SUMMARY: Usually, crime writers who give birth to protagonists deserving of future series want to feature those characters as prominently as possible in subsequent installments. Not so Boris Akunin, who succeeds his celebrated first novel about daring 19th-century Russian sleuth Erast Fandorin, The Winter Queen, with the less inventive Murder on the Leviathan, in which the now former Moscow investigator competes for center stage with a swell-headed French police commissioner, a crafty adventuress boasting more than her fair share of aliases, and a luxurious steamship that appears fated for deliberate destruction in the Indian Ocean. Following the 1878 murders of British aristocrat Lord Littleby and his servants on Paris's fashionable Rue de Grenelle, Gustave Gauche, "Investigator for Especially Important Crimes," boards the double-engined, six-masted Leviathan on its maiden voyage from England to India. He's on the lookout for first-class passengers missing their specially made gold whale badges--one of which Littleby had yanked from his attacker before he died. However, this trap fails: several travelers are badgeless, and still others make equally good candidates for Littleby's slayer, including a demented baronet, a dubious Japanese army officer, a pregnant and loquacious Swiss banker's wife, and a suave Russian diplomat headed for Japan. That last is of course Fandorin, still recovering two years later from the events related in The Winter Queen. Like a lesser Hercule Poirot, "papa" Gauche grills these suspects, all of whom harbor secrets, and occasionally lays blame for Paris's "crime of the century" before one or another of them--only to have the hyper-perceptive Fandorin deflate his arguments. It takes many leagues of ocean, several more deaths, and a superfluity of overlong recollections by the shipmates before a solution to this twisted case emerges from the facts of Littleby's killing and the concurrent theft of a valuable Indian artifact from his mansion. Like the best Golden Age nautical mysteries, Murder on the Leviathan finds its drama in the escalating tensions between a small circle of too-tight-quartered passengers, and draws its humor from their over-mannered behavior and individual eccentricities. Trouble is, Akunin (the pseudonym of Russian philologist Grigory Chkhartishvili) doesn't exceed expectations of what can be done within those traditions. --J. Kingston Pierce

E-book exclusive extras: Christie biographer Charles Osborne's essay on At Bertram's Hotel; "The Marples": the complete guide to all the cases of crime literature's foremost female detective. When Jane Marple comes up from the country for a holiday in London, she finds what she’s looking for at Bertram’s: a restored London hotel with traditional decor, impeccable service -- and an unmistakable atmosphere of danger behind the highly polished veneer. Yet not even Miss Marple can foresee the violent chain of events set in motion when an eccentric guest makes his way to the airport on the wrong day…

One of the seven deadly sins, greed propagates a selfish blindness, an invisible mold that destroys every person from the inside out. Michael Doyle. The average man. A comfortable job, an easy lifestyle, and a girlfriend every guy covets. Nothing arduous, nothing too risky. Until the deathly tentacles of greed touch his life…and he realizes that greed knows no boundaries. Can Michael survive? FATAL GREED (Greed Series #1) A corporate takeover bleeds its way into a private company in North Texas. Behind the scenes, deadly deals erupt from the greed-filled hearts of a select few powerful enough to make them happen. What’s an employee to do? For one unassuming man the thought of layoffs, of losing his own job to a bunch of arrogant assholes, feels like a kick to the jewels. Until the day Michael Doyle’s life changes forever. Perverse alliances. An affair of the heart. A gruesome murder. A spiraling string of events thrusts Michael into a life-or-death fight to save a tortured soul and hunt down a brutal killer...one who lurks closer than he ever imagined. LETHAL GREED (Greed Series #2) Seduced by an insatiable urge to escape reality, North Texas teens are falling prey to the one weakness parents fear most—the use of illicit drugs. And North Texas is just the tip of the iceberg. With his city under siege by a series of drug deaths and a kidnapping, recently hired newspaper publisher Michael Doyle and those closest to him are sucked into a twister so toxic and destructive, no one will be the same in its wake. From the jagged mountains and alluring beaches of Mexico to the suburban concrete jungle in North Texas, Michael defends an entire drug-ravaged generation against ruthless killers who attack on every front possible. And just when you think the dragon has been sleighed, a vile act of cruelty threatens to shred his own family. WICKED GREED (Greed Series #3) A twisted email lands at journalism outlets across the south, referencing innocent little animals, primal urges, Hollywood movie stars, and women of a certain ilk...tearing flesh from bone. The haunting note tests newspaper publisher Michael Doyle’s over-protective nature. Is the email just a prank from a sheltered computer geek, or a prophetic sign of a future heinous act? Deadly brutality swallows up one beautiful young lady after another…and it seems no one can stop it. What force is behind this chain of sadistic killings, pulling the strings, toying with pretty girls who want nothing more than to meet Mr. Right? As Michael and his team track a series of bizarre murders in southern college towns—slowly piecing together what the FBI cannot—a savage monster strikes close to home. The greed of the wicked pervades all who touch it—by choice or by circumstance. GREED MANIFESTO (Greed Series #4) Everyone needs a guardian angel—except when that angel is cloaked in vengeance, immune to human qualities of remorse or compassion, seemingly carrying a torch for justice, yet driven by a tenacious indignation. Set against the awe-inspiring backdrop of San Francisco and all of its fleeting secrets, Michael Doyle attempts to reboot his life, only to see death drop inches from his feet. Awakened from a seemingly catatonic state and emboldened by a spirited friendship from his past, the former journalist is compelled to chase down the truth behind a murder--and the natural beauty connected to it. Robbed of his memory, beaten to an inch of his life, yet unwavering in his quest to cease an act of terror, Michael races against time to pursue an enemy bound by an unspeakable cause. More than 308,000 words, these four Greed novels have been described as "Powerful," "High-Octane Thrillers." Rick Murcer, NYT bestselling author says, "Mefford has a gift. This was a great read and thoroughly enjoyed it." Save over 40% off the individually priced books in the Greed Series Box Set. **

The discovery of a dead man in Ruby Jane Whittaker's tub leads Skin Kadash on a frantic search through the haunted past of the woman he loves.

Homicide detective Jake Carrington takes murder personally... The victim was bludgeoned, stripped, and left for dead. Shanna Wagner deserves justice – and there's no better cop than Lieutenant Jake Carrington to find her killer. The brutality of the crime reminds Jake of his sister's murder seventeen years ago, and the remorseless man responsible, now up for parole. Then another woman is killed – and Jake goes dangerously close to the edge. He'll have to face his personal demons and focus his formidable skills if he hopes to stop a vicious murderer from striking again—and hold on to his career, and his life . . . ALL THE DEADLY LIES A Jake Carrington Thriller Previously published as If I Fail