Andy Carpenter gets a mysterious phone call from his friend, policeman Pete Stanton, asking him to drop everything and drive to an unfamiliar address with his girlfriend. Andy isn't expecting to show up at a crime scene where Pete has just discovered the body of ex-convict Danny Diza. Or that Pete wants Andy and Laurie to take care of Danny's now orphaned eight-year-old son and basset hound. Or that Pete will become a suspect in the murder.

When Commander Monk of the Thames River Police is called to investigate the drowning of an escaped prisoner, he's forced to contend with customs officer McNab, who clearly bears a bitter grudge against him. But the reason is a mystery in itself. Monk's memory loss -- a secret he guards closely -- leaves him vulnerable to repercussions from his missing past... especially his exploits overseas, in the tumultuous Gold Rush days of San Francisco. And...

When a peculiar letter arrives inviting Armand Gamache to an abandoned farmhouse, the former head of the Sûreté du Québec discovers that a complete stranger has named him one of the executors of her will. Still on suspension, and frankly curious, Gamache accepts and soon learns that the other two executors are Myrna Landers, the bookseller from Three Pines, and a young builder. None of them had ever met the elderly woman. The will is so odd and...

"When Georgie O'Mara's best friend Belinda inherits a house in Cornwall, she asks Georgie to go with her to inspect the property. Belinda's house proves uninhabitable, so they accept an invitation to stay at Trewoma Hall with Rose and Tony Summers. This is far from ideal, as Belinda once had a fling with Tony -- and he seems intent on rekindling it. The awkward visit turns deadly when a member of the household is found murdered. Georgie learns that...

"After returning from her father-in-law's funeral in Florida, Lucy can almost hear the death knell of her part-time reporter job the instant she meets new hire Rob Callahan. He's young, ambitious, and positioning himself to become the Pennysaver's next star reporter. Adding insult to injury, Lucy only gets assigned the local St. Patrick's Day parade once Rob passes on the story. But before beer flows and bagpipes sound, Rob becomes suspected of destroying...

"Meg is taste-testing Michae's latest batch of Arnold Palmers and watching the hummingbirds when her hopes for a relaxing early summer morning are dashed. Her grandmother, Cordelia, shows up, trailed by a nosy reporter who is writing a feature on her for a genteel Southern ladies' magazine. Cordelia drafts Meg to accompany her and Deacon Washington of the New Life Baptist Church in their search for a long-lost cemetery but a fresh corpse. Can Meg...

"In Kilbane, opinions are plentiful and rarely in alignment. But there's one thing everyone does agree on--the bakery in the old flour mill, just outside town, is the best in County Cork, well worth the short drive and the long lines. No wonder they're about to be featured on a reality baking show. All six contestants in the show are coming to Kilbane to participate, and the town is simmering with excitement. Aside from munching on free samples, the...

"Alex Armstrong has changed everything about herself--her name, her appearance, her backstory. She's no longer the terrified teenager a rapt audience saw on television, emerging in handcuffs from the quiet suburban home the night her family was massacred. That girl, Alexandra Quinlan, nicknamed Empty Eyes by the media, was accused of the killings, fought to clear her name, and later took the stand during her highly publicized defamation lawsuit that...