Kelly Rey
From her first discovery of Nancy Drew, USA Today bestselling author Kelly Rey has had a lifelong love for mystery and tales of things that go bump in the night, especially those with a twist of humor. Through many years of working in the court reporting and closed captioning fields, writing has remained a constant. If she's not in front of a keyboard, she can be found reading, working out or avoiding housework. She's a member of Sisters in Crime and lives in the Northeast with her husband and a menagerie of very spoiled pets.
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Jamie Winters Mysteries
Motion for Murder
Jamie Winters Mysteries book #1
Jamie Winters loathes her job as a secretary in the sleaziest law firm in New Jersey. Trouble is, someone else loathes the whole firm—enough to kill one of the partners, the two-timing, eleven-fingered king of lowbrow television commercial spots, Dougie Digits. Now, Jamie is being strong-armed into investigating by Dougie's frosty widow, Hilary. The suspect list is long, including the firm's bookish paralegal, embezzling bookkeeper, ambitious associate, and resentful senior partners. Add to that list a mélange of oddball clients with grudges of their own, and Jamie has her work cut out for her. With assists from her studly landlord and husband-hungry sister, Jamie uncovers enough dirt on her coworkers to launch a tabloid in her hunt to find the killer...before he or she strikes again!
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Death of a Diva
Jamie Winters Mysteries book #2
Psychic medium Dorcas Beeber is brash, obnoxious...and dead. Unfortunately for legal secretary Jamie Winters, she arrives at the psychic's studio for a reading only to find the victim apparently killed by a blow from her own crystal ball. And things only get worse when Jamie suddenly finds herself the prime suspect in the murder. It's clearly a setup, but Jamie's only clue to the real killer's identity is a black SUV parked near the scene of the crime. Desperate and running out of time, Jamie enlists the help of her landlord's eccentric teenaged niece, Maizy, as her unlikely sidekick to help wade through the pool of disgruntled clients, a family with divided loyalties, a creepy ex-boss, and incriminating news reports to find the real killer...before Jamie's future includes a jail cell!
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The Sassy Suspect
Jamie Winters Mysteries book #3
Just when legal secretary and reluctant sleuth Jamie Winters thinks life has settled down and her prospects are looking up...murder catches up to her again!
Kay Culverson, a low-budget cable talk show host and diva extraordinaire, is found dead in her office after alienating not only Jamie's boss, Howard Dennis, but also her own agent and every employee in the studio. When Howard falls under suspicion, his wife asks Jamie to investigate. While she's not exactly excited at the prospect of solving another murder, Jamie isn't thrilled with the idea of losing her job either. So with the help of her hot landlord Curt and Curt's feisty teen niece Maizy, Jamie's on the case! But she soon finds herself dealing with a whole cast of suspects, including a shady agent, a group of anti-government geeks, a light-fingered ex-con, and a mysterious hitman for hire named Z. It couldn't possibly get any worse...until it does. And suddenly Jamie wonders if this next case may be her last!
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Verdicts & Vixens
Jamie Winters Mysteries book #4
Legal secretary and sometimes-sleuth Jamie Winters thought she'd seen it all... until now.
When Oxnard Thorpe, the Adult Diaper King of New Jersey and one of Parker, Dennis's most important clients, is found dead in the swimming pool of his sprawling mansion on his wedding night, his bride gives Jamie and her teenaged sidekick, Maizy, the green light to find the killer. Could it be the faded society maven, the bridesmaid for hire, the harried housekeeper, Oxnard's embittered twin siblings, the surly wedding planner, the groom's sketchy colleague, or even the not-so-blushing bride herself? Just when it seems things couldn't possibly get more confusing, they get an assist from Eunice Kublinski, the firm's timid new attorney with a morbid fear of public speaking—which makes things much, much worse! If Jamie doesn't unravel the truth quickly, she may just be next on the killer's list!
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A Playboy in Peril
Jamie Winters Mysteries book #5
Legal secretary and reluctant sleuth Jamie Winters never claimed to have an exciting social life. So it's no surprise she's never heard of the local band Virtual Waste...that is until their drummer is murdered backstage at a show, and Jamie's teenaged sidekick, Maizy, just happens to be there! Does the killer think she knows his identity? Is he coming after Maizy next? Jamie is determined to keep her friend safe, even if Maizy is determined to search the entire New Jersey Pine Barrens to track down the killer! While Jamie's hot landlord, Curt, fills in with the band, Jamie wades through the victim's disgruntled bandmates, a slew of discarded groupies, an ex-Marine bouncer, an unhinged Einstein lookalike, an emotionally overwrought agent, an ill-tempered giant, and even the Jersey Devil, to find the truth...before Maizy becomes the next victim.
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Death by Diamonds
Jamie Winters Mysteries book #6
Diamonds are not always a girl’s best friend.
At least that's what legal secretary turned reluctant sleuth Jamie Winters realizes when a dead body shows up on her boyfriend, Curt's, patio...with a pocket full of diamonds! The dead woman was Amber Freeling, an old college friend of Curt’s, and the deeper Jamie digs into her death, the more it appears someone was out to get Amber. With the help of her teenage sidekick, Maizy, Jamie tries to determine if Amber was an innocent victim or a jewel thief. And as the case leads them to a shady pawnshop and its shadier staff, Jamie realizes no one is whom they appear to be and everyone is a suspect. Was it the wannabe-mobster owner, his long-suffering wife, his spoiled daughter, the gold-obsessed clerk, or the inscrutable security guard? Or possibly it was the owner’s hired muscle nicknamed the Disposer...who just may dispose of Jamie and Maizy! One thing is for sure: the killer will stop at nothing to reclaim those diamonds, and if she isn't careful, Jamie could just be the next target in the way!
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Killer Confession
Jamie Winters Mysteries book #7
Legal secretary and reluctant sleuth Jamie Winters might have thought her hectic life was about to slow down...but she was dead wrong.
Vicious Vic Hartman is the tabloid Grapevine’s star reporter and celebrity host of television’s Grapevine Live. But he’s made lots of enemies on his climb to the top of the trash journalism heap, so when he’s found murdered after a party at his home, there’s no shortage of suspects. Which is why the victim's family hires Jamie and her sassy teenaged sidekick Maizy to figure out just which one of the not-so-grieving is his killer. Between Vic’s intimidating boss, a bitter ghostwriter, an unscrupulous would-be replacement, a jilted girlfriend, and an assortment of disgruntled neighbors and family members, the dynamic duo have their work cut out for them—not to mention trying to avoid the menacing Lincoln Park Loper and a creepy doll named Tara who may or may not be stalking them! Can they find the killer...before they become the next victims?
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Jamie Winters Mysteries Boxed Set (Books 1-3)
From USA Today bestselling author Kelly Rey comes a boxed set of three hilarious mysteries featuring legal secretary turned reluctant amateur sleuth, Jamie Winters! This boxed set includes:
Motion for Murder (book #1)
Death of a Diva (book #2)
The Sassy Suspect (book #3)
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Mistletoe & Misdemeanors
Jamie Winters Mysteries holiday novella
When Jamie Winters' elderly neighbor Jack disappears a week before Christmas, Jamie pairs up with her landlord's fearless teenaged niece to find him. Only the more they look into his disappearance, the more they begin to believe Jack is not the man they thought he was...and he bears a suspiciously striking resemblance to jolly old Santa Claus! One carjacking, some spooky reindeer, a little person, and a skinny green man later, Jamie winds up getting way more than she bargained for this holiday season!
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Murder of a Misfit
Jamie Winters Mysteries novella
When legal secretary Jamie Winters’ boss lets her use his swanky home at the Jersey Shore for her vacation, she naturally expects to share relaxing days full of sea and sun with her very significant other, Curt Emerson. But during a romantic walk on the beach one night, the mood is ruined when Jamie falls over a dead body buried in the sand. Worse—the body belongs to Annie Hollander, the class misfit from Jamie’s high school days. And even worse—somehow, before the police arrive on the scene, the body disappears!
And when a mysterious stranger shows up at their door with a gold locket, claiming that Sasquatch stole Annie’s body, Jamie and Curt are suddenly dragged into an investigation involving some shady characters in a town past its prime. Can they solve the mystery of Annie’s death? Or is this one vacation Jamie won't be coming back from?
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Marty Hudson Mysteries
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Brash Blonde
Marty Hudson Mysteries book #1
Martha "Marty" Hudson has it all...almost. While her best friend, Irene Adler, is a dot-com millionaire many times over, Marty's days are filled with working as a barista at a Stanford University coffee bar, crashing various courses and lectures, and dodging the rent collector at her crummy apartment. But when Marty suddenly finds out that a long-lost aunt has left her a Victorian home at 221 Baker Street in the heart of San Francisco, she's hopeful her luck is about to turn around! Okay, so the Victorian is run down and probably in need of more repairs than Marty could ever afford, but at least it's a link to family. However when Marty starts sifting through the contents of the dilapidated home, she realizes her aunt's death may not have been natural...and might have been a case of murder! Taking her suspicions to the grumpy Detective Lastrade and the uber-hot medical examiner, Dr. John Watson, only gets her a pair of doors slammed in her face. But Marty and Irene don't give up that easily. Instead, they invent fictitious private investigator, Sherlock Holmes, to open those doors for them! Between Marty's eclectic class-crashing knowledge and Irene's tech know-how, "Sherlock Holmes" investigates an over-the-hill yoga teacher, mob shops in Chinatown, pot dispensaries in the East Bay, and a slew of suspicious characters. But when the killer returns—this time with Marty in sight!—even the great Holmes may not be able to save her...at least not without a little help from the girls.
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Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Disappearing Diva
Marty Hudson Mysteries book #2
If there's one thing Martha "Marty" Hudson can't say no to, it's her best friend Irene Adler. So when Irene's little white lie about a fake detective named Sherlock Holmes turns into a real case from an actual paying client, Marty is all in. But their simple missing person case takes a deadly turn when the missing "person" ends up being a missing corpse. Rebecca Lowery was an opera singer in life and, according to her sister, who hires the famous detective to find her, a diva with capital D. When her body goes missing after a supposedly accidental fall, Marty and Irene can think of several people who might want the diva to disappear permanently—especially if her missing body is actually hiding evidence of her murder. Is it the boyfriend with a temper and a shady record, the jealous understudy who's now stealing the show, the creepy undertaker with possible ties to the underworld, or the estranged sister herself who now inherits everything? Marty and Irene aim to find out, even while trying to keep cool around the hot ME, Dr. Watson, and dodging questions from the Irregulars blogger, Wiggins, about the mysterious man behind the name Sherlock Holmes. Will the ladies be able to pull this one off? Or are they in over their heads...and possibly about to take their own final bows?
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Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Wealthy Widow
Marty Hudson Mysteries book #3
Martha "Marty" Hudson thought her lie about working for a great detective named Sherlock Holmes was supposed to be a onetime thing. Okay, maybe two times, but when her best friend Irene Adler drags Marty along to meet "Sherlock's" latest client, Marty is pretty sure they're in over their heads at playing private eye.
Cordelia Westerbury is a wealthy widow... one who is certain that one of her no-good family members is trying to bump her off for their inheritance. While her evidence is less than convincing, she's willing to pay generously to have the ladies of Holmes Investigations attend a cocktail party where all her "suspects" will be assembled. At first Marty thinks maybe the woman has read a few too many Gothic novels. But when the cocktail party ends in an actual dead body, Marty begins to realize that batty or not, Cordelia is right about one thing: there is a killer in their midst. Is it the pompous nephew with expensive habits and shallow pockets? His gold-digging wife who may be more scheming than her flighty persona suggests? The brooding millennial granddaughter who uses her disdain for just about everything as the perfect cover-up? Or the long-lost cousin who conveniently shows up just as Cordelia's contemplating a change in her will? Marty isn't sure, but the stakes only go higher when a new private detective firm, Moriarty Investigations, sets themselves up as Sherlock's arch nemesis, trying to poach his clients.
Between juggling a family of suspects, the distractingly gorgeous Medical Examiner, Dr. Watson, the annoyingly competent Moriartys, and an investigative reporter bent on outing Sherlock Holmes as a fake, Marty has her hands more than full. But when the killer sets his sight on Marty and Irene, Sherlock's biggest case just may end up being their last...
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High Heels Mysteries
Peril in High Heels
High Heels Mysteries book #11
Fashion designer Maddie Springer is a huge fan of the Lord of the Throne books by J.R. Ravensberg. So when her best friend, Dana, gets cast as the lead actress in the upcoming movie version, she's giddy with fandom! Even more so when she's invited for a girls' weekend on the set—currently being filmed in the wilds of Moose Haven, Saskatchewan. Between battling Bobbits, Elven Princesses, and Dragon Queens, Maddie is in heaven. But what starts out as a fangirl's dream quickly turns into something out of a horror movie, when the demanding director of the film shows up dead…stabbed with a prop sword!
It's no secret Dana had her differences with the difficult director, and the local police have her squarely in their sights as suspect number one. Worse yet, no one is allowed to leave the small Moose-obsessed town, and Maddie's meddling mom, hot husband, and flamboyant friend Marco are all threatening to descend! With the locals growing hostile and the police zeroing in on her BFF, it's up to Maddie to figure out who had the director taking his final bow. Problem is, everyone has a motive—from the director's frigid wife, to the young starlet with a secret, the mysterious actor playing the Evil Prince, the producer with an eye on the bottom line, and even the eccentric author, Ravensberg himself. If Maddie doesn't watch her step, this may be one movie without a happy Hollywood ending…
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Deceit in High Heels
High Heels Mysteries book #13
Fashion designer Maddie Springer has always been close to her best friend, Dana. So when Dana's celebrity husband Ricky is chosen for a reading on the Hollywood Psychic TV show, Maddie's thrilled to be at the taping! That is, until the over-the-top psychic, Moira DeVine, suddenly suggests that the accidental death of Ricky's mother years ago was actually murder and promises to name the culprit... right before she herself collapses, dying in front of the viewing audience!
While Maddie has her doubts about whether DeVine was really getting messages from the other side or just acting the part, one thing is for sure—she's not acting dead. And the coincidental timing has Maddie wondering if the two deaths decades apart are related. Could a killer actually have been worried that DeVine had uncovered their crime? With the help of her eccentric family and friends, Maddie digs into the cold case that hits perilously close to home, uncovering secret love affairs, con artists, missing money, and even ties to the mob! Between the suburban secrets from years ago and the shady practices of the recently deceased so-called psychic, Maddie has no shortage of suspects. But is she looking for one killer or two? Where are they hiding now? And can Maddie get to the truth before they strike again...and she finds herself designing shoes from the other side?
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