Results by "J. C. Eaton" in All categories

In the retirement community of Sun City West, a prominent member of the clay sculpture club is found dead, a clay pot stuffed over his head. Ominously, the victim is holding a slip of paper with two names on it: amateur sleuth Phee Kimball's mother, Harriet Plunkett, and her friend Lucinda. Begged to investigate by her mother, Phee chisels away at confusing clues and potential suspects. Soon she is uncovering a scheme more precious—and perilous—than she imagined.

When murder disrupts the peace in her mother's quirky Arizona retirement community, Sophie "Phee" Kimball finds herself caught in the middle of a dramatic—and deadly—game once again. A new board member proposes converting beloved golf courses into eco-friendly parks, and the residents of Sun City West are teed off about it. As tensions rise, Phee's mother harangues her into attending endless meetings and cheerleading for her bocce team, which is on the verge of imploding thanks to Myrna, whose aim on the court is as wild as her imagination.

Charcuterie chef Katie Aubrey is overjoyed when asked to create charcuterie boards for the summer fashion show at the prestigious Hidden Boulders Community in Cave Creek. However, the challenge for Katie isn't designing the complex cured meat and cheese platters but rather, how to deal with Edith Ellory, the annoying food critic ghost who pesters her while she works. Lamentably, that becomes the least of her worries when the fashion show coordinator is found dead in the food pavilion clutching a handful of Katie's pancetta rosettes.

If it wasn't for a flamboyant, self-absorbed ghost occupying Katie Aubrey's rental house, the thirtysomething former business tech turned charcuterie chef would be able to concentrate on her new sandwich shop and catering business. But as luck would have it, former food critic and septuagenarian Edith Ellory will not let go. Not until she convinces Katie to find out who killed her.

Phee's mother, Harriet, is going to be a star! At least, that's how the Sun City West retiree describes her chance to host a live radio program of her book club's Booked 4 Murder Mystery Hour on Arizona's KSCW. But instead of chatting about charming cozies, Harriet ends up screaming bloody murder over the airwaves after discovering the body of Howard Buell, the station's programming director, in a closet - with a pair of sewing shears shoved into his chest.   

Just as burgeoning charcuterie entrepreneur, Katie Aubrey, gets ready to teach a charcuterie class for a handful of adults, the body of a retired investigative reporter is found behind her sandwich shop and the gift store next door. The reporter had broken the story about a gold heist in the '80s, but has been out of the limelight for years. Until now. And while Katie tries to conduct business as usual, rumors abound. To make matters worse, the adults in her class are as backbiting and obnoxious as possible.

Sophie "Phee" Kimball is trying hard to get work done at her private investigation company—especially now that her old crush has joined the team. But her mom's book club's obsession with the local production of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap is proving to be far more distracting... After a much-despised cast member is found dead in the theater, Phee has no choice but to immerse herself in all the backstabbing backstage gossip. And with a threatening note landing on her mom's windshield, it looks like the killer might be ready for an encore.

A wedding, a murder, and a retirement community full of suspects... what could possibly go wrong? Sophie “Phee” Kimball thought moving to Arizona to work for a private investigator would bring some peace and quiet. Instead, she's wrangling her seventy-four-year-old Aunt Ina’s over-the-top wedding and her mother Harriet’s nonstop meddling. But when a celebrity chef turns up dead on the golf course outside Harriet’s front door, things really start to heat up.

Murder’s never on the reading list, until the book club starts dropping dead. Single mom Sophie “Phee” Kimball isn’t a detective; she’s an account clerk in the chilly town of Mankato, Minnesota. But when her eccentric mother in Arizona insists that members of her retirement‑community book club are dying because of a “cursed” novel, Phee reluctantly heads to sun-soaked Sun City West to snoop. Phee doesn’t believe in curses, and the deaths appear to be accidents: a golf cart crash, pneumonia, an allergic reaction, but something is clearly not right under the blazing desert sun.