search for oyster beds or empty his crab pots. It¿s a harsh life.When Jimmy Shannon, a Chesapeake waterman, dies during a holiday fishing trip for Blue Fin Tuna, it¿s almost unbelievable. Stranger still, is his last will and testament that requires his brother Ned Shannon to give up his law practice in Washington, D.C. and return to his family¿s traditional life on the Bay. Neddie accepts the challenge, takes over his brother¿s crab boat, practices a little law on the side, and encounters the strangest string of characters in the community.The cultural changes are dramatic, especially after it¿s discovered that Jimmy¿s death was no accident. He was murdered during his encounter with the giant tuna. Neddie is forced to balance the life of a crab fisherman with a small town law practice, while aiding in the investigation of his brother¿s death.The murder goes from sublime to bizarre when Jimmy¿s body washes ashore on a Cape Hatteras beach. At the same time, Neddie discovers the passions and values his family has known for generations, and the small town relationships that give meaning to the joys of friendship.When the watermen of the community marshal their workboats to rescue Neddie, the murder mystery unravels and the heartwarming nature of the community is revealed.

Say goodbye to the Polka Prince and hello to the sexy crimesolver with a polka twist, Lottie Kachowski. This thirtysomething fireball left for L.A. years ago, but she roars home to New Krakow, Pennsylvania for her dad the Polka Prince's funeral...and ends up investigating his murder. If only she didn't have to team up with his screwball girlfriend, Polish Peg, to navigate the wild world of small town polka. Can she crack the case without Peg driving her nuts? Can she dig up her family's darkest secrets without dying at the hands of a psychopathic monster? When you've got polka in your blood like Lottie, you just know the bad guy's going to face the music.

Eve Dallas deals with a homicide—and the holiday season—in this thrilling In Death novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author J. D. Robb. Personal trainer Trey Ziegler was in peak physical condition. If you didn’t count the kitchen knife in his well-toned chest. Lieutenant Eve Dallas soon discovers a lineup of women who were loved and left by the narcissistic gym rat. While Dallas sorts through the list of Ziegler’s enemies, she’s also dealing with her Christmas shopping list—plus the guest list for her and her billionaire husband’s upcoming holiday bash. Feeling less than festive, Dallas tries to put aside her distaste for the victim and solve the mystery of his death. There are just a few investigating days left before Christmas, and as New Year’s 2061 approaches, this homicide cop is resolved to stop a cold-blooded killer.

The year is 1911. After attending college for two years, Margaret Chambers returns home to teach in the one-room school house of her youth. Trouble brews quickly. The God-fearing citizens of his small, weather-beaten town feel threatened by the bright-eyed, full-figured Margaret. She's too smart by half and she needs to be put in her place. The men devise a plan to chase Margaret from the county forever. But fueled by whiskey and the shame of their own desires, their plan soon spins out of control. In one night of violence, they ambush Margaret and tar and feather her naked body. After the men are arrested, a long, painful trial begins - a trial that will thrust this proud, private Kansas town into the national spotlight, splitting families apart and exposing the dark secrets of one hideous night. "Esther's Pillow" is based on a true story. About the Author Marlin Fitzwater was born and raised in Kansas. He has written a memoir about his years of service to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, "Call the Briefing"; two novels, "Esther's Pillow," and "Death in the Polka Dot Shoes"; and a collection of short stories called, "Sunflowers." He is married and lives in Deale, Maryland.

Marlin Fitzwater began writing short stories in College. After ten years in the White Houses of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, he returned to writing. He has produced a memoir, two novels, a stage play, and this book of seven short stories about various aspects of growing up in Kansas. These include life on a sharecropper farm, teachers who inspired him, the values of youth, a bank robber seeking a pardon, and a family disintegration. They are poignant and moving stories that will form a connection with everyone.

Many are haunted and obsessed by their own eventual deaths, but perhaps no one as much as Sue William Silverman. This thematically linked collection of essays charts Silverman’s attempt to confront her fears of that ultimate unknown. Her dread was fomented in part by a sexual assault, hidden for years, that led to an awareness that death and sex are in some ways inextricable, an everyday reality many women know too well. Through gallows humor, vivid realism, and fantastical speculation, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences explores this fear of death and the author’s desire to survive it. From cruising New Jersey’s industry-blighted landscape in a gold Plymouth to visiting the emergency room for maladies both real and imagined to suffering the stifling strictness of an intractable piano teacher, Silverman guards her memories for the same reason she resurrects archaic words—to use as talismans to ward off the inevitable. Ultimately, Silverman knows there is no way to survive death physically. Still, through language, commemoration, and metaphor, she searches for a sliver of transcendent immortality.

West Coast literary agent Charlie Greene is on the case when an unexplained murder baffles the local cops—and brings out Charlie’s blossoming psychic gifts Raising a fast-maturing teenage daughter, keeping up with the mortgage payments, and trying to launch a successful Hollywood career would be difficult for anyone. But Charlie Greene has an additional, more unusual challenge to deal with: her emerging abilities as a clairvoyant. And when Gloria Tuschman, the universally hated receptionist in Charlie’s office and a practicing witch, is found dead in a garbage can—and pleads for Charlie’s help from beyond the grave—the police turn to the reluctant psychic for clues. Charlie’s colorful cast of colleagues, including Larry the Kid and Dorian the Dapper, are high on the list of suspects. And Charlie can’t rule out members of Gloria’s own coven. After someone else vanishes, Charlie starts attending séances and follows a trail of blackmail and guilty secrets in an effort to unmask a killer who’s scattering clues in this world and the next. She must believe in her new powers if she is to match wits with the murderer in this unpredictable paranormal mystery.