New Release — Deadly as the Driven Snow (A Calendar Clan Mystery Book 2) by Agnes Alexander

When a mortally wounded man turns up on the back porch of newlyweds June and Jason Striker, they know the honeymoon is definitely over. As Sheriff of Edison County, Jason can’t let a killer snowstorm stop him from trying to find the perpetrator of this crime—and June, a novice private investigator, is determined to help.

But the mystery deepens when other murdered victims are tossed out around the small North Carolina town, and a man tries to break in to the Striker household. What do these dead men have in common—or is some kind of message being sent? 

It all becomes dangerously personal when June and Jason’s home is attacked, and they must go into hiding to survive. Can they beat the clock to discover the killer’s motive before he strikes again? Or will their marriage end quickly, as DEADLY AS THE DRIVEN SNOW…

EXCERPT

     I turned from the window and let my mind come back to the present on this icy February day. I also let out a sigh of relief because the subject of Honduras had been dropped, at least for the time being. I busied myself putting the dirty breakfast dishes in the dishwasher. As I bent over to fill the slot on the door with liquid soap, Dingo came sauntering into the room. He stretched and twisted around my leg. I closed the dishwasher, then reached down and rubbed his long gray hair. He purred, and I knew he was asking for something to eat. The shower turned off, so I started the dishwasher and turned to the cat.

     “Come on, boy,” I said and headed for the laundry room which is connected to the mud room where our back door is located. Though we mostly come into the house from the side which leads into the garage, when Jason has muddy boots he comes in the back door, so he can deposit them there. This door leads to a glassed-in porch with another door and four steps down to the yard. I crossed this small room to get to the laundry room where I keep food for Dingo and Buzzy, Jason’s cat. After our marriage, we tried for a few weeks to make Buzzy an indoor cat, but he would have nothing to do with it. Jason ended up building him a fleece-lined house and we put a cat door in the garage, so he could come and go as he pleased. I’ve noticed that he’s staying in the garage more and more since the weather has turned cold.

     Dingo jumped in front of me and slid his body through his cat door into the laundry room. I had to wait until he wiggled his fat behind through the opening before I could open the big door and go inside. “I’ll get you fed then I’ll go feed Buzz,” I said. Though I know he ignores me, I talk to him anyway.

     Just as I took the can of food from the cabinet beside the washer, I heard a loud knock on the door leading outside. I left the laundry room door open and went to glance out the glass panels on the top half of the outside door. The blinds were closed, and I couldn’t see anything. I set the cat food down and moved to open the blinds, wondering who could be at our door so early on such a bad day.

I screamed and jumped back in horror as I looked at a man’s bloody face plastered against the glass. I think the man was trying to tell me something, but I wasn’t about to open the door.

      

New Release — Blue Ridge Murder (A Calendar Clan Mystery Book 1) by Agnes Alexander

Wounded in a drug buy gone wrong, June March, a fledgling private detective, is forced to go home to her parents’ farm to recover. Her close-knit family is rocked when her ne’er-do-well brother-in-law, Roger, is murdered, after his part in a bank robbery. In the small community of Edison, North Carolina, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, secrets are hard to keep—even one as dangerous as murder. When June’s sister, April, is accused of killing her husband, June will do whatever she must to prove her sister’s innocence.

County Sheriff Jason Striker, an old school mate of June’s, is dead serious about bringing the murderer to justice. But how can he find the killer and keep June safe when she insists on being part of the investigation? Nothing has changed since high school—June is still as determined as ever, and she still has a firm hold on Jason’s heart.

June tries to hold old feelings at bay, but somehow, the boy from yesterday has become the man of her dreams—and she’s not about to let him go. With the killer still on the loose, Jason knows that June’s expertise will be invaluable in helping him solve the case—and she’s not about to back away from doing just that. Identifying the killer can mean the death of them both, as a small-town’s secrets protect one of its own…one who committed this BLUE RIDGE MURDER…

EXCERPT

     The well-built man in a sheriff’s uniform looked more like he was dressed for dancing at a bridal shower than he did as an official of the state and my former classmate. Though I did think he filled out the uniform well, I’d always thought he was just pretending in his job. Maybe it was because while we were in school, he’d always looked more like a big, tall, baby-faced ten- year-old than he did a rough, tough football player—and now, sheriff.

     “I hear you folks have a little problem.” He stepped to the middle of the room and glanced at my broken leg. He didn’t mention it, but he did arch his left eyebrow.

     “Yes,” May said. “You should go pick up Roger. He was one of the bank robbers today.”

     “What makes you think he robbed the bank, May?” His voice was more surprised than questioning.

     “Because he told me he did,” April chimed in.

     “She had to escape with the children. He threatened them,” May explained.

     “Let’s go talk on the porch so the children won’t hear,” April suggested.

     Jason glanced at the kids and nodded. April, May and I followed him to the porch. Mom stayed with the children. I took my place in the rocking chair again and everyone found seats, including Jason.

     “Now,” he said. “Let’s start at the beginning, April. Tell me what happened.”

     

New Release -- Her Forever Dreams by Agnes Alexander

A Coverton Mills Romance Book 3

Handsome ranch owner, Seth Armstrong, has been trapped in a loveless marriage for too many years to count—until his crazed wife, Eve, decides to murder him and their son, Hunter. Though Seth had tried before to negotiate divorce, Eve has threatened him numerous times with keeping their three children from him—something Seth couldn’t live with. Now, he and Hunter have barely survived being gunned down by the woman he should have left years before.

During a separation when his children were young, Seth met and fell in love with Julia Halsey, a woman who understood Seth better than anyone, and loved him too much to see him hurt. She disappeared from his life once she realized Eve meant what she said—but Julia had no idea she was pregnant when she decided to uncomplicate things for the man she loved. 

Years later, when Seth’s two sons’ paths cross in a most unlikely way, Julia comes back into his life again. But will their former lives apart—and the people they’ve known—allow them the happiness they so richly deserve after so many years of separation? 

Someone is out to hurt Julia, her son, and even Seth and his family—but who? And why? Even though Seth and Julia only want to put their patchwork family together as one after all this time, someone is determined to keep Julia from realizing HER FOREVER DREAMS…

EXCERPT:

     He stepped in and closed the door behind him. “So, you’re not all the way over your mad?”

     “I’m not mad, Chet. I’m disgusted with you and your services are no longer needed or wanted in this company.”

     “Oh, come on, Julia. You know I’m slated to be the manager in the Asheville store. You don’t have anyone else to send so there’s no way you can fire me now.”

     “Wanna bet?”

     “Yeah. I’ll bet you. Who are you going to send in my place?”

     “Not that it’s any of your business, but since I have good managers in all the other stores, I know just the right person to manage the Asheville store.”

     “And who is that, my dear?”

     “Me.”

     For the first time, a frightened look crossed his face. “You wouldn’t want to do that.” She didn’t reply and he went on, “You know I can run that store at a profit.”

     She still didn’t say anything.

     “Julia, be reasonable. I don’t want to leave Singleton’s. Where would I go?”

     She only lifted an eyebrow.

     He shook his head. “I really thought you and I had a rapport. Why, I was hoping we’d get together. Maybe even get married sometime. None of that will happen if you push me out.”

     “You’re more pathetic than I thought, Chet.” She looked at her watch. “It’s 3:15. You have two hours and forty-five minutes to clear your office.” She picked up her pen. “Please close the door when you go out.”

     As soon as her door closed, she dropped her pen, put her elbows on the desk and dropped her head in her hands. What was she thinking? Had she made a decision too quickly? There was no way she could manage the store in Asheville. No way at all.

     She lifted her head and leaned back in the swivel chair. But why not? He’s probably nowhere near Asheville now. Her mind contradicted this statement. That can’t be so. There’s no way he’d leave his farm. Her mind flipped again. So, what if he is still on the farm? He probably doesn’t come into Asheville very often, and if he does, he certainly wouldn’t be shopping at Singleton’s. He would leave that to his wife. Her eyes flew open at this thought. Oh, my Lord, what about his wife? She would probably be the type to shop there. Julia’s heart beat faster at this thought and a feeling of apprehension filled her. What will it do to me if I come face to face with Mrs. Seth Armstrong?

      

New Release -- Second Chance Dreams by Agnes Alexander

 A Coverton Mills Romance Book 2

All of Jude Winslow’s friends know he avoids politicians and preachers. Enter widow, Kay Littleton, a US Senator who has no idea about his feelings. Her occupation isn’t talked about when she comes to Coverton Mills to visit her nephew. When Jude comes to the Parker farm to help fight a barn fire, he meets Kay and falls for the tiny woman on sight. After giving his heart, he feels betrayed when he learns she’s a politician.

As much in love as he and she both are, Kay can’t understand why he rejects her. Knowing there is nothing else she can do to change his mind, she gives up her dream of retiring to North Carolina. Then a secret letter is found that changes everything.

EXCERPT

     “Jude Winslow, I can’t believe you said that.” Mavis Parker rolled her brown eyes at him, then looked at her husband. “Can you, Neil?”
     “I can believe he said it, but I can’t believe he believes it,” Neil replied. “It might sound okay in theory, but in real life it’d never work.”
     “I disagree with both of you,” Jude said as he stretched his long legs out in front of him. “I think it’d work as well as anything else. Look at all the people who’re divorced and they dated their spouse for months and sometimes for years before getting married.”
     “That may be true, but to marry a perfect stranger can’t be the answer. I don’t care how you slice it. I still say it’d never work.” Neil shook his head at Jude. “Man, I’d hate to marry a woman I didn’t know. Why, I’ve known Mavis since we were kids and she still baffles me, at times. A stranger would be impossible to figure out.”

     

New Release -- Stalking her Dreams (A Coverton Mills Romance Book 1) by Agnes Alexander

At a book signing, Heather Masterson, a successful mystery author, comes face-to-face with a successful rancher who bears the name of one of her fictional characters. The “real” Alex Hargrove is fascinated by Heather, and she is just as captivated by him. 

They both believe that they are fated for one another as their feelings evolve quickly, and a simple friendship becomes love in a short period of time. 

But in a diabolical mystery plot of her own, Rachelle Albright, an unstable alcoholic fan of Heather’s, has a different idea of the way this story should come to a close. She fancies herself in love with the fictional Alex—and the only way to have him for herself is to rid the world of Heather. 

A storybook ending doesn’t seem possible for Heather as Rachelle enlists the aid of a man from the past who’s out to settle the score with Alex. How can there be a happy-ever-after ending for Heather when someone is STALKING HER DREAMS…

EXCERPT:

     Standing in the living room of her apartment, Rachelle Al-bright poured herself another glass of whisky and reread the letter from the publisher.
     Through gritted teeth she uttered several oaths, followed by, “Why can’t they let me write a book about Alex Hargrove? Why is that Masterson bitch the only one who can write his stories? I know more about him than she does. I love him.” She took a swallow of whiskey. “Why couldn’t they publish the book I wrote making him fall in love with a woman named Rachelle? I still had him fighting crime and making women swoon, but he loved Rachelle so much he left the other women alone and came back to her.”
     She downed the rest of the whiskey and poured another glass. “It’s all your fault, Heather Masterson. If you weren’t in the picture I bet they’d want somebody to write more Alex Hargrove books ...” Her voice trailed off and a thought began to form in her mind.

     After two more glasses of whiskey, a toothy grin spread across her face. Things would work out fine. She only had to rid the world of Heather Masterson.

      

Trade Paperback available at CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/7576192

Soon to be at Amazon