Edna Allen’s Monday goes from mundane to murderous when she opens the front door to find the love of her life standing there. A man she thought had died years ago… after being accused of murder. John Collins is back, bringing with him a charming smile, a dog named Havoc, a second chance at love…and a threat of death. As Edna relives their summer romance, where more than the weather was hot and steamy, she falls in love all over again and evokes memories filled with drama, passion, action, and murder. $0.99 on Kindle.
Just Another Maniac Monday
November 24, 2015 By
Murder in Calico Gold
July 13, 2015 By
Kelly and her husband, Sheriff Mike, take a trip to the small town of Calico Gold, California, after his elderly Aunt Agnes calls and tells him she needs his help and expertise.
The day after Mike finds out Aunt Agnes has made him the sole beneficiary of her large estate, including the Robertson Ranch and the beautiful Queen Anne house on it, she’s murdered.
Aunt Agnes was revered by many of the town residents, but she had her enemies as well. The list of suspects includes a local judge, a real estate developer, a nearby rancher next whose cattle desperately need water from Aunt Agnes’ property, a Vietnam vet who’s recently been evicted from the shack on her property, Mike’s newly discovered cousin, and Sheriff Mike himself, since he has the most to gain from her death.
Join Kelly, Mike, and their dogs Rebel and Lady, as they work to clear Mike’s name and bring the murderer to justice. $0.99 on Kindle.
Murder and Brandy Boy
June 8, 2015 By
Liz Lucas, the owner of the Red Cedar Spa, hires an intern to help her prepare family style meals served to guests at the lodge. Only days before graduation, his car crashes over a cliff and into the ocean. Was it suicide or murder?
Liz, along with her trusty dog, Winston, sets out to find the killer. Was it the high school computer genius, Nerdy Birdie? Brent, who was going to Stanford on a football scholarship? Kaitlin, the quarterback’s girlfriend? Clamhammer, the gangster from San Francisco’s Chinatown? Or Nerdy’s mother, the president of the Women Whose Husbands Left Them Club?
Who would have thought Brandy Boy, the lovable but lazy St. Bernard who’s the mascot of the Red Cedar Spa, would become a nationally recognized hero? $0.99 on Kindle.
Raining Men and Corpses
June 1, 2015 By
Graduate student Raina Sun is trying to keep her head above water as the bills roll in when her dashing college adviser cons her out of several months of rent. But her quest to get her money back sets into a motion a streak of bad luck.
First, she finds the dead body of an ex-lover and becomes the prime suspect to his murder. The only man she ever loved reappears as the lead detective to the case and wants to reignite their passion (or at least he’s sending out smoke signals).
Her life careens out of control as her grandma moves into Raina’s postage-stamp-sized apartment, dragging a red suitcase and trouble. Raina summons her sleuthing skills to extract herself before things get dicey. There is no place for an amateur when it comes to murder.
For readers who like cozy mysteries, quirky characters, and a dash of humor. $0.99 on Kindle.
Family Matters
February 27, 2015 By
Think your family’s dysfunctional? Meet Gracie Andersen’s and the peaceful farming community of Deer Creek. Gracie has her hands full–a new business and trying to get her life on track after the loss of her husband and unborn child. When an odd gift from her troubled uncle thrusts her into an investigation of a cousin’s tragic death 20 years ago, Gracie meets with opposition from family and friends. What really happened that rainy, October night when her cousin was killed by a hit-and-run driver? As pieces of the truth are wrenched from the past, her new business, Milky Way Kennels teeters on the edge of disaster. And then death strikes again. Someone is determined Gracie won’t find the truth. With Haley, her black Labrador by her side, Gracie doggedly pursues the trail of clues to unravel the mystery of her cousin Charlotte’s untimely death. $0.99 on Kindle.
Carbs and Cadavers: A Supper Club Mystery
January 31, 2015 By
James Henry, a kind-hearted professor of English literature, is forced to move back home to Quincy’s Gap, a tiny town in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, to care for his aging father. Shortly after moving into a house that hasn’t changed since his childhood, the overweight, divorced, book-loving cheese puff addict accepts a position as head librarian and joins a supper club for dieters who call themselves the “Flab Five.” Avoiding carbs is almost impossible in this deep-fried, all-you-can-eat Southern town, so the mysterious death of a young and healthy athlete provides the perfect distraction. While trying to cut carbs and avoid temptations, James and his fellow supper club members work together to shed pounds and track down a killer.
*The Supper Club mysteries, which were originally published under the name J.B. Stanley, have been completely rewritten for an improved reading experience. $0.99 on Kindle.
Mystery: “Mark of the Loon”
December 23, 2014 By
Madison is a skilled property “flipper” who renovates distressed homes in addition to her busy real estate sales career. She struggles with the inability to put down roots years after the sudden death of her beloved parents. Madison and her three wise, hilarious friends all wonder if she uses her busy, work-centric lifestyle as an excuse to avoid connection with anyone but them.
Madison is keen to buy a fabulous stone cottage in the country and she nixes her budding relationship with Coleman Welles to do it. But once the renovation begins, the property’s long-buried secret threatens to derail everything. Can her friends help solve the mystery?
Cozy Mystery: Ardis Cole Series
October 18, 2014 By
Outside a small village near the Valley of the Kings, archaeologist Ardis Cole arrives in Egypt to help excavate a tomb recently discovered by her mentor, Jane Darvin. When Jane is murdered, Ardis must assume responsibility for the project.
With the help of mysterious Blake Lydon, she must unravel the tomb’s mystery—an ancient secret concerning two miniature obelisks of gold hidden by Queen Hatshepsut’s love, Senmut, over 2000 years ago.
As Ardis uncovers the ancient mystery, she finds herself drawn into a modern action tale of hatred, murder, and revenge.
A Book to Die For
May 3, 2014 By
For fans of David Rosenfelt, Dean Koontz, Agatha Christie and Lawrence Block’s Burglar Books.From the author of the Number One Cozy Mystery, A View to Die For, comes A Book to Die For, a mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Jake Martin is not your ordinary sleuth. He’s an ordinary guy with an extraordinary dog. This time the story takes place in the foothills of Denver. Jake is accused of manslaughter and he has to prove the accident was really murder. Along the way he encounters a poaching ring and falls in love with a beautiful game warden. The characters are memorable and the plot is multi-layered. It keeps the reader guessing who dun-it until the very end.
“Richard Houston is an author who understands the keys to unlocking a reader’s interest from page one… Now, retired, he lives in Missouri where he has built a home by the water and writes books – his first outing being the Jacob Martin mystery series, of which this is the second installment (of what one hopes will be a continuing saga!)… This book, A BOOK TO DIE FOR takes up where A VIEW TO DIE FOR left off – the characters of Jake and his loyal dog Fred are on a new mission…” By Grady Harp HALL OF FAME TOP 50 REVIEWER
“I reviewed the author’s first mystery and found it a fresh take on the genre with much wry humor. The current one is a welcome follow up. It has one of those incredibly complex plots that had me scratching my head, and a large cast of supporting characters that I had to make notes to keep track of. The main character is Jake Martin, a divorced, unemployed software engineer and writer who is down on his luck, chronically short of money, drives an old car, and lives in a cabin in Colorado with a dog named Fred. Fred is amazing, but more about him later…” By Henry Simpson, Author of the Joe Costa Mysteries.
“Richard Houston has woven a fantastic tale full of mystery, love, deception, and of course- suspense. His style reminds me of the old detective novels I was addicted to as a youngster, the only difference being that in Houston’s book, I didn’t solve the mystery; I had to wait for the big reveal…” —By Heather S
Undercover In High Heels
April 30, 2014 By
New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Kindle Bestselling series!
“Gemma Halliday’s Maddie Springer is like the west coast version of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum – only more stylish!”
– LG Book Club
Secret affairs, hunky gardeners, and housewives desperate enough to bare it all… welcome to Magnolia Lane, TV’s hottest new prime time show. A place where L.A. shoe designer Maddie Springer should be in fashion heaven. That is until the body of a rising young starlet is found dead on the show’s set. Now it’s up to Maddie to sift through a leading lady with a secret, an actor on the verge of a nervous breakdown, a sexy cyber scandal, and one tabloid reporter who’ll stop at nothing to get the story of the century. Not to mention Maddie’s hot-cold relationship with the case’s familiar lead detective, Jack Ramirez. In a world where secrets, lies, and deception can earn you an Oscar, Maddie plays the role of a lifetime to catch Hollywood’s hottest killer. But if she doesn’t watch her step, Maddie’s fifteen minutes of fame just may be her last.
Screaming To Be Solved
April 4, 2014 By
Marxie Vaughn becomes a widow at twenty-five years old when her police officer husband, Evan, is tragically killed—reduced to ashes in an explosion in the line of duty in their small Georgia town. Without even a body to bury, Marxie is left to deal with the sorrow of his abrupt and brutal end. Seeking to start anew, she packs up and moves east to Savannah.
But when Detective Grant Carter knocks on her door two years after the accident, Marxie’s carefully rebuilt world turns upside down once more. The grim detective gives Marxie unimaginable news: Evan’s body has been found in a nearby canal.
Desperate for answers, Marxie embarks on a fascinating, complex and heart-wrenching journey to find out exactly what happened to the man she loved. And though the intriguing detective may be working under ulterior motives, he puts his whole being into helping the young widow bring closure to a mystery that haunts her every waking moment. Together, Grant and Marxie work to unearth a secret that runs as deep and murky as Savannah’s canals.
