Wendy Winchester Rierson by R.J. Lee

Since my marriage to my detective husband, Ross Rierson, my life has been both predictable and off-the-charts edgy. The predictable part comes from the bridge club I run here in my hometown river port of Rosalie, Mississippi. That’s my release because no two bridge...

Samantha Richardson by Jen Pitts

A blast of hot air and burning sage hit me when I opened my door. I should have known it wouldn’t be a normal day when I found my prickly next-door neighbor, Ruby Virtue, in the courtyard on an early morning in June. If I was smart, I would have closed my door, but my...

Maggie Romano by Wendy Ledger

A black floppy hat, big enough to hide my face. A long-sleeved black T-shirt, and a black skirt that goes down to my ankles. Black sandals. Black oversized sunglasses to hide my red eyes and any tears. A black cat on my shoulders. I guess we’re set to go. Let me...

Rarity Cole by Lynn Cahoon

I’m Rarity Cole. I own The Next Chapter, an independent bookstore on Main Street in Sedona, Arizona. I’m also a breast cancer survivor. I used to be on the career ladder for a St. Louis based company as a marketer. Then one bad mammogram changed my life and the way I...

Edna Harridan by Rosalie Spielman

Hello, Edna Harridan here. I’m Lieutenant Colonel Tessa Treslow’s favorite aunt and nowadays, her roommate. She’s busy under a truck at the moment, so I’m here to tell you about what our days are like. We live in an old farmhouse out in the sticks of Idaho. Well, the...

Jill Madison by Susan Van Kirk

When I moved back to my small hometown of Apple Grove, I planned a return to the middle of my family as the youngest sibling with two older brothers in a place where I had enjoyed a nurturing childhood. I left the Chicago art scene as an abysmal failure, unable to...