Latest Publication: Clasp: A Donna Howard Mystery!

Thanks to Eugene for the excellent cover!

Clasp

Buried inside a cache of relics from Medieval England, the ghost of a young boy knows only that he must protect these holy treasures. But as his era recedes into history and the relics scatter hither and yon, all he can do is rage against the collectors of the last remaining object, a silver spoon.

Centuries later, he encounters Donna Howard, an antique appraiser who can speak with spirits. Donna's research convinces her that a sixteenth-century skeleton recently discovered in England is the boy's remains. Now, in order to free himself from the spoon, the boy must confront his own murder.

The fourth novel in the Donna Howard mystery series again brings the past into the present, with themes of identity and choice playing out alongside the problems of messy history and tangled human relationships. Even when the crime is five hundred years old, Donna is determined to solve the case.

The Donna Howard Series 

Sensible Donna Howard researches the provenances of art and antiques. Unfortunately, she occasionally also stumbles across a murder that can only be solved with her unique (and sometimes regrettable) ability to see dead people from the past. Aided by opinionated friends and secretive family members (not to mention demanding significant others), Donna Howard coolly uncovers solutions to historical and contemporary mysteries, no matter how daunting or vexatious.  

The books in the Donna Howard series proceed in chronological order, but each novel can be read on its own.

Latest Publication: Apron, A Donna Howard Mystery

My newest novel is now available!

Making the most of her unique ability to speak to remnants of the dead, Donna Howard researches the provenances of art and antiques. This time, her investigation into a colonial-era portrait delves into the dark history of her adopted niece, SarahAnn, uncovering a kidnapping and a murderer who got away scot-free.

The journey to uncover that history takes the Howards and Gregersons from Maine to upstate New York, from wedding venues to house museums.

Facing a past she never knew she had, SarahAnn questions what constitutes a person's "real" heritage and whether breaking the law is justified to prevent a more heinous crime. There are times when honestly confronting the past can leave descendants with no choice but to choose their own ancestors.

Out of all my protagonists, I feel the closest kinship to SarahAnn--but of course, she is her own character with her own very unique history. 

As always, much thanks to Eugene as editor, cover designer, publisher: all around book guru!

Latest Publication: Silver Spoon, A Donna Howard Mystery!

Nearly ten years after her first case, Donna Howard from Coin is now an established investigator of antiques. With the help of deceased historical people only she can see, she tracks down the stories of family heirlooms. This time around, her investigation takes her to Salem, Massachusetts, where she delves into the town's haunted history and the modern world of antique hunting.

Her research into the provenance of a silver spoon leads Donna to a stash of antiques in an old man's basement, an old man whose death Donna begins to suspect was less than "accidental." Along with a possible murder, she must also contend with a possible possession and a possible boyfriend. Because nothing can make the dead past and the living present more precarious than the unpredictable complexities of human relationships.

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Thanks to Eugene, editor, administrator, and cover designer! Silver Spoon can be obtained through various sites used by Peaks Island Press. 

Latest Publication: Coin, A Donna Howard Mystery

Coin: A Donna Howard Mystery is now available on Kindle and in paperback!

Coin introduces a new murder mystery series. It's 1995 and Donna Howard is living an ordinary life in Portland, Maine. She works as a hairdresser, has a boring boyfriend plus two opinionated brothers and two exhaustively energetic parents. As far as she's concerned, she's an ordinary person and is proud of it.

Except she can see the past. Walk down any street in the old part of the city and four centuries of its inhabitants walk right along with her. She can observe them, hear them, smell them. And she'd rather not. She'd prefer to leave the past in the past.

Until a customer "accidentally" leaves an ancient Roman coin at the hair salon. A coin worth an awful lot of money. Then the woman appraising the coin for the Portland Museum of Art "accidentally" ends up dead. And now the past won't leave Donna alone.

Not even the man whose visage was molded into the metal 2000 years ago, a man who wreaked mayhem then and may have witnessed murder now. Quite unwittingly, Donna uncovers family secrets, confronts historical controversies, and closes in on a very contemporary crime.

Thanks to Eugene, my editor, who is also responsible for the Art Deco cover. More Peaks Island Press books can be found here.