Little Tombstone Cozy Mysteries Series

It's Christmas time at Little Tombstone, a rundown roadside tourist attraction in the tiny town of Amatista, New Mexico, and the annual visit from Santa Claus to the children of the village doesn't quite go as planned.   Edgar Martinez, who's played Santa every Christmas for the past twenty years, fails to make an appearance. He doesn't even call.   The show must go on, so a substitute Santa takes Edgar's place. But when Emma decides to investigate why Edgar, who is normally a rock of reliability, didn't show up for the twenty-first year running to put on his size XXXL crimson crushed velvet Santa suit, she discovers that Edgar seems to have disappeared altogether.

Emma Iverson is just settling into her new life at Little Tombstone when one cowboy from a neighboring ranch is murdered and another goes missing. When Earp, Emma's ancient and irritable pug, drags in a single bloody work glove belonging to the missing man, she knows It's up to her to find the missing ranch hand before the murderer does. Emma's investigation is complicated by a spate of mail thefts, attempts to turn Earp into a social media sensation, the acquisition of a potbellied piglet, and a local eccentric's insistence that his late mother is sending him cryptic messages through the crossword puzzles in the local paper.

Hank Edwards, the proprietor of Little Tombstone's Museum of the Unexplained, is finally tying the knot with his longtime ladylove, Phyllis. But when Emma tries to get Hank down the aisle on time, she discovers that someone--Hank won't say who--has attacked both Hank and his precious collection of taxidermied Chupacabras.   Who has it out for Hank? And why? It's up to Emma to get to the bottom of this troubling turn of events before the long-suffering bride's big day is ruined by a mysterious stranger threatening to throw a wrench in the already-chaotic nuptials.   Join Emma, Earp-the-pug, Hercules-the-potbellied pig, and precocious six-year-old Maxwell as they cooperate with the whole Little Tombstone family in making sure that Hank and Phyllis get the wedding day of their dreams.   This novelette is a prequel to the next novel in the series, Tamales at High Noon, but features a complete stand-alone short mystery.   About the Little Tombstone Cozy Mysteries: These quirky, light-hearted cozies are set in rural New Mexico and feature a collection of endearing residents from the village of Amatista and its main attraction, a dilapidated roadside tourist stop called Little Tombstone. Little Tombstone is a truncated version of its namesake, Tombstone, Arizona, and is home to a variety of sweet but eccentric characters. Cast of Recurring Characters: Emma Iverson: Our sleuth and heir to Little Tombstone. Earp: Emma's ancient and irritable pug, inherited from her Great Aunt Geraldine. Hercules: Earp's porcine companion. Juanita Gonzales: Proprietress of the Bird Cage Cafe. Georgia: Emma's cousin and coheir. Maxwell: Georgia's precocious six-year-old son Marcus Ledbetter: Veteran and undercover stock-picking genius. Hank Edwards: Curator of the Museum of the Unexplained and conspiracy theory enthusiast. Phyliss: Hank's longtime ladylove. Morticia: Resident psychic. Katie: Mail carrier and mother to Chamomile. Chamomile: Waitress at the Bird Cage. Jason Wendell: Amatista's only lawyer and most eligible bachelor. Oliver: Resident handyman and Australian transplant. Nancy Flynn: Neighboring rancher and mayor of Amatista. Freddy Fernandez: Amatista's devout barber and lay preacher.

Following a long-awaited wedding at Little Tombstone, both the bride and a guest fall ill after eating leftover tamales from the reception at the Bird Cage Cafe.   While Emma is still embroiled in trying to figure out why anyone in their right mind would try to poison the bride, more mayhem strikes the village of Amatista, and it's a race against time to catch a would-be killer before he (or she) succeeds in his (or her) evil schemes.

When Earp develops a case of mange and requires treatment, the last thing Emma expects to find is Earp's new vet lying facedown on the floor of the clinic exam room in a pool of blood. With only a bloodied rodeo trophy and a hateful message scrawled in lipstick next to the poor woman's head to go on, it's up to Emma to find out who hit Dr. Vance in the back of the head and why.

When Emma Iverson's great aunt Geraldine leaves her a rundown roadside attraction in rural New Mexico, the inheritance comes with strings attached. If Emma wants to take possession of Little Tombstone's motel, cafe, curio shop and Museum of the Unexplained, then she has to agree to "Love, Honor and Cherish" Earp, her late aunt's ancient and irritable pug. It says so, right there in the will. What Aunt Geraldine's will conveniently omits to mention are the bodies buried underneath the trailer court.