Showing results by author "Patricia McLinn" in All Categories

Life has changed for TV journalist and intuitive sleuth Elizabeth Danniher. But one thing hasn't changed -- murder still creeps down the road to Sherman, Wyoming. Elizabeth’s life is taking another major turn, and her Caught Dead in Wyoming fellow investigators discover what’s over the horizon in each of their lives. The latest death involves an off-season dude ranch and its staff, ardent rivals in a quest for buried treasure, a wildlife whisperer who seemed to know no enemies, and legends and exploits of long dead outlaws.

TV journalist Elizabeth “E.M.” Danniher will tell you she committed two sins: She didn’t stay young, and she made an enemy of a powerful news executive - her ex. She used to break national news. Now, her top story as the "Helping Out!" reporter at dinky KWMT-TV in Sherman, Wyoming, is getting a defective toaster repaired.

Death hits close to home for Elizabeth “E. M.” Danniher - or, rather, close to Hovel, as she's dubbed her decrepit rental house in rustic Sherman, Wyoming. Her elderly neighbor has killed a man apparently after her Western artifacts. As a former top-flight national TV reporter, Elizabeth knows self-defense can satisfy the legal system, yet leave her neighbor in danger. Doing what she does best - asking questions - Elizabeth sidesteps her boss to inquire into an eccentric billionaire.

Matty's up to something - Dave knows that much. Just as he knows that Matty needs help, so of course he'll provide it. Doing what's best for Matty is second nature. Even when it comes to marrying her in name only. Although he can't resist one hot-blooded kiss after the "I dos" - a kiss as fiery as the flame-red Indian Paintbrush that's always reminded him of Matty.

That’s right, Thurston Fine, the egotistical anchor at KWMT-TV is the first person deputies want to talk to when his self-described biggest fan is found dead. What’s Elizabeth Margaret Danniher to do? The station’s in an uproar, heading for a train wreck, and desperately needs her experience and leadership. At the same time, here’s an intriguing puzzle right in front of her…which might free or condemn her greatest enemy. In TV news, cross talk between the anchor and reporter is supposed to elicit new and interesting information.

Official consumer advocate and unofficial investigative reporter Elizabeth Margaret Danniher, her KWMT-TV colleague Mike Paycik, rancher Tom Burrell, and their supporting staff of idiosyncratic sleuths take on another mystery. A ranch foreman is found dead - and for most in Cottonwood County, the reaction is...good riddance.

The executive who’s responsible for widely hated changes at the biggest grocery store in Haines Tavern, Kentucky, arrives for a tour...and doesn’t leave alive. Sheila and Clara are on the scene - buying dog treats, of course - and on the case. Can they pick out the ingredients for the right solution?

Elizabeth Margaret “E.M.” Danniher finds house hunting in Cottonwood County, Wyoming difficult, but deadly? That she never expected. In television, a cold open rolls before the credits, pitching the viewer into the news story. That’s how Elizabeth and her cohorts feel after she finds a body in a house for sale. A victim with a hidden history, few suspects, and the sheriff’s department not happy having Elizabeth - and amateur sleuth thorn in their sides - as the closest thing they have to a witness. Mike, Diana, Tom and the rest jump in to dig in.

One of their own becomes a target.... A voice on the phone says Jennifer’s best friend has tragically died in a fall at a national park. Her certainty that it was no accident starts TV reporter Elizabeth Danniher, with friends Mike, Tom, and Diana plus the rest of the Caught Dead in Wyoming crew, on an investigation that moves faster - and closer to them - than any of them could ever expect. They’ve barely had time to catch their breath since solving recent homicides; now one of their own becomes a target as they race time and a murderer before this hot roll burns them all.

Elizabeth and friends prepare to celebrate Christmas, with all its joys and complications. Not to mention short-staffing at the local TV station with changes to come. But that’s not all Elizabeth has on her plate for the holidays. Someone’s put a wish on the Christmas Wishing Tree set up at KWMT-TV that has her name on it...and it’s a weird one.

A man in a wheelchair goes missing in rough country in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming. Amateur sleuth Elizabeth “E.M.” Danniher and KWMT-TV colleague Mike Paycik immediately join the search organized by local rancher Thomas Burrell. But soon, they’re on a search of a different kind - a search for the truth amid western mysteries.

Sheila’s settling into life in Haines Tavern, Kentucky. Sure, she has secrets to keep, but things are rolling along nicely. Trips to the dog park with her rescue collie Gracie, meeting her friend Clara and Gracie’s friend LuLu. Preparing for more work on her house by another dog park acquaintance, former cop Teague O’Donnell. And regular, relaxing yoga classes at the Beguiling Way studio...until Sheila and Clara encounter a new twist when someone murders their instructor.

Elizabeth "E.M." Danniher, until recently a top-flight national TV journalist, is regaining her footing after a dizzying demotion to tiny - and entirely foreign to her - Sherman, Wyoming. But her equilibrium faces a major challenge. The apparently accidental death - under the hooves of bucking bulls - of a rodeo producer preparing for Sherman’s annual Fourth of July Rodeo catches the attention of Elizabeth and her KWMT-TV colleague Mike Paycik. Not only is it a major story about the region’s biggest event, but it’s being outrageously mishandled by the station.

Elizabeth "E.M." Danniher has been among TV journalism’s elite. But divorcing her network exec husband ends not only her marriage but her career, and she’s banished to tiny KWMT-TV in Sherman, Wyoming, to finish out her contract. Now she’s exploring what comes next - in her career, her life, and her relationships with family, friends, and those who’d like to be more than friends. But she’s not being left in peace to wrestle with these issues because she keeps being drawn in to murder investigations.

Sheila Mackey has a secret. To the world, she’s author of a blockbuster book. Her wily great-aunt, the actual author, orchestrated this mutually beneficial masquerade. Now the aunt’s retiring and Sheila must draft Act Two of her own life. This cruise is supposed to be the perfect time to do that. Crossing the Atlantic on the Diversion, Sheila finds a dead body on deck. She realizes she knows a whole lot more about the interactions of the victim and suspects than the ship’s officials do.

When fire ravages Wyoming land, fireweed is among the first plants to return, brightening a blighted area with the joy of its blooms. Small-town lawyer Taylor Anne Larsen faces the challenge of doing the same for the pain-ravaged heart and disbelieving soul of ranch foreman Cal Ruskoff. Armed with the same grace and grit as the wildflower fireweed, Taylor also has allies - a matchmaking friend, the Wyoming winter, high-octane mutual attraction, and a rescued puppy who slips past Cal's defenses.

Sheila agrees to soothe Clara’s nervousness, by accompanying her friend to the 20-year class reunion for North Bend County High. Nostalgia, good memories, old friendships - this should be fun, right? Ah, but grudges, old rivalries, and long-buried secrets also arise. And before the festivities wrap up, there’s one old classmate dead, another being questioned, and enough suspicion to cover several more. Sheila and Clara have their hands full, especially with Sheila wondering about her relationship with ex-policeman Teague O'Donnell.

A young woman comes to Elizabeth at KWMT to solve a kind of theft Elizabeth has never encountered before. That’s challenge enough, with the TV station for sale and the top candidate to buy it known for eliminating news departments. But Elizabeth also senses there something more bothering Hailey Newhall.

Sheila Mackey’s dislike for cemeteries can’t fend off her friend Clara’s determination. Amid eerie legends, including a tailgating hearse, the accidental investigator is lured into sorting through deadly questions a century old, revolving around an unidentified victim known as ZigZag Jane.

Ed Currick's and Donna Roberts' worlds couldn't have been any more different - a rancher from Wyoming and an up-and-coming Broadway musical actress on a national tour. What could have been a momentary encounter sparks desire - and more. But can there be anything but heartbreak ahead when they have only days before their dreams pull them apart?