Thorndike large print mystery series

State Trooper Liam Campbell lives in a leaky fishing trawler in Newenham's Bristol Bay.

Ratking, Vendetta, Cabal, Dead Lagoon, Cosi Fan Tutti--in each of these masterfully suspenseful and atmospheric novels we have met Michael Dibdin's Italian Criminalpol officer Aurelio Zen. Intelligent and urbane (if a little weary), Zen galvanizes us not only with his ability to solve the most intractable crimes but also with his methodology. He is both devious and moral, a slave to the status quo and original in his thinking, amused by his own tor-por and surprised by his drive. Now, in The Long Finish, he is driven by something new: a steelyinstinct for self-preservation coupled with a love of good food and wine. After a riotous and heroic stint in Naples, Zen is back in Rome, meeting with a world-famous film director at the instruction of his superiors. In the privacy of a remarkably well stocked wine cellar, the director--whose influence clearly reaches beyond the entertainment industry--convinces Zen to arrange for the release of the scion of an important wine-growing family, who has been jailed for the murder of his own father. At stake for the director, a connoisseur of Piedmontese wines, is this year's vintage: only the jailed man can ensure the timely harvesting of his family's precious grapes. At stake for Zen: avoiding a posting to the dreaded Sicily.In Alba--an outwardly serene village set among rolling hills that are planted with vines for as far as the eye can see--Zen discovers that only spilled blood can separate a family from its land. And though murder here is rare, it is complex. But at least it's accompanied by heaping plates of pasta, generous shavings of white truffles, and bottomless glasses of wine. If only Zen can keep his policing skills as sharp as his palate is pampered. . . .From the Hardcover edition.

Detective Sharon McCone of San Francisco flies to Hawaii to investigate sabotage on a film set. The film is about Hawaiian legends and the suspects include Hawaiian nationalists. By the author of Both Ends of the Night.

The local ladies deemed him a "wizard." So when, to Agatha's horror, she finds several coarse gray hairs poking out of her head--and the rinse she tries at home turns her hair a lovely shade of purple--she makes a beeline for Mr. John, the handsome Evesham hairdresser who promises to work his magic on Agatha's coif. And the charming beautician also seems to have designs on Agatha's heart. But their future together is cut short when Mr. John collapses dead from poisoning in his salon--and Agatha suddenly has a murder case in her hair. Was it one of Mr. John's many customers, all of whom divulged to him their darkest secrets? It's time for Agatha to get to the bottom of this hair-raising mystery.

George Shipway’s two novels, [The Imperial Governor](/works/OL5476132W) and [The Knight](/works/OL5476124W), introduced a first-rate historical novelist to readers in the United States. He was praised not only for his meticulous research, but also for his “lean hard” style (Gerald Meyer, is the Des Moines Register) and “fascinating insight into the timeless military mind” (Martin Blumenson, in the Washington, DC. Star). Now, Mr. Shipway turns again to that same “timeless military mind” in a modern—and frequently funny—suspense tale. THE YELLOW ROOM is the story of a handful of retired, pukka sahib British military men who pass their hours sipping sherry and grumbling in the Yellow Room of their club while, in the streets outside, riots, revolution, and conspiracy threaten to topple the country they love so well. What they do to ensure that there will, indeed, always be an England, and what is done to them is a highly satisfying novel, an entertainment where honor summons crime to her needs, and murder joins hands with patriotism, and all are celebrated in most unusual, shocking, and often amusing, ways.

As a young man, Randall Woodfield had it all--a star athlete, good looks, and an award-winning student. Working in the swinging West Coast bar scene, he had more than his share of women. But he wanted more than just sex. An appetite for unspeakable violent acts led him to cruise the I-5 highway through California to Washington, leaving a trail of victims along the way. As the list of the dead grew, the police mobilized to stop a twisted killer who had 44 known deaths to his name. Praise for Ann Rule: "Vivid...Extraordinary...A page-turner!"-- "New York Times Book Review," for "Small Sacrifices" "Rule has an instinct for suspense, knowing just what information to leak to the reader and when."-- "Washington Post Book World," for "Small Sacrifices" "A shattering story...carefully investigated, written with compassion but also with professional objectivity."-- "Seattle Times," for "The Stranger Beside Me" Editorial Reviews About the Author Ann Rule has drawn on her experience as a former policewoman to become one of America’s top true-crime writers. The author of over 1,000 articles and numerous books, she has lectured widely to law-enforcement schools and agencies. She has also serves as a consultant to the FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VI-CAP), which is used to track and apprehend violent criminals. Her bestselling books, Lust Killer, The Want-Ad Killer, The I-5 Killer, and Small Sacrifices, are available in Signet editions.

Preparing for the Victoria Springs Quilt Show and Sale, Tess Darcy and her guests at Iris House become involved in a murder investigation when a suspicious accident eliminates a strong contender for the annual blue ribbon.

Upon its original publication, River of Darkness awed readers who look for intelligent, well-plotted psychological mysteries. This "fine, frightening piece of work" (Kirkus Reviews) introduces inspector John Madden who, in the years following World War I, is sent to a small village to investigate a particularly gruesome attack. The local police dismiss the slaughter as a botched robbery, but Madden detects the signs of a madman at work. With the help of Dr. Helen Blackwell, who introduces him to the latest developments in criminal psychology, Madden sets out to identify and capture the killer, even as the murderer sets his sights on his next innocent victims.

Lapped by he gentle waters of Locust Lake, the small resort town of Tranquility, Maine, seems like the perfect spot for Dr. Claire Elliot to shelter her adolescent son, Noah, from the distractions of the big city and the lingering memory of his father's death. But with the first snap of winter comes shocking news that puts her practise on the line: a teenage boy under her care has committed an appalling act of violence. And as Claire and all of Tranquility soon discover, it is just the start of a chain of lethal outbursts among the town's teenagers. As the rash of disturbing behavior grows, Claire uncovers a horrifying secret: this is not the first time it has happened. Twice a century,the children of Tranquility lash out with deadly violence. Claire suspects that there is a biological cause for the epidemic, and she fears that the placid Locust Lake may conceal an insidious danger. As she races to save Tranquility -- and her son -- from harm, Claire discovers an even greater threat: a shocking conspiracy to manipulate nature, and turn innocents to slaughter.

"East Midlands farmer Bernard Bailey, a violent man with a brutal temper, stands to pocket a hefty inheritance if he fathers a male child. After destroying one wife to achieve this end, Bailey turns his next marriage into a twisted business arrangement. If his new spouse produces a son, she will be paid handsomely for her trouble."--BOOK JACKET. "After six months of receiving highly publicized death threats, and having a state-of-the-art security system installed on his property, Bailey becomes just another statistic - a bloodied corpse discarded on his secluded farm. This gruesome homicide launches Detective Chief Inspector Lloyd and Detective Inspector Judy Hill into one of the most unusual investigations of their careers. The question is not "Who stands to gain from his death?" but "Why wasn't the monster killed sooner?" For Bailey aroused strong, murderous passions in just about everyone in Bartonshire, from the abused daughter of his first marriage to his second wife's clandestine lover."--BOOK JACKET.

Seeking the freedom of the roads in the 1950s, Notre Dame graduate Pierce Duncan finds strange, fateful meetings: with a redneck guard on a Georgia chain gang, with a killer on a lonely Texas road, with a corrupt Los Angeles cult leader, and with a hard-nosed private eye who will change his life forever.

St. Patrick's Day, New York City. Everyone is celebrating, but everyone is in for the shock of his life. Born into the heat and hatred of the Northern Ireland conflict, IRA man Brian Flynn has masterminded a brilliant terrorist act the seizure of Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Among his hostages: the woman Brian Flynn once loved, a former terrorist turned peace activist. Among his enemies: an Irish-American police lieutenant fighting against a traitor inside his own ranks and a shadowy British intelligence officer pursuing his own cynical, bloody plan. The cops face a booby-trapped, perfectly laid out killing zone inside the church. The hostages face death. Flynn faces his own demons, in an electrifying duel of nerves, honor, and betrayal.

In London, Inspector Slider investigates the murder of a promiscuous woman, even though her husband has confessed to the crime. Slider believes the husband is innocent and is protecting her reputation. By the author of Killing Time.

Left with bald patches thanks to the wicked doings of a murderer from a previous investigation, Agatha flees to the coastal resort of Wyckhadden to grow her tresses back in privacy. When a local witch provides her with hair tonic, Agatha's hair begins to flow - but the witch is found bludgeoned to death.

The world is a strange, sad, and wonderful place. And Moscow is at its center. Killers are running through the city--some on two legs, some on four. To lower the body count, Porfiry Rostnikov, the Moscow Police's one-legged inspector, will have to move faster than anybody.Stalwarts of the Russian Mafia who live by the sword are finally dying by it. One is found naked and shot in the Moscow River, others floating in pools at the city's poshest hotels. The mob concludes that the men are victims of a new gang war, a conflict they're prepared to escalate accordingly--and ruthlessly.Meanwhile, the craze for staged (and illegal) dogfights grows by leaps and snarls. Rostnikov's fellow officers Sasha Tkach and Elena Timofeyeva go undercover to sniff out the facts. It doesn't help their case to know that their new boss, Director of Moscow Police Igor Yaklovev--capable but corrupt--seems a little too interested in bloody canine sport. And it really hurts when an animal breaks from the pack and takes what could be a mortal chunk out of one unsuspecting cop.Joined by Detective Emil Karpo, an apostle of old-fashioned Soviet justice, Rostnikov follows the crazily wending trails of high crime and low politics. The path will lead them to men whose ambition knows no limits and to places where no man stands a chance--and even to the ultimate question of who will live to rule Russia itself.

A case almost a quarter of a century cold turns red hot again when Linda Barnes's detective and part-time cabby, Carlotta Carlyle, gets ensnared in the hunt for the source of a manuscript in the unmistakable voice of Thea Janis, the young literary sensation who disappeared twenty-four years ago at the height of her fame. Now, pages from an inflammatory new manuscript are appearing, written in a voice that could be none other than Thea's. But a madman sits in a Massachusetts state prison, convicted of her murder. The "Cold Case" squad of the Boston Police won't touch this one--they want to keep it irrevocably closed. Thea's brother, a dashing politician, is in the middle of a hotly contested gubernatorial race and has other problems, with a fiery young wife and a reputation for ruthlessness. Thea's older sister has withdrawn into her own oblivion. And her aristocratic mother finds her refuge in a bottle. Who wrote the new manuscript? Who is sending it piecemeal to Thea's family, demanding chapter-by-chapter blackmail? Who is playing games with Carlotta with every loaded word? Is Thea alive or dead? Is the author a victim, a plagiarist...or a killer? Carlotta Carlyle confronts demons from the past and from the present as she peels back layer upon layer of a glittering family's dark secrets in Cold Case, her toughest and most intriguing assignment yet.

From Google Books: "Lucille Morrow was blessed -- a beautiful woman with a devoted husband. One day a mysterious messenger delivered a package, and suddenly Lucille Morrow was gone. Dominated by fear, she committed herself into an asylum. Searching for the cause, Inspector Sands follows a long trail which takes him to an abyss of horror, murder and retribution the likes of which he's never seen."

Love was the furthest thing from Patricia Abbott's mind when she met Tony Wainwright. Though he was heir to the Wainwright fortune and the magnificent family mansion known as the Cloisters, the rumors of his private revels hinted at a dark and sinister decadence. And there was something else -- a woman Tony never spoke about, hidden away in the shadows... a woman who was his wife. But it was already too late. As Tony drew her into a dangerous liaison, Patricia became enmeshed in an inescapable web of lies, secrets, and cold-blooded murder...