Stories by @emross

The Vampire Knitting Club

At a crossroads between a cringe-worthy past (Todd the Toad) and an uncertain future (she's not exactly homeless, but it's close), Lucy Swift travels to Oxford to visit her grandmother. With Gran's undying love to count on and Cardinal Woolsey's, Gran's knitting shop, to keep her busy, Lucy can catch her breath and figure out what she's going to do. Except it turns out that Gran is the undying. Or at least, the undead. But there's a death certificate. And a will, leaving the knitting shop to Lucy. And a lot of people going in and out who never use the door—including Gran, who is just as loving as ever, and prone to knitting sweaters at warp speed, late at night. What exactly is going on? When Lucy discovers that Gran did not die peacefully in her sleep, but was murdered, she has to bring the killer to justice without tipping off the law that there's no body in the grave. Between a hot 500-year-old vampire and a dishy detective inspector, both of whom always seem to be there for her, Lucy finds her life getting more complicated than a triple cable cardigan. The only one who seems to know what's going on is her cat ... or is it ... her familiar?

A Curious Beginning

London, 1887. Veronica Speedwell intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime. But fate has other plans. When Veronica thwarts her own abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron, he offers her sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker - a reclusive and bad-tempered natural historian. When the Baron is murdered, Veronica and Stoker are forced to go on the run from an elusive assailant, wary partners in search of the villainous truth.

Finlay Donovan is Killing It

Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors. When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet . . . Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation. Fast-paced, deliciously witty, and wholeheartedly authentic in depicting the frustrations and triumphs of motherhood in all its messiness, hilarity, and heartfelt moment, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first in a brilliant new series from YA Edgar Award nominee Elle Cosimano.

A Pinch of Magic

Betty Widdershins and her two sisters live with their bad-tempered Granny in the Poacher's Pocket, a rowdy, tumbledown inn on the dismal island of Crowstone. Desperate for an adventure, Betty plans a secret outing to neighbouring Marshfoot on her 13th birthday, but is furious when Granny stops her.

Illuminae Files

Illuminae is a 2015 young adult space opera epistolary novel written by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. This is the first novel of the series The Illuminae Files. The story is told through a series of classified documents, censored emails, interviews, and others.

If we were villains

If We Were Villains is the debut novel of American author M. L. Rio first published in 2017. The novel concerns a murder mystery surrounding Oliver Marks, a former actor at the fictional Dellecher Shakespeare conservatory and most of the novel takes place during his 4th and final year at the conservatory.

Good girl bad blood

Pip Fitz-Amobi is not a detective anymore. With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her. But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing.

Dead Until Dark

Dead Until Dark, like the rest of the series, is narrated by Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress from the small fictional Louisiana town of Bon Temps, not far from the non-fictional town of Shreveport. It is set during the early 2000s, approximately the same time as the book's publication. In the world of the novel, vampires (and other supernatural creatures) are a reality. Sookie Stackhouse falls in love with the vampire, Bill Compton, whom she met at the diner she works at, Merlotte's, owned by Sam Merlotte. At some point in the recent past, Sookie tells us, the invention of synthetic blood, called Tru Blood, has made it unnecessary for vampires to feed on humans for sustenance, thus allowing the world's previously underground vampire community to reveal its existence to humans. Also relevant to plot development is the fact that vampire blood accelerates healing, increases strength, improves the libido, and make the person who drinks it better-looking.

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie

In December 1926, Agatha Christie goes missing. Investigators find her empty car on the edge of a deep, gloomy pond, the only clues some tire tracks nearby and a fur coat left in the car — strange for a frigid night. Her World War I veteran husband and her daughter have no knowledge of her whereabouts, and England unleashes an unprecedented manhunt to find the up-and-coming mystery author. Eleven days later, she reappears, just as mysteriously as she disappeared, claiming amnesia and providing no explanations for her time away. The puzzle of those missing eleven days has persisted. With her trademark historical fiction exploration into the shadows of the past, acclaimed author Marie Benedict brings us into the world of Agatha Christie, imagining why such a brilliant woman would find herself at the center of such murky historical mysteries. What is real, and what is mystery? What role did her unfaithful husband play, and what was he not telling investigators? Agatha Christie novels have withstood the test of time, due in no small part to Christie's masterful storytelling and clever mind that may never be matched, but Agatha Christie's untold history offers perhaps her greatest mystery of all.

The Searcher

Cal Hooper thought a fixer-upper in a bucolic Irish village would be the perfect escape. After twenty-five years in the Chicago police force and a bruising divorce, he just wants to build a new life in a pretty spot with a good pub where nothing much happens. But when a local kid whose brother has gone missing arm-twists him into investigating, Cal uncovers layers of darkness beneath his picturesque retreat, and starts to realize that even small towns shelter dangerous secrets.

Layla

When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her—until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences. Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow—another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them.

One By One

One by One, ten people who work for a startup travel to a ski lodge for a company retreat. It's a secluded luxury chalet, which is soon made even more isolated due to a snowstorm in the area, which soon leads to an avalanche that leaves them stranded. When the first fatality among the group happens, it's viewed as a tragic accident. But when the next occurs, it's clear that something much more sinister is going on. In this snowy mountain-top mystery-thriller, they know that the killer is one of them, but they'll need to figure out who it is, and soon, to avoid being picked off, one by one.

The Wife Upstairs

The Wife Upstairs - When Jane, a broke dog-walker newly arrived in town, meets Eddie Rochester, she can't believe her luck. Eddie is handsome, rich and lives alone in a beautiful mansion since the tragic death of his beloved wife a year ago.

The Cuckoo’s Calling

The Cuckoo's Calling is a 2013 crime fiction[1] novel by J. K. Rowling, published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.[2] It is the first novel in the Cormoran Strike series of detective novels and was followed by The Silkworm in 2014, Career of Evil in 2015, Lethal White in 2018 and Troubled Blood in 2020.

The Word is Murder

Buried secrets, murder and a trail of bloody clues lie at the heart of Anthony Horowitz's new detective series. A wealthy woman strangled six hours after she's arranged her own funeral. A very private detective uncovering secrets but hiding his own. A reluctant author drawn into a story he can't control