In the rough country of Wyoming, some cattle rustlers still get a death sentence.Official consumer advocate and unofficial investigative reporter Elizabeth Margaret Danniher, her KWMT-TV colleague Mike Paycik, rancher Tom Burrell, and their supporting staff of idiosyncratic sleuths take on another mystery. A ranch foreman is found dead — and, for most in Cottonwood County, the reaction is ... good riddance. Long considered guilty of a heinous crime, the foreman was represented then by a slick attorney, now owner of Lukasik Ranch — once Mike's family land. Suspects include the hot-headed Hiram Poppinger, fellow grazing association ranchers — and Tom. This time, both Tom and Elizabeth are ordered by Tom's daughter to find the truth. The investigation puts Elizabeth in close quarters with Mike and Tom — sometimes all three together — and she realizes this love triangle also warrants a soul-search for deeper meaning....

Love and death decisions ...Will murder take a break while Elizabeth Margaret Danniher sorts the future of KWMT-TV and her personal life? Don't count on it. A young woman comes to Elizabeth at KWMT to solve a kind of theft Elizabeth has never encountered before. That's challenge enough, with the TV station for sale and the top candidate to buy it known for eliminating news departments. But Elizabeth also senses there something more bothering Hailey Newhall. And then there's Elizabeth's personal life ... She is drawn to both enigmatic rancher Thomas Burrell and her former KWMT-TV colleague Mike Paycik, the home-town sports hero. But Mike has career aspirations of his own, and Tom has a feisty daughter who's definitely Team Dad. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's ace videographer, Diana Stendahl, who manages to juggle her demanding job, parenting two teens, and new love, challenges Elizabeth to also open her...

Everything can change ... except murder.In the television production world, a body brace is used to shift the weight of the camera to the operator's shoulder. This allows for smoother shots and reduces stress and tiredness. And, at the small-town Wyoming TV station KWMT, cameras are older and bulkier than those used in network news-gathering. Almost as old as some of the equipment used in a historical re-creation that draws Elizabeth "E.M." Danniher and friends into another investigation. When there's rumbling underfoot, a body brace helps keep what's important in focus.After some upheavals in Elizabeth's professional and personal life in Wyoming, not to mention those of her closest friends, she has some recalculating to do. With her former KWMT colleague Mike now at a Chicago TV station and tech whiz Jennifer also in the city on a visit, Elizabeth's investigation of a death discovered at the historical reenactment relies on a widening team of...

The last woman Tanner Landis is ready for is the one he must save.Who is shooting at Allison Northcutt? Detective Tanner Landis must find out before the next bullet reaches its target. And there's nothing like a complicated history between the two of them to make that more challenging.Ally has sustained more than her share of trauma. She and her two cousins lost their beloved aunt to murder when they were teens and have been bonded ever since. And, for the past four and a half years, she has carried the burden of her police officer husband being shot in the head outside their Maryland home. He has not recovered and now is near death. Is that the key to who is after Ally? But why now? And is the law enforcement-laden Northcutt family history at the center of this web? Fairlington County, Virginia, detective Tanner Landis and his partner, Rutherford "Bel" Belichek, have worked many cases brought to trial by their colleague and friend,...

She runs a foundation dedicated to forgiveness. He's a cop running down the guilty to make them pay. If they don't work together, people will die.Detective Bel Belichek and his partner arrive at a murder scene in a peaceful, historic section of Fairlington, Virginia, only to realize the victim is the cousin of Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Maggie Frye.Or is it?The family tragedy that forever scarred Maggie and her cousins, Jamie and Ally, reaches into the present, threatening to claim more lives if Belichek can't find this murderer. And to do that he has to shut down emotions he'd thought were gone for good. Price of Innocence, by USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn, is a sequel to Proof of Innocence that can also be read as a stand-alone. If you love twists and turns, characters who stick with you, and mysteries and romance swirled together, you'll love Price of Innocence. And later look for The Innocence Trilogy...

A cold case murder heats upFar from the publishing world that once defined her, Sheila Mackey's plan to escape to a quiet life in small-town Kentucky keeps hitting bumps in the road ... and some of those bumps are dead bodies.Sheila and her friend, Clara, are in for their toughest inquiry yet, when they take on investigating a death that's colder than a cold case, because few in Haines Tavern, Kentucky, think it was a murder in the first place. Suicide? Accident? Murder? They're determined to bring peace of mind to the dead woman's friends.At the same time, Sheila is finding it harder and harder to protect her secret past, especially from Teague O'Donnell, who's shifting from a fellow dog-lover to possibly much more. This whodunit with humor is the fifth book in USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn's cozy mystery series, Secret Sleuth, which begins with a murder on a transatlantic cruise in Death on the Diversion. In...

A reviled supermarket CEO meets his expiration dateThe executive who's responsible for widely hated changes at the biggest grocery store in Haines Tavern, Kentucky, arrives for a tour ... and doesn't leave alive. Sheila and Clara are on the scene — buying dog treats, of course – and on the case. Can they pick out the ingredients for the right solution?~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~This whodunit with humor is the fourth book in USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn's cozy mystery series, Secret Sleuth, which begins with a murder on a transatlantic cruise in Death on the Diversion. In Death on Torrid Avenue and later books, accidental investigator Sheila Mackey returns to dry land in the Midwest, where mysteries abound in her new home in small-town Kentucky.Secret Sleuth seriesDeath on the DiversionDeath on Torrid AvenueDeath on Beguiling WayDeath on Covert CircleDeath on Shady...

No zen in sight as Sheila untangles a yoga instructor's murder.Sheila Mackey's settling into life in Haines Tavern, Kentucky. Sure, she has secrets to keep, but things are rolling along nicely.Trips to the dog park with her rescue collie Gracie, meeting her friend Clara and Gracie's friend LuLu. Preparing for more work on her house by another dog park acquaintance, former cop Teague O'Donnell. And regular, relaxing yoga classes at the Beguiling Way studio … until Sheila and Clara encounter a new twist when someone murders their instructor.Law enforcement says the killer was a passing-through stranger now long gone. Sheila and Clara have their doubts.~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~This whodunit with humor is the third book in USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn's new cozy mystery series, Secret Sleuth, which begins with a murder on a transatlantic cruise in Death on the Diversion. In Death on Torrid Avenue and later books,...

Season's greetings: Whodunit?Santa Claus is coming to town, but guess who's coming first to Haines Tavern, Kentucky – Great-Aunt Kit. If Sheila and her fellow amateur detective Clara want to give her author relative what she most wants this Christmas, they'll wrap up a murder investigation — with a mysterious victim, intriguing suspects, and suspicious twists. Because this time, Kit wants to be involved firsthand in solving a suspenseful puzzle. The police – including Sheila's romantic interest – want the amateur investigators to stand down. But how can they when the clues hit so close to home? Sheila's Christmas cookie recipe is the apparent murder weapon, in the hands of one of the small town's quirky characters and one of the favorite humans of Sheila's rescue dog, Gracie the rough collie. She can't disappoint her pet by stopping her detective work short of the thrilling answer to...

Paws for murderFar from the publishing world that once defined her, Sheila Mackey has found a new life, a new home, and a new love. The love has four legs, a plumey tail, and a lot of fur.  Meet Gracie the rescue collie. Too smart for her own good – certainly too smart for Sheila's good, when Gracie discovers a dead body during a dog park gambol.Especially since Sheila delves into mysteries surrounding this dead body ... only to discover the new guy at the Torrid Avenue dog park is a barely retired cop. Not good for an amateur sleuth with a big secret of her own that she intends to keep. She's not exactly who she says she is. At least, she's not who she pretended to be for 15 years.Will Sheila untangle the murder mystery before her secrets are untied, exposing her previous identity to her new small-town neighbors?And will Gracie ever learn the "Quiet!" command?~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~This whodunit with humor is...

"A lovely romance" — Kindle reviewSeason in a Small Town — AutumnHe sees what she's long hidden . . . especially from herself.Meet Josh Kincannon, high school principal, single father of three, and thus, as he reminds himself ruefully, essentially celibate back into misty memory and forward into the foreseeable future.After three months of trying to work with Vanessa Irish via phone and e-mails on a project to help tiny Drago, Illinois, Josh believes he has an accurate picture of Zeke-Tech's CFO:Conscientious? Oh, yeah.Intelligent? Absolutely.Agreeable? Not so much.Then he catches sight of her wild, vibrant robe and begins to wonder what other elements might form a portrait of Vanessa Irish. Every time she goes into her I'm-so-boring-I-disappear-against-white-walls act, he remembers that vibrant, wild fabric hanging on the corner of a door and he gets curious.And the more...

On the trail of murderThe calendar has flipped to March but a winter chill of murder still stirs Sherman, Wyoming. The latest death involves an off-season dude ranch and its staff, ardent rivals in a quest for buried treasure, a wildlife whisperer who seemed to know no enemies, and legends and exploits of long dead outlaws. Elizabeth and her fellow investigators must fan out across Cottonwood County and time to find answers. They balance that with plans for an upcoming wedding, while the KWMT-TV crew adjusts to new ownership. Everyone hopes spring hires will breathe much-needed life into the understaffed local station. If only Sherman had a draw . . . besides puzzling murders. Cue Up, Book 14 of the Caught Dead in Wyoming series, is a smart, surprising, fast-paced cozy mystery with humor. If you like quirky characters, hints of romance and twists you won't see coming, then you'll...

The Accidental NoelThis wasn't the Christmas either Kiernan or Bexley expected. Snowbound in a shoddy convenience store with the least hospitable storekeeper in the state of Wyoming, two other stranded travelers, four kids forgotten by Santa – oh, yes, and each other.Because there was that thing that happened last summer. A mistake. They both thought that... though for different reasons. And agreeing it was a mistake didn't make it any more comfortable to run into each other at the ranch of their mutual friends, the Curricks of the Slash-C Ranch. Especially when those same friends suggest, nudge, and push them into traveling East together to join their respective families for Christmas by spending eighteen hours in a car together.Except they never made it out of Wyoming, thanks to an early-arriving blizzard.And now their choice is to have one of the least festive Christmases on record or work with what they have and each other to...

Jessa Tarrant had once pushed Cully Grainger out of her life—and lived to regret it. Now he was back, with an attitude and a teenage nephew. And he was the consummate lawman, with a score to settle. Did that score include claiming Jessa, or was that just her hopeful thinking? Women’s Fiction/Contemporary romance by Patricia McLinn; originally published by Silhouette Special Edition

Reunion for murder in Haines TavernSheila agrees to soothe Clara's nervousness by accompanying her friend to the 20-year class reunion for North Bend County High. Nostalgia, good memories, old friendships – this should be fun, right?Ah, but grudges, old rivalries, and long-buried secrets also show up. And before the festivities wrap up, there's one old classmate dead, another being questioned, and enough suspicion to cover several more.Sheila and Clara have their hands full making sure the wrong person isn't accused and the right one doesn't get away. Especially with Sheila also wondering about her relationship with ex-policeman Teague O'Donnell, her fledgling attempts to write fiction, and – of course – the well-being of the canine crew of Gracie, LuLu, and Murphy.This whodunit with humor is the sixth book in USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn's cozy mystery series, Secret Sleuth, which begins with a...