The Discount Detective Mysteries

Survival Can Be Deadly (#1)

An unemployed single mom reinvents herself by taking a job as an investigator at a discount detective agency located in a shopping mall – “Vigilance You Can Afford.”

Cameron Chandler’s first assignment at Penny-wise Investigations is to locate a runaway girl. The trail leads to a survivalist camp on a remote island in northern Puget Sound. Armed with only a Swiss Army Knife and her quirky on-the-job training as a suburban sleuth, Cameron uncovers more than she bargained for. She soon finds herself in a fight for her own survival in this lighthearted mystery set in Seattle and the San Juan Islands to the north.

“Survival Can Be Deadly introduces mystery lovers to a delightfully relatable and refreshing novice detective, Cameron Chandler, whose first case for Pennywise Investigations delivers a rich payoff of a plot along with a generous dollop of wit, a cast of engaging characters, and a crash course in how to survive survivalism.”
—Jeanne Matthews, author of the Dinah Pelerin mysteries and award-winning Devil by the Tail

Buy it now: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Kobo | Third Place Books
Also available as an audiobook! Audible.com

Campaigning Can Be Deadly (#2)

What begins as a political prank ends in murder . . .

Funded by an east coast family in the oil business, the out-of-state Congressional candidate takes the state by storm, marrying the daughter of a local prestigious family, and flooding the airwaves with negative ads.

Penny-wise Investigations, a discount detective agency located in a shopping mall, is hired to find who is stealing the local candidate’s political signs. Two of their investigators not only catch the thieves, they find a body next to a pile of stolen signs, proving that . . . Campaigning Can Be Deadly.

“This is a tale of good folks involved in others’ bad behavior, and how it turns out just might surprise you.”
—Joe Kilgore, The US Review

Buy it now: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Kobo | Third Place Books

Shopping Can Be Deadly (#3)

When gunshots echo off the shopping mall walls, the phrase “shop till you drop” takes on new meaning . . .

Single mom Cameron Chandler is an investigator with Penny-wise Investigations, a discount detective agency conveniently located in a suburban mall. She is approaching her office with a cup of Guatemalan dark roast in her hand when she hears a gunshot and and sees a young man collapse just a few feet away. Chaos breaks out in the packed mall as people try to escape. Cameron runs over to the gunshot victim and kneels beside him, but before she can help, she is grabbed from behind and forcibly dragged toward a mall exit.

“. . . fans of Janet Evanovich’s work will likely enjoy this book. An often fun and suspenseful mystery.”
—Kirkus Reviews

Buy it now:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Third Place Books

Moonlight Can Be Deadly (#4)

Cameron’s family has a fascination with the gruesome details of the death which occurred at a midnight sacrificial ritual, but are torn about the tactics by the ecofeminist group, despite their support of the group’s mission. When Cameron attends a climate change rally with her colleague, Yuri, they bring along her children. Unfortunately, when Cameron leaves Yuri and her kids to try to get her client’s niece out of harm’s way, she gets caught up in a mass arrest after an explosion occurs. Cameron and Yuri interview a number of suspects, including a handsome professor who Cameron decides is “dateworthy,” but she is alone when she confronts the person responsible for not one but two deaths. Instinct and training kick in at the last minute to prevent her from becoming the murderer’s third victim.

“Stuart delivers compelling and satisfying entertainment that still feels firmly rooted in the challenges of the modern world.” 
—BlueInk Review

“The mystery surrounding the Full Moon Society and their moonlight rituals had me captivated.”
—Readers’ Favorite

Buy it now:  Amazon| Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Third Place Books