Showing results by author "Lisa B. Thomas" in All Categories

Fed up after 30 years of teaching, Deena has no idea she’s just traded in lesson plans for lethal weapons and report cards for ballistics reports. It’s been fifty years since her uncle disappeared without a trace, but when science and luck collide, a rookie sheriff’s deputy breathes new life into this cold case. And when Deena’s elderly grandmother asks for her help, how can she say no? After all, she’s just quit her teaching job and is looking for a new challenge.

Paige Murphy loves her new life in Italy, where she can sip wine, eat pasta, and while the days away working on her romance novel. But all that changes when her beloved aunt falls ill, and she must fly back home to Texas - a place she thought she’d left behind. In a blink, she finds herself with a failing beachside bookstore, jealous cousins out to get her, and pesky suitors who won’t leave her alone. As if that wasn’t enough, buried treasure and hidden secrets could prove to be deadly!

A Christmas party for the upper crust of the small Texas town of Maycroft turns tragic when the hostess ends up dead. Everyone assumes her death is an accident - everyone except her daughter, Estelle. She turns to Deena to help solve the mystery. A jealous friend and a mysterious heir are just two of the likely suspects. As a school teacher turned newspaper reporter, Deena must get crafty to dig out the truth before anyone else gets hurt, including her own brother.

Deena Sharpe knows nothing about investigating a cold-blooded murder, but when her sweet aunt asks her to find out who killed her son, that’s exactly what Deena agrees to do. Only hitch, he died 50 years earlier, although his body was just discovered in a sheriff’s forgotten evidence closet. To make matters worse, a big-city conspiracy nut is determined to cash in on her family’s misfortune and implicate Deena’s dead cousin in the crime of the century.

Paige Murphy loves her new life in Italy, where she can sip wine, eat pasta, and while the days away working on her romance novel. But all that changes when her beloved aunt falls ill, and she must fly back home to Texas — a place she thought she’d left behind. In a blink, she finds herself with a failing beachside bookstore, jealous cousins out to get her, and pesky suitors who won’t leave her alone. As if that wasn’t enough, buried treasure and hidden secrets could prove to be deadly!

When an auction of family treasures leads to murder, amateur sleuth Deena Sharpe sets out to catch the culprit. A missing coin collection could be the key to the puzzle. While Deena babysits the thrift shop for her friend who is out on maternity leave, strange things start happening. Her sister-in-law Estelle thinks they are messages from beyond the grave that point to the killer. Can they separate truth from fiction before someone else gets hurt?

Photographer Wendy Fairmont is excited to book a gig at a child's birthday party. But when Mr. Squishy is found frozen to death in her parents' freezer, all signs point to the lodge's housekeeper. It's up to Wendy to sort through the suspects and clear her friend's name. Meanwhile, she has her own family drama to deal with. She and her estranged brother have old business to sort out. And what about Jake? Can she make room for a new romance, or will she shut him out? The sheriff is busy with a movie crew in town, but not too busy to harass Wendy.

After losing her fiance, friends, and job, Wendy Fairmont moves back to her hometown to lick her wounds and start over. But when she discovers the man next door may have been murdered, she's sucked into an investigation that isn't making her too popular with the new neighbors.

When an auction of family treasures leads to murder, amateur sleuth Deena Sharpe sets out to catch the culprit. A missing coin collection could be the key to the puzzle. While Deena babysits the thrift shop for her friend who is out on maternity leave, strange things start happening. Her sister-in-law Estelle thinks they are messages from beyond the grave that point to the killer. Can they separate truth from fiction before someone else gets hurt?

She wanted to kill the competition. Just not like this. When Wendy Fairmont stumbles across the body of the only other professional photographer in town, it doesn't make for a pretty picture. And when she sees the photos he's been taking, the suspects wish they'd never stepped in front of the camera. Not only that, but her boyfriend's mother and ex-girlfriend are conspiring to get Wendy out of the picture. It seems everything in her life hinges on one thing - a pie!

An accident during a photo shoot at Cascada Falls leaves the wedding party one person short. Did photographer Wendy Fairmont catch the culprit in action? The suspects are buzzing with clues, but who do they point to? Secrets abound when she teams up to solve the mystery alongside the town's sheriff. Amidst all the chaos, it's time for the Annual Fur Ball, and Wendy's nemesis is in charge. Will the two women put aside their feud for the greater good? And what about Wendy’s boyfriend? He’s got big news, and it may not be good.

According to Deena Sharpe's editor, someone in Maycroft is trying to steal a body from the funeral home, and it's her story to investigate. But the body isn't who they think it is, leaving the authorities with some explaining to do. The plot twists will have reader's dizzy as Deena's neighbor spins the wheel and watches his fortune run out. Not only is Deena wrestling with a strange case, Gary has started a new business and wants more of his wife's attention. Can she juggle her work and his needs as well?

As Deena and Gary Sharpe celebrate their anniversary, things are not all wine and roses. Gary is restless at his job while Deena just wishes she still had one. To make matters worse, one of Gary’s clients, a local vineyard owner, commits suicide. However, the victim’s sister thinks he was murdered, and her suspicions lead Deena and Gary to team up to unearth the truth. Can Deena impress the local newspaper editor enough to get her old job back? Will Gary quit his firm and risk everything he’s worked for on a new business venture? The stakes are high in Sharpe Note.

Former-teacher-turned-reporter Deena Sharpe craves more adventure than covering dull city council meetings in the small town of Maycroft, Texas. But when she follows a hunch to investigate a story lead, she finds a dead woman strangled by a knitted scarf and becomes suspect number one.

Someone has an axe to grind. Literally! Paige Murphy has settled into her new life as a writer and bookshop owner. Business booms when an infamous Hollywood director announces he’s hidden a treasure that could bring fame and fortune to whoever finds it...and his clues lead a bevy of actors and adventurers to Comfort Cove! But when the body of one of those actors is found on the beach, Paige’s detective brother sets his sights on Paige’s hunky new assistant as the killer.

Retired from teaching, rookie investigator Deena Sharpe wants justice for the wrongly accused. She also wants to impress her new boss. But when she trips over a dead body in the church’s haunted house, the police try to pin it on one of their clients. Can Deena defend a person she thinks may be guilty?

When a famous author agrees to teach a writing course at the library, amateur sleuth Deena Sharpe eagerly signs up. But on the second day of class, the author's wife dies in a car crash, and the police suspect foul play. Is it a hoax to teach his students about plotting a murder mystery? Not likely. Deena dives into the investigation when a friend is accused of the crime. With her brother's help, she must clear their friend's name and stay out of trouble with the town's newest detective. As if that weren't enough, it's her husband's birthday and her pushy mother-in-law is coming to town. What's a Southern gal to do?

Not all gambles pay off in aces! Now that Paige Murphy has the beachfront book shop she inherited from her aunt back on its feet, she sets her sights on finding a place of her own to live. And the sooner the better after the plumber finds a dead body buried in the book store’s basement. Was sweet Aunt Nora a killer? And just who was the person under the pipes? Paige must roll the dice and bet on herself to uncover the mystery behind this cold case.

ONE PICTURE. TWO STORIES. MANY SUSPECTS. Deena Sharpe has her hands full with her high school journalism classes. But when a woman dies at a school football game, suddenly everyone is interested in her student’s photographs. Did he catch the crime on film or will this death be another unsolved mystery? As Deena helps the police investigate this suspicious event, she uncovers some secrets of romance and lies. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but there’s only one word she cares about: Guilty! Sharpe Image is the prequel novella to the Maycroft Mysteries by USA Today Bestselling ...

THERE'S A CORPSE IN THE CABIN. Retired teacher Deena Sharpe and her husband plan the perfect getaway to a Lake Tahoe resort which includes a sunset dinner cruise on a vintage yacht. But when they find a dead passenger in the captain’s cabin, the finger pointing between the on-board wedding party, a few quirky couples, and a Gilligan’s Island trio has everyone ready to jump ship! Sharpe Pain, book 9 in the Maycroft Mysteries, is a fun novella by USA Today Bestselling author Lisa B. Thomas.