“... a mystery filled with scandal and murder. ... Candle Snuffer is a fun read with much to keep your eyes glued to the page.”
Vogel’s Bookshelf—Midwest Book Review
Thin Ice
ISBN: 978-1-535-28136-2
Printed by CreateSpace
The festive atmosphere of the annual Peekamoose Heights Winter Carnival is shattered by acts of vandalism on a food truck during the first night of the week-long fair, and accusations run rampant among rival vendors. But when three-time National Champion Dallas Conover is attacked and injured at the National Figure Skating pre-trials being held on Stuyvesant Pond and one of the mobile chefs is found shot to death, McAvoy must get to the bottom of things quickly before the food-fight turns even deadlier.
“The plot has a lot of twists and turns …The characters are interesting and the relationships well developed.”
Helen G. Jones—Meritorious Mysteries
“…as is typical of Stackhouse novels there are lots of colorful characters to keep the reader entertained—and confused about who to blame for all the shenanigans. RECOMMENDED.”
Liz Nichols—Mystery Maven Blog
Forget Me Not
ISBN: 978-1-533-30377-6
Printed by CreateSpace
A young reporter is found murdered in the forest near Peekamoose Heights. All indications point to the fact that he stumbled across a methamphetamine-making operation. But his current assignment had nothing to do with drugs. He was supposed to writing a puff piece about German WWII POWs held in the area who had returned there to live after being repatriated. However, the reporter’s girlfriend comes forward with a computer flash drive that shows he was actually working on an article about a fifteen-year-old disappearance of a mob informant. Almost immediately thereafter, the girlfriend disappears. And there are known mobsters sniffing around the crime scene.
Before McAvoy can begin to answer the question of ‘Who murdered the reporter?’ he must sort through the various theories of ‘Why was the reporter murdered?’
The Caitlin O’Rourke Mystery Series
Caitlin (Kate) O’Rourke is not your typical Irish-American lass. At six-one and one-hundred-seventy-eight pounds, with dark skin, raven-black hair, and a nose like an eagle, the former MVP setter/middle blocker on the Italian Pro Volleyball circuit is a has-been in her late 20s, prematurely retired due to a blown-out knee.
Although retirement does not sit well with Kate, she soon finds herself so entangled in other people’s difficulties that she doesn’t have time to dwell on her own problems.
Kehough’s Irish Pub in Nashville, Tennessee, with its upstairs apartment, is home to Kate, and the pub itself not only provides employment for her brother, Seamus, and his wife, Mary Grace, but serves as an office for her fledgling confidential inquiries business.
Sample chapters of the Caitlin O’Rourke Mysteries
may be downloaded at www.billstackhouse.com
Black-Irish Setter
ISBN: 978-1-534-90921-2
Printed by CreateSpace
File this first book in the series under No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. After Caitlin rescues a damsel in distress from a mugger, she gets roped into babysitting the woman until the locks are changed on the woman's house. But when Caitlin's charge is murdered on her watch, the former Irish step dancer and former star athlete sets out to find out who did it—and why.
“The plot moves along swiftly with enough twists and turns to keep the reader riveted to the page and guessing as to the solution. This is an extremely entertaining mystery with a mix of suspense and humor that will be sure to delight all readers.”
Cynthia Chow—The No Name Cafe Book Review Corner
“...a page turning mystery where anything can happen and nothing is what it seems. ... the characters—from Yeats-quoting Kehough’s regular Mickey to Detective Ozzie Osborn, the hard-nosed female African-American cop trying to survive in an old-boys world—are engaging and the story moves along at a good clip. RECOMMENDED”
Sally Powers—I Love A Mystery
“Black-Irish Setter is a good, solid mystery and a fun read with a great amateur sleuth who will hopefully be inviting us into Kehough's bar again to take readers along for the ride in solving other crimes.”
Mary B. Stuart—Curled Up With a Good Book
Icon Feel Your Power
ISBN: 978-1-535-19311-5
Printed by CreateSpace
Kate goes undercover to investigate a mentally unstable woman's claims that art objects are disappearing and reappearing in her mother-in-law's home. But when Kate's client is accused of the mother-in-law's murder and the arson used to cover it up, Kate must find a way to prove the woman's innocence by unmasking the real killer.
“Caitlin is a complex, unique character, and the story is set in a refreshingly different location. … plenty of action and some tense moments that lead up to the unveiling of the real killer. ... Let’s raise a hearty draught of Guinness to the Caitlin O’Rourke mystery series!”
Liz Nichols—Mystery Maven Blog
“Kate O'Rourke steps into a bizarre mystery that leads to power struggles between members of a mob family. Stackhouse entices readers with this excellent mystery.”
Shelley Glodowski—Midwest Book Review
Creature of Habit
ISBN: 978-1-492-96069-0
Printed by CreateSpace
A nun is found brutally murdered on the grounds of Sacred Heart Convent and the police have no leads, no evidence, no motive, and no witnesses. But Kate’s former eighth-grade teacher suspects that a little mentally retarded girl may have vital information locked away in her mind, and she enlists Kate’s help. Now Kate, undercover as a postulant nun, must see if she can find the key to that impaired mind and, at the same time, keep the little girl safe from a killer who wants the information locked away forever.
“[Caitlin] is a strong character and one who will appeal to many mystery fans. RECOMMENDED.”
Liz Nichols—Mystery Maven Blog
“…my personal yardstick for a good mystery is when I am surprised by who the bad guys or gals are. On that note, Creature of Habit hits a home run.”
Manya Nogg—I Love a Mystery
The Chronicles of Pádraig
In Cruachan, peace has reigned since Seamus, the first High King, united the three kingdoms into a Confederation and, with the assistance of the dwarfs from the Sawtooth Mountains in the north and the elves from the Tangled Woods in the east, drove the occupying Northmen from the island nation. Yet there is an undercurrent of unrest. Some Cruachanians fought for independence, thinking that the hereditary system of government with its shire chieftains and provincial kings would be replaced by a republic. Others, who profited handsomely under the occupiers, still dream of yesteryears’ wealth.
Sample chapters of the Chronicles of Pádraig
may be downloaded at www.billstackhouse.com
A Spark is Struck in Cruachan
ISBN: 978-1-514-24460-9
Printed by CreateSpace
In Book #1 of tetralogy, the teenage son of a blacksmith has been blessed as an adept. Having no interest in attending the Academy for the Spiritually Gifted to hone his talent and become a wizard, Pádraig plans on following in his father’s footsteps. However, three seemingly disparate events may cause him to rethink his future.
A Northman assassin washes up on the beach below a fortress that the High King is visiting in the Kingdom of the Western Shires. A blacksmith is murdered in the Central Federal Region. And, in the Kingdom of the Northern Shires, the High King’s son is kidnapped.
Now the young adept must use both his wits and his unpolished gift to put the pieces of the puzzle together in order to solve the murder of his fellow blacksmith, thwart the kidnappers, and save the Confederation.
“…another five star review. … I really enjoy that while this book has to do with magic and the overall ramifications of having magical powers, it is written in more of an everyday kind
of book, meaning that it isn’t all about magic but the story of two young men, and their young girl friend and what happens in the course of a couple of months. … Everything that makes a good fantasy novel great, this book has it.”
Andretta Schellinger—Fang-Freakin-Tastic Reviews
The Embers are Fanned in Cruachan
ISBN: 978-1-981-70096-7
Printed by CreateSpace
In Book #2 of tetralogy, Pádraig has graduated from the Academy for the Spiritually Gifted as an Apprentice Wizard in a little less than eight years.
After spending a month with the journeyman wizards in each of the seventeen shires in the Kingdoms of the Western and Eastern Shires, he now sets out for a five-month stint in the Northern Shires, assigned to an oblate wizard who lives in the middle of nowhere in the foothills of the Sawtooth Mountains.
When Pádraig ventures out to investigate reports of some suspicious goings-on up at North Head, he finds himself drugged and imprisoned, with no one knowing his whereabouts.
However, his former love and classmate, Máiréad, also an apprentice wizard, senses his presence, and sets out to help him escape and attempt to save the Confederation of the Three Kingdoms from an impending insurrection.
About the Author
Mystery writer, playwright, and part-time actor Bill Stackhouse has a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from General Motors Institute in Flint, Michigan, and a Master’s degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
At Ford Motor Company and later, as Director of Quality Assurance & Training at a large automotive parts supplier, Bill became involved in the development of instructional manuals and training films. In the throes of a mid-life crisis, he decided to pursue the most enjoyable aspect of his job on a full-time basis—writing.
Bill’s scriptwriting credits include training films and promotional videos for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to name just a few. He has also written numerous radio and TV commercials.
Branching out from technical writing into the arts, four of Bill’s seven stage plays (The Best Laid Plans, The Early Bird, To Serve and Protect, and A Tradition of Service) have won contests—a local, a statewide, a regional, and a national.
In addition to playwriting, Bill has directed many productions for various community theatres. For a very brief time, he even had a theatre company of his own.
After filling his gas tank at a truck stop on I-65, Bill entered the station and slipped on the wet floor. While in a dazed state, he thought he heard the ghost of John Barrymore say, “If you offer it, they will come.” Thinking that the late, great actor was referring to theatre, Bill promptly formed Road Show with the Vagabond Players and set out to tour six mid-size cities in Northern Alabama and Southern Tennessee.
After an initial 5-play season, meager attendance, and a debt of many, many dollars, RSVP folded. Only then did Bill realize that the voice he had heard was not that of John Barrymore’s ghost, but that of Bubba Barrymore, the fry-cook at the truck stop. Bubba, of course, had not been talking about theatre, but about tractor pulls and monster truck rallies.
Only rarely does Bill wake up anymore in the middle of the night, haunted by the sound of one hand clapping.
Copyright © 2017 by Bill Stackhouse
Revision F - 2018
The Embers are Fanned in Cruachan (The Chronicles of Pádraig Book 2) Page 44
