I am Susie Black, an award-winning cozy mystery author. As a long-time desert dweller and professional people watcher, I’ve always been fascinated by the intrinsic relationship between the often unpredictable, severe desert weather and the distinctive, sometimes quirky people who choose to live in it. With the introduction of The Sunny Knight Mystery Series, I have created an entire series that is devoted to exploring that unique connection. The Forecast is…Murder! is the series debut title.
Caroline Popov is promoted to General Manager of the Night Hawk Casino in the California high desert.
I cheered as Caroline didn’t let anyone push her around. If, like me, you’re curious about the real story behind the gaming industry, but a trip to a casino isn’t in your future, this story is right up your alley.
I was blown away by gaming industry pro-Bertoia’s physical description of the casino, the emotional atmosphere that permeates the place, and the characters who play and work there that were so spot on. I checked my wallet to make sure I didn’t lose a bucket of bucks at the Blackjack table.
Caroline Popov, alone, heartbroken, and deeply in debt ends up in glamorous Palm Springs, California where Native casinos have just opened, offering employment to thousands. She lands a job at the Palm Oasis Casino where she is mentored by the charismatic tribal chairman, John Tovar.
Embraced by casino culture, Caroline works her way up to casino manager of the Night Hawk, in the High Desert town of Joshua Tree. There, she is responsible for managing multicultural team members, satisfying the demands of often unique guests, and growing revenue while rooting out corruption.
In the process of rediscovering her inner strength,…
As a long-time resident of Palm Springs, California, I’ve rubbed elbows with my share of entertainers; some beloved, others so obnoxiously full of themselves that I wondered how they managed not to get knocked off.
In A Murder in Palm Springs, antique appraiser Marty Morgan and her pal Carl are tasked to evaluate American Idol Jimmy Joseph's memorabilia collection. When Jimmy ends up dead, it's obvious not everyone was a fan. There’s no shortage of suspects, and Patron, Marty’s sister’s white boxer with paranormal abilities, can identify the culprit, but nobody’s asking his opinion.
Give me a whodunit with a whisper of woo-woo, and I’m a happy camper. Harman’s physical descriptions of Palm Springs are so spot on, you’ll be slathering on the suntan lotion and heading for the pool.
An aging American idol.A murder. A dog with paranormal abilities. Who knew walking to the mailbox could be so deadly?Join Marty and her dog, Patron, as they eliminate suspects in the murder of a beloved rock star in Palm Springs, California. This is book number eight in the bestselling High Desert Cozy Mystery Series by two-time USA Today Bestselling Author Dianne Harman. Enjoy!
Roxy Gleason, an innkeeper by trade and a bibliomancer by birth, has lived in the same small town on the Susquehanna River in Central Pennsylvania for her entire life. Tradition is strong here. Roxy understands the rules and is willing to play by them most of the time.
Two sisters check into a hotel in their Arizona hometown to celebrate one another’s birthdays.
Their celebratory getaway is abruptly interrupted when one of the sisters discovers the corpse of a nasty hotel guest. Both sisters are hopeless snoops who can’t mind their own beeswax. So, naturally, they stick their noses everywhere they don’t belong to sniff out the killer, much to the consternation of the homicide detective in charge of the case.
Give me a madcap cast that takes readers on a raucous, wild rollercoaster ride at a breakneck pace in a fun romp with a plot that has more twists and turns than a pretzel, plenty of motives and red herrings like this one any day of the week.
It’s a birthday weekend with the gift of murder.Recently widowed, Emma Banefield looks forward to a getaway birthday weekend with her free-wheeling sister, Nicole Earp, sipping chocolate martinis at the peaceful, historic, small town Dulce Inn. When a rude stranger, a nasty food critic, and a madhouse of temperamental artists greet them, all hope for a tranquil weekend evaporates faster than dew on a hot desert morning.Overlooking the riotous atmosphere is doubly hard after Em discovers the body of a hotel guest, and a second murder affects Nic personally. Now, entrenched in a caper that pits them against a surly…
Kate Tessler’s father and his retirement community coffee group come to her with a problem: their friend Larry's much younger wife claims her husband has dementia.
The group is convinced that Larry’s wife and her two adult, deadbeat kids are out to steal Larry’s money. But before they can authenticate the truth, their efforts are complicated when Larry is accused of committing a murder. Now they must prove Larry is both mentally competent and not a killer.
I love this saucy whodunit that came with the reminder that the term senior citizen doesn’t mean soft in the head. I cheered this fast-paced, witty cozy starring a gang of savvy seniors with humor, heart, and tenacity. Something Deadly on Desert Drive is perfect for fans of laugh-out-loud amateur detective stories who need no reminder that age is only a number.
Starting over at fifty might be hard, but it shouldn’t be deadly…
Still recovering from an injury that might have permanently derailed her career as an international war correspondent, Kate Tessler is living in her childhood bedroom and pondering her second act when another case lands in her lap. Kate’s father and his coffee group are worried. Their friend Larry married a younger woman who now insists he has dementia and won’t let any of his friends visit. They’re convinced that Larry’s wife and her two adult, dead-beat kids are out to steal his money. Can Kate help?
Roxy Gleason, an innkeeper by trade and a bibliomancer by birth, has lived in the same small town on the Susquehanna River in Central Pennsylvania for her entire life. Tradition is strong here. Roxy understands the rules and is willing to play by them most of the time.
As someone whose early career was spent in a family business, Arson and Americanos took me on a delightful trip down memory lane.
It was just like old home week as I cheered the familiar banter and playful bickering between third-generation spunky barista Hazel, her mom, and grandma.
Give me a whodunit like this one, starring an endearing cast and a loyal protagonist with heart and courage who is willing to step up and put everything on the line when it counts the most, and I’ll show you an unputdownable story you’ll be sad to see end.
When her family’s coffee shop goes down in flames, can this spunky barista prove it was arson?Hazel Hewitt loves being in the coffee business with her mom and grandma. But when their cafe burns to the ground, her mom’s beloved boyfriend appears to be at fault. Joe will lose everything if he’s blamed for this, and since he’s the closest thing Hazel has to a father, she knows she needs to step in.Hazel’s brother and the rest of their town’s police force think this is a simple case of negligence on Joe’s part. So when she’s not making plans with…
The United Television Network exiles disgraced investigative reporter Sunny Knight to a remote California desert affiliate. Sunny is informed by the station owner that, since nothing happens in the middle of nowhere, the station does not need an investigative reporter, and she is now the weather reporter.
After they have a vicious altercation, the station owner’s bridge partner is discovered dead, and Sunny’s boss is arrested for the murder. Despite her differences with her boss, Sunny is convinced that the station owner didn’t do it. The wise-cracking, irreverent amateur sleuth jumps into action to nail the real killer. But with a clown car full of viable suspects to investigate, will Sunny bring the right one to justice or become their next victim?
