Лучшие книги Джоан Хесс

Кожен митець для створення шедевру потребує певної атмосфери.
А особливо автор детективних романів, в той час коли йому конче необхідно закінчити книгу до ранку.....
Колись митці покладалися на своїх Муз, але як виявляється вони (Музи) можуть надихати у різний спосіб.

Egypt, 1912—Amelia Peabody and her dashing archeologist husband, Radcliffe Emerson, are once again in danger as they search for a priceless, stolen bust of legendary Queen Nefertiti and Amelia finds herself the target of assassins in this long-awaited, eagerly anticipated final installment of Elizabeth Peters’ bestselling, beloved mystery series.

Arriving in Cairo for another thrilling excavation season, Amelia is relaxing in a well-earned bubble bath in her elegant hotel suite in Cairo, when a man with knife protruding from his back staggers into the bath chamber and utters a single word—"Murder"—before collapsing on the tiled floor, dead. Among the few possessions he carried was a sheet of paper with Amelia’s name and room number, and a curious piece of pasteboard the size of a calling card bearing one word: "Judas." Most peculiarly, the stranger was wearing a gold-rimmed monocle in his left eye.

It quickly becomes apparent that someone saved Amelia from a would-be assassin—someone who is keeping a careful eye on the intrepid Englishwoman. Discovering a terse note clearly meant for Emerson—Where were you?"—pushed under their door, there can be only one answer: the brilliant master of disguise, Sethos.

But neither assassins nor the Genius of Crime will deter Amelia as she and Emerson head to the excavation site at Amarna, where they will witness the discovery of one of the most precious Egyptian artifacts: the iconic Nefertiti bust. In 1345 B.C. the sculptor Thutmose crafted the piece in tribute to the great beauty of this queen who was also the chief consort of Pharaoh Akhenaten and stepmother to King Tutankhamun.

For Amelia, this excavation season will prove to be unforgettable. Throughout her journey, a parade of men in monocles will die under suspicious circumstances, fascinating new relics will be unearthed, a diabolical mystery will be solved, and a brilliant criminal will offer his final challenge . . . and perhaps be unmasked at last.

Police Chief Arly Hanks finds her small town, Maggody, has some new inhabitants when she returns from vacation. Soon, Robin Buchanon, local prostitute and moonshiner, disappears, and Arly finds her bloody body at the edge of a marijuana field.

She would have killed for a bestseller--but someone beat her to it...

Professor of Passion, the smutty new romance from Mildred Twiller--a.k.a. Azalea Twilight--isn't the kind of book Claire Malloy likes to hock at her bookstore, but Claire agrees to host a book party for her friend's trashy tale. As torrid as the novel is, it's nothing compared to the evening. After the party, poor Mildred is found dead in her home--strangled with a tightly knotted silk scarf. Now it's up to Claire to find Mildred's killer, and it won't be easy--the two-bit author had offended nearly every faculty member she worked with at nearby Faber College. But who could have hated Mildred with such smoldering passion?

Chief of police Arly (Ariel) Hanks handles all the crime that comes her way in Maggody, Arkansas (pop. 755), with the ease that Ruby Bee at Ruby Bee's Bar & Grill gets out her blue plate specials.

Of course, most lawbreaking in this neck of the woods has to do with an illegal still or Raz Buchanon's pet pig getting loose. And the biggest crime, according to her mother and friends, is Arly's own unmarried state. But that's before the motorcade of televangelist and faith healer Malachi Hope rolls into town and sets up a tent revival that promises to put Maggody on the map...and put Arly on the hot seat

Chief of Police Arly (Ariel) Hanks is still hiding out in her hometown of Maggody, Arkansas (pop. 755), the land of moonshine and Ruby Bee's Bar & Grill, country roads and Nashville on the radio, cheatin' hearts and, well, maybe murder. It all starts when Matt Montana, country music's number one superstar of the year, decides it's a great PR move to come home to Maggody for the holidays. For a town in the grip of a recession, the news means Christmas is bringing a savior. Mrs. Jim Bob Buchanan, the mayor's wife, quickly sets up the Matt Montana Official Souvenir Shoppe, the amply endowed Dahlia Buchanan drives tourists around in the "Matt-mobile, " and beer costs two dollars a bottle at the Matt Montana Hometown Bar & Grill. Only one thing is missing: Aunt Adele, Matt Montana's one and only living relative. The elderly lady has mysteriously disappeared from the local nursing home, and Arly - even with the loan of the Fayetteville's PD's tracking dog - can find neither hide nor hair nor corpse of her. Now Arly gets to peek behind the scenes at a singing star's very private life to discover the manager who isn't above using blackmail, the wife who may be willing to kill to keep her man, and the pretty young singer who is giving Matt Montana an achy breaky heart. Is one of them a killer? Why has Dahlia Buchanan confessed to murder? What did happen to Aunt Adele? And what does moonshiner Raz Buchanan's pig Marjorie have to do with it all? Since Arly is the smartest, spunkiest, most off-beat sleuth in the Ozarks, it's up to her to save Christmas and restore order to the wacky, delightful community of Maggody, where anything can happen - and usually does.