Leslie Langtry
Leslie Langtry is the USA Today bestselling author of the Greatest Hits Mysteries, the Merry Wrath Mysteries, Sex, Lies, & Family Vacations, and several books she hasn't finished yet, because she's very lazy. Leslie loves puppies and cake (but she will not share her cake with puppies) and lives with her family and assorted animals in the Midwest.
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Merry Wrath Mysteries
Merit Badge Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #1
When CIA agent Merry Wrath is "accidentally" outted, she's forced her into early retirement, changes her appearance, and moves where no one will ever find her—Iowa. Instead of black bag drops in Bangkok, she now spends her time leading a young Girl Scout troop. But Merry's new simple life turns not-so-simple when an enemy agent shows up dead at scout camp. Suddenly Merry is forced to deal with her former life in order to preserve her future one.
It doesn't help matters that the CIA sends in her former, sexy handler to investigate…or that the hot new neighbor across the street turns out to be the local detective in charge of her case. And when Merry is forced to take on a roommate in the voluptuous form of a turned KGB agent/bimbo, things become trickier than wet work in Waukegan or cookie sales in the spring. Nothing in the CIA or Girl Scouts' training manuals has prepared her for what comes next…
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Mint Cookie Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #2
Ex-CIA agent turned suburban scout leader, Merry Wrath, is just trying to live a normal, quiet life. But all that goes out the window when a convicted traitor (who's inconveniently not in his prison cell) dies on her doorstep, and an obese cat, who bears a disturbing resemblance to Hitler, decides to move in.
To make things worse, it's time for the annual troop cookie sale, her new boyfriend's old college flame shows up to win him back, and someone's shooting at Merry in the frozen foods section of the grocery store. Is the assassin after her or the cat? Is Riley, her hot former CIA handler, hitting on her? Is Rex, her boyfriend, going to dump her? Will she sell enough cookies to take her troop to Winter Sniper Camp? If Merry doesn't find answer to these questions soon, it may be too late!
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Marshmallow S'more Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #3
What could be better for former CIA agent turned Girl Scout leader Merry Wrath than taking twelve little girls to Washington DC for a bit of summer fun? Almost anything. Unfortunately, between her girls terrorizing the Secret Service and "accidentally" destroying the hotel pool, Merry has her hands full with this troop. And when her former handler, Riley, is kidnapped Merry has to turn to an old friend from her spy days and her parents, Senator and Mrs. Czrgy, to help her wrangle the troop and rescue the man she once briefly called her boyfriend.
Armed only with a perpetually AWOL parent, stalked by a runaway King Vulture, and plagued by a mysterious death from her past, Merry's mayhem weaves a wacky trail from moonshiners in the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the bowels of the Japanese Embassy, to the ductwork of the International Spy Museum. With things heating up with current boyfriend, Detective Rex Ferguson, can Merry decipher clues from her past to find ex-boyfriend Riley and finally solve the murder of Yakuza boss, Midori Ito, before the target on her back is filled with lead?
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Movie Night Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #4
Merry Wrath has seen dangers galore in her former job as a CIA field agent. But nothing has prepared her for this—an overnight Mommy and Me lock-in with her Girl Scout troop, complete with movies, dodgeball, four cats, a baby...and a dead body.
When the mysterious corpse's identity is revealed, Merry and her former handler, Riley, realize they might have a domestic terrorist situation on their hands...one that needs diffused quickly before any more dead bodies appear. Merry once again calls on her former professional skills to track down a killer. Between a new, hottie female medical examiner—who seems a bit too interested in Merry's boyfriend, Rex—the demanding President of the United States, the world's 2nd largest snail collection, and an incident with pink hair dye, Merry has her work cut out for her. Can she stop an attack before it begins? Or will this be one Movie Night without a happy ending?
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Mud Run Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #5
Ex-CIA Agent turned small town Girl Scout leader, Merry Wrath, thinks she has her hands full getting her troop ready for the Mud Run out at scout camp. But a trip to the movies, where she sees her whole career played out on the big screen, turns her world from little girls to great big lies. Turns out her former handler, Riley, is hiding something and the Agency is on the warpath, thinking Merry has leaked classified intel.
From a bizarre organization called Coats for Cats to redecorating her guest room with bullet holes, her life is turning into a Merry-go-round of misdirection, miscreants and misdemeanors. Can she clear her name, or will the Mud Run turn into a run for her life?
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Motto For Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #6
For ex-CIA Agent turned Girl Scout troop leader, Merry Wrath, planning a wedding is infinitely more terrifying than the time she was a mole in Carlos the Armadillo's drug cartel. To make matters worse, while plagued by insomnia (brought on by diabolical details that include bizarre things like "boutonnieres") Merry and her cat, Philby, witness a midnight murder next door.
Or do they? With her record of sleeplessness, everyone from her fiancé, Rex, to her Girl Scout troop are questioning her sanity. And when strange incidents of arson start popping up all over Who's There, Iowa and a mysterious woman vanishes, Merry begins to believe her neighbors are foreign spies.
Throw in meeting her fiancé's odd twin sisters, late night visits with Mr. Fancy Pants—the King Vulture at the zoo—and a scary sleep study, and Merry wonders if she's in danger of losing her mind...or her life.
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Map Skills Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #7
Summer is moving fast for ex-CIA Agent turned Girl Scout troop leader, Merry Wrath. Wedding plans are underway, with the groom's twin sisters on a mission to decorate the festivities with taxidermized animals and a full troop of flower girls with terrible taste in dresses.
If that wasn't enough to deal with, the Girl Scouts dig up a treasure map in Merry's yard. A century ago, the mysterious axe murder of Mad Mimi and the secret of her missing treasure were never solved. Merry thinks this map could be the key...but unfortunately, the investigation of this cold case—complete with a secret diary, gold bullion, and a llama named Tinkles—yields a modern day murder!
Are these crimes connected? And more importantly—who has an axe to grind with Merry Wrath?
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Mean Girl Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #8
The Halloween Parade is coming up, and former CIA agent-turned-suburbanite Merry Wrath's Girl Scout Troop hopes to repeat a 1st place trophy for the 3rd year in a row. But when they find a dead woman dressed as a witch, a mysterious treasure, and face a ruthless kidnapping, it looks like Merry's in for a different kind of triple threat.
To add fuel to her bonfire, Mom's in town—meaning Merry has to replace all that bullet-riddled furniture in the guest room—and with her wedding date approaching, her groom-to-be's twin taxidermist sisters are insisting on doing the decorating.
Between her family fiascoes and a dead witch who was loathed by everyone in town, Merry's head is spinning faster than an apple in a bobbing barrel. Who wanted this mean girl dead? Will this Halloween end with a treat? Or has Merry been tricked?
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Marriage Vow Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #9
Wedding Traditions as good as gold…Let’s start out with Something Old…
When this creepy message is found with an elderly, murdered florist in the first pew of a church the day before Merry Wrath's wedding, her hopes wilt like day old, discount flowers. And when the groom, Rex, vanishes into thin air, she can only assume the worst—and she’s not talking about the ugly, Vegas showgirl-like flower girl dresses her Girl Scout troop have picked out.
Weddings make a family of two…Let’s add in Something New…
The clues come with diabolically difficult puzzles, so Merry enlists the help of her former 4th grade teacher—a champion puzzler—while she turns the town upside down, in a frantic search for her fiancé. Once a surprising past is revealed, it doesn’t take long for the investigation to spin out of control faster than ten fourth-graders high on Pixy Stix on a merry-go-round.
With many suspects, few leads, and the clock ticking, will Merry find her groom in time for a happily ever after?
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Mystery Night Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #10
Mrs. Gable in the Conservatory with a noose?
It was supposed to be a fun weekend of pretend murder. Girl Scout Troop leader Merry Wrath and four of her scouts play an important role at the Murder Mystery Night Fundraiser on a secluded island in the middle of Dead Otter Lake. The guests, major donors, have all arrived in period costume, are eager to play, and can’t wait for the "killer" to strike!
Mr. Blunt in the Ballroom with a lead pipe?
Unbeknownst to them, a very real murderer roams the mansion’s halls, and the first victim falls with the first round of cocktails. A violent storm leaves the guests stranded and cut off from the outside world, as our cast of characters, one by one, are dying off in a very real mystery in a very unusual house. Of course, people aren’t who they seem and red herrings abound, throwing a wrench into the investigation.
Did the Butler do it?
With a nod to a mystery classic, can Merry solve this case and catch a killer before there’s no one else left to play the game?
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Meerkats and Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #11
Just as Merry Wrath’s former career as a CIA agent seems to be fading into a distant memory, the agent turned Girl Scout troop leader discovers that her beloved little suburban ranch house may not be what it seems. When a masked gunman breaks in to demand the return of "Nye," she fears that she may not have been the first spy to live there. What…or who is "Nye?"
And when Merry trips over the dead body of that same gunman later at the zoo, she realizes that her favorite king vulture and his mouthy scarlet macaw friend may be witnesses to a murder. Suddenly this becomes much more personal, and her list of suspects grows from a cosplaying teenaged demigod zookeeper, to a possible plot by the Russians... which may even include Merry's old arch-nemesis.
Things aren’t going well for her Girl Scout troop either, as a new addition causes trouble, and the girls begin to turn against each other—sparking way more than just preteen angst. From a dangerous close encounter with a mythical red wolf, to a jovial, geriatric group of Russian expats who brew their own mind-bending vodka, Merry Wrath worries that if she doesn’t find the killer soon, this case may be her last.
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Make Believe Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #12
Merry Wrath’s summer plans didn’t originally include an unexpected visit from her old friend, Hilly—a quirky CIA assassin who’s been forced by HR to take her first vacation in…forever. The fact that Hilly chose a small town in Iowa for vacation doesn’t bother Merry or her scout troop (especially since Hilly’s teaching them how to kill a man with one punch), but her former handler, Riley, believes something sinister is afoot.
After all Lana, Merry’s arch-nemesis, is sighted all over town, and when a Chinese operative ends up murdered in her backyard, Merry starts to wonder if Riley is right and Hilly is secretly on the job. It doesn’t help that a group of cosplaying teenage druids have targeted Merry for a misguided ritual sacrifice, or that Medea Jones, cub reporter, constantly harasses Merry, seeing the former spy as her Pulitzer Prize winning vehicle out of Who’s There, Iowa.
Merry wonders if her strange friend really is on vacation, or if she's after another target? Is it Lana? Was it the Chinese operative? Or is it Merry Wrath?
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Maltese Vulture Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #13
What’s better than one King Vulture? Two, of course!
Merry Wrath, former CIA turned Girls Scout troop leader, is over the moon when her wacky taxidermist sisters-in-law present her with a stuffed King Vulture named Nellie Lou. But while the bird is beautiful, the deceased vulture has a secret past that leads to unanticipated trouble—ranging from a bad LSD trip to actually tripping over a dead body in Merry's garage!
When a bizarre pair of men named Mr. Sun and Mr. Moon start lurking about, and Central Iowa is plagued with a rash of taxidermied animal thefts, Merry wonders how she’s once again managed to get in the middle of it all. It doesn’t help that she has to mentor a younger troop with two unmotivated leaders and a kid who experiments with napalm.
With an arrogant mayor causing trouble, her house being trashed, and a dangerous kidnapping, Merry has to figure out who the killer is before Nellie Lou isn’t the only dead thing in her life.
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Musket Ball Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #14
Merry Wrath has a problem. Her Girl Scout Troop co-leader has signed them up to participate in a Civil War reenactment based on the little-known Battle of Idiot Creek. In full 19th century costume, Merry is just hoping she can keep her troop out of trouble. Unfortunately, things start to fall apart immediately—from the cannon the kids buy with her credit card, to one girl sneaking off at night to beat the other reenactors at poker, to avoiding a rumble between her troop and the haughty Magnolia Girls.
But things take a sharp turn for the worse when a real human leg appears in the pretend amputation tent…only to disappear while Merry's guarding it. The rest of the body doesn’t seem to exist, making Merry wonder if she’s losing her mind... or if there's a murderer among them. To complicate things, Merry's ex CIA handler, Riley, appears as a dashing cavalry officer investigating a real case, her married best friend is swooning over the Sam Elliot-like Provost, and during the battles, a tiny Union soldier appears to be running guerrilla ops that weren’t in the script.
With a group of soldiers threatening Merry, the Sheriff refuses to investigate, and the danger mounting, can Merry prove that there was a murder before the reenactment ends?
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Macho Man Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #15
Just when you thought it was safe to come out of the water…
Who expects to come home and find an angry Chechen strong man in their front yard? That’s what former CIA turned suburbanite Merry Wrath discovers when she comes home from a disastrous pool party with her Girl Scout troop. Only this is Iowa, not Chechnya, and Aslan is anything but friendly, having realized Merry doubled crossed him in her former CIA life.
As revenge for the humiliation, Aslan has an ultimatum for Merry: kill her former handler, Riley Andrews, or Aslan’s goons, Ron and Ivan, will kill Merry’s husband, Rex.
Be careful what you wish for…
When Merry’s assassin colleague Hilly (who isn’t an assassin because the CIA doesn’t have assassins – that would be illegal) shows up to help, Merry dares to hope the two of them can find a solution to avoid killing Riley and protect Rex. But before they can come up with a plan, Merry is faced with a dead body, and Hilly tells police she saw Ron and Ivan dumping it. Unfortunately, Merry know that's not true as she was with the dim-witted rogues when the murder happened.
It’s a not-so-classic cozy conundrum…
Now Merry is trapped in a diabolical dilemma. With Hilly and Riley now suspects in the murder, she could say nothing and watch Ron and Ivan take the fall. Or does she do the right thing, and help Ron and Ivan implicate her friends in the process? Merry has to solve this one on her own as she walks a fine line between doing the right thing for the wrong people, or the wrong thing for the right people.
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Mad Money Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #16
When Merry Wrath inherits an urn of cremains, she isn’t sure which is more surprising—that she was now the owner of a body or the fact that her family’s mythical Aunt June actually existed. Besides the urn and the deceased’s collection of lethal pets, from an assassin caterpillar to a deathstalker scorpion, the ex-CIA agent turned Scout Leader also inherits a mystery:
“If you’ve received this, it means that I need you to find out who murdered me.”
With her best friend and five mischievous little Girl Scouts, Merry takes a trip across the state to her aunt's tiny, rundown hometown of Behold, Iowa. Though, in hindsight, it probably wasn’t the best for the troop to stay at a famous scout camp that has a history of ghosts and aliens. Or to bring the precocious, ten-year old Betty who has started mastering some very sophisticated (and alarming) magic tricks.
Was Aunt June murdered?
Most in Behold think the death was an accident involving June's pet brown recluse spider, but Merry isn’t so sure. There are far more questions than answers about who Aunt June really was. Between a late-night dash for her life over a high ropes course, and dangerous interactions with deadly critters, Merry needs answers before a killer silences her questions…for good.
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Mind-Bending Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #17
Former CIA agent and current suburbanite Merry Wrath knows she’s having a bad day when she wakes up wearing someone else's clothes in a locked room with a dead body and a dozen copies of the book, Boats of the Midwest. It doesn’t help matters any when the police burst in and arrest her on the spot for the murder of a man she’s never heard of. With an unimpeachable witness placing her at the scene of the crime, her Girl Scout troop trying to bust her out of jail, and a sister-in-law who’s launched a one-woman campaign to send her to prison, Merry knows that this time she’s in trouble.
And Merry finds it’s tough to clear your name when you’re being followed by a wannabe bounty hunter who’s chasing you down and dealing with a group of teenage druids who have just bought a hearse and an old church they call The Chapel of Despair. Added to her trouble are a couple of tattoo artists with a creepy fixation on Lance Armstrong, a witness who works at the Pump & Pawn pawnshop/gym, and most of the town of Bladdersly, Iowa.
Can Merry solve this locked room mystery before she ends up locked in a cell?
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Mascots Are Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #18
"Welcome Back to Who’s There, Iowa, Who-rish, to your 10 Year Reunion!”
A 10 year high school reunion happens only once, and to many, they can be a nightmare of revisiting past slights, humiliating moments and the class paste-eater—aka Officer Kevin Dooley. But ex-CIA agent turned Midwestern Girl Scout troop leader Merry Wrath figures that when you’ve been undercover with Colombian drug lords, embedded with Yakuza, and chased by an armed chicken through Chechnya, how bad could it be? Even her scout troop gets in the game by handling registration with overly enthusiastic weapons searches and background checks.
“Old friends are waiting to see you again!”
But there’s more going on than the tradition of spiking the punch. It doesn’t take long before the loathed Class President threatens to reveal dangerous secrets, half the class starts hallucinating, and they all find themselves locked into the gym by a murderous ninja janitor. And since there wasn’t a Most Likely to Murder the Prom Queen category in the yearbook, Merry has to move fast to make sure there are enough classmates left for a 15 year reunion!
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Mosquito Bite Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #19
In her career as a spy, Merry Wrath had her share of camping trips—from glamping in a yurt at Oktoberfest with drug lord Carlos the Armadillo to an awkward team building campout in the backyard of a Yakuza mob boss who thought “trust falls” should have lethal consequences. So when the former CIA turned Girl Scout troop leader has the opportunity to take six girls from her troop into a vast, private nature preserve in search of an abandoned scout camp, she jumps at it. The fact that she can secretly use this as a chance to meet up with another spy who has asked for her help just seems to be an added bonus.
Of course she doesn't expect to find a guy named Chad in a shallow grave. He’s still alive, at least for the moment, and he insists on accompanying them further into the woods. Merry’s contact is a no-show, but another, more dangerous colleague surprises them on the trail. And just when she thinks she might be able to handle things, the group find themselves confronted by a hostile group of senior citizen hermits.
From the strange noises in the night, to vampire ticks, and the constant fear of being invaded by Communists, everything in Merry’s world appears to be dangerously off kilter. When she’s accosted by a 200lb snapping turtle named Old Eisenhower, Merry realizes that not everything is what it appears to be. Can Merry figure out who is behind the strange occurrences before the camping trip ends up with a body count?
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Manga and Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #20
Welcome to Druid-Con!
It’s Who’s There, Iowa’s first Druid-Con, a comic book themed convention organized by the teens of The Cult of Nicoderm (a group of four local teens who’ve taken the idea of extracurricular activities a bit too far). Ex-CIA agent turned suburban Girl Scout troop leader Merry Wrath doesn’t know how she was talked into making an appearance at the con as a giant beetle, but once she finds out that her favorite TV horror show host Deliria is going to be there, things are looking up!
Meet Beetle Dork & Deliria…
Always ready to take advantage of any opportunity, the little girls of Merry’s scout troop are at the con in full force and princess dresses, hoping to help ambitious eleven-year-old Ava with her campaign to be the youngest mayor in Who’s There’s history. Unfortunately trouble comes in the form of a confrontation with rival teen druids from wealthy Kennedy’s Landing. And while busy dealing with Betty, the troop's troublemaker who is forging VIP passes and selling conspiracy theories, Merry misses witnessing a show-stopping murder!
…Before it’s too late!
When lovable loser and druid leader Stewie is accused of the murder by a witness, and Betty’s parents consider sending her away to boarding school in Texas for her various and sometimes disturbing pranks, Merry knows she has to move quickly to clear the Dred Demon Stewie’s name and rein in her scout before her troop loses its most awesome (and terrifying) member.
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Mayor for Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #21
Former CIA assassin turned Girl Scout Troop leader Merry Wrath, can't believe it's finally here—the Who’s There, Iowa mayoral showdown between the dull and clueless Mayor Van Meter, and uber-ambitious eleven-year old girl scout Ava. It’s a campaign like no other with a debate worthy of any three-ring circus!
To make matters worse, there’s disharmony among the teen druids at the Cult of NicoDerm, CIA assassin Hilly and fifth grader Betty get up to some questionable practices, and a political worker is thrown off the roof of Sugar Lip’s Feeling Lucky House of Delights Ice Cream Parlor. It doesn’t help at all when the mayor goes missing and many think Betty finally acted on her goal to kidnap him. As the authorities close in on Ava and Betty, can Merry solve the murder and find the mayor before the election…or will she be leading future scout meetings in juvie?
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Mardi Gras Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #22
Let the good times roll!
It’s Spring Break, and ex-CIA agent Merry Wrath decides to take her precocious scout troop to a small town in Louisiana for Mardi Gras. Who Dat, LA is Who's There, Iowa’s sister city, so naturally the whole town turns out to greet them with carriage rides, a swamp tour, and a cake party. Unfortunately for them, someone isn’t happy they’re in town…
Bring the big guns—we’ll have some fun on the bayou!
Strange stories of a local half-gator/half-man, a weird ritual at a voodoo queen’s grave, and a tea room filled with taxidermy make Who Dat seem like it’s another planet, but Merry’s gut tells her there’s something unnervingly familiar about this town. Southern hospitality gives way to suspicion when two people are murdered and Merry was the last to see them alive. Is the killer really a vampire, like the police believe? What is their Bed and Breakfast host hiding in the locked third floor? How is Merry going to explain to the girls that they can’t name the pelican that follows them around Deep Throat?
Merry doesn’t have any answers, but when someone close to her is arrested, and a dangerous threat is revealed, she has to find the killer quickly, before Fat Tuesday becomes Fatal Tuesday!
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Munchies and Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #23
Ex-CIA agent turned scout leader, Merry Wrath, faces her greatest challenge yet when her cranky new neighbor is convinced Merry’s cat is melting her mind from across the street. But when Merry tries to extend an olive branch in the form of Girl Scout cookies, she finds the neighbor murdered! Worse yet, the security footage puts her not-too-bright nemesis, Kevin Dooley, at the scene of the crime.
Murder wears a tin foil hat…
In spite of the fact that Kevin has been a problem since elementary school, Merry doesn’t want him to go to prison. But before she can begin to investigate, a large group of conspiracy theorists arrive and set up camp outside of town. Between the Hitler Faked the Moon Landing folks, cryptic cryptozoologists, and the Lizard People, Merry isn’t sure what to believe. And when it turns out the victim was also into conspiracy theories and was investigating a local thirty-year old child abduction, the case veers wildly off the rails.
The truth is out there…somewhere…maybe?
Who’s There, Iowa is turned upside down with a panicked aluminum foil shortage, a slew of Big Foot sightings, a goat named Olaf, a troop of little girls with questionable motives who are capitalizing on the chaos, and a whole lot of hamsters (like, a LOT of hamsters). Merry has to move fast to unravel this tangled web of lies to find the truth before the truth itself becomes another victim.
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Memories are Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #24
It’s been years since ex-CIA agent Merry Wrath was undercover with Carlos the Armadillo in Colombia. So why is Teo the Tapir suddenly in Who’s There, Iowa looking for her? Merry and Teo were not on the best terms back then, especially after he attempted to blow her up. Is he in town to get revenge, or is he telling the truth about wanting to retire and let bygones be bygones?
It's a question that becomes much more important when a mutual colleague is murdered in Merry’s garage. Suddenly Merry wonders if Teo did it to frame her. As usual, this isn’t a great time for a dead body, since Merry is having trouble teaching her troop to use drones responsibly, her twin taxidermist sisters-in-law are trying to keep Merry from spilling their big secret, there are rumbles of a sexist schism in the teenage Cult of NicoDerm and there’s an issue involving fifty-one hamsters that needs to be resolved—like now!
Can Merry keep it together long enough to discover the truth about Teo? Or are some memories too deadly to hold onto?
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Method Actor Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #25
Whether they like it or not, culture is coming to Who’s There, Iowa in the form of community theater! Merry Wrath, former CIA operative turned suburban Girl Scout Troop leader has high hopes when Ye Olde Opera House is renovated, and newcomers Ophelia and her husband Dante arrive from off-off-off Broadway (…Street in Peoria) with their stage pig, Iago, to put on a production of Derek the Sparkly Unicorn Ninja, which was written by the mysterious SeBasquetian deCatalonia Braveheart.
But chaos is the name of the game when half the town and their hamsters show up for auditions, Merry has been volunteered as Stage Manager, and her precocious troop are planning death-defying stunts and dangerous special effects. It certainly doesn’t help that Ophelia emotes like a deranged drama queen and Dante seems to think there’s a Tony Award for seducing women. When one of the thespians takes Method Acting a bit too far and ends up an actual corpse on stage, Merry has to work fast to find a killer before the curtain falls on another victim!
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Marked for Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #26
Merry Wrath has been out of the spy biz so long that she's sure the CIA has forgotten all about her. Life in suburban Who's There, Iowa is pretty quiet in comparison to the Company, and as long as her Girl Scout Troop isn't inadvertently burning down her garage (again), Merry is thinking it's time to clean out all the plastique and booby traps she's been hiding in the basement, once and for all. That is, until assassin Hilly Vinton (who isn't an assassin because the CIA doesn't have assassins...but totally is) shows up with an agency-ordered Termination Contract on Merry.
This has to be an elaborate prank. Or so Merry thinks, until she learns that the contract also went out to the Russians, Chechens, and Colombian cartels. It isn't long before Merry's small hometown is flooded with interested bad guys. When these killers start showing up as bodies, Merry isn't sure if she should go on the lam (which has Hilly's enthusiastic vote) or stay to protect Who's There. There are too many questions! Can she solve the murders before the murderer gets her? Should she stay or go? How's it possible that the troop's future-predicting cootie catcher is so accurate? And why does the CIA want Merry Wrath dead?
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Mythic Melee Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #27
Ex-CIA agent turned Girl Scout Leader, Merry Wrath is wondering if maybe it was a bad idea to have her girl scouts over for a Lord of the Rings marathon...because now they’ve signed the entire troop up for a LARP (Live Action Role Playing Game) event in Des Moines. The girls have decided they are the Skullcrushers from the country of Skullgraviastan—a land made up of mercenaries from other nations. They will be part of the Realm of Ulm for a weekend, fighting pirates, Mongols, Romans, and Vikings for supremacy!
Okay, so maybe it’ll be fun, Merry thinks. No real dead bodies, her husband dressed in a kilt as a Highlander, and she gets to be General Dorcas the Dark One. But things don't stay innocent for long as Andy the Necromancer tells them Steve the Sorcerer was murdered a month ago and the police are convinced it was an accident... even though Andy isn't so sure. Against her better judgment, Merry and her homicide detective husband Rex take up the cold case. Between epic battles, eccentric suspects, and a cranky local detective who’s really close to retirement, the duo have their work cut out for them.
Can Merry get to the truth... before this live action event turns deadly?
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Monster Mash Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #28
What’s scarier than ex-CIA agent Merry Wrath’s Girl Scout troop? How about the spookiest Halloween haunted house ever? And the girls have found the perfect place to hold it—a disturbingly dilapidated Victorian with something in the basement that gives off some serious we're-all-gonna-die vibes. Tween mayor Ava bought the house with city funds, which has drawn the ire of grumpy city inspector, Gilbert Moody. Who also happens to be the only one in town who is not afraid of the most terrifying Girl Scout in Merry's troop, the infamous Betty. This cranky civil servant has the paperwork to condemn any building, and he’s not afraid to use it!
Merry’s got a horrifyingly full plate this fall, from her Chechen brothers-in-law moving in with her after their pregnant wives kicked them out, to the troop illegally adopting a sullen turkey vulture named Reggie. And now her favorite ice cream parlor, Sugar Lips’ Feeling Lucky House of Delights has been condemned! Moody would be feeling her wrath…if he hadn’t been murdered by zombies inside the haunted house!
Following a cryptic series of confusing clues and dodging a hail of bullets, Merry needs to find the killer fast if she's going to save this Halloween!
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Merry Christmas Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #29
a Merry Wrath Novella
Ex-CIA agent turned Girl Scout leader, Merry Wrath is about to have a holiday to remember! It's not Christmas in Who's There, Iowa without a severely mandatory holiday lights policy, passed by thirteen year old Mayor Ava and her henchman...Betty! The girls show up on their troop leader, Merry's, doorstep with a box of lights and an ultimatum.
The whole town has gone crazy in preparations, and with Merry's husband Rex gunning for the prize, she has no choice but to help. Putting up lights is the last thing Merry wants to do, and she's hoping to get by with the barest minimum needed to comply.
Unfortunately, as she's working on the display, she finds a dead man tangled in her lights. Can Merry find the killer and get her display back on track before the lights go out on Christmas?
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Museum of Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #30
Welcome to the Museum of Murder!
Who knew that the town of Who’s There was the murder capital of Iowa? And its new Museum of Murder is a hit, though Ex-CIA spy turned Girl Scout leader, Merry Wrath is less than happy that she’s featured in the exhibits. Besides its quirky and somewhat disturbing charm (and a gift shop with questionable practices), everyone wants to know who’s behind Who’s There’s hottest attraction? Some speculate it’s hometown boy Sheldon McBride—a reclusive, ultra-wealthy inventor of ethanol-fueled cars, drones (and, rumor has it, a flock of robot turkeys).
Be careful, or you might become the next exhibit!
This weird new museum should be nothing but harmless fun... that is until a killer recreates copycat
murders among the exhibits! As usual, chaos follows as Merry's troop wants to hand out rotting shark snacks for their Thinking Day booth on Iceland, the dreaded annual cookie sales are coming up, Future Spy of America Betty has a boyfriend, and Merry becomes an aunt for the first time when her twin sisters-in-law finally have their baby boys. Unfortunately, the addition of the new infant citizens isn’t enough to save Who’s There from a population drop as the killer goes on a spree. Merry has no time to lose to catch a killer before she becomes an exhibit of her own…permanently!
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Mistaken Identity Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #31
Merry Wrath, ex-CIA agent turned Girl Scout leader, is having a hard time dealing with the fact that the girls in her troop are now at that extremely dangerous age—the middle school years. Bearing this in mind, Merry should have anticipated what disaster chaperoning the school dance would be. Chaos reigns with everything from a rogue attack penguin to a punch-induced hallucination brought on by the very latest synthetic LSD. Things only get worse when a man is murdered, and the killer has been caught on camera—and is none other than Merry Wrath!
Merry knows she's innocent, but proving it to the police is another matter. And family issues are keeping her awake at night too, now that Merry’s hosting the Holy Mud Man from Chechnya and his goat Warren, to see if her new twin nephews are prophets. Add to that the zoo is considering revoking Scout Lauren’s junior zookeeper status, and there’s a howler monkey loose in City Hall, and Merry may just be in over her head. Can she control her girls and solve the case before Officer Kevin Dooley and his hamster patrol throw her in jail?
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Mingling With Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #32
Welcome to Mingle, Iowa—We’re Putting Our Past Behind Us!
Merry Wrath, ex-CIA agent turned Girl Scout leader, is accompanying thirteen year olds Mayor Ava, Betty, Lauren, and Inez from her troop to the regional conference for small town mayors. Mingle, Iowa, the home of the Mayor Mingle conference, is famous for a major scandal in the 1980s that no one seems to remember, even though the current mayor does everything in his power to keep them from forgetting!
Have dinner at the Nothing to See Here Restaurant! Relax at the It Didn’t Quite Happen That Way Bar!
Merry is excited that her husband and detective, Rex, is getting an award for having a 100% murder solve rate! But she's concerned that Ava's presenting The Most Murdery Town—How To Utilize Your Town’s Biggest Assets! Not to be outdone, Ava's right hand henchgirl, Betty, is presenting on How to Bend City Hall to Your Will & Everything I Learned From Huey Long. Merry’s hoping she can sit in on the sessions to jump in when things most likely go awry (as they often do).
We hope you survive—er, enjoy your stay!
Unfortunately, things go very awry when one of the mayors is murdered. But who did it? Was it the mayor from the town famous for its termite infestation? Could it be the snooty mayor who descended from her town’s founders? Or the mayor who always dresses like an ear of corn? How about the mayor from the lobster capital of Iowa? Or the mayor who is an actual pig? It doesn’t help that the victim's dying wish was for Rex to solve this case before the conference ends despite it being out of his jurisdiction! Can Merry and Rex solve this crime in time—or is Mingle destined to have the stain of a new scandal on their Welcome To billboard?
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Mashed Potato Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #33
a Merry Wrath Novella
It’s Thanksgiving—time for family, fun and… murder?
Thanksgiving would seem to be the holiday for sharing—that is, except for the bloodbath that usually occurs over the last crescent roll. This year, ex-CIA agent turned Girl Scout leader Merry Wrath has to host the turkeystravaganza with her husband Rex’s family and a few friends. And with eccentric-eater Officer Kevin Dooley around, she also has to set up a security perimeter to defend the leftovers.
Turns out, the turkey’s not the only thing that is dead…
Things really get interesting when the world’s most terrifying thirteen-year-old, Betty, shows up with a Murder Mystery Game, where everyone is a character and the victim only pretends to be dead. But there are secrets served up with the turkey and gravy, and Merry realizes she doesn’t know everything about her kith and kin. At least it’s only a pretend murder, but Merry has a reputation to protect. Can she solve the "murder" before everyone else and keep her spot as the best amateur detective in the family?
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Medal for Murder
Merry Wrath Mysteries book #34
It’s not news that the Iowa towns of Bladdersly (Home of the Raging Bladders) and Who’s There (the Fighting Who-rish) are rivals and have been for more than a century. And as everybody knows—the best way to deal with a rivalry is to exploit it! So Who’s There’s youngest mayor creates The WhoBla Olympics to settle things once and for all!
Everyone is going to compete, including ex-CIA agent turned Girl Scout leader Merry Wrath Ferguson and her troop. The events are a bit strange, with Extreme Hide & Seek and Dodge Archery, but all’s fair in the spirit of competition, right? Sure, there’s a little cheating and sabotage going on, but it’s nothing…until a body turns up with Merry’s arrow in its chest. And what could go wrong when you have two police departments taking the spirit of competition too far in seeing who will solve the crime first?
Will Merry and her teammate, Hilly, medal in Dodge Archery? Will the event heal the rift between these two towns? Can Merry solve the crime before Chief Magnum of the Bladdersly PD locks her up? Get your nachos and take your seat in the stands to see who comes out on top…and who is going down!
Coming February 4!
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Match Box Murder
a Merry Wrath Mysteries novella
It's just another weekend camping trip for ex-CIA agent Merry Wrath and her precocious Girl Scout troop. This time the girls are learning riflery, taught by Merry's assassin friend, Hilly (who isn't an assassin because the CIA doesn't have assassins because that would be illegal...but she totally is). What could go wrong?
Plenty, because the creepy camp caretaker is soon found inconveniently dead behind the rifle range. Naturally, a violent storm comes out of nowhere and strands the troop with four suspect camp staffers. The scout manual explains how to keep kids safe during storms, hiking trips, and the overly-enthusiastic application of matches to start a campfire, but there's nothing on what to do when trapped in a lodge with a murderer. Can Merry unmask the killer before she and the girls get burned?
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Fishing Badge Murder
a Merry Wrath Mysteries novella
Merry Wrath has been out of the CIA for two years when she decides to take her precocious Girl Scout troop fishing. Merry expects the biggest trauma she’ll deal with is getting the girls to put worms on hooks. Turns out that’s the least of her problems, when a man is shot dead not far from their fishing hole.
The sheriff seems to have it under control until a Fed named Jones shows up to take over. But is the FBI agent really who he says he is? Merry soon discovers that’s not the only thing that isn’t what it seems as government agencies suddenly find her hometown of Who’s There, Iowa far more interesting than it has any right to be...
This title is only available in the Spring!
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Scout Camp Mystery
a Merry Wrath Mysteries novella
It's a hot, Iowa July and ex-CIA agent turned Girl Scout Leader Merry Wrath and her pregnant co-leader Kelly decide to take their troop to Girl Scout camp. While the girls flirt with pyromania and gasp at the stories of the haunted Ghost Badger Bridge, Merry's spydy senses tell her something is off. She feels that someone at this camp isn’t who they seem to be.
It takes a middle of the night blow to the head for her to realize she's right. A mystery is unfolding at camp, and between a secret, hidden road and a sabotaged, runaway horse, Merry needs to find out what’s going on and put a stop to it...before the last campfire goes out!
This title is only available in the Summer!
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Aloha Lagoon Mysteries
Merry Wrath Mysteries Boxed Set Vol. I(books 1-3)
From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a boxed set of three hilariously fun mysteries! This boxed set includes the first three, full length novels in the bestselling Merry Wrath Mysteries series, including:
Merit Badge Murder (book #1)
Mint Cookie Murder (book #2)
Marshmallow S'More Murder (book #3)
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Merry Wrath Mysteries Boxed Set Vol. II (books 4-6)
From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a boxed set of three laugh-out-loud mysteries! This boxed set includes three, full-length novels in the bestselling Merry Wrath Mysteries series, including:
Movie Night Murder (book #4)
Mud Run Murder (book #5)
Motto for Murder (book #6)
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Merry Wrath Mysteries Boxed Set Vol. III (books 7-9)
From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes the next boxed set of three delightfully deadly mysteries! This boxed set includes three, full-length novels in the bestselling Merry Wrath Mysteries series, including:
Map Skills Murder (book #7)
Mean Girl Murder (book #8)
Marriage Vow Murder (book #9)
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Merry Wrath Mysteries Boxed Set Vol. IV (books 10-12)
From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a boxed set of three laugh-out-loud Merry Wrath Mysteries! This boxed set includes three, full-length novels in the bestselling Merry Wrath Mysteries series, including:
Mystery Night Murder (book #10)
Meerkats and Murder (book #11)
Make Believe Murder (book #12)
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Merry Wrath Mysteries Boxed Set Vol. V (books 13-15)
From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a boxed set of three side-splitting Merry Wrath Mysteries! This boxed set includes three, full-length novels in the bestselling Merry Wrath Mysteries series, including:
Maltese Vulture Murder (book #13)
Musket Ball Murder (book #14)
Macho Man Murder (book #15)
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Merry Wrath Mysteries Boxed Set Vol. VI (books 16-18)
From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a boxed set of hilarious Merry Wrath Mysteries! This boxed set includes three, full-length novels in the bestselling Merry Wrath Mysteries series, including:
Mad Money Murder (book #16)
Mind-Bending Murder (book #17)
Mascots Are Murder (book #18)
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Merry Wrath Mysteries Boxed Set Vol. VII (books 19-21)
From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a boxed set of three hilariously over-the-top Merry Wrath Mysteries! This boxed set includes three, full-length novels featuring the CIA assassin turned Girl Scout troop leader, including:
Mosquito Bite Murder (book #19)
Manga and Murder (book #20)
Mayor for Murder (book #21)
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Merry Wrath Mysteries Boxed Set Vol. VIII (books 22-24)
From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a boxed set of fabulously funny Merry Wrath Mysteries! This boxed set includes three, full-length novels featuring the CIA assassin turned Girl Scout troop leader, including::
Mardi Gras Murder (book #22)
Munchies and Murder (book #23)
Memories are Murder (book #24)
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Merry Wrath Mysteries Boxed Set Vol. IX (books 25-27)
From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a boxed set of outrageously fun Merry Wrath Mysteries! This boxed set includes three, full-length novels featuring the CIA assassin turned Girl Scout troop leader, including::
Method Actor Murder (book #25)
Marked for Murder (book #26)
Mythic Melee Murder (book #27)
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Ukulele Murder
Aloha Lagoon Mysteries book #1
Nani Johnson thought she had it made when she moved from Kansas to the resort town of Aloha Lagoon, Kauai. In spite of her certifiably crazy mom, Nani is determined that nothing will stop her from becoming a ukulele virtuoso! Unfortunately her Julliard training doesn't help her break into the local music scene due to some heavy competition from the Terrible Trio—three hostile, local musicians. The only work she finds is a few bar mitzvahs and gigs at the kitschy Blue Hawaii Wedding Chapel.
But when one of Nani's competitors drops dead right after a public feud, Nani becomes the police's main suspect. A missing murder weapon, mysterious threats, and a heck of a frame-up job all have Nani worrying she'll be trading in her flowery muumuus for prison orange. Enter hunky local botanist Nick Woodfield, who just might be able to help her clear her name...that is if he doesn't have secrets of his own. With the bodies stacking up, the danger closing in, and the authorities circling, Nani must track down a killer...before she ends up the latest victim of the Ukulele Murderer!
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Ukulele Deadly
Aloha Lagoon Mysteries book #7
Ukulele player Nani Johnson is just starting to put the past behind her and settle in on Kauai with her loveable but crazy Mom, her hot new boyfriend, and regular gigs at both the Blue Hawaii Wedding Chapel and the Aloha Lagoon Resort. But unfortunately her island life proves anything but relaxing when a man carrying ID that says he's from Nani's hometown dies in front of her. Now it looks like Nani and her mother are the main suspects.
Things go from bad to bleak in paradise as Nani's mom starts acting even odder than usual, there's a mutiny involving snakes at the Blue Hawaii Wedding Chapel, and more bodies inconveniently pop up near Nani. Can Nani stay out of jail long enough to unmask the real killer...or will the police pin it all on her?
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Greatest Hits Mysteries
Scuse Me While I Kill This Guy
Greatest Hits Mysteries book #1
You can't pick your family…
Death by Chocolate is her favorite dessert. And those knitting needles aren't just for craft projects. To most people, Gin Bombay is an ordinary single mom. Then again, they don't know she's from a family of top secret assassins. Somewhere between leading a Girl Scout troop for her kindergartner—would nooses count for a knot badge?—and keeping their puppy from destroying the furniture, Gin now has to take out a new target.
But you can pick them off
Except this target has an incredibly hot Australian bodyguard who knows just how to make her weak in the knees. But with a traitor threatening to expose everything, Gin doesn't have much time to indulge her hormones. She's got to find the leak and clear her assignment … or she'll end up next on the Bombay family hit list.
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Guns Will Keep Us Together
Greatest Hits Mysteries book #2
Dakota Bombay prided himself on his Bond-like image—bad-guy killer by day, lady-killer by night. But his life gets both shaken and stirred by an irate grandmother demanding a marketing plan for the family assassination business, a precocious six-year-old son he never knew he had, and a mysterious redheaded funeral director who's got him intrigued in more ways than one.
Suddenly the perennial playboy is knee deep in pie charts and play-dates, while juggling the demands of the not-so-family-friendly family business. Throw in a team of rival assassins, and Dak's dreams of living trigger-happily ever after just may be put on ice.
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Stand By Your Hitman
Greatest Hits Mysteries book #3
Missi Bombay invents things—fatal flowers, Jell-O bullets, stroke-inducing panty hose and other ways to kill a target without leaving any trace behind. Living a solitary life on her family's island, she's a great asset to her family of assassins. Unfortunately, the family that kills together also meddles together, and when Missi's mom decides her daughter's life is a little too solitary, she packs Missi off to Costa Rica for an undercover assignment on a low-budget Survival reality TV show. Amidst the ridiculous challenges, tribal voting, and late-night sneaking to the nearby resort, Missi finds herself not only scoping out her family's latest target, but also Lex Danby, the hottest contestant on the island. But Missi's hormones get put on the back burner when someone starts sabotaging the show … and Missi is squarely in the sights of the deadly culprit.
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I Shot You Babe
Greatest Hits Mysteries book #4
Coney Bombay isn't your average PhD. While he may be well versed in philosophy, he's also one of the most lethal members of the Bombay Family of assassins. Choosing to travel the world operating carnival rides and spending quiet evenings knitting with his pet guinea pig, even in his crazy family, Cy stands out as wild card. But after a series of run-ins with perennial grad student, Veronica Gale, the cool cat is starting to feel a little hot under the collar.
In her research, Ronnie Gale has seen a lot. Problem is, she hasn't actually done a lot. The mysterious Cy Bombay seems about to change all of that when a whirlwind adventure takes them from the small-town country fair to the outer reaches of Mongolia, and into a murder mystery with Cy squarely in the center.
Ronnie's going to have to climb out of her ivory tower and get a little down and dirty if she wants to survive Cy Bombay's wild ride.
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Paradise By The Rifle Sights
Greatest Hits Mysteries book #5
Paris Bombay is looking for lasting love—a real woman to share Harvey Wallbangers with—which isn't easy to find when you're a member of history's most prolific family of assassins. Instead, he ends up with a lethal assignment that isn't his, a reluctant role as the new Bachelor on a reality TV show, and a slew of menacing death threats. Paris knew life as a Bombay wasn't easy, but if this assassin is going to find the love of his life, he's got to find out who's threatening his life first…
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Snuff the Magic Dragon: And Other Bombay Family Bedtime Stories
Greatest Hits Mysteries book #6
What do the Minotaur, Rasputin, the first man hung for murder in America, and the Countess of Blood all have in common? No, they aren't related. They all appeared on the Bombay Family's Hit List! In this collection of Bombay Bedtime Stories, you'll find out what Bombays did before Gin Bombay came along. From pet Dodo birds to Ancient Greece and 20th Century Russia, get the stories Bombay children have been told for thousands of years. Stories that have been shrouded in blood-sworn secrecy...until now!
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My Heroes Have Always Been Hitmen: And Other Bombay Family Bedtime Stories
Greatest Hits Mysteries book #7
Ever wondered what it's like to be born into a family of assassins? Gin Bombay knows, and now she's sharing her family's deepest, darkest secrets...
The Bombay Family Bedtime Stories continue with My Heroes Have Always Been Hitmen! Four more family stories have been released from the vault, including Rio Bombay—wanna-be cowboy and wild west gunslinger, Caspian—the first Bombay to have to take out another Bombay, Aberdeen—the hoop-skirted Antebellum Assassin, and Dublin Bombay—the Scottish Viking Slayer! History is at its most hilarious as this darkly funny family tells all...
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Greatest Hits Boxed Set (books 1-4)
From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a compilation of 4 full length, humorous romantic mysteries, including:
'Scuse Me While I Kill This Guy (Greatest Hits book #1)
Guns Will Keep Us Together (Greatest Hits book #2)
Stand By Your Hitman (Greatest Hits book #3)
I Shot You Babe (Greatest Hits #4)
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Other Works
Sex, Lies & Family Vacations
a romantic comedy
Laura Smith is the mom of two adorable children, the wife of a successful businessman...and the unappreciated shadow of the woman she once was. Somehow, her family never seems to notice that the laundry gets done, the house is picked up, dinner mysteriously appears on the table, and then cleans up after itself. Instead of being her children's idol and her husband's lover, she's become a funny little footnote in her own life. That is until she takes her children on vacation to Disneyworld in sunny Florida, where she just happens to end up in a hotel room right next to her college flame, Alan James. Old passions ignite and new excitement sparks as Laura and Alan bring new meaning to "The Most Magical Place on Earth." But when Laura and Alan's spouses unexpectedly show up in Florida, a comedy of errors ensues, and only one thing is for certain: Laura's life will never be the same again.
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