Bücher veröffentlicht von Beacon Publishing Group

When we last left Murphy Murphy, the Department of Redundancy Department detective had just solved a mystery that revolved around the popular rock band, Serious Crisis. That success made headlines and sent Murphy's world spinning. Acclaim followed in the form of TV network interviews, a book deal, and ultimately a call from Hollywood. Now, back in Los Angeles our intrepid detective goes from movie set consultant to crime solving detective with one, out of the blue, phone call. The Commission on Cliches is in crisis and only Murphy Murphy can solve the case. Murder, mayhem, and a motive as old as the hills ensue as redundancies and cliches abound. Can Murphy crack the case? Only time will tell. PRAISE FOR MURPHY MURPHY AND THE CASE OF THE COMMISSION ON CLICHES"This book is the best thing since sliced bread"Mystery Loves Company Reviews"I could tell you the author missed the boat on this one, but I'd be a bald faced liar. Buy this book."Mitchell Mitchell - The News Courier Times Examiner

Salvatore "Sal" Slocum is a sales representative at True North, LLC, a direct marketing company hawking a self-improvement system based upon the personal experiences and wisdom of the company's founder, the enigmatic Burt Leathers. Thirty years earlier a blinding flash of light erased Leathers' memory, yet also imbued him with strange persuasive powers and a keen intuition. Even more curious - any compass within his vicinity points directly at him. Taken together, Leathers interpreted these signs as proof that he had achieved enlightenment, and promptly set about building a business empire imparting his knowledge to the masses for fifty dollars a pop. One morning, shortly after arriving for work, Sal is summoned to Leathers' office and given the shocking news that he has been chosen to take over the company following his boss's imminent departure. The part Sal wasn't told about - the death threats being sent in by a disgruntled customer named Don Bagley, a Stetson-wearing, gun-toting, wannabe cowboy who has vowed to exact vengeance against the company for ripping him off. As Bagley travels across the country toward True North's headquarters, he has no idea that he himself is being pursued by a woman with whom he had a chance encounter at a roadside bar, one whose identity and relationship to both Salvatore Slocum and Burt Leathers will change everything.

Ishmael was the sole survivor of the ill-fated Pequod that Moby Dick attacked. We know that Captain Gardiner and the whaling ship's crew, the Rachel, saved him. But whatever became of him once he was saved? Days after being rescued the Rachel was set upon by the pirate ship, the Flying Dragon. She was captained by two of the most notorious pirates, Captain Calico Jack and Captain Black Dog Billy Twigg. Ishmael and several other seamen were conscripted aboard to serve aboard the Flying Dragon for three years to share in all of the crew's booty. With the onslaught of steam-powered war vessels, Ishmael and the others knew that it was only a matter of time before they would be captured and hung. With the news of the gold strike in California, the crew of the Flying Dragon decided to set sail to the port of San Francisco. When the Civil War broke out, Ishmael felt the need to volunteer for the California Brigade fighting alongside Kit Carson for the Union. After a distinguished career as a Union Captain in the war, he became one of the largest cattle ranchers in California. Upon a chance meeting with Teddy Roosevelt, Ishmael was invited to join Roosevelt's Smithsonian Institute's year-long expedition to capture, collect, and catalog wild and unknown species. Tired and wanting to return home to his Stockton ranch, Ishmael books passage back to the United States from England with his friend John Astor and his wife, Ava, on a luxury liner. It's a story of danger, adventure, drama, romance, and morality, as told by Ishmael himself.

Calliope is a unique, eccentric soul, in touch with nature and with the poetry that lives in her incredible mind. Functioning in an alien world, in which emotions sometimes confuse and confound her, nevertheless, she has the love and acceptance of an adopted family and friends, who know, in Calliope's own words: "My soul does not sing, but hums, With measured notes, discordant." The simplicity and beauty of Calliope's view of life brings clarity to a precocious young girl struggling to understand and accept tragedy to move into a new life in the mountains of Southeast Tennessee, in the valley of uwohali, the eagle. Calliope is a story of faith, family, and eternal values, largely forgotten or denied, but sorely needed in this contemporary society-values that are alive and well in the hearts of those who seek and find more than this troubled world has to offer.Writer Jan Dearman is a native of southeast Tennessee, born into a family that has called the land of the river gorge at the foot of Suck Creek Mountain home for seven generations. Hardy Scottish forefathers and the native women they married produced a people who, still today, cling to the land as their heritage-a place of history, beauty, and ancestry, shared with uwohali, who reigns with grace and magnificence along the banks of the Tennessee.

Cole Luce is a guitar-maker who dreams of securing his reputation as a master luthier and achieving financial success with a small guitar manufacturing company. His goal is close to realization when his company investors withdraw financial support without warning and mysteriously drop out of contact. Without financial support, his dream quickly turns to despair as his electricity is turned off, his cars are repossessed, his health insurance cancelled, and he and his wife, Jewell, find themselves staring into a nearly empty refrigerator and pantry. It is when Jewell is admitted to Edna P. Slate's Women's Center for evaluation of depression and exhaustion that he must face the real possibility that that his wife's health is at risk and his marriage may be crumbling. His guitars are almost ready to show; his vision is nearly realized; his years of striving are on the verge of bearing fruit...but to continue his quest may prove too costly. Heartbreak Guitar is the story of a man with a passion, but few resources. It is the story of a man who is striving to fulfill a dream, but whose quest puts in jeopardy the most important elements in his life...his marriage, family and friends.

When several Falls High School students turn up drained of their life force, Justin Thyme realizes these are no ordinary murders! The ghastly state of the victims-void of any DNA, leathery, shrunken and twisted-has the police and coroner at their wits end! Now Justin's close friend, Charles Phillip Underwood, is missing. Justin must summon all his powers to find Charles before he becomes the killer's next victim!

Winner of the 2023 U.P. Notable Book Award¿In 1842, every resident of Copper Harbor, MI disappeared without a trace. In 2019, Bill Hitze and his son Brandon make a gruesome discovery while fishing on Lake Superior that starts to shed light on the old mystery. According to Professor Stephanie Crowe, an Ojibwa legend predicts that the town's residents will be lost again. Together, Bill and Stephanie strive to discover the truth about what happened so they can protect the small tourist town. But time runs out when brutal winter weather hits Copper Harbor and awakens the ancient horror. The legend claims the evil is indestructible. The warrior Vikings who'd set foot upon these lands hundreds of years ago scrawled their advice on a stone marker: flee. With escape cut off, the residents must hide or fight. And there is nowhere to hide.A level of plausibility is hard to find in today's horror fiction, and Hellman has the credentials to weave an immensely intriguing plot that delivers aabundantly satisfying conclusion." -Craig A. Brockman Author- Dead of November: A Novel of Lake Superior.

A firstborn son entered this world with a glisten in his eyes revealing something special about the child. His underprivileged parents felt that he could do no wrong. He was special because of his ability, appearance, and will.An antagonizing family called the Majors cause Johnny and the rest of the family much misery throughout most of the story.Years later, another son was born unexpectedly and unwanted. He was growing up alone in a cold world during the depression of the 1930s. The big brother recognized the loneliness of his little brother and decided that he would ensure that the young boy would be treated fairly in life. He takes on a fatherly role in raising Joey, but WWII begins, and Johnny is soon drafted into the military after a short career as a street fighter.The once gifted Johnny comes back from war after suffering horrifying experiences and multiple wounds. He is a psychological wreck and the Majors will not go away.Joey ends up going into the Korean War and is placed into a suicide mission. Shortly after his brief war experience, he is sent home with a serious wound. After his recovery, he must take on the role as the leading brother when the Majors go too far.

When a billionaire game manufacturer finds out he''s dying from an incurable disease, he summons three former close friends from college to pilot a new murder mystery game his company''s developing.Estranged since graduation, each has fallen on hard times and see the invitation as a way of soliciting financial assistance from their wealthy friend. But there''s a reason that the men have not talked to each other since college and coming together means opening old wounds.After the billionaire dies from strange circumstances, the friends decide to continue to play in the hopes of collecting a sizeable sum given to the person that solves the game.  When it''s revealed that the game was designed to expose the individual guilty of a murder forty years ago in college, the true meaning of friendship is tested as the men compete not only for the prize but also to stay alive in the process.

Eight years ago, James'' friend Emory disappeared, leaving behind his memoirs and the promise of a hidden cache of $3 million. James published the memoir and became a famous professor. But his obsession with Emory''s disappearance destroyed his personal life. He never went to find the money. Years later, James'' former student, Melanie, knocks on his door with a clue that Emory might still be alive. Together, they take to the road with a copy of Emory''s memoir and a taunting riddle someone sent them. Is the riddle a hint from Emory? Why is he reaching out? And what happened to the money James never went looking for? ∩╗┐∩╗┐∩╗┐∩╗┐∩╗┐∩╗┐∩╗┐If You Find Emory Walden is author James Wallace Birch''s long-anticipated follow up to the reader-acclaimed Discontents: The Disappearance of a Young Radical. Join James and Melanie on a journey through claustrophobic cities, suburban nightmares, and wide-open roads as they chase down the riddle of the disappearance of a notorious fugitive. Follow their van life on the road. Sing along with them to early 2000s pop punk and emo bands. But don''t trust everything you read in this fascinating blend of suspense, mystery, adventure, and nostalgia.

Henry Davis kicks the bucket at a Los Angeles hospital. Unlike Elvis who has left the building, Henry's still there and aware of everything around him, including his toxic ex-wife's hookup attempt with his doctor. So begins Henry's stint in the spirit world.Contrary to what Hollywood would have us believe, the dead don't wear white sheets or sport human bodies. They have the outline of a body and face similar to their own and are covered with silvery transparent scales. They come and go as they please, but only spirits can see or hear other spirits. It's a good thing, too, because they look like something you might see on a bad LSD trip.Having come of age in '60s and '70s New York City, Henry quickly discovers he can get high by inhaling the second-hand smoke of the living potheads at the Santa Monica apartment building he inhabits. Much of this imbibing takes place at the pool.Whether hitching a ride on the back of an oblivious surfer's bike, helping his deceased buddy in apartment 105 find a dead mate in T.J. Maxx or stowing aboard a cruise ship to Cabo, Henry navigates the afterlife with heart and humor, encountering a diverse bunch of characters from both worlds."Stoner Ghosts of Santa Monica" is an optimistic spin on the afterlife, a place where fun, love, creativity and friendship flourish. It is a story of  people who are dead, but party on.