C. C. Benison - Free Library Land Online - Middle Grade

Death in Cold Type

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 16:10:15 +0300

When Michael Rossiter, the scion of an old Winnipeg newspaper family and respected philanthropist, is found murdered, newspaper reporter Leo Fabiani is drawn into an investigation that threatens his colleagues and the woman he loves.

Newspaper reporter Leo Fabian doesn't think of himself as an opportunist. But when the object of his desire, Stevie Lord, loses the object of her desire to murder, he finds a whole new way to penetrate a woman's heart.

Who would want to kill Michael Rossiter anyway? Scion of an old Winnipeg newspaper family, he may have been rich, but he didn't really seem to have enemies. But as Leo delves deeper into the circumstances surrounding Michael's death, he learns some surprising things about his friend that quite possibly led to his demise. Michael's brutal fate mires Leo in a case that comes to embroil his fellow reporters at the Winnipeg Citizen, including troubled feature writer Liz Elliot, volatile lifestyle editor Guy Clark, and Michael's...

Twelve Drummers Drumming

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 21:21:41 +0200

Paul Is Dead

Mon, 12 Nov 2018 13:55:17 +0200

Under the sway of a charismatic stranger, five friends at an isolated lakeside cottage find their idyll unravelling, leaving two of them — Lydia Eadon and Dorian Grant — trapped in an explosion of violence that shatters their young lives and propels them past the borders of conventional morality. Forty years later when a body is unearthed from the scene of their revels, Lydia — a book editor in San Francisco — and Dorian — a vagabond actor — are plunged into a terrible reckoning with the past. Like Donna Tartt's The Secret History, this is a chronicle of duplicity and collusion, of innocence corrupted, and of the terrible power of guilt.

Eleven Pipers Piping: A Father Christmas Mystery

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:13:18 +0200

The welcome return of C. C. Benison’s delectable series featuring Father Tom Christmas—“an irresistible addition to the ranks of clerical sleuths” (Julia Spencer-Fleming)

Father Tom Christmas, the recently widowed vicar adjusting to life in the English village of Thornford Regis, would do almost anything to avoid attending the annual Robert Burns Supper at the local hotel. But as chaplain to a traditional Scottish pipe band, Father Tom must deliver the grace—and contend with wailing bagpipes, whiskey-laced parishioners reciting poetry, and the culinary abomination that is haggis.

As snow falls to unprecedented depths, the revelers carry on—briefly interrupted by an enigmatic stranger seeking shelter. Then Will Moir, proprietor of the hotel and a dedicated piper, inexplicably goes missing—only to be found later in the hotel’s dark tower, alone and dead from what appears to be a heart attack.

Father Tom’s own heart sinks when he learns the actual cause of Will’s demise. When word gets out, the flurry of innocent speculation descends into outlandish gossip. And, for all its tranquil charm, Thornford Regis has plenty to gossip about—illicit trysts, muted violence, private sorrows, and old, unresolved tragedies. The question is: Who would benefit most from the piper’s death? Suspicion swirls around many, including Will’s beautiful widow, their shadowy son, Will’s obnoxious brother-in-law, and even the mysterious party crasher, who knows more than she lets on about the grudges she left behind—but never forgot.

Brimming with wit, full of genuine surprise, and featuring one of the most memorable (and unlikely) detectives in mystery fiction, C. C. Benison’s second Father Christmas mystery will delight readers with a puzzle that truly defies solution.

Praise for C. C. Benison’s first Father Christmas mystery, *Twelve Drummers Drumming

“Splendid . . . An intelligent and empathic protagonist and skillful prose make this a winner.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Benison does an admirable job balancing humor with suspense. . . . Father Christmas’s first case leaves you eager for his next.”—The Wall Street Journal

“A crime novel that Agatha Christie might have been justly proud to claim as her own.”—Margaret Maron, New York Times bestselling author of Christmas Mourning

“Highly recommended . . . [a] marvelous series debut.”—Library Journal

“The perfect treat for suspense fans in a holiday mood.”—BookPage*

Review

Praise for *Twelve Drummers Drumming
• "The author presents a full plate of options, leaving the reader puzzling through the possible motives of an intriguing ensemble cast. The likeable vicar and his Nancy Drew-loving daughter should become reader favorites." --Library Journal*

About the Author

C. C. BENISON is the nom de plume for Arthur Ellis Award-winning author Doug Whiteway. He studied comparative religion at the University of Manitoba and journalism at Carleton University, in Ottawa, and has worked as a writer and editor for newspapers and magazines, as a book editor, and as a contributor to nonfiction books. He lives in Winnipeg, where he is at work on his next Father Christmas mystery, Ten Lords A-Leaping.

Eleven Pipers Piping

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:13:18 +0200

The welcome return of C. C. Benison's delectable series featuring Father Tom Christmas--"an irresistible addition to the ranks of clerical sleuths" (Julia Spencer-Fleming)

Father Tom Christmas, the recently widowed vicar adjusting to life in the English village of Thornford Regis, would do almost anything to avoid attending the annual Robert Burns Supper at the local hotel. But as chaplain to a traditional Scottish pipe band, Father Tom must deliver the grace--and contend with wailing bagpipes, whiskey-laced parishioners reciting poetry, and the culinary abomination that is haggis.

As snow falls to unprecedented depths, the revelers carry on--briefly interrupted by an enigmatic stranger seeking shelter. Then Will Moir, proprietor of the hotel and a dedicated piper, inexplicably goes missing--only to be found later in the hotel's dark tower, alone and dead from what appears to be a heart attack.

Father Tom's own heart sinks when he learns...