A Perfect Manhattan Murder

Thrilled that their playwright friend's Broadway debut was a rousing success, Nic and Nigel are trying to enjoy the A-list after-party with their pal Harper. Unfortunately, all the champagne and repartee in the world aren't enough to overlook the churlish behavior of Harper's theater-critic husband, Dan. Nic is shocked the next morning when she learns that Dan' been murdered. Nigel thinks the world may be a better place without him. Still, Harper is their friend and they're intent on helping her any way they can. Invigorated by the thrill of the hunt and fortified by a flood of cocktails, catching the killer becomes the Martinis' top priority...with their behemoth Bullmastiff Skippy along for the ride. Includes cocktail recipes! Praise: "It's impossible to resist Kiely's charming trio of husband, wife, and dog. The manner is effervescent and amusing, and the mystery surprisingly good."—Kirkus Reviews "In another amusing take-off on the Thin Man series, A Perfect Manhattan Murder features Nic and her husband, Nigel Martini, as witty, drink-loving amateur sleuths in a Broadway murder mystery sure to leave you shaken (with laughter), if not stirred."—Mystery Scene "A smart, sassy, sophisticated mystery with snappy dialogue and a fast-moving plot."—Suspense Magazine

When competing restaurants open in Cabot Cove, Jessica must track down who killed one of the chefs.

The Manhattan in the title sometimes refers to the suave part of New York and sometimes to its prairie twin in Kansas. The stories are equally diverse. Bull writes tales of children outwitting their elders in the name of what's right in turbulent Bleeding Kansas; of card sharks, clever dames and tough guys out on the town in the flush days of post-World War II; of an anguished husband and another furious father thwarted while seeking revenge; and a crime writer who really can't handle rejection.

FRAMED? Jessica’s art-viewing Italian vacation is interrupted by a pair of gunmen who steal a painting and kill a retired police officer in the process. Agreeing to help identify the crooks should they be caught, Jessica returns to Cabot Cove and puts the shocking experience behind her. Months later, Wayne Simsbury, the stepson of an old friend, comes to her for help. Wayne’s father has been shot to death. Not only has Wayne’s stepmother, Marlise, been charged with the murder, but Wayne himself claims to have witnessed the crime. Unsure what to do, he has sought out Jessica—the one person his stepmother had always claimed could help with any problem. Now, on top of a seemingly open-and-shut murder case to crack in Chicago, Jessica finds herself back in Italy helping the police make their case against the art thieves—and she faces a looming danger that may connect the Italian killers to the fate of her old friend....

“She invades the turf of John le Carré. . . . It is very good.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review Barrie Mayer, a beautiful Washington literary agent, arrives at London’s Heathrow Airport with plenty of time to make her flight to Budapest, where she’s planning to meet an author. The airport is crowded, but it’s not a scheduling problem that keeps Barrie from getting off the ground. The doctors call her death a heart attack, but her best friend, Collette Cahill, has her doubts. A CIA agent herself, Collette knows that Barrie was carrying more than just contracts to Hungary. Then Collette gets the order from above: Find out what happened to Barrie. And, more important, what happened to her briefcase. So Collette sets off on a search that will take her from London to Washington to the Caribbean, from restaurants to psychiatrists’ offices to bedrooms. After all—even CIA agents lose their hearts every now and then. But Collette may lose her life. . . . “Her most far-ranging and, arguably, her best.”—New Woman

In Golden Boy, New York Times bestselling author John Glatt tells the true story of Thomas Gilbert Jr., the handsome and charming New York socialite accused of murdering his father, a Manhattan millionaire and hedge fund founder. By all accounts, Thomas Gilbert Jr. led a charmed life. The son of a wealthy financier, he grew up surrounded by a loving family and all the luxury an Upper East Side childhood could provide: education at the elite Buckley School and Deerfield Academy, summers in a sprawling seaside mansion in the Hamptons. With his striking good lucks, he moved with ease through glittering social circles and followed in his father’s footsteps to Princeton. But Tommy always felt different. The cracks in his façade began to show in warning signs of OCD, increasing paranoia, and—most troubling—an inexplicable hatred of his father. As his parents begged him to seek psychiatric help, Tommy pushed back by self-medicating with drugs and escalating violence. When a fire destroyed his former best friend’s Hamptons home, Tommy was the prime suspect—but he was never charged. Just months later, he arrived at his parents’ apartment, calmly asked his mother to leave, and shot his father point-blank in the head. Journalist John Glatt takes an in-depth look at the devastating crime that rocked Manhattan’s upper class. With exclusive access to sources close to Tommy, including his own mother, Glatt constructs the agonizing spiral of mental illness that led Thomas Gilbert Jr. to the ultimate unspeakable act.

"You know what makes that Perfect, don't you?" he asked, nodding at my drink."What's that?""The lemon peel. Believe it or not, I've been served perfect Manhattans that didn't have even the thought of a lemon in them, let alone a lemon peel.""Hard to believe you can find such places in a society that calls itself civilized," I said, smiling.

Special agent George Pritchard was nobody's favorite at the FBI. But when his murdered body is found, agents Ross Lizenby and Christine Saksis look for answers--only to find that the bureau wants questions kept to a suspicious minimum....