10 Great First Books in Series by Murder, They Write Authors

Murder, They Write is a group of ten cozy mystery authors who met through our late literary agent, Dawn Dowdle. While with the Blue Ridge Literary Agency, we formed friendships and have stayed connected and supportive of each other despite the loss of our agent and the closing of the agency. We’re a fun group of people and have a great list of mystery books to whisk you away on a whole trainload of adventures. You’ll be sure to find your next read here!

Resort to Murder is the first in Annie McEwen’s fabulous Northwoods Mystery series where she whisks the reader away to lakeside cabins in the woods of Wisconsin.

When Emmy Cooper's life in Chicago is turned upside down, the young interior designer retreats to her family's lake cottage resort in the beautiful Wisconsin Northwoods for a much-needed break. Hoping to clear her mind and gain a fresh perspective, she looks forward to enjoying the slower pace and the crisp, clean pine air at her beloved Cooper's Cove Resort with her family, dogs, and her best friend, Whitney. Unfortunately, her homecoming isn't as calm as she'd hoped when Emmy finds out a ruthless development company is relentlessly pressuring Lake Covington property owners, including Emmy's family, to sell their land so they can build an extravagant, modern resort that would ruin the quaint esthetic of the area.

And things only get worse when Emmy finds the dead body of one of the developers floating in the lake-murdered! Suddenly the police are involved, and since Emmy's father was leading the fight to stop the shady development from getting approval, he's quickly painted as the prime suspect. Now it's up to Emmy to prover her father's innocence, save the reputation of Cooper's Cove, and find out who would resort to murder.

A Christmas Candy Killing is the first in Christina Romeril's fun Killer Chocolate Mysteries. This Christmas-themed series is set in a snowy town in Montana.

Identical twin sisters Alex and Hannah are the owners of Murder and Mayhem, a mystery bookshop that sells their famous poison-themed Killer Chocolates. But now, there's a real killer in their midst. Shortly before Christmas, their septuagenarian neighbor, Jane, confides to Alex that a murderer from a true-crime show has taken up residence in the village. Unfortunately, she's also shared her suspicions with town gossip Netta. The next morning, Alex shows up at Jane's house to watch the show, but instead discovers Jane's body, with a box of Killer Chocolates nearby.

The sheriff quickly zeroes in on two suspects: Alex, a beneficiary in Jane's will, and Zack, a handyman who was seen leaving the crime scene. But Alex maintains her innocence and sets out to draft a list of other potential suspects--townsfolk who recently have been seen arguing with Jane.

When Alex gets a hold of Jane's journal, she begins to understand the truth. But a bearer of ill tidings is arriving early this year--and Alex just might not make it to Christmas.

Weeding Out Lies, by Jackie Layton is the first in her charming Texas Flower Farmer Cozy Mystery series. You'll be having fun under the Texas sun with this one.

Flower farmer Emma Justice's life is firmly rooted in Lutz, Texas where she has recently begun her new business. One morning while delivering flowers, she stumbles upon a prominent citizen. Dead. When a friend is accused of murder, Emma launches her own investigation. She's used to separating weeds from flowers. Emma will dig for clues, weed out red herrings and cultivate a plan to find the killer.

Caught on Camera is the first in the Camera Club Mysteries by debut author, Kara Lacey. This fantastic start to a new series takes you to summertime in a charming Vermont village.

It's been more than a year since the sudden death of her husband, and photographer Bobbie Brooks wants nothing more than to escape her grief. Fleeing her life in the city, she seeks a fresh start in the serenity of the Green Mountains. But Bobbie's new beginning comes to a halt when she finds a member of her camera club dead beneath the village's idyllic covered bridge. Tragic accident or something sinister? With a keen photographer's eye, Bobbie suspects murder.

As if transitioning to small-town life wasn't' challenging enough, Bobbie's missing scarf is found at the murder scene, making her the primary focus, Scorned by local gossips, she enlists the help of her camera club and shifts her lens from photographer to amateur sleuth. Using photos found on the victim's camera, they waste no time setting out to catch the killer--and discover no shortage of suspects. Secrets, lies, and blackmail...

Danger abounds as they close in on the killer. Her camera holds the answers...But can she develop the clues in time to stop the killer?

Until Depths Do Us Part, by K. B. Jackson is the first in the thrilling Cruising Sisters Mysteries. This one will take you on a journey into Alaskan waters.

Newly widowed Charlotte McLaughlin is adrift following the sudden death of her husband of twenty years and the shocking discovery of the lavish double life he'd lived while purportedly traveling for business. When Charlotte's only nephew and his fiancée are notified that their scheduled wedding venue has flooded, her sister Jane suggests an alternative--a Thanksgiving week cruise from Seattle to Alaska aboard the private residence ship where Charlotte's husband had purchased a two-bedroom unit without her knowledge. What better way to get closer with her family and banish the memories Charlotte can't bear to touch now?

But the bride is found dead less than twenty-four hours after departure, and the head of security holds the groom on suspicion of her murder. Charlotte and Jane must figure out who is responsible for the murder before their nephew goes to jail for a crime they're adamant he couldn't have committed. Then a second victim is discovered, and Charlotte becomes even more certain there's a killer on the guest list.

Hammers and Homicide by Paula Charles is the first in the humorous Hometown Hardware Mysteries set in an Oregon mountain town.

Recent widow Dawna Carpenter thought running her own hardware store after the death of her husband was hard enough. With her adult daughter, April, moving back into town, Darlene, the annoying boutique owner next door to her shop poking around, and Dawna thinking her late husband is still hanging around the house, she has her hands full. But when she finds a dead man in the bathroom of her store, with a framing hammer by his side, she's in way over her head.

The victim, Warren Highcastle, was a land developer who was looking to purchase the old theater in town to build a new hotel. Dawna and April, worried about the implications of the crime scene at the hardware store, put themselves on the case. They soon learn that Warren had made quite a few enemies in his short time in town. As the suspect list starts growing, so too do the threats against Dawna and April. Can Dawna and Apri nail the killer before they strike again?

Welcome Home to Murder is the first in Rosalie Spielman's engaging Hometown Mystery series. You'll be visiting Idaho between the pages. Keep your eyes open for Magnus the Moose!

Tessa Treslow never wanted a small town life. As soon as she graduated high school, she happily escaped her tiny town to join the U.S. Army, leaving New Oslo, Idaho, population 852, firmly behind her. Twenty years later, the hometown hero is finally ready to come back--even if she has just a visit with loved ones in mind while her family is hoping to convince her to stay for good.

With her fawn boxer dog, Vince, in tow, Tessa falls into the unsettlingly familiar small town life, helping out in her family's general store and her feisty Aunt Edna's auto body shop. But her peaceful homecoming is suddenly shattered when the dead body of a crooked con man turns up in her aunt's shop, and the police have some serious questions for the family. To make matters worse, the sheriff in charge just happens to be Tessa's ex-boyfriend...and things did not end well between them all those years ago. When it comes out that the con man was trying to get his hands on the family business, Tessa knows they're in trouble.

With her family in danger of being dragged away in handcuffs, Tessa becomes a woman on a mission to find the con man's killer. Between a slew of suspects, a meandering moose, and a handsome newcomer with his eye on Tessa, she has her work cut out for her. But when the killer changes tactics--putting everything her family holds dear in jeopardy--Tessa begins to realize what home really means to her. Can she be the hero for her hometown once again...before it's too late?

Come along to Scotland in Death at the Scottish Broch, a Mia Reid, Archaeologist Mystery by Rose Kerr.

Dr. Mia Reid arrives on the Isle of Skye for a summer dig. She learns her friend and trusted colleague, Dr. Ethan Carter, is dead and valuable artifacts are missing. Interpol agent and Mia's former lover, Luke Forbes, is working the case with the police. They suspect murder and a smuggling ring. Mia and her team uncover a treasure with ties to Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Then two students are kidnapped, forcing Mia to trade the treasure for their release. During the rescue, she finds a collection of missing artifacts. Are the smuggler and kidnappers the same people? Can she dig up the truth before someone else dies?

Butterfly Betrayal is the first in the charming Seneca James Mystery series by Ruth J. Hartman. This series will take you to a butterfly farm in Indiana.

Raising butterflies is peaceful and calm, until someone dies.

Majestic Monarch Butterfly Farm might flitter away forever. That is, unless Seneca James acquires the property next door. She and Winifred, her costume-wearing cat, have a fight on their hands. Their land sits next to a milkweed-covered field, essential for monarchs. If she's unsuccessful in buying it, her precious, winged friends won't survive.

When people end up dead on her farmland, Seneca is suspected of murder. What is it about the milkweed field that's worth killing for? And who is the murderer?

Instagoner is the first in Sydney Leigh's funny Bark and Blog Mystery series where you'll be solving murders with a lifestyle blogger.

When lifestyle blogger Emily Dalle comes face-to-face with controversial talk show host, Jackie Hunter, she's in for the shock of her life. But this time it's not Jackie's words that cause a stir--it's her dead body.

Emily knows the chance of Jackie's death being a random hit-and-run is about as low as the blows she dished out on her gossip feed. The police are doing their best but with their limited resources, Emily enlists the help of her online audience to figure out what really happened. She gets some great tips, including one from the murderer who tells her to back off.

Will Emily piece together who killed the Queen of Mean or will she fall victim to the same fate?