Dead Cow in Aisle Three

A Polly Deacon Mystery by H. Mel Malton

Municipal politics at its deadliest!

The third Polly Deacon novel finds our heroine in the unlikely (and uncomfortable) job of designing a mascot (Kountry Kow) for a new mega-grocery store, despite vitriolic opposition by local merchants, including her aunt. This is nasty enough, but when allegations of municipal corruption arise concerning the sale of the property on which the store will stand, Polly's sleuthing instincts take over, to the usual chagrin of her sometimes boyfriend, surly Detective Mark Becker. But the scene starts to get really ugly when people start dying - not exactly the family environment that the developers desire!

0-929141-82-2

Trade paperback, 304 pages

$12.95 CDN, $10.95 U.S.

Cue the Dead Guy

by H. Mel Malton

The second Polly Deacon mystery finds Polly travelling as puppet and set-maker with a dysfunctional children's theater group. Things get ugly when the stage manager disappears with barely a trace, and only Polly is convinced that he's dead.

Once again, the rural cottage-country of Kuskawa is the peaceful backdrop to violent upheavals in Polly's life, as she is forced to take over the dreaded stage manager job and renews an unfortunate affair with a hunky but airbrained cop.

The situation gets even more weird when she begins to receive cryptic threats in the form of grotesque puppet mutilations and hints of a scandalous secret in the handsome lead actor's past.

ISBN 0-929141-66-0

Trade paperback, 312 pp

$8.95 US, $10.95 Can

Down in the Dumps

by H. Mel Malton

Nominated for a 1999 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Crime Novel, this unusual mystery introduces rural sleuth Polly Deacon.

Polly's back-to-nature, TV-free and computerless life is violently interrupted when she finds her best friend Francy's abusive husband lying dead in the local dump with a hole in his chest. Exasperated with the ineptitude of the local police and determined to shield Francy from suspicion, Polly digs deep into the seamy underside of their small town to uncover sordid old secrets.

Filled with intriguing characters, strange incidents and with a fast-talking heroine, this is definitely a mystery with its own distinctive atmosphere and setting.

ISBN 0-929141-62-8

Trade paperback, 288 pp

$8.95 US, $10.95 Can

One Large Coffin to Go
The Fourth Polly Deacon Mystery
by H. Mel Malton
(Available in Fall, 2003)

Something lurks in the shadows of Canterbury Cathedral...

Pregnant and grumpy, Polly Deacon yearns to escape the increasingly annoying advice of family and friends. When an opportunity comes up to travel to England to attend a puppetry conference, she jumps at it, in spite of her ‘delicate condition’. The trouble starts when someone tries to steal her luggage at the airport, and by the time she arrives in Canterbury, she knows someone’s stalking her. When another woman is found dead, a mangled puppet nearby, the question arises - is Polly next?

Set against the backdrop of the ancient town where Thomas Becket was murdered, this fourth Polly Deacon mystery places puppet-maker Polly in the middle of a pea-souper fog, eluding a persistent thug, refusing to co-operate with the police and desperately trying to stay out of trouble. This is hard to do - when you’re sleuthing for two.