Happy April Fool's Day! In honor of this comical day, I thought it would be fun to share some great mysteries with April Fool(s) in the title. I love reading fun twists on a holiday in mysteries. Check these out for yourself:
"I laughed, gasped, and cried (all out loud)." -Catriona McPherson, author of Scot and Soda
Librarian and aspiring PI Mira James has discovered one corpse a month for each of the eleven months she's lived in Battle Lake, Minnesota. She'd give her left foot to break that streak this April.
But when she stumbles across a disturbing note, and a Battle Lake girl vanishes, she has no choice except to get involved.
She follows the note's trail and is horrified to discover that it leads to her father, who died 13 years earlier. It's a race against the clock to crack the secret he carried to his grave in time to save the girl. Meanwhile, chiseled police chief Gary Wohnt is scrutinizing her every move, aching to finally put her behind bars, and Johnny, her sexy boyfriend, is planning a surprise for her. Problem is, she doesn't know if it's a marriage proposal or an intervention.
As Mrs. Berns and Mira take on their final case together, Mira discovers it's more personal than she could have imagined, and that she holds not only the life of the vanished girl but the fate of all Battle Lake in her hands.
*Jess Lourey named to BookRiot's 4/8/20 "10 Funny Mystery Authors Like Janet Evanovich" list!
April Fools is the twelfth in an ongoing series featuring Mira James, an urban woman with rural Minnesota roots. The books can be read in any order; each novel stands alone. Get all the Mira James mysteries today!
May Day
June Bug
Knee High by the Fourth of July
August Moon
September Mourn
October Fest
November Hunt
December Dread
January Thaw
February Fever
March of Crimes
April Fools
Or, if you love to sink into a satisfying binge read, check out the smart-priced bundles!
Mira James Mysteries Summer Bundle, Books 1-4 (May, June, July, and August)
Mira James Mysteries Fall Bundle, Books 5-7 (September, October, November)
Mira James Mysteries Winter Bundle, Books 8-10 (December, January, February)
PRAISE FOR APRIL FOOLS
"I read this out of order. It made no difference and I absolutely loved it...What sets this book apart that it is both lighthearted and edgy! It doesn't feel like your average vanilla, 'the librarian is the sleuth' mystery...this is a fast-paced page turner." ―Jane B. (NetGalley)
"What a fun, cheeky, cleverly-plotted book! This is well-constructed and kept me interested throughout. I'm not the typical 'mystery reader' but the cover drew me in and I was very glad I gave it a chance. Recommend!" ―Jenna H. (NetGalley)
"Deeply satisfying, funny, moving, as tightly plotted as ever. The end of Mira's adventure gives us exactly what we want and yet still leaves us thinking." ―Catriona McPherson, award-winning author of Scot and Soda
A SECOND CHANCE TO DIE
For his favorite charity, the high school drama club, Willard Platt fakes his own murder as an April Fool stunt. But the repeat performance later that day is the real thing. And some, including the next-door neighbor, say he deserved it.
Investigator (and ex-nun) Christine Bennett is haunted by the sad state of Willard's survivors. His widow roams the road at night. His son has a troubled marriage and bizarre secret life. Behind this suburban family's respectable facade, violent passions are seething. For this is not the first tragedy to strike them. Nor will it be the last. . . .
When Sam Cable, Texas Ranger, is assigned to protect a volatile and controversial candidate for US Senate, April Marie Fortney, his life is turned into a daily dose of hell on toast. Just when he thought the situation couldn’t get worse, he wakes up next to her dead body… with no memory of how he got there.
The investigation focuses on Cable, highlighting him as the newest poster boy for an intense debate on racial relations. Racing against an impending indictment, he digs through a web of conflicting motives, politically-driven ambitions, and the past of the murdered woman, desperately seeking the truth before time runs out.
His only ally is feisty FBI agent Rita Goldman, whose sense of justice is as profound as her lack of field experience. Cable doesn’t know if the rookie agent will help prove his innocence or be the one to bury him.
Cy Dekker is ready to enjoy a nice breakfast at the Blue Moon diner with his good friend Lou Murdock on April Fool’s Day when a dead body gets in the way. When they find out the man was not murdered, they get to enjoy breakfast together anyway, but a subsequent murder finds the two of them traipsing all over the county questioning a little bit of everyone who knew the man they found dead. The problem is that everyone they question seems to have a good alibi or no motive for murdering the man.
Victoria worries the Colorado police arrested the wrong person for the murder of a former American president. Husband Texas is summoned to assist the Christian Protection Agency in solving an overseas crisis. Victoria's spirit restlessly stirs as she fears the Planning Committee is about to play the world for a fool. Don't miss this exciting sequel leading up to world government
Have you read any books that have April Fool(s) in the title? Please share in the comments.
Happy reading!