Stranded in Provence Books

“My name is Jules Hooker. I have lived through a few crappy moments in my life—and with a name like Hooker, you can just imagine—but nothing, nothing, compares to the two intensely and world-shatteringly crappy things that happened to me this last June.Three, I guess, if you count Gilbert.After my ex-boyfriend dumped me on the day I thought he was going to propose, I’d have to say the other two really bad things that happened last June would have to be the dead body I discovered in the rental house in France where I went to get over being dumped, and lastly—and very possibly I should have led with this—the dirty bomb that exploded over the Mediterranean throwing me and everyone else in France back to the 1950s.Oh. And did I mention I’m more or less stuck here now?”

Would you care for a Little Murder with that Sweet Roll?Jules Hooker is doing her best to adjust to the new normal of a world without electricity, electronics, cars or the chance to return home. Stranded in the charming but provincial village of Chabanel wasn’t terrible until Jules discovers Aix-en-Provence and decides that the big city lights—even when they’ve gone out in the apocalypse—are much preferable to the countryside.Of course with a big city comes big city crimes and when a fellow American is accused of murdering a popular pastry chef in Aix, Jules knows she has to help.Unfortunately tracking a dangerous killer when you don’t know the language—or the French people themselves—soon has Jules bumbling into one dangerous situation after another.All the wonderful pastries aside, will this be lights out for Jules too?

Murder is murder no matter how you pronounce itTrying to learn a foreign language can be murder—especially when your French tutor is strangled to death hours after your last lesson and your best friend is arrested for the crime.Normally that wouldn’t be a problem for stranded super sleuth and intrepid expat Jules Hooker except she just got her ONE chance to go back to the US and sticking around to help a pal means she’s back to being stranded in a foreign country with no lights, no language skills and no real future. Will she give up her chance to go home? Will she continue to step on the toes of the handsome village police chief in order to help free her friend? And finally, will Jules find out who the murderer is before the killer decides to permanently eliminate one very pesky very stubborn American sleuth?

Life in post-apocalyptic France has finally begun to settle down.The cafés all have candles, the bakery ovens are all coal-fired and reliance on electricity and electronics are now a thing of the past. So when the Provençal village of Chabanel decides to go ahead with its annual pastry contest and festival it’s a shock to everyone when one of the celebrity judges down from Paris dies a gruesome—and very public—death.When a plate of poisoned chocolate éclairs turns out to be the murder weapon, it’s up to expat and amateur sleuth Jules Hooker to prove that the little old ladies who made them aren’t the murderers. Because much in the same way that Jules can’t stop after one profiterole, it soon becomes clear that this murderer doesn’t intend to stop with one dead chef.

In this festive holiday novella, Jules Hooker is having her first post-apocalyptic Christmas in the small French village of Chabanel when a mysterious stranger and an unholy secret from the past come together to try to ruin everybody’s holly jolly time.

A spring boat ride with no motor, no GPS and no radio.What could possibly go wrong?When Jules goes to Marseille to run an errand for the twins, she meets an exotic new friend who offers her a daytrip on a French yacht to wash away the gloom of the post-apocalyptic winter Jules has just endured. The trip promises everything Jules has been craving for the last six months…sunshine, rosé wine, exciting company, bracing sea air…and murder.What starts out as a pleasure cruise quickly turns into the voyage of the damned as, trapped on a boat with a killer, Jules scrambles to find out who not to turn her back on—and fast.This book has no graphic violence, strong language or sexual depictions.

Stranded in the south of France after an EMP wipes out all international travel, electricity and communications, Jules Hooker thinks life can’t get any worse……Right up to the moment when France decides to move all stranded aliens to refugee camps. Add to her problems a murder in the local café that implicates a dear friend of hers and the fact that she’s being forced to marry her arch nemesis in order to avoid the detention camp and you have a very tense summer for one very tense ex-pat.Will she have to marry Detective Matteo? Will her dearest pal end up paying for a murder he didn’t commit? And finally, will Jules really have to leave the twins to live behind barbed wire with no freshly brewed coffee or croissants?Check out Book 6 in the Stranded in Provence cozy mystery series and see.Genre: light cozy mystery, women amateur sleuth, cozy animal (dog)

One thing you can say about the apocalypse, it fixed the traffic problem But that’s about all, especially for one American ex-pat stranded in France and trying to make the best of it. When a fellow American at the nearby alien detention camp is accused of murdering her French lover it’s up to Jules to prove she didn’t do it. Jules will travel to Aix-en-Provence to see how her countrywoman was forced to live after the lights turned off, to uncover the people who betrayed her—and why—and finally, to confront the ruthless female warden of the alien detention camp who is determined to make her American prisoner pay—not just for the murdered Frenchman, but for the apocalypse itself.Check out Book 7 in the Stranded in Provence cozy mystery series.Genre: light cozy mystery, women amateur sleuth, animal (dog) (cat)

When a stranger to Chabanel shows up dead at the annual village grape harvest festival, Jules is the Number One suspect, compliments of the police detective Eloise’s growing grudge against her. With the evidence steadily mounting against Jules and an independent investigator on the job to prevent Luc from protecting her, will Jules be able to prove her innocence before she finishes out the apocalypse from a prison cell?Check out Book 8 in the Stranded in Provence cozy mystery series.Genre: light cozy mystery, women amateur sleuth, cozy animals (1 winsome dog and 3 adorable cats)

Murder, Voila! Book 9 in the Stranded in Provence Mystery Series shows just how far Jules has come in the three years since the EMP stranded her in Provence. Limited electricity has come back to the area and phone lines are back up—at least for the sick and the elderly. Jules continues to make her living as a private investigator—although she still struggles with the language—but life is full of rose wines, amazing food and the scent of lavender everywhere. On top of all that, she’s getting married! Just when life seems perfect with her pending nuptials to the Chabanel Police Chief, his contentious mother comes to town to stop the wedding—and ends up dead. Will Luc be able to see past his mother’s murder—and the fact that it appears as if one of Jules’ elderly roommates did the honors? Murder, Voila! is a cozy crime romp full of gourmet food and wine with the same quirky characters you’ve grown to love. This book is a clean read: no graphic violence, sex or strong language Genre: cozy culinary mystery, women amateur sleuth, cozy animal (dog)

Just married, American expat Jules DeBray is adjusting to life as the wife of the local police chief when the proprietor of the iconic village cheese shop goes missing, upsetting the entire village. When the inevitable body shows up, fingers start pointing and it will be up to Jules to solve the mystery. In this light-hearted mystery, the peaceful Provençal countryside hides secrets as rich as a dark chocolate mousse. Snarky, witty and thoroughly American, Jules picks up where she left off in Murder, Voila in this charming cozy mystery with all the flavor and delight of a fresh-baked baguette!

Some things can get a person very burned up. Like a rivalry crepe business in a small village like Chabanel that can only handle one bakery. When the newcomer's crepe kiosk is ransacked and its owner killed, Jules will find her first case as acting village chief of police a veritable hot potato. With the usually unasked for help from les soeurs and an assortment of other villagers, Jules must find the true killer of the rival crepe maker before the village loses its other baker to a murder charge. A village without a baker? Zut alors ! Truly the worst thing that could happen to any village in France. This book is a clean read with no graphic violence, sex or strong language.

Is there anything sweeter than lavender? Except for maybe revenge? As Jules begin her sixth year being stranded in Provence, she’s also been without her husband Luc for over a year. While she tries to earn the respect of the villagers of Chabanel and prove herself as the interim Chief of Police a dear friend and close contact with the Aix police is found murdered in the middle of the area’s annual lavender festival. Making matters worse, a man who Jules sent away for murder is back into the village and ready to cause more trouble. When a second man is killed, Jules realizes there is more than sweet sachets at stake. Can she untangle all the troubling deep-seated secrets from just about everyone she talks to? And with Luc asking if they can see other people, is there yet a way to possibly salvage her own heart in the process?