Showing results by author "Donna Muse" in All Categories

Private investigator Geneva Pomolo and her partner Iris Reeves are busier than ever. An old foe has challenged them to a contest to see which pair of friends can take the most one-day courses at the local community college. Never one to shirk from a challenge, Geneva now has her hands full three evenings a week learning the basics of sailing, baking, watercolors, Olympic sports, and mystery writing.

With the holidays approaching, amateur sleuth Geneva Pomolo takes a minor role in a community theatre’s musical stage adaptation of A Christmas Carol. A lifelong Dickens fan, Geneva is hoping for a calm respite from the rigors of crime-solving, but her stage debut proves anything but calming. The cast is stacked with powerful egos who have deluded themselves into thinking they deserve a career in Hollywood — such as Peter Vankirk, who lands the starring role of Ebenezer Scrooge.

Geneva Pomolo and her investigating partner, Iris Reeves, visit a local nightclub where up-and-coming entertainers read poetry and perform music. A young folk singer named Leora Kismet is interrupted during her performance by Mrs. Maribel Smythe’s ranting about “depravity” and “the end of days”. The rich widow’s outburst provokes consternation and confusion — all the more so when she is found dead on her front porch just a few days later.

With Iris now dating and working on her first novel and Geneva reaping the benefits of being the most famous amateur sleuth in northern Indiana, things seem to be looking up for the crime-solving duo. That is, until the day they go shopping at a high-end clothing store and discover a scene of carnage. Marilyn Abshire, 77, the genius impresario behind Sunday Chic, is found run down in a deserted alley.

Amateur detective Geneva Pomolo has a busy weekend planned. An old flame is coming into town, and her current boyfriend isn’t exactly happy about it. On top of that, Geneva is busy planning the annual 5K Fun Run alongside the various local charities - which proves difficult, as the planning committee is full of backbiting and gossip.

Amateur sleuth Geneva Pomolo is once again drawn into mystery when she helps to acquire a rare collection of signed classics for the town library. The books were terribly expensive - and more than one person is after them. When the glass display housing the books is smashed and the books vanish, Geneva and her best friend Iris are drawn into the case. Their task is to recover the collection before it disappears into the hands of a private collector. But a wave of robberies in Wrangler’s Hill has the entire town on edge, and it’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.

Amateur sleuths Geneva Pomolo and Iris Reeves are invited to the local high school by their young friend Suzie Orleans, who is rehearsing for a performance of Agatha Christie’s Murder at the Vicarage. From the moment they set foot on campus, Geneva senses mysterious things afoot. When not one, but two murders take place on campus in the span of an hour, Geneva and Iris are thrust neck-deep into their most dizzying case yet. When an innocent teenage girl is targeted, Geneva tangles with a culprit both cunning and ruthless.

Tragedy strikes the sleepy town of Wrangler’s Hill, Indiana, when a retired media giant, James Orion, is found dead in his parked car. Immediately, amateur sleuths Geneva and Iris suspect foul play: there are faint skid marks leading to the car as if he were dragged and dumped there. But who would kill an old man who spent the last ten years of his life in quiet retirement, rarely leaving his house? Lots of people, as it turns out.

With Valentine’s Day approaching, a crime of passion in Raven’s Point sets a dark tone for the month of love. Detectives Peter and Maybelle are called to the scene where a body has been discovered in a parking lot near a popular hiking trail. At first glance, nothing seems unusual—except for the fatal knife wound that turns a quiet town into the backdrop for a chilling murder investigation. As tensions rise, so does the undeniable attraction between Peter and Maybelle.

As the charming town of Raven’s Point gears up for its beloved Christmas Festival, excitement fills the air. Maybelle and her sister eagerly join fellow shop owners to set up their stalls—until the unthinkable happens. When the mayor doesn’t arrive to unlock the town’s storage room, the town janitor steps in. But the moment the doors are opened, the town is faced with a gruesome truth: the mayor has been murdered.

In Raven’s Point, no one’s secrets are safe. During a grand celebration at the local hotel, the town psychiatrist, Kay Santangelo, is found dead in the ladies' washroom. When Maybelle Wright and her sister Helen stumble upon the chilling scene, Detective Peter Nelson uncovers the shocking truth: Kay was murdered, poisoned by an anonymous gift laced with peanut dust, her fatal allergy. As Maybelle and Peter dig deeper, they uncover Kay’s dark side—using her patients’ most private confessions to blackmail them.

Amateur investigator Geneva Pomolo is once again steeped in drama after she accepts a party invitation. After 10 years in the realtor business, Biff Wellington has finally obtained his PhD in history, and is about to achieve his lifelong dream of becoming a professor. But as often happens in Wrangler’s Hill, the serenity of the evening is shattered by a series of nasty confrontations. Biff has spent his entire life alienating anyone who ever loved him, and now these former friends and family are out for revenge.

Macey Spade is having the worst September of her life. Rumors are circulating that the local cemetery is haunted by a specter of the undead, a wicked creature who glides through the darkness and preys on rabbits, foxes, and people. Macey knows this is all rubbish. But when she and her pooch, Mugsy, set out to prove there are no vampires in Whaler’s Bay Cemetery, she finds herself at odds with a fellow investigator who suspects her of vandalism—and a frightened mob of concerned moms who think she’s engaging in dark magic.

Running low on funds, Macey Spade has accepted a new job—as a teaching assistant at Whaler’s Bay College, presiding over a class on Time-Travel in Film and Fiction. Macey anticipates a relaxed semester grading papers and browsing the stacks of the college library, but fate has several cruel tricks in store for her.

Paisley Burger runs the best-known pet store in Wrangler’s Hill. She’s known as much for her clumsiness as her critters—snakes, turtles, and raccoons have a habit of escaping into the city, sometimes terrorizing schoolchildren. When Paisley is found dead in her store shortly before Christmas—having struck her head against the corner of a table—her friend Geneva Pomolo suspects foul play.

As Christmas approaches in Raven’s Point, festivities are overshadowed by another shocking murder. When Maybelle delivers a unique set of glass Christmas baubles to a local spa, she stumbles upon the crime scene—along with Peter, the town’s ever-dedicated detective. Despite lingering awkwardness from their recent kiss, Maybelle can't resist getting involved in solving the case.

In the sleepy town of Raven’s Point, the annual ball at the opulent Park Mansion is the highlight of the year—a night of pure fantasy. This year, the Regency masquerade theme adds an extra layer of allure, and sisters Helen and Maybelle can hardly contain their excitement. Dressed in exquisite period costumes, they enter the grand estate, eager to glimpse the luxurious lives of the Park family, the town’s wealthiest residents. But the glittering evening takes a dark turn when Jeffrey Park, the man controlling the family fortune, is brutally murdered during a sudden power outage.

After Andrew Gardener dies when sipping the wine he made at his vineyard, no one suspects foul play. But when the cause of death reveals a toxic poison, Maybelle fears there's a murderer on the loose. She tries to avoid getting involved, but the mystery is too hard to resist, especially when Helen becomes the main suspect. Needing to find the real murderer and to clear her sister's name, Maybelle goes on a dangerous sleuthing mission which not only pits her against Detective Peter Nelson again, but endangers her life.

When Richard Jackson goes missing in the small town of Raven’s Point, the entire community is baffled. Helen Wright discovers his body in a freezer, revealing that Richard didn’t disappear—he was murdered. Maybelle, having been reprimanded before for interfering with police investigations, vows to conduct her sleuthing in secret this time.