She wants two things in life - a new career as a private investigator, and to lose the sixty pounds she packed on after her divorce.When she crashes her bike in a construction site, she lands on a girl with a large knife in her chest. Jo enlists her sister, Pepper, and their journalist friend, Jackie, to help solve the dead girl's murder. Things become creepy for Jo when the murdered girl appears in her dreams to offer unusual clues to her death.Murder Under Construction is a humorous mystery with Jo's family adding to the antics of the three women. Mama caterwauls, Jackie's two children offer sleuthing assistance, and her brother, Hank, laughs at all of them from the sidelines. Murder Under Construction is light, easy-breezy reading from Maddie Cochere.

    But when her eccentric Aunt Ginger passes away, she leaves Loretta her prized cat sanctuary. Her aunt's dying wish is that the seven remaining felines are allowed to live out the rest of their days in comfort on the little farm.Recently widowed and ready for a change, Loretta relocates to the town of Saint Wales, Florida to honor her aunt's wishes thinking how hard can it be to look after a few cats.Only, the neighbors aren't exactly hospitable and several have been trying to shut down the sanctuary for years. Worse, someone is out to sabotage the farm by any possible means putting the cats and Loretta in danger. Not only that, a close friend of her aunt's doesn't believe Aunt Ginger died of natural causes.Can Loretta settle into her new role as cat mom and protector while fending off the cat haters and a possible murderer?

     Book 1: The Sweet Smell of Murder Ally Sweet is happy to be returning for a short break to the small town where she grew up. She is planning on using the time off to get over her messy divorce and she is looking forward to spending time with her much-loved grandmother and relaxing making chocolates and anything chocolaty. But then… the delivery driver for her grandmother’s chocolate shop is found murdered. The detectives investigating the crime have a prime suspect, Ally’s high school sweetheart, Brent. Ally believes that Brent would never murder anyone, so with the help of her trusted feline friend, Peaches, she tries to uncover the truth. The search for the killer leads Ally straight into the line of danger. Will she be able find the murderer before she becomes a victim herself? Triple Chocolate Muffin Recipe Included! Book 2: A Deadly Delicious Delivery Ally Sweet is settling into life in Blue River. She loves spending time with her grandmother and making delicious chocolate creations. But then someone is poisoned by the chocolates from ‘Charlotte’s Chocolate Heaven’ and all the evidence points to Ally and Charlotte. Detective Luke Elm is on the case, but with her grandmother’s business on the line and their freedom at stake Ally feels she has no choice but to try and find out the truth. Ally and Charlotte, with some help from Peaches and Arnold, do some digging to try and uncover the murderer. With the suspects piling up it is a race against the clock to discover who the murderer is so the chocolate shop doesn’t remain shut and Ally and Charlotte don’t land up behind bars. Will Ally and Charlotte be able to find the killer before they go to jail? Or worse get murdered themselves? Will hunky Detective Luke arrest Ally? Or will they develop a new romance? Decadent Chocolate Cake Recipe Included! Book 3: A Bitter Sweet Murder Ally Sweet is excited to be staying the night at a new luxury hotel for free because ‘Charlotte’s Chocolate Heaven’ is negotiating a lucrative deal for the hotel’s bed turndown service, where a chocolate will be placed on each guest’s pillow every night. But then Ally stumbles across a dead body. It looks like she is being framed and when hunky Detective Luke Elm is inadvertently implicated in the murder, Ally does everything she can to find the killer. With a little help from her grandmother, feline friend, pot-bellied pig and some chocolate creations, Ally sifts through the suspects to uncover the truth. Will Ally’s snooping make the shop lose the deal? Will Ally find the murderer and clear her and Luke’s names before there is another victim? Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Ganache Frosting Recipe Included! Book 4: A Treacherous Tasty Trail Ally and Charlotte Sweet are running a booth for ‘Charlotte’s Chocolate Heaven’ at a local farmer’s market. Their primary concerns are selling cookies and keeping their cat, Peaches, and pot-bellied pig, Arnold, under control at the market. But then the son of a prominent and influential farmer is found dead and an old acquaintance of Ally’s is suspected of the murder. Ally’s investigative nature takes over and she goes on a search to find the killer.

    Brandy Alexander’s the real deal--yes, that’s her real name and she’s not even a stripper, although her best friend Julia is.WHO WILL LOVE THESE: The slapstick way Brandy goes about it all has a definite whiff of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum; fans of  Stephanie Bond, Jana DeLeon, Joan Hess, Lisa Lutz, Sarah Strohmeyer, and Elaine Viets may also find a kindred spirit in this New Orleans dawlin’. And animal lovers will flat-out swoon! Vol. 1 RESCUED BY A KISS A KISS TO KILL FOR …Brandy still lives with her parents in the Irish Channel and she’s sort of semi kind of engaged to the boy next door, who’s—what else?—one of  NOLA’s finest. And Italian.Dante, the BF, is such a thoroughgoing New Orleanian he always manages Mardi Gras parade duty on his own block. So you'd think Brandy might be a little self-conscious when a suave Svengali in one of the gentlemen’s walking clubs mesmerizes her into a big fat Mardi Gras smooch right in front of him. But not a bit. Because after all, it's Mardi Gras, and also for another good reason— “that kiss was long, slow, hot—unlike any kiss I’d ever had in my life.” She makes a date to meet Mr. Good Kiss after the parade (Yes! Right in front of Mr. Right Next Door) but –horrors--arrives just in time to see him get shot. Although fortunately not shot dead. Before he passes out, he pulls her close and whispers, “Save Isabella.”And with that we’re off on a screwball chase all over town, from Lee Circle to the Lakefront, with a stop at Charity Hospital, and finally to the French Quarter’s favorite gay dance club, at all times accompanied by Schnauzers, one of them named Geaux Cup. Vol. 2 DEAD AND BREAKFAST DEAD IN BED…WHO YOU GONNA CALL?Brandy Alexander is a true and trusted friend – not to mention something of a detective--  who else would you call if you found a full-blown murder mystery in your bedroom? So when Brandy’s best friend Julia, the ex-stripper-turned hotelier, finds her first guest covered in blood, lying half on and half off a broken bed—with Julia’s panties swinging from the chandelier – she  gets Brandy on the horn. And Brandy does the only sensible thing—first makes coffee, then calls the police.And who should respond but her recent ex-boyfriend, Dante, with a brand new daggers-looking female partner. But wait! This is not nearly complicated enough for Noo Awlins, where, after all, everybody knows everybody! Julia’s lawyer is none other than Jiff, Brandy’s new squeeze (and the reason Dante’s the ex-boyfriend).As the suspense mounts, the romance blossoms, and not just one—Jiff’s looking more and more like Mr. Right: a 100% Class Act, with his own Schnauzer and a soft spot for Brandy’s three.

    A sinister key whose history changed the course of a world war. A cursed chalice that's gone missing in the city of sin. An Icelandic town with a terrible secret. Join retired detective Virginia Holmes on the adventure of a lifetime as she investigates some of the most hair-raising cases in the history of sleuthing! This complete collection is guaranteed to keep you guessing and enjoy a few laughs along the way! This collection contains: MURDER AT THE FILMORE A murder has occurred at the Filmore Hotel, one of Madison, Wisconsin's most discreet lakeside resorts. It looks cut and dry: a suspect fleeing the scene, a scorned wife, a mythical murder weapon. But then a retired detective by the name of Virginia Holmes arrives. There's more to this mystery than meets the eye ... and the murderer might still be inside the hotel. THE VANISHING SPY A murdered French butler. A missing skeleton key. For retired detective Virginia Holmes, this case should be no problem. But when Holmes and her assistant travel to France to investigate, the sleuths find themselves embroiled in a far deeper mystery that leads all the way back to the French Resistance of World War II. Spies. Nazis. Deception. And a town that may hold a terrible secret. DEADLY ODDS An ancient chalice. A missing man. A mysterious death ... Retired detective Virginia Holmes arrives in Las Vegas and quickly finds herself taking on more than she bargained for! With the help of her plucky assistant, she'll need to uncover the mystery of an ancient artifact if she has any hope of finding an important executive who's gone missing in the Sin City. But the closer they get to the truth, the faster the bodies pile up. And if she's not careful, Holmes will be next! ICED OUT IN ICELAND When a grisly murder occurs in a remote Icelandic town, it's up to Detective Virginia Holmes to fit together the pieces! But with no leads and only a few clues, she'll have to dig deep into the town's history. What she finds is almost as explosive as the volcano threatening to erupt at any moment ...

    He's fashion designer Jeremy St. James, and not only is he her boss, everyone knows he's gay.-When he's arrested for murder, secrets come to light and nothing is what it seems. If Laura can just solve this crime, keep the cops off her tail, break up a counterfeiting ring, and get the show on the runway by Friday, she might stop being Seventh Avenue's perpetual loser.-Edited by Lynn O'Dell of Red Adept.----------

    Getting a call from her home town’s Sheriff with the message, “We’ve arrested your grandmother for murder,” wasn’t it.Three bodies later and Ginger finds herself, and the hot new small-town doctor, up to their broomsticks in trouble. Ginger sets out to find the real killer before her missing sister’s name shows up on a list of the dead in The Book of Ill Deeds. A Paranormal Cozy Mystery.

    But when Brookside turns out to be a setting for art theft, dodgy dealings, and naked poker it becomes vastly more interesting. Josephine investigates the unusual goings on with friend and handwriting expert, Lill Fitzel. And the two befriend a young woman Josephine tries to prevent from making the same mistakes she has made.

    These stories have accumulated over 100+ reviews and have been boxed together for the first time! Witch Myth: Siren Song When bartender Bay Bridges saves a woman from being roofied, she accidentally kills the man responsible. When the dead man is reanimated, Bay gets pulled into a chilling adventure of mystery and murder, but if she digs too deep, she might risk revealing her most treasured secret: she’s a witch. Witch Myth: Yew Hollow Morgan Summers hates talking to ghosts, but when the victim of a ghastly murder asks her for help from beyond the grave, Morgan can’t say no. Soon, Morgan herself is blamed for the murder, and the town is out for blood. Can Morgan clear her name, discover the real killer, and help her new ghostly friend cross over to the next life?

    Now, she’s just burned out—and burned by love. She’s ready to retire from competitive judo and pursue a new dream in a new town, with her biggest supporter, her recently divorced little sister, Blythe. But on their first day in town, Blythe falls for local sleaze-bag reporter, Ellison Baxter, and their small-town welcome is stained by Baxter’s murder. The weapon—Blythe Battle’s hair brush. In this fast-paced, fun cozy mystery, Brenna, the proud new owner of the building that formerly housed Bonney Bay’s lone recreational opportunity for kids, Little Swans Ballet, is ready to turn tutu-clad powder-puffs into little warriors by opening a judo school for kids in its place. But now she must clear her sister’s name and save her new dream from ending even more disastrously than her Olympic hopes. Brenna must deal with one crazy member of the local police force, who’s determined to see the sisters pay—and another cop, whose deep brown eyes just might drive Brenna crazy—in a way her battered heart just can’t take.

    In this cozy mystery series, amateur female sleuths (also cousins) Maggie, Hannah, and Claire navigate the challenges of marriage, family, children, and nosy neighbors as they solve crimes and entertain each other. If you like small town cozy mysteries with a little humor and romance, you will love the Rose Hill mystery series. From readers: “I just happened upon this series and I am hooked. These three cousins are nosy and lovable. I can't wait to see what they get up to next.” “Lots of fun. The people are real, and after reading book one, I binge-read the following seven....Can't wait for book nine!” “I am addicted to this series. I feel connected to the characters and like how each book develops a different character. “I really enjoyed the whole series, and read them one right after the other and am waiting for the next one. You get very attached to the characters. Don't start reading at night or you will miss your sleep.” “I really love the characters and love the way Pamela Grandstaff manages to keep each book a stand-alone novel and yet intertwines the characters from previous books to make us remember them perfectly.” Please also look for book sets 4-6 and 7-9. Pumpkin Ridge (Book 10) new in October 2017.

    An assortment of Berkeley kooks and interesting plot twists keep things hopping till the very end.FREE DRAWJake’s buddy and quasi-boss calls in a favor when his nephew is accused of murder. It's up to Jake and Rosie to find the real killer, and they've got a number of suspects: the victim's fellow executives at a questionable correspondence school, his divided and bitter family, and his quirky Marin County neighbors--a truly odd assortment of California woods dwellers.FULL HOUSEAn ark in the middle of suburban Oakland is interesting but not strange by California standards. Even one built by peaceful cultists preparing for the coming flood. Until sometime private eye Jake Samson is hired to find Noah, their leader, who has disappeared with a lovely devotee and a quarter million in cash. The cult suspects foul play, but the police aren’t convinced.SPIT IN THE OCEANThe North Coast Sperm Bank in tiny Wheeler, California has been knocked over, and the perp’s tossed its assets in the ocean, leaving a religious-nut note of explanation. Just a prank, says Wheeler law enforcement. But the bank hires Jake Samson and his ever-sharp Watson, Rosie Vicente to find out who made the unauthorized withdrawal. As a storm brutalizes Wheeler, a bank employee slips in the mud and falls to her death.SUICIDE KINGJake's never been a big fan of politics, but Rosie invites him to a posh California fundraiser for an energetic gubernatorial candidate of the liberal underdog Vivo party, and Jake can't resist. It's all fun and political games until the candidate’s aide finds her boss in her backyard, hanging naked from an acacia tree. The police rule the death a suicide, but Jake and the aide suspect foul play, and she hires Jake to find the culprit. He finds campaign shenanigans, affairs, a possible German mafia connection, and more danger than our hero could possibly have imagined.ROYAL FLUSHLaid-back, unlicensed PI Jake Samson is understandably nervous about infiltrating a local Marin County neo-Nazi group called the Aryan Command.

    That’s until Vicar Paul and I find Isobel Crombie lying dead in a sea of flowers in the aisle of Saint Agatha’s church. Who’d kill a harmless old girl like her?In no time flat I’ve scored a house-and-pet sitting gig – Isobel’s remote seaside cottage and her two darling dogs. It comes complete with hollyhocks and seagulls and a SEAL from California who looks a lot like a younger Jon Bon Jovi. He's certainly cute, but aren’t his questions about Isobel's house a bit – well, suspicious? Then I find a secret office stuffed with alarming files about car thefts and Black Ops assassins. Maybe Isobel wasn't as harmless as we all thought? Sleuthing’s more fun than I’ve had in ages, but how safe am I on my own now things are unraveling? Little white Bichons are hopeless attack dogs.

     Summer fun is coming! And other than turning thirteen, twins, Meghan and Colin Jacoby, are looking forward to a typical summer... well, typical for them. Which means their uncle (and guardian) will pull into the Cobbscott Campground and park his travel trailer for three full months. Normally, they’d never spend more than a couple weeks in any one place, their uncle preferring to move around. But only until summer when they’d be Cobbscott bound. Why did he do this every summer? Why did he prefer to move around? The twins have never thought to ask. Their only concern being that their friend Sebastien would be in Cobbscott as well... the one person who also happens to know their secret- that they can read each other’s minds. Arrival at the campground goes as expected and within hours, Meghan and Colin are already making plans to meet up with Sebastien. But before they do, the campground gets some unexpected visitors. Visitors with reserved campsites. Sites that have been reserved, but unused, for years. The twins always wondered who reserved and never used these campsites and now that they have seen the owners, the twins can’t help but get an ominous feeling. These visitors dress strange and act strange, taking hikes into the woods wearing winged tipped shoes and overcoats, disappearing into things clearly too small to fit so many people, and they never stop peering into the sky as if expecting to see something terrible. And when unexplainable and frightening events follow their arrival, the twins start to realize that this summer, will be their least typical of all...

    But when her perfect husband turns out to be a lying, cheating slimeball - and bad in bed to boot - Savannah kicks the jerk to the curb and embarks on life on her own terms. With a new apartment, a new career, and a brand new outlook on life, she's all set to take the world by storm. If only the world would stop throwing her curveballs...A CUTTHROAT BUSINESS - book #1Everyone has warned Savannah that real estate is a cutthroat business, but she doesn't think she's supposed to take the warning literally... until she finds herself standing over the butchered body of a competitor, face to face with the man her mother always warned her about.HOT PROPERTY - book #2When Savannah’s fellow realtor and friend Lila Vaughn turns up dead, tied to her bed and strangled, Savannah's old school mate Rafe Collier becomes a suspect. It's up to Savannah to find the real murderer before Detective Grimaldi can arrest the wrong man.CONTRACT PENDING - book #3Savannah has to make the choice between staying safe by accepting Todd Satterfield’s proposal, or taking a chance on losing her life - and her heart - by trying to help Rafe Collier, when the term ‘contract pending’ takes on a whole new meaning.