Showing results by author "Diane Kelly" in All Categories

Carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck are no strangers to murder. After all, they’ve encountered corpses on their properties before. But this is the first time they’d decided to take a chance on a property where two suspicious deaths have already occurred. Most buildings on the former boarding school property will be repurposed for an upscale retirement community, but the developer has no use for the headmaster’s house given its violent history. The headmaster and his wife were killed there decades earlier, their deaths remaining unsolved to this day.

It's bad enough that Tara has to go on trial against the mortgage-frauding "Tennis Racketeers" who cheated banks and homeowners out of millions in between doubles matches. Now she has to go undercover - in a strip club - to strip the sleazeball owner of his indeed illegal livelihood. At least she's working as a bookkeeper, not a pole dancer. And who needs tips when her undercover crush, Special Agent Nick, is the club's bodyguard?

A series of bogus reports of active shooters has rattled the Fort Worth PD. The SWAT team has been repeatedly deployed to what turn out to be nonevents. When no connection can be made between the "swatting" calls, Megan's mentor, Detective Bustamente, is at a loss. Are the phony calls being made by copycat criminals, or is there a link they haven't yet been able to identify? Megan and Brigit join the investigation. But will they be able to stop the calls before the department's reaction turns deadly?

International resort developer Nigel Goodwin has traveled all the way from London, England, to Misty Murphy's little corner of North Carolina, and bought out the Mountaintop Lodge for the week prior to Christmas. Their intention? To pitch an exclusive new resort concept to wealthy American investors.

Carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck are looking once again to rehab and resell a house, only this particular house is made of fiberglass, floats, and has been dubbed the Skinny Dipper. The old houseboat sure could use some work, but the unusual project has Whitney bubbling with excitement. The charming and handsome Grant Hardisty lives on the cabin cruiser in the adjacent slip, but the cousins soon learn he's left a half dozen angry ex-wives in his wake and made enemies of all sorts of unsavory folks.

When the ladies of the Dangerous Curves Motorcycle Club take over the Mountaintop Lodge for their annual autumn ride along the Blue Ridge Parkway, Misty Murphy couldn't be more thrilled. Every room is full and the adventurous women even invite Misty and her assistant Brynn to join them on a ride to admire the colorful fall foliage. The skies are clear, the air is crisp, and the leaves are gorgeous. But what starts as a perfect ride turns worrisome when the tail gunner—the last rider in their group—fails to show up at the Craggy Gardens overlook.

Transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) children need validation and support on their journey toward self-discovery. Unfortunately, due to stigma and misinformation, these kids can be especially vulnerable to bullying, discrimination, and even mental health issues such as anxiety or depression. The good news is that there are steps you can take to empower your child as they explore, understand, and affirm their gender identity. In this guide, a licensed social worker who specializes in gender-nonconforming youth offers real tools to help your child thrive in all aspects of life.

When a local bluegrass musician disappears and a jug of her shop’s corn liquor is implicated, moonshiner Hattie Hayes must stop further trouble from brewing in this delightful cozy mystery series. It’s August in Chattanooga, Tennessee and moonshiner Hattie Hayes has collaborated with a...

Wedding bells are ringing as Tara and her soon-to-be-husband Nick prepare for their big day. But along with all the RSVP cards are a series of death threats from an unknown source. The culprit must be someone from an earlier investigation-a white-collar criminal with a red-hot grudge-but Tara has run across too many lawbreakers to narrow down the search. And time, like her biological clock, is ticking.

When the IRS is tasked with assisting the border patrol in pursuing unscrupulous "coyotes" who've transported illegal immigrants across the border, Tara finds herself at odds. Not only must she investigate Brett Ellington, her old flame whose landscaping business employs such workers, but now Tara has to convince her new romantic partner in crime, Nick Pratt, that she doesn't still carry a torch for Brett. #stresseating #greaseistheword

Carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck have successfully flipped houses, but this is the first time they've attempted to renovate a house of worship. Still, the colorful stained glass in the country church has caught Whitney's eye, and she'd love to breathe new life into the abandoned building. What's more, the place has perfect acoustics. Could the worship hall be reborn as an entertainment venue with its parsonage repurposed as a pre-show bistro?

When Tara agreed to be her best friend's maid of honor, she knew it would be a ton of work. But planning a bachelorette party is a piece of (wedding) cake compared to her latest mission for the IRS. Her target is radio host Florence "Flo" Cash, star of "The Flo Cash Cash Flow Show". Not only has Flo been giving her listeners shady tax advice, she's set up an elaborate barter system that leaves Uncle Sam out of the equation - and Tara tied in knots....

Moonshine shop owner Hattie Hayes is ready to lend a hand when a mystery starts brewing at a train convention in Chattanooga, TN, in this charming cozy mystery series. Now that her moonshine shop is up and running, Hattie Hayes can focus her efforts on expanding her fledgling business to events...

As if hitting the half-century mark wasn't enough, Misty Murphy celebrated her landmark birthday by amicably ending her marriage and investing her settlement in a dilapidated mountain lodge at the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The lodge is fully booked on opening night, every room filled with flexible folks who'd slipped into spandex and ascended the peak for a yoga retreat with plans to "namastay" for a full week. Misty and her guests are feeling Zen - at least until the yoga instructor is found dead.

He's no Tony Soprano. Still, local crime boss Giustino "Tino" Fabrizio is one shady character that Tara would love to see behind bars. He operates a security business - or so he claims on his tax forms - but his clients don't feel so secure when it's time to pay up. Problem is, no one can get close enough to nail this wiseguy for extortion. No one, that is, except Tara. Going undercover, Tara lands a waitress job at Benedetta's Bistro - which is owned and operated by Tino's wife.

A bloodbath is a shocking new challenge for Megan and Brigit when Detective Audrey Jackson calls them to the scene of what could only be a brutal murder. But the one thing the nightmarish scene is missing is a victim. The frantic homeowner's husband is gone, seemingly without a trace - and so is the money he was holding. Has a vicious killer committed what might just be the perfect crime?

In this intoxicating new cozy mystery series, the future for modern-day moonshiner Hattie Hayes looks bright--until death darkens the doorstep of her Moonshine Shack. The Hayes family has made moonshine in Chattanooga since the days of Prohibition, and Hattie is happy to continue the tradition...

Tara's looking forward to a challenge, but back at the office, everyone's looking for love. Her boss, Lu "The Lobo" Lobozinski, and office virgin Josh Schmidt are signing up for an online dating service, and - to Tara's dismay - so is her crush, Special Agent Nick Pratt. Tara's trying to act chill. But when she learns that her next case involves cash-funneling to terrorists, it's not just her love life that's on the rocks. It's her life, period.

Whitney Whitaker has scored the perfect piece of real estate: a ramshackle white Colonial at the top of a hill with views of downtown Nashville. What more could a self-taught home-improvement maven and occasional house flipper ask for? Ideally, the property of Whitney's dreams would not have come with a dead body blocking the entrance to the foyer. But Whitney, always quick to take heavy duty matters into her own hands, also happens to be a skilled amateur sleuth. So that helps.

The weather is beautiful, work is slow, and her canine colleague could use a walk. What better day for Megan to take Brigit to the Fort Worth Zoo, where they can let loose and witness the law and order of nature unfold? But what begins as a fun field trip turns serious when a pair of rare hyacinth macaws named Fabiana and Fernando goes missing. Is the new custodian, a gentle soul who happens to be an ex-convict, to blame? Or is something far more sinister afoot? The birds are worth thousands of dollars, and the list of people on the premises who might have stolen them is long.