Mary MacDougall Mysteries Series

For 18-year-old Mary MacDougall, the highlight of her 1901 summer vacation is the painting class taught by the darkly handsome Edmond Roy. But when Mr. Roy is accused of kidnapping two of his own pupils, it falls to Mary to dig up the truth. Is Mr. Roy merely an innocent painter of landscapes and still lifes? Or a devilishly clever criminal? Should Mary defend him? Or fear him? As she feels her way through her very first investigation, Mary not only learns the hidden facts of the case. She discovers the real secrets are those that she finds deep in her own heart. The imperious young heiress is not as immune to feelings of attraction as she thought. Mr. Roy has awakened a longing within her. Will Mary MacDougall help to exonerate the man? Or condemn him to years in prison? For the answers, join Mary in her first adventure, the mystery novella A Pretty Little Plot.

The second Mary MacDougall mystery novella… For neophyte sleuth Mary MacDougall, the holiday season is a flurry of activities—including the 1901 Gala Christmas Musicale, starring opera diva Josie Borrell. But when the celebrated sapphire that Josie wears for her performance goes missing, Mary is drawn into the hunt for the purloined gem. Did a master thief swoop into town to nick the Star of the North? Was it the lovelorn maid? The manager with money troubles? The foul-tempered chef? The pianist with the scandalous past? Or was it the famous singer herself? In the middle of all this tumult Mary has to cope with the unexpected appearance of the only man who has ever aroused her longing—and the lovely woman who seems to have captivated him. As she unpeels the layers of deceit and duplicity behind the Star’s disappearance, Mary juggles affairs of the head and of the heart, driving her practically mad. In the end, the matter of the stolen Star comes down to the simplest of clues. While the matter of the man she loves couldn’t possibly be more complex.

Mary MacDougall’s first case of 1902 seems simple enough. Just before the 19-year-old heiress leaves for a summer holiday on Mackinac Island with her Aunt Christena, she’s hired to stop in a little town along the way and make inquiries. Did Agnes Olcott really die there of cholera? Or were there darker doings in Dillmont? Mary’s mentor, Detective Sauer, thinks it’s merely a case of bad luck for the dead woman. But Mrs. Olcott’s daughter suspects her detested stepfather played a hand in her mother’s untimely death. With the reluctant help of her aunt and her dear friend Edmond Roy, the young detective struggles to reveal the true fate of Agnes Olcott. As she digs ever deeper, the enemy Mary provokes could spell disaster for her and the people she loves. But in the end, it’s the only way to banish a daughter’s doubt.

It's 1902 and Mary MacDougall's new cases hardly portend any danger or significance. There's the affair of the nicked napkin rings…the problem of the purloined pocket watch...and the matter of the four filched felines. What the heiress/sleuth doesn't know is that one of these modest little matters will blow up into the most consequential and perilous case of her budding career. What begins in triviality mushrooms into disappearance, betrayal, international intrigue, and murder. As she learns more and more, Mary's prospects for making the acquaintance of an assassin's blade improve dramatically. Witty, fast-paced, and enthralling, A Fatal Fondness—the fourth tale in the series—delves deeply into Mary's world and paints the portrait of an unconventional young woman ever-ready to defy propriety for the sake of justice.

The year is 1901 and Mary MacDougall has a rather improbable ambition—to become a consulting detective. With her nose in mystery novels and crime memoirs, Mary MacDougall dreams of bringing villains to justice—despite the disapproval of her wealthy father and almost everyone she knows. A Mary MacDougall Duet features the two cases that establish her as a force to be reckoned with. In the first novella, A Pretty Little Plot, Mary’s painting instructor is charged with kidnapping two of his students. She not only uncovers the hidden facts of the case, she discovers secrets deep in her own heart. Mary MacDougall is not as immune to the laws of attraction as she had thought. Her imprisoned teacher has awakened a longing within her. Will she help to exonerate him? Or condemn him to prison? The second novella, The Stolen Star, follows Mary as she unpeels layers of deceit and duplicity in her hometown of Duluth. It’s the holiday season and Mary is volunteering for the 1901 Gala Christmas Musicale, starring the opera diva Josie Borrell. But when the Star of the North sapphire that Josie wears onstage goes missing, all eyes turn to the singer and her retinue. Complicating matters for Mary is the return of the man she loves—who seems to have found a new lover of his own.