A cold case murder heats up

Far from the publishing world that once defined her, Sheila Mackey's plan to escape to a quiet life in small-town Kentucky keeps hitting bumps in the road ... and some of those bumps are dead bodies.

Sheila and her friend, Clara, are in for their toughest inquiry yet, when they take on investigating a death that's colder than a cold case, because few in Haines Tavern, Kentucky, think it was a murder in the first place. Suicide? Accident? Murder? They're determined to bring peace of mind to the dead woman's friends.

At the same time, Sheila is finding it harder and harder to protect her secret past, especially from Teague O'Donnell, who's shifting from a fellow dog-lover to possibly much more.

This whodunit with humor is the fifth book in USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn's cozy mystery series, Secret Sleuth, which begins with a murder on a transatlantic cruise in Death on the Diversion. In Death on Torrid Avenue and later books, accidental investigator Sheila Mackey returns to dry land in the Midwest, where mysteries abound in her new Kentucky home.

Secret Sleuth series

Death on the Diversion

Death on Torrid Avenue

Death on Beguiling Way

Death on Covert Circle

Death on Shady Bridge

Death on Carrion Lane

Death on ZigZag Trail

Death on the Diversion "is such an enjoyable story, reminiscent of Agatha Christie's style, with a good study of human nature and plenty of humor. Great start to a new series!" – 5-star review

Death on Torrid Avenue "is told with a lot of humor and the characters are good company. I thoroughly enjoyed myself." – 5-star review

More Patricia McLinn mystery

Caught Dead in Wyoming series

The Innocence Trilogy

Betsy Moore

Stemme