We live with mysteries every day, and authors are out there tracking them down so even the innocent can enjoy a good murder.

What’s the motive behind a good mystery?

The story’s dark even when it overflows with humor.

It has an unforgettable investigator.

Maybe he or she is a detective.

Maybe not.

Maybe he or she is a private eye.

Maybe not.

But what triggers a good mystery?

Almost always, someone dies.

Almost always, a killer stalks the town.

Here are three of my favorites:

Death Wears A Crimson Hat by CW Hawes

Harry Thurgood just wants a quiet life, and to leave his past in the past. And he thinks he’s found the perfect place in sleepy Magnolia Bluff, Texas. Until the murder of a prominent citizen threatens to let the skeletons out of his closet.

Quiet and unassuming, the Reverend Ember Cole wants nothing more than to be a good pastor to her congregation. And when her friendship with Harry threatens her job, she has to choose between friendship and the church.

However, when the murder is pinned on Ember, Harry decides he and Ember have to find the real killer to keep Ember out of jail and Harry’s past in the past.

But when Harry and Ember are almost killed in a hit and run, they realize the killer will stop at nothing to avoid being found. Even if he has to kill again.

Death Wears a Crimson Hat by CW Hawes is the first book in the new multi-author crime series: The Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles. Each book in the series will be written by one of The Underground Authors and will feature action, suspense, humor, and, of course, murder.

Blood Pool by K.D. McNivens:

Suspended from the NOPD Crime Investigation Task Force, Brock Scanlan finds himself in turmoil, and in need of answers.

Looking for clarity, he finds himself in the small, quiet town of Bridgewater, Colorado. But it won’t stay quiet for long.

After a violent bank robbery, Brock comes across a man’s body dumped near his cabin, and lands squarely in the middle of a high-stakes murder investigation.

Assisting Sheriff Corbin Parks, Brock is poised to rediscover himself. But after catching the attention of some of the worst criminals he’s ever encountered, will he live to enjoy it?

Dirty Air by Joe Congel:

Crossing the finish line from the dark side of the track can make it hard to find the winner’s circle.
The adrenaline rush is real. So is the danger.
Stock car or modified. Track or street. One can make you famous… the other can make you dead.

Tony “Razzman” Razzolito is in way over his head as he works to solve the most challenging case of his career. An up-and-coming NASCAR driver is found shot to death in an alley in uptown Charlotte. When the widow of the victim asks Tony and his partner at McHenry Investigative Services to find out why her husband was killed, the Razzman gets a quick education in a sport he knows nothing about.

His investigation soon leads him to the world of illegal street racing where he tangles with a crew led by a maniac that doesn’t like to lose.

Mix in a healthy dose of tension between Tony and a certain Homicide Detective assigned to the case and tempers as well as egos are bound to get in the way.