MYSTERY FICTION by TRACY GARDNER
Savanna Shepherd is a former art authenticator―someone who can tell a forgery from the real thing. She’s got a talent for spotting secrets hiding in plain sight. After being fired and dumped in the same terrible day, Savanna moves back to her idyllic hometown on the banks of Lake Michigan. At least she’s close to her sisters again, and she’s enjoying her new job as a grade school art teacher.
Savanna even rediscovers her creative soul when an old family friend hires her to paint a mural. But when a cozy book club meeting ends with a possible murder, and then dangerous incidents occur in and around the friend’s mansion, Savanna’s sharp eye is put to the test. With a little help from her sisters―and from Aidan, the intriguing town doctor―will she be able to figure out what’s wrong with this picture?
Savanna even rediscovers her creative soul when an old family friend hires her to paint a mural. But when a cozy book club meeting ends with a possible murder, and then dangerous incidents occur in and around the friend’s mansion, Savanna’s sharp eye is put to the test. With a little help from her sisters―and from Aidan, the intriguing town doctor―will she be able to figure out what’s wrong with this picture?
Savanna Shepherd, an art expert turned elementary art teacher, is planning the Art in the Park festival for her hometown of Carson, Michigan. But apparently, someone isn’t happy that Carson got to host the tourism boosting event and destroys the beloved statue in the park. Then Savanna discovers a local politician’s dead body following a planning committee meeting, and the festival is at risk of being canceled.
Savanna and her sisters are convinced that the arrested murder suspect, a longtime family friend, didn’t do it, despite ... (to keep reading, click image above)
Savanna and her sisters are convinced that the arrested murder suspect, a longtime family friend, didn’t do it, despite ... (to keep reading, click image above)
A murder at the flower shop. An uncle suspected by the cops. Savanna and her sisters are on the case to make sure no one is framed.
Savanna Shepherd is delighted when her uncles Max and Freddie move to Carson and Uncle Max takes a job at Libby’s Blooms, where Savanna teaches a still life painting class. But while opening one morning, Uncle Max finds a dead body in the rooftop greenhouse…and even worse, it looks like an inside job.
It’s an uncomfortable spotlight for the family already trying to dodge a potential scandal
brewing: Savanna’s boyfriend’s daughter is in her art class, setting off wagging tongues.
Savanna and her sisters have no choice except to dig in to find the real murderer. With their
connections to the community and Savanna’s keen eye for details, they uncover longstanding resentments and... (to keep reading, click image above)
Savanna Shepherd is delighted when her uncles Max and Freddie move to Carson and Uncle Max takes a job at Libby’s Blooms, where Savanna teaches a still life painting class. But while opening one morning, Uncle Max finds a dead body in the rooftop greenhouse…and even worse, it looks like an inside job.
It’s an uncomfortable spotlight for the family already trying to dodge a potential scandal
brewing: Savanna’s boyfriend’s daughter is in her art class, setting off wagging tongues.
Savanna and her sisters have no choice except to dig in to find the real murderer. With their
connections to the community and Savanna’s keen eye for details, they uncover longstanding resentments and... (to keep reading, click image above)
Can Savanna Shepherd and her sisters unravel a deadly web of art and betrayal before the final brushstroke paints their doom?
When Savanna Shepherd’s father, Harlan, and artist friend Sebastian Alexander vanish during a sailing regatta along Michigan’s west coast, the Shepherd family is plunged into turmoil. As the Coast Guard scours the Great Lake, Savanna sets aside her work on Sebastian’s art show to join her sisters in comforting their mother and aiding in the search.
When Sebastian’s assistant is found dead—Savanna’s keen eye as an art authenticator turns to a darker canvas: decoding the secrets of Sebastian’s bitter family. Days later, the missing yacht drifts ashore, with Harlan gravely injured, Sebastian missing, and a sinister bloodstain on the bow... (to keep reading, click image above)
When Savanna Shepherd’s father, Harlan, and artist friend Sebastian Alexander vanish during a sailing regatta along Michigan’s west coast, the Shepherd family is plunged into turmoil. As the Coast Guard scours the Great Lake, Savanna sets aside her work on Sebastian’s art show to join her sisters in comforting their mother and aiding in the search.
When Sebastian’s assistant is found dead—Savanna’s keen eye as an art authenticator turns to a darker canvas: decoding the secrets of Sebastian’s bitter family. Days later, the missing yacht drifts ashore, with Harlan gravely injured, Sebastian missing, and a sinister bloodstain on the bow... (to keep reading, click image above)
Can Savanna Shepherd discover who’s behind a deadly art heist before her New Year’s Eve wedding?
Savanna Shepherd is wishing for snow. Her Lake Michigan town needs a good cold snap to showcase the winter festival and the sparkling ice-sculpture exhibit she’s curated. Once the weather starts cooperating, she can relax and enjoy the festive season with her loved ones.
But all is not merry and bright in small-town Carson, as chaos puts her holiday cheer on ice. Her ex-boyfriend’s mother is attacked in a robbery at their prestigious art museum, and then the black-tie event at Savanna’s local art museum goes horribly wrong. Thieves have stolen priceless paintings, and many more have been defaced with menacing graffiti. Friends and colleagues become suspects, and the bodies are piling up. Who can she trust?
Now, instead of enjoying the glow of Christmas and preparing to marry the single-dad doctor who holds her heart... (to keep reading, click image above)
Savanna Shepherd is wishing for snow. Her Lake Michigan town needs a good cold snap to showcase the winter festival and the sparkling ice-sculpture exhibit she’s curated. Once the weather starts cooperating, she can relax and enjoy the festive season with her loved ones.
But all is not merry and bright in small-town Carson, as chaos puts her holiday cheer on ice. Her ex-boyfriend’s mother is attacked in a robbery at their prestigious art museum, and then the black-tie event at Savanna’s local art museum goes horribly wrong. Thieves have stolen priceless paintings, and many more have been defaced with menacing graffiti. Friends and colleagues become suspects, and the bodies are piling up. Who can she trust?
Now, instead of enjoying the glow of Christmas and preparing to marry the single-dad doctor who holds her heart... (to keep reading, click image above)
HARDCOVER, EBOOK, AUDIBLE, CD
HARLEQUIN WORLDWIDE MYSTERY LIMITED RELEASE PAPERBACK
2022 MARY HIGGINS CLARK EDGAR AWARD NOMINATED MYSTERY
NAMED A TOP 100 BEST BOOKS OF 2021 BY NYPL
After her parents' deaths, Avery Ayers takes over the family business, Antiquities & Artifacts Appraised, from the home office in Lilac Grove and a branch in Manhattan. Now living back at home with her younger sister Tilly and their newly moved-in, eccentric Aunt Midge and her Afghan hound, Avery's life is filled with jewels, tapestries, paintings, and rare finds. But their world is rocked when Avery learns that the theft of a priceless ruby may be connected to her parents' demise.
The trouble starts when ... (to keep reading click the image above)
NAMED A TOP 100 BEST BOOKS OF 2021 BY NYPL
After her parents' deaths, Avery Ayers takes over the family business, Antiquities & Artifacts Appraised, from the home office in Lilac Grove and a branch in Manhattan. Now living back at home with her younger sister Tilly and their newly moved-in, eccentric Aunt Midge and her Afghan hound, Avery's life is filled with jewels, tapestries, paintings, and rare finds. But their world is rocked when Avery learns that the theft of a priceless ruby may be connected to her parents' demise.
The trouble starts when ... (to keep reading click the image above)
HARDCOVER, EBOOK, AUDIBLE, CD
Thanks to Aunt Midge’s unlikely friendship with Nicholas Pennington, the Duke of Valle Charme, Avery Ayers and her associates at Antiques and Artifacts Appraised head off to their most glamorous assignment yet—cataloguing and appraising the contents of a castle-like mansion on the Hudson River. But regal splendor becomes a backdrop to mayhem when the precious Viktor Petrova timepiece disappears—and housekeeper Suzanne Vick plummets from a parapet to her death.
A criminal mastermind is making a desperate bid for ill-gotten riches… can Avery bring the culprit to justice before her time is up?
A criminal mastermind is making a desperate bid for ill-gotten riches… can Avery bring the culprit to justice before her time is up?
HALLMARK'S FIRST COZY MYSTERY SERIES
short stories & articles by the author
the SLIDE
a short story
on difficult themes including
motherhood, mental illness, marriage,
gaslighting, and hope
photo by Janna Coumoundouros
photo by Janna Coumoundouros