The Cotswolds. Leta Parker is happy the holidays are here again. Looking forward to a little relaxation after a harrowing murder case, the fifty-something widow can't wait to unwrap gifts with her beau. But the Yuletide cheer turns sour when her delightful doggo Dickens dashes out the door with a canine companion and doesn't return.

Leta Parker's retirement in the Cotswolds' rolling hills has been a balm for her soul. And heading off with her friends and talking four-legged companions to a cat yoga retreat on the cliffs of Cornwall's Arthurian coastline seems like the perfect mix of relaxation and exploration. But when a fellow yogi's corpse pose nearly becomes permanent, Leta believes it's no stretch to suspect foul play.

Leta Parker is both saddened and happy. Though the second anniversary of her husband's sudden death makes her wistful, her revitalized life in the Cotswolds and a long-distance boyfriend have brought her joy. But when her beau visits for a literature festival, she finds herself immersed in a book collector's suspicious demise . . . Though she's thrilled to once again team up with the Little Old Ladies' Detective Agency and her precocious pets to crack the case, Leta fears her new love will worry about the danger.

Bells, Tails & Murder is the delightful first book in the Dickens & Christie Mystery series. If you like spunky literary women, amusing animal sidekicks, and inviting cultural backdrops, then you'll love Kathy Manos Penn's engaging cozy mysteries.

Torquay, Southwest England. Leta Parker can't wait to reconnect with her boyfriend. After a year of long-distance, she couldn't be happier to join him at a literary crime festival. But on the event's second night, she gets embroiled in a real-life murder mystery when a dead body is found . . .

Library director Amy Muir has always been suspicious of wealthy art dealer Kurt Kendrick. As a close family friend, the ties that bind them are strong, but his murky past is concerning, especially since he is the godfather to Amy and her husband Richard's six-year-old twins. When a visitor to their small, historic Virginia town is found dead after publicly accusing Kurt of committing a decades-old murder, Amy is determined to prove that Kurt didn't kill anyone, in the past or the present.

Coming soon...

Nursing a broken heart, Robbie Jordan is trading in her life on the West Coast for the rolling hills of Southern Indiana. After paying a visit to her Aunt Adele, she fell in love with the tiny town of South Lick. And when she spots a "for sale" sign on a rundown country store, she decides to snap it up and put her skills as a cook and a carpenter to use. Everyone in town shows up for the grand reopening of Pans 'n Pancakes, but when the mayor's disagreeable assistant is found dead, Robbie realizes that not all press is good press.

Clare Cosi used to manage the historic Village Blend coffeehouse…until she opted for quieter pastures and a more suburban life. But after ten years and a little friendly cajoling from the owner (a fresh pot of Jamaican Blue Mountain was all it took), she's back to the grind. With a sprawling rent-free apartment directly above the Village Blend, her cat Java by her side, and plenty of coffeehouse redecorating ideas, Clare is thrilled to return to work. Until she discovers the assistant manager unconscious in the back of the store, coffee grounds strewn everywhere.

Sarah Grayson is the happy proprietor of Second Chance, a charming shop in the oceanfront town of North Harbor, Maine. At the shop she sells used items that she has lovingly refurbished and repurposed. But her favorite pet project so far has been adopting a stray cat she names Elvis. The big black cat with a scar across his nose turned up at a local bar when the band was playing the King of Rock and Roll's music and hopped in Sarah's truck.

Coming soon...

The Cotswolds. Leta Parker is happy the holidays are here again. Looking forward to a little relaxation after a harrowing murder case, the fifty-something widow can't wait to unwrap gifts with her beau. But the Yuletide cheer turns sour when her delightful doggo Dickens dashes out the door with a canine companion and doesn't return.

Leta Parker's fit-and-fifty reinvention in the Cotswolds continues rolling along fabulously. Happy among her new friends and talking dog and cat, the sharp-minded expat is delighted to learn the prestigious Tour of Britain will pedal through the quaint village next year. But everyone's excitement quickly crashes when the news is accompanied by a dead body.

Leta Parker's retirement in the Cotswolds' rolling hills has been a balm for her soul. And heading off with her friends and talking four-legged companions to a cat yoga retreat on the cliffs of Cornwall's Arthurian coastline seems like the perfect mix of relaxation and exploration. But when a fellow yogi's corpse pose nearly becomes permanent, Leta believes it's no stretch to suspect foul play.

Torquay, Southwest England. Leta Parker can't wait to reconnect with her boyfriend. After a year of long-distance, she couldn't be happier to join him at a literary crime festival. But on the event's second night, she gets embroiled in a real-life murder mystery when a dead body is found . . .