It's So hard to Kill Good Help These Days. . . With three kids to raise on her own, Jane Jeffry sometimes needs a hand with the housework. But many of her complaining neighbors believe that the "Happy Helper" cleaning lady they all share wouldn't know a dust-ball if she...  more

It's So hard to Kill Good Help These Days. . . With three kids to raise on her own, Jane Jeffry sometimes needs a hand with the housework. But many of her complaining neighbors believe that the "Happy Helper" cleaning lady they all share wouldn't know a dust-ball if she was choking on it. That hardly seems reason enough, however, to do the disreputable domestic in. So when the charwoman in question is discovered strangled to death with a vacuum cleaner cord, Jane decides to dig up the real dirt--if the tenacious single mom can find any time to spare between her PTA meetings and car-pooling duties. But despite her busy schedule, Jane is determined to tidy up the whole murderous mess--even if it means provoking a killer who may live as close as next door.

Life is hectic enough for suburban single mom Jane Jeffrey this Christmas season--what with her having to survive cutthroat church bazaar politics and finish knitting the "Afghan from Hell" at the same time. The last thing the harried homemaker needs is an unwelcome visit from old acquaintance...  more

Life is hectic enough for suburban single mom Jane Jeffrey this Christmas season--what with her having to survive cutthroat church bazaar politics and finish knitting the "Afghan from Hell" at the same time. The last thing the harried homemaker needs is an unwelcome visit from old acquaintance Phyllis Wagner and her ill-mannered brat of a teenage son. And the Wagner picture becomes even more complicated when a dead body is woven into the design. Solving a murder, however, is a lot more interesting than knitting, so Jane's determined to sew the whole thing up. But with a plethora of suspects and the appearance of a second corpse, this deadly tapestry is getting quite complex indeed. And Jane has to be very careful not to get strangled herself by the twisted threads she's attempting to unravel.

A MEAL TO DIE FOR With the kids packed off on their summer road trips, it's an ideal time for Jane Jeffry to pursue other interests, so the harried suburban mom enrolls in a writing course at the community college. But when an obnoxious aged classmate keels over dead after sampling a tasty...  more

A MEAL TO DIE FOR With the kids packed off on their summer road trips, it's an ideal time for Jane Jeffry to pursue other interests, so the harried suburban mom enrolls in a writing course at the community college. But when an obnoxious aged classmate keels over dead after sampling a tasty treat from a pot luck student buffet, Jane realizes there's a culinary killer among the local would-be literati. The pen may be mightier than the sword, but poison beats them both. And before the demise of a very disagreeable old biddy can be written off, amateur sleuth Jane intends to find out who's responsible -- and cook the culprit's goose in his or her own creative juices.

Despite a full schedule, frazzled suburban single mom Jane Jeffry has agreed to lend a hand during a two-day gathering of her friend Shelley's former high school girl's club. So while the reunited ladies are dishing dirt, Jane is sweeping it up -- and she inadvertently becomes privy to all sorts...  more

Despite a full schedule, frazzled suburban single mom Jane Jeffry has agreed to lend a hand during a two-day gathering of her friend Shelley's former high school girl's club. So while the reunited ladies are dishing dirt, Jane is sweeping it up -- and she inadvertently becomes privy to all sorts of interesting postgraduate gossip and long-smoldering resentments. But then a corpse turns up among the one-time student body, the unfortunate victim of some rather nasty after-school activities. And unless Jane gets to the bottom of a sordid senior-year scandal, more alumnae are sure to die at the hands of a calculating classmate who's majoring in murder.

Popular detective Jane Jeffry's quiet domesticity is shattered when Hollywood comes to suburbia. The tension starts when a film crew becomes intent on using Jane's backyard as a primary location. When the set manager is stabbed to death, Jane must solve the crime fast -- before the...  more

Popular detective Jane Jeffry's quiet domesticity is shattered when Hollywood comes to suburbia. The tension starts when a film crew becomes intent on using Jane's backyard as a primary location. When the set manager is stabbed to death, Jane must solve the crime fast -- before the killer strikes again.

Jane Jeffry, suburban sleuth extraordinare, and her friend, Detective Mel VanDyne, have braved a blizzard to join her friend Shelley at a Colorado ski resort. In spite of having all their kids along, Jane and Shelley imagine a few mindless days of relaxation. But their hopes are dashed on their...  more

Jane Jeffry, suburban sleuth extraordinare, and her friend, Detective Mel VanDyne, have braved a blizzard to join her friend Shelley at a Colorado ski resort. In spite of having all their kids along, Jane and Shelley imagine a few mindless days of relaxation. But their hopes are dashed on their first attempt to ski when Jane careens into a snowman that hides a very real -- and very dead -- body. The slopes are littered with suspects -- a convention of genealogists led by a political fruitcake who thinks she's going to put her hand-picked Tsar on the Russian throne, a mysterious crimson-clad skier who's always on the horizon, and ex-stockbroker who's hiding from his investors, and an irate tribe of Native Americans. Jane has to take a census of the suspects and make some grave assumptions about who was vacationing with malicious intent.

Pompous, pig-headed attorney Robert Stonecipher is a major pain in the ham hocks. So no one is terribly upset when he's fatally mashed by a falling rack of hams at the new deli where suburban single mom Jane Jeffry's son works part-time. But when Stonecipher's most obnoxious employee meets...  more

Pompous, pig-headed attorney Robert Stonecipher is a major pain in the ham hocks. So no one is terribly upset when he's fatally mashed by a falling rack of hams at the new deli where suburban single mom Jane Jeffry's son works part-time. But when Stonecipher's most obnoxious employee meets an equally appropriate end, Jane knows the fat's really in the fire. And though her homicide detective honey Mel VanDyne disapproves, Jane is determined to dive headfirst into this deadly daze of swine and neuroses -- and hunt a hog-wild murderer despite her own killer agenda as homemaker/PTA/church/community busy person.

Wealthy old Auguste Caspar Snellen, the legendary "Pea King," is long gone, but his greatest legacy lives on: the Snellen Museum, an institution dedicated to the glorification of local lore and legumes. But at this year's annual Pea Festival, the museum sustains a terrible loss...  more

Wealthy old Auguste Caspar Snellen, the legendary "Pea King," is long gone, but his greatest legacy lives on: the Snellen Museum, an institution dedicated to the glorification of local lore and legumes. But at this year's annual Pea Festival, the museum sustains a terrible loss when its able, innovative director, Regina Price Palmer, is shot to death during a noisy reenactment of a Civil War battle. Suburban single mom Jane Jeffrey was a costumed participant in the deadly pageant. Now her part-time work at the museum has put Jane and best friend Shelley Nowack in the midst of a veritable podful of murder suspects. And it's up to Jane and Shelley to determine who fatally beaned poor Regina--before another victim is planted six feet under.

When Jane agreed to accompany her best friend Shelley into the wilds of Wisconsin to check out a summer camp for suburban kids, she wasn't warned just how wild the little adventure might be. A lack of electricity, ranting from a local loony, and the natural wonder of a cookout in the cold rain...  more

When Jane agreed to accompany her best friend Shelley into the wilds of Wisconsin to check out a summer camp for suburban kids, she wasn't warned just how wild the little adventure might be. A lack of electricity, ranting from a local loony, and the natural wonder of a cookout in the cold rain were bad enough. Nobody guessed that murder would be on the menu too. Alone at the remote campsite after their soggy supper, Jane and Shelley made a terrible discovery. Someone had used a heavy-duty frying pan to cook up a tasteless after-dinner murder, leaving the deadly culinary weapon on the ground next to the unfortunate victim. But by the time the crime was reported, the ingredients--both pan and body--had mysteriously vanished and the women's credibility was being seriously questioned. And when the "corpse" shows up, alive and well, without so much as a bump on the head, Jane knows she'd better investigate, before she's suspected of having a problem with her own head...and before someone gets away with a most bizarre recipe for murder.

It's beginning to look a lot like murder. 'Tis the season to jolly and suburban mom Jane Jeffry's in a mad scramble to finish her cookie baking and household chores before her teenage kids arrive home. Also expected are two moms-both the late husband's mother and the disapproving mater of...  more

It's beginning to look a lot like murder. 'Tis the season to jolly and suburban mom Jane Jeffry's in a mad scramble to finish her cookie baking and household chores before her teenage kids arrive home. Also expected are two moms-both the late husband's mother and the disapproving mater of Det. Mel VanDyne, Jane's significant other. The kitchen is a disaster zone, the dog has decorated the house with hair, and the earsplitting racket coming from the neighbors tacky, music-making Christmas display is driving Jane crazy. Now she has to get the green icing out of her hair and be ready to host her post-caroling dinner party. One thing Jane isn't ready for is a surprise visit from a muckraking TV "action reporter," disguised as Santa Claus. The nasty old St. Nick is out to wrap a happy holiday caroling into a package marked "scandal," but before he has a chance to color the event with yellow journalism, his red-suited body slides off the neighbor's roof to land, silenced forever, on the horns of a plastic reindeer. It looks like Santa's mishap is no accident and, with the help of her friend Shelley, Jane finds plenty of suspects. The phony Santa has an ex-wife and a female assistant who both hate him, and plenty of nice people ruined by tales of naughtiness. Now Jane has to find the Grinch who thought murder was a way to save Christmas before the holiday turns into the unhappiest day of the year.

Jane Jeffry thinks that a remote, rundown monastery-turned-hunt club is an odd place to hold a wedding. But the doubting suburban single mom is being paid to plan the fabulous event, not to say "I do." With overnight guests already arriving, Jane and best friend Shelley must rush to...  more

Jane Jeffry thinks that a remote, rundown monastery-turned-hunt club is an odd place to hold a wedding. But the doubting suburban single mom is being paid to plan the fabulous event, not to say "I do." With overnight guests already arriving, Jane and best friend Shelley must rush to transform the musty, moosehead-lined halls into a matrimonial wonderland, under the scrutiny of the mousy bride-to-be's rich, most demanding daddy. Then the lights go out, thanks to a violent, unexpected storm. As guests and "help" alike huddle in their flower-bedecked monks' cells, one almost-participant takes a suspicious slippery tumble to a very sudden death. But the marriage show must go on -- despite Jane's nagging near certainty that the victim was ceremoniously "helped" down the stairs. And Jane's going to have to come up with a murderer and a motive, even as the first strains of bridal march begin -- or else this fantasy wedding could turn into a real killer of an occasion.

Suburban mom Jane Jeffry and her equally green-thumbless best friend Shelley Nowack could kill plastic plants. But their scheme to improve themselves vegetatively dies on the vine when the celebrated botanist slated to teach a class at the local Community Center is mysteriously beaten into a...  more

Suburban mom Jane Jeffry and her equally green-thumbless best friend Shelley Nowack could kill plastic plants. But their scheme to improve themselves vegetatively dies on the vine when the celebrated botanist slated to teach a class at the local Community Center is mysteriously beaten into a coma -- and her replacement turns out to be Dr. Stewart Eastman, an arrogant, self-promoting boor. Did Dr. Eastman or a fellow classmate assault their original instructor? And who later plants a corpse in Eastman's compost heap? There's certainly an abundant crop of suspects. And it's up to Jane to weed out a killer.

"Homemaking" is about to take on a whole new meaning for Jane Jeffry, now that she's agreed to help the prosperously divorced Bitsy Burnside restore and redecorate a decrepit old neighborhood mansion. Bitsy's decision to employ an almost all-woman crew has prompted Jane's...  more

"Homemaking" is about to take on a whole new meaning for Jane Jeffry, now that she's agreed to help the prosperously divorced Bitsy Burnside restore and redecorate a decrepit old neighborhood mansion. Bitsy's decision to employ an almost all-woman crew has prompted Jane's quick-witted best bud Shelley Nowack to dub the project, "the House of Seven Mabels" -- but it's also engendered some nasty ill will. And when what begins as a series of anonymous, mean-spirited "pranks" ends up leaving one of the workwomen lying dead at the foot of a staircase, Jane and Shelley decide to try and nail the assassin. But the more Jane saws away at the truth, the more it appears that she may be painting herself into a corner, leaving herself no exit if a crafty killer decides to make Jane Jeffry the next demolition project.

One would never guess to look at suburbanite homemaker Jane Jeffry that she would be interested in murder, but she's practically an expert on the subject. Which is why, with best buddy Shelley Nowack in tow, Jane's booking down to a nearby mystery writers' convention to mingle with the agents,...  more

One would never guess to look at suburbanite homemaker Jane Jeffry that she would be interested in murder, but she's practically an expert on the subject. Which is why, with best buddy Shelley Nowack in tow, Jane's booking down to a nearby mystery writers' convention to mingle with the agents, publishing bigwigs, and famous authors ... and to maybe drum up interest in her own recently completed manuscript. But what would a mystery convention be without a mystery? So when a famous ego-squashing editor is undone by an anonymous poisoner, and a much hated book-bashing journalist is himself bashed quite nastily in the parking lot, Jane and Shelley jump right on the case, ready to snoop, eavesdrop, and gossip their way to a solution. But the would-be killer they seek is no open book. And trying to read him/her/them may turn out to be harder -- and deadlier -- than anyone initially imagined.

Suburban homemaker, Jane Jeffry, has a new interest, the theatre, but she only has the job of tasting the food catered for the actors.Her friend, Shelley is in the catering business, so Jane helps out. The local theatre group starts off with feuds, ego trips, and power struggles. A young actor...  more

Suburban homemaker, Jane Jeffry, has a new interest, the theatre, but she only has the job of tasting the food catered for the actors.Her friend, Shelley is in the catering business, so Jane helps out. The local theatre group starts off with feuds, ego trips, and power struggles. A young actor ends up dead, and Jane, Shelley and Mel, Jane's detective friend, try to solve the murder.

Jane Jeffry and longtime beau Detective Mel VanDyne finally decide to marry, but Mel's overbearing mother wants to take charge of not only the rehearsal dinner but the actual wedding. Since Jane half expected Mel's mother to steamroll the entire event, she agrees�but with rules of her...  more

Jane Jeffry and longtime beau Detective Mel VanDyne finally decide to marry, but Mel's overbearing mother wants to take charge of not only the rehearsal dinner but the actual wedding. Since Jane half expected Mel's mother to steamroll the entire event, she agrees�but with rules of her own. No bridesmaids, no groomsmen. And she can't tell Jane what to wear. But during what should have been a blissful interval between the engagement and the bouquet toss, several other occurrences take place. Mel convinces Jane and her best friend, Shelley Nowack, to take a women's safety class. They learn a lot, but the class is cut short when a dead body is discovered. So between Jane's wedding planning, her new writing project, and a battle between both mother-in-laws (which Jane encourages), a murderer must be found before this bride can walk happily down the aisle.