“Expertly timed original crime and frenzied follow-up cannily solved by lawyer-sleuth, with lavish accompaniment of good wise-cracking. Verdict: Superior.”—The Saturday Review “Fast and furious.”—Kirkus The Big Midget is the hit of the show in Jake Justus's night club, until someone puts an abrupt end to the Midget. Why were eleven unmatched silk stockings used as a noose? Who conked Jake when he got on the killer's trail? John J. Malone finds all the answers with the energetic and hilarious assistance of Jake Justus and the beautiful Helene.

Recollection began to come back. It wasn’t a lumpy mattress he was lying on, it was a dead man—a man called Midnight Mike. ... His pain-filled mind curled in terror. It threw him two years back in time—before he was sent to jail—to another black night. Only that time the body had belonged to a little boy, crushed and broken beneath Jim’s car. And Jim had been behind the wheel. He’d been told about that first killing so often that he could almost see himself doing it. But Mike’s body beside him convinced Jim that he hadn’t killed the little boy. He hadn’t killed Mike tonight, either. It was only a matter of time before he remembered the crucial detail that would clear him of both murders. But time, like the blood that poured from his wounded head, was fast running out. …

The Harvest Murder was also published as Death in the Hopfields “The good doctor continues to be a master of the science of detection.”—The New York Times Sergeant Wragge happened to see it there, lying by the side of the road, and decided to take care of it himself. After all, a twelve-inch butcher knife is nothing to be left loose on a public highway. When he noticed those curious stains on the blade, his suspicions were more than aroused and he felt that he must be ready for trouble. The Sergeant’s forebodings were swiftly corroborated by the events that followed—robbery, a mysterious disappearance, perhaps murder; so he felt that he was justified in demanding the aid of Scotland Yard. The careful investigations of Inspector Hanslet and Jimmy Waghorn soon had them on the right track; but it was Dr. Priestley’s quiet, seemingly enigmatic suggestion that finally unearthed the solution.

“The Hollywood-cum-Santa Fe artists, both screwy and sensible, in the desert are all neatly caught in the lively style given to Mrs. Pat to narrate. Grade: A”—The Saturday Review “Plenty of excitement.”—Kirkus From the jacket: “Time was,” said the sheriff of Santa Maria, “when murder was murder in this country. ... But now we got artists and writers and therefore psychology. It's enough to ruin the country.” It was lucky for Sheriff Trask that Pat Abbott and his lively wife, Jeanie, were vacationing in the little New Mexican artists’ colony the day a psychotic war veteran and a gangster's widow arrived on the Plaza. By an unlikely coincidence they were the former spouses of friends of the Abbotts who had just announced their engagement. Gilbert Mason, a Hollywood writer with a penchant for seeing the worst, pointed out to Jeanie that it looked as if there would be no marriage, for the widow packed a gun. The first day of tension exploded into murder and kidnapping, both crimes committed almost simultaneously, as if they had been masterminded to confuse pursuit. Immediately everyone began to act out of character. Competent Vanessa Wells, a writer who had lived alone and liked it for years, turned nervous and absent-minded. Gilbert Mason, a confirmed gossip, acted as if he knew more than he told. The gangster's widow and her apelike retainer became good Samaritans. And the handsome war veteran, who'd always looked after himself, began to plot his own downfall. Through the exciting adventure Mrs. Crane conveys the many aspects of the New Mexican landscape, using the charm of Spanish-Indian culture, the backbiting of bohemia, and the terrifying, cruel loneliness of the desert to enhance the suspense.

In exotic Tangier, the well-known husband and wife team of Pat and Jean Abbott discover that international drug trafficking, plus greed and intrigue, invariably spell catastrophe for those involved therein. And very bad luck for a number of free-loading beachcombers and expatriates who’d just about convinced themselves that they never had it so good.

From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes the latest laugh-out-loud Merry Wrath adventure! Former CIA agent and current suburbanite Merry Wrath knows she’s having a bad day when she wakes up wearing someone else's clothes in a locked room with a dead body and a dozen copies of the book, Boats of the Midwest. It doesn’t help matters any when the police burst in and arrest her on the spot for the murder of a man she’s never heard of. With an unimpeachable witness placing her at the scene of the crime, her Girl Scout troop trying to bust her out of jail, and a sister-in-law who’s launched a one-woman campaign to send her to prison, Merry knows that this time she’s in trouble. And Merry finds it’s tough to clear your name when you’re being followed by a wannabe bounty hunter who’s chasing you down and dealing with a group of teenage druids who have just bought a hearse and an old church they call The Chapel of Despair. Added to her trouble are a couple of tattoo artists with a creepy fixation on Lance Armstrong, a witness who works at the Pump & Pawn pawnshop/gym, and most of the town of Bladdersly, Iowa. Can Merry solve this locked room mystery before she ends up locked in a cell? Merry Wrath Mysteries: Merit Badge Murder – book #1 Mint Cookie Murder – book #2 Scout Camp Mystery – short story in the "Killer Beach Reads" collection Marshmallow S'More Murder – book #3 Movie Night Murder – book #4 Mud Run Murder – book #5 Fishing Badge Murder – short story in the "Pushing Up Daisies" collection Motto for Murder – book #6 Map Skills Murder – book #7 Mean Girl Murder – book #8 Marriage Vow Murder – book #9 Mystery Night Murder – book #10 Meerkats and Murder– book #11 Make Believe Murder – book #12 Maltese Vulture Murder – book #13 Musket Ball Murder – book #14 Macho Man Murder – book #15 Mad Money Murder – book #16 Mind-Bending Murder – book #17 What critics are saying about Leslie Langtry's books: "I laughed so hard I cried on multiple occasions! Girl Scouts, the CIA, and the Yakuza... what could possibly go wrong?" ~ Fresh Fiction "Darkly funny and wildly over the top, this mystery answers the burning question, 'Do assassin skills and Girl Scout merit badges mix…?'" ~ RT BOOKreviews "Mixing a deadly sense of humor and plenty of sexy sizzle, Leslie Langtry creates a brilliantly original, laughter-rich mix of contemporary romance and suspense." ~ Chicago Tribune "Langtry gets the fun started from page one." ~ Publisher's Weekly