Cynthia E. Hurst

Unusual ingredients found in their products are threatening the good reputation of Gardener's Spice & Herb Company, so R&P Labs agree to investigate. But what seems like a simple job takes a deadly twist when one member of the Gardener family has a fatal accident on an icy road and another is freeze-dried along with the herbs. In "Icefox", the eighth R&P Labs mystery, the scientific quintet of Rob, Phil, Ellis, Virginia and Mitch referee a pair of...

When Gabriel Webb volunteered for a sleep lab experiment, he didn't expect to find himself pursued by the Grim Reaper on a racing bike. And when, on a cold October morning, Rob Mangan offered a cup of hot coffee to a shivering stranger in the R&P Labs parking lot, he never dreamed what the consequences of his act of kindness would be. In the seventh R&P Labs Mystery, the scientific quintet - Rob, Phil, Ellis, Virginia and Mitch - dodge homicidal cyclists...

It was thoughtful of William and Imogen Pascoe to come to look after their Aunt Eleanor, an elderly widow in poor health. It didn't hurt that she also possessed a considerable fortune and her only son was three thousand miles away. But then things begin to go wrong, starting with the sharp-eyed neighbor who questions their motives, followed by an unexpected arrival and an equally unexpected death. As more uncomfortable truths are revealed, clock...

Most people would jump at the chance of a free, relaxing vacation on a picturesque island, but not Zukie Merlino, to whom 'rest' is a four-letter word. Her outlook improves, however, when there's a death at the rustic inn where she's a reluctant guest. Despite the best efforts of her cousin Lou and the local law enforcement officers, Zukie is soon hot on the trail of a murderer, a task that sees her commandeering the inn's kitchen, stealing a boat...

Twenty years ago, Gus Novak committed a crime and fled the country, only to die in the Mexican desert. But Zukie Merlino thinks she's just seen him on a downtown Seattle street, and being perpetually curious, she wants to know what he — or his ghost — is doing there. With her cousin Lou temporarily sidelined she's on her own, but whether it's tracking down Novak's ghost or dealing with a more personal emergency, Zukie can be counted on to deliver...

Gideon Young was a fast-talking con man who could convince gullible people to gamble on almost anything. But even Young wouldn't have bet on being outwitted by a clock repairer and a thief turned housemaid, as his plans to fleece the residents of a Cotswold market town go terribly wrong. A woman with a mysterious past and a sheep shearer with a grudge add to the mix as Jacob Silver and Sarah Simm help the police solve a mystery involving love, loyalty...

Having lost both her husband and her job, Zukie Merlino has time on her hands and a mystery to solve. Night after night, someone is searching the empty house next door, whose elderly owner died following an unusually explosive Fourth of July. A second death in the house brings out all Zukie's detective instincts and with the help of her reluctant accomplice Lou, she launches her own investigation using her wits, her wigs and a coffee cake or two....

The five staff members of R&P Laboratories have an unfortunate habit of getting involved in criminal investigations when they should be pursuing scientific activities. In these four short stories, Rob, Phil, Ellis, Virginia and Mitch tackle four mysteries involving a possibly poisoned pie, an unusual Christmas present, a harmonica-playing uncle and a stolen Volkswagen Beetle. These four stories - 'Halfbaked', 'Potluck', 'Livewire' and 'Scoreboard',...

Trick or treat' takes on a whole new meaning when Zukie's at the door in this Zukie Merlino Mysteries short story.

It's the season of peace on earth and goodwill toward men except at R&P Labs, which has been drawn into the middle of a feud between two Seattle seafood restaurants. A customer has died from an unusual form of food poisoning found in oysters and the restaurant where he had his last meal is in trouble. So is R&P, which had just tested their food and given them a clean bill of health. So as Christmas approaches, the R&P team -- Rob, Phil, Ellis, Virginia...