MEET HELEN EVANS
Grandmother and widow Helen Evans is seventy-five years old and based on the author’s own grandmother. Helen’s husband Joe died three years ago so now she lives with just one roommate: a twenty-pound tomcat named Amber. She finds joy in crossword puzzles and quilting. She’s full of moxie and hardly feels like her expiration date has passed, so when the sheriff clearly requires her assistance in solving murders, what’s a gal to do? Frank Biddle is a stand-up guy, but he just doesn’t have her encyclopedic knowledge of the town’s residents and all their life stories. Sometimes he calls her ‘Miss Marple,’ but he’s just teasing. Like any good puzzler, Helen gets mad as hell when she can’t find the answers.
THE SETTING
River Bend, Illinois, is a cozy Midwestern town set in a valley along the Mississippi River. Though River Bend might not seem like much, it does have a sheriff, a grocer’s, a diner, a hair salon, a small harbor, and even a defunct light house. Creeks run through the verdant grounds, and, in the wettest of springs, flooding can shut down the whole town. The good people of River Bend are like one big family. Those who have secrets don’t tend to keep them for long. If there’s one thing River Benders are known for, it’s sticking their noses where they don’t belong.
To Helen Back (Book #1)
What do you do when the most-hated man in town is murdered? Why, investigate, of course!
Seventy-five-year-old grandmother Helen Evans lives in River Bend, Illinois. A town where murder simply doesn’t happen. But Helen’s granddaughter has just been accused of bumping off her boss . . .
Milton was the meanest, crankiest, most dishonest man in town. No one liked him. But would someone have killed him?
Well, he was in a bitter ongoing feud with his next-door neighbor. Both his current and ex-wife wanted a cut of his substantial cash reserves. And these weren’t the only enemies mean old Milt had made in town.
But, unfortunately, nearly all the residents of River Bend have the perfect alibi: almost everyone was attending the town meeting at the time of Milton’s murder.
Helen Evans will go to hell and back to find the answers in this fun and fresh cozy small-town mystery.
Mad as Helen (Book #2)
What do you do when your beloved granddaughter is the prime suspect in a murder case? Why, investigate, of course!
Big-city psychotherapist and full-time meanie Grace Simpson has only just set up shop in River Bend when she’s found dead on her bedroom floor.
And Helen’s granddaughter Nancy is caught running from the scene. With a baseball bat.
Everyone in town knows how much Nancy hated working for such a nasty boss. But Helen discovers there are plenty of other River Benders who aren’t grieving the loss of Grace Simpson . . .
Crossword enthusiast Helen Evans is not about to sit this puzzle out. She’s mad as Helen, and she won’t stop until she proves her granddaughter’s innocence.
Not a Chance in Helen (Book #3)
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What do you do when the town’s wealthiest octogenarian is poisoned? Why, investigate, of course!
Eleanora Duncan was the biggest battle-ax in River Bend. She lived alone with her giant orange cat, Lady Godiva. Who could have poisoned her?
What’s more, resident sleuth Helen Evans recently saved Eleanora from a hit-and-run. The elderly widow was certain someone was deliberately targeting her.
Bumbling Sheriff Biddle is convinced that Eleanora’s daughter-in-law is the culprit. The pair may have had a frosty relationship, but Helen knows her friend is not a murderer.
Helen vows to uncover the truth in this fun and fresh small-town mystery.
Come Helen High Water (Book #4)
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What do you do when the nicest lady in town vanishes? Why, investigate, of course!
Fifty-two-year-old Luann Dupree, head of the town’s Historical Society, is excited to finally meet her online beau. She heads out for her date, but never returns home . . .
Sheriff Biddle thinks Luann ran off with her new lover, but her friends fear the worst—dependable Luann would never just vanish. They need the help of Helen Evans.
But Helen’s enquiries turn up more town secrets than anyone expected. And, as the spring flood waters ebb away after the rising tide, a body is discovered.
But it’s not Luann.
With one dead body and a missing person, is someone picking off River Benders?