I’m Arlene McFarlane, USA Today Bestselling Author of the Valentine Beaumont mysteries. As ideas often go, 4 Sleuths & A Bachelorette came to me on an early morning walk, when I usually plot my books. This particular morning, my mind took a detour from my series to ask this question: What if four heroines joined together in solving a mystery? Not just any heroines or any mystery. But four diverse protagonists, each with their own series, teaming up to make a hilarious, entertaining whodunit, much like a superhero movie that includes crossovers between characters and stories.
The next task was to find three authors with great comedic voices, their own cozy series, and an array of eager fans. I didn’t need to look far. Leslie Langtry, Diana Orgain, and Traci Andrighetti were witty authors whom I already respected and admired. They were excited about this prospect and agreed that our first-person narratives and our heroines’ special skill sets would blend well together in forming an unstoppable crime-fighting force.
Traci Andrighetti, USA Today Bestselling Author of the Franki Amato mysteries, taking over! During a lot of hilarious—and sometimes harrowing—Zoom calls, we plotted 4 Sleuths & A Bachelorette together but wrote our chapters individually, borrowing each other’s characters.
The entire process was so much fun that we decided to make it a series: the Killer Foursome mysteries. Since the first book takes place in Niagara Falls, a neutral location for our 4 sleuths, the next four books (notice a number pattern here?) will be set in the hometowns of our heroines. Next up is 4 Sleuths & A Burlesque Dancer in New Orleans, Louisiana, PI Franki Amato’s stomping (and parading) grounds.
One of the funniest things about this project—besides the books, obviously—is that the first initials of our last names (Langtry, McFarlane, Andrighetti, Orgain) spell LMAO! The acronym was too good not to use, so we created a publishing company called LMAO Press. :D
We hope you enjoy the series as much as we enjoy writing it!
Four Sleuths and a Bachelorette
A Killer Foursome Mystery, Book 1
Tonight is Babette Lang’s bachelorette party. Problem is, there’s no bachelorette, only an unusual group of disgruntled guests—a wannabe hand-model bartender, a chain-smoking talent agent, the bride-to-be’s cheapskate boss, plus the sloshed fiancé and his furious sisters.
It’s not a party until there’s a body!
When one of the guests drops dead, four women with a tendency for trouble join forces to catch a killer.
Valentine Beaumont ~ Boston sleuth and gutsy beautician
Kate Connolly ~ San Francisco part-time crime-solver and sleep-deprived new mom
Merry Wrath ~ Iowa ex-CIA operative turned Girl Scout leader
Franki Amato ~ New Orleans PI and victim of a serial-matchmaking Sicilian nonna
Will these sleuths untangle this double mystery and save the party? Or is it already too late?
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