The Hot Dog Detective - A Denver Detective Cozy Mystery Series

MacFarland knows what it's like to live on the streets. Although he now has a place to live, he still keeps an eye out for the homeless community. He's overjoyed when he learns that one of the "invisible people" he's helped, Teena, a runaway teenager, has gotten a job in a mountain camp for homeless youth. But when one of her friends goes missing, she turns to MacFarland for help. MacFarland soon discovers that the girl's friend has been killed and that several other children are missing. Clearly something bad is going on at that camp. While he has his suspicions about the people behind the "adoptions," it is when he discovers that man who killed his wife, Norris Peterson, might be behind the missing children, that the case becomes personal.  Can MacFarland find out what is happening to the homeless children before another child goes missing…or turns up dead? MacFarland's quest for justice—and revenge—takes him on a journey to the far corners of Colorado as he attempts to rescue Teena and the other homeless children. This is Book 3 of The Hot Dog Detective series - a cozy mystery with an amateur sleuth. This is a 70,000 word novel

Detective MacFarland was kicked off the Denver police force... ...because of what he did at the mistrial of the man who murdered his wife. After losing his wife, his job, and his partner, beautiful Detective Cynthia Pierson... MacFarland hit the bottle and even lost himself. But now he's crawling back out of that hole of anger and depression. After a couple of years on the streets, MacFarland is back on his feet, operating a small hot dog cart. He doesn't make much money, gives a lot of his product to his former homeless friends, and studies language CDs in his spare time. He's put his detective days behind him, and he's happy that way. But then MarFarland is approached by a high-priced lawyer to help prove a woman innocent. A fishing buff has been found murdered and the wife is the prime suspect. MacFarland is not a detective anymore. It's not his problem if an innocent woman goes to prison and a killer roams free. That's not MacFarland's job any more. Not even if it means working with Cynthia again. He's just a hot dog vendor. If you enjoy seeing the down-and-out underdog get back on his feet to find justice, you'll love this book and love the whole The Hot Dog Detective series. Get this book now, and start reading! This is a cozy mystery with amateur sleuth. Each book stands alone, but the slow-burn romance between Mac and Cyn, and Mac's friendship with his wise but humorous homeless vet friend, Rufus, will keep you coming back for characters who have each other's backs. This is a 70,000 words novel.   About Mathiya Adams: Hello from Denver, Colorado! I am the author of The Hot Dog Detective series. As a consultant and corporate trainer, I've traveled and lived in California, Texas, New Jersey, India, the Philippines, Mexico, and Scotland, and too many other places to name. After having circled the globe numerous times, I've settled down in the Denver. Just as Denver is the gateway to the Rockies, I intend that The Hot Dog Detective stories will take place all over the Front Range and throughout Colorado.

"He was killed to keep him quiet!" That's what Wanda tells MacFarland when the curvy construction worker comes to him with a tale of conspiracy, fraud, and murder. Why come to MacFarland? He's a washed-out cop-turned hot dog vendor, still obsessed with the fact that his wife's killer is walking free. He wonders darkly if his former co-workers sent Wanda to him with a tale of wrongful death, crime, and murder as an elaborate prank. MacFarland's not even sure he can win back the respect of his former partner, tough-as-nails Detective Cynthia Pierson. But as a woman who works in the construction yard, Wanda is tough and determined. No one else will investigate her friend's murder. MacFarland realizes that Wanda is right.... there's some conspiracy going on the construction site. Can he find out who the killer is before the next body hits the cement? If you enjoy seeing the down-and-out underdog get back on his feet to find justice, you'll love this book and love the whole The Hot Dog Detective series.   This is a cozy mystery with an amateur but ex-cop sleuth. Each book stands alone, but the slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance between Mac and Cyn, and Mac's friendship with his wise but humorous homeless vet friend, Rufus, will keep you coming back for characters who have each other's backs. Get this book.

MacFarland knew in his heart that Scott Porter really was guilty… The problem was, he had promised his sister-in-law that he would find a way to prove the man innocent. All he had to do was find out who really killed the man's wife, Amanda. But as every cop knew, it usually was the husband. Then, when the first of several homeless men were discovered killed in the same way as Amanda had been, MacFarland realized he was dealing with a serial killer. What was the connection between the pretty socialite, Amanda Porter, and a bunch of homeless men? And why couldn't MacFarland shake the feeling that Scott Porter had something to do with all the deaths?

A dose of religion! MacFarland's sister-in-law wants to improve MacFarland's life, and what better way to do that than to get him involved with a church? Not just any church…the Church of Blessed Grace which promises you not only spiritual happiness but economic success. How could one go wrong with that combination? Being a rather cynical and suspicious person, MacFarland is a bit dubious about this church. When he discovers that the girl he has been seeing is also going to the church, he finds that he can't avoid going. Even MacFarland has to admit that God works in mysterious ways! When he attends the church, his suspicions are heightened when he finds that he simply can't stand the Reverend in charge of the church. Nor can he understand why a church has so darn many cameras spaced around its congregation hall. What are they watching for? When a young woman from the church goes missing, and later turns up dead, MacFarland is convinced, the Church of Blessed Grace isn't a gateway to heaven…it's a doorway to hell. And the next victim might be someone close to him... The Hot Dog Detective Series books may be read independently, or in chronological order: The Avid Angler The Busty Ballbreaker The Crying Camper The Desperate Druggie The Eager Evangelist The Freaky Fan (coming soon) The Groping Gardner (coming soon) Sign up for the Mathiya Adams newsletter to find out about the latest books in the series.

Jessica Chamberlain has a problem. She's high on drugs and has blood all over her. The murder weapon has her prints and she's got gunshot residue on her hand. It's pretty clear to the Boulder Police what happened. When the Boulder Police arrest her for murder, her father, Commander Bob Chamberlain, is desperate. Desperate enough to ask MacFarland to find the real killer. MacFarland's only memory of Jessica is from the day he got promoted to Detective. His recollection of Jessica was that she was quiet and well-behaved. Had University life turned her into a drug-using killer? "Save my Jezebel," pleads Commander Chamberlain. "You're the only one who can do it, Mac." The Jaded Jezebel is the tenth book in the Hot Dog Detective series. Each book can be read independently, but if you want to read them in order, just follow the alphabet.

Tomas Aleciades has a big handicap. He's nearly blind. That doesn't stop him from doing what he most loves…gardening. What will stop him, though, is being accused of murder. MacFarland is asked by his good friend Jacinto Gomez to prove that Aleciades is innocent. To do that, MacFarland will have to contend with a deceptive thirteen-year old girl, an angry father, crooked cops, and his own doubts and uncertainty.

MacFarland is off to Mexico! MacFarland is old school when it comes to legalized marijuana. But when it comes to the daughter of the owner of legalized pot stores getting kidnapped, he is ready to run off to Mexico to rescue her. Unfortunately, rescuing the young woman does not prove to be easy. First, someone has followed him to Mexico and is trying to kill him. Second, he has to confront one of the most powerful cartel leaders in Mexico. And third, he has to deal with Calida Delgado, a beautiful and fiercely independent woman he once had an affair with. Will MacFarland be able to rescue the pot dealer’s daughter or will he fall victim to one or more of the three obstacles he encounters in sunny Mexico? This is Book 4 of The Hot Dog Detective series - a cozy mystery with an amateur sleuth.

Mark MacFarland, a former detective with the Denver Police Department, always knew that the Mile High City had a seamier side, but it had never been his particular playground. After all, despite its lurid reputation, Denver's kink community was relatively peaceful and unobtrusive.   That all changes when Thorne Rose, a submissive participating in a BDSM "scene" dies. At first the death is ruled accidental…but that all changes when the ME discovers poison in the young lady's body. Then suspicion falls on the man who was beating her at the time, David Von Hoffman, also known as the Kitchen Khemist.   Did he really kill his submissive? Or is someone else responsible for poisoning Thorne Rose? MacFarland finds himself immersed in the exotic kinky world of Denver's BDSM community as he tries to discover if his client is an innocent man or a sadistic killer.   The Hot Dog Detective stories follow the adventures of Mark MacFarland, a former Denver Police Department homicide detective. When MacFarland's wife was killed, MacFarland began drinking, lost his job and home, then began living on the streets. After several years, he managed to sober up and start a new career. Now MacFarland operates a hot dog cart near the county jail and courthouse. But his crime-solving days aren't over, since in addition to providing his former homeless friends with free food, MacFarland finds himself solving crimes that the police can't solve. The Kitchen Khemist is the eleventh book in the Hot Dog Detective series. Each book can be read independently, but if you want to read them in order, just follow the alphabet.  

Football is back! For those of us who enjoy seeing twenty-two huge muscular men mash it up on a large field, this time of year is a welcome one. Especially for those of us whose baseball team has not fared as well as we had hoped, the prospect of football, where the agony of a loss comes usually only once a week, is a inspiring. MacFarland, alas, is not a football fan. Several years on the streets, with no access to television or even radio broadcasts, effectively weaned him from enjoyment of the sport. So it is surprising when he is approached by a promising young quarterback to help ensure the Broncos do not have a disastrous season. How can MacFarland help? By discouraging a stalker who might bring embarrassment to the team. Unfortunately, when the stalker turns up dead, MacFarland's work is cut out for him. He has to prove that the young quarterback did not kill the stalker. That shouldn't be too hard, since MacFarland himself is one of the suspects in the young lady's death. The Freaky Fan is the sixth mystery in the Hot Dog Detective series. Each book may be read independently.

Mark MacFarland had no use for politics when he was homeless on the streets of Denver. Now that he is struggling to pull himself back into regular society, he still finds politics a necessary evil he'd rather avoid. But when his friend Jerry Baker asks him to find evidence that a restaurant waitress did not kill her boss, he finds himself right in the middle of political intrigue. It turns out that the restaurateur is running for the U.S. Senate. Was he killed for political reasons...or was he killed by the waitress, the would-be politician's mistress? The Morose Mistress is the thirteenth book in the Hot Dog Detective series. Each book can be read independently, but if you want to read them in order, just follow the alphabet.  

When one of MacFarland's friends asks him to prove that a man accused of murder is innocent, MacFarland reluctantly agrees. He tells her that he will go where the facts take him, but if that means that the man is guilty, so be it. But then MacFarland finds he is smack in the middle of a notorious hate crime. The victim is a transgender woman who seems to have a lot of enemies. MacFarland suddenly finds himself in the middle of a crime where everyone has a reason to think he's helping to free a guilty man. The Truculent Trannie is the twentieth book in the Hot Dog Detective series. Each book can be read independently, but if you want to read them in order, just follow the alphabet.  

Most of the time, Defense Attorney Jerry Baker asked MacFarland to find the evidence he needs to get one of his usually guilty clients a lesser sentence or even off the hook. Most of the time, MacFarland does so because he trusts Baker's judgment about people. But this time, it's different. This time it's Jerry Baker who is accused of murder. Jerry Baker is the prime suspect in the murder of his co-counsel. The evidence looks bad: a gun that had been in Baker's desk was the murder weapon, Baker's prints are on the gun, and there is evidence that Baker and his co-counsel didn't see eye-to-eye on how to advance their case. MacFarland can't believe his friend is guilty. But to prove Baker's innocence, MacFarland will have to find out who really killed the Lazy Lawyer. The Lazy Lawyer is the twelfth book in the Hot Dog Detective series. Each book can be read independently, but if you want to read them in order, just follow the alphabet.  

MacFarland doesn't like it when one of the "invisible people" gets accused of a crime. Innocent or guilty, it doesn't matter – the system is weighted against them. MacFarland becomes suspicious that the police have the wrong man when he learns that the suspect—an old man named Isaac Dawes, a man who suffers with a bad skin condition—is accused of killing his best friend. When Lord Bozworth, the leader of the homeless community in Denver, asks for MacFarland's help in freeing Isaac Dawes, how can MacFarland refuse? The Impetuous Intruder is the ninth book in the Hot Dog Detective series. Each book can be read independently, but if you want to read them in order, just follow the alphabet.

When Neela Woods, a well-known international travel blogger goes missing, her family assumes she's just on another jaunt. But her partner suspects foul play, specifically the Obnoxious Oilman who the blogger has been dating. The stakes are high. Neela not only comes from money...her Ranch in Elbert County may be worth over a million dollars in oil and gas rights. When MacFarland finds Neela's body in a bat cave, he also finds that he has plenty of suspects, any one of whom had reason and opportunity to kill the young woman. The Obnoxious Oilman is the fifteenth book in the Hot Dog Detective series. Each book can be read independently, but if you want to read them in order, just follow the alphabet.

"Benny and I are going to continue our investigation in the murder we're working on," said Detective Pierson. "She was murdered in her home? Were there any witnesses?" "Oh," smiled Pierson, "I would say so. There were probably seventy thousand witnesses." The victim was Cloe Murphy, an internet porn star had over 70,000 fans, most of whom had the misfortune of seeing her brutal murder during Cloe's internet podcast. The most likely suspect is the estranged husband Toby who discovered his wife's body. The weapon has his prints on it, and neighbors report that they've heard heated words between the couple. But is he the killer? Or did one of her subscribers want to make sure she didn't share herself with anyone else? Jerry Baker asks MacFarland to look into the young porn star's death, and it quickly becomes apparent that there was more to Cloe Murphy's death than meets the eye.  The Naughty Neighbor is the fourteenth book in the Hot Dog Detective series. Each book can be read independently, but if you want to read them in order, just follow the alphabet.

When Rufus Headley's high school friend, now living in Los Angeles, is accused of murdering the doctor treating him for cancer, the decision for MacFarland to go to the City of Angels to defend him is easy. What is not easy for MacFarland is solving a case in a city where he is a stranger, and where his only contact with the Los Angeles Police Department is with a detective who can't disguise his distrust of MacFarland and even regards MacFarland as a suspect. While it was clear to MacFarland that Collins is innocent, the local police don't feel quite the same way. As MacFarland gets to know more about the clinic staff and what it is doing, he begins to wonder if Collins conflict with the clinic is actually justified. MacFarland's adventures in LaLa Land are complicated by unwanted traveling companions, financial mismanagement, and a brazen millennial lawyer takes delight when she alone can bail MacFarland and his companions out of jail. The Paranoid Patient is book sixteen in the Hot Dog Detective series. Each book can be read independently, but if you want to read them in order, just follow the alphabet.  

Everyone loved Ned Pendergast. He was personable, friendly, rich…and generous. Need money for a new house? Ask Ned. Need help with outstanding bills? Ned is always there, pen and checkbook in hand. Need someone to watch the kids while you take the little lady out for an anniversary dinner? Uncle Ned is the man to call. Why then, did someone cut off Uncle Ned's head and leave it on the porch of the Pendergast family? And where is the rest of Ned Pendergast's body? Someone is sending a message. But who is sending the message? What is the message? And who is the message intended for? Detective Cynthia Pierson asks her former partner, Mark MacFarland, who now operates a hot dog cart, for help in solving the crime. After all, if anyone can think outside of the box, it's MacFarland. MacFarland is surprised when Pierson asks for his help. Then he finds out that the police already have confessions from the murderers: two sisters, Penelope and Serena both insist that each killed the uncle and the other sister is lying.

Gavin Lewis mourned the death of his best friend, Bruce Parker. But when it turned out that Parker was actually a terrorist bomber, Gavin himself comes under suspicion. Did Parker plan and execute the act of terrorism alone or did he have help from Lewis? MacFarland is fairly certain that he can solve the case when he encounters a monkey wrench--Bruce Parker may have led a dual life and actually be the son of a wealthy East Coast investment broker. To further complicate matters, the bodyguard for the East Coast billionaire is a good looking ex-Air Force officer named Ari Dupont who has taken a romantic interest in Detective Cynthia Pierson. Pierson wants MacFarland to work with Dupont, but the last thing in the world MacFarland wants is to make Dupont look any more successful than every female member of the Denver Police Department already think he is. The Remorseful Rafter is book eighteen in the Hot Dog Detective series. Each book can be read independently, but if you want to read them in order, just follow the alphabet.

The New Caldonia Quartet always had problems getting along with each other. Arguments over what music to play, how to interpret it, who should get the most center stage time, even what costumes to wear plagued them ever since the four members came together to form the group. At an attempt at a friendly meeting of some of the members of the group, Paula Gurley, a friend of the talented viola player Suzanne Cousins, dies. The group finds itself under intense scrutiny. When the police come and arrest Suzanne Cousins, it looks like the group will split up. Detective Cynthia Pierson needs MacFarland's help. She knows Paula Gurley's mother, and wants the case solved. But she doesn't think the detective assigned to investigate the case will do a good job. At first MacFarland is resistant. But when he learns that the man who messed up the evidence chain of custody in his wife's death has been assigned to this case, he has all the reason he needs to look into Paula Gurley's death. Besides, it gives him a chance to work with Detective Pierson. The only obstacle is the Quibbling Quartet itself. It's members don't seem to be cooperative. What do they have to hide?

The last book and stunning conclusion of the Hot Dog Detective series!  McFarland has finally got his life in order. Kicked his addiction and turned his life around? Check. New career as a Private Investigator? Check. And most importantly... The woman he's loved all along finally agreed to marry him? Check. But he also has gained one more thing... enemies.  And his enemies know that the way to hurt him is to hurt his partner and fiancé, Cynthia Pierson. Now she's gone and McFarland is racing the clock to find her before the enemy exacts unimaginably cruel revenge... Click to order it today!

"The case is simple, Mac," said Jerry Baker. "My client, Brian Adams, is accused of killing someone."   "Who did he kill?" asked Mark MacFarland.   Jerry Baker, one of Denver's more prominent defense lawyers, looked over at MacFarland, a former Denver Police Department detective who had been drummed off the force. After several years living on the streets, in a near constant state of insobriety, MacFarland had finally gotten his act together. He set up a hot dog business, which he ran with mixed results for several years.   But now MacFarland was stepping out in a new direction. He and his former partner, Detective Cynthia Pierson, were trying to establish their own detective business.   "Oh, it's simple," said Baker. "He killed Brian Adams."   MacFarland shook his head. "Murder is not a joking matter, Jerry."   "This is no joke, Mac. And no, Brian didn't kill someone who simply had the same name as his. The man he is accused of killing really is supposed to be Brian Adams. I need you to find out who the real killer was."   Cynthia Pierson frowned. "It sounds like we have to figure out who the real Brian Adams really is."   Baker smiled. "Yeah, that would help too."

Tommy Chow was about to graduate from the University of Denver. His parents and sister waited expectantly for him to appear on the stage to receive the diploma that would allow him to continue on to medical school and a worthy career as a doctor. But when the last student paraded across the stage, the Chow family had a disturbing feeling that something was dreadfully wrong. Where was their son? A month later, the desperate family approached Mark MacFarland. They've heard he is the kind of detective who can do what the police cannot do. While sympathetic to their plight, MacFarland is convinced the young man is just a run away. But as he delves deeper into Tommy Chow's disappearance, he discovers that the young man had many secrets…secrets that could get him killed. Strident Student is the nineteenth book in the Hot Dog Detective series. Each book can be read independently, but if you want to read them in order, just follow the alphabet.

Young Tom Flannery thought he had it all. A great job helping out the Maintenance crews at the Pepsi Center—especially during hockey season, the best time of the year, a great girlfriend, a new car, and lots of money. But his good fortune comes to an end when he is killed and his body is dumped in a pile of snow in one of the Arena's parking lots.   Sydney Morgan, and then Felicity Davenport, both come to Mark MacFarland, a former disgraced Denver detective who had operated a hot dog cart near Police Headquarters, and beseech him to find out who killed Tom Flannery. MacFarland has recently traded in his hot dog business to run his own investigative agency, but can he afford to take on a client who clearly can't pay him?   On the other hand, is there any way he can say no to a request from a friend to find justice for the murdered young man?