Bøker av Joyce Proell

It's a birthday weekend with the gift of murder. Recently widowed, Emma Banefield looks forward to a getaway birthday weekend with her free-wheeling sister, Nicole Earp, sipping chocolate martinis at the peaceful, historic Dulce Inn. When a rude stranger, a nasty food critic, and a madhouse of temperamental artists greet them, all hope for a tranquil weekend evaporates faster than dew on a hot desert morning. Overlooking the riotous atmosphere is doubly hard after Em discovers the body of a hotel guest, and a second murder affects Nic personally. Now, entrenched in a caper that pits them against a surly detective, they cozy up to a hotel staff hiding dangerous secrets to uncover clues to the killer. Using their smarts and love of all-things mystery, will the Chocolate Martini Sisters solve the crime ahead of the obstinate chief detective or find themselves trapped in the middle of a third murder?

At the writers' conference, murder tops the program. Aspiring mystery author Emma Banefield and travel writer Nicole Earp are excited to attend a writers' conference during their latest sisters' getaway. Nic's birthday should be all about relaxation, writing, and a chocolate martini to toast another trip around the sun, but the climate at the gathering rumbles like a sudden desert thunderstorm. When sparks fly between the keynote speaker and her timid assistant over a handsome mystery author, the subtitle on this anticipated tranquil weekend spells drama. If a heated love triangle, bruised egos, and betrayal aren't enough to upset the atmosphere, the conference banquet erupts into a drunken brawl and sends the place spinning. After a body is discovered, Nic and Em do what they do best-snoop-and become embroiled in a mystery that jumps off the pages of a true-crime bestseller. With more than enough suspects and little time, the amateur sleuths have their hands full finding the killer. But can the competitive Chocolate Martini Sisters solve the crime before the prickly chief detective does, or will a murderer outwit them all?

Lily Fitzhugh is desperate to get to America, where her father is imprisoned as a traitor against the Crown. To gain passage, she accepts a dangerous job: to sneak aboard a ship headed to New York and spy on suspected colonial patriot Griffin Faraday. Griffin Faraday doesn't trust the beautiful, tempting stowaway. He has a secret shipment of guns to deliver to General George Washington. Nothing can get in the way. But when Lily is ordered away with pirates, a sure death sentence, Griffin proposes marriage, the absolute last thing he wants. Now Lily and Griffin are spies hiding the truth while they try not to fall in love. Thrust into a world where deception and silence are the rule and political loyalties can mean prison or death, Lily and Griffin must face their greatest challenge-learning to trust each other.