Books published by Buchanan

"So, why are the barns closed?" "Stuff they don't want you to see." For retired investigative reporter Arabella "Billie" Snow, stuff they don't want you to see tasted better than caviar. But what she saw when she snuck into one of those barns horrified her... Heidi Vanderbilt's suspense writing first appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. She is a recipient of the Robert L Fish award, a special Edgar Allan Poe award from Mystery Writers of America. A lifelong horseman, Heidi has completed the arduous one hundred miles in a day Tevis Cup endurance ride three times. She owns and manages LuckyPup Horse Ranch in Mescal, Arizona.

On a snowy, wintry day, Barron Docksteder’s protégé uncovers a manuscript Docksteder was working on shortly before his untimely death. Clearly at least partly autobiographical, the manuscript tells the story of a world-famous author—whose books have been turned into Hollywood blockbusters—caught in a deadly crossfire between competing Las Vegas and East Coast gambling interests.  Meanwhile, that same world-famous author is ensnared by the irresistible allure of a beautiful, mysterious, and equally deadly woman who is determined to outmaneuver them all.The central character of the story sounds a lot like, well, Docksteder himself before he was murdered.  Could the manuscript be more proof that Barron Docksteder lived a life worth writing about?

It is the late 1990s, and world-famous author Barron Docksteder has been murdered in the small rural town of Tryon, NC. His protégé knows the police are blaming the wrong person, but how can he prove it? Is the answer in one of the celebrated writer’s numerous notebooks? Accompanied by Docksteder’s highly trained guard dog, Doc—a menace to men yet docile to women—the former café owner embarks on an adventure to the heart of Carnival and Mardi Gras in the notorious French Quarter. There, fate and Docksteder’s notes bring him to the home of Desirée, the mysterious and alluring former Queen of Carnival. What is Docksteder’s connection to Desirée? And what does her tragic past have to do with the newly minted writer, his next book, and his quest to solve his famous mentor’s murder?

It’s 1995. When famous author Barron Docksteder moves to the Carolina foothills, the locals don’t know what to make of it. Why did this hotshot writer, whose works have been made into Hollywood films, move to the middle of nowhere? Despite living in North Carolina, Docksteder regularly drives across the border to South Carolina for a late breakfast at a comfortable small-town café. The young café owner, who is a frustrated writer, is befriended by Docksteder, and the two initiate a mentor-mentee relationship that extends well beyond the page. The young man has no idea what he’s getting into. While under the tutelage of Docksteder, the café owner—still a novice to life—encounters some startling things, including a vicious security dog, unexpected violence, and sexually charged confrontations. An electrifying beginning to the series, book 1 of Docksteder Tales is a funny, irreverent story with a fascinating cast of characters—each with his or her own secrets, agendas, and desires. Behind the adventure is a complex mystery filled with questions about Docksteder. What does he see in this young café owner? Is his complicated past about to catch up with him?