You can't judge a book by its cover. To look at her, one would never think suburbanite homemaker Jane Jeffry would be interested in murder and mayhem. But after all the corpses she's come across -- and killers she's unmasked -- she's practically an expert on the subject. Which is why, with best buddy Shelley Nowack in tow, Jane's booking down to a nearby mystery writers' convention to mingle with the brightest lights of literary crime . . . and maybe drum up some interest in her own recently completed manuscript.
They're all there: editors, agents, publishing bigwigs, and famous authors like Jane and Shelley's personal fave, Felicity Roane. Even Jane's longtime honey, Detective Mel VanDyne, is a scheduled guest speaker. Of course there are bound to be some bad apples in the bunch: macho-malicious literary critic–cum–snake Zac Zebra, for example, and loudmouth Vernetta Strausmann, who self-published her despicable whodunit and successfully hawked it on the Internet.
However, what would a mystery convention be without a mystery? So one is graciously supplied when a famous ego-squashing editor keels over at the speaker's podium, undone by an anonymous poisoner. And when a much-hated book-bashing journalist is himself bashed quite nastily in the parking lot, it seems fairly certain that at least one real-life murderer is stalking the proceedings. But who is he/she/them? The dirt-dishing, pseudonymous Internet gossip monger "Ms. Mystery," who's lurking around there somewhere? The local bookseller who dearly loves "Modern Golden Age" women writers? The avid reader who seems to know a bit too much about the personal lives of the famous attendees?
Jane and Shelley are on the case, ready to snoop, eavesdrop, and gossip their way to a solution. But the killer they seek is no open book . . . and may turn out to be harder -- and deadlier -- to read than they initially imagined.

Bell, Book, and Scandal (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 14)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Churchill, Jill

Mystery

William Morrow

All the world's a stage in this delightful new whodunit from the incomparable Jill Churchill -- as suburban mom and sometime sleuth Jane Jeffry and best friend Shelley Nowack try to bring the curtain down on a killer. ...
Jane Jeffry has a new hobby: the stage, specifically a rundown theater that close pal Shelley and her husband have donated to a local college drama department. Students from the nearby college are in rehearsal there for a never-before-produced "magnum opus" written by the company's director, a surefire bomb-in-the-making distinctly lacking in style, wit, and substance. Though Jane's connection is culinary -- helping Shelley handle caterers who will be feeding the actors -- she's soon drawn deeper into the drama than she ever hoped or anticipated.
What a scene it is, with petty offstage feuds and jealousies, ego trips, and power struggles between the clueless director-author and his dubiously talent ed cast. Even the presence of two aging professional thespians -- a lecherous old boozer and his genteel, seriously gifted wife -- does nothing to stabilize a volatile situation. And the plot takes a decidedly darker turn when a particularly rebellious young performer exits stage left -- permanently -- courtesy of a head-bashing killer.
Hark! It's murder, which means it's a cue for Detective Mel VanDyne, Jane's longtime leading man, to get into the act. But Jane and Shelley have their own roles to play in this twisted true-life theatrical, where each member of the dramatis personae has a makeup case full of secrets, masks, and motives. And they'll have to act fast to uncover the villain of the piece before the denouement turns into a real, corpse-strewn, Shakespearean-style tragedy!

A Midsummer Night's Scream (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 15)

Literature & Fiction

United States

One would never guess to look at suburbanite homemaker Jane Jeffry that she would be interested in murder, but she's practically an expert on the subject. Which is why, with best buddy Shelley Nowack in tow, Jane's booking down to a nearby mystery writers' convention to mingle with the agents, publishing bigwigs, and famous authors ... and to maybe drum up interest in her own recently completed manuscript.
But what would a mystery convention be without a mystery? So when a famous ego-squashing editor is undone by an anonymous poisoner, and a much hated book-bashing journalist is himself bashed quite nastily in the parking lot, Jane and Shelley jump right on the case, ready to snoop, eavesdrop, and gossip their way to a solution. But the would-be killer they seek is no open book. And trying to read him/her/them may turn out to be harder -- and deadlier -- than anyone initially imagined.

Bell, Book, and Scandal (Jane Jeffry Mysteries)

Humor & Satire

AVON.

The incomparable, award-winning author of the bestselling Jane Jeffry series travels far from the contemporary Chicago suburbs to Depression-era New York State, where a brother and sister ensconced in a sprawling mansion on the banks of the Hudson long for better days...and fewer murders!
After the Crash of '29 sent the family fortune south, abruptly penniless, once-high-living Manhattanites Lily and Robert Brewster take up residence in their late great-uncle Horatio's estate in a small town near Hyde Park, renting out rooms to make ends meet until the gargantuan Grace and Favor Cottage is legally theirs ten years on. Though the adjustment has been difficult, the struggling siblings are finally getting used to small-town life. Lily has recently been accepted into the local Ladies League, and while she is away helping the organization do good works, Robert decides to do some much needed renovations...with rather disastrous results.
Robert is tearing down a dilapidated icehouse on the property when he inadvertently stumbles upon the last thing he expects or wants: a mummified corpse. The nameless cadaver is well dressed and the obvious victim of foul play with no identifying marks except the label of an exclusive New York City tailor sewn into his "burial" clothes.
While Lily works hand-in-hand with the disarmingly attractive Chief of Police Howard Walker on the local front, Robert pursues the Manhattan connection in search of an identity for their wellheeled, deceased John Doe. But a second dead body-combined with the World War I Veterans Bonus March on Washington by disgruntled ex-soldiers and a bizarre rash of vegetable pilfering -- is complicating an already complex, murderous matter in this quaint upstate community. And soon the many disparate threads of the investigation are tying up the amateur sleuthing Brewsters in a knotty mess of deception and betrayal...and leaving them dangerously exposed to the watchful eyes of a killer.
Joining Jill Churchill's immensely popular Jane Jeffry novels in hardcover, and deliciously rich in vibrant period color and atmosphere and peopled with an unforgettable cast of unusual characters, Someone to Watch Over Me is yet another unmitigated delight from the bestselling author. It's a wonderful journey back to a time of hope undimmed by national calamity, and innocence undeterred by deadly adversity.

Someone to Watch Over Me (Grace & Favor Mysteries, No. 3)

Award-winning author Jill Churchill once again brings a bit of dazzle to the Great Depression, in her fourth captivating and colorful trip up New York's Hudson River for some high living -- and dying -- in hard times.
Sister and brother Lily and Robert Brewster, raised in the lap of luxury, may no longer have a penny to their names, but at least they have a roof over their heads -- which is more than many can say in this bleak November of 1932. This is thanks to their eccentric great-uncle, whose will allows them to live in his mansion on a sprawling estate in Voorburg-on-Hudson. And now there's even some cash rolling in, since the Brewsters have taken part-time teaching duties at the local grade school. 
But their luck turns sour when a mysterious and badly disguised stranger comes to Grace and Favor willing to pay generously to have a secret meeting there shortly before the presidential election. Are they gangsters? Pretty Boy Floyd is rumored to be somewhere near. Or worse, are they a rabid pro-Hoover political group trying to stop Roosevelt from being elected at the last minute by making up some nasty gossip about him?
When one of the mystery guests is murdered in his bath, a little boy is kidnapped, and Chief Howard Walker can't find anywhere to house all his suspects except the local Hospital for the Criminally Insane, the pace becomes hectic. In the end a local woman, a secretary from upriver whom Lily has befriended, and one of the children at the school provide the vital clues that allow Lily to put two and two together. But only after a wild car chase with three women drivers.
Jill Churchill is the winner of the Agatha and Macavity Mystery Readers Awards and was nominated for an Anthony Award for her bestselling Jane Jeffry series. She is the author of three previous Grace &amp; Favor mystery novels, Anything Goes, In the Still of the Night, and Someone to Watch Over Me, and lives in the Midwest.

Love for Sale (Grace & Favor Mysteries, No. 4)

Jane Jeffry has a new hobby: the theater––specifically, a rundown theater that close pal Shelly and her husband have donated to a local college drama department. Jane has graciously agreed to lend her taste buds to the college's newest production, helping Shelly judge prospective caterers who will be feeding the actors. But soon she's drawn deeper into the real life drama surrounding the play than she ever hoped or anticipated. 
 The cast is embroiled in petty, off–stage jealousies, ego trips and power struggles, all of which are further fueled by the clueless, blowhard director. Even the presence of two aging professional thespians––a lecherous old boozer and his genteel, seriously gifted wife––fails to bring a sense of decorum to this train wreck of a production. And the plot takes a decidedly darker turn when a particularly rebellious young performer exits stage left––permanently––courtesy of a head–bashing killer! Now Jane and Shelly have their own roles to play in this twisted, true life theatrical where each member of the dramatis personae has a make–up case full of secrets, masks and motives.

William Morrow Paperbacks

Award-winning author Jill Churchill takes us back to beautiful Grace &amp; Favor, the tiny town along the Hudson River known for tradition, charm . . . and murder.
March 3, 1933, the day before Franklin Roosevelt's inauguration. While Robert Brewster heads to Washington, D.C., to witness the historic event, his sister, Lily, travels to a nursing home near Grace &amp; Favor. The owner, Miss Twibell, has lost an assistant nurse, and the siblings have agreed to help out.
The home is full of colorful characters, including a cantankerous old man named Sean Connor, the only patient who is seriously ill. The very day the Brewsters arrive, he slips into a coma and passes away. Though saddened, no one is surprised by his death -- until it's revealed that he's been murdered. The old man wasn't well liked, but who would bother to murder him when he had so little time left? Several people had visited his room that morning, and there are plenty of suspects. Good motives, on the other hand, are thin on the ground.
And Mr. Connor isn't the only victim in town. Over the winter, a young man went missing and was presumed dead, though no body was found. Now that the spring sun has melted the ice, a body has surfaced. Is this the missing man or has a third crime been committed?
With multiple murders plaguing the community, the Brewster siblings are more committed than ever to helping the police find a cold-blooded criminal before he strikes again.

It Had to Be You (Grace & Favor Mysteries, No. 5)

Comfortably ensconced in their late great-uncle's "Grace and Favor" mansion, brother and sister Robert and Lily Brewster are riding out the Depression, penniless but in high style. Now a new day is heralded by Franklin Roosevelt's inauguration. Barely recovered from his trip to Washington to witness the historic event, Robert is rushed by Lily to a nearby nursing home, where the Brewsters have agreed to lend a helping hand to the staff.
But when an elderly resident is murdered in his bed, Robert and Lily realize the local police will need their able assistance as well -- especially since the slaying isn't the only big trouble in tiny Voorburg. The spring thaw hasrevealed another body, and the Brewster siblings must expose acold-blooded criminal before he -- or she -- kills again.

Jane Jeffry and longtime beau Detective Mel VanDyne finally decide to marry, but Mel's overbearing mother wants to take charge of not only the rehearsal dinner but the actual wedding. Since Jane half expected Mel's mother to steamroll the entire event, she agrees—but with rules of her own. No bridesmaids, no groomsmen. And she can't tell Jane what to wear.
But during what should have been a blissful interval between the engagement and the bouquet toss, several other occurrences take place. Mel convinces Jane and her best friend, Shelley Nowack, to take a women's safety class. They learn a lot, but the class is cut short when a dead body is discovered. So between Jane's wedding planning, her new writing project, and a battle between both mother-in-laws (which Jane encourages), a murderer must be found before this bride can walk happily down the aisle.

The Accidental Florist (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 16)

Here comes the bride!
Suburban supersleuth Jane Jeffry and her detective beau Mel VanDyne have finally decided to tie the knot. While Jane's planning the wedding of her dreams—with no overbearing mother-in-law to steamroll the entire event and tell her what to wear—Mel convinces her and her best friend Shelley to take a women's self-defense class. But before Jane and Shelley can learn the karate kicks and mean moves to fight off even the perfect purse-snatcher, their class is cut brutally short . . . when two participants are murdered.
Between her new writing project, an addition to the house, and battling mothers-in-law, she's got her hands full. But she'll have to make time to help Mel find the killer if she wants to walk happily—and safely—down the aisle.

Genre Fiction

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Churchill, Jill. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Churchill, Jill

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Churchill, Jill. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Bell, Book, and Scandal (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 14)

A Midsummer Night's Scream (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 15)

Bell, Book, and Scandal (Jane Jeffry Mysteries)

Someone to Watch Over Me (Grace & Favor Mysteries, No. 3)

Love for Sale (Grace & Favor Mysteries, No. 4)

A Midsummer Night's Scream (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 15)

It Had to Be You (Grace & Favor Mysteries, No. 5)

It Had to Be You (Grace & Favor Mysteries, No. 5)

The Accidental Florist (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 16)

The Accidental Florist (Jane Jeffry Mysteries, No. 16)