New year, new murder . . . Emma Lord is on the case when mayhem finds its way back to the seemingly idyllic town of Alpine, Washington. After a relatively calm and cozy holiday season, neither Emma Lord, editor and publisher of The Alpine Advocate, nor her husband, Sheriff Milo Dodge, are surprised when their new year gets off to a rocky start. The latest newsworthy headline? A woman's battered body is found on the trail to the Skykomish River. But that's not the shocking bit—a nearby purse identifies the victim as Patti Marsh, the longtime girlfriend of Jack Blackwell, interim county manager and Milo's sworn enemy. Emma and Milo aren't sure if it is indeed Patti, but their attention is soon hijacked by a strange, reclusive couple who have recently moved into a fire-ravaged cabin in the woods—especially when they learn that the newcomers may have a connection to the baffling murder. Meanwhile, back at the Advocate, office manager...

Unholy MatrimonyAsk not for whom the wedding bell tolls, it tolls for Judith McMonigle Flynn's son Mike--and the Hillside Manor b&b is packed to the rafters with relatives. However, Mama Judith's unrestrained joy is somewhat dampened when, during the rehearsal dinner downtown, she spies a tuxedo-clad gent tossing a bridal-gowned beauty off the roof of a nearby hotel. Always one to eagerly exclaim "I do!" when offered the opportunity to investigate nefarious deeds, Judith's determination to unveil a killer could put undo stress on her own marital bliss with policeman-hubby Joe. But she remains wedded to her mission--and she's not about to take a honeymoon from amateur sleuthing until she's gotten to the bottom of the homicidal hanky-panky surrounding a match made in hell.

In the court of England's King Henry VIII, Morgan Todd, the niece of Sir Thomas Cromwell, is a lady-in-waiting to the queen. An exotic beauty, she is mistaken for a willing servant and deflowered by Francis, the brother of the husband her uncle has chosen for her. Motherhood, war, and intrigue will come between them, but Morgan will never forget Francis, an honorable man in a land of schemers.

USA Today bestselling mystery maven Mary Daheim brings us another intriguing tale in her cherished Bed-and-Breakfast mystery series in which a trip down memory lane brings Judith and Renie back to their old neighbourhood, and they are drawn to a seemingly deserted house that is much more than meets the eye.On a trip to Renie's old neighbourhood, the cousins' curiosity is piqued by a mysterious brick Tudor house that always looked deserted during Renie's junior high school days. Surprised that the house still looks abandoned after all these years, Judith and Renie, of course, cannot resist an opportunity to snoop around. They discover that Mr. and Mrs. Bland have lived in the house since 1947, and after cornering the mailman and milkman, Judith and Renie also learn that the Blands receive regular mail and food deliveries, but no one has ever seen the occupants who simply pay the bills with cash they leave in the milk box. Although intrigued by these strange...

Bed-and-breakfast owner and amateur sleuth Judith McMonigle Flynn can't escape murder, even when she's out of town doing a good deed for the inn-keeping profession. But--oh, for the love of lederhosen--it gets complicated when, once again, Judith encounters a corpse in this latest delightful entry to the beloved series by USA Today bestselling author Mary DaheimThe Wurst Is Yet to ComeWith its cozy atmosphere, delicious fare, and gracious hostess, Hillside Manor is the perfect B&B for a few days of R&R. Okay, so it also features the occasional corpse or two. But is a small (if growing) body count any reason for the state to yank Judith McMonigle Flynn's innkeeper's license?Exhausted from being hassled by the state B&B association's meddling critics, Judith warily accepts the assignment of manning a booth during Oktoberfest in the mountain aerie of Little Bavaria. With a reluctant cousin Renie in tow, she hopes to win some allies,...

A new exhilarating installment in Mary Daheim's beloved and long-running small-town murder mystery series set in Alpine, Washington, and featuring unforgettable newspaper editor Emma Lord. Winter in the small mountain aerie of Alpine should be as quiet as new-fallen snow on the Cascades, but from the Grocery Basket to the Venison Inn, the town is humming. At the Alpine Advocate, editor Emma Lord and her staff are on deadline with a feature about the opening of RestHaven, a new rehab and mental health facility. Front Street is buzzing with gossip about Emma's recent engagement to Sheriff Milo Dodge. And now that fool Wayne Eriks has climbed an electric pole in the middle of a storm and got himself electrocuted. Sheriff Dodge doesn't buy the idea that Wayne's death is an accident. But how--and, more important, why--he died is only one of the conundrums that keep the sheriff and Emma working overtime. Why is RestHaven giving Alpine so many...

THE ALPINE ADVOCATE IS ON A ROLL.The big story is the five million dollar luxury spa that Los Angeles real estate developers want to build around Alpine's mountainside mineral springs--hot news and fierce controversy for Advocate readers, and for the paper's editor and publisher, Emma Lord.Pro-spa Alpiners cite the prospect of sorely needed new jobs. Those against it predict glitz, sleaze, and an avalanche of "Californicators." No one foresees the murder that shocks the town. Aided by her House & Home editor, Vida Runkel, and tongue-tied Sheriff Milo Dodge, Emma lines up her biggest, blackest headlines and goes hunting--for a brilliant killer and the strange story behind an almost perfect crime. . . . READ ALL ABOUT IT!From the Paperback edition.From Publishers WeeklyIn this seventh Emma Lord adventure, the Alpine Advocate editor copes with her small Washington town's hostility toward California realtors who want to develop the hot springs. The death of of a realtor halts the deal. Vida Runkel, Emma's able home editor, spreads gossippy tales that "breed around this town like mosquitoes in a pond." As in most soap-opera small towns, everyone knows everyone else's doings. Sheriff Milo Dodge is dumber than anything Mayberry had to offer and pigheadedly refuses to veer off the beaten path. Unfortunately, the only surprise in this predictable, mundane book is Emma's interest in him. More interaction with priestly brother Ben and his Indian congregation might have added interest. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. From the PublisherMary Daheim and I go back a long way -- well, seventeen or eighteen years. That's a long time for a publishing association. Years before I became Mary's editor on the Emma Lord/Alpine series for Ballantine, I was an editorial assistant at another trade house -- and that's where we met, long distance. She lives in Seattle; I live in New York; even eighteen year ago, the phone lines stretched in both directions. At the time Mary was writing successful historical romances for my then-boss, a senior editor. One day Mary and I revealed our unbridled passion for reading crime fiction. Little did I dream then that, soon after I arrived at Ballantine, Mary would become a crime writer herself. Of course, now she's a nationally renowned one . . . and I especially treasure her novels about Emma Lord, the editor-publisher of a small-town weekly newspaper in fictional (but based on fact) Alpine, Washington. The paper is called The Alpine Advocate, which is also the title of the first novel in the series. For any readers who haven't visited Alpine, I heartily recommend starting with Book One -- and then continuing forward (in alphabetical order) to THE ALPINE BETRAYAL, THE ALPINE CHRISTMAS, THE ALPINE DECOY, THE ALPINE ESCAPE, THE ALPINE FURY, THE ALPINE GAMBLE, THE ALPINE HERO, THE ALPINE ICON, THE ALPINE JOURNEY, and (coming soon) THE ALPINE KINDRED.--Joe Blades, Associate Publisher

In this delightfully charming Bed-and-Breakfast mystery from acclaimed USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Mary Daheim, innkeeper and irrepressible sleuth Judith McMonigle Flynn and Cousin Renie face off against a slippery, cold-blooded killer in a beach communityWith the holidays over and Hillside Manor light on guests, innkeeper Judith McMonigle Flynn has a bad case of the January blues. It doesn't help that her husband, Joe, is leaving for New Zealand on a once-in-a-lifetime fishing trip with Cousin Renie's husband, Bill. A few days away housesitting at her aunt and uncle's retirement home on Whoopee Island with Renie sounds like the perfect getaway to lighten her mood. Surrounded by retirees in the off season, the cozy beach town is sure to be quiet and restful, and Auntie Vance has stocked the fridge with all their favorite dishes. But when Judith and Renie arrive, they quickly discover that the seniors of Obsession Shores prefer cold cocktails...