I’m a true crime journalist turned mystery novelist, which means I’ve spent plenty of time on both sides of the crime scene tape. For years, I covered real-life investigations—courtrooms, police reports, and the kinds of late-night calls that never make the evening news. That background taught me two things: people are endlessly fascinating, and real crime is always messier than fiction.
Now, I take those lessons and spin them into stories that mix suspense with small-town life, sharp humor, complicated relationships—and yes, a few corpses along the way. My novels live at the crossroads of grit and charm: where Appalachian hills and Midwest streets hide dark secrets, and where murder is just as likely to be solved by a nosy neighbor as a seasoned detective.
If you like mysteries with a little bite, a little heart, and maybe a cat or two keeping watch—you’ve come to the right place.
The Goode Grace Mystery Series
Meet Trinity Goode—a goth-adjacent artist who left her small hometown behind for the big city. But when her beloved grandfather dies under mysterious circumstances, she’s drawn back to Grace, Ohio. Instead of feeling like a fish out of water, Trinity slips back into small-town life with quilting circles, cake baking, and helping run her family’s Christmas tree farm and corn maze.
Of course, small-town life has a dark side. When trouble stirs in Grace, Trinity finds herself working alongside an old friend—Deputy Bobby Grace. Bobby may be the picture of wholesome small-town law enforcement, but he proves that a good guy doesn’t have to be boring. Sparks fly as the two navigate murder, mystery, and maybe something more.
- American Goth
- A Maze & Grace
- Something Red
- Grace Under Fire
Quirky, heartfelt, and threaded with danger, the Goode Grace Mysteries prove that sometimes home really is where the bodies are buried. Available in paperback, eBook, and as audiobooks.
The Camelot West Virginia Series
Inspired by my Appalachian roots and my years covering crime in the region, the Camelot West Virginia series reimagines King Arthur in coal country. In these mountain towns, first responders—especially the volunteer firefighters and EMTs who put everything on the line for their neighbors—are the true modern-day knights.
These stories mix mystery, romance, and Southern gothic grit with threads of ancient legend. Firefighters, cops, and paramedics carry the swords (sometimes literally), while old mountain folklore and a touch of magic stir in the shadows.
Full-Length Novels
- Camelot, West Virginia
- Down Came a Blackbird
Novellas
- A Murder of Orkneys
- Christmas in Camelot
Dark secrets, small-town loyalties, rekindled romances, and the whisper of something otherworldly—because in Appalachia, the hills don’t just have eyes, they have legends.
The Martha Garrett Mysteries
Inspired by a true incident I once covered, the Martha Garrett Mysteries dive into the blurred line between justice and vengeance. These stories are romantic suspense balanced on the point of a knife—where love and loyalty clash with trauma, revenge, and the question of how far you’ll go to protect the innocent. And yes, a cat named Chat definitely takes center stage.
What the Chat Dragged In
FBI Special Agent Martha Garrett spent her career protecting children from predators—until one night, she saw something so horrific it broke her mind and her spirit. Starting over, she finds a kindred soul in Seth Christopher, a tattooed food blogger whose past scars run just as deep as hers. With Chat the cat prowling in the background, their new life looks almost perfect—until predators who escaped justice start turning up dead. Suddenly, Martha has to ask hard questions—about herself, her soulmate, and whether the vigilante at work is far closer to home than she ever imagined.
Best Served Cold
The riveting, heart-wrenching sequel to What the Chat Dragged In.
Seth Christopher has built a new life with Martha, but the horrors of his childhood still haunt him. When a shocking death sets him on a quest for revenge, his hunger for justice threatens to consume everything he’s built. Martha wants to believe in the man she loves, but as Seth edges closer to becoming the very monster he fears, she may lose him—to his demons, to the law, or to the darkness itself. Through it all, Chat the cat is never far from the action—observing, comforting, and occasionally stirring up just the right amount of trouble.
Big Break
Is she kissing a killer?
For small-town police chief Andie Taylor, everything always seemed to fall into place—until the day she’s forced to shoot her snake of an ex-boyfriend. Now broke, demoted to her aunt’s spare room, and nursing her pride, Andie figures things can’t get worse.
Then she accidentally runs over a handsome stranger, Dash Fletcher, during a police chase. Her well-meaning aunt insists Dash recover in their home, and sparks start to fly. It looks like Andie’s finally found her dream man… until the wealthiest woman in town is murdered, and Dash shoots straight to the top of her suspect list.
Her heart says he’s innocent. The evidence says otherwise. As Andie digs deeper, she uncovers a web of lies that could cost her job, her heart, and maybe even her life.
If you love witty banter, sizzling chemistry, and a mystery with twists that keep you guessing, Big Break is your next binge-worthy read.
The Girl of His Dreams
Mitch has everything—except someone to share his successful life with. That changes the moment he walks into a coffee shop and sees the beautiful woman who haunted his dream the night before. Stranger still? She recognizes him too.
Together, Mitch and his dream girl discover they share more than chemistry—they share dreams. At first, the visions are enchanting: a big promotion, a perfect home, the promise of a child. And when those dreams start coming true, it feels like destiny.
But then the dreams twist into nightmares. Fire. Smoke. A child’s desperate cry. Night after night, they fight to save a child who doesn’t exist… yet.
Are these dreams a warning? Should they walk away before tragedy strikes—or can they use what they’ve seen in their nightmares to rewrite their future?
A short, suspenseful blend of mystery, paranormal, and romance that will stay with you long after the last page.
