Ginger Barnes Mystery

2020 edition of First in Series; Bonus Alternate Ending. When her husband becomes head of struggling Bryn Derwyn Academy, Ginger Barnes learns that murder on the campus can kill a school's reputation in a heartbeat. To move the scandal off the front page before the school goes under, Gin uses her Mop Squad job to hurry the investigation along. Will her amateur sleuthing save her husband's career and her family's new home, or will her good intentions backfire bigtime?

Writer's Digest Award Winning AuthorFor successfully delivering her mother's friend, fierce competitor Iffy Bigelow, to the world-famous Philadelphia Flower Show in time to perfect that day's entries, Ginger Barnes and mother Cynthia are rewarded with Iffy's extra maintenance passes. Unfortunately, while they roam the amazing displays with elbow room to spare, Iffy is in a storage room behind the Tastee Freeze booth getting strangled with her own scarf. The remaining Grand Prize contenders seem relieved to have lost their toughest rival, but surely they aren't all murder suspects! What about Iffy's husband? The police favor the victim's mentally unstable niece for the crime, but Gin's mother will have none of it. "You solved a murder for your husband," she reminds the amateur sleuth she raised. "Now you can solve one for me." Real life doesn't always offer a satisfying outcome, but Donna Huston Murray's mysteries do. STRANGER DANGER, the third in her female sleuth, crime/thriller series was awarded the Global Book Awards' Silver Medal for thrillers and became a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards. The first two novels in the series received Honorable Mentions in genre fiction from Writer's Digest.Her cozy Ginger Barnes whodunits feature an amateur sleuth much like herself, a DIY headmaster's wife with a troubling interest in crime. The eighth, FOR BETTER OR WORSE, became a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards.When she isn't plotting mayhem, Donna assumes she can fix anything until proven wrong, calls trash-picking recycling, and, even though she should know better by now, got a new puppy. Check her socials and you'll understand.Donna and husband, Hench, live in Gwynedd, PA, USA.Book descriptions, reviews, and more at donnahustonmurray.com When amateur sleuth and DIY enthusiast Ginger Barnes gets transplanted from the "wrong side of the river" to Philadelphia's tony "Main Line" by her husband's job, she quickly learns crime can strike very close to home, no matter where home is.

For successfully delivering her mother's friend, fierce competitor Iffy Bigelow, to the world-famous Philadelphia Flower Show in time to perfect that day's entries, Ginger Barnes and mother Cynthia are rewarded with Iffy's extra maintenance passes. Unfortunately, while they roam the amazing displays with elbow room to spare, Iffy is in a storage room behind the Tastee Freeze booth getting strangled with her own scarf. The remaining Grand Prize contenders seem relieved to have lost their toughest rival, but surely they aren't all murder suspects! What about Iffy's husband? The police favor the victim's mentally unstable niece for the crime, but Gin's mother will have none of it. "You solved a murder for your husband," she reminds the amateur sleuth she raised. "Now you can solve one for me."

Writer's Digest Award Winning AuthorA daylight burglary turns to murder when Ginger Barnes's neighborhood friend returns home at the worst possible time. Thefts and threats and wild accusations follow, tightening tensions on previously peaceful Beech Tree Lane. When elderly eccentric Letty MacNair is mugged on her doorstep, the message is clear-anyone could be next. Gin's discreet inquiries sped investigations along in the past, but this time crime is targeting the amateur sleuth's safe haven. Does she have something more daring in mind? Real life doesn't always offer a satisfying outcome, but Donna Huston Murray's mysteries do. STRANGER DANGER, the third in her female sleuth, crime/thriller series was awarded the Global Book Awards' Silver Medal for thrillers and became a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards. The first two novels in the series received Honorable Mentions in genre fiction from Writer's Digest.Her cozy Ginger Barnes whodunits feature an amateur sleuth much like herself, a DIY headmaster's wife with a troubling interest in crime. The eighth, FOR BETTER OR WORSE, became a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards.When she isn't plotting mayhem, Donna assumes she can fix anything until proven wrong, calls trash-picking recycling, and, even though she should know better by now, got a new puppy. Check her socials and you'll understand.Donna and husband, Hench, live in Gwynedd, PA, USA.Book descriptions, reviews, and more at donnahustonmurray.com When amateur sleuth and DIY enthusiast Ginger Barnes gets transplanted from the "wrong side of the river" to Philadelphia's tony "Main Line" by her husband's job, she quickly learns crime can strike very close to home, no matter where home is.

A daylight burglary turns to murder when Ginger Barnes's neighborhood friend returns home at the worst possible time. Thefts and threats and wild accusations swiftly follow, tightening tensions on previously peaceful Beech Tree Lane. When elderly eccentric Letty MacNair is mugged on her doorstep, the message is clear-anyone could be next. Gin's discreet inquiries sped investigations along in the past, but this time crime is targeting the amateur sleuth's safe haven. Does she have something more daring in mind?

Ginger Barnes's old high-school friend is being arrested for training her champion German shepherd Tibor to fatally attack her ex-husband. As she's being led off to jail, Linda begs the amateur sleuth to save the valuable dog's life, an impossible assignment unless Gin can also vindicate Linda. Deadline: ten days! While exploring the dog's world of shutzhund and lure coursing, Gin meets an alarming assortment of suspects-the mourning father of an anorexic daughter, a militant vegan, and some bitterly disappointed weight-loss patients. Can she navigate the maze of motives in time to avert a fatal mistake?

Writer's Digest Award Winning AuthorOn the heels of a nasty divorce, a dog trainer is blamed for her ex-husband's suspicious death. Evidence suggests she programmed their jointly owned guard dog to attack the prominent diet doctor, but did she? As the accused is being led off to jail, she begs her friend and sometime sleuth, Ginger Barnes, to save the champion German shepherd's life, an assignment that demands nothing less than the whole truth. Real life doesn't always offer a satisfying outcome, but Donna Huston Murray's mysteries do. STRANGER DANGER, the third in her female sleuth, crime/thriller series was awarded the Global Book Awards' Silver Medal for thrillers and became a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards. The first two novels in the series received Honorable Mentions in genre fiction from Writer's Digest.Her cozy Ginger Barnes whodunits feature an amateur sleuth much like herself, a DIY headmaster's wife with a troubling interest in crime. The eighth, FOR BETTER OR WORSE, became a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards.When she isn't plotting mayhem, Donna assumes she can fix anything until proven wrong, calls trash-picking recycling, and, even though she should know better by now, got a new puppy. Check her socials and you'll understand.Donna and husband, Hench, live in Gwynedd, PA, USA.Book descriptions, reviews, and more at donnahustonmurray.com When amateur sleuth and DIY enthusiast Ginger Barnes gets transplanted from the "wrong side of the river" to Philadelphia's tony "Main Line" by her husband's job, she quickly learns crime can strike very close to home, no matter where home is.

When her cousin Michelle is hospitalized to save her pregnancy, Ginger Barnes rushes to Norfolk, Virginia, to help any way she can. A player for the Tomcat's pro football team has been murdered, and Michelle is terrified her husband, quarterback Doug Turner, will be accused of the crime. The two men have been rivals since college, and Michelle is Doug's only alibi. Gin tries hard to keep to the sidelines but soon gives in and tackles the case head-on. Why not? She's a savvy football fan, an experienced amateur sleuth, and the goal is to save an innocent child's life.

Returning home to star in a movie about going home, Jan Fairchild stirs up old resentments galore. When the actress is found dead the morning after a nostalgic pajama party, several of her former high-school girlfriends become suspects-including Ginger Barnes. The homicide specialist the police bring in seems unusually eager for the amateur sleuth's observations. Is that because she's his #1 suspect?

Escorting an incorrigible student downtown to be "scared straight" by a Federal judge, Ginger Barnes discovers her childhood babysitter, textile professor Charlie Finnemeyer, on trial for fraudulently aging an Oriental rug. After a second witness against the defendant dies a little too conveniently, the experienced amateur sleuth initiates a private investigation she hopes will prevent her elderly friend from spending his retirement years in prison. Alternate suspects include a TV craft show host; a college president; a trendy art dealer; and Charlie's suspiciously overprotective wife, whose skill at being in the wrong place at the wrong time isn't helping her husband's case one bit. As eager as Gin is to persuade the court that her beloved "Uncle Wunk" is innocent, she must first convince herself. Cameos by Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross. Real life doesn't always offer a satisfying outcome, but Donna Huston Murray's mysteries do. STRANGER DANGER, the third in her female sleuth, crime/thriller series was awarded the Global Book Awards' Silver Medal for thrillers and became a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards. The first two novels in the series received Honorable Mentions in genre fiction from Writer's Digest.Her cozy Ginger Barnes whodunits feature an amateur sleuth much like herself, a DIY headmaster's wife with a troubling interest in crime. The eighth, FOR BETTER OR WORSE, became a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards.When she isn't plotting mayhem, Donna assumes she can fix anything until proven wrong, calls trash-picking recycling, and, even though she should know better by now, got a new puppy. Check her socials and you'll understand.Donna and husband, Hench, live in Gwynedd, PA, USA.Book descriptions, reviews, and more at donnahustonmurray.com When amateur sleuth and DIY enthusiast Ginger Barnes gets transplanted from the "wrong side of the river" to Philadelphia's tony "Main Line" by her husband's job, she quickly learns crime can strike very close to home, no matter where home is.

While escorting Bryn Derwyn Academy's most infamous student downtown to be scared straight by a Federal judge, Ginger Barnes is shocked to find her childhood babysitter, textile professor Charlie Finnemeyer, on trial for fraudulently aging an Oriental rug. Even more alarming, Gin learns that two witnesses against her beloved "Uncle Wunk" suffered suspiciously convenient heart attacks. Eager to assist the professor's attorney, the veteran amateur sleuth pries secret information from a university president and uncovers past transgressions of a TV craft show host, all while acquiring an overnight education in early American textiles from experts at Winterthur and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Others guilty of questionable behavior: two antique dealers, and Charlie's overprotective wife. Still, damning evidence can't be swept under a rug. Before Gin can persuade anyone else that Charlie is innocent, she must first convince herself.

While working on a DIY project at her newlywed daughter's house, amateur sleuth Ginger Barnes sees a bag of bricks being dropped from the neighbor's third-story window. Soon pops resembling muffled gunshots send her racing for her phone. Eric, who lives in the house with his grandmother, claims the elderly woman is obsessed with mystery novels. Yet after she falls down a flight of stairs, she's so frantic to keep Eric away Gin must intervene. Was the so-called accident attempted murder?In her husband's eyes, Cissie Voight can't do anything right. Gin occasionally helps the frazzled young mother, and when Cissie needs a dresser carried upstairs, Gin solicits Eric's help. Bad move! The electricity between the two new acquaintances sparks a chilling premonition. This time Gin's good intentions may produce grave consequences-for everyone involved.Finalist, National Indie Excellence Award in Mystery Real life doesn't always offer a satisfying outcome, but Donna Huston Murray's mysteries do. STRANGER DANGER, the third in her female sleuth, crime/thriller series was awarded the Global Book Awards' Silver Medal for thrillers and became a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards. The first two novels in the series received Honorable Mentions in genre fiction from Writer's Digest.Her cozy Ginger Barnes whodunits feature an amateur sleuth much like herself, a DIY headmaster's wife with a troubling interest in crime. The eighth, FOR BETTER OR WORSE, became a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards.When she isn't plotting mayhem, Donna assumes she can fix anything until proven wrong, calls trash-picking recycling, and, even though she should know better by now, got a new puppy. Check her socials and you'll understand.Donna and husband, Hench, live in Gwynedd, PA, USA.Book descriptions, reviews, and more at donnahustonmurray.com When amateur sleuth and DIY enthusiast Ginger Barnes gets transplanted from the "wrong side of the river" to Philadelphia's tony "Main Line" by her husband's job, she quickly learns crime can strike very close to home, no matter where home is.

WHILE WORKING on a DIY project at her newlywed daughter's house, amateur sleuth Ginger Barnes sees a bag of bricks being, dropped from the neighbor's third-story window. Soon what sounds like muffled gunshots sends her racing for her phone. Eric, who lives in the house with his grandmother, claims the elderly woman is obsessed with mystery novels. Yet after she falls down a flight of stairs, she's so frantic to keep Eric away that Gin must intervene. Was the so-called accident attempted murder? IN HER HUSBAND'S eyes, Cissie Voight can't do anything right. Gin occasionally helps the frazzled young mother, and when Cissie needs a dresser carried upstairs, Gin solicits Eric's help. Bad move! The electricity between the two new acquaintances sparks a chilling premonition. This time Gin's good intentions may produce grave consequences-for everyone involved.