The Charlotte Anthony Mysteries Series

Broke, friendless, and career in freefall--will solving a murder get her life back on track? An Uncollected Death introduces Charlotte Anthony, a forty-something divorcée, single mother and magazine editor who suddenly finds herself an empty-nester, unemployed, and on the verge of bankruptcy. She gratefully takes the job of editing the journals of Olivia Bernadin, a long-lost nouveau roman author. Things rapidly deteriorate, however, when she finds Olivia left for dead the first day on the job--and herself a suspect in the crime. Charlotte turns amateur detective as she works out cryptic clues to find Olivia's hidden journals and to clear herself of suspicion, all while reinventing her life by downsizing to a tiny apartment in the small college town of Elm Grove, Indiana. But efficient and independent Charlotte must also learn to accept the help of a new group of friends when she finds herself threatened by criminals who will stop at nothing--not even murder--to get their hands on something of immense value hidden within Olivia's hoard of collectibles. The Charlotte Anthony novels are traditional, character-driven mysteries whose overarching theme is how the past informs the present, and how even a small town in the American Midwest can be connected to a much larger world. The first book in the Charlotte Anthony Mystery series. Approximate length 373 normal size pages.

Is love worth killing for? In the second book of the Charlotte Anthony series, plans for an idyllic holiday in Aspen are disrupted by the discovery of a dead professor in his lab full of suspicious-looking plants. Once again, Charlotte joins forces with Detective Barnes to solve a murder that is anything but straightforward. Potential motives and suspects are many and the prof's complicated love life only adds to the confusion. Her investigation reveals unexpected connections between husbands, wives, friends, and lovers, and between past and future events. But information can be deadly, and Charlotte's discoveries put both herself and her friends in great danger.  As if all of this this wasn't enough, Charlotte is swept off her feet by the most unlikely of suitors. 381 Pages.

An explosion. A death. The destruction of a popular Elm Grove business. Charlotte Anthony, caught up in the ensuing chaos, wonders what the victim meant when he said he knew something "that could get us both killed." Once again, Charlotte teams with Detective Barnes as they strive to unmask the criminal. Her efforts are complicated by her relationship with Donovan, when it seems that they both have secrets they are unwilling to share--and as important figures from her past suddenly appear in town. As Charlotte uncovers the layers of the murderer's motivation, she also reveals the dark pasts and secret lives of those she thought she knew well, testing her faith in her fiancé, her friends, and herself. The Charlotte Anthony novels are traditional, character-driven mysteries whose overarching theme is how the past informs the present, and how even a small town in the American Midwest can be connected to a much larger world.  The third book in the Charlotte Anothony Mystery series. 382 pages.

The strange appearance of a mummy at a conference sets off a chain of events with repercussions that go far beyond the staid world of academia. A suspicious death, a secret code, and a powerful sect combine to intimately connect the past to the present. As in the previous Charlotte Anthony mysteries, the action takes place in Elm Grove and features characters both new and familiar. Charlotte's daughter, Ellis, returns to the typical small Midwestern town much more grown up than when she left, attracting the attention of both Tread, the scion of a political dynasty, and the handsome and slightly mysterious Selim. But she is plagued by an inexplicable sense of dread—and wonders if the answer lies in mysticism. Charlotte again teams up with Detective Barnes to solve the present-day crimes, with the hope that she will finally unravel the remaining mysteries of her partner Donovan's colorful ancestry. An Uncharted Corpse is the fourth installment of the Charlotte Anthony Mystery series, preceded by An Uncollected Death, An Unexamined Wife, and An Undisclosed Vocation. 449 pages.

An oddly dressed corpse turns up in an unexpected place, and Charlotte fears that the small midwestern town of Elm Grove has a much darker side than she had ever imagined. Enter the Divine Wrath—who are certainly not to be taken lightly but are they really as frightening as their name suggests? Or are the residents of Elm Grove just an unwitting PR machine for the group? Hypocrisy, both institutional and personal, comes under the microscope, forcing Charlotte to confront her own version of it when events start to hit all too close to home. Charlotte and Detective Barnes, along with the usual assist from the ever-supportive Elm Grove community, work tirelessly to solve the mystery of the victim's death and the onslaught of crimes that follow it. An Uninvited Quest is the fifth installment of the Charlotte Anthony Mystery series: An Uncollected Death, An Unexamined Wife, An Undisclosed Vocation, and An Uncharted Corpse.  

The first four Charlotte Anthony Mystery novels in one box set.  The Charlotte Anthony novels are traditional, character-driven amateur detective mysteries where the past informs the present, and a small town in the American Midwest is connected to the larger world in often surprising ways.  An Uncollected Death introduces Charlotte Anthony, a forty-something divorcée, single mother and magazine editor who suddenly finds herself an empty-nester, unemployed, and on the verge of bankruptcy. She gratefully takes the job of editing the journals of Olivia Bernadin, a long-lost nouveau roman author. Things rapidly deteriorate, however, when she finds Olivia left for dead the first day on the job--and herself a suspect in the crime. In An Unexamined Wife, plans for an idyllic holiday in Aspen are disrupted by the discovery of a dead professor in his lab full of suspicious-looking plants. Once again, Charlotte joins forces with Detective Barnes to solve a murder that is anything but straightforward. Potential motives and suspects are many and the prof's complicated love life only adds to the confusion. An Undisclosed Vocation begins with startling events: An explosion. A death. The destruction of a popular Elm Grove business. Charlotte Anthony, caught up in the ensuing chaos, wonders what the victim meant when he said he knew something "that could get us both killed." In An Uncharted Corpse, the strange appearance of a mummy at a conference sets off a chain of events with repercussions that go far beyond the staid world of academia. A suspicious death, a secret code, and a powerful sect combine to intimately connect the past to the present.