Sophie Kimball Mystery

Murder’s never on the reading list, until the book club starts dropping dead. Single mom Sophie “Phee” Kimball isn’t a detective; she’s an account clerk in the chilly town of Mankato, Minnesota. But when her eccentric mother in Arizona insists that members of her retirement‑community book club are dying because of a “cursed” novel, Phee reluctantly heads to sun-soaked Sun City West to snoop. Phee doesn’t believe in curses, and the deaths appear to be accidents: a golf cart crash, pneumonia, an allergic reaction, but something is clearly not right under the blazing desert sun.

A wedding, a murder, and a retirement community full of suspects... what could possibly go wrong? Sophie “Phee” Kimball thought moving to Arizona to work for a private investigator would bring some peace and quiet. Instead, she's wrangling her seventy-four-year-old Aunt Ina’s over-the-top wedding and her mother Harriet’s nonstop meddling. But when a celebrity chef turns up dead on the golf course outside Harriet’s front door, things really start to heat up.

Sophie "Phee" Kimball is trying hard to get work done at her private investigation company—especially now that her old crush has joined the team. But her mom's book club's obsession with the local production of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap is proving to be far more distracting... After a much-despised cast member is found dead in the theater, Phee has no choice but to immerse herself in all the backstabbing backstage gossip. And with a threatening note landing on her mom's windshield, it looks like the killer might be ready for an encore.

When murder disrupts the peace in her mother's quirky Arizona retirement community, Sophie "Phee" Kimball finds herself caught in the middle of a dramatic—and deadly—game once again. A new board member proposes converting beloved golf courses into eco-friendly parks, and the residents of Sun City West are teed off about it. As tensions rise, Phee's mother harangues her into attending endless meetings and cheerleading for her bocce team, which is on the verge of imploding thanks to Myrna, whose aim on the court is as wild as her imagination.

In the retirement community of Sun City West, a prominent member of the clay sculpture club is found dead, a clay pot stuffed over his head. Ominously, the victim is holding a slip of paper with two names on it: amateur sleuth Phee Kimball's mother, Harriet Plunkett, and her friend Lucinda. Begged to investigate by her mother, Phee chisels away at confusing clues and potential suspects. Soon she is uncovering a scheme more precious—and perilous—than she imagined.