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Miss Fortune Mystery book cover 1
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Miss Fortune Mystery
Series · 28
books · 2012-2024

Books in series

Louisiana Longshot book cover
#1

Louisiana Longshot

2012

It was a hell of a longshot... CIA Assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever—in Sinful, Louisiana. With a leak at the CIA and a price on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element. Posing as a former beauty queen turned librarian in a small, bayou town seems worse than death to Fortune, but she's determined to fly below the radar until her boss finds the leak and puts the arms dealer out of play. Unfortunately, she hasn't even unpacked a suitcase before her newly-inherited dog digs up a human bone in her backyard. Thrust into the middle of a bayou murder mystery, Fortune teams up with a couple of seemingly-sweet old ladies whose looks completely belie their hold on the little town. To top things off, the handsome local deputy is asking her too many questions. If she's not careful, this investigation may blow her cover and get her killed. Armed with her considerable skills and a group of old ladies referred to by locals as The Geritol Mafia, Fortune has no choice but to solve the murder before it's too late.
Lethal Bayou Beauty book cover
#2

Lethal Bayou Beauty

2013

No one in Sinful liked Pansy Arceneaux, but who hated her enough to kill her? When aspiring actress Pansy Arceneaux returns to Sinful, Louisiana to head up the beauty pageant portion of the Summer Festival, CIA assassin Fortune Redding knows she’s in for trouble. Her undercover identity as a former beauty queen makes Fortune the perfect choice to chair the event with Pansy, but Pansy’s abrasive personality makes it impossible to get through a single rehearsal without a fight. When Pansy turns up dead, Fortune is the prime suspect. Armed with only her wits and two conniving seniors referred to locally as The Geritol Mafia, Fortune launches an investigation to find the real killer before her cover is blown.
Swamp Sniper book cover
#3

Swamp Sniper

2013

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jana DeLeon, the third book in the Miss Fortune Mystery series. When only a crack shot will do… In the two weeks CIA assassin Fortune Redding has been hiding in Sinful, Louisiana, she’s been harassed, poisoned, and shot at…and that was the easy part. But now, she’s about to face her biggest challenge since setting foot in the tiny bayou town. When mayoral candidate, Ted Williams is murdered, everyone is surprised. Ted was a blowhole and a Yankee, but those usually weren’t good reasons to kill someone. When Sinful Ladies Society leader Ida Belle becomes the lead suspect in the crime, Fortune knows she’s got to solve a murder and save one of the only friends she’s ever had. But as the investigation begins, more and more secrets surface, and Fortune realizes that sometimes nothing is as it seems.
Swamp Team 3 book cover
#4

Swamp Team 3

2014

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jana DeLeon, a new installment in her bestselling Miss Fortune series. What’s a little arson between friends? Undercover CIA agent Fortune Redding spent her first three weeks in Sinful, Louisiana dodging insults, makeup advice, guard dogs, bullets, and Deputy Carter LeBlanc, both professionally and personally. But just when she thinks things are going to settle down in the small bayou town, someone sets her friend Ally’s house on fire. Carter, who’d just started pursuing Fortune on a personal basis, goes back into cop mode and admonishes her to stay out of his investigation. This time, he swears he won’t issue any warning before arresting her. But with her friend’s safety hanging in the balance, Fortune can’t resist taking matters into her own hands and calls on her partners in crime fighting, Ida Belle and Gertie, to help. This is a mission for Swamp Team 3.
Gator Bait book cover
#5

Gator Bait

2014

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jana DeLeon, the fifth book in the hilarious Miss Fortune series. Things are starting to look up for Fortune Redding. Even though her life was at stake, the CIA assassin had balked at taking on a new identity in Sinful, Louisiana. But instead of hating it like she’d thought she would, Fortune now has friends she cares about and just finished up an incredible first date with the sexiest deputy in the state. Sure, there’s been a murder or two that she’s gotten mixed up in since she arrived in town, but she’s hoping all of that is behind her. But when someone almost kills Deputy Carter LeBlanc, Fortune tosses her dreams of peace and quiet into the muddy bayou and shifts back into being the deadly trained professional that she is. With the help of Ida Belle and Gertie, Fortune launches a manhunt, intending to find a killer before he tries again.
Soldiers of Fortune book cover
#6

Soldiers of Fortune

2015

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jana DeLeon, the sixth installment in the bestselling Miss Fortune series. When Celia Arceneaux was elected mayor of Sinful, Louisiana, Fortune Redding expected trouble. The woman has an unmatched talent for making the worst of any situation, especially if it means getting revenge on her sworn enemies Ida Belle and Gertie. At the Fourth of July celebration, an explosion rocks Sinful and it’s not from fireworks. Most people assume it was a moonshine still, but when evidence points to a meth lab deep in the bayous of Sinful, Fortune realizes how dire the situation is for the tiny town. With Carter on medical leave and no one left at the sheriff’s department who can handle the investigation, Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie decide to take matters into their own hands. This is (another) mission for Swamp Team 3.
Hurricane Force book cover
#7

Hurricane Force

2015

From New York Times bestselling author Jana DeLeon, the seventh book in the Miss Fortune series. A force to be reckoned with… During missions as a CIA assassin, Fortune Redding saw and overcame most every obstacle, but Sinful, Louisiana, keeps producing new challenges for her. When a hurricane blows through, it brings a shower of counterfeit money raining down on the tiny bayou town. When the money is linked back to Ahmad, the arms dealer who issued the kill order on Fortune, everyone is worried that her nemesis is far too close for comfort. When Ahmad’s men turn up in Sinful, the situation becomes life-and-death for Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie, and Deputy Carter LeBlanc learns Fortune’s true identity. As Swamp Team 3 rushes to locate the counterfeiter, Fortune hopes to take down Ahmad and free herself from her fake life. But will her relationship with Carter make it now that he knows the truth?
Fortune Hunter book cover
#8

Fortune Hunter

2016

From New York Times bestselling author Jana DeLeon, the eighth book in the Miss Fortune mystery series. Someone has created a fake social media identity and is online romancing the lonely women of Sinful in order to scam them out of money. Because he always seems to pick the perfect targets, Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie think he must be either a Sinful resident or someone with a close association to the town. Playing with emotions for pay is dirty pool, but the game turns deadly when one of the women is murdered. Fortune decides the victim must have figured out who the scam artist is and threatened him with exposure. Deputy Carter LeBlanc is hard at work to find the gunman, but sometimes it takes a woman to expose a lady-killer. Fortunately, Swamp Team 3 is on the job.
Later Gator book cover
#9

Later Gator

2016

A poacher is at work in Sinful, Louisiana, and Deputy Carter LeBlanc is hot on the trail of the outlaw, trying to apprehend him before the state gets wind of the crime and sends a game warden to take over his investigation. Unfortunately, he’s hindered every step of the way by Sinful’s current mayor and all-around horrible person, Celia Arceneaux, who wants nothing more than to drive Carter to resign. When a game warden turns up with evidence that implicates a relative of Gertie’s, Carter is left with no choice but to arrest the boy, even though no one thinks he did it. With Carter under the watchful eye of Celia and the state, Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie decide to catch a poacher…before he gets away.
Hook, Line and Blinker book cover
#10

Hook, Line and Blinker

2017

Nobody knows speed like Ida Belle. Behind the wheel of her hopped-up Blazer, she’s the queen of the back roads. But when someone tries to kill Hot Rod and steals only black SUVs from his shop, Fortune worries that excessive horsepower is the least of the trouble that comes along with her friend’s new ride. When it becomes clear that the car thieves didn’t get what they were looking for the first time around and Ida Belle’s vehicle becomes their next target, Fortune and Gertie are determined to protect their friend. Ida Belle is determined to protect the Blazer.
Change of Fortune book cover
#11

Change of Fortune

2018

Sinful, Louisiana, is always a hotbed of activity, and despite the steamy heat, August is no exception. Godzilla is terrorizing the town, looking for a home-cooked meal, and Gertie is worried someone will take the gator out before she can get him under control. Francine has a situation of her own at the café, where food is missing from inventory. And Celia is always up to no good. But summer is almost over, which could mean huge changes for Fortune Redding. Her undercover time in Sinful has always been limited to three months, and that time is almost up. With Ahmad still on the loose, Fortune is forced to remain in hiding, but soon she'll have to move to another town and start all over with a new identity. And that's the last thing she wants to do. Determined to get her life back, Fortune decides to draw Ahmad out and end this once and for all. Can Fortune take down one of the most dangerous men in the world? And if she can, does she have a future in Sinful?
Reel of Fortune book cover
#12

Reel of Fortune

2018

Nothing says Welcome Home like a murder. It’s official. Fortune Redding is out of the CIA and a newly minted resident of Sinful, Louisiana. She never expected her homecoming to be all apple pie and hugs, but a murder wasn’t on her list of things to deal with before she’d even gotten her name stenciled on her mailbox. Boone Carre—Hooch, to the locals—was a drunk and a louse and had shafted pretty much everyone he’d ever done business with. So when someone kills him, there is no shortage of suspects. Unfortunately, Ally is at the top of the list. Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie know that Ally isn’t capable of murdering anyone, but with an ambitious ADA looking to make a name for himself, and the local gossip train intent on finding someone to blame, they know they have to find the killer and clear Ally’s name.
Swamp Spook book cover
#13

Swamp Spook

2018

When black cats roam, and spooks are seen, Come celebrate, it’s Halloween. Sinful, Louisiana, really knows how to throw a party, and it goes all out for Halloween. The weeklong celebration kicks off with a maze of horror in the park built of hay bales. And Fortune has the perfect assignment—the executioner. Her scene comes complete with a head block, a hatchet, and a fake body with removable head. It’s the perfect setup…for a crime. When Fortune returns from break and realizes the body in her scene is a real one and not the prop, she knows trouble is coming. Before she can shake a broomstick, Celia Arceneaux has raised the alarm and the state police show up to take over the investigation. With Carter on the sidelines and Fortune the prime suspect, Swamp Team 3 sets out to catch a real monster.
Fortune Furlough book cover
#14

Fortune Furlough

2019

It’s not a vacation until there’s a murder. Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie are finally off to Florida on the vacation they’ve always talked about. Days filled with white sand, turquoise water, and fruity drinks are the only thing on the agenda. But when Gertie’s “hot date” turns up dead and she’s the number one suspect, they’re forced to hang up their bathing suits and shift to investigating mode. They soon discover that Gertie’s beau was up to all kinds of shady behavior, leaving them with a long list of people who are happy he’s dead. But which one resorted to murder?
Cajun Fried Felony book cover
#15

Cajun Fried Felony

2019

Venus Thibodeaux had a reputation for being trouble. Some said she started at birth. When she finally left Sinful shortly after turning eighteen, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. When she blew back into town four years later, no one was happy about her return. She immediately launched into her same old scams, picking off Sinful residents with ease before disappearing again as quickly as she’d appeared. Everyone assumed she’d headed back to New Orleans. But when an accident at the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Run uncovers her body, everyone Venus took for a ride becomes a suspect. The man at the top of that list sees the writing on the wall and hires Fortune to figure out who killed Venus, before he goes to prison for a murder he didn’t commit. Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie start poking around into Venus’s complicated life, hoping to find the killer. And to solve their first official case.
Swamp Santa book cover
#16

Swamp Santa

2019

It’s Christmas in Sinful and Fortune is set to participate in all the local hoopla. A Christmas gala, caroling, and a sleigh ride are on the agenda. Murder is not. But when someone bumps off Santa, Fortune is aware a killer is lurking among the holiday cheer. But with no client and no reason to interfere with a police investigation, it looks as if Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie will have to sit this one out. Big and Little Hebert might be criminals, but they prefer no competition in their territory, especially someone brazen enough to kill a man at the Christmas gala. When they hire Fortune to investigate the man’s death, she gets her Christmas wish and Swamp Team 3 sets out to solve their final case of the year.
Bullets and Beads book cover
#17

Bullets and Beads

2020

Let the good times roll? It’s Mardi Gras time and Fortune is looking forward to seeing the spectacle firsthand, but when a visitor to Sinful is murdered during the celebration there, Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie can’t help but wonder what happened. As they start looking into the woman and the family in Sinful she came to visit, their investigation sends them to New Orleans, right at the height of the Mardi Gras celebration. But instead of relaxing a little and enjoying the festivities, Fortune can’t shake the feeling that she’s being watched. When she catches sight of her father in the Mardi Gras crowd, she knows why. Unfortunately, her father’s presence in Louisiana has brought with it a host of terrorists, all with only one thing in mind—locate and terminate Dwight Redding. Can Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie manage to evade the killers long enough to figure out why Dwight has returned from the dead? And will knowing the answer make things worse or better?
Gators and Garters book cover
#18

Gators and Garters

2020

‘Til death do us part? Ida Belle, Fortune, and Gertie are gearing up for the big day—Ida Belle’s wedding to Walter—but when the caterer goes missing just a week before the big day, it puts a huge black mark on the joyous celebration. Molly Broussard is no stranger to being in the limelight, so when the former cage fighter turned in her boxing gloves for pots and pans, everyone who knew her was surprised…until they ate her food. From all appearances, Molly took her boat out that day and simply never returned. An extensive search of the bayous finally produces the boat, but there is no sign of Molly. With no evidence of foul play, Sinful residents are ready to conclude that this is simply another tragic and all-too-common accident. Nickel Bordelon spent half of his time in trouble and the other half paying for it. But one thing he knows for certain—Molly was murdered. When he asks Fortune to take the case, she isn’t sure there’s anything to find, but his emotional plea has her agreeing to look into it. As Swamp Team 3 begin their investigation, they find more layers to Molly’s disappearance than in Ida Belle’s wedding cake.
Fortune Funhouse book cover
#19

Fortune Funhouse

2021

Death is a roller coaster. The traveling carnival has made its stop in Sinful and everyone is ready for thrilling rides, challenging games, and most importantly, funnel cake. But when a man is murdered in the funhouse and Emmaline LeBlanc is knocked unconscious so the killer can escape, the good times are over. Carter is beside himself wanting to hunt down the man responsible for putting his mother in the hospital, but he can’t investigate when he’s related to one of the victims. Palmer Reed was well known as a boy by most everyone in Sinful for being a sneak, a liar, and sometimes a thief. As an adult, he continued his reign of underachieving and mostly making people angry wherever he went. Now he’s a state police detective and is assigned to the case, but Fortune knows that to get Carter the answers he needs, Swamp Team 3 has to take on the investigation. As they dig deep into the confusion and lies that surround the murder, they uncover a secret that could devastate Carter and Emmaline, but Fortune is determined to discover the truth…whatever that may be.
Frightfully Fortune book cover
#20

Frightfully Fortune

2021

Rest when you’re dead? It’s time for the annual Halloween festival in Sinful, and Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie can’t wait to suit up and enjoy the food and activities. But when a dead man gallops through the park on a black stallion and slides to a decapitated stop right in front of Swamp Team 3, they know another festival is about to be turned on its head…so to speak. Gil Forrest never won any popularity contests and his dramatic and somewhat horrifying ride isn’t going to improve his statistics. But since his body was supposed to be tucked away in a funeral home, no one could explain how it ended up on a horse in the middle of the festival. Everything about the set-up is strange and Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie suspect there is more to the Headless Horseman ride than just a tasteless prank. And they plan to find out what it is.
Swamp Sweets book cover
#21

Swamp Sweets

2021

It’s November in Sinful and everyone is gearing up for Thanksgiving. But when Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie bag a body on their turkey hunting trip, the quiet enjoyment of fall is over. No one really knew Miles Broussard well, and as he’d recently sold the building his business was in to retire in another state, no one could explain how he’d ended up murdered and dumped in the bayou. Ally Lemarque has been waiting her entire life to open her bakery, and that day finally arrived when she purchased the building from Miles. But when she visits the site late at night and interrupts an intruder, she comes away with a crack on her head and concerns about why someone would break into an empty building. Fortune doesn’t think for a minute that Miles’s murder and the attack on Ally are unrelated. And Swamp Team 3 won’t rest until they’re sure Ally is safe.
Flame and Fortune book cover
#22

Flame and Fortune

2022

No smoke without a fire. It’s New Year’s in Sinful, and the competition for the New Year’s Queen is heating up as the warring churches go head\-to\-head. Fortune Redding is not the sequined dress kind of woman, but reluctantly agrees to partake in the debacle so that Ida Belle and Gertie can best their nemesis, Celia, who’s put up former Sinful mean girl RJ Rogers. RJ and her friend Brock Benoit left plenty of devastation in their wake when they fled Sinful after high school. So when they return and Brock is found dead, there’s no shortage of suspects. Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie know all too well what it’s like to live under suspicion of a crime with no resolution. When good people become the targets of gossip, they know they have to rush to unravel the tangled lives of RJ and Brock and expose a killer before the wrong person’s reputation is ruined. Or worse—they’re arrested for a crime they didn’t commit.
Swamp Spirits book cover
#23

Swamp Spirits

2022

Ghost of a chance? Fortune is thrilled when Ben Harrison, her former CIA partner, and his fiancée, Cassidy, decide to leave DC and move to the Louisiana bayous. They’ve already secured jobs and are only lacking a place to live, so everyone is excited when they quickly find a home. There’s only one problem—the house has a reputation. It’s haunted. Fortune doesn’t believe in ghosts, but when Cassidy starts seeing a woman in white inside her house and can’t determine how she’s entering or exiting, Fortune knows she’s got to figure out what’s going on before things get worse. As Swamp Team 3 takes on the “spirited” case, they dive into a decades-old mystery of love, money, voodoo curses, and a missing woman. But can they get answers before Ben and Cassidy give up the ghost and go back to DC?
Clue Krewe book cover
#24

Clue Krewe

2023

Beckett Rousseau is the firstborn son of one of New Orleans’ most prominent families. He’s the quintessential golden boy—great looks, money, and a political career in his future—until his wife murders him. Or at least that’s what everyone thinks. Athena Durand is still reeling from her murder conviction but now that it’s overturned, she’s at a loss on how to proceed with her life. As long as people still believe she’s guilty, she has no future in Louisiana and more importantly, she wants to know who killed her husband. When she hears about Fortune’s exploits, Athena knows she is the one person who might be able to give her answers, and her life back. But too many people are harboring secrets about Beckett’s life and death, including Athena. Can Fortune sort through the half-truths and lies to discover the truth? Or did the jury get it right the first time?
Fortune Teller book cover
#25

Fortune Teller

2023

With Carter off on a military mission, there’s a new sheriff in town, and Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie have been tasked with not interfering. But then a young girl is pulled out of the swamp, unconscious and with no memory of how she got there. And when no one comes to claim her, Fortune knows they have to help. For decades, a mysterious group known only as the Brethren has been rumored to live deep in the swamp, their contact with civilization rare. Some suggest the girl might have been one of them, but if so, why was she alone in the swamp in the middle of the night? Swamp Team 3 is on the case, but long-buried secrets like to stay that way, and finding the Brethren proves to be a difficult and dangerous task. The deeper they dig, the more pieces of the puzzle they expose, but can they put the pieces together in time to save the girl?
Swamp Spies book cover
#26

Swamp Spies

2024

Things have reached a critical point in the Middle East. Carter agreed to serve as a consultant for his old Force Recon unit but for reasons unknown to his friends and family, jumped from the command center and into the field. Now he’s MIA, and Fortune is the only one who can put together a rescue mission that has any chance of being successful. But will her skills and connections be enough? Most Sinful residents are unaware of Carter’s crisis and are going about their daily lives as they always have, including local prankster Gage Babin. Except this time, Gage’s attempt to elicit laughs leaves him on a slab in the medical examiner’s office. Everyone knows how unhealthy he was, but Fortune thinks there’s more to his death than a poorly timed prank that caused his bad heart to give out. Unfortunately, what she knows and what she can prove are two different things. And unless she can find the evidence to support her theory, someone will get away with murder.
Baskets and Beignets book cover
#27

Baskets and Beignets

2024

Worth dyeing for. Ten years ago, Ryan Comeaux was convicted of killing his girlfriend and was sentenced to life in prison. Now a witness has come forward who claims she was with Ryan the entire night and it’s not possible that he was the killer. But the local police assume she’s mistaken and aren’t interested in reopening what they view as an open-and-shut case. The witness, Kelsey Spalding, has her own reasons for wanting Ryan’s conviction overturned and hires Swamp Team 3 to prove him innocent. Fortune has solved cold cases before, but never one with so little evidence and so many suspects with not only strong motive but opportunity. Can she solve a decade-old murder, or will the real killer strike again to cover his tracks?
Marsh Madness book cover
#28

Marsh Madness

2024

Dying to fit in. High school wasn’t a grand time for everyone, but when a group of friends decide to meet up at a B and B ahead of their ten-year reunion, old grudges resurface, and one of them ends up dead. Now the owners, a kindly older couple, are on the hook for the accidental death due to anaphylaxis, but they insist no mistakes were made on their part. Fortune is asked to look into the situation before the inept local sheriff railroads the couple or simply allows gossip to run them out of business, which will cost them their home. Swamp Team 3 heads to Voodoo Island to find a way to clear the couple and finds a complicated mess of locked doors and old secrets awaiting them. Is Voodoo Island really cursed? Or can Fortune unravel the mystery and lead her team to victory?

Author

Jana Deleon
Jana Deleon
Author · 60 books

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jana DeLeon was raised in southwest Louisiana among the bayous and gators. Her hometown is Carlyss, but you probably won't find it on a map. Her family owned a camp located on a bayou just off the Gulf of Mexico that you could only get there by boat. The most important feature was the rope hammock hanging in the shade on a huge deck that stretched out over the water where Jana spent many hours reading books. Jana and her brother spent thousands of hours combing the bayous in a flat-bottom aluminum boat, studying the natural habitat of many birds, nutria and alligators. She would like you to know that no animals were injured during these "studies," but they kept makers of peroxide in business. Jana has never stumbled across a mystery or a ghost like her heroines, but she's still hopeful. She now resides in Dallas, Texas, with the most spoiled Sheltie in the world.

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