Mimi Goldman Chautauqua Mysteries Books
In the Shadow of Death is where it all began — the first book in Deb Pines' traditional whodunit Chautauqua Mysteries featuring the wise and witty reporter sleuth Mimi Goldman. "An Agatha Christie for the text-message age," IndieReader calls the series. In 1997, Brad Hansen, Mimi's landlord, drops dead at a community race Mimi is covering for her new job at the small-town Chautauquan Daily . Natural causes, say the locals. But Mimi, a former New York City tabloid copy editor and pessimistic granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, is suspicious. With help from a hunky ex-boyfriend detective as well as from Mimi's teenage son Jake and Daily colleague Doc Segovian, Mimi starts poking around the peaceful, cottage-filled, historic, lakeside summer arts community of Chautauqua. There is no shortage of murder suspects including Hansen's young widow, oddball brother, bitter children and various grudge-holding tenants. As Mimi starts investigating, someone else turns up dead. So Mimi finds herself in a race of her own to catch the killer . . . before the killer gets her. Fans of Agatha Christie and Louise Penny and "Only Murders in the Building" will enjoy this twist-filled debut about which the Jamestown Post Journal wrote: "If you enjoy an old-fashioned whodunit, it's perfect."
Where's the Beef is the second book, and only novelette, in Deb Pines' traditional whodunit Chautauqua Mysteries featuring the wise and witty reporter sleuth of a certain age Mimi Goldman. "An Agatha Christie for the text-message age," IndieReader calls the series. After solving multiple murders in her splashy 2013 debut, Mimi Goldman, the lovable New York City expat/single mom/ Chautauquan Daily reporter, is back! This time, she faces a more lighthearted challenge: Where's the beef? Or, really: What's become of meat deliveries that keep disappearing from a locked kitchen in the Rosebriar, a rooming-house in the historic Chautauqua Institution? Instantly, Mimi finds multiple suspects including a bitter Rosebriar guest, a prankster delivery kid and a shadowy employee. She even finds a little romance, in Walt Dellaria, a sexy engineer and ruthless Scrabble match. But the central question, Where's the Beef?, is a tough-to-solve puzzle. A twist at the end makes this whodunit also a memorable howdunit and unputdownable quick read. Fans of Agatha Christie and Louise Penny and "Only Murders in the Building" will enjoy this twist-filled tale that one reviewer called "a locked-room mystery that kept me guessing until the end."
Deliver Us from Evil is the third book in Deb Pines' traditional whodunit Chautauqua Mysteries featuring the wise and witty reporter sleuth of a certain age Mimi Goldman. "An Agatha Christie for the text-message age," IndieReader calls the series. It's August 2013 when Joe Wentworth, a widely beloved workaholic Chautauquan Daily editor, is found shot dead at his desk in an empty newsroom. The police quickly arrest two small-time criminals found with Joe's car and credit cards. But reporter and relentless snoop Mimi Goldman—back in Chautauqua, thanks to Wentworth—is skeptical. Step 1, Mimi needs to better understand her mentor, a very private Vietnam vet with two key passions: his dog and his research on "Amish grace," the sect's amazing ability to forgive, even a crazed 2006 school shooter who killed five young Amish girls, then himself. With help from her computer-savvy son, Mimi finds a few possible murder suspects, including a fired Daily staffer, a shadowy group called "The Plotters," an Amish cleaning lady and Wentworth's past loves. But the real killer is a surprise — as is Mimi's reckoning with how she can honor both Wentworth and her own sense of justice. Fans of Agatha Christie and Louise Penny and "Knives Out" will enjoy this twist-filled mystery Kirkus Reviews calls, "A light, entertaining read from a mystery author whose pleasure in her characters remains evident and welcome."
A chilling short story with a satisfying twist from Deb Pines, the award-winning New York Post headline writer best known for her top-selling Chautauqua mystery series starring amateur sleuth Mimi Goldman. Set in Pines' favorite locale, the idyllic lakeside Chautauqua Institution in Western New York, this creepy tale focuses on three people identified mainly as Jimmy, Rosemary and Joe. The three seem to be enjoying ordinary summer pursuits like a Fourth of July picnic and fishing trip for muskies. But when tensions explode, fasten your seat belts — for a riveting, unexpected conclusion!!!
Beside Still Waters is the fourth book in Deb Pines' traditional whodunit Chautauqua Mysteries featuring the wise and witty reporter sleuth of a certain age Mimi Goldman. "An Agatha Christie for the text-message age," IndieReader calls the series. It's the summer of 2017 when Jenny Van Alstine, a gorgeous feminist artist who helps run Chautauqua's Episcopal Cottage, disappears. Jenny's grandmother seeks help finding her from her friend, reporter and relentless snoop Mimi Goldman. But what Mimi finds, instead, is a surprising number of Jenn-emies, haters who might be behind her disappearance, including Jenny's philandering husband, a girlfriend of his, a young cottage handyman and Jenny's estranged sister. With help from her computer-savvy son Jake, Mimi digs deeper into Jenny's family, the cottage doings and the art world where Jenny's known, and sometimes despised, for her controversial "Great Wall of Vagina." By the time Jenny's body is dredged from the lake, Mimi finds herself in danger, too -- from a killer determined to stop Mimi before Mimi stops them. Fans of Agatha Christie and Louise Penny and "Only Murders in the Building" will enjoy this twist-filled page-turner. Says Kirkus Reviews : "The juxtaposition of murder against the tranquil setting of the institution works its magic once again."
Vengeance is Mine is the fifth book in Deb Pines' traditional whodunit Chautauqua Mysteries featuring the wise and witty reporter sleuth of a certain age Mimi Goldman. "An Agatha Christie for the text-message age," IndieReader calls the series. It's the Fourth of July in 2017 when this mystery starts with a bang. Maureen Donahue, a Black Lives Matter filmmaker and speaker at the historic Chautauqua Institution, is killed at a raucous holiday concert — amid the orchestra's roar and audience's popping paper bags, to simulate cannon fire at the end of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture." A stalker who followed Donahue to Chautauqua, a peaceful, leafy, cottage-filled, lakeside summer arts community, is quickly arrested. The stalker's brother asks Mimi to help clear him. She's skeptical. She has her own wedding to plan. But, of course, the Chautauquan Daily reporter and relentless snoop, can't resist. With help from her computer-savvy son Jake, Mimi sifts through layers of secrets — of a shadowy piano teacher, a racist personal trainer and chatty chime-master, among others — and realizes: she's been asking all the wrong questions. The right ones unearth an ugly buried secret that puts Mimi close, maybe too close, to the real killer. Fans of Agatha Christie and Louise Penny and "Only Murders in the Building" will enjoy this twist-filled mystery Kirkus Reviews calls, "An engaging mystery with a late twist and an especially satisfying ending."
The Fruit of Lies is the sixth book in Deb Pines' traditional whodunit Chautauqua Mysteries featuring the wise and witty reporter sleuth of a certain age Mimi Goldman. "An Agatha Christie for the text-message age," IndieReader calls the series. When tyrannical billionaire Thomas C. Whistler drowns in a Japanese soaking tub in his Chautauqua McMansion in July 2018, was it an accident? The police aren't sure. A note from the dead energy-bar magnate and phony TED Talk speaker says, "Don't let my killer get away with it." Reporter and relentless snoop Mimi Goldman digs in. She questions Whistler's guilty-looking heirs, his seven glib and greedy kids, including: an ambitious actor, a building contractor, a Shakespearean scholar, a socialite and daughter with Down syndrome. Assisted by her computer-savvy son Jake and her 92-year-old sidekick (and wheelman) Sylvia Pritchard, Mimi even leaves Chautauqua this time to poke around nearby pawnshops and Lily Dale, a spooky spiritualist community. Mimi feels like she's getting nowhere -- until someone runs Sylvia's car off the road, landing the pair of persistent gumshoes in a ditch. Battered but hopeful, Mimi reexamines old clues and lies until she realizes the sad truth of this case -- in time to say "I do" to her devoted beau Walt. Fans of Agatha Christie and Louise Penny and Elly Griffiths and "Only Murders in the Building" will enjoy this twist-filled mystery Kirkus Reviews calls, "A breezy distraction that will keep readers guessing."
Crooked Paths is the seventh book in Deb Pines' traditional whodunit Chautauqua Mysteries featuring the wise and witty reporter sleuth of a certain age Mimi Goldman. "An Agatha Christie for the text-message age," IndieReader calls the series. When thrice-married socialite Connie dePalma sashays into Chautauqua in 2019, a neighbor says, "Here comes trouble." And, boy, was he right. In less than a week Connie is found dead in a nearby gorge. Many stand to benefit from Connie's demise. But that doesn't mean there was foul play, say the police. So reporter and relentless snoop Mimi Goldman, with help from her computer-savvy son Jake and 94-year-old sidekick (and wheelman) Sylvia Pritchard, digs in -- following clues to more clues to dead ends and a threat on Mimi's life. Recovering, Mimi re-questions everything and everyone including Connie's new husband, her apparently saintly sister, a boy-toy assistant, Connie's daughter and new beau, plus the nudists and homeless she finds at the gorge. In the end, Mimi tries a long-shot hunch, hoping it reveals the killer lurking among Chautauqua's charming cottages, leafy streets and high-minded events -- in time for her to enjoy a visit from her new grandson. Fans of Agatha Christie and Louise Penny and "Only Murders in the Building" will enjoy this twist-filled mystery Kirkus Reviews calls, "An entertaining addition to a reliable beach-read series."
A Plague Among Us is the eighth book in Deb Pines’ traditional whodunit Chautauqua Mysteries featuring the wise and witty reporter/grandma sleuth Mimi Goldman. “An Agatha Christie for the text-message age,” IndieReader calls the series. It’s August 2020 when Al Martin, the editor of a satiric newspaper, dies and is declared Chautauqua’s first coronavirus fatality. The local consensus is: good riddance. Shannon Martin, a sister, arrives with questions like why was Al cremated in such a hurry and who was pranking him (with near-Biblical plagues) near the end. The police stay out of it. Reporter and relentless snoop Mimi Goldman agrees to help. But when she and Shannon start unearthing ugly secrets lurking among the charming cottages, leafy streets and masked-for-COVID residents of the historic summer arts community, Shannon flees. So it takes Mimi, with help from her usual sidekick, 95-year-old Sylvia Pritchard, to find which of Al’s many haters — including an estranged wife, three bitter siblings, a secretive caregiver, old enemies and numerous targets of his poison-pen sarcasm—might be a ruthless killer. Fans of Agatha Christie and Louise Penny and “Only Murders in the Building” will enjoy this twist-filled mystery Kirkus Reviews calls, “An intriguing and engaging crime tale with some levity to lighten the pandemic element.”
Wicked Schemes is the ninth book in Deb Pines’ traditional whodunit Chautauqua Mysteries featuring the wise and witty reporter/grandma sleuth Mimi Goldman. “An Agatha Christie for the text-message age,” IndieReader calls the top-selling series. When a local online message-board post says, “A Murder is Announced,” all are welcome, on July 18, 2021, at 9:15 p.m. at Merrill Manor, Chautauqua is abuzz. Many show up expecting a harmless murder-mystery game. But then the lights go out. An intruder yells, “Stick ’em up.” Three shots are fired. And, by the door, lies . . . the body of the intruder, in costume. Was it a botched robbery? Or something else? In this page-turning riff on an Agatha Christie classic, the police, of course, are no help. So reporter and relentless snoop Mimi Goldman (known as "Chautauqua’s Miss Marple") and her fearless 90-year-old sidekick Sylvia Pritchard dig in. They find secrets galore among Merrill Manor's guests who include -- host Betsy Kowalski, a haughty ex-Wall Streeter, her actor nephew, a simpering childhood friend, an elderly tenant with a grudge, a standoffish gardener, a mansplaining ex-judge and a lovesick writer. When more bodies turn up, too, Mimi and Sylvia decide it's time to go big. Trading methodical for daring, they stage a high-stakes showdown -- to try to nab an unhinged killer and solve their ninth and trickiest whodunit yet. Fans of Agatha Christie and Louise Penny and “Only Murders in the Building” will enjoy this intricately plotted whodunit that’s been called a “rollicking homage to the Queen of Mystery.”
Evil for Evil is the tenth book in Deb Pines' traditional whodunit Chautauqua Mysteries featuring the wise and witty reporter sleuth of a certain age Mimi Goldman. "An Agatha Christie for the text-message age," IndieReader calls the series. When Emmy Diner, a true-crime podcaster who champions the cases of forgotten victims, is killed at a Chautauqua book club meeting, she could use her own champion. The police don’t suspect foul play. Everyone present — including Emmy’s boozing brother-in-law, artsy best friend and an ex-love interest, plus a local minister, musician, nurse, preschool teacher and cleaner — seems harmless. Luckily, reporter and relentless snoop Mimi Goldman is at the meeting, too. New to the book club but not to solving murders in the historic, cottage-filed, leafy, lakeside summer arts community of Chautauqua, Mimi wonders: Might Emmy have been a threat to someone from one of her cold cases? Or the target of a more recent rival? Or was her death something entirely different? With help from her 90-year-old sidekick Sylvia, Mimi digs in, gradually realizing one terrifying fact: the book club members can't be judged by their covers. Fans of Agatha Christie, Louise Penny, Elly Griffiths and "Only Murders in the Building" will enjoy this twist-filled mystery one early reviewer called "an unputdownable triumph."
Caught in the Snare is the eleventh book in Deb Pines' traditional whodunit Chautauqua Mysteries featuring the wise and witty reporter sleuth of a certain age Mimi Goldman. "An Agatha Christie for the text-message age," IndieReader calls the series. When Velma White, a tyrannical landlady, now 74 and shaky on her feet, is found dead at the bottom of the steep, slippery stairs of her Chautauqua home, it looks like an accident. But was it? Velma lived in a "house of vipers," says her best friend. Among them: a cash-strapped daughter, a shady teacher, a bullied home health aide and a bird lover whose feathers Velma ruffled. Reporter and relentless snoop Mimi Goldman, luckily, is on the case. Aided by sidekick Sylvia and Sylvia’s granddog Gerard, they dig into Velma's money, men and murky past to try to find a killer lurking among Chautauqua’s high-minded lectures and historic cottages — before they, too, get Caught in the Snare. Fans of Agatha Christie, Louise Penny, Elly Griffiths, Richard Osman and “Only Murders in the Building” will enjoy the latest twist-filled mystery in this popular series.