#10 “An unputdownable triumph.”
When a true-crime podcaster who champions forgotten victims is killed at a CHQ book club meeting, she needs her own champion.
Luckily, Mimi Goldman is on the case — certain of just one terrifying thing: the book club members can’t be judged by their covers.
#9 “A page-turning riff on an Agatha Christie classic.”
When an online message-board post says, “A Murder is Announced,” many show up expecting a harmless murder-mystery game.
But then the lights go out. An intruder yells, “Stick ’em up.” Three shots are fired. And, by the door, lies . . . the body of the intruder, in costume.
Was it a botched robbery? Or something else?
#8 "An intriguing and engaging crime tale with some levity to lighten the pandemic element."
It's August 2020 when Al Martin, the editor of a satiric Chautauqua newspaper, dies. He is declared the summer arts community's first coronavirus death.
Or could one of Al's many haters -- including an estranged wife, three bitter siblings, a secretive caregiver, old enemies and numerous targets of his poison-pen sarcasm -- be a ruthless killer?
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#7 “Perfectly paced . . . to keep the pages turning.”
When thrice-married socialite Connie de Palma sashays into Chautauqua in 2019, a neighbor says, “Here comes trouble.”
And, boy, was he right.
In less than a week, Connie is dead. Her feuding relatives, bitter neighbors and an ambitious assistant, all say they’re innocent.
But are they?
#6 “A great beach read”
When tyrannical billionaire Thomas C. Whistler is drowned in the bathtub of his Chautauqua McMansion, everyone looks guilty. Especially his seven glib and greedy grown-up kids.
But it takes reporter and relentless snoop Mimi Goldman, sifting through a lifetime of lies, to nab the real killer — in time to say “I do” to her beau.
#5 “An engaging mystery with a late twist and an especially satisfying ending."
When Maureen Donahue, a filmmaker and speaker at the historic Chautauqua Institution, is killed at a raucous Fourth of July concert, there’s a quick arrest.
Locals give a sigh of relief. But reporter and relentless snoop Mimi Goldman (even with her own wedding to plan) is skeptical. Her questions about a racist personal trainer, shadowy piano teacher, chatty chime master and others lead to more questions — and the surprise real killer.
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#4 “An Agatha Christie for the text-message age.”
When a Chautauqua friend asks Mimi Goldman’s help finding her missing granddaughter, Jenny Van Alstine, a beautiful and arrogant feminist artist, Mimi says yes.
But when she starts digging, Mimi finds a surprising number of Jenn-enemies: haters, lovers, secret-keepers — and one killer determined to stop Mimi before she stops them.
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#3 “Impossible to put down”
Mimi Goldman expects peace and quiet when she returns to the Chautauqua Institution to work for the sleepy local newspaper.
But when her boss turns up dead, the lovable New York City expat and single mom faces her toughest test yet.
An extra-puzzling whodunit. A threat to her life. And a challenge to her notions of justice and forgiveness posed by Chautauqua’s Amish neighbors.
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#2 “A locked room mystery that kept me guessing until the end”
After solving multiple murders in her splashy debut, Mimi Goldman faces a more lighthearted challenge in this 64-page novelette: Where’s the beef? Or really: What’s become of food deliveries that keep disappearing from a locked Chautauqua rooming-house kitchen?
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#1 “If you enjoy an old-fashioned whodunit, it’s perfect.”
Mimi Goldman leaves New York City in 1997 for a small-town newspaper in the middle of nowhere, Chautauqua, N.Y. When her landlord drops dead at a community race she’s covering, Mimi suspects foul play.
Soon she’s in a race of her own to catch a killer . . . before the killer catches her.
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“A chilling short story with a satisfying twist”
This creepy tale, set in Chautauqua but unrelated to Pines’ mystery series, focuses on three people: Jimmy, Rosemary and Joe.
The three seem to be enjoying ordinary summer pursuits like a Fourth of July picnic and fishing trip. But when tensions explode, fasten your seat belts — for a riveting, unexpected conclusion!!
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