J.C. Eaton – författare

A single mom from Minnesota discovers a nasty plot when her mother’s book club gets cancelled by murder in this cozy mystery series debut.   Sophie “Phee” Kimball is no detective. She’s a middle-aged single mom who works as an account clerk for the Mankato, Minnesota, police department. But her mother, Harriet Plunkett, is convinced she’s the only one who can solve a deadly mystery. Four members of Harriet’s book club have died under mysterious circumstances, and Harriet believes their latest book selection is cursed. Whether she’s crazy or just lonely, Phee decides it’s time to pay her mother a visit.   She may not believe in curses, but when Phee arrives at Harriet’s retirement community in Sun City West, Arizona, she can’t help wondering if foul play is afoot. It isn’t long before she starts uncovering dark secrets hiding in plain sight under the blazing Arizona sun. And now she’ll need to read between the lines before it’s someone else’s final chapter...“You’ll chuckle all the way through this delightful romp…It’s so cleverly written, you won’t guess the perpetrators until the very end.” —Mary Marks, award-winning author of the Quilting Mystery series

An elderly aunt wants her wedding to be perfect—and not even murder will get in her way—in “a hoot” of a mystery featuring “scads of loony characters” (Kirkus Reviews).   Moving to Arizona to work for a private investigator, Sophie “Phee” Kimball is much closer to her mother Harriet now. And while the antics at Harriet’s retirement community can drive Phee a little crazy, at least they’re together for Aunt Ina’s upcoming wedding. The seventy-four-year-old bridezilla has roped Phee into organizing the tent and the pastries for the lavish affair. But it’s Harriet who really gets demanding when a celebrity chef is found dead on the golf course just outside her front door. Working for a private investigator, Phee is drawn into the case. And with Harriet in a panic about her safety, Phee is doubly committed to solving it. But between planning a wedding and unveiling a murderer, Phee wonders which job might kill her first.

A P.I.’s bookkeeper takes a side gig in sleuthing when an amateur production of The Mousetrap features a real-life murder in this cozy mystery novel.

Sophie “Phee” Kimball is trying to get work done at her private investigation company, but it’s hard to focus when her old crush just moved to Arizona to join the staff. The last thing she needs is more distraction—like constant updates from her mom on the local production of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap.” Practically everyone from Mom’s book club and retirement community, with the possible exception of her chiweenie dog, wants to join the cast and crew. But someone’s playing the role of a killer for real. After a much-despised cast member is found dead in the theater, Phee has no choice but to immerse herself in all the backstabbing, backstage gossip. Especially if her drama-queen mother is right about the threatening note left on her windshield—which could spell curtains for another victim

An Arizona retirement community is a pastime paradise—until someone gets sent to the great beyond—in this mystery by the author of Booked 4 Murder.   As if bookkeeping for a private detective agency didn’t give her enough to do, Sophie “Phee” Kimball is once again getting dragged into the drama at her mom’s retirement community. A new board member wants to get rid of two golf courses and replace them with eco-friendly parks, and some of the residents are pretty teed off about it. On top of that, her mother’s friend Myrna is being pushed out of the bocce league.   Myrna is so bad at bocce that when a community member’s dead body is discovered on the grounds, she assumes it was one of her own errant balls that killed the woman. But before she can be taken away in cuffs for being a killer klutz, the police find an arrow in the victim’s neck. It looks like this was no accident. Now Phee and her investigator boyfriend Marshall will have to crack the case before the killer takes another swing.

A view to a kiln … Sophie “Phee” Kimball enjoys working as a bookkeeper for a private investigator. If only her mother Harriet could enjoy her retirement at Sun City West in Arizona—instead of constantly getting involved with retirees being prematurely put out to pasture. This time Quentin Dussler, a prominent member of the clay sculpting club, was found dead, clutching a piece of paper scrawled with Phee’s mother’s name. Terrified she’s been targeted by assassins, Harriet begs Phee to investigate. What Phee uncovers is a complicated scheme that only the most diabolical of murderers would ever devise. And as she chisels away at confusing clues and potential suspects, Phee unearths something far more precious and valuable than she could imagine. Eager for answers, she takes a bold step—placing herself in the crosshairs of a stonefaced killer … Praise for the Sophie Kimball Mysteries “A witty adventure that will leave you laughing out loud.”—Stephanie Blackmoore, author of the Wedding Planner Mystery Series, on Booked 4 Murder  “Fun characters, a touch of humor, and a great mystery, the perfect combination for a cozy.”—Lena Gregory, author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries, on Ditched 4 Murder

A Mystery Tribune’s Best Books of the MonthLast one standing is the winner  . . .  The holiday season has arrived and bookkeeper/amateur sleuth, Sophie “Phee” Kimball, would love nothing more than to enjoy the comforts of her new home with her detective boyfriend near Arizona’s Sun City West. Instead, her mother Harriet wants to showcase her chiweenie-chihuahua-dachshund Streetman in the Precious Pooches Holiday Extravaganza costume events. The festivities begin in October and end on St. Patrick’s Day—with the winner starring in the St. Pat’s Day parade. But things quickly turn an awful shade of green when Streetman uncovers a dead body under a tarp-covered grill in the neighbor’s yard.   The victim is Cameron Tully, a seafood distributor working out of Phoenix, who died from ingesting a toxic sago palm leaf. Before the police can even find a motive and suspect, another Precious Pooch owner nearly dies from the same poison. With Harriet believing someone’s targeting her and Streetman because of the costume contests, Phee will need a potful of Irish luck to sniff out a killer . . .  Praise for the Sophie Kimball Mysteries  “An eclectic cast of entertaining characters that will keep you wondering whodunit!”—USA Today Bestselling Author Nicole Leiren, on Staged 4 Murder  “A thoroughly entertaining series debut, with enjoyable, yet realistic characters and enough plot twists—and dead ends—to appeal from beginning to end.” —Booklist STARRED REVIEW on Booked 4 Murder

All of Arizona’s Sun City West heard Sophie “Phee” Kimball’s mom scream bloody murder, but it’s up to the reluctant sleuth to find the killer . . .    Phee’s mother Harriet is going to be a star! At least, that’s how the Sun City West retiree describes her chance to host a live radio program of her book club’s Booked 4 Murder Mystery Hour on Arizona’s KSCW. But instead of chatting about charming cozies, Harriet ends up screaming bloody murder over the airwaves after discovering the body of Howard Buell, the station’s programming director, in a closet—with a pair of sewing shears shoved into his chest.   The number one suspect is Howard’s ex-girlfriend Sylvia Strattlemeyer who believed she was going to host a sewing talk show before Harriet was offered the spot. But not only do the fingerprints found on the scissors not match Sylvia’s, they belong to a woman who passed away twenty years ago at the age of ninety-seven. Now, with the whole town on pins and needles, it’s up to Phee to stitch together enough clues from the past to uncover the identity of a killer in the present . . .   Praise for the Sophie Kimball Mysteries   “Fun characters, a touch of humor, and a great mystery, the perfect combination for a cozy.”—Lena Gregory, author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries on Ditched 4 Murder   “So cleverly written, you won’t guess the perpetrators until the very end.”—Mary Marks, award-winning author of the Quilting Mystery Series on Booked 4 Murder

While planning her wedding, Sophie “Phee” Kimball gets sidetracked by the murder of a model train enthusiast . . .    Phee’s marriage to Marshall Gregory promises to be the wedding of the year in Arizona’s Sun City West—that is, if you ask her mother Harriet. But before she can walk down the aisle, it looks like she has to solve one more murder. At a model train exhibit, Phee, Harriet, and their beloved Chiweenie, Streetman, discover the body of Sun City West’s railroad club president, with an incriminating tap shoe near his lifeless corpse.   Wilbur Maines may have loved model trains but apparently he was not a model husband. There are rumors of affairs with hot-to-trot hobbyists the Choo-Choo Chicks. The police suspect his wife—and Harriet’s friend—Roxanne, who dances with the Rhythm Tappers, but Phee’s mom is convinced they’re on the wrong track. Before the poor woman is railroaded into spending the rest of her life behind bars, Phee, Harriet, and the book club ladies will need to do some fancy footwork, infiltrate the dance group, and find the real culprit before the killer leaves the station . . .  Praise for the Sophie Kimball Mysteries  “Fun characters, a touch of humor, and a great mystery, the perfect combination for a cozy.” —Lena Gregory, author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries on Ditched 4 Murder  “So cleverly written, you won’t guess the perpetrators until the very end.” —Mary Marks, award-winning author of the Quilting Mystery Series on Booked 4 Murder

From the author of the Sophie Kimball mysteries—a writer, a goat, and a trusty Plott hound must weed out a killer at a New York winery.

Norrie Ellington is a successful screenwriter living in New York City. She’s also been a silent partner for her family’s winery upstate—until her sister and brother-in-law take a year-long sabbatical. With an experienced staff doing the work, Norrie figures Two Witches Winery will run itself while she enjoys the countryside and writes in peace and quiet.

Unfortunately, there’s a sour grape in the town of Penn Yan who doesn’t care for vineyards. Bed and breakfast owner Elsbeth Waters complains to everyone who’ll listen that the local wineries are bad for her business. But when Elsbeth’s body is found on Norrie’s property, the victim of foul play, the screenwriter-turned-vintner dons a sleuthing cap to uncover the identity of a killer who told the B&B proprietress to put a cork in it—permanently . . .

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES! 

Praise for A Riesling to Die:

“Well plotted with interesting characters and a humorous thread that kept my interest until the final scene.” —V. M. Burns, author of the Mystery Bookshop Mysteries, R J Franklin Series, Dog Club Mysteries, Fairy Tale Cozies

“A real treat. Plenty of suspects and some crazy theories kept me guessing the entire story.” —Escape with Dollycas

A landlord presses a vineyard owner for more rent—and then turns up dead—in this witty mystery set in New York’s Finger Lakes region.   In Seneca Lake, New York, Norrie Ellington’s Two Witches Winery has been selected by the local vintner community to host the annual Federweisser, a celebration of the season’s first fermentation of white Chardonnay grapes. But the festivities are spoiled when Norrie learns that landowner Roy Wilkes has raised her neighbor Rosalee Marbleton’s rent so high, she may have to close her vineyard.   Before the rent hike could go into effect, Wilkes is found dead on Roslaee’s property—stabbed by a flowerpot stake—and she becomes the police’s number one suspect. To clear her friend’s name, Norrie conducts her own investigation. But as she gathers clues, Norrie finds herself targeted by a killer, and if she’s not careful, her desire to see justice done may die on the vine . . .

There’s a lot of noir surrounding this rare pinot. As the vineyards in Seneca Lake, New York, prepare for the seasonal “Deck the Halls Around the Lake” festivities, someone is determined to keep pinot noir off the wine list. Hijacked trucks and sabotaged ingredients have made it a hard-to-acquire vintage for the six local wineries—including Norrie Ellington’s Two Witches Winery. The case of the stolen and spoiled wines gets stranger when Arnold Mowen, owner of the company distributing the wine, is found dead, the apparent victim of a hunting accident. As Norrie tries to find the connections between the pinot’s problems and Arnold’s death, she uncovers a conspiracy among many locals whose hatred for the wine distributor was bottled up for far too long . . .

Can Norrie stop a murderer’s reign of terror?  The descent of winter on the Finger Lakes means it’s time for the Wine Trail Association’s Chocolate and Wine Extravaganza. Unfortunately, for screenwriter-turned-reluctant vintner, Norrie Ellington, her Two Witches Winery is co-hosting the festivities. Norrie’s  duties include wrangling the three international chocolatiers featured at the event—bitter rivals and industry influencers who can make or break Two Witches.   But the heated competition among the celebrity confectioners soon spills out of the professional arena, and before the Extravaganza is over, one of the cocoa pros is dead, last seen sipping a Two Witches’ Cabernet Sauvignon. With spirits souring at the Extravaganza and her winery on the line, Norrie must hustle to find the uncorked killer before Two Witches’ reputation is crushed once and for all.