Mt. Abrams was the kind of small, quiet town where, as any of its residents would tell you, nothing ever happened. That was why Ellie Rocca loved living there, even if her ex-husband did not.But even small towns had secrets, as Ellie discovered when Lacey Mitchell suddenly disappeared. Ellie caught Lacey’s husband in a lie, and one small discovery led to another until it became apparent that nothing about the Mitchell’s was quite what it seemed.Mother’s Day was just around ...

Founder’s Day weekend was always a big deal in Mt. Abrams, and not even the discovery of along-buried skeleton in Emma McLaren’s garden was enough to cancel the yearly celebration. But when a newly murdered corpse was found dumped in a rowboat the morning of the Founder’s Day Parade, everything came to a screeching haltEllie Rocca was convinced the murders were connected, but how? Detective Sam Kinali had taken the lead on the case, and politely but firmly told Ellie not to get inv...

Ellie Rocca hated Halloween, but that didn’t stop her from taking charge of the very first Mt. Abrams Halloween Scavenger Hunt. Mary Rose Reed, organizer extraordinaire, wanted to supply the entertainment, a juggling clown named Mr. Scarecrow, and Ellie knew it was easier to let Mary Rose have her way than even begin to argue. But when Mr. Scarecrow turned up dead, Mary Rose was more than willing to let Ellie take over.Trouble was, Ellie had sworn off meddling in murder. She promis...

Ellie Rocca knows that inviting best-selling author Beth Graves Riley to speak at the Mt. Abrams library will score major brownie points in her small community. What she doesn’t know was that a fast moving blizzard will keep Beth, and her assistant, in Mt. Abrams—specifically, at Ellie’s house. A minor inconvenience turns into a major headache as one secret after another reveals itself, including an alcoholic author, an unexpected ex-husband, and stolen stories. Ellie manages to keep her c...

Ellie Rocca is spending the New Year’s with Sam Kinali in a romantic Vermont inn for a murder mystery weekend with his law school friends. Practically perfect, right? It is, until a real dead body turns up. It’s pretty much an open and shut case. The killer has to be one of the inn’s guests, but Sam can’t get any of them to start talking.Ellie and Sam find themselves working together to find the murderer, but just when they’re getting close, an arrest is made. Back in Mt. Abrams, b...

Ellie Rocca tapped the best party-planning company in the state, Luxe, for her mother’s seventy-fifth birthday party, and she’s not disappointed. The food is perfect, the wine and beer are flowing freely, and all the guests are having a wonderful time. In fact, everything is going along just perfectly until one of the guests turns up dead, strangled with her own scarf.Ellie’s police detective boyfriend, Sam, is at the party, so he’s off the case. Ellie doesn’t have much faith in th...

The first three novellas in the Mt. Abrams Mysteries Series.Welcome to Mt. Abrams, a perfect little community where, everyone will tell you, nothing ever happens.Until…A Mother’s Day MurderIntroducing Ellie Rocca and the small community of Mt. Abrams, where the disappearance of a local mom has the neighborhood buzzing. There’s a sexy detective on the case, but that doesn’t stop Ellie and her friends from trying to find their own answer to the question — wher...

Sarafina Castellano has lost it all — her popular restaurant, her famous boyfriend, and her beloved father. At odds with her disapproving brothers, she has found a new place to call home, a quiet southern town called Hills of Andrew.Starting over means a new job and new people, especially a new man who may want more than she is willing to give. As she tentatively moves forward, there comes a call from home; a favorite niece whose needs threaten to disrupt her fragile peace....

The Brightness wasn’t the end of the world, but it might as well have been. Now, Amy and her family are trying to rebuild their lives, trying to return to some kind of normalcy, all the time wondering…why did it happen? How? And when will it happen again? And a million years (Miles? Worlds?) away, the answer is so simple…This short story originally appeared in the anthology, Celestial, as written by Marijon Braden

The last three novellas in the Mt. Abrams Mystery series.A Deadly New YearEllie Rocca and her boyfriend, Detective Sam Kinali are off to a cozy inn with Sam’s friends. He’s planned the perfect get-away—a murder mystery weekend. But romance takes a back seat when a real body turns up to spoil the fun.A Malicious MidwinterA surprise blizzard traps Ellie Rocca with unexpected guests, including an alcoholic author and her cowering assistant. As the storm worsens...

Grace has sworn off good-looking men. As soon as she starts dating one of them, she transforms from a mature, confident woman to a needy teen-aged girl. So when she meets Seth, the best-looking man she’s ever seen, she makes the right choice — forget all about him. But a neurotic golden retriever and a broken elevator keep bringing them together. Is the world working against her… or maybe the gods are finally smiling?Out of Order is a short story that originally appeared i...

In this follow-up to Better Off Without Him, Mona Quincy once again faces life’s tough moments with good friends, lots of laughs, and a cold, dry martini. For the past eighteen months, Mona has had a long-distance relationship with the man of her dreams, Ben Cutler. She’s been in LA working on a screenplay, while he’s been keeping the NJ home fires burning. But now she’s back, and she needs to answer a very serious question – will she marry Ben?Mona doesn’t think she ever wants to g...