A Maggie McDonald Mystery Series

“A skillful amateur detective with an impressive to-do list emerges in this inventive series opener.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)   For professional organizer Maggie McDonald, moving her family into a new home should be the perfect organizational challenge. But murder was definitely not on the to-do list . . .   Maggie McDonald has a penchant for order that isn’t confined to her clients’ closets, kitchens, and sock drawers. As she lays out her plan to transfer her family to the hundred-year-old house her husband, Max, has inherited in the hills above Silicon Valley, she has every expectation for their new life to fall neatly into place. But as the family bounces up the driveway of their new home, she’s shocked to discover the house’s dilapidated condition. When her husband finds the caretaker face-down in their new basement, it’s the detectives who end up moving in. What a mess! While the investigation unravels and the family camps out in a barn, a killer remains at large—exactly the sort of loose end Maggie can’t help but clean up . . .   Praise for the Maggie McDonald Mysteries   “Abundant with friendly canine companions, from-the-hearth cooking, and banter between long-time friends, this novel serves up a chilling mystery warmed by likable characters and enviable setting.” —KRL News & Reviews   “Bay Area residents will enjoy the heavy local angle.” —San Jose Mercury News   “The setting is delightful . . . Maggie herself, in my opinion, is a major selling point for this new series, aside from the added value of her organizational advice.” —MiddleSisterReviews.com

“From the author of Address to Die For, “an engaging . . . mystery that moves forward quickly with freshness, a few surprises, and a couple of real scares” (Kirkus Reviews).   Professional organizer Maggie McDonald has a knack for cleaning up other people’s messes. So when the fiancée of her latest client turns up dead, it’s up to her to sort through the untidy list of suspects and identify the real killer.   Maggie McDonald is hoping to raise the profile of her new Orchard View organizing business via her first high-profile client. Professor Lincoln Sinclair may be up for a Nobel Prize, but he’s hopeless when it comes to organizing anything other than his thoughts. For an academic, he’s also amassed more than his share of enemies. When Sinclair’s fiancée is found dead on the floor of his home laboratory—electrocuted in a puddle of water—Maggie takes on the added task of finding the woman’s murderer. To do so, she’ll have to outmaneuver the suspicious, obnoxious police investigator she’s nicknamed “Detective Awful” before a shadowy figure can check off the first item on their personal to-do list—Kill Maggie McDonald.   Praise for the Maggie McDonald Mysteries   “Abundant with friendly canine companions, from-the-hearth cooking, and banter between long-time friends, this novel serves up a chilling mystery warmed by likable characters and enviable setting.” —KRL News & Reviews   “Bay Area residents will enjoy the heavy local angle.” —San Jose Mercury News   “The setting is delightful . . . Maggie herself, in my opinion, is a major selling point for this new series, aside from the added value of her organizational advice.”

The author of Scheduled to Death “perfectly captures the high-tech lifestyle of Silicon Valley . . . Deeply rewarding and with organizational hints” (Kings River Life Magazine).   As a professional organizer, Maggie McDonald brings order to messy situations. But when a good friend becomes a murder suspect, surviving the chaos is one tall task . . .   Despite a looming deadline, Maggie thinks she has what it takes to help friends Jason and Stephen unclutter their large Victorian in time for its scheduled renovation. But before she can fill a single bin with unused junk, Jason leaves for Texas on an emergency business trip, Stephen’s injured mastiff limps home—and Stephen himself lands in jail for murder. Someone killed the owner of a local Chinese restaurant and stuffed him in the freezer. Stephen, caught at the crime scene covered in blood, is the number one suspect. Now Maggie must devise a strategy to sort through secrets and set him free—before she’s tossed into permanent storage next . . .   Praise for the Maggie McDonald Mysteries   “Abundant with friendly canine companions, from-the-hearth cooking, and banter between long-time friends, this novel serves up a chilling mystery warmed by likable characters and enviable setting.” —KRL News & Reviews   “Bay Area residents will enjoy the heavy local angle.” —San Jose Mercury News   “The setting is delightful . . . Maggie herself, in my opinion, is a major selling point for this new series, aside from the added value of her organizational advice.” —MiddleSisterReviews.com

“[A] whip-smart amateur detective . . . An enticing fourth series installment thanks to an engaging cast” from the author of Dead Storage (Kirkus Reviews).   Professional organizer Maggie McDonald manages to balance a fastidious career with friends, family, and a spunky Golden Retriever. But add a fiery murder mystery to the mix, and Maggie wonders if she’s finally found a mess even she can’t tidy up . . .   With a devastating wildfire spreading to Silicon Valley, Maggie preps her family for a rapid evacuation. The heat rises when firefighters discover the body of her best friend Tess Olmos’s athletic husband—whose untimely death was anything but accidental. And as Tess agonizes over the whereabouts of her spouse’s drop-dead gorgeous running mate, she becomes the prime suspect in what’s shaping up to become a double murder case. Determined to set the record straight, Maggie sorts through clues in an investigation more dangerous than the flames approaching her home. But when her own loved ones are threatened, can she catch the meticulous killer before everything falls apart?   Praise for the Maggie McDonald Mysteries   “Abundant with friendly canine companions, from-the-hearth cooking, and banter between long-time friends, this novel serves up a chilling mystery warmed by likable characters and enviable setting.” —KRL News & Reviews   “Bay Area residents will enjoy the heavy local angle.” —San Jose Mercury News   “The setting is delightful . . . Maggie herself, in my opinion, is a major selling point for this new series, aside from the added value of her organizational advice.” —MiddleSisterReviews.com

“BEST OF 2019” —SUSPENSE MAGAZINE  When a hang-gliding stranger is found fatally injured in the cliffs above Monterey Bay, the investigation into his death becomes a cluttered mess. Professional organizer Maggie McDonald must sort the clues to catch a coastal killer before her family becomes a target . . .   Maggie has her work cut out for her helping Renée Alvarez organize her property management office. Though the condominium complex boasts a prime location on the shores of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, aging buildings and the high-maintenance tenants have Renée run ragged. But Maggie’s efforts are complicated when her sons attempt to rescue a badly injured man who crashed his ultra-light on the coastal cliffs.   Despite their efforts to save him, the man dies. Maggie's family members become the prime suspects in a murder investigation and the target of a lawsuit. Her instincts say something’s out of place, but solving a murder won’t be easy. Maggie still needs to manage her business, the pushy press, and unwanted interest from criminal elements. Controlling chaos is her specialty, but with this killer’s crime wave, Maggie may be left hanging . . . “A skillful amateur detective with an impressive to-do list.” —Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW, Address to Die For  

When professional organizer Maggie McDonald finds a body in a snowdrift outside her friend's ski cabin, she must plow through the clues to find a cold-blooded killer . . .   Lake Tahoe in February is beautiful, but Maggie can't see a thing as she drives through a blinding blizzard with her friend Tess Olmos and their dogs, golden retriever Belle and German shepherd Mozart.Maggie has offered her professional decluttering skills to help Tess tidy up her late husband's cabin in preparation to sell. She also plans to get in some skiing when her husband Max and their boys join them later in the week.   What she doesn't plan on is finding a boot in a snowdrift attached to a corpse. The frozen stiff turns out to be Tess's neighbor, Dev Bailey, who disappeared two months ago. His widow Leslie expresses grief, but Maggie can't help but wonder if it's a snow job. As more suspects start to pile up, things go downhill fast, and Maggie must keep her cool to solve the murder before the killer takes a powder . . .   “A skillful amateur detective with an impressive to-do list.” —Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW, Address to Die For