Mary Angela

Synopsis

In the sleepy college town of Copper Bluff, South Dakota, English professor Emmeline Prather is enjoying the start of a new semester. But when one of her students dies working on the fall musical, it disrupts life on the small, quiet campus. Although the police rule the death accidental, Prof. Prather has good reason to suspect foul play.

Unmasking the murderer proves much more challenging than finding dangling participles, so Em recruits fellow English professor Lenny Jenkins for assistance. Together, they comb the campus and vicinity for clues, risking their reputations and possibly their jobs. After an intruder breaks into Em’s house, Lenny advises caution—and perhaps a change of address. Em, on the other hand, is all the more determined to forge ahead, convinced they’re on the brink of an important breakthrough.

Book 1 in a new mystery series featuring amateur sleuth Professor Prather.

An Act of Murder is available in 5x8 trade paperback in bookstores near you, including Barnes and Noble and independent booksellers. Don’t see it at your library? Ask for it! Librarians are awesome resources. Bookstores and libraries can order wholesale through Ingram, Baker & Taylor or by contacting info@camelpress.com. Libraries can also order from Brodart Company. Or find it in multiple eBook formats and online, including iBooks, Indie Bound and Kobo.

Synopsis

Start with an unlucky number. Throw in a romantic location. Include a dashing Frenchman and an uncompromising professor. And you have all the ingredients for a passport to murder.

This semester, it seems that Professor Prather's dreams are about to come true. Ever since she was a young girl, she's imagined going to France, and her French colleague, André Duman, has finally made that trip possible. Over spring break, she and André are to lead a group of students and faculty to Paris to explore the City of Light. But before she can utter her first bonjour, a professor dies, and they are stuck in Minneapolis. She returns to Copper Bluff with an unstamped passport and a mystery to solve.

When André becomes the prime suspect, Emmeline puts her research skills to good use, determined to find out who really killed the professor and spoiled their spring break plans. With thirteen travelers assembled, the possibilities are varied and villainous. Luckily, her dear friend and sidekick, Lenny Jenkins, is close by. Together, they will sort through the conflicting clues even if it costs them time, trouble, or tenure.

Book 2 in the Professor Prather mystery series

Passport to Murder is available in 5×8 trade paperback at bookstores near you, including Barnes and Noble and independent booksellers. Don’t see it at your library? Ask for it! Librarians are awesome resources. Bookstores and libraries can order wholesale through Ingram, Baker & Taylor or by contacting info@camelpress.com. Libraries can also order from Brodart Company. Or find it in multiple eBook formats and online, including iBooks, Indie Bound and Kobo.

Synopsis

It’s December in Copper Bluff, and from hillside to hallowed hall, everyone is merry—or will be as soon as semester break arrives. Students are studying, professors are grading, and Emmeline Prather is anticipating the university-sponsored holiday concert. Friend and colleague Lenny Jenkins will be accompanying the visiting quartet, Jazz Underground, and Em can’t think of a better way to kick-start the holiday season.

But before she can say “Jingle Bell Rock,” trouble arrives at Candlelight Inn, the bed and breakfast where the quartet is staying.  One of the band members dies unexpectedly, and suspicion falls on Em, whose altercation with the man ends with him on the floor. He never recovers, and now she’s worried her reputation might not either.

When Emmeline starts to see parallels between an Agatha Christie novel she’s teaching and the victim, Lenny claims she’s read one too many mysteries. But as the clues unravel, so does the murderer’s patience. Em is close to finding the truth, but will the truth—or the murderer—push her over the edge?  It will take a Christmas miracle to solve this case, but if there’s one thing in surplus this time of year, it’s faith.

Book Three of the Professor Prather Mystery Series

A Very Merry Murder is available in 5×8 trade paperback at bookstores near you, including Barnes and Noble and independent booksellers. Don’t see it at your library? Ask for it! Librarians are awesome resources. Bookstores and libraries can order wholesale through Ingram, Baker & Taylor or by contacting info@camelpress.com. Libraries can also order from Brodart Company. Or find it in multiple eBook formats and online, including iBooks, Indie Bound and Kobo.

Synopsis

Everything’s coming up roses for Professor Emmeline Prather. Her first scholarly book is finished, spring term is coming to a close, and her love life is blossoming. Then the festival surrounding the exhibit of Shakespeare’s First Folio opens, bringing with it a tempest more dramatic than the bard’s.

In his panel presentation, actor and grad student Tanner Sparks contends Shakespeare isn’t Shakespeare, boasting that he can prove the long-debated theory that an aristocrat actually penned the sonnets and plays. His bombshell sets off an acrid debate among scholars. But were they upset enough to kill him? That’s what Em wonders when Tanner is found dead in Shakespeare’s Garden, his macabre pose inspired by a scene from Hamlet.

At her department head’s urging, Em sets out to find the killer. Suspects abound, and Em finds herself targeted by Shakespeare-themed threats. Undaunted, she persists, determined to solve the case before the end of the semester.