The Charlotte Graham Mysteries Series

Legendary actress Charlotte Graham investigates a geisha’s death at an elegant seaside resort in this chilling cozy mystery that weaves together history, politics, and murder When Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry unlocked the door to Japan, American consul Townsend Harris fell in love with the legendary geisha Okichi. It was to be a doomed romance that ended with the scorned young woman hurling herself into the sea. More than a century later, the citizens of Newport, Rhode Island, celebrate Perry’s journey by inviting Okichi’s last surviving descendant, Okichi-mago, to visit their glittering resort. A famous geisha herself, Okichi-mago’s voyage to Newport is a great diplomatic affair—and it will end in tragedy.   In a chilling echo of her ancestor’s death, Okichi-mago falls from one of Newport’s famous cliffs. But Hollywood icon Charlotte Graham can’t believe that the refined beauty would take her own life, so she sets out to find the killer.   Mystery lovers with an interest in the history of Japan or old Hollywood will adore Murder on the Cliff. When the rich and famous tangle with murder, there’s no sleuth more suitable to working the case than the glamorous Charlotte Graham.   Murder on the Cliff is the 3rd book in the Charlotte Graham Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

Oscar-winning actress Charlotte Graham must turn amateur sleuth to save an island in this atmospheric cozy mystery set in remote Bar Harbor, Maine After more than forty years in Hollywood and on Broadway, something strange has happened to Charlotte Graham. The run of her latest play has ended, and the legendary actress is forcing herself to do something unprecedented: She’s taking a vacation. On a desolate island off the coast of Maine, she settles in for a few weeks of sailing with a pair of old friends, but it doesn’t take long for Charlotte to become bored. She needn’t worry though. Another acquaintance is coming to visit—an old friend called murder.   Among the strange characters who populate the island, Charlotte meets an aging witch who claims to be able to read the future, a fanatical book collector, and an old fisherman, all at war over property, love, and money. But when homicide shakes this quiet vacation community to its foundation, Charlotte is caught between the superstitions of the locals and the greed of a man who would remake the island in his image—no matter the cost.   In Hollywood, Charlotte Graham was legendary for her effortless glamour, and she brings the same elegant grace to her work as an amateur sleuth. Stefanie Matteson’s series is perfect for anyone who loves movies, theater, or the perfect cozy mystery.   Murder at Teatime is the 2nd book in the Charlotte Graham Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

Among the senior citizens of Palm Beach, legendary Oscar-winning actress Charlotte Graham finds love, murder, and a delightful cozy mystery After fifty years on stage and screen, Hollywood icon Charlotte Graham has gone south for the winter. In the glamorous confines of Palm Beach, Charlotte sips rum cocktails, reunites with friends, and rekindles the flame with a former lover. Eddie Norwood was a legendary conductor of the big-band era, and the man who stole Charlotte’s heart aboard the SS Normandie, a fabulously opulent ocean liner that was sabotaged in 1942. Charlotte and Eddie reconnect at a party to honor the memory of the Normandie, and the old sparks are just beginning to fly when their reunion is interrupted by murder.   A jewelry designer has been found dead on the beach, and only Charlotte has the poise, wit, and old Hollywood charm necessary to find the killer—and perhaps a little love along the way.   Fans of Conrad Allen’s nautical mysteries will be enchanted by Stefanie Matteson’s ability to recreate the glory days of the old ocean liners. Whether sipping champagne or investigating a murder, Charlotte Graham proves that true glamour stands the test of time.   Murder Under the Palms is the 8th book in the Charlotte Graham Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

When a screenwriter is murdered, legendary-actress-turned-amateur-sleuth Charlotte Graham is forced to investigate the dark days of Hollywood’s Red Scare   The ridge is called the Knife Edge, and it’s as dangerous as the sharpest blade. Iris Richards hikes this trail every June, a death-defying trek to celebrate her sobriety and remind herself that, even at seventy-two, she’s not slowing down. Today, she’s uneasy, haunted by an encounter with a man she caught lurking at her campsite last night, but her footing is sure. Her hike is nearly finished when something stings her neck, and Iris tumbles into the clouds.   Decades earlier, Iris was a Hollywood screenwriter and confidante of the legendary starlet Charlotte Graham. Blacklisted during the McCarthy witch-hunt, Iris disappeared into obscurity—until she was sent toppling off the Knife Edge. Now, to avenge her old friend, Charlotte must confront the sinister secrets behind the Hollywood blacklist.   Fans of Stuart M. Kaminsky’s Hollywood mysteries will be entranced by Charlotte’s investigation into the dark side of cinema’s golden age. She’s hardly an ingénue, but Charlotte Graham sparkles with all the glamour of the silver screen.   Murder on High is the 6th book in the Charlotte Graham Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

World-renowned actress Charlotte Graham’s trip to a luxury spa is cut short when she’s forced to track a killer in this charming cozy mystery Charlotte Graham is a legend of the silver screen, a bona fide star straight out of the golden age of Hollywood. She has Oscars on her shelf, money in the bank . . .and a knack for solving murders. It’s been a few years since someone put a real bullet in a prop revolver, tricking Charlotte into killing her Broadway costar, but because she found the culprit herself, her friends drop her a line any time they need a sleuth. And Charlotte doesn’t mind; compared to the stress of life as a Hollywood legend, catching criminals is a breeze.   On a cleanse at a friend’s health spa, Charlotte is put on a draconian regimen of health food and clean living. So when a fellow visitor overdoses on barbiturates and drowns, Charlotte suspects foul play. Healthy living is all well and good, but nothing gets a girl’s blood moving like a nice, old-fashioned murder.   For fans of Hollywood, Broadway, or old-fashioned glamour, Charlotte Graham is as refreshing as an ice-cold gin martini. This book is a delightful reminder that even the most cunning killer can’t keep a good actress down.   Murder at the Spa is the 1st book in the Charlotte Graham Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

The search for a plastic surgeon draws Hollywood legend and amateur sleuth Charlotte Graham to upstate New York, where she discovers a utopian community’s darkest secrets Zion Hill is paradise in the Hudson River Valley. A religious utopia founded a century ago, it remains a peaceful oasis where residents worship, marry, live, and die in the name of their church. But when walking along the river, exploring the township’s quaint old cemetery, a local finds something that will shatter Zion Hill’s pious calm. On one of the headstones sits a human skull, staring with empty sockets at the rolling, muddy river. Murder has come to paradise.   Hollywood legend Charlotte Graham is in Zion Hill on a reluctant search for a nip and tuck when the skull is discovered. The victim was an aspiring actress and another patient of Charlotte’s cosmetic surgeon, and she was not the only one to die. In this religious paradise, vanity may be the deadliest sin of all.   Booklist has called Charlotte Graham “Miss Marple in furs and jewels.” Fans of Agatha Christie’s legendary female sleuth will find that Charlotte is just as clever, and will agree that Murder Among the Angels may be her most elegant adventure yet.   Murder Among the Angels is the 7th book in the Charlotte Graham Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

Hollywood legend Charlotte Graham visits China to sample Buddhist sculpture, ancient art, and a thoroughly intellectual murder in this contemporary cozy mystery   After four decades as a Hollywood and Broadway icon, Charlotte Graham is itching for a new adventure. So when a fortune-telling friend predicts that Charlotte is about to go on an exotic voyage—one which will challenge her as no trip ever has—and Charlotte’s stepdaughter invites her on an expedition to a remote oasis in northwest China, the legendary leading lady leaps at the chance to explore the unknown. But on reaching Dunhuang, Charlotte will be confronted with something she knows far too well: cold-blooded murder.   Forbidding and mysterious, Dunhuang is a hotbed of academic research, where archaeologists, paleontologists, and scholars of all stripes rub elbows and butt heads. When a scientist is found dead just after making a historic find, Charlotte doesn’t need the I Ching to know it’s up to her to find the killer.   Fans of Jessica Fletcher and Murder She Wrote will recognize Charlotte Graham as one of that special breed of amateur sleuth: a woman who wouldn’t dream of retirement and will never let a killer go free. Glamorous, elegant, and always entertaining, the Charlotte Graham series is truly one of a kind.   Murder on the Silk Road is the 4th book in the Charlotte Graham Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Hollywood collides with New Jersey when legendary actress Charlotte Graham investigates an art-world murder in this charming cozy mystery It’s been fifty years since Charlotte Graham began her reign as the queen of Hollywood, and the legendary actress shows no signs of slowing down. To keep herself young, she crisscrosses the country with her friend Tom Plummer, an author devoted to the quest to find the perfect diner. From Maine to Pennsylvania, Charlotte and Tom have sampled omelets, pies, and enough hot coffee to fill the Great Lakes. But when they venture to a famous roadside eatery in Paterson, New Jersey, their search will turn deadly.   The Fall View Diner is perched atop a stunning waterfall, a perfect backdrop for a short-order lunch. But the meal is spoiled when a hot young artist dives headlong off the cliffs, forcing Charlotte to slip back into her most famous role: crime-solving sleuth.   On the silver screen, Charlotte Graham brings grace to every part she’s ever taken; on the page, Stefanie Matteson’s mysteries are every bit as elegant. Readers seeking murder with a touch of class will adore the Charlotte Graham series.   Murder at the Falls is the 5th book in the Charlotte Graham Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.