Staged 4 Murder

A P.I.’s bookkeeper takes a side gig in sleuthing when an amateur production of The Mousetrap features a real-life murder in this cozy mystery novel. Sophie “Phee” Kimball is trying to get work done at her private investigation company, but it’s hard to focus when her old crush just moved to Arizona to join the staff. The last thing she needs is more distraction—like constant updates from her mom on the local production of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap.” Practically everyone from Mom’s book club and retirement community, with the possible exception of her chiweenie dog, wants to join the cast and crew. But someone’s playing the role of a killer for real. 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. Especially if her drama-queen mother is right about the threatening note left on her windshield—which could spell curtains for another victim

With a high-stakes barbecue contest coming to town, Sophie “Phee” Kimball’s friends will get raked over the coals when one of the contestants is murdered . . . Sun City West is abuzz with the news that the Food Network is sponsoring a local barbecue cook-off and that Phee’s friends from the pinochle club are in the finals. But the mood soon darkens when the county planning committee announces a plan to situate a new garbage transfer station on the town’s edge. With tempers flaring and rumors of corruption swirling, it comes as little surprise when the committee’s chair, who happens to be a finalist in the cook-off, is found murdered. When Phee’s friends are named as the most likely suspects, she knows the accusation stinks to high heaven. As she navigates a world of politics and payoffs, she discovers there are any number of community members, along with the committee itself, who had a reason to want the chair dead­. With the barbecue contest in full swing and celebrity chefs on hand to judge, Phee will have to sniff out the clues, no matter how noxious, to catch a killer . . . Praise for the Books of J. C. Eaton: “Fun characters, a touch of humor, and a great mystery, the perfect combination for a cozy.” —Lena Gregory, author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries on Ditched 4 Murder “So cleverly written, you won’t guess the perpetrators until the very end.” —Mary Marks, award-winning author of the Quilting Mystery Series on Booked 4 Murder “A thoroughly entertaining series debut, with enjoyable yet realistic characters and enough plot twists—and dead ends—to appeal from beginning to end.” —Booklist, starred review, on Booked 4 Murder “Enjoy this laugh-out-loud funny mystery that will make you scream for the authors to get busy on the next one.” —Suspense Magazine on Molded 4 Murder

When softball fever overtakes Sun City West, foul balls and foul play add up to murder . . . When a member of the local pinochle club rallies everyone in the community to come cheer on the softball team he’s joined, Sophie “Phee” Kimball can’t imagine a worse way to spend a free afternoon. But before anyone can take them out to the ball game, her mother’s friend Shirley spots a dead body, only to have it vanish before anyone else sees it. Soon Shirley and her friends can’t decide whether she’s losing her marbles or being stalked by the living dead—until an attempt is made on her life. Wondering if the body Shirley saw belongs to a missing ballplayer who may have been murdered, Phee begins to suspect that Shirley’s in danger from a menacing killer. Following the clues at the ball park and eyeing the crowd for a likely perpetrator, she devises a clever scheme to sniff out the culprit, but she’ll have to act fast before she strikes out for the last time! Praise for the Books of J. C. Eaton: “Fun characters, a touch of humor, and a great mystery, the perfect combination for a cozy.” —Lena Gregory, author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries on Ditched 4 Murder “So cleverly written, you won’t guess the perpetrators until the very end.” —Mary Marks, award-winning author of the Quilting Mystery Series on Booked 4 Murder “A thoroughly entertaining series debut, with enjoyable yet realistic characters and enough plot twists—and dead ends—to appeal from beginning to end.” —Booklist, starred review, on Booked 4 Murder “Enjoy this laugh-out-loud funny mystery that will make you scream for the authors to get busy on the next one.” —Suspense Magazine on Molded 4 Murder

While planning her wedding, Sophie “Phee” Kimball gets sidetracked by the murder of a model train enthusiast . . . Phee’s marriage to Marshall Gregory promises to be the wedding of the year in Arizona’s Sun City West—that is, if you ask her mother Harriet. But before she can walk down the aisle, it looks like she has to solve one more murder. At a model train exhibit, Phee, Harriet, and their beloved Chiweenie, Streetman, discover the body of Sun City West’s railroad club president, with an incriminating tap shoe near his lifeless corpse. Wilbur Maines may have loved model trains but apparently he was not a model husband. There are rumors of affairs with hot-to-trot hobbyists the Choo-Choo Chicks. The police suspect his wife—and Harriet’s friend—Roxanne, who dances with the Rhythm Tappers, but Phee’s mom is convinced they’re on the wrong track. Before the poor woman is railroaded into spending the rest of her life behind bars, Phee, Harriet, and the book club ladies will need to do some fancy footwork, infiltrate the dance group, and find the real culprit before the killer leaves the station . . . Praise for the Sophie Kimball Mysteries “Fun characters, a touch of humor, and a great mystery, the perfect combination for a cozy.” —Lena Gregory, author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries on Ditched 4 Murder “So cleverly written, you won’t guess the perpetrators until the very end.” —Mary Marks, award-winning author of the Quilting Mystery Series on Booked 4 Murder

All of Arizona’s Sun City West heard Sophie “Phee” Kimball’s mom scream bloody murder, but it’s up to the reluctant sleuth to find the killer . . . 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. The number one suspect is Howard’s ex-girlfriend Sylvia Strattlemeyer who believed she was going to host a sewing talk show before Harriet was offered the spot. But not only do the fingerprints found on the scissors not match Sylvia’s, they belong to a woman who passed away twenty years ago at the age of ninety-seven. Now, with the whole town on pins and needles, it’s up to Phee to stitch together enough clues from the past to uncover the identity of a killer in the present . . . Praise for the Sophie Kimball Mysteries “Fun characters, a touch of humor, and a great mystery, the perfect combination for a cozy.” —Lena Gregory, author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries on Ditched 4 Murder “So cleverly written, you won’t guess the perpetrators until the very end.” —Mary Marks, award-winning author of the Quilting Mystery Series on Booked 4 Murder

A view to a kiln ... Sophie “Phee” Kimball enjoys working as a bookkeeper for a private investigator. If only her mother Harriet could enjoy her retirement at Sun City West in Arizona—instead of constantly getting involved with retirees being prematurely put out to pasture. This time Quentin Dussler, a prominent member of the clay sculpting club, was found dead, clutching a piece of paper scrawled with Phee’s mother’s name. Terrified she’s been targeted by assassins, Harriet begs Phee to investigate. What Phee uncovers is a complicated scheme that only the most diabolical of murderers would ever devise. And as she chisels away at confusing clues and potential suspects, Phee unearths something far more precious and valuable than she could imagine. Eager for answers, she takes a bold step—placing herself in the crosshairs of a stonefaced killer ... Praise for the Sophie Kimball Mysteries “A witty adventure that will leave you laughing out loud.” —Stephanie Blackmoore, author of the Wedding Planner Mystery Series, on Booked 4 Murder “Fun characters, a touch of humor, and a great mystery, the perfect combination for a cozy.” —Lena Gregory, author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries, on Ditched 4 Murder

With a killer on the loose and horse thieves plaguing the area, it’s up to Sophie “Phee” Kimball to corral the clues and bring an outlaw to justice . . . Spring is in the air as Sun City West gears up for its annual Bye Bye Birdie festivities, when residents bid a fond farewell to the snowbirds and happily reclaim the town for themselves. But planning comes to a screeching halt when the town curmudgeon plummets to her death from the library bell tower and sheriff’s deputies suspect foul play. With the celebration on hold—and Phee’s mother worried that she won’t get her moment in the spotlight on a local TV show slated to cover the event—Phee is thrust into the role of sleuth once again to find the killer. As Phee soon discovers, there’s no love lost between the town and the unfortunate victim, and with the clock ticking and virtually everyone a potential suspect, she’s got her work cut out for her. Then a passel of horseflesh goes missing, and Phee starts to think the two crimes might be connected. With the town on edge and high noon approaching, she’ll have to wrangle with a band of daring desperados and lasso a lawbreaker who’s dead set on sending her to boot hill . . . Praise for the Books of J. C. Eaton: “Fun characters, a touch of humor, and a great mystery, the perfect combination for a cozy.” —Lena Gregory, author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries on Ditched 4 Murder “So cleverly written, you won’t guess the perpetrators until the very end.” —Mary Marks, award-winning author of the Quilting Mystery Series on Booked 4 Murder “A thoroughly entertaining series debut, with enjoyable yet realistic characters and enough plot twists—and dead ends—to appeal from beginning to end.” —Booklist, starred review, on Booked 4 Murder “Enjoy this laugh-out-loud funny mystery that will make you scream for the authors to get busy on the next one.” —Suspense Magazine on Molded 4 Murder

An Arizona retirement community is a pastime paradise—until someone gets sent to the great beyond—in this mystery by the author of Booked 4 Murder. As if bookkeeping for a private detective agency didn’t give her enough to do, Sophie “Phee” Kimball is once again getting dragged into the drama at her mom’s retirement community. A new board member wants to get rid of two golf courses and replace them with eco-friendly parks, and some of the residents are pretty teed off about it. On top of that, her mother’s friend Myrna is being pushed out of the bocce league. Myrna is so bad at bocce that when a community member’s dead body is discovered on the grounds, she assumes it was one of her own errant balls that killed the woman. But before she can be taken away in cuffs for being a killer klutz, the police find an arrow in the victim’s neck. It looks like this was no accident. Now Phee and her investigator boyfriend Marshall will have to crack the case before the killer takes another swing.