Jocelyn Shore

Texas high school teacher Jocelyn Shore and her cousin Kyla are on an once-in-a-lifetime guided tour of Egypt with a motley crew of fellow travelers when the most odious of the bunch, a nosy, disagreeable woman named Millie Owens, takes a fatal fall off of one of the great pyramids. And, that's only the beginning of their troubles. From the jovial doctor haggling for trinkets he doesn't want to the mysterious imposter wearing someone else's clothing to the attractive stranger traveling alone, this group of tourists is carrying more than one kind of baggage. Add a mistaken identity, a priceless necklace, and another unexpected death, and Jocelyn finds herself reluctantly trying to unravel an intrigue that threatens to end not only her vacation, but her life. Janice Hamrick's Mystery Writers of America/Minotaur Books Competition winner Death on Tour is a delightful debut and the beginning of a wonderfully charming cozy series featuring Jocelyn Shore, the determined teacher who always seems to get wrapped up in a mystery, against her usually very sound judgment.

The first bell of the new school year hasn't even rung, and Texas high school teacher Jocelyn Shore is already at the scene of a murder. Friend and fellow teacher Fred Argus has been found dead on campus, and it isn't long before the annoying, albeit attractive, Austin police detective Colin Gallagher uncovers evidence that Fred might have been selling drugs to students. Shocked by her loss as well as the insinuation that Fred was a dealer who got what he deserved, Jocelyn starts asking the kinds of questions guaranteed to set fellow teachers, administrators, and parents on edge. With the school serving as the setting for a big-time director's latest film, her investigation could hardly have come at a worse time. Jocelyn, however, finds clearing her friend's name far more important than the needs of a pesky movie crew and doesn't care who knows it. But it's only when she's attacked while on set that she realizes someone is determined to make sure the secrets hidden by Fred's death remain hidden no matter what the cost. Humor, romance, and murder abound in Janice Hamrick's follow-up to her Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award--winning debut, Death on Tour, and make Death Makes the Cut a charming addition to this outstanding new series.

Texas high school teacher Jocelyn Shore had been looking forward to spending Thanksgiving at her Uncle Kel's ranch, but her visit takes an unexpected turn when she discovers Uncle Kel threatening his son-in-law Eddy with a shotgun. It seems that Kel, who is hosting the whole Shore clan, is none too happy about how Eddy has been treating his daughter Ruby June, and tensions are about to boil over. Thanks to Jocelyn's quick thinking, Eddy makes it out alive, and it looks like Ruby June is going to toss him out for good. Yet no one knows for sure because that is the last anyone saw of Ruby June. The family pins the disappearance on Eddy and files a missing-persons report. Still, it isn't until Jocelyn and her sometime-boyfriend, Austin homicide detective Colin Gallagher, find Eddy's body at the bottom of a caliche pit that the police really take notice. Unfortunately, all eyes---including Colin's---are on Jocelyn's family as the most likely suspects. While Colin assists the local police, Jocelyn and her cousin Kyla decide to investigate on their own. Their hunt turns up a shady ranch manager, a mysterious racehorse owner, and an overly persistent goat, but no sign of Ruby June . . . or a killer who is poised to strike again. With a family reunion that is getting smaller by the minute and more romance and humor than can be fenced in on any ranch, Janice Hamrick's Death Rides Again is another outstanding addition to her award-winning mystery series.