Avon mystery

Archaeologist Emma Fielding encounters murder and mystery on the site of an old English Abbey in this second "rip-snorting good mystery" (Aaron Elkins) written by a real-life archaeologist..Archaeologist Emma Fielding is beginning to doubt the wisdom of spending her summer vacation in England helping friends excavate a 12th–century abbey, especially after they uncover an all–too modern skeleton in the nearby medieval graveyard. But it's the second discovery—of a murdered graduate student recently missing from the dig—that suggests to Emma that Marchester isn't exactly the quiet riverside town in appears to be. And when a member of the town's neopagan community shows up, claiming that the site is a sacred spot for Wiccans, Emma knows that conflicting interests and intentions may have driven someone to murder. There are dark passions and lethal secrets buried here, heinous crimes that shake the conflicted community to its core, and it's up to Emma, an outsider far from home, to delve into a past that too many people—including her friends—would do anything to hide.

The popular mystery series continues as single mom Jane Jeffry allows a film crew to use her backyard as a location, and soon finds herself on the track of the killer of a blackmailing prop man.

Welcome to Chicago, 1893 -- where new wonders are being unveiled . . . and a monster feeds on the unsuspecting.Tens of thousands are flocking to a bustling, wind-swept metropolis in the middle of America for the great Exposition of 1893 -- to seethe future and to ride Mr. Ferris's remarkable wheel. A city of hope and hardship has caught the attention of the world -- and a maniacal killer has made it his hunting ground.Inspector Alastair Ransom carries the burden of the dead on his shoulders. But a demon far worse than Ransom's own is loose -- a bloodthirsty killer who preys on Chicago's most vulnerable citizens, his grisly handiwork masked by the glitter and frenzy of the World's Fair. But a haunted detective doesn't realize how desperate his search has become -- for each passing hour brings the slayer closer to his next intended victim: Alastair Ransom.

Althea Tomlinson says she has returned to Egypt to see the sights, and to chaperon a spoiled teenager through this strange and breathtaking desert land. The truth is more complex...and dangerous. Ten years ago, something here brought about her father's ruin and subsequent death -- and Althea intends to clear her disgraced parent's name and lay a dark past finally to rest. But there are some mysteries best left buried in the shifting sands. And a devoted daughter's search for answers is stirring up forgotten memories almost too painful to endure, and propelling her onward toward ancient tombs, legendary treasures, miraculous discoveries...and ever-closer to her own probable doom.

(From the back cover0 Brianna "Bree" O'Brien never returned from skeleton Canyon. Someone brutally murdered the pretty, popular teenager who had stolen away under cover of darkness to rendezvous with her boyfriend, Ignacio Ybarra. Perhaps youthful rage, jealousy and savage passion cost young Bree her life. Or maybe she stumbled onto something too dangerous to know. ... But it is the strange disappearance of a good friend that is pulling Sheriff [Joanna] Brady ever closer to the lethal nest of lies, greed and secrets hiding in a desolate corner of the Arizona desert -- where the nest blood that feeds the parched, cracked earth could be her own.

Katharine Murray's elegant Atlanta home has been viciously vandalized! She's prepared to devote all her time to getting it back in tip-top shape — until she meets Bara Weidenauer. Once a picture-perfect socialite, Bara has fallen on some hard times. Her husband, Foley, has hightailed it out of their marriage, and she's convinced he'll try to take her for every penny she's got. While scouring her house for anything of value to hide from her greedy ex, Bara finds a box of military medals that once belonged to her father, a beloved war hero. Eager to know the story behind these precious trinkets, she enlists Katharine's help.But as Katharine digs deeper into Weidenauer family history, she discovers that everything Bara believed about her father may have been a lie. And when Foley is found shot to death, Bara's world turns to complete chaos. It's up to Katharine to expose this family's secrets from the past and the present...or the future will be very grim indeed.

Raising CaneAbigail Timberlake Washburn understands the antiques game is a gamble — so she doesn't know what to expect when she wins the bidding for the contents of an old locker that has been sealed up for years. It's a delightful surprise when she discovers inside a collection of exquisite old walking sticks — and a not-so-delightful one when she pulls out a decrepit gym bag containing . . . a human skull!The last thing the diminutive South Carolina antiques dealer needs is to be suspected of foul play. So she grabs her chatty assistant (and future sister-in-law), C.J., and heads out to search for a killer they can stick it to. But this cane case will be no walk in the park — with its arcane clues hinting at poaching, counterfeiting, smuggling . . . and homicide, of course. And when a fresh corpse turns up, things are about to get really sticky for Abby and her staff of one.

The Gods blessed Lieutenant Bak, head of the Medjay police, with a rare brilliance -- which is why he is the one to whom his commander turns in a time of need. The explorer Minnakht has vanished into the vast and merciless Egyptian desert -- or perhaps has strayed perilously close to Queen Maatkare Hatshepsut's well-guarded turquoise mines -- and before Bak sails north on a new assignment he is to seek out the missing man. But evil is traveling with him and his Medjays in the caravan they accompany eastward. Someone -- or something -- is responsible for the strange rash of deaths that is rapidly thinning the numbers of their fellow travelers. A straightforward search for a missing adventurer becomes a twisted knot of treachery and blood -- one that threatens to strangle the life from Bak and his men and leave them buried for all eternity beneath the blistering sands.

What bones are buried in the shadows of the past?Asked to join in a dig at the site of the eighteenth–century Chandler House, archaeologist Emma Fielding and her student crew have descended upon Stone Harbor, Massachusetts. But certain residents of the tiny coastal community are none too happy about Emma's arrival -- especially when her excavation uncovers a pair of freshly slain corpses. There are dark forces at play in this dangerously divided town, where a distrust of strangers wars with a desire for tourist dollars. And when a young local's life is snuffed out, Emma is determined to get to the twisted roots of the strange secrets buried in this killing ground. But a mystery that lies among the tumbled ruins of a once grand manor could change Stone Harbor forever. And for some murderous someone, one more death -- Emma's -- would be a small price to pay to keep it hidden.

Thirty something Ophelia Jensen wants to live a quiet life as a small town librarian. She's created a comfortable existence with her kooky, colorful grandmother Abby, and if it were up to her, they could live out their days along with Ophelia's dog Lady and cat Queenie in peace and quiet. To Ophelia's dismay, she and Abby aren't a typical grandmother/granddaughter duo. She possesses psychic powers, and Abby is a kindly witch. And while Ophelia would do anything to dismiss her gift--harboring terrible guilt after her best friend was killed and she was unable to stop it--threatening events keep popping up, forcing her to tap into her powers of intuition. To make matters worse, a strange yet devastatingly attractive man is hanging around Ophelia's library, and no matter how many times she tells him she's sworn off men forever, he persists. Soon this handsome newcomer reveals he's following a lead on a local drug ring, and then a dead body shows up right in Abby's backyard. And much as Ophelia would like to put away her spells forever, she and Abby must use their special powers to keep themselves, and others, out of harm's way.

Business isn't booming for antiques dealer Abigail Timberlake Washburn. A local rug store is luring away her customers with its rock-bottom prices. Eager to check out the competition, Abby is delighted to find a priceless Persian amid the cut-rate carpets—and shocked when Gwendolyn Spears, the store's beleaguered owner, begs her to take it home! Abby feels more than a little guilty about getting such a great deal...especially when Gwendolyn is found dead the next morning.Investigating the brutal murder, Abby soon discovers that the prized Orientals of Charleston's society dames are nothing more than cheap fakes...and that a dangerous thief will do anything to pull the rug out from under her.