KILL TWO BYRDS by Steven Lockett
Sometimes home is the last place you want to be, even if it is sunny south Florida. Returning to D.C. from an overseas assignment, Bernard Byrd finds two separate letters summoning him back to Delray Beach. Palm trees and sandy beaches are the furthest things from his mind—he still has nightmares about his involvement in an old tragedy that occurred there, and it’s been years since he's shown his face.
But while he isn't itching for a homecoming, he finds the letters too intriguing. One is from a stranger named Kayla Chalmers, who claims to be a friend of his late Uncle Marvin, and who seems to know all about him. The other is from a lawyer representing his uncle's estate and calling on Bernard and Kayla to come and claim their inheritance, together. Bernard was estranged from his uncle his last years, and it was common knowledge that Marvin had died disgraced and penniless.
What could he possibly have to leave anybody, least of all him? Bernard decides to go home, if only to validate his skepticism. But connecting with family and the seedier side of his hometown proves both bittersweet and violent—long after a man is dead and buried, he can still tell secrets, secrets that some would gladly kill to know.
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MURDER AT CAPE THREE POINTS By Kwei Quartey
t Cape Three Points on the beautiful Ghanaian coast, a canoe washes up
at an oil rig site. The two bodies in the canoe—who turn out to be a
prominent, wealthy, middle-aged married couple—have obviously been
murdered; the way Mr. Smith-Aidoo has been gruesomely decapitated
suggests the killer was trying to send a specific message—but what, and
to whom, is a mystery. The Smith-Aidoos, pillars in their community, are
mourned by everyone, but especially by their niece Sapphire, a
successful pediatric surgeon in Ghana's capital, Accra.
She is not happy
that months have passed since the murder and the rural police have made
no headway. When the Ghanaian federal police finally agree to get
involved, Detective Inspector Darko Dawson of the Accra police force is
sent out to Cape Three Points to investigate. Pretty as the coast is, he
is not happy to be sent away from his wife and two sons, the younger of
whom is recovering from a heart operation. And the more he learns about
the case, the more convoluted and dangerous it becomes. Three Points
has long been inhabited by tribal villages of subsistence fishers, but
real estate entrepreneurs and wealthy oil companies have been trying to
bribe the tribes to move out. Dawson roots out a host of motives for
murder, ranging from personal vendettas to corporate conspiracies.
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LOUISIANA BIGSHOT by Julie Smith
Meet the hottest detective duo in New Orleans--she’s Queen Latifah. He’s
Danny DeVito. Or they would be if this were a movie--in print, they’re
Talba Wallis and Eddie Valentino. Talba’s got the beauty, the brains,
the computer savvy, the poetic soul,the youth, the right demographic,
and the sass. Eddie’s got the detective agency. Also a short fuse and
yes, wisdom. Not only do they make it work, they’ve got chemistry.
And they need every skill and ounce of courage they can summon in
this intricate tale of a decades-old conspiracy only now coming home to
roost, with the murder of Talba’s friend Babalu Maya. Babalu is actually
Clayton Robineau, daughter of the local banker in a small Louisiana
town that bears her name, a town buried under the weight of its own
malevolent past.
Something terrible happened to Clayton as a child, but it was far
from the usual “something terrible”. As Talba and Eddie investigate,
they find it was an injury—both pscyhic and physical--so bizarre, so
shameful and damning that almost anyone in town would kill to cover it
up. Or so it seems to the New Orleans duo as they dodge bullets and what
passes for the law in this malignant enclave, fetid with the rot of its
corruption, yet determined to keep its sordid skeletons buried.
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IN STRICT CONFIDENCE By Dwayne Joseph
Fans of John Grisham and Mary Higgins Clark will love this suspenseful
rollercoaster ride that doesnt let up until the very end… Psychiatrist
Allen Kline is forced to make the agonizing choice of life over death
when a killer approaches him with the horrific news that he has abducted
Allen's two sons. Who the killer is and why he has chosen Allen to
victimize is a question the doctor struggles to answer. What he
discovers just may haunt him forever. Things aren’t always what they
seem…
Detective Ben McCallum is on a mission. Someone is viciously
murdering little boys and Ben knows the pain all too well. His son was
one of the victims and now, it’s up to Ben to bring the killer to
justice . . . before two more young boys die.
As Ben struggles to put
aside his personal demons to track a killer hellbent on revenge, he’ll
discover the killer’s motives hit close to home and everyone will
discover things aren’t always what they seem. In Strict Confidence is an
intense, harrowing tale that will shock, surprise and satisfy readers
with each suspenseful word and doesn’t let up until the very last page.
NOWHERE TO GO AND ALL DAY TO GET THERE BY Gar Anthony Haywood
Two short mysteries featuring amateur sleuths Joe and Dottie Loudermilk.
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