Chesapeake Bay Mystery

Real estate rule #1: A dead body creates buzz. A dead body in a house for sale is never the buzz you want. It isn't the first-time real estate agent Helen Morrisey has found someone naked in bed while showing a house. But this one is different. One glance at the bluish cast around his lips and the vacant, staring eyes, and Helen knows developer Al Capelli is never going to sign another sales agreement. His death is big news for a small Chesapeake water town where a family empire is built around secrets and their brash money style is resented by locals. Within days, his lover, her old friend, begs Helen to find the killer before she's arrested for murder. Helen quickly realizes that solving a murder mystery in real life is a lot more dangerous than reading one. She decides to create her own Detection Club of expert sleuths-Miss Marple, Jessica Fletcher, Nora Charles, Agatha Raisin, and, yes, Nancy Drew to help unearth the truth. Detective Joe McAlister recognizes Helen's insight into back office real estate deals and local players. And for the first time since her husband's death, Helen meets a man who might return zingers as quick as she tosses them out. Mystery lovers hungry for a smart gutsy woman, a fast-moving plot, and an insider's look into a business everyone talks about, but few understand, will devour this first in a series.

Murder is on the menu: A celebrity chef poisoned. A bay town reeling. A sleuth pursued. Real estate rule #2: How to sell a house fast-offer a drop-dead kitchen. When real estate pro Helen Morrisey's bombshell daughter, Lizzie, a popular home shopping network host, invites her to meet an internationally famous chef, Helen jumps at the chance. What woman doesn't want to shake hands with a celebrity and do a little shopping at the same time? Even more intriguing, this culinary superstar is about to sell his waterfront mansion and it's her opportunity to talk business. After all, he couldn't choose a sharper agent than Helen, could he? That's a job that comes to a dead halt when she walks onto the TV kitchen of Cooking with Roberto to find his blood dripping bright red into his signature dish and her daughter collapsed beside him. Detective Joe McAllister arrives to take charge and is none too pleased to find Helen asking his questions. Their on again, off again, romance might sour when she ignores his warnings. Undaunted, Helen calls on the personalities and special skills of her Detection Club of famous sleuths to stir this investigation pot. It doesn't take long before the explosive ingredients of off-camera jealousy, competition, and nasty rumors create a recipe for disaster. Helen has to solve Roberto's murder before more tempers boil over and they all get burned.

A Bed & Breakfast haunted. A guest stabbed. A couple's future in ruins. Real estate rule #3: It's the rare buyer who wants to buy a haunted house. A grand opening for Captain's Quarters Bed & Breakfast on the outskirts of the little Chesapeake Bay town of Port Anne is creating quite a stir. Real estate agent Helen Morrisey sold the neglected Victorian to state senate candidate Eliot Davies and his wife, Alison. Despite rumors of ghostly images, they've toiled for months to bring the painted lady back to its prime. Now, the couple is ready to celebrate and the whole town is invited. A piercing scream cuts through the chatter as their party winds down. Helen bolts toward the pool house with her on-again, off-again love interest, Detective Joe McAlister, steps behind. A hysterical Alison is standing over the motionless body of one of their guests. A nine-inch pair of antique fishing shears juts from the woman's back. Helen takes in the shocked expressions of guests gathered at the pool edge. Why would someone want this woman dead? Has the tale of a ghost roaming Captain's Watch returned to haunt Eliot and Alison? Getting involved in another local murder investigation could be the kiss of death for her relationship with Joe. Yet, she knows a murder in her friends B & B might cut their future to ribbons. Is it time to consult the expertise of her infamous Detection Club sleuths? Or should she look the other way before her own reputation is bloodied?