Bøger af Kassandra Lamb

The shortest day of the year is anything but for C.o.P. Judith Anderson. A series of smash-and-grab robberies is threatening to derail the Christmas shopping season in the small Florida city where Judith Anderson is the new Chief of Police. Shoppers are afraid, merchants are frustrated, the mayor is furious, and Judith and her department are looking like fools. But they have little to go on. The thief is quick and is completely covered from head to toe, wearing a dark hoodie and plastic Santa mask. The situation takes a nasty turn when a shop owner shoots at the fleeing robber and hits a young teenager instead. Judith is determined to stop the mayhem before someone else is seriously hurt, or worse. But will she be able to unmask the thieving Santa before Christmas...and is she prepared for what she may find if she does?

A story ripped from real-life headlines. A police detective is found in an alley, standing over the body of an unarmed African-American boy. Groggy from a concussion, he has no memory of what happened, and he is literally holding the smoking gun. To the Baltimore County Internal Affairs division, it's a slam-dunk. But various forces push psychotherapist Kate Huntington and her P.I. husband to investigate behind the scenes, and what they find doesn't add up. Why did the boy's oldest brother disappear on the same day? And did the third brother, who's on the autism spectrum and nonverbal, witness something relevant? When seemingly unrelated events emerge as a pattern of intentional obstruction and diversion, it becomes apparent that what happened in that alley was more than just a bad shoot by a stressed-out cop. And for Kate, the case has become personal as she's connected with the grieving mother, whose dead son was the same age as her Billy. The answers may come from unexpected sources, but she and Skip better find them soon… before another life is lost.

When an operative working undercover for Kate Huntington's husband is shot, the alleged shooter turns out to be one of Kate's psychotherapy clients, a man suffering from severe social anxiety. P.I. Skip Canfield had doubts from the beginning about this case, a complicated one of top secret projects and industrial espionage. Now one of his best operatives, and a friend, is in the hospital fighting for his life. Tensions mount when Skip learns that Kate-who's convinced her client is innocent and too emotionally fragile to survive in prison-has been checking out leads on her own. Then a suspicious suicide brings the case to a head. Is the shooter tying up loose ends? Almost too late, Skip realizes he may be one of those loose ends, and someone seems to have no qualms about destroying his agency or getting to him through his family.

Psychotherapist Kate Huntington is rocked to the core when one of her clients commits suicide. How can this be? The woman, who suffered from bipolar disorder, had been swinging toward a manic state. The client's family is threatening to sue for malpractice, and Kate can't fault them since she blames herself. How could she have missed the signs? Searching for answers for herself and the grieving parents, Kate discovers some details that don't quite fit. Is it possible the client didn't take her own life, or is that just wishful thinking? Questioning her professional judgement, and at times her own sanity, she feels compelled to investigate. What she finds stirs up her old ambivalence about the Catholic Church. Is her client's death somehow related to her childhood parish? When she senses that someone is following her, she wonders if she is truly losing it. Or is she getting dangerously close to someone's secrets? (All books in the series are designed to be read as stand-alones as well.)

A dark secret triggers a deadly game of cat-and-mouse...When a former client reaches out to psychotherapist Kate Huntington and reveals a foreign diplomat's secret past, then dies of "natural causes" just days later, Kate isn't sure what to think. Was the man delusional or is she now privy to dangerous information? Soon she discovers her client was totally sane... and he was murdered. Now someone is trying to eliminate her, plus anyone and everyone she might have told. As the cat-and-mouse game escalates, Kate and her husband, along with their friends and several operatives of his P.I. agency, struggle to stay one step ahead of a ruthless assassin who's bent on protecting the ambassador's secret.

Family can save you...or destroy you. With accusations flying between her client and the client's parents, psychotherapist Kate Huntington is caught in the middle. And when the parents sue her for planting "false memories" in her client's head, she ends up a murder suspect. Plus, someone is sending her anonymous and vaguely threatening notes. There is one bright spot though; she's falling in love. Now if she can just get her dead husband's ghost out of her head. As the romance heats up, the note sender ups the anté, threatening to "destroy" Kate's family. Her closest friend, Rob, has misgivings about her too-handsome-to-be-trusted suitor. But now the two men must work together, to help the woman they both love find a killer…and protect her baby girl. (All books in this series are designed to be read and enjoyed as stand-alones as well.)

No good deed goes unpunished… Newly widowed Kate Huntington agrees to help her closest friend's elderly aunt with a problem, but the "problem" ends up dead. And Kate finds herself embroiled in a police investigation. To clear Aunt Betty, she and her cohorts must wade through a brimming pool of suspects-some of whom have secrets they'd prefer to keep buried. As the investigation progresses, Kate finds it harder and harder to deny her attraction to the P.I. her friend Rob has hired. But it's too soon; she's still grieving for her beloved husband. Then Rob surprises everyone with his intense and negative reaction to the potential romance. Is he only concerned that Kate will get hurt, or could he be jealous? Meanwhile, the residents of Aunt Betty's retirement community continue to die off, and not from natural causes. Soon the question becomes not whether they'll find the killer, but at what cost…her friendship with Rob? Or one of their lives?

Psychotherapist Kate Huntington helps other people cope with the horrible things that have happened to them, but she herself has led a charmed life... until now. When a series of what seem like random events-a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time-takes a sinister twist, it becomes apparent that she and her lawyer friend, Rob Franklin, have a common enemy. But the lead police detective has a different theory. He's convinced Kate and Rob are lovers attempting to eliminate their spouses. And he seems determined to build a case against them. As the attacks escalate, Kate and Rob are forced to investigate on their own. Who hates them enough to want them both dead? And doesn't seem to mind if others get caught in the crossfire! (All books in this series are designed to be read and enjoyed as stand-alones as well.)

Should auld acquaintance be forgot…The last year has been eventful for Marcia and husband Will. They've successfully launched their private investigation agency and completed their family with an adorable but creatively energetic baby girl. Now, they're about to ring in the New Year with friends and neighbors, but there's something more than champagne bubbling in Mayfair, Florida.The octogenarian matriarch of the town is always looking for ways to boost the community's economy. Her latest scheme is the addition of a row of shops along Main Street. But a few of her new tenants have something more nefarious in mind than simply selling their wares.When old hostilities set off New Year's fireworks, a shopkeeper ends up dead, and two friends of Marcia's are the prime suspects. Determined to clear them, Marcia and Will-with Buddy's help, of course-set out to uncover the real Grim Reaper.

Celebration turns to nightmare when psychotherapist Kate Huntington's guest of honor disappears en route to her own retirement party. Kate's former boss, Sally Ford, has been kidnapped by a serial killer who holds his victims exactly forty-eight hours before killing them. With time ticking away, the police allow Kate and her P.I. husband to help with the investigation. The FBI agents involved in the case have mixed reactions to the "civilian consultants." The senior agent welcomes Kate's assistance as he fine-tunes his psychological profile. His voluptuous, young partner is more by the book. While she locks horns out in the field with Kate's husband, misunderstandings abound back at headquarters. But they can ill afford these distractions. They have to find Sally, before her time expires. (This book is part of a series but is designed to be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.)

There's a new female cop on the scene! Judith Anderson's no-nonsense attitude and confidence served her well in her climb to homicide lieutenant in the Baltimore County PD, but that confidence is shaken when she finds herself one step behind a serial killer-just eight days into her new job as Chief of Police in a small Florida city. The first victim, a female college student, may be a case of wrong place, wrong time. But the bodies keep coming, with a mishmash of MOs, and the murders may be linked to various cases in nearby Jacksonville. While Judith assumed the CoP job would be challenging, she's finding it harder than she imagined to establish her authority without alienating and be more hands-on without micro-managing. Plus, evidence is stacking up that there's a leak in her department. Who can she trust? If she makes the wrong assumption, the wrong decision, it may be her last. In a race to save lives, she'll draw on every talent and instinct that made her a star in Baltimore. But will that be enough this time? Fans of JA Jance's Sheriff Joanna Brady and JD Robb's Eve Dallas will love this new female cop on the scene!

On the 10th anniversary of 9/11 the media replays the videos of that day's devastation, and a national hero's life begins to unravel. When the first responder-already struggling with delayed PTSD and addiction-is accused of murdering his former drug dealer, psychotherapist Kate Huntington finds herself going above and beyond to help him. As she and her P.I. husband set out to clear him of the charges, they are thrust into a deadly world of drugs, prostitutes and hired killers, and end up questioning who they are and what it means to be brave. (This book is part of a series but is designed to be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone story as well.)

The world moves toward normal, but Marcia's life is rarely "normal"...Newly vaccinated, Marcia Banks can finally schedule the human phase of training with her Air Force pilot client-the soon-to-be owner of a Chow-Husky service dog named Bear. But when she calls to set things up, she's informed that the veteran has been in a private psychiatric hospital for months, with no one allowed to visit due to Covid.Marcia puts out feelers to find out what is going on, and suddenly he is discharged...only to have his private plane crash in a fiery ball two days later. Convinced this is no coincidence, Marcia attempts to find out how her veteran client became the target of a murderer.What she uncovers looks suspiciously like a scheme to defraud the Veterans' Administration. But who's behind it, and did they sabotage her client's plane? Or did the saboteur have a more personal motive? And just how determined are they to silence Marcia?(Note: This story occurs during the end of the pandemic, but it focuses on the optimism and relief of the spring of 2021 in the U.S.)

A tropical paradise turns deadly.Service dog trainer Marcia Banks had thought it was the perfect arrangement-stay on her client's private Gulf-coast island and get the human phase of the training done more quickly, while enjoying a much-needed break from the chaos of house renovations back home.This certainly wasn't the tranquil getaway she'd envisioned, however. Two resident ghosts, a sour-puss housekeeper and bearing witness to her client's shaky marriage are bad enough. But within days, she's discovered even deeper and darker layers of dysfunction.Via emails and static-filled phone calls, fiancé Will Haines convinces her to get herself and her dog Buddy out of there, but before Marcia can accomplish this, a late-season hurricane abruptly changes course and strands them on the island... with a murderer.

A Halloween romp with a seriously scary twist!Her adopted town is once again driving service dog trainer Marcia Banks a little nuts. No sooner has she moved her horse into the new Mayfair Riding Stable than its octogenarian, muumuu-wearing owner decides to turn the barn into a haunted house for Halloween. Meanwhile, an anonymous prankster is haunting Mayfair, disrupting its small-town tranquility, and the local postmistress has a strange request for Marcia. All this, along with her new role of godmother to adorable twins, is a bit overwhelming.But it's nothing compared to what's coming. As Halloween approaches, the evil lurking in the shadows will threaten what is most precious to Marcia and her beloved town.

A Christmas extravaganza in Mayfair, Florida, complete with an ice skating rink. What could go wrong?When Mayfair's newly-minted Chamber of Commerce goes off the rails and decides to build an ice skating rink, a decades-old skeleton is uncovered. The secrets it reveals threaten more than the town's Christmas plans. Feeling responsible since the let's-attract-more-tourists idea was hers initially, service dog trainer Marcia Banks is determined to help her police detective boyfriend solve the mystery-whether he wants her help or not. Maybe she can wheedle more out of the townspeople than he can.Will she and her Black Lab, Buddy, keep the ghost of Christmas past from destroying what is left of Mayfair's founding family, or will her meddling make things worse?

Nothing about her new client is what service dog trainer Marcia Banks expected-from the posh house that says family money to his paranoid preoccupation with his sister's love life-but when he dangles a thousand-dollar retainer under her nose, she can't resist playing private detective.In between training sessions, Marcia digs into the sister's boyfriend's sketchy past. But the deeper she digs, the more questions arise. How is a disastrous fraternity party five years ago linked to blackmail, prostitutes, and murder today? And who's driving the black SUV that keeps trying to turn Marcia and her dog Buddy into roadkill?She can't let it go, not when there are innocents at risk who are depending on her to find the truth. But the deepest, darkest truth is the one she wishes she never uncovered.