Parnell Hall Books In Order

Herbie Fisher Books In Publication Order

  1. Barely Legal (With: Stuart Woods) (2017)

Puzzle Lady Books In Publication Order

  1. A Clue for the Puzzle Lady (1999)
  2. Last Puzzle & Testament (2000)
  3. Puzzled to Death (2001)
  4. A Puzzle in a Pear Tree (2002)
  5. With this Puzzle, I Thee Kill (2003)
  6. And a Puzzle to Die On (2004)
  7. Stalking the Puzzle Lady (2005)
  8. You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled (2006)
  9. The Sudoku Puzzle Murders (2008)
  10. Dead Man’s Puzzle (2009)
  11. The Puzzle Lady vs. The Sudoku Lady (2009)
  12. The KenKen Killings (2011)
  13. $10,000 in Small, Unmarked Puzzles (2012)
  14. Arsenic and Old Puzzles (2013)
  15. Lethal Luncheon (2013)
  16. NYPD Puzzle (2014)
  17. Puzzled Indemnity (2015)
  18. Presumed Puzzled (2016)
  19. A Puzzle to be Named Later (2017)
  20. The Purloined Puzzle (2018)
  21. Lights! Camera! Puzzles! (2019)

Stanley Hastings Books In Publication Order

  1. Detective (1987)
  2. Murder (1987)
  3. Favor (1988)
  4. Strangler (1989)
  5. Client (1990)
  6. Juror (1990)
  7. Shot (1991)
  8. Actor (1993)
  9. Blackmail (1994)
  10. Movie (1995)
  11. Trial (1996)
  12. Scam (1997)
  13. Suspense (1998)
  14. Cozy (2001)
  15. Fear of Failure (2002)
  16. Manslaughter (2003)
  17. Oh, What a Tangled Lanyard We Weave (2006)
  18. Hitman (2007)
  19. Deal Me In (2007)
  20. Caper (2010)
  21. Stakeout (2013)
  22. Death of a Vampire (2013)
  23. Clicker Training (2013)
  24. Safari (2014)
  25. A Fool for a Client (2015)
  26. The Naked and the Dead (2020)
  27. The Dead Client (2020)

Steve Winslow Books In Publication Order

  1. The Baxter Trust (As: J.P. Hailey) (1988)
  2. The Anonymous Client (As: J.P. Hailey) (1989)
  3. The Naked Typist (As: J.P. Hailey) (1990)
  4. The Underground Man (As: J.P. Hailey) (1990)
  5. The Wrong Gun (As: J.P. Hailey) (1992)
  6. The Innocent Woman (As: J.P. Hailey) (2011)
  7. The Witness Cat (2013)

Teddy Fay Books In Publication Order

  1. Smooth Operator (With: Stuart Woods) (2016)
  2. The Money Shot (With: Stuart Woods) (2018)
  3. Skin Game (With: Stuart Woods) (2019)
  4. Bombshell (With: Stuart Woods) (2020)
  5. Jackpot (By:Stuart Woods,Bryon Quertermous) (2021)

Standalone Novels In Publication Order

  1. Chasing Jack (2020)

Cozy Case Files Mystery Sampler Books In Publication Order

  1. A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Vol 1 (2017)
  2. A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Vol 2 (2017)
  3. A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Vol 3 (2017)
  4. A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Vol 4 (2018)
  5. A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Vol 5 (2018)
  6. A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Vol 6 (2019)
  7. A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Vol 7 (2019)
  8. A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Vol 8 (2020)
  9. A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Vol 9 (2020)
  10. A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Vol 10 (2020)
  11. A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Vol 11 (2021)
  12. A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Vol 12 (2021)

Anthologies In Publication Order

  1. Show Business is Murder (2004)
  2. In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American Hero (2012)
  3. Dark City Lights: New York Stories (Have a NYC) (2015)
  4. C.H.U.D. LIVES! (2018)
  5. Parnell Hall Presents Malice Domestic (2019)

Herbie Fisher Book Covers

Puzzle Lady Book Covers

Stanley Hastings Book Covers

Steve Winslow Book Covers

Teddy Fay Book Covers

Standalone Novels Book Covers

Cozy Case Files Mystery Sampler Book Covers

Anthologies Book Covers

Parnell Hall Books Overview

A Clue for the Puzzle Lady

Cruciverbalists, rejoice! Pick up a pencil and get ready to solve a puzzling murder and an actual crossword puzzle in this sparkling debut of a unique amateur detective: Miss Cora Felton, an eccentric old lady with a syndicated puzzle column, an irresistible urge to poke into unsettling events, and a niece who’s determined to keep her out of trouble.

When the body of an unknown teenage girl turns up in the cemetery in the quiet town of Bakerhaven, Police Chief Dale Harper finds himself investigating his first homicide. A baffling clue leads him to consult Bakerhaven’s resident puzzle expert his first big mistake. Soon Cora’s meddling, mischief making behavior drives Chief Harper to distraction and inspires many cross words from her long suffering niece, Sherry. But when another body turns up in a murder that hits much closer to home, Cora must find a killer before she winds up in a wooden box three feet across…
and six down.

Last Puzzle & Testament

Parnell Hall’s first Puzzle Lady mystery, A Clue for the Puzzle Lady, was hailed as ‘devious and delightful’ Chicago Sun Times and ‘heaven for crossword puzzle fans’ Kirkus Reviews. Now, Hall brings back his two unforgettable sleuths, Miss Cora Felton and her long suffering niece, Sherry Carter, in another irresistible tale of greed, murder, and mystery most puzzling. Last Puzzle & TestamentEmma Hurley died the way she lived surrounded by an air of mystery, with only her servants at her side. That is, until she finally pas*ses away…
and her greedy heirs crawl out of the woodwork to stake a claim to Emma’s fortune. But unlike most people, Emma was not content to leave behind a simple will. Instead, her final testament includes, of all things, a clever puzzle…
one to be given only to her living heirs. The first one to solve the puzzle will inherit Emma’s entire estate; everyone else will be left with a pittance. Complicating matters further, the will stipulates that Cora Felton local celebrity and famed author of a popular syndicated crossword puzzle column must referee the contest. Unfortunately, Cora knows far more about the fine art of mixing a martini than creating let alone solving crossword puzzles. It’s Cora’s niece Sherry who’s the brains behind Cora’s ‘Puzzle Lady’ persona. And it’s up to Sherry to unravel the bizarre riddle Emma Hurley engineered before her death. For soon it’s plain that Emma’s game is one without a clear winner…
and that the players could lose far more than they ever imagine. Before long, would be heirs are scouring every nook and cranny of the town as they scramble to solve a forty year old puzzle, while the Puzzle Lady herself adds to the chaos with her less than sobering antics. Meanwhile, Sherry has some pressing problems of her own: Her romantic interest in a mild mannered local reporter is turning into an unpleasant love triangle one that involves a glamorous young lawyer. And when one of the participants in Emma’s contest is knifed to death, the last thing Sherry needs is amorous advances especially when they’re coming from the number one suspect in the crime…
. Last Puzzle & Testament is a devilish concoction of gamesmanship, malice, and mystery for anyone who loves a puzzle across, down, or any way around!

Puzzled to Death

Parnell Hall’s Puzzle Lady mysteries have been praised as fun from the first page The Dallas Morning News and heaven for crossword puzzle fans Kirkus Reviews. Now Hall s unlikely pair of crime solvers, Miss Cora Felton and her niece Sherry Carter, return to piece together an unforgettable tale of jealousy, infidelity, and murder…
. Puzzled to DeathBakerhaven, Connecticut, seems like the ideal place to host a charity crossword puzzle tournament. After all, the town is home to noted crossword creator Harvey Beerbaum, as well as to Cora Felton, the beloved syndicated puzzle columnist known everywhere as the Puzzle Lady. Why shouldn t the pair co host the festivities and crown the winner? Truth be told, Cora has a long list of reasons, but her niece Sherry insists she must accept…
or Cora s fans may discover who secretly pens the column. As Cora grudgingly agrees to help, Harvey announces a slew of celebrity contestants handsome heartbreaker Paul Thornhill, voluptuous Zelda Zisk, and supremely shy Craig Carmichael and invites the locals to challenge the veteran puzzlers head on. But before long the town s attention is fixated on something far more controversial than crosswords…
when the body of town tart Judy Vale is discovered lying dead on her kitchen floor. After the victim s no good husband is arrested for murder, the case seems solved until Sherry s archrival, Becky Baldwin, is hired as the defense lawyer…
and has the nerve to ask for Cora s help in proving her client s innocence. While Sherry doesn t want to lift a finger to assist the blond defense attorney, Cora quickly sees that the juicy investigation is far more exciting than any crossword tournament could ever be. Before anyone can stop her, Cora is hot on the trail of the truth, interviewing nosy neighbors, digging up dirt on Judy s many indiscretions, and drawing out a neighbor who just may hold the key to cracking the crime. By the time the puzzle tournament begins, alibis begin to crumble, the list of suspects keeps getting longer, and another victim lies dead. The Puzzle Lady is closer than ever to unmasking the killer but will she solve the case before the contest comes to a lethal end? Cora is about to discover that sleuthing spells M U R D E R up, across, and down!

A Puzzle in a Pear Tree

The Chicago Sun Times crowns Parnell Hall’s Puzzle Lady mysteries a joy for lovers of both crosswords and frothy crime detection…
Cora Felton is a lovable and unique sleuth. Now the crime solving powers of the inimitable Cora and her clever niece, Sherry Carter, are put to the ultimate test as they square off against a yuletide killer who hides within the white and black shadows of an acrostic…
.

A Puzzle in a Pear Tree

Tis the season to be jolly, but Cora Felton, shanghaied into The Twelve Days of Christmas as a most reluctant maid a milking, has every right to feel like a grinch. When someone steals the partridge from the pear tree and replaces it with a cryptic puzzle she has no hope of solving, it s almost more than the Puzzle Lady can bear. But then smug crossword creator Harvey Beerbaum solves the acrostic, and it turns out to be a poem promising the death of an actress. This is more like it! Could the threat be aimed at Cora and her thespian debut? Or at Sherry, one of the ladies dancing? Or at Sherry s nemesis, the pageant s predatory lead, Becky Baldwin?

Cora and Sherry barely have time for a mystery, what with trim*ming Christmas trees and buying Christmas presents, but rehearsals go on, under police protection until a killer strikes elsewhere in a most unexpected manner. Ordinarily Cora Felton would be delighted to have two murders to solve. But this time she finds herself vying with a visiting Scotland Yard inspector who appears to have an all too personal stake in solving the crimes. Cora does too when her own niece becomes a prime suspect and the murderer strikes again.

Is someone trying to shut down the Christmas pageant? Cora would be only too happy if that were the case, but she fears the secrets lie deeper. Now she is interviewing witnesses, breaking into motel rooms, finding evidence, planting evidence, and having a merry old time. In fact, she would be perfectly happy if this wasn t turning out to be a Christmas to die for!

From the Hardcover edition.

With this Puzzle, I Thee Kill

Crime, cryptograms, and killer conundrums abound for the Puzzle Lady in the fourth installment of the series USA Today raves is a fun series for mystery fans and cruciverbalists! It looks like wedding bells again for the much married Cora Felton when distinguished widower Raymond Harstein III moves into town and makes a play for the Puzzle Lady. That is, it does until the mail brings puzzling cryptograms, which, when deciphered, warn Cora off the match. Or do they?As the puzzles keep coming, a killer’s game must be played in earnest, and it s up to the Puzzle Lady to solve the riddle if anyone is going to live to make it to the altar!From the Hardcover edition.

And a Puzzle to Die On

When nerdy cruciverbalist Harvey Beerbaum throws a birthday bash for Cora Felton at the Bakerhaven Library, it’s no surprise that the centerpiece, a huge cake decorated like a crossword puzzle, is a complete bust until a corpse thrown from the second floor stacks hits it dead center and fills in 14 down. Cora may hate birthdays almost as much as she hates crossword puzzles but when it comes to solving crimes, no one can hold a candle to the Puzzle Lady.

From the Hardcover edition.

Stalking the Puzzle Lady

Cora Felton may look like everyone’s favorite grandmother. But the white haired, bespectacled Puzzle Lady swears, smokes, gambles, and is even dodgy on the subject of how many husbands she s had. So it strikes her long suffering niece Sherry Carter as amusing when Cora announces, I m tired of living a lie!

The inspiration for this sudden burst of honesty is a promotion by Granville Grains featuring the Puzzle Lady on a bus tour of televised personal appearances. Cora can t think of anything she d like to do less except maybe quit smoking than travel the supermarkets of I 95 hawking the new and improved Corn Toasties to her legions of fans. And someone else mustn t want her to go either, because they ve left a knife planted in her front door with a crossword puzzle attached. But when Sherry solves the puzzle she can t decide whether the enigmatic message is a threat, a love note, or creepier still both.

Like it or not, Cora and Sherry must take their show on the road, along with a makeshift TV crew that includes a smarmy producer with a bad hairpiece, an abrasive director, an overambitious publicist, and two overgrown child actors with some very adult problems. Throw in a few uninvited guests, including a roly poly munchkin who s had an unrequited crush on Cora since high school and Sherry s abusive ex husband, and you don t need to be a puzzle expert to know this trip is going to be murder!

From the Hardcover edition.

You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled

When Benny Southstreet, a small time hustler with a big time gift for constructing crosswords, accuses Cora of stealing one of his creations, it’s clearly a case of mistaken identity until Cora s own attorney files a plagiarism suit against her. To add to the enigma, when Benny is found dead, the police charge Cora with his murder!

At the heart of the matter is the not so little white lie Cora has been living for years: assuming the grandmotherly public face of her publicity shy niece Sherry, who designs crossword puzzles and publishes them under Cora s name aka the Puzzle Lady. It turns out that Sherry s and Benny s cruciverbalist paths had recently crossed, resulting in the current incriminating conundrum.

As if Sherry s wedding engagement jitters and a nasty battle over missing antique chairs weren t enough to deal with, now Cora has to solve the ultimate mystery: how to keep the secret of her identity without losing her life. Because not only does all evidence point to Cora, but someone seems to want her dead. It looks like a riddle with no answer. Luckily for Cora and Sherry, that s their favorite kind!

From the Hardcover edition.

The Sudoku Puzzle Murders

Cora Felton, the Puzzle Lady who actually couldn t solve a crossword puzzle to save her life, is surprisingly good at sudoku, so it’s no problem when a Japanese publisher asks her to write a sudoku book. But when two Japanese publishers show up in Bakerhaven to vie for her services, Cora is a little confused. Which one did she actually sign with? Which one has the stunning geisha wife? And which one is about to be arrested for murder? The two men are archenemies and will go to great lengths to ace out each other. But would they stoop to murder? Someone is littering the town with sudoku, crossword puzzles, and dead private eyes. It s up to Cora, with the help of her niece, Sherry, to solve the puzzle, the sudoku, and the murder, before the killer strikes again.

Parnell Hall delivers another entertaining, puzzle packed adventure with his delightfully untraditional sleuth, featuring for the first time sudoku puzzles by New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz.

Dead Man’s Puzzle

Sherry is off on her honeymoon when Chief Harper comes to Cora Felton, asking her to solve a crossword puzzle found on the body of Old Man Overmeyer. Small problem. Cora is the Milli Vanilli of cruciverbalists. Her niece, Sherry, writes the crossword puzzle column for her. Cora pokes into Overmeyer’s death, hoping to prove he died of natural causes. She learns the cranky hermit was the sole surviving member of a forty year old stock pooling agreement, and before she can say capital gain, the town is full of heirs. Complicating things is Sherry s ex husband, Dennis, who is playing detective in the hopes of impressing his ex wife. With Sherry out of town, her restraining order against him is moot, and he is taking full advantage of the fact. Parnell Hall delivers another stellar, puzzle packed entry in this entertaining series.

The Puzzle Lady vs. The Sudoku Lady

It’s the battle of the century when Minami, the Sudoku Lady, shows up in Bakerhaven, Connecticut, to meet Cora Felton, the Puzzle Lady, whose sudoku books have just edged Minami s off of the Japanese bestseller list. Before the rivals have a chance to square off, a killer strikes, and a sudoku puzzle is found at the scene of the murder. Now it s a fight to the finish to see who can unmask the killer. Cora is eager to undo her Japanese counterpart at least until the poor woman is arrested for murder and Cora realizes that she accidentally framed her for the crime. As if that weren t frustrating enough, the publicity of her arrest drives Minami s sales through the roof!Now it s up to Cora to clear her rival s name, get her off the bestseller list, and trap the real killer, but she d better do it fast, before the cops find out what Cora did, and she winds up facing more jail time than Minami. Boasting an entertaining, fun filled mystery, as well as several satisfying crossword and sudoku puzzles, the Puzzle Lady s latest adventure makes for a rollicking good read.

The KenKen Killings

The Puzzle Lady just can t stay out of trouble. When the late Chester T. Markowitz, a man she never met, leaves $10,000 to his beloved wife, Cora Felton, the Puzzle Lady can t help cashing the check. Quicker than you can say legal proceedings, Cora’s least favorite ex husband, Melvin, shows up in Bakerhaven with an attorney and a young bimbo, demanding that her alimony be terminated on the grounds she remarried. When a key witness in the alimony hearing gets murdered, a KenKen puzzle is left at the scene of the crime. Is someone trying to tell Cora something? Before she can find out, she runs into more murders, more puzzles both KenKen and crossword and a murder weapon that seems to point to Melvin as the killer! At least it might have, if Cora hadn t suppressed it. Does the Puzzle Lady still have feelings for the scoundrel she once married? Don t ask. She might kill you! This twelfth in the Puzzle Lady series is sure to please fans, and make some new ones.

$10,000 in Small, Unmarked Puzzles

‘Groucho Marx meets Jessica Fletcher!’ RT Book Reviews When young attorney Becky Baldwin hires Cora Felton to make a blackmail payment drop, it couldn t go worse: she stumbles over a corpse and a puzzle, and someone steals the money. Beckywon t tell her who the client is, but the most likely suspect is Cora’s least favorite ex husband, Melvin, who claims he s being framed by a psychopath with a grudge. Soon Cora finds herself in a no win situation. Solving the murder will either put Melvin s neck in the noose, or incur the wrath of a cunning, cold blooded killer who delights in playing deadly mind games and may be targeting her niece Sherry and Sherry s new baby girl. This next in the entertaining series features new puzzles by Will Shortz that help readers solve the mystery!

Detective

This debut entry in the author’s mystery series features actor turned private investigator Stanley Hastings. Poor Stanley! In a word, his pursuits end in FAILURE. So when Martin Albrecht comes to him with a case for a real Detective, Stanley turns him away. Unfortunately, Stanley’s damned path leads to his finding Albrecht dead. Well now he’s been challenged, so he has to take the case; maybe Stanley will finally prove that he’s a real Detective. To solve this case Stanley must descend into the modern day inferno that consists of drugs and mob operations. Will he come out of it alive A first novel from Parnell Hall, playwright and screenwriter, and actor, introduces erstwhile Detective Stanley Hastings who, while engaged in phony Detective work in aid of an insurance swindle, stumbles into his first real case. This is the author s first novel and the initial book in his now lengthy series featuring this Manhattan based Detective, a most unusual private eye. When an almost client turns up dead, this PI goes into an underworld of coke and kicks among the Big Boys of Miami and New York, taking the kind of risks that can get a guy real dead real fast.

Murder

Stanley Hastings, the NY Private Investigator, is back in the swing of investigation. Playing it safe and toning down his investigations, however, doesn’t work for him because he seems to be a trouble magnet. He becomes involved with an apparently innocent housewife/call girl named Pamela Berringer. Stanley needs to help Pamela get out of the prostitution ring and retrieve an illicit video of her that is being held hostage by her pimp. Unfortunately, Stanley seems to be cursed and walks into the pimp’s apartment while a slaughter is in progress. To make matters worse, Stanley is the number one suspect! Oh, what to do in this world of money, sex, and Murder! This is Hall’s 2nd novel and second in the series with protagonist Stanley Hastings, a down on his luck writer who moonlights as a detective, as does the author. Stanley Hastings, hero, answers the call of chivalry and locks horns with street toughs and pimps. A Murder suspect desperately seeks the real killer in a world of sex for sale, where money can buy anything even sudden death.

Favor

Good old Stanley, always willing to do a Favor. Stanley Hastings, the worst private detective in New York maybe in the known universe enters the big league. When asked to investigate Sergeant MacAullif’s son in law, Stanley gets himself into trouble yet again. Doing Favors can create a lot of problems. When Stanley takes on the case, he ends up doing one more Favor than he expected: he unwittingly takes the blame for the questionable dealings of MacAullif’s son in law. Now he must find a way out of this mess. Maybe he’ll learn to be more cautious next time he’s asked to do a Favor.

Strangler

As if Stanley Hastings didn’t already have bad luck, in his first case the guy he was looking for was found dead and Stanley was accused. But he got out of that one. What were the odds of it happening again? In Stanley’s case, apparently very high. Now Stanley must fight to clear his name when the NYPD accuses him of another murder. This gunless, gutless P.I. must solve a case that even New York’s finest can’t. Is it time for Stanley to find a new line of work?

Client

‘What’s wrong with me?’ is the thought that crosses Stanley Hastings’s mind when he gets his first paying Client. Stanley has absolutely no interest in being a P.I., but hey, he needs to pay the bills. The novice P.I.’s first victim . um . Client is Marvin Nickleson, an ex husband on the rampage. Stanley’s first job seems easy just get a picture of Nickleson’s ex wife with another man until . well . he finds her DEAD AS A DOORNAIL. The murder weapon? In Stanley’s car, of course. Stanley’s second case is to save his own hide. What will this aspiring writer turned detective do?

Juror

With the exception of the beautiful fellow Juror he has befriended, self employed private investigator Stanley Hastings finds jury duty a dreadful bore, that is until his new friend is murdered and the police suspect him. NYT.

Actor

New York private investigator Stanley Hastings chases his dream of becoming an Actor, but when he is accused of a murder backstage, he must use all of his sleuthing talents to track a killer. PW. NYT.

Blackmail

Agreeing to help a seemingly innocent girl who is threatened by someone claiming to have erotic photographs of her, private detective Stanley Hastings acquires the photos only to learn that the claims and the girl’s identity are bogus. K. PW. NYT.

Movie

Actor turned private investigator Stanley Hastings gets his big chance to produce a screenplay, but accidents on the set and an unidentified corpse force Stanley to rewrite the ending of the Movie to trap a killer. K. NYT.

Trial

In his bitingly funny eleventh adventure, the actor sleuth Stanley Hastings delves into the background of an accused wife killer in a sensational trail involving gore, scandal, and a blonde bombshell.

Cozy

In this new Stanley Hastings mystery novel, the put upon New York private investigator is vacationing at the Blue Frog Ponds Inn, a trendy New England bed and breakfast, with his wife, Alice. The cheerless room with its paper thin walls, no TV, and a blue cartoon frog on the door does nothing for Stanley’s spirits or his libido. Besides all that, someone has started bumping off the guests. Worse still, the first murder happened right under Stanley’s nose, so he finds himself a key witness if not a prime suspect. Back home in New York City Stanley could call upon his friends on the police force to help him solve the crime, but not at Blue Frog Ponds. Here he has only his wits, his wife, and a cat all of which he’ll need if he’s to catch a killer before the culprit strikes very close to home.

Manslaughter

Having survived a murderously uncomfortable New England holiday in the much praised Cozy, private eye Stanley Hastings returns to more familiar New York urban turf with his twisted logic and droll style effectually intact. With Joe Balfour a client who did time 25 years ago for killing a man in a barroom brawl Stanley embarks on an ingeniously plotted and frequently hilarious excursion that will confront him continually with embarrassments: like the arrest of his client for the murder of a notorious blackmailer who’s been found in his Upper East Side apartment with a carving knife in his back. And before he cracks the case, Stanley will be breaking and entering, contaminating crime scenes, concealing evidence or else planting it, framing two innocent men for two different homicides, aiding an extortionist, hanging out in a topless bar, blackmailing a few attorneys, and outwitting the cops. This is the fifteenth novel in the long running mystery series that the New York Times finds very funny in its manic nonsense and fiendish constructions of sound logic.

Hitman

‘What Mr. Hall does to the private eye formula is very funny, but it is not frivolous. His puzzles, for all their manic nonsense, are fiendish constructions of sound logic.’ The New York Times Book Review Private Eye Stanley Hastings doesn’t want for idiosyncrasies, as fans of this long running ‘unconventional’ and ‘very funny’ The New York Times mystery series know. For instance, he doesn’t carry a gun. So he seems a particularly improbable choice, among all of New York City’s private investigators, for the cold eyed Martin Kessler. Not that Kessler requires firepower. He’s got a gun of his own an automatic with a long, ugly silencer although he’d like to retire it. A contract killer who wants out of the game, Kessler hires Stanley mostly to watch his back in the event that someone of similar professional skills is shadowing him. Someone is, in fact, only Stanley fails to spot him and dead bodies are soon piling messily up. There’s an obligation a PI owes a client, so Stanley figures, and in the face of a situation that with more luck or diligence he might have averted, he determines to sort it out. The hapless PI thus begins an odyssey that will take him from a seedy topless bar to a plush corporate boardroom, and ultimately a Manhattan courtroom, in his attempt to uncover just what did go down, and why, during his client’s last, decidedly dirty job. Edgar, Shamus, and Lefty nominee Parnell Hall is the author of the Stanley Hastings private eye novels, the Puzzle Lady crossword puzzle mysteries, and the Steve Winslow courtroom dramas. An actor, screenwriter, and former private investigator, Hall lives in New York City.

Caper

The latest in the beloved Stanley Hastings series the unlikeliest private eye in New York City, who doesn t even carry a gun. Poor Stanley Hastings. After getting hired by a hitman and nearly getting shot, the put upon PI needed some fun, so when a gorgeous damsel in distress walked through his office door she seemed just what the doctor ordered. Wrong again. The fair maiden turned out to be a married mom who wanted Stanley to find out why her teenage daughter was skipping school. Playing truant officer wasn’t exactly Stanley’s idea of fun, but at least it should be easy. Fat chance. Stanley being Stanley, nothing goes right, nothing is as it seems, bodies start to pile up, and faster than you can say ‘fall guy’, guess who’s left holding the bag? Before the case is resolved, Stanley will be nostalgic for the good old days, when all he had to worry about was a hitman.

The Baxter Trust (As: J.P. Hailey)

When out of work lawyer Steve Winslow enlists himself as a New York City cab driver to pay the bills, he thinks he’s hit rock bottom. That is until Sheila Benton, heir to a multimillion dollar fortune, finds his number in the yellow pages and calls upon Steve to defend her. Of course her case is only a minor one. It seems that a blackmailer was found in her apartment in an uncomfortable position with a knife in his back. Only Sheila can’t seem to convince anyone that she isn’t responsible for killing this man. So without even the smallest bit of evidence, the ex actor, now lawyer/cab driver begins a series of legal maneuvers to take Sheila out of the light of suspicion while bringing himself back into business, all in a day’s work.

Show Business is Murder

The Mystery Writers of America take center stage…

with twenty tales of mayhem in the entertainment world. Contributors include: Carolyn Wheat Edward D. Hoch Annette Meyers John Lutz Elaine Viets Angela Zeman David Bart Bob Shayne Mark Terry Gary Phillips Parnell Hall Susanne Shaphren Libby Fischer Hellman Stuart M. Kaminsky and others

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