Cozy Garden

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.

Southern belle Verity Long is back in business - as a ghost hunter. Now all she has to do is visit the town's creepiest mansion and exorcise a family of vengeful spirits. Piece of cake. After all, ghosts love her and need her...that is until she meets the ghosts of Rock Fall mansion. They'll do anything to keep their murderous secrets hidden within the cliffside fortress - even if that means getting rid of one meddling ghost hunter.

With Mathew’s murder done and dusted, and her future now wide open, Doreen turns to sorting out her financial world, particularly as her antiques are sold. And helping others is moving up her list of things she wants to do. Especially after finding a young woman who wants to get out of the streetwalker world and to move back home.

Myquillyn Smith is all about embracing reality - especially when it comes to decorating a home bursting with boys, pets, and all the unpredictable messes of life. In The Nesting Place, Myquillyn shares the secrets of decorating for real people - and it has nothing to do with creating a flawless look to wow your guests. It has everything to do with embracing the natural imperfection and chaos of daily living.

Crescent Cove, a small hamlet on Vancouver Island, is the last place out-of-work investigative journalist Luke Tremblay ever wanted to see again. He used to spend summers here, until his family learned that he was gay and rejected him. Now, following his aunt's sudden death, he's inherited her entire estate, including her seaside cottage and the antiques shop she ran for forty years in Crescent Cove. Luke plans to sell everything and head back to Toronto as soon as he can . . . but Crescent Cove isn't done with him just yet.

Poppy is settling into life in an English village and gaining some green fingers at last as she restores the beautiful cottage garden nursery she's inherited. When she meets a wealthy dog lover at the village fête and is hired to create a "canine scent garden", the future looks rosy...until the day ends with a vicious killing, and she finds herself spade-deep in a murder investigation once again.

As local merchants unite to attract tourists for a much anticipated weekend quilting event, business is sure to spill over into eateries like Daisy's Tea Garden. Reese Masemer had been dating one of Daisy's employees, Tessa, an artist, though their last interaction was as strained as a cup of loose leaf tea. Now Reese has been found dead near a covered bridge where Tessa's been practicing her sketches.

Spending time with Mack is always fun, but, when Doreen overhears a conversation that sounds like a murder confession, he disagrees, … until a body shows up. Then he’s suddenly a whole lot more interested. The deceased young man had planned to attend the local college and had hoped to rekindle a relationship with an ex-girlfriend.

Who knew a simple trip to the consignment store would find Wendy being strong-armed by two strangers? So not allowed—especially as it could affect Doreen getting her month-end check! Trying to get to the bottom of this is one convoluted story to sort out. Corporal Mack Moreau is not at all happy with Doreen’s new male friend, Bernard, who has the money to keep her in the style she was accustomed to. However, Mack is happy Doreen is staying out of his cases. If only she could stay out of trouble! Then again, Doreen can find trouble like this without any effort on her part.

When the journey to Rosemoor for a celebratory evening turns deadly, Doreen’s life is flipped on her head. She can only watch in horror as Mack is shot right in front of her. Horrified, she vows to solve this case and fast, before the shooter realizes he failed and comes back for a second attempt. Corporal Mack Moreau has been shot before, but this time it’s way worse because Doreen watched it all happen. Now she’s planning to catch the shooter before Mack even starts to heal. She’s yet to consider that maybe the shooter wasn’t after Mack but really wanted to shoot her.

Athena Spencer works with her big Greek-American family (whom she also anonymously blogs about) at their garden center near Lake Michigan. She's also gained a reputation for crime-solving—and that's what brings flower-shop owner and fellow sleuth Abby Knight Salvare to her door . . . Abby has come from Indiana to this Lake Michigan town to help her cousin, Jillian, who was emceeing a local fashion show and now stands accused of murdering one of the models.

Finding an Uzi in the urn at the shattered mausoleum is exciting and frustrating. Yet, Doreen can’t delve into the case, and Mack has been firm about that. She struggles to focus on other cases from her journalist files, in particular the Bob Small file. Only her plan goes off the rails when Nan and her cronies show up at her door with the Rosemoor bus, intent on heading to the excitement happening at the cemetery.

In this latest installment, prize-winning reporter Jim Qwilleran—along with his lovable Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum—solves a mystery that arises when a local banker dies under suspicious circumstances, leaving behind a flashy young widow, an unfinished house-restoration project, and a trail of clues as elusive as a cat burglar in the night.

Doreen loves gardens, all kinds of them. In the Okanagan, situated at the tip of the desert, water-frugal gardening makes sense. When Doreen sees a lovely xeriscaped garden from a drone video, she’s fascinated. When Mack mentions a mystery surrounding the property, she is mesmerized. Getting the details, however, is no easy feat. That’s because there aren’t many. But digging in and asking questions is something Doreen and her clan are good at, and it doesn’t take long to delve into the mystery in a big way—much to Corporal Mack Moreau’s disgust.

Elliana Allbright's life has blossomed in Poppyville, California, since she opened Scents & Nonsense, a custom-made perfume store. Her skills with aromas and botanical essences - some from her very own garden - seem almost supernatural. Her perfumes can evoke emotions, bring about change, or simply make people happy. Customers are flocking to the store to buy her wares or just to sit in her beautiful garden, sip tea, and enjoy homemade cookies.

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.

Riches to rags...Chaos has calmed...At least while out on the lake...Until poison is found, blowing up the peace again...Enjoying a beautiful day on the lake, while Doreen tries her hand at paddleboarding, ends up on an odd note after finding poison in a bed of pansies. She garners a tidbit of information out of her BFF, Corporal Mack Moreau, about a man who’d recently walked into the emergency room, complaining he’d been poisoned.

Needing a break from all the murder and mayhem, Doreen and Mack plan an outing to see the local orchid show. Some of the displays are in the community center, but the more prized specimens of this genus require a visit to some of the gardeners’ homes, a rare opportunity not afforded to everyone. This trip, not quite a date, affords Doreen a chance not only to enjoy the company of Mack, but to get to know a few more of the colorful locals. But when one of these locals ends up dead just after their visit, the dark underbelly of orchid growing is exposed, and with it, an old murder…

Riches to rags...Chaos might be slowing...Only a new murder occurs...Sending her off the trail again... It’s been a tough few weeks since Robin and Mathew, Doreen’s ex-lawyer and her ex-husband, slid back into her life. Okay, so maybe Robin isn’t here any longer to cause torment, but Mathew is. And he’s not planning to leave Doreen alone anytime soon, although thankfully he’s gone back home for a while. Trying to recuperate looks doubtful for Doreen, when a local gardener is kidnapped, while picking nasturtiums for dinner.

Being a suspect in the murder of her ex-lawyer is not the fun Doreen thought it would be. And, of course, she’s been ordered to stay away from the case, but she can’t help being interested. So, she enlists Mack’s brother, Nick - her new lawyer - to help. Mack’s first priority is to clear Doreen as a suspect. No one in their right mind would seriously believe she’d done the deed, of course.