by Philip Eliot | Sep 7, 2025 | Mystery |
“Combines a Ruth Rendell–like psychological realism, an Agatha Christie–like plot and a Dickensian feel for life’s roulette . . . Pulse-pounding” (The Wall Street Journal). When Great War veteran Laurence Bartram arrives in Easton Deadall, he is struck by the beauty of the crumbling manor, the venerable church, and the memorial to the village’s soldiers. But despite this idyllic setting, Easton Deadall remains haunted by tragedy. In 1911, five-year-old Kitty Easton disappeared from her bed and has not been seen since. While Laurence is visiting, a young maid vanishes in a sinister echo of Kitty’s disappearance. And when a body is discovered in the manor’s ancient church, Laurence is drawn into the grounds’ forgotten places, where deadly secrets lie in wait. “Speller’s follow-up to her acclaimed debut, The Return of Captain John Emmett, is a well-crafted mystery with intriguing historical details and measured pacing that creates suspense. Fans of Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series and readers who enjoy well-drawn characters in historicals will add this to their wish list.” —Library Journal “Leisurely and absorbing . . . a series to be savoured.” —The Guardian
by Philip Eliot | Sep 7, 2025 | Thriller & Suspense |
“Make sure you wrap up warm for school, honey. A blizzard is on the way.” Ten-year-old Teddy rolls his eyes at his mother. But then he hears a bang… By the time police arrive, Teddy’s mother is dead. His open school backpack is strewn across the hallway. And Teddy is nowhere to be found.When gunshots ring out from an exclusive family home on the edge of Northern Pine Lake, Agent Tori Hunter races through the gathering snowstorm to discover that ten-year-old Teddy Marist has disappeared. His mother and her new boyfriend are dead in the family kitchen, breakfast still cooking on the stove. And racing to track down Teddy’s father, Tori finds he is missing too.Local police are certain this is a simple case of a jealous ex-husband turned violent over his recent divorce. But interviewing everyone she can about Teddy’s father, Tori’s gut has her questioning if he would really kidnap his own child? And when Teddy’s father is found dead in a pool of blood at an abandoned vacation resort, Tori is devastated to be proven right.Just as she’s desperately following a set of tire tracks leading away from the crime scene Tori gets a chilling phone call: Teddy is safe. But not for long. Meet me—alone. No guns. No backup.Surrounded by the driving blizzard and the biggest storm Manchester Bay has seen for decades, Tori is determined to go it alone. But she knows the phone call means this case is about more than one lost little boy… and that a deadly, decades-old secret about the history of the abandoned resort could threaten the whole community.With Teddy’s life—and the lives of those she loves—hanging in the balance, can Tori track down the kidnappers before it’s too late?A totally addictive thriller that will have you racing through the pages, unable to put it down until you know the truth. Perfect for fans of Mary Stone, Charlie Donlea and Kendra Elliot. Read what everyone’s saying about Taken in the Cold:“Wow, did this one pack a punch… Superb… Has you gripped from the very first pages… Left me gasping outwardly… and holding my breath.” bookreviewercakemaker, ?????“I read it in 24 hours with my heart in my mouth… So good!” Goodreads reviewer, ?????“Wow… Sitting on the edge of my seat… A real rollercoaster from the very first page.” B for Bookreview, ?????“Addictive crime thriller!… A pulse-racing mystery… A rollercoaster of a story… Now that I have finished this, l can finally get my breath back!!!!” coffeeandpages2021, ?????“Clear your weekend, you won’t put this down!… A wild ride. Absolutely recommend.” MagicalMomReads, ?????“This one is a definite NAIL-BITER… hang on the edge of your seat… Heart-palpitating kind of read.” Goodreads reviewer, ?????“WOW!!! Had me hooked from page 1!” tialala001“Gripping… Totally sucked in by the mystery… Flew through it in a single sitting… Excellent.” Goodreads reviewer, ?????“I had my heart in my mouth and was gasping out loud at so many *shockers*… Unpredictable… highly recommend.” Coffeekitaab, ?????“Fasten your seatbelt for a thrilling wild ride… The suspense is off the charts.” escapetobooks1503, ?????“Phenomenal…. On the edge from the very beginning… I’m obsessed… Outstanding read!” Goodreads reviewer, ?????“Had me from page one… Thrilling… Had me reading late into the night… I did not want to put it down… A wild ride.” Goodreads reviewer, ?????
by Philip Eliot | Sep 7, 2025 | Thriller & Suspense |
The wedding would be perfect. Every contingency had been anticipated…except a body.Everything is in place at the Gull Point Estate for the Memorial Day wedding bash—the lawns are perfectly manicured, the caterer is stocked and ready, the champagne is chilled. And the string quartet is brushing up on their Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, and Mozart. But before they end their rehearsal, they’d be well advised to have a version of Stormy Weather ready to go just in case the day doesn’t go as planned.Stander’s prose is controlled and sparse, evoking both Ray’s deliberative personality and the midwinter Michigan landscape. —KirkusWith a protagonist as deep and textured as Ray Elkins and a backdrop as varied as this resort community, Stander has created a high-quality mystery series. —Foreword Magazine
by Philip Eliot | Sep 7, 2025 | Cozy Mystery |
When her mother dies after a long illness, Ingrid Torfa must sell the family home to cover the medical bills. Her career as a book illustrator not yet exactly launched, Ingrid faces two options: live in her battered old Volkswagen, or go back to her mother’s small town in northern Minnesota. The small town that still haunts her dreams more than a decade since she last visited it. Or rather, not the town but the grandmother. All of the drawings she fills notebooks with witches and the trolls that do their bidding? Not as whimsical in her nightmares as she sketches them in the bright light of day. If not for her beloved cat Mjolner, living in the Volkswagen just might tempt her. But the cat wants four walls and a door, so north she goes. And finds trouble in the form of a dead body before she even finds her grandmother’s little town. How much can a town of stoic fishermen possibly be hiding? As Ingrid is about to find out, quite a lot.
by Philip Eliot | Sep 7, 2025 | Romantic Suspense |
Welcome to Dauntless Island, where nothing much has changed in two hundred years, and that’s just how the islanders like it.Joe Nesmith leads a peaceful life as the lighthouse keeper on Dauntless Island, a small community off the coast of Australia where the occupants are proud of their mutinous history and have very long memories.When graduate student Eddie Hawthorne comes to Dauntless, he brings with him a historical diary that throws everything the islanders have ever believed into disarray—and one of them may even resort to deadly measures to make sure that Eddie’s research never sees the light of day.Unless Joe and Eddie can stop it, Dauntless’s bloody history is set to repeat itself. On the plus side, if they survive this, they might actually realise they’re falling in love.Dauntless contains a taciturn lighthouse keeper, a cute history nerd, a dog who thinks she’s a seal, and a diary that’s apparently worth killing for. Also, watch out for the goats.
