Showing results by author "Elizabeth Craig" in All Categories

When Myrtle Clover and her friend Miles attend a play in their small town, there's a full house on opening night. It's clear to Myrtle that one of the actresses is a stage hog who loves stealing the spotlight. Nandina Marshall certainly does upstage everyone - when her murder forces an unexpected intermission. Can Myrtle and Miles discover who was behind her final curtain call before murder makes an encore?

Retired English teacher Myrtle Clover is frequently asked to proofread for friends. So she wasn't totally surprised when her friend Pearl asked her to take a look at her memoir and polish it up. But before Myrtle could pull out her red pen, Pearl was found murdered.

Attics can be full of surprises. Who could have murdered Darren Powell? He was a very pleasant man fond of puttering around in his garden and playing chess. He didn't seem at all the type of person who'd find himself murdered in his own attic.

No one in Bradley, North Carolina, is exactly crying into their sweet tea over the murder of Parke Stockard. Certainly not retired schoolteacher Myrtle Clover. Upon discovering the corpse, Myrtle is struck - not with grief, but a brilliant idea! Solving the murder would prove to everyone - especially her son Red, the police chief - that this 80-something-year-old is still as sharp as a tack. Heck, going from crosswords to crime investigations isn't such a stretch.

According to Myrtle, Eloise Crane set her cap for Miles long ago. Although Miles is now dating Eloise, he doesn’t seem enthusiastic about it. Myrtle figures he’s simply given in after running out of plausible excuses. Eloise drives Myrtle batty, so she’s intent on avoiding her as much as possible. This isn’t easy since Eloise is determined to join in whenever Miles and Myrtle are together. When Myrtle spots Eloise at a restaurant canoodling with a different gentleman, she likes Eloise even less. And she decides that Eloise has caused no end of problems when her other suitor is found dead.

Cosette Whitlow is a society matron if tiny Bradley, North Carolina, has one. She kindly volunteers for all the town's charities, but isn't nearly as kind to her own family, neighbors, and friends. In fact, Cosette is emphatically disliked by much of the town - including octogenarian Myrtle Clover. And Myrtle knows that dislike in Bradley can quickly turn deadly. No one seems surprised when Cosette's body is discovered during a party she's hosting - she was struck on the head with a croquet mallet.

If you can’t beat them, join them. Octogenarian Myrtle Clover is so annoyed by the infighting at tiny Bradley, North Carolina’s town council meetings that she decides on a radical course of action: she’ll run for the open seat on the council. After all, she taught most of the elected officials—she should be able to enact some order. But order apparently isn’t in the works. This becomes clear when a fellow candidate is found . . . murdered. Myrtle and her senior sidekick Miles must uncover the killer before someone else becomes a lame duck.

At first, librarian Ann Beckett is delighted her director hired another full-time staff member. The Whitby Library is a busy place and another librarian should make life much easier there. Instead, she soon discovers that the new hire, Ellie, seems to be bent on creating issues instead of solving them. When she's found dead at the library, no one is as shocked as they might have been.

Amos Subers isn’t one to tip waiters, pay back a loan, or behave generously with family. When it’s discovered that penny-pinching Amos was actually quite wealthy, it hardly engenders goodwill in the small town...in fact, he’s heartily disliked. Octogenarian sleuth Myrtle Clover’s housekeeper is certainly no fan of his: Amos owes Puddin money for cleaning his house. It’s not too surprising when Amos is later found, murdered, in his kitchen. Myrtle and her senior sidekick, Miles, resolve to track down the killer when Puddin becomes a prime suspect.

When Beauty Box beautician Tammy Smith is discovered with a pair of hair shears in her back, there are suspects and secrets aplenty in her small Southern town. Octogenarian Myrtle Clover, bored by bingo and bridge, is intrigued by the crime...and her neighbors' secrets. But discovering, and blabbing, secrets got Tammy killed and Myrtle soon learns her sleuthing isn't just dangerous...it's deadly.

Fall is beautiful in the small mountain village of Whitby, North Carolina. The leaves are changing color on the mountainsides, the sky is a bright blue, and the air is crisp. Librarian Ann Beckett's friend and coworker, Luna, has persuaded her to take a break from the library and attend a house party on the lake with her. The modest house Ann was expecting is more of a mansion with amazing mountain and lake views and an indoor swimming pool. When one of the guests is later found murdered in the pool, Ann works through the puzzle since now someone else is on borrowed time.

It’s just an ordinary day for octogenarian sleuth Myrtle Clover - until her yardman discovers a dead body planted in her backyard. Myrtle’s friend Miles recognizes the body and identifies him as Charles Clayborne... reluctantly admitting he’s a cousin. As Myrtle starts digging up dirt to nip the killings in the bud, someone’s focused on scaring her off the case. Myrtle vows to find the murderer... before she’s pushing up daisies, herself.

Whatever you do, do not listen. Ignore that pull, the need to escape from drudgeries of life and find peace and solitude within nature. It is not the cool breeze and the scent of pine that whispers your name. No, these things within the forest will rip out your heart and devour your soul. You will tremble as they revel in your madness, taking everything from you and leaving you with nothing. Delve inside this anthology of what truly lurks within the shadows of the trees. We dare you to take this journey with us and find out what horrors await you.

Sometimes taking a spin makes you crash and burn. When a neighbor disappears, Myrtle and Miles shift gears and hit the road to search for him. They discover their neighbor slightly off the beaten track - murdered with a tire iron. Myrtle has no intention of letting the killer give them the slip. She and Miles buckle up for a race against time to find the murderer…before someone else hits a dead end.

No one in the town of Whitby, North Carolina was excited when Jonas Merchant returned to town. Jonas was an effective muckraker; an expert at uncovering secrets, rumors, and undercurrents. Even worse, he'd fallen on hard times and was desperate for easy cash. It was a decidedly dangerous combination.

The Whitby Library has been a busy place lately, between book clubs, children's storytimes, and students working on research projects. Ann has been busy, too, which is why she's so glad to see some new volunteers to help the staff out.

Carmen King is a busy woman. Not only does she sit on the library board and dabble in the Friends of the Library, but she juggles quite a few relationships at once. Apparently, this doesn't go over well with at least one of her boyfriends—Carmen is found dead at the bottom of the library staircase. Librarian Ann Beckett not only finds Carmen's body, but finds herself entangled in Carmen's mysterious death as she sets out to learn why Carmen's death, from the killer's perspective, was overdue.

The Whitby Library is a hive of activity. The basement of the old building is under construction and there are smaller projects on the main floor, too. The work is being done practically pro-bono by Cornelius, a Friends of the Library member who's a local real estate investor and builder and now a philanthropist.

When librarian Ann Beckett finally reluctantly agrees to being set-up on a blind date by one of her over-eager patrons, she figures the worst that could happen would be the two of them wouldn't hit it off. Little did she know that she'd be stood up . . . because her date was murdered. With help from her patrons, Ann tries to find out who might be responsible in the small town of Whitby before more residents are permanently checked out.

Silence is golden, unless you’re permanently hushed up. When Lillian Johnson was found dead one hot summer day, no one in the town of Bradley, North Carolina, was all that surprised. Lillian had always talked about the trials of her various health problems, and was sure to share with everyone exactly how much she suffered. The townspeople were only slightly more surprised to discover that Lillian had been murdered. That’s because Lillian, like most folks, had a dark side. And a fair number of people had experienced this dark side.