Marriage And Murder

The Devil is in the details . . . Cletus Byron Winston wishes to marry Jennifer Anne Donner-Sylvester (aka The Banana Cake Queen) posthaste! He's spent the last year wanting nothing more than for the celebrations to be brief, libations flowing, and BYOB (bring your own blueberries). His future mother-in-law has other plans, plans his intended has been willing to indulge, much to Cletus's chagrin. Therefore, so must he. To a point. But truth be told, he wouldn't mind if the meddlesome matriarch disappeared, at least until the nuptials are over. On the night of Cletus and Jenn's long-awaited engagement party, just when the surly schemer is of a mind to take matters into his own hands, a shocking event upends everyone's best laid plans and sends the small hamlet of Green Valley into complete disarray. The final months leading up to Cletus and Jenn's matrimonial bliss are plagued with chaos and uncertainty. Will Cletus and Jenn finally make it to the altar? Or will murder and mayhem derail their happily-ever-after? And most importantly, who done it? 'Marriage and Murder' is the second book in the cozy mystery series Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries. It is best read after Winston Brothers #3, 'Beard Science' (which can be read as a standalone) and Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries #1, 'Engagement and Espionage.'

Frances Wynn, the American-born Countess of Harleigh, returns in Dianne Freeman’s charming, lighthearted mystery series set in Victorian England, and finds her wedding day overshadowed by murder . . . On the eve of her marriage to George Hazelton, Frances has a great deal more on her mind than flowers and seating arrangements. The Connors and the Bainbridges, two families of American robber barons, have taken up residence in London, and their bitter rivalry is spilling over into the highest social circles. At the request of her brother, Alonzo, who is quite taken with Miss Madeline Connor, Frances has invited the Connor family to her wedding. Meanwhile, Frances’s mother has invited Mr. Bainbridge, and Frances fears the wedding may end up being newspaper-worthy for all the wrong reasons. On the day itself, Frances is relieved to note that Madeline’s father is not among the guests assembled at the church. The reason for his absence, however, turns out to be most unfortunate: Mr. Connor is found murdered in his home. More shocking still, Alonzo is caught at the scene, holding the murder weapon. Powerful and ruthless, Connor appears to have amassed a wealth of enemies alongside his fortune. Frances and George agree to put their wedding trip on hold to try and clear Alonzo’s name. But there are secrets to sift through, not just in the Bainbridge and Connor families, but also in their own. And with a killer determined to evade discovery at any cost—even if it means taking another life—Frances’s first days as a newlywed will be perilous indeed . . .

Clean Sweep On the morning of December 30, 1978, in Littleton, Colorado, Robert Spangler lured his wife Nancy into the basement with the promise of a "surprise." He then shot her in the head with a .38 handgun. Going upstairs, he shot his teenage children, Susan and David. David was slow in dying, so his father finished him off by smothering him with a pillow. Cover Up Spangler had cunningly framed the crime scene, making it appear that his wife had shot their children and then herself. Now he was free to marry his new love, Sharon Cooper. A former high school athlete, he hiked the Grand Canyon with Sharon, who chronicled the trip in a book dedicated to her "soul mate," Spangler. But their happiness was short-lived. The marriage ended in a costly, messy divorce. Confession In April, 1993, when Spangler's third marriage to 59-year-old aerobics instructor Donna Sundling went sour, he took her hiking in the Grand Canyon and pushed her off a 140-foot drop to her death. In 1994, when ex-wife Sharon committed suicide, Spangler became the focus of intense police scrutiny. Wracked with brain cancer, he told all to investigators in the fall of 2000, detailing his shocking serial saga--the story of a two-time widower. . .and a four-time killer.

Chronicles the efforts of John Gray to marry off his daughter Mary to the heir of Deer Lick, Missouri's, wealthiest family, until the appearance of a stranger not only derails Gray's plans but also leads to murder.

What's a witch to do when the meanest man in the county drops dead in his coleslaw during her shift at the local barbecue joint? Noelle does what any good Southern girl would do: she flicks a wrist to clean up the mess, then thanks the stars for doing the world a favor. But that's just the beginning. She has the Magical Oversight Committee on her back because she can't keep her unruly little sister in line and the hunky new city-slicker sheriff would like to take her to dinner, except he suspects her of murder. To top it off, her possessed miniature donkey is being particularly calamitous and the old hens at the local beauty parlor are laying bets on her love life. A skydiving best friend and a bossy, living-impaired aunt become the least of her worries when the killer decides to bump up the plan by bumping her off. Can she figure it out in time to save all that she holds dear, or will Noelle be next on the list of folks who've turned up dead? If you like laugh-out-loud southern wit, magic, and murder, you'll fall in love with this witchy cozy mystery series!

The account of the murder of Diane Whitmore Pikul describes how her wealthy and violent Wall Street husband murdered her and then won custody of her children while under indictment for her murder. “A young mother, so full of promise, is killed by the ‘perfect’ husband. Sheila Weller takes a domestic tragedy and reveals every nuance so that we see the compelling anatomy of a murder in slow motion, from the dynamics of a marriage to the crime itself, to its chilling aftermath. Powerful reporting of an unforgettable story.”—Vincent Bugliosi

When Jenny Cain's future husband, policeman Geof Bushfield becomes disillusioned by all the domestic violence occurring in Port Frederick between husbands and wives, it is up to Jenny to help Geof find the answer. Jenny Cain and police detective Geof Bushfield already had pre-nuptial jitters. Then a sudden wave of domestic violence rocked placid Port Frederick—in just two weeks, the husbands of three battered wives were shot dead. Homicide was all too familiar to Geof, but this was enough to make him want to quit the force. Except that none of the wives confessed—and none of the guns were found. As Geof searched for clues, Jenny uncovered a dangerous secret—a murderous obsession that threatened to tear Port Frederick apart!

When Charlie Geddis's wife Barbara chucks him out, he's more than happy to leave... But it turns out that bachelor life is not what it is cracked up to be, and soon he yearns for the life he once wanted to flee. But things have changed, as Charlie discovers when he lets himself into his former home and is confronted by a tall, naked man. Malcolm Palmer is a rich, charismatic, successful businessman - all the things Charlie is not. As his reporting career at local paper The Explorer hits the skids, he turns to drink. Then one day, Malcolm suggests they talk man to man. He offers Charlie a sum of money for his house, more than it is worth, claiming he and Barbara want to be fair to Charlie. But Charlie will not let his family home go so easily. And he smells a rat, for property in the Irish town of Ballymenace is not sought-after. Walking drunkenly home from the meeting, he sees men in balaclavas club a red headed man, and throw him into the pond. But when nobody is found, Charlie's not sure if he saw it, or dreamed it. Of course, that doesn't stop him writing about it, which infuriates his editor and mate Trevor to no end. Things are looking bad for poor Charlie, when the red headed man falls out of his wardrobe, and onto his bedroom floor. But Charlie won't give up, as he thinks the secret to getting Barbara back is to expose Malcolm's plan to ruin Ballymenace by building a new, modern town. Soon Charlie is being tied up naked to his co-worker, Jill, who has never been his biggest fan, attacked by a thug undergoing a sex change, and then, just when things are good and crazy, Ireland's own U2 shows up. With all the humour of Marian Keyes, Marriage Is Murder will have you laughing and crying for poor Charlie Geddis in equal measures. Robert McCracken has a PhD in Food Chemistry and has worked for thirty years in research and development relating to issues of global food safety. He has published many papers in scientific journals, and acted as both peer reviewer and editor. His other books include An Early Grave and Lethal Dose