Short Stories

Crimes of the Heart edited by Carolyn G. Hart (1995)

A collection of fourteen original short works follows themes of fatal attractions and includes Sharyn McCrumb's "Matchmaker," Barbara D'Amato's "Hard Feelings," and P. M. Carlson's "The Rosewood Coffin, or the Divine Sarah."

Crimes of Passion by Nancy Means Wright and others (2002)

Four gripping stories of obsession and desire from the masters of mystery includes B. J. Daniels's "The Lovebirds," in which hotel detective Tempest Bailey must solve the mystery surrounding the murder of Peggy Kane, a mistress who received a deadly Valentine's Day gift, as well as other works by Maggie Price, Jonathan Harrington, and Nancy Means Wright.

Love and Death edited by Carolyn G. Hart (2001)

Romance and mystery combine in a Valentine's Day anthology of fourteen original whodunits from Dorothy Cannell, Caroyn Hart, Nancy Pickard, Gar Anthony Haywood, Peter Robinson, Eve Sandstrom, Ed Gorman, Margaret Maron, Jean Hager, Robert J. Randisi, M. D. Lake, Susan Dunlap, Marilyn Wallace, and Kathy Hogan Trocheck.

Novels

 

The Broken Hearts Club by Ethan Black (1999)

Detective Conrad Voort races against time to catch an elusive serial killer, an investigation that leads him to an informal group of men whose only connection lies in their unsuccessful love lives.

Cat Playing Cupid by Shirley Rousseau Murphy (2009)

When the Valentine's Day wedding of his reluctant human, Clyde, is disrupted by the discovery of a murdered body, feline investigator Joe Grey and his companions learn that the killing is connected to a ten-year-old case involving the bride's father's romantic past.

A Catered Valentine's Day by Isis Crawford (2007)

Caterers and sisters Bernie and Libby, while attending the funeral for a client's mother, are plunged into a bizarre mystery when the corpse of Ted Gorman, the owner of Just Chocolate, who supposedly died in a fiery car crash weeks earlier, is found in someone else's grave.

Chocolate Covered Murder by Leslie Meier (2011)

After the suspicious drowning of a local fisherman, and the murder of a sultry chocolate-store manager, Lucy Stone must track down a killer, all while navigating the craziness of Tinker's Cove's Valentine's Day tourist promotion.

Claws and Effect by Rita Mae Brown (2001)

Postmistress Harry Haristeen and her sleuthing cat, Mrs. Murphy, find a Valentine's Day challenge in the wake of a series of threatening chain letters from the mysterious "Sister Sophonsiba" that culminates in the murder of a hospital director.

Daughter of the Stars by Phyllis A. Whitney (1994)

While her mother battles a life-threatening illness, Lacey Elliot receives a letter from an unknown woman claiming to be her aunt, a piece of correspondence that unlocks dangerous secrets from the past.

Death of a Valentine by M.C. Beaton (2011)

Hamish Macbeth is about to be married -- or is he?

How to Murder the Man of Your Dreams by Dorothy Cannell (1995)

Investigating the mysterious death of the local librarian, Ellie Haskell is entranced by the arrival of romance cover model Karisma, whose muscle-bound fund-raiser is upended by second and third murders.

A Judgement in Stone by Ruth Rendell (1977)

When a housekeeper carries out a modern "Valentine's Day Massacre" on the family that employs her, Detective Chief Superintendent William Vetch investigates to uncover evidence of a personal tragedy that precipitated the crime.

Love Lies Bleeding by Susan Wittig Albert (1997)

Expecting a surprise in the form of a marriage proposal on Valentine's Day, China Bayles gets a shock instead when her lover, Mike McQuaid, is shot.

Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich (2007)

Receiving simultaneous caches of love letters and hate mail, Connie Rosolli enlists the aid of Lula, Grandma Mazur, and the enigmatic Diesel when she becomes suspicious that her secret admirer and stalker are the same person.

Saint Valentine's Night by Andrew M. Greeley (1989)

Top television investigative reporter Neal Connor finds romance--and danger--when he returns to his hometown of Chicago on assignment and reunites with his childhood sweetheart, the recent widow of his best friend.

Valentine by Tom Savage (1996)

Suspense novelist Jillian Talbot finds her idyllic and fashionable life in Greenwich Village shattered by the pervasive attentions of a stalker, who grows more deadly as Valentine's Day approaches.

Valentine Murder by Leslie Meier (2000)

Knee-deep in cupcakes with pastel frosting and candy hearts, Lucy Stone is shocked when new librarian Bitsy Howell is murdered and Detective Horowitz announces that the murderer is among them, so she casts aside her culinary concoctions to investigate and comes face to face with a killer.

 

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