THE CASEY STENGEL MYSTERY SERIES:
1. Murder Among The Orchids
Among his beloved orchids, Mr. Popelmayer lay as if he'd gone down swinging.
Casey and her detective friend, Max, discover more than one bizarre and exotic turn to the mystery of Mr. Pop's death.
Did his daughter, Cattelya, or his son, Garo, want an early inheritance? Or perhaps his first wife has had her revenge. The answer lies in the Costa Rican Forest of Orchids.
All Casey wanted was a relaxing cruise where she could visit with her daughter, the cruise director, but suddenly she finds herself in the middle of a murder at sea. Who would have guessed the beautiful young woman dead in the deckchair next to her had an enemy who would use her love of the sun to end her life?
When Max joins Casey, what she thought would be a romantic ending to her cruise becomes an intense search for evidence. Somewhere among all the dermatologists holding a conference on board ship is a killer. Is it the victim’s doctor husband? Or one of his co-workers? And how does the shark expert fit into the puzzle?
3. Secrets Among The Shamrocks
Ireland’s green landscape greets Casey as she embarks
on a new adventure. She has volunteered to help her daughter Evelyn and her
husband, Charles, open a Bed & Breakfast at the Castle Shamrock. Max Dugan,
retired homicide cop and special friend to Casey has agreed to come along as
well and help out as a handy man. What they didn’t expect were the secrets the
castle would hold.
Casey has a history of finding dead bodies but this
time it is the youngest member of the household, Allie, their border collie, who
sniffs out the body under the collapsed wall of the castle. Is this the person
who has been digging holes all over the castle grounds? What could he have been
hoping to find?
Finn and Millie who grew up in the town of Dingle
where the castle sits on a slight hill above the Dingle Harbor share the story
of the theft of the Irish Crown Jewels and the rumors that arose about the
connection of the suspected thieves to Castle Shamrock.
Professor Thornbury who claims to be an expert in
Irish history and folklore is the first guest of the Bed & Breakfast. He’s
a strange fellow who seems to be more interested in what might lie between the
pages of the books in the lodge’s library than what is on their pages.
There are secrets to be discovered at the lodge and the
castle and the mystery of an unsolved murder. Is there a connection to the
Crown Jewels and the thieves? Can Casey and Max figure out the puzzling clues
and discover the secrets the Castle Shamrock holds?
4. Abandoned Among The Apple Trees
Casey's sweet Aunt Kitty dies under suspicious circumstances and, as the nearest relative, she is named executor of the will. It would involve traveling to Ohio which means Casey would have to leave Ireland and her daughter who is pregnant with her first grandchild. Convinced by those around her that they can handle all her chores at the Bed and Breakfast in her absence, she agrees to go and hopes to return quickly before her grandchild's arrival.
Max Dugan, Casey's special friend and ex-cop turned private investigator meets her in Ohio and the two of them find themselves embroiled in an investigation into Aunt Kitty's death.
Johnny, a man with quite a tragic history, becomes the center of concern in the murder investigation. For several years he has been a foreman on Aunt Kitty's apple farm and helped with her ministry to new immigrants to the country.
There are secrets to be discovered about Johnny and of Aunt Kitty's past. But the greatest question to be answered is who would kill such a sweet kind woman like Aunt Kitty and why?
Suzanne Brown and her daughter, Dominique have begun a new life in the pretty little town of Harper Valley. Suzanne and Dominique struggle a bit with their new identities and the backstory they have created to fit their new circumstances. Although Suzanne does not need to work, she finds a job as a bookkeeper at the fabric mill in town so people will not suspect she secretly has a net worth of millions.
While Dominique who is about to turn thirteen tries to
adjust to attending a public school and a church teen group, she desperately
misses her BFF back in California but she has been warned not to communicate
with her. How can she survive with no friend to share things with, especially
her love of photography.
Scott Frazier, youth pastor at Valley Christian Church,
grows closer to Suzanne and Dominique as he seeks to help Dominique fit into
the church youth group. At the same time, he finds that Suzanne is a woman he
would like to get to know better. Little does he know what danger that may put
him in.
Although Suzanne’s brother Michael, a US Marshall who has
arranged for them to be hidden in Harper Valley, assures her that her past will
not find her, she soon realizes all the precautions they have taken have
failed. She is being stalked. Their hiding place has been discovered. Will her
ex-husband follow through on his promise?
As a young child, Tammy was adopted by the Callahan family
but as she grew into her late teens, she became restless, wondering about her
roots and the parents who had given her up to be adopted. Seeking the answers puts
her on a slippery downward slope that leads to a dark time in her life.
Allan and Emily Callahan couldn’t have loved Tammy more if
she had been their biological child. When Tammy left school and disappeared
from their lives they were devastated. Wanting to be reassured that she was
alive and well, they hire Mark Long, an ex-cop turned law student and private
investigator to find her.
While Mark Long is successful in his search, he is not certain he can convince Tammy to reunite with her adoptive parents. What is holding her back? Can he break through the barriers that keep her from a family that loves her?
Chrissie has received a personal letter from Santa every year since she was
five years old and lost her first responder father. Though they stopped coming
when she turned eighteen, the encouraging letters touch her heart each year as
she takes them from her memory box and rereads them. Now as a reporter for a
Florida news magazine, she has decided to search out her letter writing Santa
but unknown to Chrissie, a romance and a second family await her in Santaland,
Minnesota.Jack Hart meets Chrissie as they board a plane for Minnesota. He hates the idea of going home each year for Christmas because it usually means tension between himself and his father. This trip home though surprises him as he finds Chrissie is a guest at his parents’ farm, a B & B and camp for kids. Christmas becomes a more pleasant time as he grows fond of Chrissie and she helps him to reevaluate his parents’ mission of helping children of first responders.
Available at Amazon
Ginnie Scott looked forward to the beginning of a new life
in Fort Lonesome. She felt a new sense of freedom leaving behind the parents
she had so deeply disappointed. She was starting fresh as a preschool teacher
where no one knew her past. Little did she expect that the past would catch up
with her.
When you give the miracle of love will you get double back? A small Pennsylvania town will soon discover if that is true.In Hollitown, Joseph is not looking forward to his first Christmas without his wife. When he discovers that eight year old Keri is hurting as well from missing her father, Joseph find that a pocketful of Christmas can bring joy again into their lives.
Available at Amazon
Pickle Dilly
An Annie Pickels Story, Book 2
Annie
Pickels, a widowed pickle entrepreneur, and her best friend Elma are off to
London for a little holiday. While in London things are happening back home
that threaten to cause the loss of Annie’s farm property. Once again she will
rely on Arnie, her friend who is a lawyer but who wants to be so much more in
her life, to help her out of trouble. RUBY, A Novel
A love grown quietly over the years. A war calls
and decisions must be made in haste. What secrets will need to be kept and how
will they affect generations to come?In A Pickle
An Annie Pickels Story, Book 1
Annie Pickels, a 65 year old widowed pickle entrepreneur is in real trouble. One of her city farmers is growing marijuana on his rented plot of land. Annie, thinking it is marjoram, uses it as a secret ingredient in her pickles. Insisting Tommy is a nice young man, Annie discovers his beloved Mary Jane is not the name of his girlfriend after Annie is arrested for cultivation and sale of marijuana. But Annie knows God always takes care of her. On a cruise aboard the Queen Mary 2, Annie meets the man who might solve her impending legal dilemma, Arnie. Elma, Annie’s best friend, knows that Arnie is just what Annie needs in her life. But is he? Annie’s niece thinks Arnie is out to fleece her aunt. Is she right? Or is Arnie the one who can get Annie out of the pickle she’s in?Available at Amazon.com
Revised and Reissued! Divide The Child
A mother's worst nightmare. Her child is snatched.The kidnapper is Sebrena Warner, the child's real mother. Or is she? It has been six years since their rescue of a baby girl who was born alive after a botched abortion and Julie and Rick Sierra had begun to relax. No one questioned the adoption papers and their move out of the area to avoid being discovered. Now they are about to become embroiled in a custody battle only the wisdom of Solomon could decide.
Sebrena vows to use all the power her politically aspiring husband, Wynne, will bring her. But Wynne's life is complicated further by a reporter, Michael Boston, who threatens to expose Sebrena's past.
Judge Helen Belmonte must decide Kathy's future. She turns to the only place she knows she will find true wisdom, her Bible.
Purchase at: Amazon
A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts
Is your December cluttered? Does Christmas leave you fretting instead of singing Joy to the World? In A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts, discover how to bring harmony to this busy month. Tips for family traditions, connecting generations, children, gift giving, how to grow myrrh and much more. Try the scrumptious Cookie Canister recipes. Read about families who experienced Christmas firsts. This is a book to help you un-complicate Christmas, rediscover the real source of joy and usher in the celebration ofA Scrapbook of Motherhood Firsts
A SCRAPBOOK OF MOTHERHOOD FIRSTS celebrates motherhood milestones in a collection of topics from conception to school days, and recipes to family fun days. With nearly 150 years of collective mothering, Leslie, Trish, Terra, Cathy, and Karen combine common sense, heartfelt advice, and humor to encourage young women in their journey through motherhood. Through tips, stories, recipes, and memories, these women bring faith-filled words of wisdom and insight.Chicken soup for the Soul, Here Comes The Bride
The wedding day, and each day leading up to it, is a special and exciting time. In this collection of 101 heartwarming and hilarious stories, brides and grooms, families and friends share their memories of the big day. With stories about everything from the proposal, to the planning, to actual wedding day events, the honeymoon, and all the joys and frustrations in between, this book will delight and encourage any bride or newlywed.
Chicken Soup for the Soul, Married Life!Marriage is a wonderful institution, and in this fresh collection of stories, husbands and wives share their personal, funny, and quirky stories from the trenches. Whether newly married or married for years and years, readers will find laughter and inspiration in these 101 stories of love, romance, fun, and making it work.
When life deals you split ends, tangles, limp bangs, and the absolute wrong shade of color, one quick spritz of humor and a comb-through of wisdom from The Bad Hair Day Book will have you smiling again! The wisest man in the world said "a cheerful heart is good medicine," and this book is just what the doctor prescribes. Readers will be encouraged and cheered up with this delightful collection of true life stories, cartoons, poems, Scripture, simple ideas and advice on simplifying and reorganizing life, and other expressions of hope and humor.
Ho! Ho! Ho! Christmas is the season to celebrate a marvelous time of parties, gift-giving, children's pageants, joyful music, family movies, and family reunions-which all combine to create lots of fun and laughter.
Ho! Ho! Ho! stands apart from traditional Christmas gift books as a light-hearted, whimsical-and laugh-aloud-collection of personal stories, poems, humorous anecdotes, top-10 lists (from silly songs, to movies, to strange traditions), cartoons, quotes, and other writings to brighten the busyness and activities of the season.
