There’s something very compelling about cold case mysteries. As a journalist, I must seek answers to any question, but a question that has gone unanswered for years (or decades)? Those are the most intriguing.

In fact, the longer the answer has eluded society, the stronger the need for an answer. Who was Jack the Ripper, what happened to Amelia Earhart, who really killed JFK…you get the picture.

Those, of course, are real-life cold cases. But the fictional kind are no less compelling. And if, like me, you can’t resist a good cold-case mystery, you need to check out the Cold Poker Gang mystery series by Dean Wesley Smith.

To give you a feel for the series, here’s the synopsis to the first novel in that series, Kill Game:

USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith takes you into the world of his acclaimed novel Dead Money with a new series about a group of retired Las Vegas Police detectives playing poker and solving cold cases.

Retired Detective Bayard Lott hosts the weekly poker games at his home. The group calls themselves the Cold Poker Gang. And they succeed at closing old cases.

Lott’s very first homicide case as a brand-new detective had gone cold more than twenty years earlier. But retired Reno detective Julia Rogers, new to the Cold Poker Gang, suggests they look at that case again for personal reasons.

From that simple suggestion spins one of the strangest and most complicated murder mystery puzzles the gang has ever seen.

And check out this fantastic video associate publisher Gwyneth Gibby put together for us:

If you haven’t read this series yet, the series starter bundle is your best value. For $7.99, you can get the first three ebooks in the series: Kill Game, Cold Call, and Calling Dead. But be warned: Once you start, you might not be able to stop. Good thing Dean’s already working on the ninth book <grin>.

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.