Amateur-sleuth Stories

In this sixth novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club series, all the world's a stage, and Rachel, Al, Lauren, Joe and Sunny find themselves playing parts scripted for them deep in the past, forced into acting when all they want is a quiet, content summer after an eventful fall and winter that saw many of their number injured and out of commission. A new tragedy, the passing of Joe's father, has them reminiscing and looking at old pictures in Al's photo albums, and a series of pictures Al's never seen before has them on a new case, trying to find more information about Sadie T. Diamond, the author of a chalk message claiming to have committed the perfect murder. What none of them know yet is that Sadie is closer than they think, and inordinately interested in them, why, they have to figure out, and quickly, because other revelations are coming at them fast and hard: Val, wife of Johnny, Joe's brother, has walked out on her husband after discovering he cheated on her, leaving her phone behind and going off the grid; Omar, Rachel's first boyfriend, walks back into her life when he hires Lauren's firm to investigate a colleague; and Rachel gets the shock of her life when she attends a play and discovers one of the actors shares a name with a boy she hasn't seen in over thirty years, a boy who's supposed to be dead. With no time for an intermission, because a triple murder has them all on their guard, they must find out why these events are happening, and what their connection is, because, though they don't know it yet, they're all going to be on the stage for the final act that has them travelling to a place from which they might never return, to do a deed that will change things forever...

Excalibur is Missing. A Killer is on the Loose. One Reporter is Determined to Uncover the Truth. James has a nose for trouble. But that's nothing new. This time, things are different... ...his life is on the line. James is the chief editor of a small newspaper. It's hardly captivating work. He's bored. But all of that is about to change. Late one evening, he returns home to discover his long-time girlfriend and journalist, Valentine, has left. Early the next morning, James fails to reallocate her assigned story. To avoid blank space in the culture section and losing his job, he decides to write the story on the local museum's latest acquisition, Excalibur. But, there's one thing he didn't count on... ....Excalibur is missing, and a dead body is at the crime scene. As his investigations commence, James unravels a tangled web of betrayal, kidnapping, and murder. But his fact-finding hasn't gone unrecognised. The wrong people have started to notice. And there will be consequences...dire consequences. If you love gripping cloak-and-dagger mysteries with twists and turns, then you'll love this first instalment in the James Lalonde Amateur Sleuth Mystery series. Get it now. Please note: this is a re-edited edition of the previously published novella, Missing.

She's a beautician with a plummeting reputation. Can she catch a strangler before her salon is financially frizzed out? Valentine Beaumont is desperate to revive her dying business. Trying to recover from an infamous incident where she defended herself with a perm rod to her attacker's privates, the last thing she needs is another scandal. So when a wealthy socialite is strangled with a steamer cord while awaiting her facial, Valentine has no choice but to start combing through clues. Battling a sexy, hard-headed detective who can't tell pigtails from a pompadour, Valentine is convinced he's pursuing the wrong suspect. And despite his warning not to meddle, the gutsy stylist vows to clear her name before the killer claims another client. Can Valentine tie up the culprit before more lives are cut short?

After his sister is brutally attacked and crippled investigating the rape of a thirteen-year-old, Richard Baimbridge rushes back to his hometown of Wilmington, NC, to assist in her recovery only to come face to face with his tormented past and a dark family secret. Serving as his sister's legs, he fights to stay above the flood of childhood trauma as he is drawn into the dark underside of this quiet coastal community where he becomes the primary suspect in the murders of Wilmington's young girls in this riveting suspense thriller that explores the special bond between a brother and sister. Over 500,000 copies sold. "Bill Benners is a fresh and welcomed new voice in crime fiction. My Sister's Keeper is a compelling and original psychological thriller. Awesome, powder-keg suspense!" --Andrew McAleer, Crimestalker Casebook/crimestalkers.com

Berlynn Wallace enjoys her quiet life in Fairhope, Alabama- a charming coastal town with flair. Shy and bookish, B is content to spend her days at the bookstore where she works, and in the company of her cat, Mr. Whipley, and her best friend Thurston Vaughn- a flamboyant fashion designer who just happens to be dead. But when a corpse turns up near her driveway, Berlynn's tranquil routine is shattered. With Thurston's ghostly guidance and a flair for uncovering secrets, Berlynn dives into the tangled past of the victim. What she discovers is a dangerous pattern of secrets and betrayal- and a few more dead bodies. It is up to her to hem together the truth and catch the culprit- but things aren't what they seam...

Ainsley Moss never thought she'd become a representative for the dead. But as a newbie obituary writer for the Aurora Fall's Guardian, she gets a sneak peek at her new profession. Her ex-best friend and rival newspaper worker turns up blue and stiff as a board in the women's bathroom-after they've had a less than civil confrontation. Ainsley's in the habit of memorializing the dead, not finding them. But now she's saddled with a motive for murder-killing to drum up obituaries in order to further her career in a dying newspaper business where everything is going digital. When another victim meets his maker with a connection to the first victim, Ainsley has to make nice with a hard ass, bombshell Detective who's dead set on closing the case or risk the calm of their cozy town. Ainsley's charming, ex-boyfriend turned roommate Gage Sullivan comes to her aid as they throw themselves into deadly research. Every obituary interview brings them that much closer to finding a killer connection. While fighting her new rep as a prime suspect, her matchmaking, Stepford mother is intent on keeping her daughter's dirty laundry under wraps and her sex addicted wealthy grandparents want to buy her way out of jail. Or at least help her learn how to make a shiv. None too thrilled with the idea of making friends with a cellmate named Betty the Bruiser, she'll wade knee-deep into a cesspool of the town's secrets, gossip, and lies. But with a wacky cast of characters hell-bent on keeping the peace, no bit of personal information is sacred. They have to find a killer-before Ainsley loses her freedom and her chance to make peace with a fate that scares her more than anything else in life.

After the death of her sister, Rose finds herself caught in a nefarious game against a stranger who wants nothing more than to watch her suffer. With her brother's wedding fast approaching, Rose must fight to discover the identity of her stalker in order to save those she loves and to uncover the secrets that have plagued the town for years.

Zelda wants to teach children English and 'find herself' in Kathmandu. Ian wants to get stoned and trek the Himalayas. Tommy wants to get rich by smuggling diamonds. How their stories collide will leave you on the edge of your seat!

"A cruise through history.....with murder on board" Set in the early 1900s Brittany never expected a simple cruise to the Caribbean to turn into something impossible. One moment, she was on a modern ship the next, she found herself in another time altogether. The year? The early 1900s. Elegant women in long frocks with cinched waists glided by, their hair styled in intricate fashions she'd only seen in history books. Men in pristine suits and polished top hats filled the halls. It was a scene from the past... and she was stuck in the middle of it. But shock turned to horror when the crowd suddenly parted, revealing a body lying face down on the polished floor. A murder. Confused, trapped, and with no way to return to her own time, Brittany makes a daring choice: if she wants answers and a chance to survive she'll have to play detective. © 2025 D.James All rights reserved This story is my original work. Please don't copy, repost, or claim it as your own. Ranked: #7 in historical mystery #1 in amateur sleuth

Disgraced physicist Shawn Ronin needs to keep solving problems. After his ivory tower life came crashing down around him, Shawn's compulsion to find hidden answers drove him to become a private investigator. Unfortunately, the career change doesn't end up straightening out his messy life or even net him much money. Instead, it just shines a light on how much more complicated human problems can be than anything found in a textbook. Presented with the opportunity to help another professor avoid a similar fate to his own, Shawn finds himself unable walk away. Returning to the university that forsook him, he uncovers more than just misconduct lurking in the ego-driven, high-achiever world where he used to thrive. None of Shawn's once Nobel Prize worthy papers can help him now. Can a man used to solving some of humanity's most complex problems learn to ask for help with his own?

Winifred Smith was adopted ten years ago by the man she now knows as her father. She has everything she could ever hope for - a caring brother and father, a nice house, a beautiful countryside home - but she is haunted by her past. Nightmares keep her from sleeping and hallucinations slowly eat away at her mind. Matters worsen when her hateful mother is found murdered after an argument with Winifred the previous night, and Winnie is immediately suspected. What's worse is, she can't remember anything. Will Winnie, her brother, and Timothy, a friend and perhaps something more, uncover the true murderer before the police take her?

Fellow sleuths. It's time once again to "exercise the little grey cells," as Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot would say, with a Dickens Station Mini Mystery. You can easily read today's mystery in under 7 minutes, and the resolution in under 6 minutes. That leaves you 2 minutes for your deductions and hypotheses. Child's play. Is it not? So, test your "little grey cells" against mine with The Case of the Telltale Tiles, A Dickens Station 15-Minute Mystery.

Meredith Gray is finally rebuilding her life - and not about to let a murder get in the way... I have a new (temporary) job and a new (potential) romance on the horizon. Life is looking up since that awful Christmas business - until my first date with gorgeous Rob the vet ends in us stumbling across a crime scene. With one of my friends a prime suspect in a murder and another benched from investigating, I'm going to do all I can to help clean up this mess - and keep the town in coffee and cookies while I do it.

I love this time of year, as the nights get longer and darker my thoughts turn, as I'm sure yours do too, to a terrible mishap or maybe a nice grizzly murder. It's such an inspiring time of year! But I do need cheering up too. I find the Christmas lights that appear in every High Street in every town make me smile. They also inspired this short story which I hope you will enjoy. It stars Caleb, ex-soldier and war hero, now a high street accountant, who doesn't have normal customers. They have a habit of getting caught up in murder and mishaps.

Witches and humans have always existed peacefully in Sweetland Cove... until now. Someone is killing humans and drawing unwanted attention to the supernatural residents of Sweetland Cove. Ava Rose just turned twenty-one, and with her birthday came a few surprises. One: she's a witch. Two: she's part owner of a magical bakery she never knew existed. Three: Someone wants her dead. The day Ava arrives in Sweetland Cove, murders begin occurring... Witches and wizards are quick to blame her, but Ava's aunts won't let the town they love turn against her. But murders follow Ava everywhere. Soon, she finds herself on the receiving end of the killer's mad spree. With a crazy wizarding sheriff who wants to lock her up, and an even crazier wizarding detective who wants to lock her whole family up, Ava must solve this case alone. But as the days pass and the only clues point to her, Ava starts to wonder if maybe the sheriff is right. Maybe she really is the killer. The only thing Ava knows for sure is that the witches of Sweetland are not happy with her. Especially those witches who have something to hide. And they all have something to hide. Can Ava stop the killer before they strike again... even if that killer is her?

Alianna Winter was getting used to the home life. She hadn't heard from Barnes or Fisher in months, and since nobody on Praed Street was planning on getting murdered anytime soon, Allie had assumed her services as a detective would not be required. Until, one hot summer's day, that peace is shattered by the arrival of an unexpected guest. Someone who everyone especially Allie herself, didn't expect to see again. -The sixth book in the Alianna Winter series. Her earlier cases: 1.Death At Scarlet Leaf 2.The Merryweather Jewel Thefts 3.A House On The Hill 4.Murder Is At Hand 5.The Incident Concerning The Alsatian Dog Her later cases: 7.Madame Juror 8.A Murder Shall Commence 9.The Impossible Poisoning 10.The Final Endgame The Toby Smart Spin-offs: What Makes A Detective What Breaks A Detective