Wash And Die

Soon Charlotte meets the cast and crew, including Hollywood ingénue Angel Martinique. The movie seems to be going well--until a body is found dead in Angel's dressing room, a bloody letter opener just a few feet away. To Charlotte, there's no shortage of suspects. But when the police zero in on Angel, Charlotte does a little digging into Angel's past, and comes up with a bit more dirt than she bargained for--enough to put her in the crosshairs of danger if she doesn't watch her step. . .

"Leaves the reader wanting more." --Romantic Times

Though she's short two employees, Charlotte answers a desperate plea the weekend before Mardi Gras. A woman named Emily Rossi is hosting a huge bash for out-of-town guests, and just lost her maid to a family emergency. And Charlotte soon learns why. Emily's husband, Robert, just happens to be the most ruthless crime boss in the country. Nevertheless, Charlotte agrees to help at the Rossi family's costume ball when one of the servers comes down with the flu. She's beginning to think that the party is a cover for Robert's illegal activities, when the man himself is found dead in the library.

The case seems cut-and-dried--to anyone but Charlotte, that is. Although Emily looks guilty as sin, Charlotte has seen enough of the Rossi family's dirty laundry to suspect everyone. But she'd better tread carefully if she doesn't want to spend Fat Tuesday in the bayou, sleeping with the catfish. . .

"Thoroughly enjoyable." --Mystery Scene

"An appealingly down-to-earth sleuth. Fans of Southern cozies will enjoy." --Library Journal

While picking up beautiful red silk scarves from the floor of a room she's cleaning, Charlotte is startled by the sudden arrival of its ranting and raving occupant. Charlotte is stunned into silence, until the Red Scarf Sorority comes to the rescue. The women manage to calm Tessa Morgan, who just had a run-in with her estranged husbands much younger mistress Lisa.

The summer's off to a sweltering start, and one of her best clients has just up and moved--leaving a big chunk of free time in Charlotte's normally hectic schedule. But the empty spot on Charlotte's client list is soon filled by gardening enthusiast Mimi Adams. Mimi's planning to host the next meeting of the tony Horticultural Heritage Society--and she wants Charlotte to be there.

Charlotte's not sure what to expect. Some gardening chat, sure; lots of good gossip, definitely--but these ladies have their claws out. There's talk of extra-marital affairs (did Mimi really sleep with her friend Rita's husband?) and a bitter argument over the club's presidential election (Mimi won--but was it rigged?) A few days later, Mimi's dead. The doctor says she was poisoned. But who planted it, and where? Was it in the bitter brownies Mimi munched at the meeting? Or in the red wine she sipped later? From Mimi's resentful "friends" and neighbors to her scheming husband, Charlotte has a whole plot full of suspects to weed through. . .so she'd better start digging. . .

Eleanor figures somebody must have been really mad at Richard Olsen to bury that kitchen knife in his chest. But when Kevin Hurley--her ex-boyfriend and Timber Ridge's police chief--starts eyeing her as a prime suspect, Eleanor knows she better get to the bottom of things before the gossipy townspeople decide to stop ordering her specialty pies.

With her sassy and occasionally married sister Maddy by her side, Eleanor finds the list of suspects begins to outnumber the ingredients on the Slice's famed Smorgasbord Special pizza. Like Richard's eccentric sister, who appears out of nowhere to learn she's the heir to 100 grand . . . in what looks like dirty money. Richard worked for a shredding business--and it seems he read before he shred, and very well could've been a blackmailer. What about Richard's boss, who now stands to lose his shredding company? And then there's that steamy scented letter from none other than the mayor's wife . . .

But when someone takes a shot at Eleanor on a late-night delivery run, she and Maddy know time is running out. To find the killer--and keep the pizzas rolling out of A Slice of Delight's ovens--she'll need to put it all on the line and hope that her search for the truth doesn't end in an unmarked grave . . .

Who killed Helena Henry? The shorter list may be who didn’t want her dead.

Psychic Raissa Bordeaux thought she’d left her former life behind, but when a child is kidnapped, she risks her secret identity by offering the police help with the case. New Orleans Detective Zach Blanchard doesn’t believe in psychic hooey and is certain Raissa didn’t get her facts about the case from a crystal ball. He suspects her of something besides being the most intriguing and attractive woman he’s ever come across. But when Raissa’s secrets put her in danger, can Zach convince her to trust him with the truth before it’s too late?

Sabine LaVeche needs to locate a blood relative fast – her life depends on it. When Helena Henry shows up offering help, Sabine knows she’s really in for trouble when it’s the best idea she’s heard in a while. When private investigator Beau Villeneuve takes on her case, things heat up in more ways than one, but as they begin to uncover the secrets of Sabine’s past, the one thing that becomes clear is that someone doesn’t want Sabine to get the answers she seeks. 

Eleanor knows Gregg would never have lethally bashed his own brother in the head with a pizza-rolling pin. Sure, Wade was greedily claiming far more than his fair share of their family inheritance. And Gregg did catch his ex-girlfriend Katy smooching on the couch with Wade. It's no wonder that Timber Ridge's police chief--and Eleanor's ex-sweetheart--has his sights set on finding and arresting poor Gregg.

But as Eleanor and her saucy sister Maddy dig a little deeper into the mystery, they find Wade's enemies begin to outnumber the slices on a large pie. This is one mystery that's made to order, and if Eleanor and Maddy don't find out who killed Wade, Gregg's delivery days are over. But while finding the killer is one thing, escaping alive to dish the goods to the police is quite another.