Laura Fleming

In the first in Agatha Award-winning author Toni L. P. Kelner's smart, witty mystery series, amateur sleuth Laura Fleming finds her trip going South-in lethal ways… They say you can't go home again, and Laura Burnette Fleming thinks they may have a point. Moving to Boston has made her a bona fide Yankee in the eyes of her Byerly, North Carolina family. Yet Laura-forever Laurie Anne to her kin-still rushes back to see her ailing grandpa. Paw is in a bad way, rousing just long enough to tell Laura he didn't fall-he was attacked-before passing away. Why would anyone harm the beloved Burnette patriarch? True, the family has its share of issues lately, from Aunt Nellie's doomed get-rich-quick schemes to Aunt Edna's fixation with the local pastor. But surely not even the grasping cousins slyly sizing up Paw's possessions could commit murder. With the aid of her Shakespearean scholar husband, Richard, and her indomitable great-aunt Maggie, Laura confronts a slew of family secrets. Turns out Paw may have seen something that a killer is determined to keep quiet. And Laura will have to untangle the truth, before this homecoming leads to another homicide…

A puzzling corpse stirs up trouble for a Boston woman visiting her Southern hometown in this cozy mystery by a New York Times—bestselling author. A Burnette family gathering is no small affair, thanks to Laura Fleming's ever-extending extended clan. Being back in Byerly, North Carolina, gives Laura and her scholarly husband a chance to catch up on gossip about old rivalries and rekindled romances. New love is in the air too, though uncharitable kinfolk speculate that cousin Thaddeous's girlfriend, mill receptionist Joleen, has an ulterior motive for dating him. Byerly's mill has long been the town's lifeblood, but when Laura arrives to try and fix Joleen's faulty PC, she finds that death has just paid a visit. A stranger's body lies on the office floor, and the victim bears a striking resemblance to Big Bill Walters. Did the mill's founder have a doppelganger, or was someone in Byerly's first family spreading wild oats? Laura isn't planning to get involved-she's busy trying to help Aunt Daphine, who's being blackmailed over a decades-old secret. But, the twin mysteries will have other deadly repercussions, unless Laura can see through a killer's disguise...

A killer intends to turn a Southern smalltown wedding into a wake in this cozy mystery. Bells are ringing in Byerly, and fifth time might be the charm for Aunt Ruby Lee. Laura Fleming and her husband are back in town to celebrate Ruby Lee remarrying her ex, Roger, though the run up to the big day is fraught with complications. Aunt Nellie's triplets are all feuding over the same man. Then there's Ruby Lee and Roger's rebellious teenage daughter, Ilene, who's dating a notorious bad boy. When Ilene runs off to take part in the neighboring town's country music Jamboree, Ruby Lee begs Laura to intervene. Before Laura can bring her errant kin home, Ilene's beau, Tom Honeywell, is found dead on a tour bus. Laura is sure that Ilene's only crime is bad taste in boyfriends, and Tom had enough enemies to fill the whole parking lot. But with Ilene in jail, Ruby Lee frantic, and the police chief sticking to his guns, it'll take quick sleuthing for Laura to shine a spotlight on the real culprit in time for Ruby Lee and Roger to say "I do" again.

In this cozy mystery by a New York Times—bestselling author, a Boston woman is ready to show her visiting cousin around town, until murder mars their plans. You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of Laura Fleming. Though she's happily settled in Boston, Laura is thrilled to hear that her cousin Thaddeous is visiting from North Carolina. Before she can begin, showing him the best of Beantown, however, bad news also comes to call. Laura's college boyfriend, Philip, is found dead behind her apartment building. Philip had recently contacted Laura, trying to mooch a place to stay. Guilt and old ties compel her to investigate, and Thaddeous's Southern charm is a real asset in wheedling information out of Philip's loved ones and friends. Not that Laura's difficult ex had many of either, his wife had kicked him out and he was on the brink of getting fired. Working undercover at Philip's software company, Laura begins to decode the murderer's motive. But, as she and Thaddeous root out a mess of blackmail and revenge, they edge closer to a killer, who's just waiting for them to make a fatal error...

A crafty killer lurks among the prized collectibles of a Southern smalltown flea market in this cozy mystery by a New York Times—bestselling author. There's nothing Laura Fleming's Southern family likes better than a get-together, and cousin Augustus returning from the army is a perfect reason to gather for a party in Byerly, North Carolina. While Laura and her scholar husband, Richard, are in town, her formidable great-aunt Maggie has an assignment in mind. Carney Alexander was recently found dead under his own table at Tight as a Tick Flea Market, where Aunt Maggie is a regular dealer. She and the other vendors weren't overly fond of Carney-general opinion is that the man was nosy, ornery, and had a mean streak a mile wide. Why Aunt Maggie is so intent on solving the crime is a mystery in its own right, but Laura can't let her down. The flea market's regulars prove as colorful and quirky as the goods they offer, and plenty had reason for wanting to see Carney and his stall shut down permanently. But locating the genuine article among a slew of motives won't be easy-especially with the killer in the market for another victim...

A Boston woman visiting her Southern hometown must smoke out a fire-starting killer in this cozy mystery by a New York Times—bestselling author. Laura Fleming is always happy to visit her ever-extending family in Byerly, North Carolina. This time, though, it's not kin calling her back home, but businessman Burt Walters. Burt's hoping Laura can dig up dirt on Marshall and Grace Saunders, proposed buyers of Walters Mill. Laura knows Burt has good reasons for opposing the deal, and not just because the Saunderses are Yankees. But, the mill has long been Byerly's bread-and-butter, and stakes are high. Half her family is pro-buyout and half against-Laura's Shakespeare-quoting husband, Richard, likens it to the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets, only nastier. Soon it's more than tempers flaring, for a spate of suspicious fires culminates in Marshall's death. With her cousin Linwood a prime suspect, Laura is called to uncover the truth. Amid a mess of double-crossing, blackmail and fraud, she sets a trap to catch a killer, but may catch more than she bargained for...

Murder takes center stage in a Southern small town's Christmas play in this cozy mystery by the New York Times—bestselling author of Down Home Murder. Laura Fleming's theater-loving husband, Richard, is getting an early Christmas present- he's been asked to direct a production of A Christmas Carol in Laura's hometown of Byerly, North Carolina. To Richard's annoyance, the play is beset by practical jokes and glitches, and Seth Murdstone makes an unconvincing Scrooge. Unfortunately, he makes an all-too-convincing corpse. When Seth is found murdered backstage, Laura agrees to investigate. This time, she has an unexpected sidekick: Byerly's police chief Junior Norton, who's determined to solve the case before her ambitious deputy does. Junior's inside information is a definite boon-for one thing, she knows that Seth was a longtime moonshiner. The man had a veritable stockingful of secrets, and between grudge-filled rivals and feuding family members, there are plenty of likely suspects. But, which one decided to bring the curtain down on Seth, and can Laura and Junior stop the culprit from staging an unwanted encore performance?

Laura Fleming knows that love plays by its own rules. After all, she did the unthinkable and married a Yankee. But even she's shocked to hear that her indomitable Aunt Maggie, a spinster closer to eighty than seventy, has eloped with Big Bill Walters. Laura, her husband Richard, and their baby daughter hightail it home, where Laura discovers the real motive behind Aunt Maggie's marriage. Someone is trying to kill Big Bill, and Aunt Maggie plans to stick close enough to find the culprit-with Laura's help. Big Bill is Byerly's wealthiest businessman, so it's little surprise certain folks have a beef with him. In fact, there's a stack of threatening letters going back decades to wade through. Claims of land theft and worker injury abound, plus Aunt Maggie's one-time beau, Pudd'nhead Wilson, is back in town. Innocents are getting caught in the crossfire, and Laura concocts a risky plan to lure the killer into the open. But she'll need to keep Aunt Maggie safe too, or Byerly's oldest newlywed will soon be its newest widow...

From a New York Times—bestselling author, seven cozy mystery stories set in a Southern small town full of colorful characters and dark secrets. Includes: Gift of the Murderer Marley's Ghost The Death of Erik the Redneck An Unmentionable Crime Bible Belt Old Dog Days Lying-in-the-Road Death