Bill Crider

Embroiled in a tight race for reelection, Sheriff Dan Rhodes of Blacklin County, Texas, must ferret out the murderer of the beautiful and somewhat wild wife of one of the local citizens

Too Late to Die

James Campbell

Ken Bruen

Paul Krueger

Richard Godwin

Joseph Goodrich

B. V. Lawson

Suzanne Lummis

Cullen, Cullen Gallagher, Jeff Wong and Lou Boxer

NoirCon and Out of the Gutter bring you 23 thrilling, unrestrained stories and poems of 21st century desperation and destitution. These tales are sure to shake you out of your complacency, warp your mind and remind you that you, too, are doomed. No one is safe from the Noir Riot! Authors include Ken Bruen, James Campbell, Bill Crider, Thomas A. Crowell, Richard Godwin and many more! Sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying, Noir Riot is the companion to, and official publication of, Noir Con, the premier East Coast crime fiction conference.

Presented by NoirCon and Out of the Gutter

Noir Riot

Hornsby

Ruth Rendell

Billie Sue Mosiman

Barbara Collins

Murder for Mother

Alexandre Dumas

Rick Duffield

Locked out of the school while Joe and his friends are inside, Wishbone imagines himself as D'Artagnan, a young seventeenth-century Frenchman who achieves his dream of becoming one of the prestigious musketeers who guard the king and his court.

Muttketeer!

Booked for a Hanging

Humphrey Bogart teams up with down-and-out Hollywood private detective Terry Scott to uncover a blackmailer out to frame Bogie for murder, an investigation that leads them from the glamorous haunts of the stars to L.A.'s dark underbelly and brings them face to face with gangsters, dark secrets, and murder. Reprint.

A Humphrey Bogart Mystery

We'll Always Have Murder

Sheriff Dan Rhodes investigates the explosive death of an alleged meth manufacturer, complicated among other things by newcomers with radical views, potential vigilantes in the Citizens' sheriff's Academy, and another body.

Of All Sad Words

Like most of the rest of Texas, Blacklin County is being overrun with feral hogs that destroy farmland and crops. There's hardly any defense against these pests, but they haven't been the cause of murder. Until now. A mother and son have opened an animal shelter in the county and they welcome even feral hogs. Someone's threatened them by slaughtering one of their animals and leaving it on their doorstep. Then Sheriff Dan Rhodes and Deputy Ruth Grady stumble across a dead man while searching the woods for a convenience store robber. The investigation into the man's death is complicated by angry hog hunters, a crusading talk-show host, a bounty hunter named Hoss, conflicts with the county commissioners, and the reappearance of Rapper and Nellie, the inept two-man motorcycle gang that's caused Rhodes considerable trouble in the past. By the time he's sorted through all the clues, Rhodes discovers that quite a few people aren't who they seemed to be, including those he's known for a long time. And some of them are killers. Award-winning author Bill Crider has written an endearing and consistently entertaining series, and The Wild Hog Murders offers a fresh new chance to get in on the fun.

A Dan Rhodes Mystery

The Wild Hog Murders

When Sheriff Dan Rhodes is asked to join the Clearview Barbershop Chorus, he suspects that there's an ulterior motive, mainly because he can't sing a note. He's momentarily distracted by a rogue alligator on the loose, but shortly afterward, Lloyd Berry, the director of the chorus, is murdered. Berry is suspected of embezzling money, and he's leaked the information that a member of the chorus ordered a singing valentine for a woman who isn't his wife. Later, Rhodes discovers that Berry has been gambling on eight-liners at Rollin' Sevens, a barely legal operation in a strip center on the outskirts of town.Rhodes also must deal with the usual assortment of small-town crimes: a man dressed in his underpants and cowboy boots picketing a law office, dogfood theft, and attempts on the life of a man who likes to root through garbage. Rhodes sorts through clues that involve geocaching and barbershop singing with the help of a few oddball local characters before he solves the crime.

Murder in Four Parts

There's a big stink in Blacklin County, and everyone seems to think Sheriff Dan Rhodes should do something about it. The smell is coming from the giant chicken farm owned by Lester Hamilton. Rhodes sees this as a matter for the state's air-quality enforcement agency, not the county sheriff. That all changes, however, when Hamilton is found dead, floating in an old rock pit not far from the town of Clearview. Hamilton had probably been engaged in the act of noodling for catfish, which is not only highly dangerous but illegal in Texas. Rhodes suspects that Hamilton didn't die by accident, though. There are plenty of suspects, including an eccentric community college professor and one of his colleagues, who lives near the chicken farm and has to wear a respirator mask to ward off the smell. Also, someone known in the county as Robin Hood is going around shooting arrows into utility poles as a protest. When semi-nude protestors arrive at the chicken farm, things really begin to get out of hand. Filled with fun, mayhem, and memorable characters, Murder in the Air is a wonderful addition to this very excellent series. Award-winning author Bill Crider shows again that he is one of the most talented and entertaining mystery writers around.

Murder in the Air

When a wealthy recluse joins his small Texas community to lead the restoration of an old opera house before dying in a suspicious fall, Sheriff Dan Rhodes investigates long-ago motives while navigating ridiculous local troubles.

Dead, to Begin With

Cheryl Pierson

Livia Washburn

Isabella Norse

From magic to murder, from felines to faeries, the authors of NINE DEADLY LIVES spin thirteen tales featuring those sometimes aloof and occasionally dangerous but always adorable creatures we know and love as cats! Whether it's mystery, fantasy, historical, or romance, these cat tales provide plenty of entertainment and thrills! In Livia J. Washburn's SECOND NATURE, a Hollywood stuntwoman must solve an attempted murder case-on a cat! Can Dominique dare to hope she-the girl everyone shunned-could win the love of sexy Bran MacKenzie, the most popular guy in town? In Deborah Macgillivray's SHOES, SHADES, AND FAERYDUST, it might happen! Lovey Villines's cat, Mr. Fred, is the only witness to her possible murder. Brady Rowe, a veteran police officer, searches for a key that will open MR. FRED'S TREASURE BOX and possibly clear everything up. In Mollie Hunt's CAT'S CRADLE, a cat lady discovers a stray kitten trapped in a gym bag. She finds herself pursued through Portland's warehouse district by gun-wielding thugs. In Isabella Norse's THE NERD IN SHINING ARMOR, working girl Abby needs a hero. Ryan, her neighbor, needs an assistant. Can a battle-scarred tabby with a penchant for quoting from Star Wars bring them together? Rochelle Spencer's tale, THE CAT ON COOGAN'S BLUFF, involves a cranky detective who uncovers secrets about baseball, Harlem, and cats. In MISSING LYNX, Clay More pens a story that seems to never end. It is 1926, and the world mourns silent movie heart-throb Rudolph Valentino but Rudolph's death is only the first in a series of tragedies in this supernatural feline murder mystery tale from the silent movie era. Mary Price has been given the impossible task of reading three romance novels in three days in C. A. Jamison's story, DREAM WEAVER. A newly-adopted cat has her dreaming of a handsome blue-eyed stranger. In Mariah Lynne's CLAWS FOR JUSTICE, two cats learn their time at the shelter is up. The furry duo finds a clever way to escape their fate, only to find their caretaker, Robby, dead. They now must make it their mission to find Robby's killer. WHO LET THE CATS OUT? by Faye Rapoport DesPres--A mysterious fire tears through the main house of the Jane S. Dooley Cat Shelter. The shelter's director, vows to keep the shelter open. She has two mysteries: Who set the fire, and who let the cats out? In Brandy Herr's tale, after Larry's wife walks out on him, the sudden arrival of a mysterious calico cat appears to be just what he needs to lift his spirits. But appearances can be deceiving. Will THE CALICO be a blessing... or a curse? Angela Crider Neary pens a supernatural story about an enchanting cat named ANGEL, a series of suspicious fires, and a Colorado sheriff who finds himself wondering if cats really do have nine lives-and trying to figure out who the next victim will be. Bill Crider's THE EASTER CAT-When Hollywood private-eye Bill Ferrel gave a ride to the Easter Bunny, he thought he was just doing a friend a favor. How was he to know he'd wind up chasing a cat through the jungle and trying to prevent a murder?

An Anthology of Feline Fiction

Nine Deadly Lives

Joe R Lansdale

Features an anthology of short stories, novel excerpts, and unpublished material from the author, including "Mister Weed-Eater," "The Magic Wagon," and "The Fat Man and the Elephant."

The Portable Lansdale

Sanctified and Chicken-Fried

Blacklin County, Texas, Sheriff Dan Rhodes investigates a crime wave of emu-rustling and a murder that may be related to the theft of the valuable birds. By the author of Booked for a Hanging.

Murder Most Fowl

Life is never easy for Texas Sheriff Dan Rhodes. When he is called in the middle of the night to investigate gunshots at a haunted house, Rhodes finds the body of meth dealer Neil Foshee. Recently released from jail, Foshee has his fair share of potential murderers, including former girlfriend Vicki, her new boyfriend, the nephew of Clearview's mayor, and Foshee's criminal cousins Earl and Louie. Complicating matters is Seepy Benton, the community college math professor who has a new summer job. He's founded Clearview Paranormal Investigations and wants to solve the murder by communing with Foshee's ghost. But when he connects with something else instead and a second body is found, Rhodes is left with more questions than ever. Who's the dead person? How long has the body been hidden? Is Benton really able to communicate with ghosts? And most importantly: What, if anything, does the body have to do with Neil Foshee's death? Between the Living and the Dead, Bill Crider's latest installment in the critically-acclaimed Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery series, finds Rhodes dealing with ghost hunters, runaway bulls, and assorted low-level crimes, including prosecuting people who don't use their turn signals. It's all in a day's work in Clearview, Texas.

Between the Living and the Dead

"Life is never easy for Sheriff Dan Rhodes. Even in a small Texas county, there's always something going on for a sheriff to look into, whether it's an attempted robbery, a marijuana patch guarded by an alligator, or a murder. This time the murdered man seems to be connected to a string of recent burglaries, but just how isn't easy to figure out. It takes some time and another murder before Sheriff Rhodes discovers the answers. Survivors Will Be Shot Again, Bill Crider's latest installment in the critically-acclaimed Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery series, finds Rhodes dealing with murders, thefts, marijuana, and gators in Clearview, a small Texas town where secrets are easier to keep than you might think"--

Survivors Will Be Shot Again

Sheriff Dan Rhodes finds himself in the hot seat after persuading the county commissioners to open a Citizen's Sheriff's Academy when the students become the prime suspects in the explosion of a mobile home, a dead man in found nearby, and he encounters problems with the county's Web page, some suspicious new residents, and modern-day bootleggers. 15,000 first printing.

Jay Stringer

Steve Cavanagh

Lori Rader-Day

Laura McHugh

Alex Segura

John Rector

Michael Kardos

Lili Wright

Andrew Case

Jon McGoran

Dana King

James R. Tuck

Nick Kolakowski

David James Keaton

Chris Holm

Josh Stallings

James W. Ziskin

Terry Shames

E.A. Aymar

Kris Calvin

Scott Loring Sanders

Dave White

The Anthony-nominated collection of crime stories without guns—the collection we didn't want to be necessary—is back for Volume 2. Two dozen more crime writers have come together to raise their voices and take pen in hand to call for a sensible and reasoned debate about guns in America. As the mass shootings continue, the avoidable accidents, the suicides, the gun violence that consumes our country rolls on unabated and unaddressed by our leadership other than to say, “Now is not the time to discuss it,” these crime writers have chosen to start the dialogue. In stories of crime, mystery and suspense these authors have left the guns out to show for a short while that we can do without them and the plot doesn’t fall apart. Maybe, in a small way, we can show that the American way of life doesn’t cease to be, either. Not anti-gun, Unloaded Vol. 2 is pro-reason. These authors comprise gun owners and non-owners, voters on both sides of the political aisle. The cause that unites us all is the desire to see the senseless killing stop and to be able to have the discussion without the divisive language, vitriol and name calling that too often accompanies this debate. The top priority in these stories is to entertain with thrilling action and suspense that readers know and love about a crime story. To do so without guns leads to some creative leaps from writers who spin tales of simians on the loose, androids with buried secrets, punk rock shows and tattoo shops. Bestselling authors like Chris Holm, Lori Rader-Day, Bill Crider, Laura McHugh, James Ziskin and John Rector along with many more join together to call for an end to the needless violence and a start to a reasoned debate. With a forward by legendary Sara Paretsky, Unloaded Vol. 2 is a book we wish wasn’t needed. But staying silent is no longer an option. Proceeds go to the non-profit States United To Prevent Gun Violence. Praise for UNLOADED VOLUME 2: “[A collection of] entertaining and often thought-provoking stories.” —Publishers Weekly

More Crime Writers Writing Without Guns

Unloaded Volume 2

Sheriff Dan Rhodes of Blacklin County, Texas, returns for his tenth mystery, investigating both rumors of a ghost in his jailhouse and the mystery surrounding a body found in an open grave in the next town. Reprint.

A Ghost of a Chance

Everyone knew her. A lot of them like her. One of them killed her. Jeanne Clinton was a pretty and well-liked woman—though in her younger days she'd been known to be a bit wild. But she married an older man and settled down to a quiet, respectable life. Now she is dead, brutally murdered in her home. Dan Rhodes, the thoughtful, hard-working sheriff of Blacklin County, Texas, has enough to worry about already: a rash of burglaries in town and an election coming up against a hot-shot opponent. Now he's got to find a killer among the residents of his little town—a wily killer, bound and determined not to be caught. The deeper Rhodes digs into the hearts and minds of his neighbors, the more secrets he turned up...and the more violence he encounters. But Rhodes doesn't give up easily. And neither does the killer.

Bill Crider

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