The Pinks by Chris Enss, 169 pages

The true story of Kate Warne and the other women who served as Pinkertons, fulfilling the adage, "Well-behaved Women Seldom Make History." Most students of the Old West and American law enforcement history know the story of the notorious and ruthless Pinkerton Detective Agency and the legends behind their role in establishing the Secret Service and tangling with Old West Outlaws. But the true story of Kate Warne, an operative of the Pinkerton Agency and the first woman detective in America--and the stories of the other women who served their country as part of the storied crew of crime fighters--are not well known. For the first time, the stories of these intrepid women are collected here and richly illustrated throughout with numerous historical photographs. From Kate Warne's probable affair with Allan Pinkerton, and her part in saving the life of Abraham Lincoln in 1861 to the lives and careers of the other women who broke out of the Cult of True Womanhood in pursuit of justice, these true stories add another dimension to our understanding of American history.

From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty, 248 pages

Fascinated by our pervasive terror of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty set out to discover how other cultures care for their dead. In rural Indonesia, she observes a man clean and dress his grandfather’s mummified body. Grandpa’s mummy has lived in the family home for two years, where the family has maintained a warm and respectful relationship. She meets Bolivian natitas (cigarette- smoking, wish- granting human skulls), and introduces us to a Japanese kotsuage, in which relatives use chopsticks to pluck their loved- ones’ bones from cremation ashes. With curiosity and morbid humor, Doughty encounters vividly decomposed bodies and participates in compelling, powerful death practices almost entirely unknown in America. Featuring Gorey-esque illustrations by artist Landis Blair, From Here to Eternity introduces death-care innovators researching green burial and body composting, explores new spaces for mourning— including a glowing- Buddha columbarium in Japan and America’s only open-air pyre— and reveals unexpected new possibilities for our own death rituals.

Hark the Herald Angels Slay by Vicki Delany, 295 pages

The town of Rudolph, New York, has the Christmas spirit all year long—but when homicide heats up a summer holiday, it’s up to shop owner Merry Wilkinson to wrap up the case.

In Rudolph, Christmas in July heralds Santa’s arrival by boat to begin his summer vacation at the lake, and Merry Wilkinson, owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, is looking forward to a busy weekend. But she’s caught off guard when her ex-fiancé, Max Folger, unexpectedly arrives with a team from a lifestyle magazine wanting to do a feature on the July festivities.

It’s clear that Max’s visit has less to do with business and more to do with winning back Merry’s heart. Merry has too much on her plate to deal with an old flame, but when Max is found strangled to death in Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, she must find out who wanted him dead—and stop a killer from ruining the summer holiday cheer.

More Bitter Than Death by Dana Cameron, 318 pages

In an historic, if isolated, New England hotel, some of the most respected names in archaeology are coming together to celebrate the work of Julius Garrison, a legend in the field. It's a conference Emma Fielding is determined to attend -- braving a furious winter storm to get there -- even though Garrison is no friend to her or her family. An when the honoree's lifeless body is discovered outside the snowbound inn, Emma suddenly finds she is a murder suspect, along with a surprising number of the other guests. The bitterness widely spread by a cantankerous old man has had fatal consequences, forcing Emma fielding to put her archaeological skills to forensic use to uncover the truth. But a strange series of thefts and attacks -- and eerie rumors about a ghostly prowler -- suggest that truth may be more deadly than Emma imagines.

Mistletoe & Mayhem: Horrific Tales for the Holidays by Richard Dalby, 248 pages

Christmas is the time to curl up by the fire with a collection of stories designed to make your flesh creep.
Some are new stories, specially commissioned for this volume, such as basil Copper's chilling, Wish You Were Here, in which the postman delivers messages from beyond the grave.
The author of Psycho, Robert Bloch, contributes The Night Before Christmas, a powerful tale not to be read by those of a nervous disposition.
Others are by firm favourites such as Nigel Kneale, author of the classic, Quatermass. His story, The Stocking, tells of a Christmas visit from the furry, green-eyes, slithery, Minkeys.
W.W. Jacobs, the master of the hair-raising short story, is represented by Jerry Bundler, one of his most compelling tales of terror.
From another time and another place comes Sabine baring Gould's Mustapha, set in Egypt, which tells of a man tricked into damnation.
A wide range of stories are included in Horror for Christmas from the cosily creepy to the truly horrific to make a treat for Christmas no-one will want to miss.

The Death of an Heir by Philip Jett, 306 pages

The Death of an Heir is Philip Jett's chilling true account of the Coors family's gilded American dream that turned into a nightmare when a meticulously plotted kidnapping went horribly wrong.
In the 1950s and 60s, the Coors dynasty reigned over Golden, Colorado, seemingly invincible. When rumblings about labor unions threatened to destabilize the family's brewery, Adolph Coors, Jr., the septuagenarian president of the company, drew a hard line, refusing to budge. They had worked hard for what they had, and no one had a right to take it from them. What they'd soon realize was that they had more to lose than they could have imagined.
On the morning of Tuesday, February 9, 1960, Adolph "Ad" Coors III, the 44-year-old CEO of the multimillion dollar Colorado beer empire, stepped into his car and headed for the brewery twelve miles away. At a bridge he stopped to help a man in a yellow Mercury sedan. On the back seat lay handcuffs and leg irons. The glove box held a ransom note ready to be mailed. His coat pocket shielded a loaded pistol.
What happened next set off the largest U.S. manhunt since the Lindbergh kidnapping. State and local authorities, along with the FBI personally spearheaded by its director J. Edgar Hoover, burst into action attempting to locate Ad and his kidnapper. The dragnet spanned a continent. All the while, Ad's grief-stricken wife and children waited, tormented by the unrelenting silence. The Death of an Heir reveals the true story behind the tragic murder of Colorado's favorite son.

LoserPalooza by Darby Conley, 248 pages

Loserpalooza is Darby Conley's latest look at the interspecies antics of his wildly popular characters Bucky, Satchel, and Rob. At the center of this not-so-warm-and-fuzzy arrangement is Rob Wilco, a single, mild-mannered ad exec. Bucky is Rob's temperamental, buck-toothed Siamese cat with a penchant for mischief, a hatred of ferrets, and a love of rubber bands. Satchel is a sweet but naive shar-pei-yellow-Lab mix who haplessly ends up on the receiving end of Bucky's wayward schemes.