Books in series
#1
Undertaking Irene
1996
Jane Delaney does things her paying customers can’t do, don’t want to do, don’t want to be seen doing, can’t bring themselves to do, and/or don’t want it to be known they’d paid someone to do. To dead people.
Life gets complicated for Jane and her Death Diva business when she’s hired to liberate a gaudy mermaid brooch from the corpse during a wake—on behalf of the rightful owner, supposedly. Well, a girl’s got to make a living, and this assignment pays better than scattering ashes, placing flowers on graves, or bawling her eyes out as a hired mourner. Unfortunately for Jane, someone else is just as eager to get his hands on that brooch, and he’s even sneakier than she is, not to mention dangerously sexy.
Just when she thinks her biggest problem is grand theft mermaid, things take a murderous turn. But hey, when you’ve teamed up with a neurotic seven-pound poodle named Sexy Beast, how can you go wrong?
#2
Uprooting Ernie
2015
Death Diva Jane is simply going about her business, which in this case requires her to empty a three-liter spigot box of cheap rosé on a grave, when she and her furry sidekick Sexy Beast make a grisly discovery in the town cemetery.The victim was murdered three decades ago, but memories are fresh and old grievances fresher as facts come to light and fingers start pointing. Naturally Jane must investigate. Well, what would you do if one of your best pals turned out to be Suspect Numero Uno?
Meanwhile, between her amorous ex and a sexy bad boy who keeps popping up in the most distracting way—not to mention the (creepy? bizarre? pathetic?) guys she’s meeting through a dog lovers' dating site—her love life has never been so (creepy? bizarre? pathetic?)… interesting.
#3
Perforating Pierre
2016
Celebrity chef Pierre Dewatre has everything going for him: swoon-worthy looks, a successful restaurant, and a budding TV career, not to mention that drop-dead-sexy French accent. Unfortunately for Pierre, the drop-dead part becomes all too real when Death Diva Jane and her furry little sidekick Sexy Beast discover him marinating in his own juices. So to speak. And okay, so the famous chef has been accused of cooking and serving endangered species, but that couldn’t possibly have anything to do with his death. Could it?
The inept detective in charge of the case has homed in on a single suspect: Jane’s ex, who’s only the Nicest Guy in the World. She’s never gotten over him, even with a certain bad-boy bartender invading her personal space at every opportunity. Throw the victim’s hot Parisian brother into the mix and it’s little wonder Jane is having trouble concentrating on whodunit.
You’d think having a high-strung, seven-pound poodle on your team would be the key to quickly solving a complicated murder. Turns out that’s not necessarily the case. Who knew?
#4
Icing Allison
2017
What, Jane Delaney asks herself, could be better than skating on a frozen lake with sexy Martin McAuliffe? After all, Martin's thought of everything:
• Yummy picnic lunch, complete with the requisite hot chocolate? Check.
• Adorable, if slightly neurotic, canine sidekick? Check.
• Chainsaw (don't ask)? Check.
• Frozen corpse? Dang! And just when things were starting to get romantic!
The authorities decide Allison Zaleski's death was an accident, but Death Diva Jane isn't so sure. For starters, some of the wealthy young woman's nearest and dearest had reason to want her out of the picture—her boy-toy husband and his greedy mistress for starters. But it isn't until Jane discovers Allison's secret video diary that the questions really start piling up. Such as: Who left a decapitated Barbie doll, altered to look like Allison, in her mailbox? And what, if anything, did Allison have to do with her first husband's death?
#5
Preserving Peaches
2019
Just when it looks like Death Diva Jane Delaney’s dormant love life is finally poised to take off, the romantic moment is interrupted by notoriously caustic advice columnist Gertrude “Peaches” Gillespey—or more accurately, by the discovery of Peaches’s mummified corpse.
The victim made plenty of enemies with her lacerating wit, so there’s no shortage of suspects. And when her shocking secrets come to light, the question becomes: Who didn’t want Peaches dead?
As if that’s not enough, Jane must cope with a second suspicious death, a vexing love triangle, a dirty mayoral election, and the victim’s missing collection of peach-shaped knickknacks. Not to mention a hair-raising online date with a possible homicidal maniac. Thank goodness for Jane’s loyal sidekick, Sexy Beast. There’s nothing like a high-strung, seven-pound poodle to help you solve your mummy issues.
#6
Simmering Stu
2020
A hot tub can be a great place to decompress—provided your tub toy isn't a Glock 9-millimeter. When Death Diva Jane discovers that Stu Ruskin has taken decompression a little too far, everyone assumes his sudden demise was self-inflicted. The result of a guilty conscience perhaps? After all, no one who knew Stu would describe him as a Boy Scout.
Jane begins to suspect murder when disturbing revelations come to light, involving a blood feud, secret recipes, and a (haunted?) bed-and-breakfast inn with a dark history going back to Colonial times.
As if a hot-tub homicide weren’t enough to deal with, Jane is more than a little conflicted about yummy bad boy Martin McAuliffe. All she really knows about the sexy bartender is that he has a mysterious past and is a darn good kisser. But hey, Sexy Beast approves of him, and when has Jane’s neurotic canine sidekick ever steered her wrong?
#7
Liquidating Larry
2022
Not only is former TV star Larry Kool the town’s most famous celebrity, he’s also warmhearted, outgoing, and an all-around nice guy. Everyone adores Larry.
Well, maybe not everyone. Even nice guys make enemies, and Larry has a few. When he suddenly drops dead during the annual chili cook-off, it’s initially assumed he died of natural causes. The more digging Death Diva Jane Delaney does, however, the more she begins to suspect there was nothing natural about Larry’s demise.
If Jane gets too close to the truth, she's in danger of meeting a similar end. Fortunately, she has a certain bad-boy bartender on her side, as well as a high-strung canine sidekick by the name of Sexy Beast, so it’s all good!
#8
Scrapping Scarlett
2023
Scarlett Proctor has always done things her own quirky way, and her death is no exception. After Death Diva Jane witnesses the shocking accident that takes the young woman’s life, she’s plagued by questions that have no easy answers.
The more Jane finds out about Scarlett’s fraught relationships, the more she questions whether her death truly was an accident. When a second probable murder comes to light, she can’t help but wonder if her snooping is making her a target.
But Jane has her protectors! Her high-maintenance canine sidekick, Sexy Beast, is determined to keep his alpha female from harm. (Just don’t tell him he’s a pampered seven-pound poodle.) Fortunately for Jane, she also has a yummy bad-boy bartender for backup, so no need to panic. Yet.
Author
Pamela Burford
Author · 22 books
Pamela Burford comes from a funny family. You may take that any way you want. She was raised in a household that valued laughter above all, so of course the first thing she looked for in a husband was a sense of humor. Is it any wonder their grown kids are into stand-up comedy and improv? Oh, and here's another fun family fact: Pamela's identical twin sister, Patricia Ryan, aka P.B. Ryan, is also a published novelist. Patricia is the Good Twin, and yeah, Pamela knows what that makes her. But hey, Evil Twins have more fun. It should come as no surprise that everything Pamela writes is infused with her own quirky brand of humor, from her feel-good contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels to her popular Jane Delaney mystery series, featuring snarky “Death Diva” Jane, her canine sidekick Sexy Beast, and a fun love triangle. Pamela's own beloved poodle, Murray, wants you to know that any similarities between himself and neurotic, high-strung Sexy Beast are purely coincidental. Pamela is the proud founder and past president of Long Island Romance Writers. Her books have won awards and sold millions of copies, but what excites her most is hearing from readers. So swing by her website and say hi. And while you're there, don't forget to sign up for her newsletter. Not only will you learn about new releases and other fun stuff, but you'll receive a free ebook as her special thank-you.
