Mt. Abrams Mysteries Series

Founder’s Day weekend was always a big deal in Mt. Abrams, and not even the discovery of along-buried skeleton in Emma McLaren’s garden was enough to cancel the yearly celebration.  But when a newly murdered corpse was found dumped in a rowboat the morning of the Founder’s Day Parade, everything came to a screeching halt Ellie Rocca was convinced the murders were connected, but how?  Detective Sam Kinali had taken the lead on the case, and politely but firmly told Ellie not to get involved.  But that was easier said than done, especially since Ellie and her friends know the killer won’t be uncovered until they found out who was buried in Emma’s Garden.

Mt. Abrams was the kind of small, quiet town where, as any of its residents would tell you, nothing ever happened.  That was why Ellie Rocca loved living there, even if her ex-husband did not. But even small towns had secrets, as Ellie discovered when Lacey Mitchell suddenly disappeared.  Ellie caught Lacey’s husband in a lie, and one small discovery led to another until it became apparent that nothing about the Mitchell’s was quite what it seemed.  Mother’s Day was just around the corner.  With a sexy detective on the case, and Ellie and her friends getting closer to the truth, can Lacey Mitchell be found in time to enjoy the day with her sons?  Or was something more deadly going on? This novella is 35K words, the first in the Mt. Abrams Mystery Series

Ellie Rocca hated Halloween, but that didn’t stop her from taking charge of the very first Mt. Abrams Halloween Scavenger Hunt. Mary Rose Reed, organizer extraordinaire, wanted to supply the entertainment, a juggling clown named Mr. Scarecrow, and Ellie knew it was easier to let Mary Rose have her way than even begin to argue.  But when Mr. Scarecrow turned up dead, Mary Rose was more than willing to let Ellie take over. Trouble was, Ellie had sworn off meddling in murder.  She promised her boyfriend, police detective Sam Kinali, that she would never again put herself in danger by sticking her nose where it didn’t belong.  So when the main suspect was a friend of Ellie’s daughter Cait, and Cait believed him innocent, Ellie deputized all her friends to do the snooping for her, and to help find out who killed Mr. Scarecrow This novella is 30K words, the third in the Mt. Abrams Mysteries Series

Ellie Rocca is spending the New Year’s with Sam Kinali in a romantic Vermont inn for a murder mystery weekend with his law school friends. Practically perfect, right?  It is, until a real dead body turns up.  It’s pretty much an open and shut case.  The killer has to be one of the inn’s guests, but Sam can’t get any of them to start talking. Ellie and Sam find themselves working together to find the murderer, but just when they’re getting close, an arrest is made.  Back in Mt. Abrams, both of them know the Vermont police have the wrong man.  Returning to the scene of the crime takes them back into danger, but that’s the only way to find out which of Sam’s friends is a killer in disguise. This novella is 25K words long, and is the fourth in the Mt. Abrams Mystery Series.

Ellie Rocca knows that inviting best-selling author Beth Graves Riley to speak at the Mt. Abrams library will score major brownie points in her small community.  What she doesn’t know was that a fast moving blizzard will keep Beth, and her assistant, in Mt. Abrams—specifically, at Ellie’s house.  A minor inconvenience turns into a major headache as one secret after another reveals itself, including an alcoholic author, an unexpected ex-husband, and stolen stories.  Ellie manages to keep her cool until Beth’s body is found behind a snow bank, and she realizes that the killer sat at her dinner table the night before. Sam thinks he’s knows whodunnit, but it’s Ellie who realizes the key to the killer is as simple as black and white.

Ellie Rocca tapped the best party-planning company in the state, Luxe, for her mother’s seventy-fifth birthday party, and she’s not disappointed.  The food is perfect, the wine and beer are flowing freely, and all the guests are having a wonderful time.  In fact, everything is going along just perfectly until one of the guests turns up dead, strangled with her own scarf. Ellie’s police detective boyfriend, Sam, is at the party, so he’s off the case. Ellie doesn’t have much faith in the two officers in charge, and neither does Enza Biondi, the co-owner of Luxe, who discovered the body.  Ellie may have sworn off snooping, but Enza’s curiosity is peaked, and she keeps drawing Ellie deeper and deeper.  Thanks to Enza, the two of them think they’ve got the whole thing figured out. But as new and more chilling facts come to light, Ellie discovers the real killer is much closer to home than she ever imagined. This is the sixth and final novella in the Mt. Abrams Mystery Series.  29K words long.

The first three novellas in the Mt. Abrams Mysteries Series. Welcome to Mt. Abrams, a perfect little community where, everyone will tell you, nothing ever happens. Until… A Mother's Day Murder Introducing Ellie Rocca and the small community of Mt. Abrams, where the disappearance of a local mom has the neighborhood buzzing. There's a sexy detective on the case, but that doesn't stop Ellie and her friends from trying to find their own answer to the question — where's Lacey Mitchell? A Founder's Day Death The discovery of a long-buried body can't stop Mt. Abrams biggest weekend from going forward.  But a second, and much newer body, brings everything to a screeching halt. Ellie and her friends know that to find the killer, they have to figure out what happened years ago in Emma's garden. A Killer Halloween The first annual Mt. Abrams Scavenger Hunt is a success—until the entertainment turns up dead.  Ellie has sworn off crime solving, but that doesn't mean her friends can't do the snooping for her.  Now, the whole town is trying to figure out — who killed Mr. Scarecrow?

The last three novellas in the Mt. Abrams Mystery series. A Deadly New Year Ellie Rocca and her boyfriend, Detective Sam Kinali are off to a cozy inn with Sam's friends. He's planned the perfect get-away—a murder mystery weekend. But romance takes a back seat when a real body turns up to spoil the fun. A Malicious Midwinter A surprise blizzard traps Ellie Rocca with unexpected guests, including an alcoholic author and her cowering assistant. As the storm worsens, secrets start spilling out, and an uncomfortable situation becomes murder. A Fatal April Shower Ellie has planned a grand party for her mother's 75th birthday. Too bad the party is spoiled when a guest turns up dead. Enza Biondi, the party planner, thinks she can sniff out the killer. Ellie has sworn off snooping, but will Enza draw her back into murder?