Welcome to week 36 of the 2022 IHS Sapphic Reading Challenge.

Before we get to the books, we want to remind you of two ways you can interact with other readers to enhance your experience during the challenge this year.

First, you can join the I Heart SapphFic Facebook reader group. Every Monday we will announce the category for the week, and every Wednesday you will have the opportunity to post what book you are reading and be entered into the monthly drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card. (For those who are not on Facebook and still want to enter, remember you can email your reading selection to tbm@iheartlesfic.com).

Second, we have created a Goodreads group where readers can discuss books, swap recommendations, and generally have a good time.

Now for this week’s category we paired Mystery with Agatha Christie’s birthday, which is September 15. Below you’ll find reading suggestions for Mystery. Better yet, 2 of them are on sale, so scoop up some fantastic reads at bargain prices. Before you click any buy buttons, please ensure the sale price matches. (Some international prices may vary.)

The following books are on sale for Mystery week: September 12 through September 16

Daring Duplicity

by Edale Lane

$0.99 $4.99 (Also in Kindle Unlimited)

Victorian Era England. Stetson revels in being unconventional. So when society shies away from her independent nature, the bold woman creates an imaginary boss and opens her own detective agency. And her keen observational skills, convincing disguises, and Holmesian methods quickly bring in a string of tough-to-crack cases.

Struggling to squeeze a personal life in around a series of hazardous investigations, Stetson worries she’ll never find a woman of like-passions. But with her heart set on true love despite the risk, she carries on hunting for the perfect relationship.

Will her clever escapades lead to death, or delight?

The Missing Comatose Woman

by Sarah Ettritch

$0.99 $4.99 

Private eye Casey Cook lands her first case, and it’s a doozy: find a missing comatose woman. Eager to prove herself, Casey does whatever it takes to get answers, from pretending to be pregnant to fawning over a hairless cat.

As she runs into one dead end after another, Casey wonders whether she should have left her retail job. Determined to show that she can do the PI thing, Casey refuses to give up, chases down every lead, and snags herself a girlfriend along the way.

Keep scrolling for more suggestions!

Looking for Trouble

by Jess Lea

Nancy is sick of living in the share house from hell, getting dumped by women who aren’t that into her, and being stuck in dead-end jobs. It’s time to chase her dream to become a political journalist, get her own funky inner-city Melbourne place, and meet Ms Right.

Instead, she meets cranky George, a butch, tattooed bus driver and party volunteer who’s dodging a vengeful ex-girlfriend. George thinks Nancy is stuck up; Nancy thinks George is the rudest woman she’s ever met.

The warring pair is caught up in the crazy election campaign of Clara West, a maverick running on the bizarre promise to shut down the internet. Rich, sexy, and dangerous, Clara will stop at nothing in the pursuit of power.

Nancy and George must learn to trust each other and act fast if they want to stay alive.

Fresh Start

by Nicole Pyland

Available in Kindle Unlimited

Alyssa Masters had been accused of a horrible crime she didn’t commit and was now the most hated woman in America. She’d lost people she’d loved, her credibility, and a part of her life. To get it back on track, she returns home to live with her mother and has all but given up on any hope at a normal life.

Hannah Granger had been off exploring the world and finding herself, only to return home to lose her mother and a lot of what she’d found out about herself while away.

When the two women meet, they discover they can help find what they’d lost and uncover more of what they could have in their lives as they attempt to navigate a complicated situation and deal with the baggage they both bring with them.

The Case Of The Night Mark

by Arizona Tape

When Detective Samantha Rain gets bitten by a hellhound, she’s forced into the magical world of the Nox, night creatures living in secret between humans. Vampires, Will-O-Wisps, and much more uncommon types hide in a world that runs on oaths, blood, and death.

Unsure of whom she can trust, she has no choice but to rely on Lilith, heir of the Will-O-Wisp clan. Samantha has to earn her protection by solving a missing person’s case that could change the future.

If she doesn’t succeed, she’ll pay with her life.

Deception

by Stella Grey

Available in Kindle Unlimited

Arty’s life is perfect. Honestly. Well, maybe slightly less than perfect when it comes to romance. For too long, she has hidden behind her career, but then a chance meeting with Lil forces her to confront what she’s been too cowardly to admit. Taking Lil’s advice, she walks away from the job she hates and ends up working in her new friend’s coffee shop.

As she gets drawn into a life full of vibrant people, she realises just how much she has been missing, but her new found happiness is soon thrown into turmoil when one of them is brutally murdered. Feeling a desperate need to get justice, Arty begins her own investigation into her death, an action that keeps bringing her into contact with Detective Ellen Morris. Arty’s search for the killer brings with it a considerable amount of danger, both to her life and her heart.

Rapture

by A.C. Henley & Fran Heckrotte

A serial killer is targeting young lesbians throughout the state of Texas.

Texas Ranger Cochetta Lovejoy is assigned to the case. Convinced she knows who is committing the murders, Ranger Lovejoy is willing to do whatever it takes to put the perpetrator behind bars–even if it means stretching the limits of the law by manipulating the judicial system.

Detective Agnes Kelly-Elliott is one of Ft. Worth Police Department’s finest investigators. When Ranger Lovejoy appears on the crime scene of a recent murder, Agnes fears a dark secret that, if revealed, could destroy her family ties, and end her career.

This is a dark, gritty, graphic tale of desire gone awry, and flawed characters looking for redemption in all the wrong places.

The Ashford Place

by Jean Copeland

Isabelle Ashford inherited her late aunt’s country home with a simple plan: a quick flip for a healthy profit, then off to buy her dream house by the water. But the house seems to have its own ideas. Startling discoveries reveal well-kept family secrets, drawing Belle into the mysteriously tragic life and death of her father’s young cousin.

A flirtatious friendship with Deputy Sheriff Ally Yates blossoms into romance as they search for answers, hoping the clues they uncover will lead to the identity of a child predator and possibly, a murderer. Now with her plan for a short, uncomplicated stay in Danville foiled by the growing mystery and her undeniable feelings for Ally, Belle must decide whether to stick with her original plan for a clean getaway back to the Connecticut shore or to follow her heart’s lead.

Project ALICE

by S.M. Skyborne

Alice lives a sheltered, controlled existence, or so it seems, until one day, while in one of the most beautiful locations in the world — Cape Town, South Africa — she is presented with an unmissable opportunity to change everything.

However, life rarely turns out exactly as expected, and soon she finds herself drawn from the sunny seaside filled with promise and optimistic new beginnings into the dark unseen underbelly of a city on the edge where life is cheap and theft, murder and trafficking is business as usual. What lies ahead for her is a dangerous rollercoaster ride of self-discovery, love and betrayal that pushes her to the very limits of her sanity.

Meanwhile, for P.I. Toni Mendez, the honeymoon seems over as she faces troubles at home with her long-time best friend — recently turned girlfriend. So, when what looks like a ‘simple missing person case’ in a coveted holiday destination crosses her desk, she grabs it as an ideal opportunity to take time out. Little does she realise, this case won’t be the stroll on a beach she had hoped for.

Jamis Bachman, Ghost Hunter 

by Jen Jensen

Jamis Bachman never stays in one place for too long. Retired from the reality TV show Ghastly Incidents, she’s now a social media sensation, chasing ghosts, demons, and inter-dimensional aliens—in an effort to avoid her own.

When a desperate young couple sends Jamis a video of a poltergeist disturbance, she jumps on a plane to Sage Creek, Utah, not knowing her world is about to change forever. Ghost stories she can handle, but a violent poltergeist, a brutal unsolved twenty-five-year-old murder, and meeting the love of her life? She’s in way over her head.

Jamis thought she was the one chasing ghosts, but it seems as though something is chasing her…

Tracing Invisible Threads 

by C. Fonseca

Globe-trotting photographer Eleanor Heysen is edgy, sexy, and just passing through.

When a family mystery emerges while she’s back home in Melbourne, Eleanor crosses paths with intoxicating historian Alexa Bellamy. The self-assured picture-collections manager is irresistible.

Steamy kisses between the stacks at the State Library are one thing, but what happens when the ever-curious Eleanor shakes Alexa’s family tree, and dark secrets tumble out?

Alexa is in an emotional free-fall, overwhelmed by her broody, spirited, and likely fleeting admirer, and the fear and betrayal stirred up from the truth about Alexa’s ancestors.

Is the invisible thread that brought the women together strong enough to pull them tighter? Or could it unravel and, just as Alexa fears, Eleanor will disappear?

Collide-O-Scope 

by Andrea Bramhall

An unidentified woman is found murdered on the North Norfolk Coastal Path and newly promoted Detective Sergeant Kate Brannon and Kings Lynn’s CID have the task of figuring out whom, how, and why. A job that’s made more difficult when everyone of the forty residents in the village has something to hide and answers her questions with a string of lies.

Georgina Temple has her own secrets to keep, and her own reasons to keep them. But her growing attraction to Kate makes it increasingly difficult to keep them.

Kate’s investigation into the woman’s death delves into the heart of the tiny fishing village where nothing and no one is quite what they seem.

Payback

by Charlotte Mills

Detective Constable Kate Wolfe is sent to a Cheshire backwater after falling foul of a disciplinary hearing in London. But before she even has a chance to settle in, Kate finds herself in a situation there’s no coming back from. She’s reported as a troublemaker to her new boss, Detective Chief Inspector Helen Taylor, a no-nonsense veteran who once had an esteemed, high-profile career.

The pair investigate a spate of arson attacks, a dead body found in a burnt out building, and a missing architect while fighting their growing attraction for each other. The discovery of a dumped vehicle in a quarry lake sparks a series of events that will change their lives forever.

Incognito 

by VK Powell

For Frankie Strong, results mean more than sticking to the rules, until she runs heart-first into Evan Spears.

US Marshal Evan Spears commands a federal task force of seasoned agents who track and capture dangerous fugitives around the world. When Evan is forced to take on DEA Agent Frankie Strong, a free spirit with unorthodox methods, she sees nothing but trouble for the team, the mission, and her future.

Frankie just wants to locate the murder suspect and prove her worth, but Evan seems determined to block her. To catch the killer they must learn to work together, but their attraction blurs the lines between professional and personal.

Death by the Riverside

by J.M. Redmann

Among the moss-covered trees and wrought-iron balustrades of southern Louisiana, Detective Michele Knight (Micky to her friends) takes on the seemingly simple job of shooting a few photos for a client, but the going gets rough as Micky finds herself slugging through thugs and slogging through swamps in an attempt to expose a dangerous drug ring. The trail leads to the Hundred Oaks Plantation, a transvestite named Eddie, a beautiful doctor named Cordelia, and memories Micky thought she had buried twenty years ago. Hard-hitting prose in the style of Sam Spade and Mike Hammer with a lesbian twist.

No Good Reason

by Cari Hunter

“I can’t do this. I can’t do any of this without her. ”Detective Sanne Jensen (not blonde, not tall, definitely not Scandinavian) and Dr. Meg Fielding (scruffy, scatterbrained, prone to swearing at patients) are lifelong best friends, sharing the same deprived background and occasionally the same bed.When a violent kidnapping stuns the Peak District village of Rowlee, both women become involved in the case.

As Sanne and her colleagues in East Derbyshire Special Ops search for the culprit, and Meg fights to keep his victim alive, a shocking discovery turns the investigation on its head. With the clock ticking, Sanne and Meg find themselves pushed closer by a crime that threatens to tear everything apart.

Happy reading!

Faith, Em, Miranda, & TB

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