Marilyn Todd

Not all detectives are heroes. And when the dead can’t defend themselves, help comes from the most unlikely sources. It might be from P.I.s with offices in unusually high places (“Heaven Knows”). It might come from shapeshifters in love (“Stakes & Adders”). Hell, it could even come from…you’ve guessed it, Hell. (“667, Evil and Then Some”). But whether you’re cruising a narrow boat down an English canal (“The Way It Is”) or taking a break on an idyllic French lakeside (“Dead & Breakfast”), justice is like the endings in these stories. You never see it coming.

Dead & Breakfast and Other Stories

It might be from P.I.s with offices in unusually high places ("Heaven Knows"). It might come from shapeshifters in love ("Stakes & Adders"). Hell, it could even come from...you've guessed it, Hell. ("667, Evil and Then Some"). Justice is like the endings in these stories. You never see it coming.

Dead Drop

The latest adventure for the Roman sleuth and glamourous heroine of I, Claudia.

Scorpion Rising

Blackmailed into investigating the murder of a child, Claudia is plunged into a bizarre world of nature priestesses, who have no use for men other than as slaves. But there is discord within this secret society and, as the conflict spreads, she cannot accept that an outsider was responsible for the little girl’s death. But while Claudia works to uncover the truth, a sinister force moves in the background. A master of disguise, the Scorpion is the spearhead of an uprising designed to unite the tribes against Rome. No one crosses this man and lives. Especially fiery young Roman women…

Blackmailed into spying for Lysander, head of the hated Secret Police, High Priestess Iliona discovers that the threat to her country doesn’t come from their archenemy, Athens. It comes from deep within Sparta itself. But as she investigates, the same thread keeps turning up. Of a one-eyed giant who lives in the hills. The legendary Cyclops. So who is this man who inspires such fear? A freak? A fraud? A felon? And what does his arrival have to do with the disappearance of several young women?

Blind Eye

The first two Claudia Seferius mysteries are now available in one volume! I, CLAUDIA Claudia Seferius has successfully flattered her way into marriage with a wealthy Roman wine merchant. But when her secret gambling debts spiral, she hits on another resourceful way to make money - offering her “personal services” to high-ranking Roman Citizens. Unfortunately her clients are now turning up dead - the victims of a sadistic serial killer. When Marcus Cornelius Orbilio, the handsome investigating officer, starts digging deep for clues, Claudia realizes she must track down the murderer herself - before her husband discovers what she's been up to. VIRGIN TERRITORY It just wasn’t fair. When you marry a man for his money, you expect him to leave you a shining pile of gold pieces. Not a crummy old wine business. How was the new young widow Claudia going to pay off her gambling debts now? So when Eugenius Collatinus asks Claudia to chaperone his granddaughter to Sicily she jumps at the chance to escape Rome. It should be easy--Sabina Collatinus, she is told, has recently completed thirty years’ service as a Vestal Virgin. Or has she...? Claudia suspects she is escorting an impostor. And then a woman’s brutalized body is discovered...

I, Claudia and Virgin Territory

The Claudia Seferius Mysteries, Bundle #1

It just wasn’t fair. When you marry a man for his money, you expect him to leave you a shining pile of gold pieces. Not a crummy old wine business. How was the new young widow Claudia going to pay off her gambling debts now? So when Eugenius Collatinus asks Claudia to chaperone his granddaughter to Sicily she jumps at the chance to escape Rome. It should be easy--Sabina Collatinus, she is told, has recently completed thirty years’ service as a Vestal Virgin. Or has she...? Claudia suspects she is escorting an impostor. And then a woman’s brutalized body is discovered...

Virgin Territory

Steve Hockensmith

Hilary Davidson

Kevin Quigley

L. C. Tyler

Dave Zeltserman

Robert Lopresti

Eve Morton

Nick Manzolillo

Kay Hanifen

Eve Elliot

Wendy Harrison

Warren Moore

Shiny Nyquist

F. D. Trenton

Fratricide is funny-in the hands of STEVE HOCKENSMITH-but, mostly, bad neighbors (related or not) are bad news and endlessly infuriating, as in HILARY DAVIDSON's "King of the Castle," or endlessly preying on your goodwill, as in EVE MORTON's "Vengeance Takes a Holiday." (Yet what relief!-be honest now-when that neighbour hits the dance floor for their final dance: the great Mortal Coil Shuffle!) Sometimes, naturally, the hatred is mutual and one against one, as in EVE ELLIOT's "One Spye After Another," or one against many, as in KEVIN QUIGLEY's "The Woman Who Cried Cat." And a bad neighbor should never underestimate their victim, as WARREN MOORE's "One of Us Is Dying" venomously suggests or F. D. TRENTON's "I Found Me a Bigger Flea" tells us in a disagreeable escalation of, er, disagreeableness. (And what's not to like-come, search your soul and tell me I'm wrong-with a little bit of biting back?) In a traditional vein, a little investigation can go a long way, as we find in WENDY HARRISON's "A Little Power," or the wrong way in DAVE ZELTSERMAN's "Woops!" Happily, a bad neighbor might turn out to be the worst possible neighbor to themself, as in L. C. TYLER's "Fifty Something," or ROBERT LOPRESTI's "Lambs and Wolves." While KAY HANIFEN portrays a dedicated handmaiden to bitter non-regret, and MARILYN TODD bangs the rock into rock star, and NICK MANZOLILLO challenges us to take a trip next door. But only SHINY NYQUIST can tell us what "Sir Fergus Allison's Bench" is for. Themed these stories may be; same-ish they are not. This crime and mystery anthology is edited by JACK CALVERLEY.

Death of a Bad Neighbour - Revenge is Criminal

In a cave in the hills, seven candles burned, and tonight, when the moon was at its full, it would be time to light another. Oh, the Blood Moon was so aptly named… Three ritual killings on the same night can’t be coincidence. More an attempt to sabotage the peace between Sparta and her new allies from across the Black Sea. High Priestess Iliona has no wish to become embroiled in politics. Especially now. The son she gave up at birth has discovered her identity, and emotions she’d worked so hard to lock away have surfaced, raw and painful. But Lysander, commander of Sparta’s hated Secret Police, gives her no choice. And because she hopes that uncovering conspiracy, murder, kidnapping and adultery will help dull her pain, she fails to notice a killer on the loose with a pathological hatred of women. Who’s picked Iliona as his next victim.

Blood Moon

Deep in the reed beds, the water shimmered and rippled. After three days’ submersion, the gases inside gently raised the body to the surface. Setting a seventeen-year-old youth on his final journey downstream. When a wealthy horse trainer starts courting her mother-in-law, Claudia knows love has bugger-all to do with it. Especially with the number of hangers-on who’ve moved in. But exactly what is his game? Can it be connected to a string of local misfortunes? At first, Claudia is simply curious. Then a young man is found dead…

Sour Grapes

Brendan DuBois

Robert J. Randisi

Donna Andrews

Joseph S. Walker

Barb Goffman

Sandra Murphy

Frankie Y. Bailey

Lesley A. Diehl

Terence Faherty

Joseph Goodrich

Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, Duck Soup, Animal Crackers…over the two decades between 1929’s The Cocoanuts and 1949’s Love Happy, the Marx Brothers—Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and sometimes Zeppo—entertained movie-goers around the world with their madcap antics, rapid-fire dialogue, and prowess on the piano, the harp, and in song. Now, a Who’s Who of award-winning crime writers pays homage to the Marxes in fourteen short stories, each inspired by one of the brothers’ thirteen studio films. (Wait a second: fourteen stories inspired by thirteen films? How does that add up? You'll find the answer to that question…and so much more!...inside the covers of this book.) The authors? Donna Andrews, Frankie Y. Bailey, Jeff Cohen, Lesley A. Diehl, Brendan DuBois, Terence Faherty, Barb Goffman, Joseph Goodrich, Robert Lopresti, Sandra Murphy, Robert J. Randisi, Marilyn Todd, Joseph S. Walker, and editor Josh Pachter, who is a recent recipient of the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Golden Derringer Award for Lifetime Achievement and the editor of two previous “inspired by” anthologies from Untreed Reads, The Beat of Black Wings: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Joni Mitchell and Only the Good Die Young: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Billy Joel. To paraphrase Groucho: Outside of a dog, this book will be your best friend. (Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.)

Crime Fiction Inspired by the Films of the Marx Brothers

Monkey Business

Snap Shot

One minute Nobilor was leaning into the bend. The next the chariot was flying through space. Down. And down. And down… When a consignment of gold goes missing near the Federation’s flagship posting station, Lysander can think of no better person to investigate than Iliona. The High Priestess of a river god paying homage at the Lake of Light is the perfect cover. But when an Olympic wrestler’s chariot careens over a cliff, Iliona doesn’t believe it was the accident it appeared. The only question is, which of the three women in his life staged the murder?

Still Waters

Carol Anne Davis

Art Taylor

Amber Sparks

Sherry Harris

Alison McMahan

Matthew Iden

Michael Bracken

John M. Floyd

David Dean

Elaine Viets

Tara Laskowski

Greg Herren

Abby Bardi

Christine Poulson

Edith Maxwell

Ricki Thomas

Mindy Quigley

Stacy Woodson

Kathryn O'Sullivan

Emily Hockaday

Adam Meyer

Alan S. Orloff

Jackie Sherbow

1/3 of the author royalties will be donated to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation in Joni Mitchell's name. **WINNER** 2021 Derringer Award for Best Short Story: Stacy Woodson for "River" **NOMINATED** 2021 Anthony Award for Best Anthology **NOMINATED** 2021 International Thriller Awards for Best Short Story: Elaine Viets for "Dog Eat Dog" **NOMINATED** 2021 Macavity Award for Best Short Story: Elaine Viets for "Dog Eat Dog" With nine Grammys, multiple lifetime achievement awards, inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and a Top Ten ranking on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time,” Joni Mitchell has established herself as one of the most important singer/songwriters, not only of her generation, but in the history of popular music. In this collection, 28 crime writers pay tribute to Joni’s musical legacy with short stories inspired by her lyrics, representing each of her seventeen studio albums from 1968’s Song to a Seagull to 2007’s Shine. Many of the classics are represented here, including “Both Sides, Now” (in the first literary collaboration between Art Taylor and Tara Laskowski, who have each won major awards for their fiction), “Big Yellow Taxi” (by Kathryn O’Sullivan, author of the Colleen McCabe series), and “River” (by Stacy Woodson, winner of the 2019 Readers Choice Award from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine), plus such equally fascinating titles as “Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire” (by Donna Andrews, author of the award-winning Meg Lanslow series), “The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines” (by Amber Sparks), and “Ray’s Dad’s Cadillac” (by Michael Bracken).

Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Joni Mitchell

The Beat of Black Wings

The Watcher waited until she bent down to gather a handful of bilberries. The woodland floor was soft and springy. The Watcher’s feet made no sound. Claudia was just ten when her father marched off to war and never came home. Now it’s time to uncover the truth about his disappearance. Her search takes her to the dark forests of Gaul, where Druid Law rules and human sacrifice is still practiced in secret. Staying at the villa of the cold, commanding Marcia, Claudia notices that several young women have gone missing, and while suspicion falls on a mysterious character who lives in the woods, she isn’t convinced. Marcia only employs perfectionists for her projects. Nor has it escaped her notice that each victim is unblemished and in the fullness of bloom. Just like Claudia…

Stone Cold

Claudia Seferius is broke. Skint. Borassic. Cleaned out. Bust, and on her uppers. So when her teenage stepdaughter Flavia is abducted, Claudia can't just throw money at the problem. The cash simply isn't there—since her husband died, his fellow businessmen have banded together to freeze her out of trade. And the frustratingly delectable Orbilio can't help—he's been placed under strict house arrest after a skeleton was found walled up in the house that's been in his family for three generations. Now, with the Games of Apollo—a series of festivals and frolics, feasting and tomfoolery—due to start in two days, Claudia has saddled herself with the job of playing tag with the kidnapper. Meanwhile, a mysterious Egyptian cult, the Brothers of Horus, is growing in popularity with Roman citizens. But several of its young female members are beginning to experience strange disturbances....

Dream Boat

Five slave women have been murdered on Market Day, so it isn’t a safe time for Claudia to be chased by dogs into the darkest streets of Rome. In the back alleys of the capital city, Claudia finds an abandoned boy, Jovi, and takes him home with her. A killer is stalking the streets, his victims linked by a tattoo that marks them as the "children of Arbil." But Arbil is no loving father--he is a baby-snatcher who runs a slave-rearing empire.

Wolf Whistle

In these three mysteries set in Ancient Rome, a lusty young widow and cunning sleuth faces plagues, wild animals, and murder. Man Eater Though she hates to leave the city on the eve of the Roman festivities, the young widow Claudia Seferius always puts business before pleasure, especially when her vineyards are in danger. Forced off the road in Umbria, she must accept the hospitality of a wild animal trainer. But then a stranger knocks at her bedroom door—with a knife sticking out of his belly—and Claudia finds herself framed for murder. Wolf Whistle In the back alleys of the capital city, Claudia finds an abandoned boy, Jovi, and takes him home with her. Meanwhile, five slave women have been murdered on Market Day. A killer is stalking the streets, his victims linked by a tattoo that marks them as the “children of Arbil.” And as Claudia uncovers the trail, it leads her into the deadly inner circle of a slave-rearing empire. Jail Bait As a deadly plague sweeps through Rome, Claudia Seferius has more pressing concerns. Having “temporarily” stolen three thousand sesterces, the army is after her. Claudia soon finds refuge in the beautiful spa resort of Atlantis, where a little flirting seems an ideal way to pass the time. Except, within hours, her new paramour is dead. It seems Atlantis might be more dangerous than the disease-ridden streets Claudia left behind . . .

Man Eater; Wolf Whistle; and Jail Bait

The Claudia Seferius Mysteries, Bundle #2

On the eve of the Roman festivities, the last thing you’d expect Claudia Seferius to be doing is heading out of the city. Unfortunately, even hedonistic young widows have to put business before pleasure when their vineyards are threatened with arson. Taking a shortcut through the Umbrian countryside, she is forced off the road, and her beloved cat goes missing in the skirmish. Refusing to leave without her, Claudia accepts the hospitality of Sergius Pictor and the menagerie of wild animals he is training for the Games. Then a stranger knocks at her bedroom door, with a knife sticking out of his belly. And Claudia finds herself being framed for murder…

Marilyn Todd

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