Omnibus Books
SOME LIKE IT HARD-BOILED – WITH A SIDE OF DANGER A muscular anthology of best-selling mysteries, Hard-Boiled Dudes showcases gritty, edgy, unexpected sleuths—a car mechanic, an ex-journalist, a reluctant lawyer, an ex-cop, and a small-town Hawaiian cop with a research scientist sidekick. Whether amateur or pro, these dudes come out swinging. From the deadly silence of a snowy ski resort to the buzzing swamps on Kauai, these five action-packed thrillers by award-winning authors are guaranteed to chill and thrill! Vol. 1: REPULSE MONKEY A year following Alex Glauberman’s first brush with murder and mystery, he’s recovered from cancer and chemotherapy; he’s studying tai chi for its pleasures and therapeutic effects; life goes on. Then, in the space of a two-minute phone call, he’s ensnared in another mystery. His anniversary dinner with girlfriend Meredith comes to an abrupt halt when a quick check-in with the babysitter yields the news from Alex’s sleepy nine-year-old that the babysitter has left: “She said it was an emergency. She said the emergency was that somebody was dead.” Now the babysitter is missing, and her boyfriend is dead. Vol. 2: TRUE LIFE ADVENTURE Wise-cracking ex-journalist Paul Mcdonald’s main confidant is a cat named Spot; his best friend’s a burglar who’s trying to quit; his relationship status is commitment-phobic … so what makes this Great American Novelist-in-waiting think adding “P.I.” to his resume is a good idea? Well, his boss was just poisoned in Paul’s living room right in front of him, and then somebody broke into his apartment; now he thinks they’re trying to kill him. Finally Paul’s got a story he can sell, if he can catch the murderer before the murderer catches him. Vol. 3: CRIME CZAR Tubby Dubonnet can't forget the last words that escaped an old friend's lips, and he can't get out of the way of a political campaign that's turning rough. Obsessed with the idea that a shadowy crime boss may be pulling the strings that have cost good people their lives, Tubby is entering into a test of courage with the most violent men in New Orleans. And as if that weren't dangerous enough, he’s just picked up the worst ally he could ever find: a beautiful prostitute gunning for revenge. Vol. 4: ROYAL FLUSH Unlicensed PI Jake Samson is understandably nervous about infiltrating a local Marin County neo-Nazi group called the Aryan Command. After all, he is Jewish. But when the doe-eyed teenage goddaughter of his oldest friend begs him to help her boyfriend--harebrained, reformed skinhead Royal Subic--Jake finds he can't "just say no." Royal, who's too terrified to defect, is not only disenchanted with his recent brush with right-wing extremism (and a regrettable tattoo), he's afraid for his life--and he has the murder of a Command member-turned-defector to point to for proof. As Jake investigates, a complex conspiracy begins to unfold, including a plan to assassinate an outspoken talk-show host, a complicated web of local police and governmental infiltrators (some of them dirty themselves), and a possible international connection. Vol. 5: VECTOR Detective Cobb Takamura's idea of a busy night is a few drunken tourists and a jaywalker. That is, until the flood of killings begins, when suddenly the tropical paradise he calls home becomes a raging inferno of violence and bloodshed. Seemingly the victims—who all died screaming, of unknown causes, have nothing in common. ONLY a tough scientist and a clever island cop can stop a ruthless cabal from loosing a weapon potentially more lethal than nuclear war on an unsuspecting world!
Legal thrillers with a twist Two kickass lawyers take on a handful of colorful clients—and murder —from San Francisco Bay to the Big Easy. Tubby Dubonnet is a simple man with a refined palate, a maverick New Orleans lawyer with a penchant for fishing, Old Fashioneds, off-track betting…and fighting evil while passing a good time. Rebecca Schwartz is a nice Jewish girl who just so happens to be a smart, savvy lawyer , with a few too many fantasies … and no qualms about telling it like it is. Tony takes on drugs, the Mob, and his impossible daughters while Rebecca wrestles with murder mystery at the aquarium and the most dangerous serial killer San Francisco’s ever seen. Four refreshing, page-turning legal puzzlers for a deal so reasonable, no one can object! CROOKED MAN The FIRST offbeat mystery in the TUBBY DUBONNET series by Anthony- and Edgar-nominated author Tony Dunbar Tubby Dubonnet’s clients are all renegades from the asylum (aka Orleans Parish). His newest client is Darryl Alvarez, the manager of a local nightclub who's been caught unloading marijuana from a shrimp boat. At their first meeting, Darryl entrusts Tubby with an ordinary-looking blue gym bag. But after Darryl's unfortunate demise, Tubby realizes he must tighten his grasp on the gym bag -- and its million-dollar contents. TOURIST TRAP The THIRD book in Edgar-winner Julie Smith's Rebecca Schwartz series. So what’s a nice Jewish girl doing at an Easter sunrise service? Lawyer Rebecca Schwartz would pick the one with the body nailed to the landmark cross! Coincidence? Not so much. She's there because her boy friend's covering the service for the San Francisco Chronicle. The body's there because someone's making a statement he doesn't want the press to miss. Next: mass shellfish poisoning at Pier 39. A very different kind of serial killer is operating here—one who seems to have a grudge against the whole city. CITY OF BEADS The SECOND deliciously sneaky mystery in Anthony- and Edgar-nominated Tony Dunbar's Tubby Dubonnet series Tubby Dubonnet is bored. He wants to bill enough hours to pay his alimony and keep his daughter in college, with enough left over for an occasional drink and a good meal, but he longs for something different and exciting. Sure, researching licensing law for the new casino will keep trout meunière on the table, but what could be more tedious? Meanwhile, there’s the estate of an old friend who controls some dock leases on the wharf. And he agrees to help his daughter’s environmental group stop illegal dumping in the river. Suddenly all three cases begin to converge in an entirely ominous way–the toxic dumping, the dock leases, and the too-good-to-be-true casino job. How is that possible? Could it be Tubby’s been set up as the fall guy in a Mob effort to expand its gambling empire? NOW it's exciting — he's running for his life! DEAD IN THE WATER This is the FOURTH book in Edgar-winner Julie Smith’s Rebecca Schwartz series. San Francisco lawyer Rebecca Schwartz has occasion to wonder when she and her weekend hostess, Marty Whitehead, find a body floating in the 30-foot kelp tower at the Monterey Aquarium, and Marty's promptly dragged off to the slammer. Rebecca quickly grasps the Emily Post solution—sign on as Marty's lawyer, try to keep her client's two young kids out of the deep end, and somehow avoid drowning in the sea of lies gushing from Marty's mouth--and everyone else’s. There’s a lot of intrigue among the aquarium's oceangoing primates, as well as rumors of a pearl beyond price.
Murder in the City that Care Forgot Fans of Treme and avid armchair adventurers alike will love this collection of oddball New Orleans tales —specifically, murder mysteries —each revolving around the incomparable lore of the City that Care Forgot. From an untimely demise at JazzFest to a dose of love laced with intrigue amongst an assortment of vivid local characters in an Uptown pharmacy (the kind you could only find in the N.O.), Festival of Murder has a little bit of something for everyone— everyone who loves New Orleans , that is. Cuddle up with a Kindle and enjoy this all-expenses-paid vacation to the fabled Big Easy (drive-thru daiquiris not included). JAZZ FUNERAL The THIRD book in the Edgar Award-winning Skip Langdon mystery series Everybody loved easygoing Ham Brocato, producer of the famed New Orleans JazzFest. So how did he end up stabbed to death on his kitchen floor? New Orleans Homicide Detective Skip Langdon just happens to be on hand when Ham’s body is discovered in the middle of his own party the evening before the Fest. To complicate the already murky case, the victim's sixteen-year-old blues musician sister has disappeared, and Skip suspects that if the young woman isn't the murderer, she's in mortal danger from the person who is. CITY OF BEADS The SECOND deliciously sneaky mystery in Anthony- and Edgar-nominated Tony Dunbar's Tubby Dubonnet series. Tubby Dubonnet’s bored. Sure, researching licensing law for the new casino will keep trout meunière on the table, but what could be more tedious? (Unless, of course, the client turns out to be the mob.) Meanwhile, there’s the estate of an old friend who controls some dock leases on the wharf. And he agrees to help his daughter’s environmental group stop illegal dumping in the river. Ho-hum, thinks our hero. But suddenly all three cases begin to converge in an entirely ominous way. And Tubby’s running for his life. MAKE ME DEAD A Vampyres of Hollywood mystery by Adrienne Barbeau As always in a Vampyres of Hollywood mystery, the biting wit is sharper than a nip from a passing vampyre—in a word, humor, wit, and satire are what this engaging series is really all about. Nobody’s better than Barbeau at skewering the foibles of Hollywood and its self-involved denizens, and nobody’s got a smarter mouth than her movie star heroine, vampye Ovsanna Moore, this time in New Orleans for a horror convention. (Fasten your seat belts—lots of fun to be had at the expense of horror conventions!) PICK-UP LINE A Love Story With Wit, Charm and Murder by Patty Friedmann Cupid’s working overtime in the unlikely venue of N.O. Drugs, where plus-sized beauty Ciana Jambon works with dread-locked pharmacy student Lennon Israel, who’s so handsome, so meticulous, he just has to be gay. But she can't help herself—she’s got the crush of the century. And a murder to unravel. PI ON A HOT TIN ROOF The FOURTH mystery in Edgar-winning author Julie Smith’s Talba Wallis series. New Orleans’ most dynamic detective duo, poet/computer genius Talba and street-savvy Luddite Eddie Valentino , have a personal interest in this one—Eddie’s lawyer daughter Angie’s been set up for a drug bust. PLUS a BONUS! M.A. Harper’s FIRE ON THE BAYOU, the second novel of an epic second-chance-at-love story in Louisiana—with plenty of its own mystery to solve. And Julie Smith’s short story PRIVATE CHICK—because every New Orleans mystery anthology needs at least a dash of detective-in-drag.