Frankie Bow

"Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of the underworld, was a man with a wolf's head. The Navajo skin walkers could turn into any animal they pleased. And of course there's the Hồ tinh, Hanoi's nine-tailed fox. I was thinking I might write a story about the Hồ tinh."

"Gertie, that's a great idea," Ally said. "Are you going to write children's books?"

"Oh, my goodness, no. There's no money in children's books. I'm thinking erotica."

A graduate student from Hawaii visits the tiny bayou town of Sinful, Louisiana to investigate the effects of the oil spill on the local wildlife. Sinful resident Fortune Redding, who happens to be a CIA operative hiding out from a ruthless arms dealer, worries that the nosy newcomer might blow her cover. But when he makes a gruesome discovery, he unleashes forces that will go to any lengths to protect Sinful's darkest secret.

Local businessman Buford Fontleroy Deale III is found shot dead in front of Harriet's Books in downtown Sinful. A blood-soaked pajama top is tied around his chest. And he's wearing only one shoe.

The sheriff wants to talk to Harriet. Sinful's beloved bookseller was one of the last people to see Deale alive. Fortune, Ida Belle, Gertie, and Mary-Alice need to get to Harriet before the sheriff does. They want to clear Harriet's name, and stop whoever was behind the bizarre murder.

Except no one can find Harriet...

The Sinful Ladies' Detective Agency has just scored a cushy gig: Doing surveillance for a businessman who claims business rivals are after his trade secrets. But just as Fortune, Gertie, Ida Belle, and Mary-Alice are deciding how to spend their easy money, the unthinkable happens. The Sinful Ladies find themselves teaming up with the bewildered Sheriff Robert E. Lee...only to find that what looks like a ritualistic murder is far from the strangest thing about this case.

In this modern adaptation of the classic tale The Circular Study, the Sinful ladies encounter a bloody business, a haunted plantation, and an unspeakable family secret.

When a violent death disrupts the monthly meeting of the Pua Kala Garden society, Professor Molly Barda has no intention of playing amateur detective. But Molly’s not just a witness–the victim is Molly’s house guest and grad-school frenemy. And Molly quickly finds to her dismay that her interest in the murder of the stylish and self-centered Melanie Polewski is more than just…academic.

It's not nice to fool Mother Nature.

On the way to interviewing a local farmer, Professor Molly stumbles onto a gruesome discovery in a field of genetically modified papayas. Molly is sure the murder has nothing to do with her new research project...until a second death rocks Mahina's tight farming community, and Molly's administration drops her research like a hot potato. If Molly can't root out the bad apples, not only will her tenure case go pear-shaped...she might end up pushing up daisies.

"You may wonder what my least-favorite student was doing in my living room. In a twist of fate that might seem hilarious if it happened to someone else, he was now my stepson."
Professor Molly Barda is looking forward to a quiet summer in Mahina, Hawaii working on her research and adjusting to married life. But when a visit from her new husband's relatives coincides with a murder, Molly wonders what she's married into--and realizes she might have a killer under her roof.

There's no such thing as bad publicity. Until it happens to you.

Professor Molly's new renter is a social media star seeking privacy in remote Mahina, Hawaii. The arrangement seems to be working out...until the celebrity influencer vanishes. Molly and her best friend Emma Nakamura call in the Mahina PD and try to stay out of the way. But the unthinkable happens: The saturnine Detective Medeiros actually asks for Molly and Emma's help. As they confront nosy neighbors, fanatical followers, and the missing woman's has-been husband, Molly and Emma find themselves at the center of the story. And when fame creates its own reality, that's a dangerous place to be.

A fundraising scheme at Mahina State University ("Where Your Future Begins Tomorrow") forces pregnant Professor Molly into the role of "tutierge" (that's tutor-concierge). While she's battling morning sickness, a meddling mom, and the Student Retention Office. The last thing she needs to deal with right now is  murder.

But here we are.

Professor Emma Nakamura doesn't believe in ghosts. So it doesn't bother her (much) when she learns of a long-ago suicide in her remote upcountry rental house. She's sure there's a logical explanation for the disappearing items and the strange sounds in the night.
Fortunately (?), Emma's best friend Molly has news shocking enough to take Emma's mind off the hauntings. Now Emma and Molly have to rely on their strong reasoning skills and a weak internet connection to figure out how a body ended up in Molly's backyard.
The Nakamura Letters is an island-style take on the Golden Age mysteries of Mary Roberts Rinehart and Agatha Christie.