Requiem For Mr Busybody

“Maybe you’ll be next, Mr. Busybody!” From well-respected investigative journalist to resident busybody. When former crime reporter Michael’s elderly friend Maurice suddenly disappears, he fears the worst. But Michael is unable to investigate, and no one is taking his suspicions seriously—least of all Nico, Maurice’s too slick, too smooth, possibly guilty boyfriend. The only person Michael can think of who might listen is Leonard Drake, now a Lieutenant Detective with NYPD. In fact, this excuse to contact his ex might just be what Michael has been waiting three years for.

The second digital collection of Josh’s most popular short stories written between 2013 and 2020: eight stories of adventure, romance, and yes, a little bit of mystery. Wizard’s Moon - “I wish to buy a boy.” A warrior from the Northlands purchases a young man for purposes perhaps both secret and sinister. Wedding Favors – Wyatt doesn't want to spoil Graham's wedding plans. Graham thinks Wyatt would feel more secure if they were married. So who's doing whom a favor? Night Watch - When Parker's ex escapes from a maximum-security prison, LAPD Lieutenant Henry Stagge is tasked with making sure that Parker doesn't end up a victim a second—and final—time. Fade to Black – Sometimes our fate is written in the stars. Sometimes in indelible ink. Halloween is Murder - When his enigmatic partner takes off on an annual fishing trip, City of Angeles gumshoe Barry Fitzgerald is left to handle an All Hallows' Eve kidnapping case on his own. The Boy Next Door - Merle and Isaac have history, some good and some bad, so when someone seems determined to put Merle out of business—permanently—he naturally turns to his former sidekick for help. Plenty of Fish - Sure, maybe Blair is too romantic — but wasn't Finn the one who always said there were plenty of fish in the sea? Requiem for Mr. Busybody - When former journalist Michael’s elderly friend Maurice suddenly disappears, he fears the worst.

We only see the things on the surface… When Pirate Cove’s favorite mystery bookstore owner and sometimes-amateur sleuth Ellery Page discovers a vintage diving collection bag full of antique gold coins tucked away for safe-keeping in the stockroom of the Crow’s Nest, it sets off a series of increasingly dangerous events, culminating in murder.

Love is in the Salt Sea Air--and So is Murder! Ellery Page, aspiring screenwriter, reigning Scrabble champion, and occasionally clueless owner of the village's only mystery bookstore, the Crow’s Nest, is both flattered and bemused when he’s invited to the annual Marauder’s Masquerade, the best and biggest social event of the season in the quaint seaside village of Pirate’s Cove, Rhode Island. The event is hosted by the wealthy Marguerite Bloodworth-Ainsley—a descendant of the famed pirate Tom Blood. Ellery doesn’t even know Mrs. Bloodworth-Ainsley—nor, it turns out—does Mrs. Bloodworth-Ainsley know him. But Marguerite’s son, Julian wants to know Ellery. Julian, handsome, rich and engaging, is a huge mystery buff. In fact, he’s bought quite a few books at the Crow’s Nest bookstore, but never quite worked up the nerve to ask Ellery out. As his relationship with Police Chief Carson seems to be dead in the water, Ellery is grateful for a little flattering attention from the village’s most eligible bachelor, but any hopes of romance hit the shoals when Julian is accused of murdering his mother’s unlikable second husband during the Masquerade's annual ghost hunt in the family’s spooky cemetery.

The White Knight. It’s a Hollywood cliché. But in the case of hot and handsome LAPD Detective Daniel Moran, the clichés are all true. Dan is everything rising Hollywood star Sean Fairchild ever wanted in a leading man, but Dan’s kind of an old-fashioned guy. It’s his job to keep Sean safe and in one piece—happy is someone else’s problem.

Dashing soldier of fortune Major Valentine Strange, late of the Emperor of Alba’s 21st Regiment of Benhali Lancers, is hired by Brahman Ehimay Warrick to find a legendary diadem reputedly hidden in a lost monastery somewhere deep in the distant, snowy mountains of Hidush. To ensure Strange’s success in this quest vital to the future of the politically unstable Hidush, the powerful Holy Orders designate Master Aleister Grimshaw, a powerful young witch with his own history of instability—political and other—to accompany the dashing major. But long before Strange and the unwilling Grimshaw reach the tea bushes of the foothills and the lost city of Nagara, they realize there are forces both natural and unnatural at work to stop them from ever achieving their objective. Their only chance for success relies on each other and their tentative friendship—as does their only hope for survival.

In a dark, dark wood there was a dark, dark house... Camping in the Jersey Pine Barrens may literally turn out to be a first date from hell for travel writer Tim North and the cute cop who persuades him to revisit a past that Tim has done his best to forget.

Choose Wisely! Once a literary bad boy, the only lines Professor Sebastian Swift does these days are Browning, Frost and Cummings. When a student he helped to disappear becomes a suspect in a murder, he races to find the boy and convince him to give himself up before his police chief lover figures out he's involved. Max likes being lied to even less than he likes sonnets. Yet his instincts--and his heart--tell him his boyfriend is being played and a dangerous enemy may not stop until Swift is heading up his own dead poet's society.

Black Cats. Black Arts. Blackmail. Must a witch break his vows to save his marriage? Cosmo Saville loves that his husband has finally accepted his witchy ways. And in return, his promise to stay out of police business guarantees them a happily ever after. At least, until he discovers he might be responsible for a dangerous game of blackmail… Police Commissioner John Joseph Galbraith feels relieved that his marriage is back on track. Especially since he has his hands full with a high-profile suicide and rumors of a city-wide extortion ring. But when he stumbles across Cosmo breaking his vow by playing cop, John agonizes over old wounds. With the commissioner’s badge and family in jeopardy, Cosmo has no choice but to put his life on the line… Can the witch expose a dark conspiracy, save John’s career, and return to love’s delicious spell? Bell, Book and Scandal is the third book in the Bedknobs and Broomsticks mystery-romance series. If you like quirky characters, snappy spells, madcap suspense, and Happily Ever Afters, then you’ll love Josh Lanyon’s bewitching supernatural story.

Amidst the twinkling lights and snow-kissed streets of a quaint, picture-perfect town in the High Sierra, a bookstore owner and former homicide detective are reminded that the greatest mysteries are the ones that lead us to love. Join Adrien English and Jake Riordan one last time in a short, sweet tale that will warm your heart and remind you that love knows no bounds, especially during the most magical time of the year.