Arsenic and Old Lace is a masterful blend of dark comedy and classic theatre. This hilarious play by Joseph Kesselring follows the eccentric Brewster family, who are anything but ordinary. The story centers on Teddy Brewster, who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt and is often found "charging" upstairs or digging "locks for the Panama Canal" in the basement.

Living with Teddy are his two elderly aunts, who harbor a bizarre secret involving the hand-dug "locks" in the basement. The return of their "disagreeable" brother Jonathan, who has undergone plastic surgery, adds another layer of intrigue as he plots with Dr. Einstein to set up an operating room for criminals.

The play's only normal character, Mortimer, is a drama critic engaged to Elaine, the minister's daughter. Mortimer finds himself in a whirlwind of frantic action, ironic twists, and comic routines, as he deals with his family's peculiar antics and the bodies hidden in the living room's window seat.

The local police, unaware of the household's secrets, often drop by at the most inconvenient times, adding to the dramatic surprises in this delightful and inspired comic concoction.

The future is divided by Perimeters: high-security gated communities where life goes on as normal. If you’re inside, you’re lucky. If you’re outside, life expectancy takes a nose dive.

Riley is fortunate to have been born on the right side of the fence. But her life of privilege comes crashing down when someone breaks through and murders her sister. She forsakes her own safety to go in search of the killer. Luc decides to go with her; otherwise, she’ll be dead before she’s past the security gate. But what awaits her outside is more unbelievable than she ever expected.

Cut to the present day, where Eleanor's world is falling apart. This time next year, civilisation won't be quite so civilised...

A body is found hanging from a noose made from a bell rope! Is this just the start of things to come?

The deceptively quiet remote village is shattered after a brazen obnoxious outsider purchases The Old Vicarage - strange disappearances occur. It wasn’t until the gruesome village history was revealed - that the baffled police could solve the chilling mysteries connected to the bell tower.

The fictitious villager's characters play a colourful and humorous part in this book - bringing the small village to life. It's a gripping murder mystery, injecting the gruesome, spine-chilling history of this remote village into its final sinister twists and turns.

Lying in the sand dunes of Baritone Bay are the bodies of a middle-aged couple. Celice and Joseph, in their mid-50s and married for more than 30 years, are returning to the seacoast where they met as students. Instead, they are battered to death by a thief with a chunk of granite. Their corpses lie undiscovered and rotting for a week, prey to sand crabs, flies, and gulls.

Yet there remains something touching about the scene, with Joseph's hand curving lightly around his wife's leg, "quietly resting; flesh on flesh; dead, but not departed yet." Their bodies had expired, but anyone could tell—just look at them—that Joseph and Celice were still devoted. For while his hand was touching her, curved round her shin, the couple seemed to have achieved that peace the world denies, a period of grace, defying even murder. Anyone who found them there, so wickedly disfigured, would nevertheless be bound to see that something of their love had survived the death of cells.

The corpses were surrendered to the weather and the earth, but they were still a man and wife, quietly resting; flesh on flesh; dead, but not departed yet.

From that moment forward, Being Dead becomes less about murder and more about death. Alternating chapters move back in time from the murder in hourly and two-hourly increments. As the narrative moves backward, we see Celice and Joseph make the small decisions about their day that will lead them inexorably towards their own deaths. In other chapters, the narrative moves forward. Celice and Joseph are on vacation and nobody misses them until they do not return. Thus, it is six days before their bodies are found. Crace describes in minute detail their gradual return to the land with the help of crabs, birds, and the numerous insects that attack the body and gently and not so gently prepare it for the dust-to-dust phase of death.

Losing the trial of his life could mean losing everything.

When a young reporter is found dead and a prominent Philadelphia businessman is accused of her murder, Mick McFarland finds himself involved in the case of his life. The defendant, David Hanson, was Mick’s close friend in law school, and the victim, a TV news reporter, had reached out to Mick for legal help only hours before her death.

Mick’s played both sides of Philadelphia’s courtrooms. As a top-shelf defense attorney and former prosecutor, he knows all the tricks of the trade. And he’ll need every one of them to win.

But as the trial progresses, he’s disturbed by developments that confirm his deepest fears. This trial, one that already hits too close to home, may jeopardize his firm, his family—everything.

Now Mick’s only way out is to mastermind the most brilliant defense he’s ever spun, one that will cross every legal and moral boundary.

In this startling historical mystery, unique in the author's canon, Agatha Christie investigates a deadly mystery at the heart of a dissonant family in ancient Egypt.

Imhotep, wealthy landowner and priest of Thebes, has outraged his sons and daughters by bringing a beautiful concubine into their fold. And the manipulative Nofret has already set about a plan to usurp her rivals' rightful legacies. When her lifeless body is discovered at the foot of a cliff, Imhotep's own flesh and blood become the apparent conspirators in her shocking murder.

But vengeance and greed may not be the only motives...

A Density of Souls is a stunning debut novel that uncovers the darker side of the teenage psyche. Set in the brooding milieu of New Orleans, this gripping tale follows four childhood friends torn apart by envy, passion, and a secret murder.

Five years ago, Meredith, Brandon, Greg, and Stephen discovered the fragile boundaries between friendship and betrayal as they entered high school and formed new allegiances. While Meredith, Brandon, and Greg gained popularity, Stephen was viciously treated as an outcast. The delicate bonds of their friendship were destroyed by two violent deaths, leading to unexpected revelations.

When the friends are drawn back together, new facts about their mutual history are exposed, and what was believed to be a tragic accident is revealed as murder. As the true story emerges, other secrets begin to unravel with more dangerous, far-reaching consequences.

Can Too Big to Fail Get Away with Murder? Experience the suspense and mystery of this thrilling legal drama. Attorney Brent Marks, after a career filled with divorces and drunk driving cases, finally takes on a case of social importance.

What he least expected was for April Marsh's predatory lending case against the big banks for wrongful foreclosure on her parents' home to turn into a murder investigation. April's mother is brutally murdered, and her father is beaten within an inch of his life. She believes their predatory lender is to blame. Are banks really that above the law?

This edge-of-your-seat legal thriller raises thought-provoking questions about law and justice in today's world. Predatory Kill puts a new spin on the greatest financial crisis of the age.

Secrets, romance, murder and lies: Zoe shares a terrible secret in a letter to a stranger on death row in this second novel from the author of the bestselling debut, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece.

Fifteen-year-old Zoe has a secret—a dark and terrible secret that she can't confess to anyone she knows. But then one day she hears of a criminal, Stuart Harris, locked up on death row in Texas. Like Zoe, Stuart is no stranger to secrets. Or lies. Or murder.

Full of heartache yet humour, Zoe tells her story in the only way she can—in letters to the man in prison in America. Armed with a pen, Zoe takes a deep breath, eats a jam sandwich, and begins her tale of love and betrayal.

James Patterson returns to the genre that made him famous with a #1 New York Times bestselling teen detective novel about the mysterious Angel family... and the dark secrets they're keeping from one another.

On the night Malcolm and Maud Angel are murdered, Tandy Angel knows just three things:

1. She was the last person to see her parents alive.
2. The police have no suspects besides Tandy and her three siblings.
3. She can't trust anyone—maybe not even herself.

As Tandy sets out to clear the family name, she begins to recall flashes of experiences long buried in her vulnerable psyche. These memories shed light on her family's dark secrets, and digging deeper into her powerful parents' affairs proves to be a disturbing and dangerous game. Who knows what any of the Angels are truly capable of?

With wings of midnight and an affinity for shadows, Jason courts darkness. But now, with the Archangel Neha’s consort lying murdered in the jewel-studded palace that was his prison and her rage threatening cataclysmic devastation, Jason steps into the light, knowing he must unearth the murderer before it is too late.

Earning Neha’s trust comes at a price—Jason must tie himself to her bloodline through the Princess Mahiya, a woman with secrets so dangerous, she trusts no one. Least of all an enemy spymaster.

With only their relentless hunt for a violent, intelligent killer to unite them, Jason and Mahiya embark on a quest that leads to a centuries-old nightmare… and to the dark storm of an unexpected passion that threatens to drench them both in blood.

A male prostitute, a mangy cat, a murder, and a maniacal mix-up that threatens his career, his impending marriage, and his life. Nothing is going as planned for Austin Glass.

Austin seems to have it all. At least on the surface. A loving fiancée, a future with the FBI, and a healthy-sized trust fund. He also has a grin and a wisecrack for every situation. But the smile he presents to everyone hides a painful past he’s buried too deeply to remember. And his quips mask bitterness and insecurity. Austin has himself and most of the whole world fooled. Until he meets someone who immediately sees him better than he sees himself.

As events unfold and Austin’s world unravels, he finds himself pushed into making quick, life-changing decisions. But can he trust Peter or what’s happening between them when each meeting seems to be just a series of volatile reactions?

In the sprawling, half-timbered mansion in the affluent suburb of Swinly Dean, Aristide Leonides lies dead from barbiturate poisoning. An accident? Not likely. In fact, suspicion has already fallen on his luscious widow, a cunning beauty fifty years his junior, set to inherit a sizeable fortune, and rumored to be carrying on with a strapping young tutor comfortably ensconced in the family estate.

But criminologist Charles Hayward is casting his own doubts on the innocence of the entire Leonides brood. He knows them intimately. And he's certain that in a crooked house such as Three Gables, no one's on the level...

Kit and Fancy Cordelle are sisters of the best kind: best friends, best confidantes, and best accomplices. The daughters of the infamous Bonesaw Killer, Kit and Fancy are used to feeling like outsiders, and that's just the way they like it. But in Portero, where the weird and wild run rampant, the Cordelle sisters are hardly the oddest or most dangerous creatures around.

It's no surprise when Kit and Fancy start to give in to their deepest desire - the desire to kill. What starts as a fascination with slicing open and stitching up quickly spirals into a gratifying murder spree. Of course, the sisters aren't killing just anyone, only the people who truly deserve it. But the girls have learned from the mistakes of their father, and know that a shred of evidence could get them caught.

So when Fancy stumbles upon a mysterious and invisible doorway to another world, she opens a door to endless possibilities.

His epic masterwork, Speaks the Nightbird, a tour de force of witch hunt terror in a colonial town, was hailed by Sandra Brown as deeply satisfying...told with matchless insight into the human soul. Now, Robert McCammon brings the hero of that spellbinding novel, Matthew Corbett, to eighteenth-century New York, where a killer wields a bloody and terrifying power over a bustling city carving out its identity -- and over Matthew's own uncertain destiny.

The unsolved murder of a respected doctor has sent ripples of fear throughout a city teeming with life, noise, and commerce. Who snuffed out the good man's life with the slash of a blade on a midnight street? The local printmaster has labeled the fiend "the Masker," adding fuel to a volatile mystery...while young law clerk Matthew Corbett has other obsessions in mind. Earnest and hardworking, Matthew spends his precious spare time attempting to vindicate the abuses he witnessed growing up in the Sainted John Home for Boys, at the hands of its monstrous headmaster. But Matthew's true calling lies not in avenging the past but salvaging the future -- for when the Masker claims a new victim, Matthew is lured into a maze of forensic clues and heart-pounding investigation that will both test his natural penchant for detection and inflame his hunger for justice.

In the strangest twist of all, the key to unmasking the Masker may await in an asylum where the Queen of Bedlam reigns -- and only a man of Matthew's reason and empathy can unlock her secrets. From the seaport to Wall Street, from society mansions to gutters glimmering with blood spilled by a deviant, Matthew's quest will tauntingly reveal the answers he seeks -- and the chilling truths he cannot escape.

Cheating, partying, blackmail, and now... murder? Can the Billings Girls remain untouchable?

Reed's boyfriend, Thomas Pearson — the popular, easygoing, irresistibly handsome and charismatic boy she fell in love with — is dead. No one knows how it happened, and everyone is after the truth. Or are they?

Life at Easton Academy begins to feel very different. Taylor is acting like the poster child for Prozac, Kiran is spiking her cornflakes, Noelle is being kind of...nice, and Arianna keeps floating along as if nothing has happened.

Thanksgiving break arrives and Reed and Josh find themselves alone on campus. They are forced to confront the feelings they've been hiding. Those feelings combined with an empty campus result in the hottest hookup Reed could possibly imagine. But when Reed breaks the news about Josh to the Billings Girls, there's no fun game of tell-all. Instead, Josh begins to look like suspect No. 1 in the murder of Thomas Pearson.

The perfect life Reed has constructed as a Billings Girl begins to crumble. And as everyone becomes more convinced of Josh's guilt, Reed's private suspicions lead her somewhere she doesn't want to go.

Apathy and Other Small Victories is a scathingly funny debut novel about disillusionment, indifference, and one man's desperate fight to assign absolutely no meaning to modern life.

The only thing Shane cares about is leaving. Usually on a Greyhound bus, right before his life falls apart again. Just like he planned. But this time it's complicated: there's a sadistic corporate climber who thinks she's his girlfriend, a rent-subsidized affair with his landlord's wife, and the bizarrely appealing deaf assistant to Shane's cosmically unstable dentist.

When one of the women is murdered, and Shane is the only suspect who doesn't care enough to act like he didn't do it, the question becomes just how he'll clear the good name he never had and doesn't particularly want: his own.

Donna Leon's riveting novel, Doctored Evidence, takes us through the winding streets of contemporary Venice as Commissario Guido Brunetti delves into a case his superiors would rather leave closed.

When a miserly spinster is found brutally murdered in her Venice apartment, the police immediately suspect her Romanian housekeeper. They believe their job is done after the immigrant dies while fleeing arrest. However, weeks later, a neighbor comes forward to defend the innocence of the accused. The only investigator who believes the alibi is Brunetti, who must work behind the backs of his superiors to vindicate the Romanian and uncover the true killer.

As always, the indispensable hacking skills of the ever-loyal Signorina Elettra complement Brunetti's meticulous detective work. She uncovers mysterious deposits in the old woman's bank account, but who made them? As Brunetti investigates, his wife reads him teachings on the Seven Deadly Sins. In a modern world filled with intrigue and nebulous morality, how do they relate to the murder at hand?

Doctored Evidence is charged with suspense and evokes a contemporary Venice with Donna Leon's masterful flair.

Murder Was Never So Much Fun!

Party Monster offers a startlingly vivid and strikingly fresh depiction of the hedonistic world of the New York City club kids. These are tales where nothing was too outré—including murder.

James St. James, an audaciously talented writer and former club kid, takes us on a journey through his world, where he was a close friend and confidant of Michael Alig, the young man convicted of killing the drug dealer known as Angel.

The book was originally published as Disco Bloodbath and was brought to the screen as Party Monster, starring Macaulay Culkin and Seth Green.

At Sir Hubert Handesley's country house party, five guests have gathered for the uproarious parlor game of Murder. Yet no one is laughing when the lights come up on an actual corpse, the good-looking and mysterious Charles Rankin.

Scotland Yard's Inspector Roderick Alleyn arrives to find a complete collection of alibis, a missing butler, and an intricate puzzle of betrayal and sedition in the search for the key player in this deadly game.

Roanna Davenport was raised a wealthy orphan on her grandmother's magnificent Alabama estate, Davencourt. Here, she developed a passion for horses, a genius for trouble, and a deep love for her cousin, Webb. But everyone expected Webb to marry their ravishing cousin, Jessie. When he did, Roanna's desire became no more than the stuff of dreams—until the night Jessie was found bludgeoned to death.

After the shocking murder of his wife, Webb left for Arizona, abandoning the legacy that he had once believed was all he wanted. But then an all-grown-up Roanna walked into a dingy bar in Nogales to bring him home; the mischievous sprite he had known ten years earlier was no more. Gone, too, was her fire. In its place was ice that melted at his touch. Webb is drawn back to Davencourt, to Roanna, and to the killer that once destroyed his life and waits only for the chance to finish the job....

Cyteen is a gripping tale of murder, politics, and genetic manipulation. Set on the distant planet of Cyteen, a brilliant young scientist rises to power, haunted by the knowledge that her predecessor and genetic duplicate met a mysterious end at the hands of a trusted advisor.

This novel provides an intricate framework of power dynamics and personal intrigue. C.J. Cherryh, the acclaimed author of Downbelow Station, showcases her talent for intense, literate storytelling. The narrative maintains a compelling interest throughout its complex and lengthy journey.

Harry Bosch has hit rock bottom. His once stable life is now in shambles. His earthquake-damaged home has been condemned, his girlfriend has left him, and he's drinking far too much. After attacking his commanding officer, Harry is suspended indefinitely, pending a psychiatric evaluation.

With his badge turned in, Harry finds himself with time to dwell on the past. He decides to investigate an unsolved crime from 1961: the brutal murder of a prostitute, who was none other than his own mother. As he delves deeper, Harry realizes that the case was mishandled, and the stench of a cover-up is undeniable. Someone powerful was able to divert justice, and Harry is determined to uncover the truth.

As he relentlessly follows the fragmented pieces of the case, new murders occur, drawing Harry deeper into a dangerous web of deceit. The more he uncovers, the more evident it becomes that someone wants the past to remain buried—someone very powerful, cunning, and deadly.

In this gripping installment of the Harry Bosch series, Michael Connelly delivers a suspenseful thriller filled with psychological depth and a relentless pursuit of justice.

Two pie loving police officers are questioning a man suspected of murdering his wife. The Accused Man keeps having visions of past events, warning him there are things he should not seek an answer for.

And an FBI Agent Lutricia Bell, conducting an investigation of her own, reveals a different angle on the nature of the crime. Realities will mash together as three different viewpoints paint the picture, creating a question, is the crime itself what truly matters?

What would make the perfect man? That's the deliciously racy topic that Jaine Bright and her three girlfriends are pondering one night at their favorite after-hours hot spot: Mr. Perfect.

Would he be tall, dark, and handsome? Caring and warmhearted -- or will just muscular do? As their conversation heats up, they concoct a tongue-in-cheek checklist that becomes an overnight sensation, spreading like wildfire at work and sizzling along e-mail lines.

But what began as a joke among friends turns deadly serious when one of the four women is murdered.... Turning to her neighbor, an unpredictable police detective, for help, Jaine must unmask a killer to save her friends -- and herself. Now, knowing whom to trust and whom to love is a matter of survival -- as the dream of Mr. Perfect becomes a chilling nightmare.

The internationally bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish follows that success with an addictive novel filled with shocking twists about the aftermath of a brutal high-society murder.

Dr. Kate English has it all. Not only is she the heiress to a large fortune; she has a gorgeous husband and daughter, a high-flying career, and a beautiful home anyone would envy.

But all that changes the night Kate’s mother, Lily, is found dead, brutally murdered in her own home. Heartbroken and distraught, Kate reaches out to her estranged best friend, Blaire Barrington, who rushes to her side for the funeral, where the years of distance between them are forgotten in a moment.

That evening, Kate’s grief turns to horror when she receives an anonymous text: You think you’re sad now, just wait. By the time I’m finished with you, you’ll wish you had been buried today. More than ever, Kate needs her old friend’s help.

Once Blaire decides to take the investigation into her own hands, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems in Baltimore high society. As infidelity, lies, and betrayals come to light, and tensions rise to a boiling point, she begins to alienate Kate’s friends and relatives with her relentless, accusatory questions, as she tries to find Lily’s killer. The murderer could be anyone—friend, neighbor, loved one. But whoever it is, it’s clear that Kate is next on their list...

In The Last Time I Saw You, Liv Constantine takes the lightning pace of The Last Mrs. Parrish and raises the stakes, creating an exquisitely tension-filled and absorbing tale of psychological suspense in which innocent lives—and one woman’s sanity—hang in the balance.