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River's Edge Cozy Mystery book cover 1
River's Edge Cozy Mystery book cover 2
River's Edge Cozy Mystery
Series · 2 books · 2015-2017

Books in series

From Newsprint to Footprints book cover
#1

From Newsprint to Footprints

2015

“You're fired!” Grouchy news publisher Hal Morris sends reporter Melanie Perkins packing for taking too many photos of flowers. Panicked at being unemployed, she lands a job as a landscaper, but an ugly surprise greets her on her first day. A pile of mulch, a tangerine, and a stolen hoe cast suspicion on Melanie. Melanie’s efforts to find a murderer instead put a target on her back. Some of the aim is coming from law enforcement, but they aren’t the ones who want to silence her permanently. Life along the Des Moines River in Iowa can be peaceful, but a murderer has no problem disturbing her tranquility. In this, the first novel in beloved cozy mystery writer Elaine Orr's new River's Edge series, the author once again offers humor, believable characters and tight prose as she carries the reader to an exciting climax. Those who follow her Jolie Gentil series will find themselves right at home. You won’t want to miss this one!
Demise of a Devious Neighbor book cover
#2

Demise of a Devious Neighbor

A River's Edge Cozy Mystery

2017

The reverberating bangs shake Melanie Perkin's nerves. Either someone's aiming at her truck, or they don't know fireworks are supposed to go upward. Could things get any worse? Yes. The next day she discovers a dead body in the barn on her late parents' farm, Sheriff's Deputy Granger's gun pointed at the chest of a primary suspect - someone she holds dear. Illegal merchandise flooding the small Iowa town of River's Edge, upcoming Fourth of July activities, and a half-finished manuscript all hinder her determined efforts to solve the crime, before an innocent person is convicted of murder. In this, the second novel in beloved, cozy mystery writer Elaine Orr's River's Edge series, the author once again offers humor, believable characters and tight prose as she carries the reader to an exciting climax. Those who follow her Jolie Gentil series will find themselves right at home.

Author

Elaine Orr
Elaine Orr
Author · 22 books

Also published as Elaine L. Orr Elaine L. Orr has authored 30 works of fiction, including four mystery series. They include the thirteen-book Jolie Gentil cozy mystery series, which is set at the Jersey shore. "Behind the Walls" was short-listed for the 2014 Chanticleer Mystery and Mayhem Awards. "Demise of a Devious Neighbor," second of the River's Edge series, set in Iowa, was a Chanticleer shortlister in 2017. The Western Maryland mountains host the four-book Family History Mystery Series, which began with "Least Trodden Ground." The "Unscheduled Murder Trip" received a B.R.A.G. Medallion in 2021. Small-town Illinois is the setting for the Logland Series, which features Police Chief Elizabeth Friedman—a police procedural with a cozy feel. Elaine also writes plays and novellas, including the one-act, "Common Ground," published in 2015. Her novella, "Biding Time," was one of five finalists in the National Press Club's first fiction contest, in 1993. "Falling into Place" is a novella about family strength as a World War II veteran rises to the toughest occasion. "In the Shadow of Light" is the fictional story of Corozón and her family, who are separated at the U.S./Mexico border. A member of Sisters in Crime, Elaine grew up in Maryland and moved to the Midwest in 1994.

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River's Edge Cozy Mystery