I love a book filled with mystery, thrills, or suspense. I also love romance. Having a writing career that lets me write all of it? Priceless!
I’ve written romantic suspense with undercover operatives and dark secrets as HelenKay Dimon for years. I started writing darker thrillers (no romance!) under the name Darby Kane and have published five of them so far. But for the last few years, I’ve also branched out into what I’d call the romantic caper. These are lighter mysteries with some humor and romance and lots of family messiness.
My newest, THE USUAL FAMILY MAYHEM, is about a woman who approaches her grandmother and her grandmother’s “best friend” with a proposition about their dessert business not knowing Grandma has a secret side venture—making poison pies to get rid of bad men. Oops! Kasey, who hasn’t figured out what she wants to do with her life, and her long-time, totally secret, opposites-attract crush, Jackson, join together to figure out what’s going on and then try to avoid disaster.
Books where the couple tries to solve a mystery while pretending the attraction for each other isn’t about to knock them over are great fun. Good luck running from your soulmate! Here a few of my favorites:
- THE MOST WONDERFUL CRIME OF THE YEAR by Ally Carter – Maggie and Ethan accept an invitation to a Christmas party hosted by a very important author who then goes missing. This has enemies-to-lovers vibes, a fancy English estate, and a snowstorm. It’s completely charming and very funny.
- THE DEAD GUY NEXT DOOR by Lucy Score – Riley is divorced and broke and has a missing (by that I mean dead) neighbor. Then a hot PI shows up to ask questions. You can guess where this goes next, and it’s delicious.
- FINLAY DONOVAN KNOCKS ‘EM DEAD by Elle Cosimano – You need to read the entire Finlay Donovan series. Single mom Finlay and her live-in nanny Vero have massively entertaining adventures in each book. In this installment, Finlay’s ex-husband is the target of hit-women disguised as soccer moms. Then there’s handsome hottie cop Nick. You don’t want to miss Finlay and Nick together.
- TO HAVE AND TO HEIST by Sara Desai – Simi’s life is kind of a mess. When her friend is accused of stealing a necklace, Simi jumps at the chance to help. The mysterious Jack steps in. Before she can catch her breath, Simi is part of a heist at a high society wedding. That kind of thing never goes wrong.
- PARTNERS IN CRIME by Alisha Rai – Mira has been using a matchmaker to find her mate and is ready to give up. When she goes to an attorney’s office after her aunt’s death, Mira runs into her ex…and gets kidnapped. That leads to a rampage through Las Vegas in search of a missing necklace that you won’t want to miss.
Revenge is a dish best served cold—especially when it comes in the form of one of Grandma’s “special” pies. Get the best of family hijinks, girl power, and hilariously justifiable crime in the latest novel from award-winning author HelenKay Dimon.
Kasey Nottingham needs a splashy idea at her company where they find and develop the next big thing for investors—her job depends on it. Impulsively, she pitches Mags’ Desserts, a beloved small-town business run by her grandma Mags and live-in “best friend” Celia, two women who overcame deadbeat husbands and financial ruin to build a word-of-mouth clientele. Kasey expects her boss to say no. Instead, he sends her home to North Carolina to land the deal…and now she has a problem.
Mags and Celia aren’t interested, which isn’t a surprise, but something else is going on in their kitchen. Locked cabinets. Cryptic conversations. Unexpected notations on business records. The ladies have secrets and whatever they’re hiding is big. As reports of mysterious deaths of abusive men in the area surface—all in households that recently received a delivery from Mags’ Desserts—Kasey worries Gram and Celia have gone into the poison pie business.
As investors start circling, Kasey enlists Jackson Quaid, Celia’s nephew and Kasey’s long-time crush, as her reluctant investigation assistant. Jackson is practical. Kasey has a wild imagination. Together, they dodge Kasey’s boss and gather intel. And kiss. Lots of kissing, though probably not the best idea to start an unexpected romance. Doing it while keeping two feisty ladies from going to jail for knocking off bad husbands—even if those husbands deserve it—might be impossible…but Kasey never shied away from a challenge.
LGBTQ | Humor [Avon, On Sale: March 11, 2025, Paperback / e-Book , ISBN: 9780063240582 / eISBN: 9780063240575]
Award-winning author of romance and romantic suspense
HelenKay Dimon is a former divorce attorney turned full-time romance author. Odd transition, right? She has sold over thirty novels, novellas and shorts to numerous publishers, including Kensington, Harlequin and Penguin, Samhain, Carina Press, and HarperCollins. Her nationally bestselling and award-winning books have been showcased in numerous venues and her books have twice been named "Red-Hot Reads" and excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine. But the best part of the job is never having to wear pantyhose.
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