Colorado Parks & Wildlife Research Library

'Tis the season for hot chocolate and mouthwatering treats. But sometimes too much of a good thing can be downright deadly . . . CHRISTMAS COCOA MURDER by CARLENE O'CONNOR Siobhán O'Sullivan's hopes for a quiet Irish Christmas are dashed when the local Santa turns up dead in a carnival dunk tank of hot cocoa. Now instead of hunting down holiday gifts, she's pursuing a heartless killer. Seems the dead Santa was no angel either, stealing neighborhood...

While Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree has moved on from fixing up houses, she still can't resist the urge to snoop into the occasional murder. Something sinister is brewing in the kitchen of The Chocolate Moose - retired health inspector Alan Blake is found murdered. Jake's best friend Ellie never made a secret of her distaste for Alan. Now, with no alibi for the night of the murder, she's in a sticky situation with the police - and it's up to Jake to catch...

"Top cop. Devoted sister. Now Inmate 3329. But prison bars won't stop Harriet Blue from seeking justice for the murder of her brother. Prison is a dangerous place for a former cop--as Harriet Blue is learning on a daily basis. So, following a fight for her life and a prison-wide lockdown, the last person she wants to see is Deputy Police Commissioner Joe Woods. The man who put her inside. But Woods is not there to gloat. His daughter Tonya and her...

As Charlotte Pitt's grandmother Mariah Ellison finds herself investigating a long-unsolved slaying, it becomes clear that grappling with intrigue and foul play runs in the family. A festive Christmas package left on Mariah's doorstep contains an ominous present, sparking memories of a twenty-year-old murder that shattered her friendship with the victim's widow. Though the gift is a bitter reminder of that tragic time, in the spirit of the season Mariah...

In New York Times bestselling author Krista Davis's new Domestic Diva mystery, Old Town's annual Pie Festival crumbles into chaos after a celebrity judge is murdered, leaving it up to entertaining maven and sometime-sleuth Sophie Winston to dole out justice... Nothing heats up Old Town quite like the annual Pie Festival, and this year is no exception, especially since Sophie's professional rival, Natasha Smith, is barred from participating. Sophie,...

Special Agent Maggie O'Dell is on the trail of a serial murderer who has an affinity for lopping off his victims' diseased body parts and embalming the rest of their bodies in 55-gallon oil drums. Now Maggie suspects that her friend Gwen may be the murderer's next victim, and her only chance of finding the killer depends on the memory of an Alzheimer-stricken man.

"Someone is knocking at the door to Grace Adams' house, and he won't stop. Grace thinks she knows who it is, but when she goes to her second floor window for a look she sees a woman she doesn't recognize. The woman isn't alone for long before a man emerges from the dark of the surrounding woods, stabs her, and leaves her for dead. Trying to help, Grace goes to the woman and is shocked to find that it's her mother Leanne--a woman who abandoned her...

"As the holidays approach, all is merry and bright for Inspector Witherspoon, Mrs. Jeffries, and the staff at Upper Edmonton Gardens...but murder knows no season. MURDER UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR Christopher Gilhaney isn't a popular man, and he proves why once again when he insults every guest at Abigail Chase's Guy Fawkes Night dinner party. When Gilhaney is shot dead under the cover of the night's fireworks, his murder is deemed a robbery gone wrong....

"From the national bestselling author of The Chocolate Falcon Fraud comes an Easter-candy caper featuring chocolatiers Lee Woodyard and her aunt Nettie, and a killer who's hopping mad... The approach of Easter means a rush of business at TenHuis Chocolade, and Lee and her aunt Nettie need all the help they can get to make their famous chocolate bunnies and eggs. Unfortunately, new hire Bunny Birdsong is a klutzy basket case, dropping everything she...