Fun Friday

This week, Spyglass Lane is showcasing George Washington Stepped Here by K.D. Hayes. Check out all the books in The Karen Maxwell Mystery Series!

Mystery Door

Thursdays are Mystery Door Days! Choose a door. A surprise is waiting for you!

A NEW YEAR OF MYSTERY AUTHOR!

It’s a brand new year and time for a brand new MYSTERY AUTHOR! Some things may have changed a little, but the rules are the same.

Leave a comment with your guess as to who our MYSTERY AUTHOR is, and if you're right, you'll be entered in a drawing to win a signed copy of the MYSTERY AUTHOR'S latest Heartsong book! YOU MUST GIVE US YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS TO BE ENTERED INTO THE DRAWING!! If you don't, your guess won't be considered. (We're not being mean, we just won't know how to find you!)

Are you ready? Here goes:

Welcome, Mystery Author! Where do you hail from?

California

How many books have you written (and had published) in the Heartsong Mystery book club?

Three.

Tell us something you like to do besides writing.

I love to cook. Soup is my specialty.

In three words, can you describe the romance in your latest Heartsong mystery novel?

Wild, wacky and wondrous.

Describe one item on the cover of your most recent Heartsong mystery.

A shipwreck on the beach.

Do you have a hint you’d like to drop to our readers?

Never wear checks and plaid at the same time.

Thanks, Mystery Author!

There you go! This year's hints might be a little tougher. Let's see how you do!

Short Story Mystery

Look Before You Leap

by Elizabeth Ludwig

Part 3

Buck peered up into the night sky. A shower of sparks erupted, like the finale on the Fourth of July. He resisted the urge to cheer.

Picking up the booty Jerry had discarded, Buck ambled toward his truck, away from the power station where he’d set up the ring of flares designed to lure Jerry to his death. It was a simple plan, really, something that would never have worked if Jerry hadn’t been such a trusting soul.

Pressing his treasure tight to his chest, Buck climbed into his truck and started the engine. Never again would he have to split his share with greedy old Jerry. The stash inside this bag would carry him for months, maybe even years. Once it was gone, he’d find a new partner, another trusting soul.

He dropped the vehicle into drive. Pushing on the accelerator, he veered onto the highway, his heart lighter than it’d been for weeks. Gradually, he wound down the deserted road and quietly disappeared into the dark, humid night.

.

Stay tuned next week for a brand new Short Story Mystery!

Monday Mystery Theater

THE CASE:

If it hadn't been for that beer bottle cap, they would never have figured out that Paul was murdered by his wife, Paula.

THE MYSTERY:

How did she do it?

THE CLUES:

1. If Paula had just told Paul to get lost, he'd probably be alive today.

2. Paula had a magnetic personality.

THE ANSWER:

Think you know the answer? Fill in the comment box to submit your guess. Winner receives a free Heartsong Presents Mystery!

Special Feature!

2008 has come to a close and here is our last listing of the wonderful mysteries released by Heartsong Mysteries in the inaugaral year. Check back in the next few Saturdays to see them all. To order any of these books simply click on the book cover and it's take you to the Heartsong Mystery site.

Mysterious Incidents at Lone Rock By Rajendra Pillai / Heartsong Presents Mysteries Professor Rich Harrison and his colleague from India, Chinni Roy, have been invited for a relaxing weekend at Lone Rock, an estate in the country owned by a female friend of Rich's. While Rich anticipates the trip, Chinni is thinking about murder, That's not surprising. After all,he was a police detective in India, so he's always prepared for the worst. When a shot rings out in the middle of the night and someone is found dead, Chinni uses all his tools and his experience to help the police find the killer. Along the way, Rich learns a few things about sleuthing from his detective friend, applying the model of algebraic formula to reach a conclusion, as well as expecting the unexpected--especially in matters of the heart.

Of Mice and Murder by Mary Coneally / Heartsong Presents Mysteries BEING NAMED IN GREATGRANDMA'S WILL WAS LIKE HITTING BANKRUPT ON WHEEL OF FORTUNE. The whole family held their breath while the wheel ticked around and around-or rather while the lawyer opened the envelope. Then they all heaved a sigh of relief when the wheel stopped on Carrie Evans's name. Carrie the heiress. Great. Clean up the house. Clean up the yard. Clean up Great-Grandma's rap sheet. Carrie hates mice and loves the big city. So why is she living in a huge mouse-infested house in her dinky hometown? The dead guy in her pantry closet is the most interesting thing that's happened since she came home. Of course, the carpenter who's helping her trap her mice and solve the crime is pretty interesting, too.

Pedigreed Bloodlines By Sandra Robbins / Heartsong Presents Mysteries Pedigreed Bloodlines, set in the fictional Smoky Mountain Resort town of St. Claire, North Carolina, introduces Leigh Dennison as the antique dealer turned sleuth when the woman who has been like a mother to her is murdered. Leigh who struggles with ADD, her best friend Marcie Payton, and Blake Cameron, the love of her life, will return in two more adventures.

Recipe For Murder By Lisa Harris / Heartsong Presents Mysteries Pricilla never expected to be involved in a real life mystery, but that's exactly where she finds herself when she joins her son at his hunting lodge in the beautiful Colorado mountains. A superb cook and articulate hostess, Priscilla plans an informal buffet for the guests at her son's hunting lodge. But the dinner party turns to chaos when a guest is found dead after sampling one of her salmon-filled tartlets.

The Wiles of Watermelon By Lynette Sowell / Heartsong Presents Mysteries Newlywed Andi Hartley is not at all sure she's ready to look like an over-ripe melon. . . In fact, she's still getting used to being married. But her husband, Ben, wants to start a family right away. Gulp. Their family plans are put on hold, however, when Andi's kitten runs from the house to their watermelon field and digs up a bone attached to the remains of a thirty-year-old skeleton. Buried secrets come to life. . .and then the colorful owner of Greenburg's best eatery is murdered. As Andi unearths more and more of the suspicious history surrounding the skeleton, she realizes both deaths are related. Is she also about to unearth a murderer?

There Goes Santa Claus by Nancy Mehl / Heartsong Presents Mysteries IVY TOWERS-TUCKER IS LOOKING FORWARD TO HER FIRST CHRISTMAS AS A MARRIED WOMAN. . . . But a few days before December 25, Ivy and her husband Amos are awakened by noises on their rooftop. Amos's joke that Santa Claus must have arrived early loses its humor when a body goes fl ying past their second-story window. A look outside reveals two legs covered in red velvet trousers and black boots sticking out of a snow bank! Ivy and Amos are even more surprised to fi nd they belong to a dead man dressed as Santa Claus. The story circulates quickly through the small town of Winter Break that Ivy and Amos have killed Santa. Who is the dead man and why was he on their roof? Ivy has a Christmas mystery to solve that will bring a satisfying conclusion to the Ivy Towers Mystery series.

Treasure at Blue Heron Lake By Susan Page Davis and Megan Davis / Heartsong Presents Mysteries Jeff Lewis's hunting lodge is plagued by an intruder who thumps around in the night. Emily Gray and Nate Holman try to help their friend discover who is invading the resort. Things turn more sinister when one of Jeff's employees is murdered, with Jeff as a suspect. Is the legend of an old lumber baron's lost treasure behind the crimes? In the midst of the turmoil, Nate proposes to Emily. Their life together begins with unmasking the murderer at Lakeview Lodge.

Treasure Under Finny's Nose By Dana Mentink / Heartsong Presents Mysteries A TREASURE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN. A MURDERER ROAMING THE QUIET STREETS OF FINNY. WILL RUTH FIND THE STRENGTH TO WITHSTAND MURDER, MAYHEM. . .AND MOMMYHOOD? It's the 150th anniversary of the wreck of the Triton, a ship that foundered off the coast of Finny, California. A team of college students arrives to fi lm a documentary, and a pregnant Ruth is pressed into service. She must reenact the life of survivor Indigo Orson, a woman who managed the perils of gold rush California by disguising herself as a man. Indigo's writing reveals there was treasure aboard the Triton, a treasure shrouded in secrecy. While her beloved husband, Monk, is away, Ruth stumbles on the body of one of the film crew. His death turns out to be the furthest thing from an accident. Adding to the chaos, Ruth's estranged son arrives and Monk's niece faces heartbreak at the hands of Finny's police detective. Faced with murder, mayhem, and mommyhood, Ruth had better find some answers fast.

Trouble Up Finny's Nose By Dana Mentink / Heartsong Presents Mysteries Dead bodies in the fountain? The discovery of her late husband's secret novel? Come join Ruth Budge in the not so quiet town of Finny, California where trouble doesn't stay buried for long.

Where The Truth Lies By Elizabeth Ludwig & Janelle Mowery/ Heartsong Presents Mysteries A case of suicide leads an amateur sleuth on a trail of deceit and corruption… Casey Alexander refuses to believe her aunt committed suicide. Convinced a murderer is hiding out in her aunt's sleepy hometown, she'll do anything to uncover the truth. But as her personal investigation produces mounting evidence, the danger to Casey grows. Now she'll be forced to trust certain residents of Pine Mills for help, including local nursery owner, Luke Kerrigan. . .the man with whom she's falling love. . .and who may be stalking her. Prompted by strange clues and a mysterious stranger, Casey does a little more digging. The secrets she unearths will turn lives upside down and threaten the peace in Pine Mills' small community-especially when she discovers that the truth can sometimes be hidden in a lie.

Worth its Weight in Old By K. D. Hays / Heartsong Presents Mysteries PAINTINGS SLASHED. . . FURNITURE BROKEN . . . SOMEONE IS WREAKING HAVOC AT THE BLUE MOON ART & ANTIQUES GALLERY. Fledgling private investigator Karen Maxwell goes undercover as a salesclerk to find out who's behind the vandalism-and why. She learns little from Vicki, a friendly clerk who, aside from her designer clothes and sports car, seems interested only in rearranging pictures to display them to maximum advantage. Eric, the shop's surly, tight-lipped porter, would run her over with a hand truck before he'd answer any questions. The guilt may even lay with the shop owners themselves, despite the fact that they're the ones who hired her. Karen's investigation seems to be going nowhere. . .just like her once-promising relationship with Brian, the handsome blacksmith who could sweep her off her feet in a minute-if he'd ever take a break from working with the church youth group. If Karen can't crack the case soon, she may find herself busted back to plain and old office manager, and her dreams of a career as a private investigator-and a life with Brian-as old and busted as the Blue Moon's vandalized antiques.

Mystery Door

Thursdays are Mystery Door days! Choose a door. A surprise is waiting for you!