Sometimes you just need to sit down and evaluate your life choices. Take for instance, that time a murderer tried to make me their next victim. Yeah. That’s a good time to do it. Maddie Bradford has just moved home to Lilac Bay after losing her job and is feeling a little stuck in life. But it’s summer, and she lives at the beach and works at an ice cream shop, so things aren’t too gloomy. Until her best friend’s mother is accused of murder. Now it’s up to Maddie and Chloe to catch a killer before the killer catches them.

Movie night with my cat was not how I expected to spend Friday night. But neither was tripping over a dead body. Who needs a date when you've got all of this going on? Maddie is really just trying to sort out her life, but that will have to be put on hold while she sorts out who left a dead body in her yard. Maddie and her BFF Chloe are scooping ice cream, baking cookies, and searching for clues to who killed a former schoolmate. The cantankerous local detective is trying to ward them off from the murder, but they're on a mission, and they will not stop until they find the killer. Or the killer finds them.

There's nothing like summer at the beach. Surf, sand, sun, and ice cream to cool off with. It's that murdery part that I could do without. Maddie and her BFF Chloe are just trying to enjoy the 4th of July holiday, but there's more than fireworks going off on the beach. Daylight shows what they thought they heard, and they're off on another sleuthing adventure. The local detective isn't happy about them asking around about the murder, but there's not a lot he can do to stop them. Maddie won't be put off when she discovers a secret about the victim that almost no one knew.

I don’t like blind dates, but when my best friend sets me up with an old classmate, I might be desperate enough to say yes. Maybe this will be what I've been looking for. Maddie isn’t quite sure what she’s doing with her life, but she is sure that the body she discovered at the beach is quite dead. When a blind date goes wrong in so many ways, she’s left wondering if romance is ever going to find her. And then there’s Noah Grayson, the local detective who at times is indifferent toward Maddie. Maybe he’ll look at her differently if she finds the killer. Or maybe he’ll arrest her for interfering with an investigation. But somebody has to find the killer, so Maddie decides it may as well be her.

Christmas is one of those holidays that brings out the best in people. Or the worst. This year, I was determined not to let the humbug folks get to me. But a dead Santa Claus was going to be a stretch, even for me. Maddie Bradford had no intention of playing an elf for Christmas. But when she’s pressed into service by an entirely too cheerful do-gooder who uses a little guilt, she agrees—on one condition. That her best friend Chloe also helps out. The two friends are stunned when the jolly head elf, Santa himself, is murdered. Or rather, the actor who played Santa. Unfortunately, the suspects include another Santa, an elf, and a reindeer. What’s an elf to do when the merrymaking turns to murder? It will take more than holiday cheer to get Maddie through this holiday season.

Making decisions has never been my strong suit. Take, for instance, going for an early morning walk on the beach and running across a dead guy. I should have stayed in bed. Maddie is living her best life in the beautiful beach town of Lilac Bay, enjoying the sunshine, scooping ice cream, and starting a new relationship with the handsome Detective Noah Grayson. Her life is going swimmingly—until she finds an elderly man dead on the beach early one morning. Now Maddie is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery—but her investigation may uncover more than she ever imagined, including someone who wants her to keep her nose out of it. With its sunny days, sweet treats, and unexpected secrets, Lilac Bay is the perfect place for Maddie to find out what she’s made of.

When you work at an ice cream shop, you learn to go with the flow. Cranky customers, tantrumy toddlers, and mad middle schoolers are all just a part of working at an ice cream shop. What isn’t a part of working at an ice cream shop is the dead woman. Maddie loves her job at Cookie’s Creamery ice cream shop. She lives in the beautiful coastal town of Lilac Bay and works with people who are like family to her. But sometimes the customers can get a little demanding, and that’s when she learns how to remain calm even in the face of unreasonable customers. But when the woman she finds difficult to tolerate ends up dead, and a carton of the shop’s latest ice cream flavor, lemon sherbet, is found nearby, she must not only catch the killer but also make sure the ice cream shop remains open.