Joanna Campbell Slan

All eight-year-old Erik wanted for his birthday was a bird. What he got was Solo—a traumatized lovebird whose mate was recently devoured by a boa constrictor at a local pet shop. But when Kiki learns that Solo originally belonged to Ruthie Goldman, a beloved member of their temple community...

The year is 1986, the place is . . . pitiful. It's Decatur, Illinois, known for high unemployment, striking unions, the pervasive stink of soybean processing, and seven railroad crossings at one intersection. A wrong turn along life's marital highway has left Catherine "Cragan" Collins stuck in...

Decatur, Illinois/1986 Being a divorced career woman in the late 80s isn't easy. Cragan Collins finds the friendship of other working singles invaluable, especially as she learns the ropes of selling. When Cragan finds a saleswoman unconscious in the mall parking lot, she runs for help. But...

The Confidential Files of John H. Watson collection contains the following titles: Sherlock Holmes and the Giant Sumatran Rat, Sherlock Holmes and the Father of Lies, Sherlock Holmes and the Nefarious Seafarers, Sherlock Holmes and the Time Machine.

This Christmas, shop owner Kiki Lowenstein has more than holiday crafts on her mind. As she juggles family responsibilities, her thriving business, and preparations for her famous Holiday Crafting Extravaganza, a series of mysterious burglaries plagues their quiet town of Webster Groves, a...

Cara Mia thought she found a sculpture of a mermaid in the sand . . . and then it moved! Rescuing a half-drown immigrant was not what she wanted on her morning walk. Stuart, Florida. Was it the right thing to do? Will the woman survive? And if she does, will she be okay? Or was she better off...

Life in Paradise isn't what it's cracked up to be. Cara Mia Delgatto feels like she is drowning in problems! Stuart, Florida. Her ex-husband is refusing to pay their son's college tuition (as promised), her sister is pulling mean pranks, and her old boyfriend has broken her heart . . . again...

Decatur, Illinois/1986 A nasty divorce leaves Cragan Collins with a mountain of bills and her grandmother to support. She takes a job as an ad salesperson for the Gazette. The market is tough, but Cragan finds a mentor in business reporter, Robert Smithson. One icy January day, Robert is found...

When Time in a Bottle, St. Louis's premiere craft store, is slated for demolition, Kiki is forced to confront her deep-rooted aversion to change. But before she can move, the new building must be made ADA compliant. When a long-sealed wall is breached during renovations, a grim secret is...

Every holiday season, Kiki Lowenstein plans twelve days of classes, her Holiday Craft Extravaganza. And every year, it nearly kills her. As the holiday season approaches, Kiki over-schedules herself and winds up running herself ragged. To make life even more stressful, she must fend off a...

There are two sides to every divorce . . . yours and the jerk's. In this case, there's Clancy's side and then there's the JERK's side. Of course, Kiki sides with Clancy because they're BFFs (Best Friends Forever). As for the JERK, well, the poor guy can't make up his mind. The JERK has left and...

AN EPIDEMIC OF TEENAGE SUICIDES LEAVES A RURAL COMMUNITY GRIEVING—AND THE DEATH TOLL KEEPS RISING. CAN KIKI GO UNDERCOVER AS AN ART TEACHER AT A LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL TO HELP? SHE SHOULDN'T. To clear her calendar, Kiki must juggle multiple obligations and make a tough decision: Can she trust her...

Two FBI agents come looking for Kiki's nanny, and suddenly the household is turned upside down. Kiki and her husband must ask themselves the toughest question they'll ever have to face: Can we trust this person with our kids? The answer might say more about them than it does about their nanny...

IN SUB-ZERO JANURARY, AN INFANT IS ABDUCTED . . . AND KIKI MIGHT BE THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN TRACK DOWN THE CULPRIT. The arrival of Kiki's baby is cause for celebration, but Kiki herself suffers from a severe case of post-partum blues. Her mood darkens further when she learns that her friend...

INSTEAD OF CHURCH BELLS, SHOTS RING OUT AT KIKI'S WEDDING . . . "Till death do us part" comes way too soon for newlywed Kiki Lowenstein. A very pregnant Kiki Lowenstein and her fiance Detective Chad Detweiler are trying to race the stork to the altar, when their vows are interrupted by a...

WHO PUT THE HOMICIDE IN THE HOLIDAYS? NOT KIKI . . . BUT SHE BETTER TRACK DOWN THE PERSON WHO KILLED ONE OF HER CUSTOMERS OR SHE'LL BE HANGING STOCKINGS BY HERSELF! Kiki is eight months pregnant and trying to cram as much ho-ho-ho into the holidays as possible. When a customer drops dead during...

THE HALLOWEEN FUNDRAISER WAS A CUT ABOVE MOST EVENTS . . . UNTIL SOMEONE'S THROAT GOT SLASHED Good-hearted Kiki Lowenstein plans a Halloween charity crop at a historic haunted house. The crafting is going great until someone attacks Laurel, one of Kiki's employees. The attack puts a real damper...

The wedding should have been perfect. Kiki Lowenstein certainly did her part to make everything just right for her mother-in-law Sheila's special day. But the discovery of a corpse can put a damper on any festivity. Why did somebody want to cut a retired plastic surgeon out of the big picture?...

When police detective Chad Detweiler's estranged wife is found shot to death with bullets from his revolver, the proud papa-to-be finds himself up the creek without a lawyer. The dead woman's family immediately points the finger at the detective. An exhausted Kiki does all she can to be...

A MAY DAY PAGEANT TURNS DEADLY WHEN A SNIPER TAKES AIM—AND A WEALTHY MATRIARCH, A BEER BARON'S DAUGHTER IS SHOT. Is it possible that Kiki was the real target? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. After running for her life, Kiki needs a shoulder to cry on. Instead, she gets chewed out by her...