Humorous Fiction Women

Doreen Diller wants to be a movie star. But after 15 years of failed auditions, she’s yet to garner a single callback from a Hollywood producer. Determined to hit the big time before she turns 40, she pins her hopes on a job assisting soap opera heartthrob Tad Longmire. He could be the answer to her dreams—or the beginning of her nightmares. While filming a new TV series starring Tad, a stabbing death rocks the set. Unfortunately for Doreen, the role of murder suspect is finally one she appears ideally suited to play.

At best, she's expecting a kitschy candy dish, at worst a beloved taxidermied pet, so when Cassie—newly divorced, single mom with zero prospects—discovers she's inheriting a fully stocked bakery along with a beautifully furnished apartment from a mysterious great aunt, she's convinced she must be dreaming. The apartment that bizarrely adapts itself to her whims, and the friendly neighbor floating fireballs over her head, aren't helping.

Until recently, Julia hadn’t had sex in three years. But now: a one-night stand is accusing her of breaking his penis; a sexually confident lesbian is making eyes at her over confrontational modern art; and she’s wondering whether trimming her pubes makes her a bad feminist. Julia’s about to learn that she’s been looking for love - and satisfaction - in all the wrong places.... Frank, filthy and very, very funny, In at the Deep End is a brilliant debut from a major new talent. #ImInAtTheDeepEnd

Marla Gawama is getting the hang of being the only detective in town. The weird is seeming less weird and...ha. No, not really. The odd just keeps getting stranger. It is Gales Haven after all.
But Marla, like a champ, is learning how to be an interpreter for a no-nonsense hedgehog matriarch, how to solve minor crimes in Spanx and confectionary, and how to balance her kids’ needs with her new love life.

High school wasn’t a grand time for everyone, but when a group of friends decide to meet up at a B and B ahead of their 10-year reunion, old grudges resurface, and one of them ends up dead. Now the owners, a kindly older couple, are on the hook for the accidental death due to anaphylaxis, but they insist no mistakes were made on their part. Fortune is asked to look into the situation before the inept local sheriff railroads the couple or simply allows gossip to run them out of business, which will cost them their home. Swamp Team 3 heads to Voodoo Island to find a way to clear the couple.

Most start-up businesses fail within five years. But with Geraldine Jiggles as her new partner, Val’s smashing new concept for “retail therapy” might not last five minutes. Has Val signed a pact with the she-devil herself? Maybe ... Just exactly who is that sharp-tongued demon in polyester pantaloons, anyway? When Val starts investigating Geraldine’s past, what she discovers threatens to tear a hole the very fabric of reality itself—or at list rip it one heck of a new unseemly seam.

Most Sinful residents are unaware of Carter’s crisis and are going about their daily lives as they always have, including local prankster Gage Babin. Except this time, Gage’s attempt to elicit laughs leaves him on a slab in the medical examiner’s office. Everyone knows how unhealthy he was, but Fortune thinks there’s more to his death than a poorly timed prank that caused his bad heart to give out.

All Doreen Diller wanted was to be an A-List movie star. But after finding out her family in Florida is related to the mob, she may have to settle for Plan B—a hasty exit, stage right. Sophia, the reigning Godmother, is about to turn one hundred. But someone is determined to end her centennial celebration with a bang and grab the throne for themselves.

Doreen’s acting career was in the dumpster—until she played a serial killer on TV. Now she can’t seem to live the infamy down. It’s not helping that her Aunt Edna is a member of the Southern mafia. Or that the gang of elderly ladies at Edna’s apartment complex consider Doreen their rising new star.

Everybody’s got their coping mechanisms. Val Fremden is no exception. But when her longtime boyfriend Tom Foreman takes off without even saying goodbye—well, that’s just the kind of thing that can make a good woman go bad. Out to track down Tom or die trying, everyone Val meets seems like a potential suspect. Especially her new coworker, Gary. Ever since he showed up, women around town have begun disappearing. And the macabre clues left behind at each woman’s last known address keep Val on the run like a chicken with its head cut off.

In Deep Voodoo is a rollicking romantic mystery! Start with bad mojo, add a pinprick of revenge, and watch things boil over…A woman receives a voodoo doll of her lying cheating ex-husband as a gag gift at her divorce party, and vents her frustration by stabbing it with a pin. But later when he's found stabbed to death, she doesn't have to be told she's managed to land herself In Deep Voodoo!

When cupcake-loving croupier and private investigator Tiffany Black meets an adorable lost kitten, she never imagines it will lead her straight to a murder investigation. But when she is asked to investigate the death of architect-turned-poker-addict Max Langton, she stumbles upon a group of unpleasant neighbors, who also happen to be potential murderers. Meanwhile, Tiffany struggles to balance her love life when her friend, Stone, asks her for a small favor - a tiny task that leads Tiffany to doubt Stone’s past.

Being an undercover poison taster for the rich and famous is hard enough without being dragged into clearing the name of your former nemesis.... Especially when you think he might be guilty. To make matters worse, Izzy and her elderly accomplice aren't the only ones digging into the murder case, and the other parties are a whole lot more dangerous. And if her old nemesis didn't do it, then the real killer won't appreciate their interference.

Nanna is a sweet, little old lady - or so she'd like you to believe. Too bad the cops investigating Adam Bitzer’s death don’t buy it for a second. And worse, they think she’s the one responsible for Adam’s death.... Just when Tiffany was ready to take a break from being a private investigator, she's pushed back into the thick of things. Can TIffany prove Nanna's innocence in time?

When cupcake-loving croupier and private investigator Tiffany Black witnesses a handsome, green-eyed man making a getaway after an art heist, she finds her normally chaotic life becoming even more complicated. Tiffany flits between two cases: investigating the missing Van Gogh, and the murder of a Hollywood starlet with a secret life. When her investigation takes an intriguing turn and a man with mesmerizing green eyes comes into her life, Tiffany starts to wonder if this man might be the missing link between both crimes....

Psychologist Kate Holly's own life has become the stuff of intensive therapy. She's divorcing her gorgeous firefighter husband, she has an eccentric secretary, her mother and aunt have erected a vaguely sexual sculpture in her front yard, and her psychiatrist ex-boyfriend won't stop calling to find out what color panties she's wearing. Now, Kate's being bombarded with mysterious threats, and the only person who can help her is the one man who always makes her lose her mind - and heart.

Cupcake-loving croupier Tiffany Black is determined to leave her job at the casino for good. She's one small step away from acquiring her private investigator license and has her eye on the prize. Accepting her first real case - investigating the murder of casino-mogul Ethan Becker - should be exciting. Instead, things spiral out of control, and Tiffany finds herself in over her head as she confronts secretive suspects, corrupt casino henchmen, and a bodyguard with a mysterious past.

It's bad enough that Tara has to go on trial against the mortgage-frauding "Tennis Racketeers" who cheated banks and homeowners out of millions in between doubles matches. Now she has to go undercover - in a strip club - to strip the sleazeball owner of his indeed illegal livelihood. At least she's working as a bookkeeper, not a pole dancer. And who needs tips when her undercover crush, Special Agent Nick, is the club's bodyguard?

When a chance encounter with a pickpocket leads to something more sinister, avid sleuth Patricia Fisher swings into action. The Aurelia is on its way to Thailand, but a mystery illness is spreading among crew and passengers. Is there a link between it and a world-famous immunologist on board? There is something very strange about his companions and their behaviour, but no one wants to listen to Patricia’s outlandish theories.

Grammy Nominee for Best Spoken Word Album
Mirabelle, the "shopgirl" behind the glove counter at Neiman Marcus, is slightly lost, off-kilter, and shy. But there's something about Mirabelle. Steve Martin reads this charming novella. Hear an interview with the author and browse more Martin.