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Check out Rowan Prose Publishing's cozy mystery, suspense, and thriller books and see why we think they're perfect for readers #fridayreads #books #cozymystery #suspense #thriller

N. N. Light


Rowan Prose Publishing offers the most page-turning cozy mysteries, suspense, and thrillers, along with fantasy books. Find your next great read.

 

Title: By Hook or By Book

Author: Misty Simon

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Rowan Prose Publishing

 

Book Blurb

 

"Cozy fans will be charmed.” —Publishers Weekly

 

Roxy Gleason, an innkeeper by trade and a bibliomancer by birth, has lived in the same small town on the Susquehanna River in Central Pennsylvania for her entire life. Tradition is strong here. Roxy understands the rules and is willing to play by them most of the time. She runs the Charmed Inn, which has been in her family for decades.

 

The inn is all set to host a writers’ professional business weekend that’s been planned down to the very last hand-folded napkin, and Roxy is ready for the influx of creatives. She knows she’ll have a lot of different and sometimes unusual personalities to deal with, but this is a yearly function, so she’s not expecting anything to go awry.

 

Her expectations are completely tanked when she finds a dead body on her daily walk by the river’s shore. Owen Schultz had checked in for the conference a few hours ago, and she’d last seen him having tea with her aunt in the dining room.

 

How did he get down here on the ferry, and who killed him?

 

Fans of Lucy Score, Melissa F. Miller, Dianne Harman, Lynn Cahoon, Deany Ray, Kathi Daley, and Merryn Allingham will enjoy Misty Simon.

 

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Author Biography

 

Misty Simon, who also writes as Gabby Allan, always wanted to be a storyteller. Today, she has more than 30 titles to date in the romance and mystery genres.  She lives with her husband in Central Pennsylvania where she is hard at work on her next novel or three.

 

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Title: Atlantis Rising

Author: Amy Cip

Genre: NA Fantasy

Publisher: Rowan Prose Publishing

 

Book Blurb

 

The lost city of Atlantis was cursed to the sky, and it falls upon one girl, with the help of an Atlantian refugee and a ragtag band of space pirates, to return the magical city to the ground.

 

When an accident on the mainland leaves her parents dead and her sister in long term care, Ember Weathers is forced to drop out of school to run her parents’ bookstore in Devil’s Fork, Maine. Her only excitement is her pet dragon, who no one else can see. At least not until an attractive stranger named Shepherd walks in seeking her mother’s art. Before she can get any answers from him, hellhounds chase them to the relative safety of a woman named Maryse, who turns out to be no friend at all, but another seeker of Atlantis who will do anything to see the island returned.

 

They’re rescued by a band of space pirates led by Captain Hawkins who are ancestors of Atlantis that seek and protect survivors from the curse of the Atlantian King’s brother. Ember has a choice to stay with this band of survivors or pursue the return of Atlantis. In her quest, she’ll be forced to seek out Maryse, who holds her sister hostage, as well as discover the secrets of Shepherd’s past, including the dark magic allowing him to live hundreds of years. In the end, it’s Ember who must go alone if she’s to free her sister and return the island of magic and love to the world.

 

Fans of Holly Black, Rebecca Ross, Sarah J. Maas, Lauren Roberts, Kiera Cass, Tracy Wolff, and Jennifer L. Armentrout will enjoy Amy Cip.

 

Excerpt

 

“Who are you?” she asked, the questions forming one after another. She held up the pages. “What is all this?” She’d always sought an explanation for the dragon without the word delusional in it, but she’d come to accept that, even embrace it. But now, something even more weird was going on. She might have blown the whole thing off except for the feeling of abject sorrow that emanated from Shep.

 

He scooted back from the flames. His cheeks had taken on a flush. “It’s difficult to know where to begin,” he said, leaning on the bookshelf where the shelf of Dickens shifted slightly from his weight.

 

Ember wouldn’t be leaning anywhere. She was at attention, all directed at this stranger. “How did you meet my mother?” She only choked slightly on the last word. She’d known Maeve Weathers as Mom. As an artist, a bookshop owner. Someone who lived a small life on a boring island Ember couldn’t wait to escape from. But she’d always suspected there was more.

 

He closed his eyes and tipped his head back, taking a deep breath. “It begins long ago.” He waited a beat, then righted his head and looked at her. “Before you or I, I’m afraid, and generations before that. It begins when Atlantis was still on the ground, a vast, magical kingdom.”

 

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Author Biography

 

Amy Cip is an author, blogger, people watcher, sci-fi junkie, website novice, eternal optimist, and introvert. She is the author of seven YA science fiction/fantasy/dystopian books. She resides in Massachusetts.

 

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Title: The Weight of Echoes

Author: Erin Giannini

Genre: YA paranormal thriller

Publisher: Rowan Prose Publishing

 

Book Blurb

 

One touch was all it took to change everything.

 

Seventeen-year-old Veronica Simon has the ability to see—thoughts, memories, and even secrets—when she touches people. She hides this power from everyone, even herself, but most of all, the cult-like Faith Fellowship Congregation her dad drags her to every Sunday.

 

Everything changes when she sees a disturbing vision of her estranged mom as she accidentally touches a Faith Fellow. Between that and her father’s uncharacteristic behavior, Veronica begins to realize something more sinister than lawyers and custody agreements have kept her mom away.

 

With the help of her troubled crush, Veronica uncovers a trail leading straight to the shady head of the Faith Fellowship cult. But if they discover her powers, the web of conspiracy and secrets will put both their lives in danger. Veronica must decide how much—or who—she’s willing to risk to save her mom. Because if she fails, Faith Fellowship could destroy everything she cares about, including her life.

 

If you take City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab with Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle and add the structure of The Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrew, you'll have The Weight Of Echoes.

 

Excerpt

 

I wasn’t alone.

 

          On the outer rim of the streetlamp outside the parking lot of THE Club was a guy, leaning against a station wagon festooned with an array of discordant bumper stickers from an NRA “from my cold dead hand” to an Earth Day decal. He held a cigarette between long pale fingers, nails painted black to match both his hair and ensemble.

 

          My laugh was both unstoppable and loud. He looked up and saw me, then shoved himself off the car and ambled in my direction. Despite the vampire drag and the dark parking lot, I wasn’t remotely scared. I knew who he was—the reason I’d started haunting THE Club in the first place, hoping it might be one of the places he’d hang out. Finally, risk met reward.

 

          I leaned against the wall of the club, felt the bass thrum through the plywood, a soothing counterpoint to the fluttery feeling in my stomach as he came closer. I told myself it was the nervousness of asking for a favor from a stranger. He reached into the pocket of his coat and produced a pack of cheap cigarettes, offered me one. I took it and the offered lighter. It was only then he spoke.

 

          “Were you laughing at me?” No accusation in that deep, soft tone, only curiosity.

 

          I darted a glance at him, smiled. “Yes.”

 

          He returned it. “Just checking.”

 

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Author Biography

 

Erin Giannini has wanted to be a writer for longer than she cares to remember. She served as an editor and contributor at PopMatters, and currently writes both fiction and non-fiction, including books about TV shows like “Supernatural” and “The Good Place.” She loves to read and hopes to eventually have room for all her books, read and yet-to-be read.

 

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Title: House on the Wrong Side of the Tracks

Author: Gayle Siebert

Genre: Thriller/Suspense

Publisher: Rowan Prose Publishing

 

Book Blurb

 

A derelict house.

 

A sinister owner.

 

A woman missing.

 

Lindy Larsen’s inherited ranch is financially struggling. She hopes her career as a PI will keep it afloat, but an assignment surveilling a man suspected of fraud leads her to a house he claims to be renovating, yet nothing indicates work is being done there. Plus, several women in the area go missing, and their bodies are found near where she’s seen the fraudster, which is miles from where he should be.

 

Could he be involved? Is that house on the wrong side of the tracks where he kept the women?


Although Lindy’s searches turn up nothing, she can’t shake her suspicion. And now, she’s caught her boyfriend in a series of lies. A bright spark is the arrival of her best friend, Kristy, who seems to have marital problems of her own.

 

Then Kristy disappears.

 

Lindy has no choice but to check out the old house. She’ll be careful. But with a serial killer on the loose, just being careful might not be enough.

 

Fans of Mia Sheridan, Freida McFadden, Yasmin Angoe, Jeneva Rose, John Marrs, and Minka Kent will enjoy Gayle Siebert.

 

Excerpt

 

The mood around my patio tonight is somber.

 

We’ve asked the same question over and over: who would do such a thing?

 

I say, “I wouldn’t be surprised if Janey wasn’t his first kill.”

 

“Why would you think that?” Dwight asks.

 

“Because she’s got a wild imagination,” K.C. says before I can answer. “Finding out her old buddy Russ Benson was a serial killer makes her suspicious of everyone.”

 

“I wish you’d quit calling Russ my old buddy. He was old rodeo pal of Stu’s and my Dad’s,” I remind him. “Second, she’s not the first girl to turn up dead. Last fall, there was that woman in Medicine Hat.”

 

“She was a prostitute and a drug addict. Risky lifestyle and a soft target,” Dwight tells us.

 

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Author Biography

 

Gayle Siebert has penned dozens of short stories, novellas, and novels for readers of all ages. They always feature strong female protagonists, and you can usually find a horse or two. Naturally, there has to be a good-looking cowboy somewhere. She was born in Saskatchewan, grew up in Alberta, and has lived her adult life in British Columbia. After more than thirty years as an insurance adjuster, she retired to her small horse farm, Idyllbeck, on Vancouver Island.

 

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Title: Someone Is Out There

Author: Kaye George

Genre: Suspense

Publisher: Rowan Prose Publishing

 

Book Blurb

 

Four-Time Agatha Award Nominee Kaye George brings a new edge-of-your-seat suspense!

 

Someone is stalking Darla.

 

She has a lot on her plate already. Dealing with a breakup. Her best friend shutting Darla out of her life. A handicapped mother. Her career as a hospital nurse. She doesn’t need slashed tires, threatening notes, or, least of all, a brick through her window.

 

She suspects her tormentor could either be her ex or her own father, who attacked and crippled her mother years ago. But she’s just not sure, and there’s no one but her dog to turn to.

 

Soon, she’s forced to rely on own wits to protect her and her mother as the frightening threats become more and more frequent.

 

And are progressively more dangerous.

 

Fans of Mia Sheridan, Freida McFadden, Yasmin Angoe, Jeneva Rose, John Marrs, and Minka Kent will enjoy Kaye George.

 

Excerpt

 

Darla walked to the desk and took the phone. People she knew didn’t usually call her during her working hours. Giving a stronger huff of annoyance, she handed it back. “There’s no one there. Do you know who it was?”

 

“Some guy, but he didn’t say who he was.”

 

“You didn’t recognize a voice?”

 

Stacy shrugged. “It wasn’t anyone I know.”

 

Darla hurried back to her meds and halted just inside the medicine closet, her mouth grim and her eyes narrowed. The paper cups were upended and the pills were scattered across the tray. Her back had been to the closet for the brief moment she’d been on the phone so she hadn’t seen who had been in the small room.

 

She had an immediate suspicion. Where was Bobby? Did he do this? She seethed as she straightened out the meds, again. First sorting them to determine which med was which, then putting the various sized and colored pellets into their neat white cups, then proceeded to hand them out late. Not very late, but a bit late.

 

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Author Biography

 

Kaye George has had a prolific career spanning many years in the mystery genre, and also writes under the name Janet Cantrell.  She’s accrued four Agatha Award nominations, won a Silver Falchion, a Derringer short story nomination, as well as achieving national bestseller status. She reviews for Suspense Magazine and writes a column for Mysterical-E. She's also a violinist, arranger, and composer. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, the online Guppies chapter (where she was president), as well as the Smoking Guns Knoxville TN chapter, which she helped organize.

 

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Title: Tangled Darkness

Author: MM Desch

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Rowan Prose Publishing

 

Book Blurb

 

In a twisted web of lies, she's either the spider or the fly.

 

When a psychiatric clinic assistant turns up dead, Dr. Leslie Schoen finds herself a suspect in the case—and facing allegations which could destroy her career.

 

As Detective Davis works the investigation, Leslie launches her own inquiries. She soon uncovers deception and illegal schemes involving stolen prescription opioids. It seems everyone around her is hiding something, and as she gets closer to the truth, the threats against her escalate. She struggles with keeping dangerous information from her pregnant wife, Izzy, and knows she needs to confront traumatic demons from her own past. But as she delves deeper into a web of lies, one thing becomes clear: someone will do anything to keep their criminal plans in the shadows.

 

With her family and even her life on the line, Leslie must outwit those who want her silenced before it’s too late. No one’s motives are what they seem, and the killer may be closer than anyone thinks.

 

Fans of Freida McFadden, Lucinda Berry, and Patricia Cornwell will enjoy "Tangled Darkness" by MM Desch.

 

Excerpt

 

“Do you think Damon developed a drug problem?” Leslie’s attention turned to the dinging door as a new customer entered the shop. “With the missing bupe, and now him gone—”

 

“What missing bupe?” Izzy leaned in, frowning.

 

Leslie stiffened at the slip, a warm flush extending into her face. “Oh my God, I forgot to tell you that one.” Leslie looked down, then up. “I learned from Lynn this morning, after Michelle and Sloan stonewalled me. The DEA found Bryce’s supply of buprenorphine samples short. I don’t know how much is gone, but it seemed plenty went missing.”

 

“All right.” Izzy set her sandwich down. “This is getting creepy.” Her voice dropped. “Why are you turning all red?”

 

“I—uh—” This is it. Here’s your chance.

 

“All right. There’s something more to this you’re not telling me.” Izzy rested her hands on the table. “What is it?”

 

“I just learned what the DEA found this morning.”

 

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Author Biography

 

MM Desch is the debut author of the psychological thriller "Tangled Darkness," and describes her work as storytelling on the edge. She's a proud marginalized voice in the LGBTQ+ community and a former psychiatrist. When not investigating facets of writing, she enjoys hiking, long walks with her wife and their mini schnauzer, Portland food carts, golf, and the WNBA. She resides in Oregon. 

 

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