M. S. Peke

Merlot and Murder

A Happy Camper Mystery

The wrong vintage can be deadly.

A mysterious blonde in a supercar, a wine competition gone horribly wrong, and disappearing owls. Winnie Hackleshack’s week of spas, wine, and relaxation takes a back seat as she searches for a killer.

After another narrow escape at Glacier National Park, Winnie Hackleshack needed a break, so when her sister offered a vacation at a resort in Napa, California, she couldn’t refuse. But after arriving, Winnie’s quest to eat, drink, and be pampered is sidetracked when she’s asked to be a guest judge at a wine competition. After the judge next to her dies, and she gets sick, Winnie gets suspicious. The deeper she digs, the more she’s convinced it wasn’t an accident. It was murder.

 While she continues to investigate the judge’s death, barn owls are disappearing, and local wineries employ a university to find out why. A researcher is found dead under mysterious circumstances, her documents missing. Winnie senses the deaths are related, and when the local sheriff refuses to investigate, it’s up to Winnie to find the killer. Before she’s the next victim.

 If you like a quirky amateur sleuth, lots of twists and turns, and an adorable dog with a knack for trouble, you’ll love this laugh-out-loud cozy mystery from M. S. Peke.

M. S. Peke

Frozen In Death

A Happy Camper Mystery

Never trust an accountant with a gun.

Crooked accountants, a detective stuck in the eighties, and shell corporations with dubious ties. These are the least of Winnie Hackleshack’s problems as she tries to keep herself out of jail.

After her brush with death at Yellowstone, Winnie needed a change, and Glacier National Park was just the place. With visions of moose foraging along the shores of pristine waters, bighorn sheep dotting the mountains, and mirror-like lakes fed from glaciers, she was ready for hiking, kayaking, and exploring. Things looked bad when she agreed to go to dinner with the camper next door, only to find him dead the next morning. She tracked down the suspect, but when he was also murdered, things got worse.

And as the detective in charge bumbles his way along, the police have only one suspect. Winnie.

With Winnie in the hot seat, she’s more determined than ever to track down those responsible. If she can find them. Charred financial reports and a long-forgotten photograph might provide a clue, but Winnie needs all her friends’ help to solve the mystery before she becomes victim number three.

M. S. Peke

Critiqued to Death

A Grand Prairie Mystery

Some reviews are worth killing for.

A play in shambles, a dead critic, and a rookie detective. Out of work actor Rose Lipstick has her job cut out for her as she tries to keep herself and her mom out of jail.

Rose Lipstick left the small town of Grand Prairie, Kansas, seeking fame and fortune. She skyrocketed into Hollywood’s elite. Everything she wanted was hers until her show was cancelled and offers vaporized. Then she discovered her manager/boyfriend was siphoning off what money she had left. It didn’t take long before Rose slid from the A-list to no list. But her escape from LA wasn’t the respite she’d hoped for.

 She traded beach sand for cow patties and took the only job she was offered, assistant artistic director at the local community college. After a disastrous performance attended by a prominent theater critic, Rose scrambles for damage control. And when the critic is found murdered—in her mom’s B&B—she and her mom find themselves suspects. The only leads she has are a scrap of newspaper and a cryptic poem. As she finds other clues and the mystery begins to unfold, so do the threats. If she doesn’t solve the mystery soon, Curtain Call might take on a whole new meaning.