Showing results by narrator "Judy Blue" in All Categories

Myrtle has decided that she’s actually a very good cook. In fact, she feels she’s such a good cook that she elects to hone her skills at a cooking school. She persuades her friend Miles to join her, convinced they both could use some inspiration. This cooking school enrolls one rather loud-mouth student who quickly makes everyone fed up. This unfortunate student, fond of telling tales out of school, learns that one man’s meat is another man’s poison. Myrtle and Miles must use their detecting skills to learn who’s been schooled in murder before someone else’s goose gets cooked.

Amos Subers isn’t one to tip waiters, pay back a loan, or behave generously with family. When it’s discovered that penny-pinching Amos was actually quite wealthy, it hardly engenders goodwill in the small town...in fact, he’s heartily disliked. Octogenarian sleuth Myrtle Clover’s housekeeper is certainly no fan of his: Amos owes Puddin money for cleaning his house. It’s not too surprising when Amos is later found, murdered, in his kitchen. Myrtle and her senior sidekick, Miles, resolve to track down the killer when Puddin becomes a prime suspect.

No one in Bradley, North Carolina, is exactly crying into their sweet tea over the murder of Parke Stockard. Certainly not retired schoolteacher Myrtle Clover. Upon discovering the corpse, Myrtle is struck - not with grief, but a brilliant idea! Solving the murder would prove to everyone - especially her son Red, the police chief - that this 80-something-year-old is still as sharp as a tack. Heck, going from crosswords to crime investigations isn't such a stretch.

Sometimes taking a spin makes you crash and burn. When a neighbor disappears, Myrtle and Miles shift gears and hit the road to search for him. They discover their neighbor slightly off the beaten track - murdered with a tire iron. Myrtle has no intention of letting the killer give them the slip. She and Miles buckle up for a race against time to find the murderer…before someone else hits a dead end.

Angelyn never thought that she would find herself at the heart of her kingdom’s rebellion, yet she is given the choice to embrace pivotal roles amongst those bearing violet. With two massive armies clashing just outside her old home and her relationship with Will strained, Angelyn faces pieces of her past in an attempt to find some peace…including working with the man who set fire to what she loved most.

"Mom, I'm so scared! I think my brain is breaking!" When Michelle Reittinger was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at twenty-four, she eagerly sought psychiatric help, only to find herself on a harrowing rollercoaster of erratic mood swings, multiple psychiatrists, and a cocktail of psychiatric drugs. Her struggles led to a devastating breakdown, numerous hospitalizations, and suicide attempts. Overwhelmed by hopelessness, she believed that her family—her husband and young children—would be better off without her. But then, a glimmer of hope appeared.

Loose lips sink ships...and result in murder. When Myrtle and her friend Miles set out for adventure on the high sea, they assume most of the trip's excitement will result from shore excursions to charming Alaskan villages. They feel as if their ship has come in. But when a fellow passenger disappears, Myrtle realizes she must seize the helm and find the killer...before more souls are lost.

Octogenarian sleuth Myrtle Clover has never heard of the dice game Bunco. Regardless, she steps in as her daughter-in-law's sub and reluctantly puts her game face on. Bunco turns out to be child's play. But when a body is discovered, Myrtle realizes another game is afoot. Before long, she's playing cat and mouse with the killer.

We love our sisters, right? It's just that sometimes we love them because of, and sometimes we love them in spite of. But when murder's the crime and solving's your line, sisters count on sisters. It's a family thing.

Jade spent her whole life searching for peace and happiness, repeatedly beating her wings with all her might, only to fly straight into the glass wall that separated her from the light. She could see it, but she couldn’t touch it. After repeatedly falling to the ground, stunned and bruised, she began to believe that the light was not meant to be given to someone like her. She did not deserve it. She tried working as a hostess at a Korean bar, later as an exotic dancer, and she once married a knight in shining armor—who would not carry her on his white horse.

When Myrtle Clover and her friend Miles attend a play in their small town, there's a full house on opening night. It's clear to Myrtle that one of the actresses is a stage hog who loves stealing the spotlight. Nandina Marshall certainly does upstage everyone - when her murder forces an unexpected intermission. Can Myrtle and Miles discover who was behind her final curtain call before murder makes an encore?

Faye meets a woman at a local nursing home who claims she doesn't belong there. Investigation leads to some intriguing questions: Why did someone force Clara out of her home? How did one neighbor die and another lose his home to fire? And can a dog and a dozen chickens be part of a daring rescue?

When Retta's "gentleman friend" is accused of murder, the Sleuth Sisters take on the case. Winston Darrow is a charmer, but his secrets create trouble that spills onto Retta, Barb, Faye, and even police chief Rory Neuencamp. Someone is out to get Win, someone he claims is the real killer. While Retta admits Win is less trustworthy than her daffy Newfoundland dog, she insists he's not a murderer. Dogs become an issue when Faye rescues a mutt she finds hurt on the road.

When the FBI asks the Sleuth Sisters to attend a retreat for "Love-Able Ladies", Barb opts out, unwilling to spend a weekend celebrating the joys of being some man's "little wife". Retta is eager to go since the venue is a swanky vineyard/inn on the Leelanau Peninsula, north of Traverse City, Michigan. Never a fan of large groups of strangers, Faye would rather stay home, but since Retta needs a "wing-woman", she doesn't get a choice.

The abrupt disappearance of the renters at the Sleuth Sisters' family farm presents Faye with the chance to do something she's always dreamed of: start a draft horse rescue. The circumstances surrounding the move are strange, though, and Faye, Barb, and Retta begin to suspect that at least some of the family members didn't leave voluntarily.

A midnight murder comes to Allport. The victim was a newcomer to Allport who was engaged to marry a local businessman’s attractive but spoiled daughter. Retta finds Frannie Habedank particularly irritating, since the younger woman commands the attention of just about any man who comes near her. Perhaps rightly and perhaps not, Retta is convinced Frannie killed her fiancé. As the Sleuth Sisters probe the mystery, they learn Frannie’s father wasn’t completely happy with his prospective son-in-law.

Retta and her FBI-agent boyfriend stop in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for the night. Lars goes out on a mysterious errand and disappears, leaving a text message that says he's dumping Retta for an old flame. The police take the message at face value, but Retta, sure it's a lie, calls in sisters Faye and Barb. As they begin following leads, they meet three sisters who might be future versions of them: Betty, a sweetheart who loves the Green Bay Packers; DeeAnne, a dramatic type who is always in acting mode; and Lydia, a business-like grump.

Storytelling is an essential business skill. We use stories in a variety of ways to attract customers, partners, investors, and build our team. Your audience needs to understand why you do what you do, and your powerful storytelling skills must emotionally hook them. A pie chart can’t communicate emotionally the way stories do. This book will teach you how to put your listeners in a “Mind Movie” so that they see it, taste it, smell it, touch it, and most of all, feel it—so that your leadership becomes magnetic, memorable, and impactful to drive the results you seek.

Brita grew up a competitive athlete, full of happiness and excitement for life. There wasn’t much that would take her out of a game as she constantly pushed her body to the limits. When she was unable to compete due to unknown and undiagnosed illness, she entered a world that was unfamiliar, and began to sink into a darkness she could never have imagined.

In So Many Freakin’ Secrets, Janet Cheney takes her readers on a journey through her own 1950s/1960s-era dysfunctional upbringing: a life full of secrets, unaddressed emotions, and unhealthy behavior patterns that cultivated a climate of abuse. Punctuated with humor and unusual spurts of joy, Cheney is stymied by unspoken family themes of suppressing grief, hiding abuse, eating away your emotions, "don't talk/don’t share," and withholding love and affection. It all becomes the catalyst to find self-love and learning that all are worthy of love, just for being born.