Jane Stuart and Winky

Jane Stuart is a widowed young mother and literary agent with a knack for solving mysteries. Winky, her tortoiseshell cat, has a nose for trouble. In Missing Marlene, they team up to solve the mystery of a missing nanny who may have met with foul play. The last thing a working mom like Jane...

After Jane's last brush with a murderer landed her with a feature in People magazine, she is eager to get back to her literary life as a book agent - reading book proposals, making deals, talking to authors. She's glad to put fame aside and now that her beloved son Nick's birthday is coming up, she's busy planning a birthday party for him. She selects one of her favorite spots, a local inn, but before anyone can sing Happy Birthday and say "make a wish," the body of a young woman is found hanging from a tree in the woods back behind the inn.

Book agent extraordinaire Jane Stuart finally crawls out from under a stack of unread manuscripts. She starts a much-needed vacation, when her late husband's cousin, Stephanie, calls. She's about to start a new job in Shady Hills and wants to stay with Jane for a few days. Stephanie's new job as...

Jane Stuart and Ivy Benson were once best friends. Ever since Ivy's daughter Marlene was murdered, things have been rocky. To patch up their friendship, Jane invites Ivy to the writer's retreat Jane organized. Off-season Mt. Munsee Lodge is a mountain-top hotel which is perfect for relaxing and having fun. But Ivy brings Johnny, her new man, who turns out to be on the run. And when an unexpected blizzard leaves everyone marooned in the snow, there's no chance for escape.

Schemer Tina Vale, publisher of Corsair Books, slept her way to the top, making many enemies on the way. Now she's going after an old enemy, single mom and literary agent Jane Stuart. Nearly twenty years ago, Tina lost out to Jane when Jane married Kenneth, someone Tina wanted. Now Tina makes...

Jane couldn't turn down her nanny's sister when she needed a place to stay. Crystal Ryerson turns out to be more than a handful. In two short weeks as the new assistant director of the Shady Hills Public Library, Crystal proves herself to be trouble no matter how you spell it. A pain. Yes. Popular. No. Still, it's a shock when at the next meeting of Jane's book club at The Shady Hills Public Library, book shelves come crashing down and topple on poor Crystal.