Myrtle Clover Cozy Mysteries

The Myrtle Clover Mystery Series
The sleepy town of Bradley, North Carolina, might not be as quiet as it seems. Murders happen at a steady rate and octogenarian amateur sleuth Myrtle Clover is determined to solve them before her police chief son.   The bestselling Myrtle Clover mysteries feature an octogenarian sleuth and her senior sidekick as they investigate crime in the deceptively peaceful town. See the series description on Microsoft Sway. The books can be read out of order, but the technical order of the books is as follows: Pretty is as Pretty Dies, Progressive Dinner Deadly, Dyeing Shame, A Body in the Backyard, Death at a Drop-In,  A Body at Book Club, Death Pays a Visit,  A Body at Bunco, and the upcoming Murder on Opening Night. 

August 1, 2009–Midnight Ink
Pretty is as Pretty Dies
No one in Bradley, North Carolina, is exactly crying into their sweet tea over the murder of Parke Stockard. Certainly not retired schoolteacher Myrtle Clover. Upon discovering the corpse, Myrtle is struck-not with grief, but a brilliant idea! Solving the crime would prove to everyone (especially her son Red, the police chief) that this octogenarian isn’t ready to be put out to pasture just yet.

The victim, a pretty but pushy town developer, had deep pockets and few friends.  Even when another murder takes place, proud Myrtle forges on, armed only with a heavy cane, a venomous tongue, and a widower sidekick.  The Publishers Weekly review:“The amusing first in a new cozy series from Craig…Myrtle’s wacky personality is a delight.”

August 2011
Progressive Dinner Deadly
$2.99–Kindle, Nook, iBookstore.

Octogenarian Myrtle Clover isn’t thrilled when her book club morphs into a supper club. But things get a little more interesting when a body is discovered during the third course. Can Myrtle’s sleuthing smoke out the killer before her goose is cooked?

 

 

December 2011: “A Dyeing Shame“–a Myrtle Clover ebook. $2.99.

When Beauty Box beautician Tammy Smith is discovered with a pair of hair shears in her back, there are suspects and secrets aplenty in her small Southern town.

Octogenarian Myrtle Clover, bored by bingo and bridge, is intrigued by the crime…and her neighbors’ secrets. But discovering, and blabbing, secrets got Tammy killed and Myrtle soon learns her sleuthing isn’t just dangerous…it’s deadly.

October 28, 2012–A Body in the Backyard—a Myrtle Clover mystery

It’s just an ordinary day for octogenarian sleuth Myrtle Clover—until her yardman discovers a dead body planted in her backyard.  This death isn’t cut and dried—the victim was bashed in the head with one of Myrtle’s garden gnomes.

Myrtle’s friend Miles recognizes the body and identifies him as Charles Clayborne… reluctantly admitting he’s a cousin. Charles wasn’t the sort of relative you bragged about—he was a garden variety sleaze, which is very likely why he ended up murdered.  As Myrtle starts digging up dirt to nip the killings in the bud, someone’s focused on scaring her off the case. Myrtle vows to find the murderer…before she’s pushing up daisies, herself.

Released August 12, 2013–Death at a Drop-In.

Cosette Whitlow is a society matron…if tiny Bradley, North Carolina, has one. She kindly volunteers for all the town’s charities, but isn’t nearly as kind to her own family, neighbors, and friends. In fact, Cosette is emphatically disliked by much of the town—including octogenarian Myrtle Clover. And Myrtle knows that dislike in Bradley can quickly turn deadly.

No one seems surprised when Cosette’s body is discovered during a party she’s hosting—she was struck on the head with a croquet mallet. Wanting to restore order to the small town, Myrtle resolves to track down the killer—before the killer strikes again.

 Read chapter one for free by clicking here.

 

Now Available (Mar. 31 2014)–A Body at Book Club––Myrtle Clover mystery #6:

When octogenarian sleuth Myrtle Clover discovers Naomi Pelter’s dead body during a book club meeting, the other members seem shocked.  But Myrtle can read between the lines. Naomi had riled everyone up by flirting with other people’s husbands, arguing with neighbors, and generally making a nuisance of herself. Murdering troublemakers is the oldest trick in the book.

The book club members seem too sweet to be killers, but Myrtle knows better than to judge books by their covers. Myrtle’s investigation into the murder will take a more novel approach than her police chief son’s by-the-book methods. Can Myrtle and her widower sidekick uncover the killer…before he writes them off for good?

Read Chapter 1 for free by clicking here. 

September 9, 2014:  Myrtle Clover #7: Death Pays a Visit. 

When psychic (and hubcap retailer) Wanda Alewine pays a late-night visit to Myrtle Clover, she urges the octogenarian sleuth to head straight to Greener Pastures Retirement Home. But Wanda doesn’t want Myrtle to consider the home’s dubious amenities–she wants Myrtle to prevent a murder seen in a vision.

Reluctant Myrtle investigates with sidekick Miles, who seems a lot more interested in Greener Pastures than she is. As the duo digs, they uncover more than just Sudoku and Scrabble—they discover a sinister undercurrent… with murder as its outcome.

Read Chapter 1 for free by clicking here. 

Released April 2,  2015: A Body at Bunco, Myrtle Clover #8

Octogenarian sleuth Myrtle Clover has never heard of the dice game Bunco.  Regardless, she steps in as her daughter-in-law’s sub and reluctantly puts her game face on.

Bunco turns out to be child’s play.  But when a body is discovered, Myrtle realizes another game is afoot.  Before long, she’s playing cat and mouse with the killer.

Can she track down the murderer before the game is up?  Or, with the killer playing hard to get, will it end up being “no dice?”

Next Myrtle Clover: Murder on Opening Night, Myrtle Clover #9 (release date December 19, 2015)

When Myrtle Clover and her friend Miles attend a play in their small town, there’s a full house on opening night.

It’s clear to Myrtle that one of the actresses is a stage hog who loves stealing the spotlight.  Nandina Marshall certainly does upstage everyone—when her murder forces an unexpected intermission.

Can Myrtle and Miles discover who was behind her final curtain call….before murder makes an encore?