The Motel Murder

In a grand Chicago hotel, a mysterious death sets a puzzling whodunnit in motion When a New York banker is discovered dead from an apparent morphine overdose in a Chicago hotel, the circumstances surrounding his untimely end are suspicious to say the least. The dead man had switched rooms the night before with a stranger he met and drank with in the hotel bar. And before that, he’d registered under a fake name at the hotel, told his drinking companion a fake story about his visit to the Windy City, and seemingly made no effort to contact the actress, performing in a local show, to whom he was married. All of which is more than enough to raise eyebrows among those who discovered the body. Enter theatre critic and amateur sleuth Riley Blackwood, a friend of the hotel’s owner, who endeavors to untangle this puzzling tale as discreetly as possible. But when another detective working the case, whose patron is unknown, is thrown from a yacht deck during a party by an equally unknown assailant, the investigation makes a splash among Chicago society. And then several of the possible suspects skip town, leaving Blackwood struggling to determine their guilt or innocence—and their whereabouts. Reissued for the first time in over eighty years, The Great Hotel Murder is a devilishly complex whodunnit with a classical aristocratic setting, sure to please Golden Age mystery fans of all stripes. In 1935, the story was adapted for a film of the same name.

Stella “Granny” Reid’s youth wasn’t the only thing changed by time in tiny, nondescript McGill, Georgia. Except even back in the 1980s, the Southern town still had a way of attracting downright dubious characters—some with a talent for murder. As quirky as McGill’s residents can be, they usually welcome society’s oddballs and outcasts into the community with open arms. But the three members of the Lone White Wolf Pack are a different story. Townsfolk aren’t feeling the least bit neighborly toward the gang widely believed to have orchestrated several hate crimes in the area. When the group’s leader Billy Ray Sonner is found dead in an abandoned motel, most assume it was the result of an accidental overdose. An unfortunate yet predictable end for a man who lived the way Billy did. Only Stella and the sheriff have witnessed the crime scene in person, and suspect something more disturbing happened in that ramshackle room . . . While Stella wades through a flood of potential culprits, one thing becomes clear—this wasn’t an impulsive act of revenge. There’s a sophisticated killer on the loose, and Stella must expose deep-rooted fears and dark pasts if she wants to crack a carefully planned murder and stop McGill from descending into chaos.

The "Motel Murder" is a murder mystery set in the imaginary small town of Seminole Pines, North Florida, a rural farming community surrounded by cornfields, tobacco plantations, and tens of thousands of acres of Southern pines and palmettos. Deputy sheriff Denise "Midge" Sumpter, a young African-American sleuth who has a keen eye for detail and a knack for stitching together the details of a crime, tries to solve a murder that occurred in her grandmother's motel. The victim was both clubbed on the head, strangled, and stabbed. But no murder weapon can be found, and the only man seen earlier at the scene of the crime swears he didn't do it. Among other confusing clues are an unfired snub-nose revolver left in the motel room, a motel safe full of crystal methamphetamine, a torn piece of motel stationery with three mysterious numbers written on it, a bloody footprint belonging to an unidentified man, and a missing girl who checked into the motel with the victim but seems to have vanished into thin air. Among other characters Midge meets or works with are her partner Jake, who is gay, the sheriff of Wassahatchka County, a six-foot seven inch giant she calls Pee-Wee, a barbecue cook who cuts his meat with a machete and keeps a Confederate flag pinned to the wall of his restaurant, a meth-producer who has his works, and a still, out in the woods, and a local addict who proves to be far more articulate and helpful than one would think. A host of other characters you will not easily forget populate the novel. Midge, who loves Cajun food and fast cars, makes do with a ten-year-old Crown Victoria patrol car cast off from the Florida Highway Patrol, while her partner Jake, who usually mans a speed trap and has been in the department several years longer than Midge, drives a brand new Dodge Challenger Hellcat-the department's newest piece of "technology." The Hellcat, which Midge drools over, becomes the nearest mechanical thing to a character in the story, and by the end of the tale, it proves its worth. Adding to the charm of the novel, Midge, who grew up in Seminole Pines and speaks in the local dialect, tells the story in first person. The dialect is very easy to read, but it's authentic spoken English as you would hear it were you to visit Northern Florida. At times, the language gets a little salty, but Midge tells the tale accurately and honestly in the real language of the place. Coming soon is the second novel in the Midge Sumpter series, "The Indian Mound Murder." A professor of anthropology at a nearby university who is an expert in Florida's Paleo-Indians, is found dead in an exploratory trench dug into a local mound that is perhaps twelve to thirteen thousand years old-dating to the earliest era of human habitation. Only, the dead professor was supposed to be at another dig site 250 miles south, and no one can account for how he got where he has been found. None of the people working at the mound, neither the site manager, another local paleontologist, nor any of the four graduate students working with her, know how he got there-or who killed him. The site has some curious features, including cigarette butts stuck filter-end-first into the mound, empty beer cans strewn around, and local legends about spirits that inhabit the place. Once again, Midge, her partner Jake, and Sheriff Pee-Wee Marion, have their hands full trying to figure out who killed the victim. This time, the characters include an ex-Army Ranger Captain who is a woman, two ex-Army Special Ops personnel, a local hermit who lives in a shack entirely made out of abandoned or recycled lumber, a local hardware store clerk who was a schoolmate of Denise, and the dead professor's lover, another anthropologist who was supposed to be with the dead man the night he died. Midge's Crown Vic is back, as is Jake's Challenger Hellcat, and Pee-Wee's Chevy Suburban.

A hotel clerk prone to panic attacks turns amateur detective in this elegant and atmospheric murder mystery. If you want to spend a night amid the luxury and charm of the early 20th century, book a room at Hotel 1911. You'll find 28-year-old Ivy Nichols behind the reception desk. The hotel is Ivy's only link to the family that abandoned her when she was a small child. Now, plagued by panic attacks, she pedals her sea-green Schwinn bicycle to work every evening, hoping desperately to hold on to her job. When wealthy, imperious Ms. Swain arrives at the hotel and belittles Ivy, the young woman seeks consolation in the welcoming kitchen of George, the hotel's chef. Despite her tormentor's barbs, she dutifully informs George that Ms. Swain has a deadly allergy to shellfish. So when Ms. Swain collapses at dinner and dies, the police suspect that the chef made a tragic, inexcusable error. Desperate to save George's career, Ivy sets out sleuthing. She learns that numerous people in and around the hotel had motives to contaminate Ms. Swain's plate. Among them are Jeffrey Swain, the victim's son and heir; painter Rose Jewett; and British expat Hemal Sandeep. Even after the police find traces of shellfish in George's kitchen, Ivy is determined to clear her friend's name. But the stress of the investigation, in a hotel filled with suspects, threatens to precipitate another terrifying panic attack...or something more deadly.

Detective Mary Joe Court sleeps with a shotgun beside her bed and a lovable bullmastiff at her feet. For the past twelve years, she's hidden from a nightmarish past, but with every passing day, her scars fade and her heart grows lighter. Now, for the first time in her life, she looks forward to her future. She's happy. Then she finds the body. Someone shot the victim in her chest and left her to die in a cheap motel. Joe knew her well. She grew up with her. They were sisters, of a sort. Twelve years ago, the victim put a gangster in prison. Now that gangster's out and he's looking to settle scores--Joe included. Joe has fought to leave her past behind. Now she has to face it or lose everything she cares about. Because the killer hunting her will tear apart her carefully constructed life piece by piece until there's nothing left. Unless Joe gets him first...

A revolutionary, highly charged look at the mind and life through the postmodern concepts of culture and voice. A challenging, but rewarding read, and valuable experience for readers from all backgrounds. This product is intended to be enjoyed.

A gifted and knowledgeable writer . . . engaging and readable' Financial Times Melissa Craig has taken time away from writing bestselling mysteries to script a murder play for an amateur drama group. 'Murder with a giggle' is how she thinks of it. But no one is laughing when a cast member dies in the cellar of the old Cotswold Heyshill Manor Hotel where the play is to be produced. Persuaded by the manager to investigate, Melissa finds . . . nothing. No well-ordered clues, no sure suspects, just lots of tension. Then she chances upon a vital discovery in the hotel's parking lot, and everything begins to fall into place. This isn't a matter of "murderous plots and murky deeds, all in rhyming couplets" but a death-defying journey along a trail of crime on an international scale.

In this star-studded sequel to Murder at the Universe, Daniel Edward Craig pokes good-humored fun at the celebrity-crazed Los Angeles culture. Dedicated hotelier Trevor Lambert takes a job at Hotel Cinema, a multi-million dollar rejuvenation of an Old Hollywood motor inn. It's a fabulous opening party until Tinseltown's hottest star, Chelsea Fricks, takes a fatal dive from her penthouse balcony. Was it a reckless publicity stunt or did fame drive her to suicide? Chelsea's stab wounds tell another story. Suddenly Hotel Cinema is the setting of a hilarious Hollywood murder mystery, starring Chelsea's former pit bull publicist; a star-struck detective; tasteless tabloid reporters; and Trevor's incompetent boss, who breaks every rule in the hotel handbook. Cristal champagne is flowing. Business is booming. But when the hotel staff are targeted as murder suspects, the party turns into a publicity nightmare.