''She turned her head, young, pale, with enormous black eyes. She looked at me, but she didn’t see me. I saw her: the round smooth face and the deep black eyes and the full curved glossy mouth, a red underlip protruding in a pout that flicked at your libido despite the flung-about furniture and the dead man turned to the ceiling and the narrow wind pushing in through the broken window and the blue gun in both her hands.'' Meet Stella, whose eighteen-year-old cry is that Cleopatra was Queen of Egypt at seventeen. Stella, who makes the merely voluptuous seem passe. But then, she is only a teenager, and doesn’t even a Private Richard have a conscience?

A Wiccan attorney’s latest case involves blackmail, murder, and Christmas in this cozy mystery by the author of Bell, Book & Candlemas. It’s Christmas in Edindale, Illinois, and family law attorney Keli Milanni is preparing to celebrate the Wiccan holiday Yuletide, a celebration of rebirth. But this Yuletide someone else is focused on dying . . . After years of practicing in secret, Keli has come out as a Wiccan to her boyfriend, and she feels like this Yuletide she’s the one who’s being reborn. But the Solstice is the longest night of the year, and Keli is about to stumble on a mystery so dangerous, she’ll be lucky to make it to morning. Paired with her unbearably stuffy colleague Crenshaw Davenport III, Keli goes undercover at a real estate company owned by mayoral candidate Edgar Harrison. An old friend of Keli’s boss, Harrison, is being blackmailed, and it’s up to her to find the culprit. But the morning after the company holiday party, Harrison is found dead underneath the hotel Christmas tree. The police rule the death an accident, but Keli knows better—and she’ll risk her own rebirth to nab a missing killer. Praise for Yuletide Homicide “Hesse incorporates Keli’s Wiccan practices into her story line, with prayers to the Goddess and incantations that assist her sleuth in gaining insights to solve the mystery. A perfect read for New Age devotees and those who prefer the pagan version of Yuletide.” —Library Journal “Hesse easily balances murder and romance in this holiday tale that's so cozy.” —Kirkus Reviews

'Tis the season to be jolly, but in Moosetookalook, Maine, Christmas cheer is in short supply due to a snowless winter that's keeping skiers and shoppers at a distance. Lisa has a plan involving Tiny Teddies, the hot toy of the season-- which turns out to be a toy to die for ...

The Yuletide season becomes a time for mystery and murder in a collection of fifteen tales by such writers as Ngaio Marsh, Chekhov, Runyon and Rex Stout.

Collects three murder mysteries set in coastal Maine during the holidays.

Spring is in the air, but for Edindale, Illinois, attorney Keli Milanni, murder is the only thing blooming . . . Keli’s looking forward to Beltane, the time-honored Wiccan holiday that celebrates life with feasting, ceremonial dancing, and ancient Celtic rituals. But since recently leaving her law firm and opening her own practice, Keli has more on her plate than simple abundance. Still, she always has time for a friend. Erik, a Druid from a neighboring town, has had a run of bad luck he blames on a curse cast by his ex-girlfriend Denise, a practicing witch whose expertise in the dark arts can’t save her from her own deadly end. When Keli finds herself a person of interest in the investigation, she begins to wonder if she herself might be cursed. With a little help from her friends, including her devoted boyfriend Wes, Keli aims to find out who poisoned Denise. What she uncovers is a witch’s brew of spells, hexes, and black magic that raises questions about her own Wiccan worldview. As the community gathers for the May Day festivities, it’s up to Keli to stop a killer from springing ahead to another murder . . . Praise for the Wiccan Wheel Mysteries “A perfect read.” —Library Journal on Yuletide Homicide “Enjoyable . . . A wintry, woodsy setting.” —Kirkus Reviews on Bell, Book & Candlemas “A good atmospheric read for fall.” —Parkersburg News & Sentinel on Samhain Secrets