Myron Willgrubs is a pedantic professor at the Plattefield campus of a large Midwest university. When he discovers a body in Pilgrims Park, he calls 911, but for reasons of his own refuses to divulge his name and later denies making the call. Before the police arrive to investigate, John Olivier, a macho formerly with the Green Berets and now heir apparent to the campus chancellery, also discovers the body, which he knows is that of Carl Madewell. Olivier has been having a torrid affair with Carl Madewell's wife Penelope. In what he tells himself is the Hoffa solution, Olivier removes the body from the park and stashes it in the freezer in his basement for later interment. When Penelope Madewell reports that her husband is missing, the police spring into action, thus bringing together a lovelorn detective, Patrick Delaney, and Professor Willgrubs' niece, Emily Peterson, runner-up in the 1997 Alice in Dairyland beauty contest. Several zany characters soon join the action, impeding both the police investigation and Detective Delaney's quest for Ms. Peterson's affections. Old and senile, Hattie Ellie Guck was watching for blue herons in Pilgrims Park through binoculars when she saw a man dump a body in the trunk of his car (or was it the backseat? she later wonders) and speed away. Although she doesn't call the police, she does tell her crooked grandnephew, Elwood Smythe, what she saw. A loose cannon, Smythe swings wildly from one target to another in schemes of blackmail. Underhanded and incompetent, Philip Moran is Plattefield's most senior detective and Delaney's mentor. He longs to organize a SWAT team to wage war on campus potheads. He vows revenge when taken off the case by the Chief of Police. Detective Delaney's old flame, Gigi Lamour, off to Hollywood to become a star, makes a porno flick and gets mixed up with the mob. She scurries back to Plattefield to marry Detective Delaney for both his money and his protection. Having hated each other for years, Mabel Freitag and Sophie Gargano work in the outer office of the current chancellor. Both are secretly plotting to ensure that John Olivier becomes the new chancellor, each supposing the other will get the boot when Olivier gets the appointment. Both conceal evidence that Olivier has a motive for murder and is lying to the police. The mystery is resolved when a psychopath, Sonny Zitsow, comes to Plattefield to kill Detective Delaney and is subdued by the most unlikely people in a most unlikely way.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Good unclean fun . . . [a] convoluted, scandal-greased, exposed-backsides-of-the-rich-and-famous story . . . told in a confiding, breathless undertone.”—Entertainment Weekly Jules Mendelson is wealthy. Astronomically so. He and his wife lead the kind of charity-giving, art-filled, high-society life for which each has been carefully groomed. Until Jules falls in love with Flo March, a beautiful actress/waitress. What Flo discovers about the superrich is not a pretty sight. And in the end, she wants no more than what she was promised. But when Flo begins to share the true story of her life among the Mendelsons, not everyone is in a listening mood. And some cold shoulders have very sharp edges. . . .

A DAILY TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR. 'A compelling, authoritative insight into possibly the most controversial death in Britain this century' The Observer. 'Goslett's like Poirot; he asks questions... Spooky and scary' Evening Standard. 'Masterful... This book made me proud of my trade as a journalist' Daily Mail. 'This searing excavation of the mysterious death of Dr David Kelly is investigative journalism at its best. It is brave, relentless, dazzlingly revealing' Peter Oborne. In March 2003 British forces invaded Iraq after Tony Blair said the country could deploy weapons of mass destruction at 45 minutes' notice. A few months later, government scientist Dr David Kelly was unmasked by Blair's officials as the assumed source of a BBC news report challenging this claim. Within days, Dr Kelly was found dead in a wood near his home. Blair immediately convened the controversial Hutton Inquiry, which concluded Dr Kelly committed suicide. Yet key questions remain: could Dr Kelly really have taken his life in the manner declared? And why did Blair's government derail the coroner's inquest into Dr Kelly's death? In this meticulous account, award-winning journalist Miles Goslett shows why we should be sceptical of the official story of what happened in that desperate summer of 2003.

A steamy feminist Regency romance from acclaimed author Anna Harrington. All's fair in war...and in love... "We all make mistakes." His sensuous lips twisted in amusement, and he murmured a bit too huskily for comfort, "Didn't feel like a mistake to me." He kept his gaze locked onto hers as he raised the glass to take a sip. "We kissed last night, and I strongly suspect that we both want to do it again." His head tilted slightly as he studied her. "If I came around this desk and took you into my arms, would you stop me?" Marcus Braddock, former general and newly appointed Duke of Hampton, is back from war. Now, not only is he surrounded by the utterly unbearable ton, he's mourning the death of his beloved sister, Elise. Marcus believes his sister's death wasn't an accident, and he's determined to learn the truth—starting with Danielle Williams, his sister's beautiful best friend. Danielle is keeping deadly secrets of her own. She has dedicated her life to a charity that helps abused women—the same charity Elise was working for the night she died. When Danielle's work puts her life in danger, Marcus comes to her rescue. But Danielle may not be the one in need of rescuing... Praise for Anna Harrington: "As steamy as it is luscious. My favorite kind of historical!"—GRACE BURROWES, New York Times bestselling author, for Dukes Are Forever "Enchanting...Harrington combines suspenseful mystery and charming romance in this compulsively readable treat."—Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW "A touching and tempestuous romance, with all the ingredients Regency fans adore."—GAELEN FOLEY, New York Times bestselling author, for Dukes Are Forever

USA Today bestselling author A mystery author is charged with murder—and the plot thickens faster than anyone can turn the pages—in this new series debut, perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Ellery Adams Bath, England, 1890. Mystery author Lady Amy Lovell receives an anonymous letter containing shocking news: her fiancé, Mr. Ronald St. Vincent, has been dabbling in something illegal, which causes her to promptly break their engagement. Two evenings later, as Lady Amy awaits a visit from Lord William Wethington, fellow member of the Bath Mystery Book Club, her former fiancé makes an unexpected and most unwelcome appearance at her house. She promptly sends him to the library to cool his heels but later discovers the room seemingly empty—until she stumbles upon a dead Mr. St. Vincent with a knife in his chest. Lord Wethington arrives to find Lady Amy screaming and sends for the police, but the Bobbies immediately assume that she is the killer. Desperate to clear her name, Lady Amy and Lord Wethington launch their own investigation—and stir up a hornet's nest of suspects, from the gardener who served time in prison for murder to a vengeful woman who was spurned by St. Vincent before he proposed to Lady Amy. Can they close the book on the case before the real killer gets away with murder?