Louisiana

"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.

It's been crazy," the desk clerk said. "We just had another big group stay here right before you guys, and they completely trashed the place. Shot out the security cameras with BB guns, pitched a couch off a seventeenth-floor balcony, and one room tried to flush a pillow down the toilet."

"What kind of group was that?" I asked.

"Doll collectors' convention."

Gertie drags her best friends Fortune and Ida Belle to a romance convention in New Orleans. Gertie wants to advance her budding new career as a romance author; Fortune needs a break from her complicated personal life; and Ida Belle doesn't think the other two should go out unsupervised. But when Ida Belle runs into someone from her past, it becomes clear that not everyone at the American Romance and Erotica Authors' Conference will live happily ever after.

I found cooking to be something of a mystery. Fortunately, I had a strong stomach and what a fellow agent once enviously described as "taste buds of steel."

Deputy Sheriff Carter LeBlanc has been seen around Sinful with a beautiful, blonde stranger. But Fortune is fine with it, really. It's not like she and Carter had a future together or anything. To show there are no hard feelings, Fortune hosts a dinner party for Carter and his new associate, and even volunteers to cook. But when she tries her hand at a spicy gumbo, things start to heat up for real. As bodies pile up, Fortune suspects that she's the real target--and only Swamp Team Three can save the day.

"What's Celia complaining about this time? Did I wash my car on a Tuesday? Wear off-white before Labor Day?"
Sheriff Lee fidgeted and cleared his throat.
"Celia Arceneaux is dead, Fortune."

CIA operative Fortune Redding signs up for night classes, hoping to ease the boredom of her undercover assignment and update her computer skills. But an unfortunately-timed murder on the campus of Mudbug Technical College sends shock waves through the town of Sinful. And Fortune's life is turned upside down when she discovers who the prime suspect is. Now Fortune has to choose between lying low to avoid the ruthless arms dealer who's put a price on her head, and doing everything in her power to save someone she can't bear to lose.

Mary-Alice Arceneaux has decided to make her home in Sinful! Mayor Celia's sweet-natured and curious cousin is eager to settle into small-town life after moving from the big city (Mudbug, Louisiana). But before Mary-Alice can even unpack her bags, a man of the cloth dies under mysterious circumstances, a device with strange powers turns up in the glove box of her Oldsmobile 88, and her new friends, Ida Belle, Gertie, and young Fortune, are behaving oddly…even for Baptists.

CIA operative Fortune Redding crossed a ruthless arms dealer. Now she's hiding out in remote Sinful, Louisiana, with a fake identity, fake hair, and a real price on her head. But just as she thinks she's safe, her handler warns that Ahmad's men are getting close. She has less than 24 hours to clear out and make it to the safe house in Hawaii. What's more, they'll be looking for a woman traveling alone, so Fortune needs a companion. A respectable, low-profile, non-trigger-happy companion. Which rules out Gertie and Ida Belle.

Mary-Alice Arceneaux just got a big surprise for her 70th birthday--a trip to Hawaii, courtesy of young Fortune Morrow. But with bounty hunters on their trail, and family secrets lurking in the unlikeliest of places, the southernmost state has a few more surprises in store.

Sinful's newest resident, Mary-Alice Arceneaux, is thrilled when Gertie introduces her to famous romance author Almira Galvez-Whitbread. But then Gertie and her friends have to leave town, and the very next day, Almira's husband disappears. With Gertie, Fortune, and Ida Belle gone, Mary-Alice finds that she's Almira's only friend...and that Almira's storybook marriage had been far less perfect than advertised. By the time Mary-Alice realizes she may be in danger, she's already in too deep. Now she has to find out what really happened to the faithless Geoffrey Whitbread--and prove she has what it takes to be a real Sinful Lady.

Young men have been disappearing in Black Valley, New York--which now has the misfortune of being known as "Black Widow Valley." As it happens, Mary-Alice Arceneaux has a personal connection with the tiny community, and is called in to help. Mary-Alice is thrilled to be a part of the investigation--but by the time she arrives at the forbidding Kilmer House where she will spend the night, she realizes she may be in over her head.

This modern retelling of Lost Man's Lane takes the action from the sultry bayous of Southwest Louisiana to upstate New York's remote Black Valley. Mary-Alice is challenged to keep her wits about her when she gets herself invited to stay in the forbidding old mansion that appears to hold the key to a string of unspeakable crimes. Fortunately (or not), Sinful's Sheriff Robert E. Lee is on the case too!

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.