When Holly Donnelly gets invited to speak about home-composting at Pineland Park Community College’s Eco-Fair, the last thing she and her sister Ivy expect is to become involved in, not one, but two murder investigations. Throw in a controversy over a student GMO experiment that yields unexpected results, and once again the gardening duo find themselves called upon to help those falsely accused.  Are the murders and the experiment connected? Can the stalwart sisters find the real killer and save the students’ scholarships? Not without a little help from their friends. Joining them to solve the mystery in this sixth book in the Holly & Ivy mystery series are trusted allies from past adventures, Kate Farmer and her neighbors, Benny and Razor, along with the plucky Peppy Alvarez and rookie FBI agent Nicky Manelli.

When Holly and Ivy receive an invitation to their Aunt Margaret Lowe’s memorial service and the reading of her will, they’re surprised to see their estranged sister Fern’s name on the invitation list. Excited to re-unite with Fern, Ivy insists they attend. Holly has mixed feelings about the impending reunion. Complicating matters, a unique provision in their aunt’s will requires the inheritors to participate in a treasure hunt to receive their inheritance. Sounds like fun, until they discover a dead body in the library of the Lowe mansion. The Donnelly sisters’ sleuthing skills are put to the test when they must solve the treasure hunt riddles and catch a cold-blooded killer.

When a small-town arms its teachers, they think they’ve found the answer to improving school security.  School Resource Officer Jeff Stone must implement the new gun-carry policy he opposes. English teacher Ellen McCall has reasons for not wanting to carry a gun, reasons she hopes to keep buried in the past. The pair find themselves embroiled in controversy when the policy divides the town and triggers a series of events, both unexpected and deadly.

THE HOLLY AND IVY COZY MYSTERY SERIES

The Manelli family vineyard in Tuscany seems the perfect spot for Holly and Nick’s honeymoon, until the suspicious death of a long-lost cousin who’s come to stake a claim on the vineyard. Plans for a marriage celebration are thrown into disarray as Holly, Nick and their extended family are drawn into the investigation. Was it an accident or was it murder? Will they solve the mystery, or is the honeymoon over?

Looking forward to a relaxing stay in the Catskills after her break-up with Nick Manelli, Holly Donnelly and her sister Ivy have their plans thwarted when, once again, they become involved in a murder investigation. The day they arrive at Kate Farmer’s house in rustic Reddington Manor, they discover the body of Kate’s next-door neighbor, Chuck Dwyer, in a pool of blood on his kitchen floor.  In a rush to judgement, the local sheriff sets his sights on 17-year old Tommy Cranston, but Kate insists Tommy is innocent. Can the sister sleuths prove that a shifty neighbor, the victim’s widow and local drug dealers all have better motives for the murder? And can Ivy and Kate unravel another mystery — the cause of Holly and Nick’s break-up and the chances of their getting back together?

In this second book in the Holly and Ivy mystery series, one of Holly Donnelly’s former students, Becky Powell, asks the look-alike sisters for help when they all spend Christmas at Skyview Manor, and Becky becomes the prime suspect in the attempted murder of her manipulative grandmother, Lyla Powell. Once again the plucky sisters are reluctantly drawn into a murder investigation, convinced that Mrs. Powell’s duplicitous friends and greedy Powell family members have framed Becky for the crime. Holly’s involvement becomes a source of contention between her and Detective Nick Manelli, threatening their budding romance. Can their relationship continue to sizzle as the investigation heats up and the sister sleuths try to catch a cold-blooded killer?\

Frost on the Bloom is available in paperback at Amazon.com.

Holly Donnelly, a 55-year old adjunct English professor, and her younger sister, 52-year old Ivy Donnelly, a recently widowed, retired nurse are reluctantly drawn into the investigation of an elderly neighbor’s murder when Juan Alvarez, Holly’s trusted gardener, is accused of the crime. Holly fears police detective, Nick Manelli, assumes Juan is guilty and won’t conduct a proper investigation, while Ivy feels the “hunky” Manelli  is not only a good cop, but also a possible romantic match for her sister. Can the clues the sisters unearth from neighborhood gossip about the victim’s family, a politically connected neighbor and a powerful real estate developer help save an innocent man, or will the gardening duo dig up more than they bargain for?

Second Bloom is now available in Paperback at Amazon.com.

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