House of Mystery Radio on NBC

Agatha Christie is the bestselling novelist of all time, and nearly every story she ever wrote involves one—or, more commonly, several—dead bodies. And the cause of death, the motives behind violent crimes, the clues that inevitably are left behind, and the people who put the pieces together to solve the mystery invite the reader to analyze the evidence and race to find the answer before the detective does. Nearly every step of the way, Christie outlines the nuts and bolts of early 20th-century crime detection, relying on physical evidence to tell the real story behind the facades humans erect to escape detection.

Christie wouldn't have talked of "forensics" as it is understood today—most of her work predates the modern developments of forensics science—but in each tale she harnesses the power of human observation, ingenuity, and scientific developments of the era. A fascinating, science-based deep dive, The Science of Murder examines the use of fingerprints, firearms, handwriting, blood spatter analysis, toxicology, and more in Christie's beloved works.

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• Examines the significant figures and groups of Finland’s occult world, including their esoteric practices and the secret societies to which they were connected

• Investigates the relationship of nationalism and esotericism in Finland as well as the history of Finnish parapsychology and the Finnish UFO craze

• Looks at the unique evolution of Freemasonry in Finland, showing how, when Finland was still part of Russia and the Masonic order was banned, adherents created a number of other secret societies

Finland has long been viewed as the land of sorcerers and shamans. Exploring the rich history of Finnish occultism, Perttu Häkkinen and Vesa Iitti examine the significant figures and groups of Finland’s occult world from the late 19th century to the present day. They begin with Pekka Ervast, known as the Rudolf Steiner of the North, who was a major figure in Theosophy before starting a Rosicrucian group called Ruusu-Risti, and they look at the Finnish disciples of G. I. Gurdjieff and the grim case of the cult of Tattarisuo.

Investigating the relationship of nationalism and esotericism in Finland, the authors tell the stories of Sigurd Wettenhovi-Aspa, who thought that Finns were the root of all Western civilization, and of Yrjö von Grönhagen, who became a close friend of Heinrich Himmler and Karl Maria Wiligut. They also explore the history of Finnish parapsychology, the Finnish UFO craze, and the unique evolution of Freemasonry in Finland, showing how, when the Masonic order was banned, adherents created a number of other secret societies, such as the Carpenter’s Order, the Hypotenuse Order, and the Brotherhood of February 17--which later became hubs for the OTO and AMORC.

Unveiling both the light and dark sides of modern esotericism in Finland, the authors show how, because of its unique position as partially European and partially Russian, Finland’s occult influence extends into the very heart of left-hand and right-hand occult groups and secret societies around the world.

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No one disappears without a trace….

Don’t try to tell Victoria Sands that time heals all wounds. It doesn’t work that way for a woman who’s lost her husband the way she did. She was never able to say goodbye. Never able to arrange a memorial. Receive friends at the service. Write thank-you notes for the flowers and donations sent in his name. Because it didn’t happen that way.

Victoria’s husband never returned home at the end of a work day. And no one seems to know what happened to him.

In the seven years since his disappearance, no witnesses have stepped forward and no credible evidence has been collected—not even his car. The few tenuous leads the police had are now ice cold. He simply vanished on a field trip with the private boarding school where he taught behind stone walls—the same school their son now attends.

But someone has to know what happened. And that someone may be closer to Victoria than she realizes.

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From Amina Akhtar comes a viciously funny thriller about wellness—the smoothies, the secrets, and the deliciously deadly impulses.

Lifelong New Yorker Ronnie Khan never thought she’d leave Queens. She’s not an “aim high, dream big” person—until she meets socialite wellness guru Marley Dewhurst.

Marley isn’t just a visionary; she’s a revelation. Seduced by the fever dream of finding her best self, Ronnie makes for the desert mountains of Sedona, Arizona.

Healing yoga, transcendent hikes, epic juice cleanses…Ronnie consumes her new bougie existence like a fine wine. But is it, really? Or is this whole self-care business a little sour?

When the glam gurus around town start turning up gruesomely murdered, Ronnie has her answer: all is not well in wellness town. As Marley’s blind ambition veers into madness, Ronnie fears for her life.

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From the author of Cottonmouths, a Los Angeles Review Best Book of 2017, comes evocative suspense about the cost of keeping secrets and the dangers of coming home.

Beneath the roiling waters of the Arkansas River lie dead men and buried secrets.

When Jane Mooney’s violent stepfather, Warren, disappeared, most folks in Maud Bottoms, Arkansas, assumed he got drunk and drowned. After all, the river had claimed its share over the years.

When Jane confessed to his murder, she should have gone to jail. That’s what she wanted. But without a body, the police didn’t charge her with the crime. So Jane left for Boston—and took her secrets with her.

Twenty-five years later, the river floods and a body surfaces. Talk of Warren’s murder grips the town. Now in her forties, Jane returns to Maud Bottoms to reckon with her past: to do jail time, to face her revenge-bent mother, to make things right.

But though Jane’s homecoming may enlighten some, it could threaten others. Because in this desolate river valley, some secrets are better left undisturbed.

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Arthur Nakai, now armed with his newly minted Private Investigator license, has visitors on his doorstep at White Mesa. Melanie Manygoats and her young son arrive on a cold winter’s day seeking his help locating her missing daughter, whom she fears has become one of the stolen. Arthur accepts and soon finds himself wading through the world of teenage prostitution, where he discovers April has already been sold to a man known to everyone in the trade as The Cuban. Running underage girls is his business, and the revolving door of the flesh trade is always rotating. Meanwhile, a 15-year-old girl goes missing on the Rez; her bicycle is found hidden among scrub brush under a bridge over an empty desert wash. Are the cases related, or are they simply part of a bigger, more horrifying picture plaguing Arthur's beloved Dinétah?

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Seattle teacher and part-time blogger Hayden McCall wakes sporting one hell of a shiner, with the police knocking at his door. It seems that his new crush, dancer Camilo Rodriguez, has gone missing and they suspect foul play. What happened the night before? And where is Camilo?

Determined to find answers, pint-sized, good-hearted Hayden seeks out two of Camilo’s friends—Hollister and Burley—both lesbians and both fiercely devoted to their friend. From them, Hayden learns that Camilo is a “Dreamer” whose parents had been deported years earlier, and whose sister, Daniela, is presumed to have returned to Venezuela with them. Convinced that the cops won’t take a brown boy’s disappearance seriously, the girls join Hayden’s hunt for Camilo. 

The first clues turn up at Barkingham Palace, a pet store where Camilo had taken a part-time job. The store’s owner, Della Rupert, claims ignorance, but Hayden knows something is up. And then there’s Camilo’s ex-boyfriend, Ryan, who’s suddenly grown inexplicably wealthy. When Hayden and Hollister follow Ryan to a secure airport warehouse, they make a shocking connection between him and Della—and uncover the twisted scheme that’s made both of them rich.

The trail of clues leads them to the grounds of a magnificent estate on an island in Puget Sound, where they’ll finally learn the truth about Camilo’s disappearance—and the fate of his family.

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A Lambda Literary Finalist in Best Erotica

In modern day Manhattan, Atticus is a down-on-his-luck architect who stumbles into an S&M bar and meets a young man who changes the direction of his life. What begins as a random pick-up evolves into an intense game of sexual domination as Atticus finds himself wildly invigorated both as a man and an architect.

As the relationship deepens, his creativity catches fire and he lands a prime architectural job at his firm designing a bold new high rise tower. Soon his two worlds collide as the thin lines between reality and fantasy and pleasure and pain threaten to explode.

With a new introduction by Lambda Literary winner Jeff Mann, this “wonder of a book” is as carnally explosive as it is compellingly original.

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Best Indie Book Award 2021 - Honorable Mention: Best Hook

A deadly case. An international operative. When a mission turns personal, who will make it out alive?

Trowbridge 'Bridger' Hall was raised to be a spy. Leading a highly trained team of covert agents, he's loyal to his squad and his country. But when his infamous CIA controller and mother assigns his crew an unusual off-books operation, his finely tuned senses scream danger.

Hunting a stolen briefcase across the world, his instincts proven lethally correct when one of his men ends up dead. And with potentially ruthless maternal betrayal and treacherous enemies closing in, it's play or be played in a vicious game of death...

Can he crack the conspiracy before it costs his life?

The Spy Devils is the high-octane first tale in The Spy Devils thriller series. If you like pulse-pounding espionage, explosive action, and insidious double-crosses, then you'll love Joe Goldberg's page-turning story.

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It’s 1998, and China’s political and military leaders are torn by ideological divisions. Amid these seething rivalries, Andrew Callahan arrives in Beijing fresh out of Harvard, planning to spend an adventurous year studying Mandarin and teaching at the renowned International Affairs University. The IAU is known as a training ground for diplomats and spies. But Andrew has no idea that his budding relationship with the attractive and self-assured dean’s assistant, Lily Jiang, will also entangle him in a conspiratorial web of worldwide proportions.

A CIA officer approaches Andrew and informs him that Lily’s father is a top Chinese general caught in a power struggle. The general wants to defect but won’t do so without his wife and daughter. Even more shocking is that the Agency needs Andrew’s assistance for Lily to evade round-the-clock surveillance and escape to the US.

If Andrew agrees, he’ll face lethal odds against China’s ruthless security services to help pull off one of the greatest intelligence coups in American history. If he refuses, it could cost Lily and her family their lives.

Set against the backdrop of a beautiful culture at a turbulent time, China Hand is the story of a reluctant spy and a mission whose deadly consequences continue to reverberate today

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