Danger Before Dahlias

Payton’s battle of the bands should mark the end-of-summer celebration and the engagement of her best friends, but finding a dead body in the town square ruins those plans. Madis has the misfortune of finding the councilman’s dead body beside her landscaping truck, but she’s much more unsettled by the fact someone used her shovel to murder him. Randy Gowen leaves a life with more twists and surprises than anyone can expect, but it’s anyone’s guess who could have clocked him in the head with a gardening tool. Ex-wives unhappy about how he spent his money? Rivals competing in the local election? Angry business owners who disliked his decisions on the council? After the only witness to the crime faces similar danger—and death—Madis worries that time is running out to find the killer, especially when a grand gesture of a proposal can’t be delayed again.

A stunning guide to growing, harvesting, and arranging gorgeous dahlia blooms from celebrated farmer-florist and New York Times bestselling author Erin Benzakein, founder of Floret Flower Farm. World-renowned flower farmer and floral designer Erin Benzakein reveals all the secrets to growing, cultivating, and arranging gorgeous dahlias. These coveted floral treasures come in a dazzling range of colors, sizes, and forms, with enough variety for virtually every garden space and personal preference, making them one of the most beloved flowers for arrangements. In these pages, readers will discover: • Expert advice for planting, harvesting, and arranging garden-fresh dahlias • A simple-to-follow overview of the dahlia classification system • An A–Z guide with photos and descriptions of more than 350 varieties • Step-by-step how-to's for designing show-stopping dahlia bouquets that elevate any occasion Expert Author: Erin Benzakein's gorgeous flowers are celebrated throughout the world. Her book Floret Farm's A Year in Flowers was a New York Times bestseller and her first book, Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden, won the American Horticultural Society Book Award. Filled with Wisdom: Overflowing with hundreds of lush photographs and invaluable advice, DISCOVERING DAHLIAS is an essential resource for gardeners and a must-have for anyone who loves flowers, including flower lovers, avid and novice gardeners, floral designers, florists, small farmers, stylists, and designers.

All Madis Harrah wants is to finish her first season of landscaping without any more drama. No more persnickety customers, no more hassle of organizing invoices, and no more equipment hiccups. It’s almost fall, so it should be easy to wrap up her debut year of business without a headache, right? Wrong. As a finale, she begins work on a large estate just outside the small town of Payton. The owner is a former classmate, and while it’s great reuniting with a familiar face, it’s not so nice to discover the property vandalized. This isn’t a one-time incident, either, and when Madis’s project is destroyed, it seems the end of the season will only be soiled with mischief. Can she help identify the vandal before she loses the job? Get the entire series in one spot! Included in this set are Ring Gone 'Round the Roses, Mischief Over Mums, Tumultuous Time to Tulips, Protection by Petunias, Hold Up Hydrangeas, and Danger by Dahlias.

Two months into her position as Assistant Principal Paul’s secretary, Naomi Front enjoys the feeling of finally having a solid job and a new life away from her ex. Ella, her teen, has a best friend and is finding her place. Their neighbors, Barbara and Ingrid, have adopted them as family. Life should be good, but work is not. Dealing with faculty bickering and irate parents nit-picking, Naomi wonders if she wants to keep this job. Add in the fact the school is preparing for yet another levy, and financial headaches are thrown into the mix. When Naomi is sent to the archives in the basement, she finds the body of Tom Werner. All-around jerk and quick to temper, the baseball coach doesn’t seem like a person anyone in Fayette will miss. The school is closed until Chief Mooney can solve the case. Unlike the last time Naomi found a corpse, she’s asked to help with this mystery. As someone who works the front office, she’s an insider this time. Being included doesn’t mean it’s easier. With a runaway witness and foiled evidence, it seems impossible to figure out who killed Tom. Ella, Barbara, and Ingrid join forces to sleuth their way through this whodunit, racing against time so classes can be resumed. Despite their team effort, they wonder if they’ll find the killer or lose more time down dead-ends of old drama that should remain in the past.

When Naomi Front moves her teenage daughter, Ella, to the small town of Fayette, all she hopes for is a new start after an ugly divorce. But the mother-and-daughter duo have a rocky start on day one—finding the corpse of the local busybody in their storage shed. Welcomed into their neighbors’ house when the police arrive, Naomi and Ella quickly learn that the victim on their property is not likely to be missed. Gossiping over Earl Grey and biscuits, Barbara and Ingrid spill the tea about Fayette’s notoriously nosy citizen—Yasmin LeFluer. She never knew how to mind her own business and was even quicker to make enemies. Among her ex-husband, her sibling, and her friends, it seems the list of suspects will run long. Adjusting to a new home is hard enough. Faced with a murder victim having been shoved into her shed, though, Naomi struggles to get her footing. To make matters worse, Ella seems too intrigued, teaming up with Barbara and Ingrid, both to learn more about Fayette and how Yasmin wound up dead in their shed. As the case drags on, more danger lurks in the shadows. It’s plenty to worry Naomi, and it’s fodder for her ex-husband to stir up more trouble about Ella’s custody. With the help of their tea-loving neighbors, can Naomi and Ella find Yasmin’s killer? If they don’t, there’s no telling if their new take on life will be over before it truly begins.

"As gripping and twisted as a James Ellroy novel." - Ian Rankin "A masterpiece of literary biography." - David Peace The first critical biography of a titan of American crime fiction. Love Me Fierce In Danger is the story of James Ellroy, one of the most provocative and singular figures in American literature. The so-called “Demon Dog of Crime Fiction,” Ellroy enjoys a celebrity status and notoriety that few authors can match. However, traumas from the past have shadowed his literary success. When Ellroy was ten years old, his mother was brutally murdered. The crime went unsolved, and her death marked the start of a long and turbulent road for Ellroy that has included struggles with alcoholism, drug addiction, homelessness, and jail time. In tracing his life and career, Steven Powell reveals how Ellroy's upbringing in LA, always on the periphery of Hollywood, had a profound and dark influence on his work as a novelist. Using new sources, Powell also uncovers Ellroy's family secrets, including the mysterious first marriage of his mother Jean Ellroy, eighteen years before her murder. At its heart, Love Me Fierce in Danger is the story of how Ellroy overcame his demons to become the bestselling and celebrated author of such classics as The Black Dahlia and LA Confidential. Informed by interviews with friends, family, peers, and literary and Hollywood collaborators, as well as extensive conversations with Ellroy himself, Love Me Fierce In Danger pulls back the curtain on an enigmatic figure who has courted acclaim and controversy with equal zealotry.