Sleuthing Women II: 10 Mystery Novellas
by Lois Winston, Allison Brennan, Laura Griffin, Maggie Toussaint, Jonnie Jacobs, Camille Minichino, Heather Haven, Vinnie Hansen, Mary Kennedy, Rita Lakin, and Judy Alter

Sleuthing Women II: 10 Mystery Novellas
Cozy Mysteries
Self Published
Publication Date: September 5, 2017
Print Length: 675 pages
ASIN: B074TVL3HG

Sleuthing Women II: 10 Mystery Novellas is a collection of ten mysteries featuring murder and assorted mayhem by ten critically acclaimed, award-winning, and bestselling authors. Each novella is a tie-in to an established multi-book series—a total of over 800 pages of reading pleasure for lovers of amateur sleuth, caper, cozy, and female P.I. mysteries.

Frosted, A Moreno & Hart Novella by Allison Brennan & Laura Griffin—Three years ago LAPD Detective Scarlet Moreno and rookie cop Krista Hart were nearly killed during a botched sting operation. Now, they’re best friends and partners in the Orange County private investigation firm of Moreno & Hart. But their routine assignments are anything but safe.

Crewel Intentions, An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Novella by Lois Winston—Craft editor Anastasia Pollack receives a desperate call for help from former fashion editor Erica Milano, now in Witness Protection. Erica is being stalked and is afraid to notify the authorities. She once saved Anastasia’s life. Will Anastasia be able to return the favor before the stalker strikes?

No Quarter, A Cleopatra Jones Novella by Maggie Toussaint—Amnesia, the doctor says when accountant Cleopatra Jones wakes in a distant hospital. Hours later most of her memory returns. Detective Jack Martinez visits Cleo’s nearby wealthy client, only she’s dead and broke. To Cleo’s horror, she’s a murder suspect. Will she totally recover her memory before the killer returns?

What the Widow Knew, A Kali-O’Brien Novella by Jonnie Jacobs—Attorney Kali O’Brien takes on the case of a young woman accused of murdering her much older, very rich husband. As evidence mounts and other possible suspects are eliminated, Kali’s doubts about her client’s innocence grow. Meanwhile, Kali is also grappling with her feelings for longtime boyfriend Detective Bryce Keating.

The Magnesium Murder, A Periodic Table Mystery by Camille Minichino—While freelance embalmer Anastasia Brent prepares the body of a young bride-to-be, she learns the girl’s mother suspects foul play. Once again Anastasia is pressed into service as a sleuth, following a trail of clues in search of a murderer and justice.

Honeymoons Can Be Murder, A Lee Alvarez Novella by Heather Haven— When PI Lee Alvarez goes on her honeymoon with bridegroom, Gurn Hanson, they find a dead woman practically on their doorstep. Kauai breezes may be soft, but there are gale force winds of accusation against Gurn. Will Lee find the real killer before her new hubby gets sent to a Hawaiian hoosegow?

Smoked Meat, A Carol Sabala Novella by Vinnie Hansen—Baker and wannabe sleuth Carol Sabala visits her mother for a family Christmas get-together. It’s murder, in more ways than one.

A Deadly Fundraiser, A Talk Radio Novella by Mary Kennedy—When radio talk show host Dr. Maggie Walsh and her pals start digging up clues in a scavenger hunt at a glitzy fundraiser, the game suddenly turns deadly. Will Maggie and her team be able to crack the case and solve the crime?

The Color of Fear. A Kelly O’Connell Novella by Judy Alter—Kelly receives a written kidnap threat targeting her infant daughter, Gracie. Kelly’s assistant Keisha narrates as Kelly and her family plot their precautions, but as time passes and the threat still looms, fear takes a toll on the family…and on Keisha.

Papa’s Ghost, A Gladdy Gold Mystery Novella by Rita Lakin—Gladdy and her girls accept an assignment iat a famous resort in Key West, thinking it will combine business with pleasure. Once they arrive, Gladdy suspects something is strange. Not only is their client an unexpected shock, but so is the case of murder they are expected to solve. Can they succeed when a whole city is against them?

Some explicit language in a few of the stories.

Whatever Happened To…?

By Lois Winston

Secondary characters in a mystery series often come and go. Sometimes they make an appearance in a later book. Often, depending on the plot, circumstances prevent bringing back a character from an earlier book.

In Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, early on Anastasia discovers the dead body of fashion editor Marlys Vandenburg glued to her desk chair. (Note, for those of you who haven’t read the book, this is not a plot spoiler. Her murder is mentioned in the book’s back cover copy.) So readers know right up front that Marlys won’t be around for long.

Assistant fashion editor Erica Milano “put in sixteen-hour days, doing all of Marlys’s work while Marlys took three-hour, four-Cosmopolitan lunches and all the credit. Unfortunately, Erica was a doormat, and Marlys, who owned a closet full of Christian Louboutin boots, took extreme pleasure in tramping their trademark red soles all over Erica. Marlys had even bullied her milquetoast assistant into running personal errands for her during her lunch hour.”

When Marlys is murdered, Erica is promoted to fill the empty position.

Erica not only experiences a good deal of character growth in Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, she also plays a pivotal role in the plot arc. I won’t say how because that would involve spoilers. However, in the end it’s really not possible for her to remain as a recurring character in the series.

But because readers wanted to know what happened to Erica, I brought her back in a novella. That novella, Crewel Intentions, is part of Sleuthing Women II: 10 Mystery Novellas. For those of you who have read Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun and bonded with Erica, you’ll be able to learn about her life afterwards. However, if you haven’t read Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, you can still enjoy Crewel Intentions without having read Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun. Or you might want to read Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun first. You can find it as part of Sleuthing Women: 10 First-in-Series Mysteries  <http://www.loiswinston.com/sleuthing_women.html>.

 

 

About Lois Winston

USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry.

Website: www.loiswinston.com

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog: www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com

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