A Mark Manning Mystery Series by Michael Craft
A Mark Manning Mystery #2
Eye Contact
Michael Craft
Reviews for Michael Craft's Mark Manning series have been unanimously enthusiastic, full of praise for Craft's tightly-wound and intriguing mystery plots, as well as his sensitive, insightful portrayal of a man coming to terms with his sexuality. Kensington will re-release "Eye Contact", as well as Flight Dreams (5/00) and Body Language (7/00), so that the entire Mark Manning series will be available as it continues to be published by St. Martin's Press."Eye Contact" is a fiercely unpredictable, adrenaline-rushed story of murder, erotic illusion and a devastating crime that reveals the mysteries of the human heart. It begins as a simple assignment for Chicago Journal reporter Mark Manning. He's been hired to replace colleague Cliff Nolan on a top story: renowned astrophysicist Pavo Zarnik claims to have discovered a tenth planet.To the skeptical reporter, there is no story because there is no proof. But soon, Manning makes some startling discoveries. Nolan's body is found with a bullet hole in his back, and the last interview with Zarnik is missing. Now, the story is no longer a matter of metaphysics, but of murder. And to complicate matters, Manning's young, new assistant is haunting is days and dreams. Together, they're determined to find the truth about Nolan's death. . .and the inevitable, damning piece of evidence that the killer will do anything to destroy -- even it means committing murder again.
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A Mark Manning Mystery #3
Body Language
Michael Craft
A midlife crisis sends Chicago Journal reporter Mark Manning back to his Wisconsin hometown—and into a morass of lust, lies, and lethal family secretsAn unexpected windfall has given burned-out Chicago journalist Mark Manning the chance to reconnect with his boyhood roots. With the blessing of his lover, Neil, he leaves the Windy City to return to Dumont, Wisconsin, to take over the town paper. His long-awaited family reunion is cut short when his cousin Suzanne is bludgeoned to death just before Christmas dinner. Before she dies, she whispers something to Manning: the name of her son.Was she expressing a mother’s dying wish for the future welfare of her child? Or revealing the identity of her murderer? When Manning ends up in the local law’s sights, he’s suddenly racing against time to clear his own name and smoke out a killer. With no lack of suspects, from a troubled homophobe to a lesbian activist to a housekeeper, the clock is ticking on a story that could be the biggest of Manning’s career—if he lives long enough to write it.Body Language is the third book in Michael Craft’s Mark Manning series, which begins with Flight Dreams and Eye Contact.
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A Mark Manning Mystery #4
Name Games
Michael Craft
Mark Manning, once a prominent journalist at a major daily newspaper in Chicago, is now the owner and publisher of the Dumont Daily Register, the daily paper in a small Wisconsin city. Here the biggest news is the impending city council report on a proposed new adult bookstore zoning law, the upcoming election for Sheriff and the upcoming annual exhibition of the Midwest Miniatures Society. In a unique coup for the first-ever miniatures exhibition in Dumont, the "king of miniatures," Mr. Carroll Cantrell has agreed to come and judge the show's main event. But the exhibition itself is quickly shoved off the front page of the paper when Cantrell is found murdered in his room. To make matters worse, Doug Pierce, the local sheriff, is widely believed to be responsible. Pierce - a closeted gay man and friend of Mark Manning - had been carrying on an affair with Cantrell and was the last person seen leaving his room before the body was discovered. As conservative elements in Dumont attempt to exploit the murder - and the sheriff's association with the deceased - to their own ends, Manning, with the help of his lover, architect Neil Waite, his staff and friends, starts his own investigation of the murder. With Cantrell having led something of a double life with no end of potential enemies and the miniatures world itself being a hot bed of rivalries and closely held resentments, the truth begins to feel very elusive indeed. As public sentiment begins to swing and time running out for Sheriff Pierce, Mark must uncover some of this close-knit town's most deeply held secrets if he's to learn the truth in time.
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A Mark Manning Mystery #5
Boy Toy
Michael Craft
Mark Manning gave up a career as a prominent journalist at a major daily newspaper in Chicago to take over as the owner and publisher of the Dumont Daily Register, the daily newspaper in a small Wisconsin town. Living there with his lover, architect Neil Waite, and his nephew and ward Thad Quatrain, Mark's life in Dumont is usually quiet. At the moment, the biggest news is the forthcoming production of a new play by the local community theater group. Two local teenage boys are alternating in the lead role - one is Jason Thrush, a gregarious and somewhat egotistical athlete, and the other is Thad Quatrain. When Jason and Thad have a verbal clash during rehearsal, it is quickly forgotten by almost everyone involved. But when Jason turns up dead on opening night - leaving Thad to take over the lead role - the local gossip turns against Thad. Jason's death is soon proved to be murder and, even though he has not been charged, opinion about town has all but convicted Thad of the crime. Sure that Thad is innocent, Mark, with the help of his lover and friends, is determined to publicly clear Thad's name. But that means finding out exactly what happened to Jason Thrush on that fatal day and Manning's investigation may place him and his loved ones in mortal danger.
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