Books in the Lovely Lethal Gardens series

A new cozy mystery series from USA Today best-selling author Dale Mayer. Follow gardener and amateur sleuth Doreen Montgomery-and her amusing and mostly lovable cat, dog, and parrot-as they catch murderers and solve crimes in lovely Kelowna, British Columbia.Riches to rags. ... Controlling to chaos. ... But murder ... seriously?After her ex-husband leaves her high and dry, former socialite Doreen Montgomery's chance at a new life comes in the form of her grandmother, Nan's, dilapidated old house in picturesque Kelowna ... and the added job of caring for the animals Nan couldn't take into assisted living with her: Thaddeus, the loquacious African gray parrot with a ripe vocabulary, and his buddy, Goliath, a monster-size cat with an equally monstrous attitude.It's the new start Doreen and her beloved basset hound, Mugs, desperately need. But, just as things start to look up for Doreen, Goliath the cat and Mugs the dog find a human finger in Nan's overrun garden.And not just a finger. Once the police start digging, the rest of the body turns up and turns out to be connected to an old unsolved crime.With her grandmother as the prime suspect, Doreen soon finds herself stumbling over clues and getting on Corporal Mack Moreau's last nerve, as she does her best to prove her beloved Nan innocent of murder.

A new cozy mystery series from USA Today best-selling author Dale Mayer. Follow gardener and amateur sleuth Doreen Montgomery-and her amusing and mostly lovable cat, dog, and parrot-as they catch murderers and solve crimes in lovely Kelowna, British Columbia.Riches to rags. ... Chaos continues. ... Murders abound. ... Honestly?Doreen Montgomery's new life in Kelowna was supposed to be a fresh start after a nasty split from her husband of fourteen years, plus a chance to get her bearings and her life back on track. Instead her first week in her new hometown was spent digging up dead bodies, chasing clues, and getting in Corporal Mack Moreau's way.But now that the old cold case has been solved, and the murderer brought to justice, Doreen believes things might go her way this week. When Mack hires her to whip his mother's garden into shape, it seems like a second chance, both for Doreen's new beginning in Kelowna and for her budding relationship with Mack.But, instead of digging up Mrs. Moreau's struggling begonias and planting them in a better location, Doreen discovers another set of bones ... and another mystery to solve. As the clues pile up, Mack makes it abundantly clear that he doesn't want or need her help, but Doreen can't resist the lure of another whodunit. As she and Mack butt heads and chase red herrings, Doreen's grandmother, Nan, sets odds and places bets on who solves the crime first.All while a murderer is watching ...

A new cozy mystery series from USA Today best-selling author Dale Mayer. Follow gardener and amateur sleuth Doreen Montgomery-and her amusing and mostly lovable cat, dog, and parrot-as they catch murderers and solve crimes in lovely Kelowna, British Columbia.Riches to rags. ... Chaos calms. ... Crime quiets. ... But does it really?After getting involved in two murder cases in the short time she's lived in picturesque Kelowna, divorcee and gardener Doreen Montgomery has developed a reputation almost as notorious as her Nan's. The only way to stop people from speculating, is to live a life of unrelieved boredom until the media and the neighbors forget about her. And Doreen aims to do just that with a tour of Kelowna's famed Carnation Gardens. Plants, more plants, and nothing whatsoever that anyone could object to. But when she sees a fight between a beautiful young woman and her boyfriend, she can't help but be concerned. Concerned enough that she follows the couple out of the parking lot and through town. And when gunshots interrupt the placid afternoon, it's too late to worry about how her nemesis, Corporal Mack Moreau, will feel about her getting involved in yet another of his cases. With bodies turning up in the carnations, and a connection to a cold case of a missing child from long ago, Doreen has her hands full, not least with trying to keep her involvement in the investigations a secret from her Nan, Mack Moreau, and especially the media. But someone's keeping up with Doreen's doings... and that someone can't afford for her to find the answers to the questions she's asking.

Riches to rags. ... Chaos quiets. ... Crime is circling. ... And cold cases never cease ...After almost a month in picturesque Kelowna, Doreen Montgomery still can't keep her notoriety to a minimum or her nose out of other people's business. Now those suffering from the loss of a loved one seek her out, wanting her help. While the last thing Doreen wants is to have the media discover she's involved in another cold case, she is already hooked on the details ...But even more is going on. News has gotten out that Nan's old house is brimming over with valuable antiques, antiques Nan collected and left for Doreen, and the seedier elements of their lovely town are circling like vultures. With her animals in full assistant mode, Doreen must investigate the cold case, right the wrongs of the past, and keep her home safe, all while evading the media-and Corporal Mack Moreau.

Riches to rags. ... Controlling to chaos. ... But murder ... well maybe ...Doreen's success at solving murders has hit the newswires across the country, but all Doreen wants is to be left alone. She has antiques to get to the auction house and a relationship with Corporal Mack Moreau to work out, not to mention a new friendship to nurture with Penny, Doreen's first friend in Kelowna, and Doreen doesn't want to ruin things.But when a surprise accusation won't leave Doreen alone-about Penny's late husband George's death and made by one of the men Doreen helped put away-she thinks that maybe it can't hurt to just take a quick look into her new friend's past.Before Doreen knows it, she's juggling a cold case, a closed case, and a possible mercy killing ... along with cultivating her relationships with Penny, Mack, and Doreen's pets: Mugs, the basset hound; Goliath, the Maine coon cat, and Thaddeus, the far-too-talkative African gray parrot. And while Mack should be used to Doreen's antics by now, when she dives into yet another of his cases it's becoming increasingly hard to take ...

A new cozy mystery series from USA Today best-selling author Dale Mayer. Follow gardener and amateur sleuth Doreen Montgomery-and her amusing and mostly lovable cat, dog, and parrot-as they catch murderers and solve crimes in lovely Kelowna, British Columbia.Riches to rags. ... Controlling to chaos. ... But murder ... not this time!One night 10 years ago, 8-year-old Crystal, vanished from her bed in her parents' house, the only clue a footprint in the flowerbed below the girl's window. Now that footprint's reappeared, this time at the scene of another crime, and Doreen is under strict orders not to stick her nose into Corporal Mack Moreau's new investigation.But while Mack is busy with the new case, Doreen figures it can't hurt if she just takes a quick look at the old one. Her house is empty, her antiques removed, and she has time on her hands. She's finished working on Penny's garden and needs a new project to keep her busy - and allow her to avoid the heavy work waiting in her own garden. And with the help of her assistants, Thaddeus the parrot, Goliath the Maine Coon, and Mugs the Basset, soon Doreen is busy navigating the world of pawn shops and blackmail as she looks for clues as to what happened to the girl stolen from her bedroom so many years ago. Surely, it's not her fault when her case butts up against the new one - is it?

Riches to rags. ... Everything is under control, ... until it isn't. And Doreen's in the middle of it!The four boxes of files Doreen inherited from journalist Bridgeman Solomon have already helped her solve one crime, and Doreen hopes they'll continue to assist her as she sticks her nose into future cases. But, when she stumbles over a pair of pink satin handcuffs in her standoffish neighbor Richard de Genaro's heather patch, it's hard to believe that those reporter's files could have anything useful to offer regarding that.Doreen takes a look though, and soon she's headed down a merry trail of prostitution, embezzlement, and, of course, murder. But the minute the files suggest a connection to Doreen's specialty, a cold case, her beau and partner in crime, Corporal Mack Moreau, starts breathing down her neck.With her trusty animals leading the way, Doreen sets out to find the connection between the reputable banker who died in an unsolved hit-and-run and the prostitute who owned the pink satin handcuffs. As Doreen puts it all together, even she is surprised at the outcome of her latest investigation.

Riches to rags. ... Chaos is still present. ... Memories are fading, ... but not for everyone!The problem with notoriety is unfair expectations. When Mack's mother, Millicent Moreau, requests Doreen's help with a small problem she's kept hidden for decades, Doreen feels obligated to help. And what harm could it do, after all? Worst-case scenario? It'll annoy Mack, but that's something she does on a regular basis anyway.But when Millicent's "small problem" turns out to involve a failed marriage, a bag of jewels from a jewelry store that mysteriously burned down decades ago, possible insurance fraud, and maybe even a case of murder, ... Doreen will admit that she's in way over her head.With her trusty trio of furry and feathered cohorts, she brings an old case into the present-and finds it's more current than ever ...

Riches to rags. ... Chaos to more chaos. ... Fire destroys evidence. ... Or at least most of it! Flush with success from solving a decade-old kidnapping case, Doreen can't wait to find out what's next in her one-woman crusade to clean up Kelowna's cold crimes. But, before she can unearth another old case to sink her teeth into, she must tie up some loose ends from the last one.Steve Albright, fixer for the local biker gang, has made it clear that he blames Doreen for sending his friend Penny Jordan to prison. Steve even suggests that Doreen might have set up Penny Jordan. While Doreen wouldn't do that, she's afraid that other people might believe Steve. He's a popular figure in town and has a lot of friends, many of whom Doreen doesn't want to get any closer to than she must.At least Steve doesn't have his gun anymore, having dropped that in Doreen's neighbor's gardenia bed while she chased him from her yard. Which makes Doreen think that maybe it's safe to dig into Steve's past. Until she uncovers a connection to three arson cases from years ago and is warned off by Corporal Mack Moreau.But Doreen's never listened to Mack before, and it has all worked out thus far, so it's not like she has to listen to him now. Right?