The Gooseberry Fool

James McClure

Summary

A South African’s murder reveals surprising secrets in “one of the finest police series to begin in the 1970s” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine).   Hugo Swart, faithful churchgoer and respected citizen, is found stabbed to death on the floor of his kitchen just before Christmas, on the hottest night of the year. If Mr. Swart’s reverend is to be believed, no one in the world could have a reason to kill him; the murder was most likely a robbery gone ugly, and the chief suspect is Swart’s black servant, Shabalala, who has fled to the countryside.   But Lieutenant Kramer suspects that not everything is as it appears. While Zondi pursues Shabalala in what turns out to be a treacherous tour of miserable outlying Bantu villages, Kramer tries to wring the truth out of some of Swart’s acquaintances in Trekkersburg and Cape Town. It seems not everyone liked the victim quite as much as the reverend did . . .

Available since: 06/14/2011.

Print length: 224 pages.

Other books that might interest you

A Holiday Code for Love

Jacki Delecki

Enter the emotional, suspenseful Regency world of USA Today bestselling author Jacki Delecki’s Code Breakers spy series. Undaunted by danger or scandal, these intrepid lords and ladies discover true love as they risk it all to save England from Napoleon’s treacherous designs. 
Tis the Season of love and hope, spies and intrigue! 
A Christmas house party becomes a covert operation to trap a French spy. Can the Honorable John Bonnington protect his wife from their guest's murderous intentions? Can Abbie Bonnington protect her husband from his ex-mistress' intentions to seduce him into revealing Crown secrets? Can Abbie and Jack continue the charade of hosting the perfect holiday party as danger, treachery, and treason swirl in the ballroom? 
THE CODE BREAKERS SERIES 
Men and women from the class of privilege and rank risk their lives to defend England against the treacherous designs of Napoleon. They confront disaster, scandal, and passion as they pursue their code of honor and love. Read the entire series or enjoy as standalone reads in this best-selling Regency romantic fiction series from USA Today bestselling author Jacki Delecki.

Show book

The Radioactive Redhead - with...

John Zakour, Lawrence Ganem

Everyone’s favorite sci-fi PI is back on the beat in this third Nuclear Bombshell mystery. Includes the prequel novella, The Peach-Blonde Bomber!

After a chance encounter at a Kabuki theater, Zach Johnson has reluctantly agreed to lend a hand to Sexy Sprockets, 2060’s most fabulously famous pop-singer. Sexy has received a slew of death threats from an obsessive fan intent on making sure her ascendant career is cut short. In the guise of Sexy’s bodyguard, Zach enters the dizzying world of showbiz to uncover Sexy’s stalker before he can make good on his threats.

Together with his sentient super-computer, HARV, and his psionic assistant, Carol, Zach must use all his PI wisdom to ensnare the would-be killer. At the same time, world famous media mogul Rupert Roundtree has positioned Zach as the unwilling star of his next great reality series, entitled Let’s Kill Zach. Zach will need to stay one step ahead of the murderous mogul if he’s going to save the imperiled pop singer.

Praise for the Nuclear Bombshell mysteries

“A wild and crazy adventure that blends noir detective fiction and far-out future SF to create a tongue-in-cheek, thoroughly enjoyable story.” —SF Site

“Surprisingly clever . . . spoofs the genre and everything else in sight.” —Science Fiction Chronicle

“Abbott and Costello meet a futuristic crime noir . . . readers will laugh until they cry.” —AllReaders.com

“A fun romp through cyberspace and the future Earth . . . I enjoyed this tongue-in-cheek look at the future of private investigation.” —MyShelf.com

Show book

Booke of the Hidden

Jeri Westerson

In this urban fantasy series debut, the discovery of a mysterious book in her tea shop immerses a woman in a world of demons, witches, and murder. To get a fresh start away from a bad relationship, Kylie Strange moves across the country to open a shop in the seemingly quiet town of Moody Bog in rural Maine. During renovations on Strange Herbs & Teas, she discovers a peculiar and ancient codex, The Booke of the Hidden, bricked into the wall. Every small town has its legends and unusual histories, and this artifact sends Kylie right into the center of Moody Bog’s biggest secret. While puzzling over the tome’s oddly blank pages, Kylie gets an unexpected visitor—Erasmus Dark, an inscrutable stranger who claims to be a demon, knows she has the book, and warns her that she has opened a portal to the netherworld. Kylie brushes off this nonsense, until a series of bizarre murders put her, the newcomer, at the center. With the help of the demon and a coven of witches she befriends while dodging the handsome but sharp-eyed sheriff, Kylie hunts for a killer—that might not be human.“Westerson creates an utterly believable history of witches, demons, and magic for her claustrophobic New England village including a heroine with enough spark, smarts, and stubbornness to keep both the bad guys and the deliciously dangerous love-interest on their toes.”—Kat Richardson, author of the Greywalker series“Readers sad about the ending of Charlaine Harris’s Midnight, Texas trilogy will find some consolation in Moody Bog.”—Publishers Weekly

Show book

Dark Is the Day

Tana Collins

A killer is terrorizing a Scottish college town—and a police detective fears that his ex-wife may be in the crosshairs . . . 
 
When a university lecturer is stalked by one of her own students, DI Jim Carruthers is horrified to discover that the academic is none other than his ex-wife, Mairi. It’s especially alarming since another student has just been brutally attacked and left for dead—and the stalker and killer may be one and the same. 
 
Putting his personal feelings for newly appointed DCI Sandra McTavish aside for the moment, Carruthers focuses on leading his team on the hunt after two more victims are found, with the crimes only growing more gruesome. What is the victims’ connection to a cult in North America, which seems to be getting a stranglehold in a Scottish university? Why have these women been targeted? And who is doing the killing? As fear spreads through Castletown, Carruthers must race to stop this depraved murderer . . .

Show book

After All These Years

Susan Isaacs

Rosie Myers had watched her husband, Richie, change from a teacher to a tycoon who eventually threw her over for a beautiful, young, and very cerebral VP at his company. So when Richie turns up dead in Rosie's kitchen, everyone--police included--thinks she did it, forcing her to head to New York City to search out the real culprit.

Show book

Temple of the Inner Flame

Amber Fisher

A New Age cult. A paranormal killing. How can Kezia Bernard defeat an enemy that’s already claimed her soul? 
"A human body should burn red-yellow or orange. But these flames were bright cobalt blue. All flame. No smoke." 
When a millionaire cultist mysteriously burns to death by supernatural fire, it’s up to me to investigate the source of this brutal magic. Armed with ancestral necromancy and preternatural senses, I've sworn to uncover the nemesis incinerating the cult's members. 
But when the villain I’m hunting brands me with the same scorching magic, I know my time is running out. If I can’t destroy the source of the fire smoldering within me, even the powerful protection of my ancestors won’t save me from a twisted fate that ventures far beyond death... 
Darkly enchanting with page-turning twists, the Rest in Power Necromancy trilogy is a complete, spellbinding urban fantasy & paranormal mystery series for fans of K.F. Breene, Shannon Mayer, C.N. Crawford, BR Kingsolver, Patricia Briggs, and Jim Butcher.

Show book