Welcome to the idyllic and beautiful Colorado mountain town of Whisper Creek, where secrets are as abundant as the Harison's Yellow roses, and where the past invades the present like the hearty vines that carry those
sweet, fragrant blooms.
Nothing is ever quiet in Whisper Creek...
BOOK ONE
Fiasco on the Farm
Ten years ago, Theodora Murphy packed her bags and left Colorado, saying goodbye to the drama of her sister’s failed musical career, her mother’s long-suffering disappointment and the grief of her father’s death. She’d placed a distance of 2,000 miles between her and her small-town past. She thought she was far enough away, but nothing is ever quiet in Whisper Creek.
When Theodora receives a phone call from her sister announcing the death of a prominent resident of the town, she’s tempted to ignore the news. When she learns that her mother’s fingerprints were found all over the murder weapon, she finds herself headed west, out of the anonymity of her large, populated city and back to the small town, the people and the memories she left behind her years before.
While investigating the murder, Theodora uncovers clues to not only the crime that took place at Fireweed Farm, but she learns things she never knew about her mother’s past. Every answer she discovers brings with it even more questions.
Her sister is determined that Theodora owes it to the family she abandoned to clear their mother of this heinous crime. Theodora wants more than anything to do that, but one thing is standing in the way.
APRIL 2023
BOOK TWO
Lost at the Lake
Cleopatra Murphy is ready for the return of summertime tourists. As the owner of the majestic Madeleine Hotel, made famous thirty years before by a bestselling novel, she’s seen all kinds of visitors come through town. When Harris Crosby shows up with his fiancée and an old guitar in a worn-out case, everyone assumes he’s just another guest. Cleopatra’s reaction to his arrival makes her sister, Theodora, suspect the two have crossed paths before. The fact that Harris has eyes the same seafoam green as her niece, Indigo, makes her think his visit to the hotel is anything but coincidental.
One late afternoon, a harrowing squall blows in, pummeling the town with heavy rain and flash floods. In the chaos created by the wild weather, Indigo goes missing. Frantic, her family searches for her, hindered by unrelenting rain and damage inflicted on the town. Everyone in Whisper Creek is holding onto the hope that Indigo is hunkered down somewhere, waiting out the storm.
One thought keeps running through Theodora’s mind as the search for the missing child continues … Was it really a random act of nature that separated Indigo from her loved ones, or was it something much more deliberate?
AUGUST 2023
BOOK THREE
Ruckus at the Rodeo
The three-day celebration marking the seventieth annual Cloud County Rodeo promises to be one of the most exciting yet. Theodora Murphy and her handsome escort, Jordan Reilly, show up to the Jubilee dance, which kicks off the event. When the reigning Miss Rodeo U.S.A. is announced, and Jordan takes Paisley Shaw for a spin around the dance floor, Theo is surprised to learn that the lovely rodeo queen ruled his heart once upon a not so long ago.
Theo, busy with a houseful of new pets, including a tenacious border collie who takes his child protection responsibilities quite seriously, decides it might be best to skip the rest of the festivities, but her friends and family aren’t about to let her miss a Whisper Creek tradition. During the day, she attends roping competitions, bronc and bull riding and barrel racing events. Rodeo clowns perform and the kids take part in mutton busting competitions and stick horse races. At night, Theo gets to see her sister, Cleopatra Murphy, take to the stage and perform the songs that made her a country star years before.
Residents agree that this is the best rodeo in the county’s history. That is until a cowboy is killed during one of the last bronc riding events of the weekend. When local law enforcement rules the unfortunate incident an accident, the once happy celebration comes to a sad end. Theo thinks she’s seen the last of the rodeo until she’s asked to do some more digging around. The dead man just happens to be the rodeo queen’s younger brother, and she’s not at all convinced his death was an accident.
DECEMBER 2023
Sometimes climbing the corporate ladder can be deadly ...
Autumn comes to visit the small mountain town of Whisper Creek, Colorado, and finds the Murphy sisters hard at work. Theodora is nearly ready to open the doors of her new law firm, and Cleopatra has added to her already full schedule by returning to school to get her business degree.
As the women continue to build their respective businesses, they are forced to make an array of decisions. Theodora has taken on a somewhat unlikely woman to run her front desk, while Cleopatra has decided to promote her receptionist, Hailey St. James, to be her new business manager.
One evening, as Cleopatra drives home from class, an early blizzard blows in, covering SH 96, a twisty two-lane highway, in snow and ice. When Sheriff Ames knocks on Theodora’s door later that night, it’s to inform her that her sister has been involved in a horrible car accident and has been taken to a hospital sixty miles away.
While Cleopatra fights for her life, another tragedy occurs. Hailey St. James is found dead at the Madeleine Hotel. As the days pass, Cleopatra shows no signs of improvement, and Theodora starts hearing things from the hotel staff that make her think that one of them might have wanted the receptionist gone for good. The question is, why?
MARCH 2024
BOOK FOUR
Incident at the Inn
BOOK FIVE
Crime at the Cabin
To love may be divine, but to date may be deadly …
The holiday season has arrived in Whisper Creek. Cleopatra is working hard on her recovery after a near fatal car accident three months before, and the Madeleine Hotel is doing well under the new management the family has hired. Theodora is excited about her first Christmas back at home, and she and her secretary, Ashley, have opened her new law firm. While certainly not perfect, life seems to be trying to find some sort of equilibrium for the Murphy family.
At least that’s how it seems until Ashley’s friend, Mina, is found murdered in one of the cabins that sits nestled on the shores of Darby Lake. When Ashley starts receiving threatening messages from someone who claims to be the last person to see Mina alive, she recruits Theodora to help her track down her friend’s killer. With any luck, they’ll find him before he decides to kill again.
JULY 2024
NOVEMBER 2024
BOOK SIX
Peril in the Park
Never ask silly questions like, “What’s next?” You might not like the answer …
It’s been a year since Theodora returned to Whisper Creek. Things were at odds in the small mountain town back then. In the past twelve months, things have gone positively topsy-turvy.
Ashley, Theodora’s secretary, is slowly healing from her ordeal with a man who killed her best friend, then left Ashley for dead weeks before Christmas. She’s gone back home to live with her boyfriend, Wyatt, but her trauma makes it hard to resume the kind of relationship the two of them once shared. When Ashley shows up to work with a black eye, Theo moves her to an apartment in the Brubaker Building.
Spring arrives in Colorado, and everyone is hoping for a rebirth. Mamie is busy tying bows on countless baskets at Fireweed Farm, and Odette is dying dozens of eggs to fill those baskets. Residents are looking forward to the annual Easter egg hunt held at Peregrine Park. That is until Wyatt, dressed as the Easter bunny, is found dead by the swings.
Suspicion immediately falls on Ashley, though the young woman swears she’s innocent. When the town turns on Theodora and she finds her fledgling law firm office vandalized, Ashley decides to leave town. This only makes Theodora more determined to find the real killer and save both her new business and the friend who helped her build it.