Mystery

Nobody knows better than Matthew Scudder how far down a person can sink in this city. A young prostitute named Kim knew it also--and she wanted out. Maybe Kim didn't deserve the life fate had dealt her. She surely didn't deserve her death. The alcoholic ex-cop turned p.i. was supposed to protect her, but someone slashed her to ribbons on a crumbling New York City waterfront pier. Now finding Kim's killer will be Scudder's penance. But there are lethal secrets hiding in the slain hooker's past that are far dirtier than her trade. And there are many ways of dying in this cruel and dangerous town--some quick and brutal ... and some agonizingly slow.

Between a busy family and her duties as a reporter for the Tinker's Cove Pennysaver, Lucy Stone could use a break. So when a friend tells her about a trip to England sponsored by Winchester College, she jumps at the chance for a girls getaway. But when tour leader Professor George Temple dies mid-flight after an asthma attack, Lucy's glad she packed her sleuthing skills. . .

In London, Professor Quentin Rea, a ladies' man and former flirt of Lucy's, arrives to take over the tour--and she finds that while his hairline has receded, his amorous intentions have not. Lucy also begins to notice peculiar behavior among other members of the group. And when she discovers all of them have pasts connected to the late Professor Temple, she suspects his death was an elaborate act of revenge. Then another tour member dies, and Lucy is suddenly ensnared in a daring scheme that could lead her to a mastermind of murder--or make her the next victim. . .

Leslie Meier writes with sparkle and warmth. -Chicago Sun Times

Leslie Meier has created a town I'd like to live in and sleuth I'd love to meet. -Jill Churchill

Fans of Murder, She Wrote may want to try this latest in a series that is well written and enjoyable.
-The Evansville Courier and Press

The New York Timesabestselling authors return with a heart-stopping new novel.
O n the first day of Royal Ascot, the worldas most famous horse race, the crowd rejoices in a string of winning favorites. Ned Talbot has worked all his life as a bookmakera taking over the family business from his grandfathera so he knows not to expect any sympathy from the punters as they count their winnings, and he his losses. Heas seen the ups and downs beforeabut, as the big gambling conglomerates muscle in on small concerns like his, Ned wonders if itas worth it any more.
When a gray-haired man steps forward from the crowd claiming to be his father, Nedas life is thrown into far deeper turmoil. Head been told since he was a baby that his parents had died in a car crash.
Barely an hour later, his newly found father is stabbed by an unknown assailant in the Ascot parking lot. Blood oozing from his abdomen, his father warns Ned to abe very careful.a But of whom? Of what? Ned finds himself in a race to solve his fatheras riddleaa race where coming in second could cost him more than even moneyait could cost him his life. . . .

Dean Abernathy, a young defense attorney, is assigned to defend a homeless man accused of the felony murder (a death occurring during the commission of a crime -- in this case, a mugging) of a popular New York City police commissioner. It seems the only defense is a plea bargain, for the evidence is overwhelming. But little by little strange anomalies in the prosecution's case show up, and following these, Dean is plunged into danger. He joins forces with a young woman, the prosecution witness in the case, to uncover a giant official conspiracy.