Murder-by-Month Mystery Series by Jess Lourey

Finalist for The Lefty Award for best humorous mystery!Chosen as a Killer Book by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association!What's so wrong with admiring from a distance? After all, Mira's quirky attraction to Chief Wenonga, a well-muscled fiberglass statue, might be a safer love pursuit than online dating. But when the 23-foot Chief goes missing and a human scalp is discovered at his cement base, Mira's not the only Battle Lake citizen to be crushed... moreFinalist for The Lefty Award for best humorous mystery!Chosen as a Killer Book by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association!What's so wrong with admiring from a distance? After all, Mira's quirky attraction to Chief Wenonga, a well-muscled fiberglass statue, might be a safer love pursuit than online dating. But when the 23-foot Chief goes missing and a human scalp is discovered at his cement base, Mira's not the only Battle Lake citizen to be crushed.Things get impossibly worse when her second-biggest-hunk, organic gardening god Johnny Leeson, disappears and the police think she's involved. With her luck with men running out and the cops closing in, Mira has no choice but to roll up her sleeves and start investigating.But is she trailing a statue-thief, a kidnapper, or a cold-blooded killer?Knee High by the Fourth of July is a laugh-out-loud romantic comic caper mystery, perfect for readers who enjoy the humorous mysteries of Liliana Hart, Chelsea Field, Gina LaManna, Janet Evanovich, Denise Grover Swank, Amy Vansant, Jana DeLeon, and Stephanie Bond. If you love to belly-laugh while reading a page-turning mystery, this series is for you!Knee High by the Fourth of July is the third in an ongoing series featuring Mira James, an urban woman with rural Minnesota roots. The books can be read in any order; each novel stands alone. less

Furious after being stood up by local hottie Johnny Leeson, Mira decides to abandon Battle Lake, Minnesota, where the women are churchgoers, the men like to hunt, and the body count is above average. But when a cheerleader bites the dust, Mira is called back to the town that has done her wrong.She begins investigating the New Millennium Bible Camp, a disturbing place with a Stepford Wives-meets-Hee-Haw vibe... moreFurious after being stood up by local hottie Johnny Leeson, Mira decides to abandon Battle Lake, Minnesota, where the women are churchgoers, the men like to hunt, and the body count is above average. But when a cheerleader bites the dust, Mira is called back to the town that has done her wrong.She begins investigating the New Millennium Bible Camp, a disturbing place with a Stepford Wives-meets-Hee-Haw vibe. She wants desperately to ditch Battle Lake, but before she does, Mira is hell-bent on confronting her own demons to catch a killer.August Moon is a laugh-out-loud romantic comic caper, perfect for readers who love to escape into the humorous mysteries of Gina LaManna, Liliana Hart, Chelsea Field, Janet Evanovich, Jana DeLeon, Denise Grover Swank, and Stephanie Bond. If you love to laugh while reading a page-turning mystery, this series is for you!August Moon is the fourth in an ongoing series featuring Mira James, an urban woman with rural Minnesota roots. The books can be read in any order; each novel stands alone. less

The Minnesota State Fair is the beloved home of 4H exhibits, Midway rides, and everything on a stick. The festival fun is riding high until the recently crowned Milkfed Mary, Queen of the Dairy, a Battle Lake native, is brutally murdered while her regal likeness is carved in butter... moreThe Minnesota State Fair is the beloved home of 4H exhibits, Midway rides, and everything on a stick. The festival fun is riding high until the recently crowned Milkfed Mary, Queen of the Dairy, a Battle Lake native, is brutally murdered while her regal likeness is carved in butter.Can Mira James, covering the fair for the Battle Lake Recall, manage make-out time with guitar-slinging Johnny Leeson while winning a blue ribbon for caging a killer?You bet your last deep-fried Nut Goodie!September Mourn is the fifth in an ongoing series featuring Mira James, an urban woman with rural Minnesota roots. The books do not need to be read in order; each novel stands alone. less

November in Battle Lake, Minnesota, is cold enough to freeze the balls off a pool table. lt's also deer hunting season. When Tom Kicker is killed in a hunting accident, Mira James is hired to investigate--a job that brings her closer to a P.I. license. Braving subzero temps and shrieking blizzards, Mira uncovers a decades-old scandal that has never quite died, unlike the cold stiffs who are piling up in the town morgue... moreNovember in Battle Lake, Minnesota, is cold enough to freeze the balls off a pool table. lt's also deer hunting season. When Tom Kicker is killed in a hunting accident, Mira James is hired to investigate--a job that brings her closer to a P.I. license. Braving subzero temps and shrieking blizzards, Mira uncovers a decades-old scandal that has never quite died, unlike the cold stiffs who are piling up in the town morgue. As she pieces together the clues, Mira discovers that Battle Lake's good-old boys have been up to some bad business. But with threats and enemies around every icy corner, she may not live long enough to expose the truth. Praise: "It's not easy to make people laugh while they're on the edge of their seats, but Lourey pulls it off, while her vivid descriptions of a brutal Minnesota winter will make readers shiver in the seventh book in her very clever Murder-of-the-Month series."--Booklist, (starred review) "Lourey has a knack for wholesome sexual innuendo, and she gets plenty of mileage out of Minnesota. This light novel keeps the reader engaged, like one of those sweet chewy Nut Goodies that Mira is addicted to."--Hallie Ephron, The Boston Globe "Lourey's seventh cozy featuring PI wannabe Mira James successfully combines humor, an intriguing mystery, and quirky smalltown characters."--Publishers Weekly less

The Ice Man SuccumbethPrivate-eye-in-training Mira James loves Minnesota's crisp January days, as long as she can spend them in the arms of hunky Johnny Leeson. But when Mrs. Berns' erratic Zamboni driving uncovers an icebound dead man, Mira's cold-weather tranquility threatens to melt away.With a frozen corpse in the lake and a freak January thaw descending on town, neither Johnny nor generous portions of high-octane comfort food are enough to ease Mira's frazzled nerves... moreThe Ice Man SuccumbethPrivate-eye-in-training Mira James loves Minnesota's crisp January days, as long as she can spend them in the arms of hunky Johnny Leeson. But when Mrs. Berns' erratic Zamboni driving uncovers an icebound dead man, Mira's cold-weather tranquility threatens to melt away.With a frozen corpse in the lake and a freak January thaw descending on town, neither Johnny nor generous portions of high-octane comfort food are enough to ease Mira's frazzled nerves. If Mira can't figure out who's behind the murder, the next time she feels sub-zero temperatures, it may be because she's sporting a toe tag in the town morgue. less

All aboard the Valentine's Train... Mira James's budding relationship with boyfriend Johnny is definitely warming up her winter. But when Johnny is offered an internship he can't pass up in Portland, Oregon, Mira lets Mrs. Berns talk her into a visit. On the plus side, Mira will be able to take the trip as a tax write-off by attending the International Private Investigator Conference that happens to be going on at the same time. The only drawback for airplane-averse Mira is that Mrs... moreAll aboard the Valentine's Train... Mira James's budding relationship with boyfriend Johnny is definitely warming up her winter. But when Johnny is offered an internship he can't pass up in Portland, Oregon, Mira lets Mrs. Berns talk her into a visit. On the plus side, Mira will be able to take the trip as a tax write-off by attending the International Private Investigator Conference that happens to be going on at the same time. The only drawback for airplane-averse Mira is that Mrs. Berns has booked them on the Valentine Train--a route designed to help singles meet and mingle. Relaxing into the experience with a few glasses of champagne and Mrs. Berns's encouragement, Mira begins to enjoy herself...until a fellow passenger is murdered. Praise: "The best outing yet for Mira."--KIRKUS REVIEWS less