Books four through six in the award-winning Amanda Pepper mystery series are now available in one volume! This collection includes: WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE Well-known Broadway playwright and TV producer Lyle Zacharias is throwing himself a lavish birthday party in his hometown of Philadelphia. Guests include his current wife, ex-wives, friends, former partners—not to mention Amanda Pepper and her own irrepressible mother, Bea. Yet when Lyle drops dead in the middle of a speech, it appears the likely perpetrator is none other than Bea, whose gift was fifty delicious, but apparently poisoned, tarts! It's up to Amanda to clear her mother's name and find the real murderer…before he or she strikes again! But Amanda herself may be the next target! Who says teaching isn't exciting? With any more excitement, Amanda will have to retire before she hits thirty-one…if she lives that long! HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION Amanda Pepper's friend Sasha has a photography assignment in Atlantic City, and she invites her broke schoolteacher friend to come along for a free mini-vacation. But the two quickly discover there's more to lose than money at the shore when Sasha finds a stranger bludgeoned to death in her bed. When a witness identifies Sasha as having been at the scene, she Goes Directly To Jail and does not pass "Go." Under the boardwalk and between the slot machines, and sometimes with the help of a motley crew of gamblers, Amanda works to unearth the truth and free her friend. IN THE DEAD OF SUMMER Mellow old Philadelphia, where life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have flourished for centuries, now has a new claim to fame. The City of Brotherly Love has been proclaimed number one in the nation...for hostility. English teacher Amanda Pepper, crabbily gearing up for summer school at exclusive Philly Prep, feels she fits right in with the hostility mode. And it's going to get worse. Amanda gets her first prickling of unease in her own classroom, where a reading of Romeo and Juliet activates some very strange chemistry. Then the computer science teacher begins receiving anonymous "go-back-to-Africa" phone calls. A young Vietnamese boy dies in a drive-by shooting. And late one night, outside a Chinatown massage parlor, student April Tuong is kidnapped. Random violence? Perhaps. But Amanda refuses to let gentle April vanish without at least asking a few questions, starting in her own classroom. Gillian Roberts's Philadelphia is the real thing. So, too, are her wit and humor, and her gripping story of Amanda's tenacious search for the missing girl--along the brick streets of historic Philadelphia, in exotic Chinatown, and through the shady, sinister back alleys of the impoverished. The truth, when she finds it, is appalling, deadly, and much too close to home.

The City of Brotherly Love is no stranger to murder and mayhem in these three Philadelphia mysteries featuring an English teacher turned private eye. Helen Hath No Fury The discussions in Amanda Pepper’s book club can sometimes get heated, but have they become deadly? The day after an argument over a fictional heroine’s suicide, book group member Helen Coulter falls to her death from her roof garden. Though Helen’s demise is declared a suicide, Amanda is convinced otherwise. But as she separates truth from fiction, Amanda risks facing a real-life killer. Claire and Present Danger English teacher Amanda Pepper now moonlights as a PI with former detective C.K. Mackenzie. The wealthy matron Claire Fairchild has hired them to investigate Emmie Cade, the charming but evasive young woman who is suddenly engaged to Claire’s middle-aged son. At thirty-two, Emmie has changed her name more often than some women change nail polish—and Claire has received anonymous letters about the men in Emmie’s life coming to violent ends. But Amanda’s scouring of Emmie’s past gets interrupted by a very present murder. Till the End of Tom After finding Tom Severin dying from a fall outside her Philadelphia prep school, Amanda Pepper and her fiancé, C.K. Mackenzie, are hired by his family to find out what happened. They soon discover that Tom leaves behind more than a few people who would be better off with him gone—including angry ex-wives, one recently dropped fiancée, and the current (about to be former) Mrs. Tomas Severin. As secrets are unearthed, it’s apparent that the end of Tom is just the beginning of the grief he caused.

Three tales of murder in Philadelphia featuring the English teacher and amateur sleuth by the award-winning “Dorothy Parker of mystery writers” (Nancy Pickard, author of the Jenny Cain series). The Mummer’s Curse “Philadelphia’s New Year’s Day Mummers’ Parade, a splashy, fiercely competitive affair, turns murderous” when a parade clown is shot dead and one of Amanda’s Philly Prep colleagues is suspected “in yet another funny Philly puzzler for schoolteacher Amanda Pepper” (Publishers Weekly). The Bluest Blood Amanda looks forward to an ultra-elegant fundraiser in a fabled Main Line mansion to benefit Philly Prep’s library. But the fairytale evening takes a dark turn thanks to a protest group vehemently opposing any books that “pollute the mind.” When the conflict becomes deadly, Amanda takes “another swift and intriguing spin through the sometimes murderous precincts of Philadelphia” (Publishers Weekly). Adam & Evil When a high school senior shows signs of mental illness, Amanda attempts to get him help, but she’s rebuffed by his parents. Then, when the same boy becomes the prime suspect in a murder at the Philadelphia Main Library—and runs away—Amanda has no choice but to run after him. Even if it means running headlong into a killer’s path. Adam & Evil includes a new introduction from author Gillian Roberts and an exclusive interview with Amanda Pepper herself!

Philadelphia spells danger for an English teacher turned amateur sleuth in the first three novels of this Anthony Award–winning mystery series. Caught Dead in Philadelphia When Philly Prep English teacher Amanda Pepper finds a murdered colleague in her living room, she needs to clear her name—while trying not to become the next victim. But the only clue to the real killer’s identity is a Winnie-the-Pooh locket. Good thing handsome homicide detective C.K. Mackenzie is on her side. Philly Stakes When Amanda tries to get her students in the Christmas spirit by serving a meal for the homeless, the plan fatally backfires. Alexander “Sandy” Clausen, a politically ambitious parent, turns the event into a lavishly catered photo-op. But when Sandy is killed and his troubled daughter confesses, Amanda gets wrapped up in the investigation with her sometime boyfriend, Det. C.K. Mackenzie. I’d Rather Be in Philadelphia Amanda is sorting through donated books when she comes across a note that reads like an anonymous cry for help. Desperately searching for the troubled woman, Amanda locates her just in time to find the woman’s husband murdered. With the woman wrongly suspected, it’s up to Amanda and Det. C.K. MacKenzie to see the real killer get booked. “[Roberts is] the Dorothy Parker of mystery writers . . . giving more wit per page than most writers give per book.” —Nancy Pickard, award-winning author of the Jenny Cain series

Single mother Billie August is frustrated with her boss and sleuthing mentor, the gruff, perpetually dissatisfied Emma Howe. So far, their relationship has been a personal and professional disaster. To top it off, Billie seems like the only person in town who thinks mentally disabled Gavin Riddock, accused of killing his only friend, might not be guilty, but her inability to turn up any hard evidence could cost Gavin everything. Now, illness at home and dead ends at work have frayed Billie’s nerves. The last thing she needs is to come across Emma Howe in the warpath. Meanwhile, Emma’s search for one girl’s real mother is being foiled at every turn by the lies and misdirection of the girl’s foster mother. When new clues suggest the case may have something to do with Gavin Riddock, seasoned Emma will have to learn to trust her young assistant, and together, mentor and protege must unravel the layers of posh Marin society to uncover the startling truth...

Enjoy this box set bundle of the second three humorous cozy Killer Fashion mysteries with an amateur sleuth, fair-play whodunit puzzle plots, and romcom elements by national bestselling author Diane Vallere. Follow Samantha Kidd as she gets a job and some financial security—only to find that there are still plenty of mysteries afoot that need solving. This set includes: SOME LIKE IT HAUTE Samantha Kidd’s love life is on ice. After breaking up with shoe designer Nick Taylor, she’s lost, lonely—and stuck with a commitment she regrets: helping Nick’s glamorous best friend mount her first fashion show. Pride keeps Samantha from quitting even though the designer’s appreciation is lukewarm at best. When a couture garment goes up in flames during the event, Samantha suspects sabotage. After risking death investigating on her own, Samantha recruits a hot photographer to help…and to make Nick jealous. As the heat turns up, Samantha’s curiosity leads her into another inferno—and this time she either faces the fire or gets burned. GRAND THEFT RETRO With her thirty-mumble-birthday on the horizon, amateur sleuth and fashion expert Samantha Kidd is determined to get her life under control. Her steady job at Retrofit Magazine comes with a paycheck, medical benefits, a 401K, and an assignment to dive into seventies style. She's prepared to report on patchwork velvet and platform shoes, but she never expected to uncover the theft of a major collection of samples from the days before disco died. When the guilty party threatens Samantha's family and friends, her priorities shift into protection mode. The investigation heats up faster than fondue over sterno, and all too soon Samantha learns that while the beat goes on, there's no guarantee she'll go on with it. PEARLS GONE WILD Amateur sleuth Samantha Kidd's life is finally on track. It's her normally cultured friend Cat whose life has lost its luster: eight months pregnant and abandoned by her husband the week before Christmas. She ropes Samantha into helping at her boutique, but a string of jewelry thefts threatens her business. And when Cat's husband is found strangled with pearls inside the shop, the last thing she's concerned with is profit. Samantha tries to get a bead on the killer, but when the suspects all clam up, she's left in knots. Add in an unexpected proposal, a flirtatious friend, and a brand new detective, and this is bound to be Samantha's wildest adventure yet. For fans of Larissa Reinhart, Cindy Sample, and A.R. Winters, this box set bundle kicks off with some romantic tension in Samantha Kidd’s life and ends with romantic drama in the life of her close friend. Between the two, Samantha finds out more than she bargained for from the men in her life—one of them being the local detective. If you like amateur sleuths, mysteries with a healthy dose of humor, and fair-play whodunits, then you’ll love the Killer Fashion Humorous Mysteries.