Emma Lord Series

The picturesque town of Alpine in the foothills of Washington state’s Cascade Mountains—home to Emma Lord and her weekly newspaper The Alpine Advocate—has long charmed and enthralled mystery lovers. Now, with The Alpine Zen, Mary Daheim has at last reached the anticipated letter of Z. Her legion of avid armchair sleuths will relish this deliciously gripping novel.
 
As an early summer heat wave beats down on Alpine, Emma and her staff are treading very lightly. For unfathomable reasons, the paper’s House & Home editor, Vida Runkel, is in a major snit, refusing to speak to her colleagues, or even her boss. So when a peculiar young woman walks in claiming her parents have been murdered, and that she’s in mortal danger, too, it fits right in with the rest of the craziness. Then, to the utter bafflement of her colleagues, Vida vanishes without a word to anyone. And just when Emma and her husband, Sheriff Milo Dodge, start to unsnarl these tangles, a male body, dead too long to identify, surfaces at the town dump—making what seemed merely weird feel downright sinister. Has the hot weather driven everyone nuts, or are cold-blooded forces committing deadly misdeeds?
 
The Alpine Zen tingles with all the mystery and allure that only Mary Daheim’s brand of small-town life can provide. Gossip, love affairs, feuding, and plenty of dirty secrets make for an intriguing adventure every Alpine fan will want to read all about.

Praise for The Alpine Zen
 
“A complex plot and a cast of vivid characters will keep readers turning pages.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“Lively and satisfying.”—Library Journal
 
Praise for Mary Daheim and her Emma Lord mysteries
 
“Always entertaining.”—The Seattle Times
 
“Mary Daheim writes with wit, wisdom, and a big heart. I love her books.”—Carolyn Hart
 
“Daheim writes . . . with dry wit, a butter-smooth style, and obvious wicked enjoyment.”—The Oregonian
 
“The characters are great, and the plots always attention-getting.”—King Features Syndicate
 
“Even the most seasoned mystery fans are caught off-guard by [Daheim’s] clever plot twists.”—BookLoons
 
“Witty one-liners and amusing characterizations.”—Publishers Weekly

Mary Daheim’s bestselling novels, set in Alpine, a picturesque village tucked away in the Cascade Mountains, have charmed a generation of mystery lovers with suspenseful tales of the peril that bubbles up from below the serene surface of small-town life.
 
An ill wind blows through Alpine, but Advocate publisher Emma Lord and Sheriff Milo Dodge seem immune to the prevailing angst. The newlyweds’ domestic idyll is most definitely over when a dead man is discovered near the fish hatchery and nobody has a clue as to his identity. Vida Runkel may have insight, but Emma’s redoubtable House & Home editor is mad at the world and saying little. Moreover, whispers of scandal travel through the quaint streets when some high school girls mysteriously take a walk on the wild side. And then Milo’s dedicated deputy, Sam Heppner, a true yeoman, suddenly goes AWOL.
 
What’s happening in Alpine? If Milo knows, he’s not telling Emma. And Emma’s again headed for trouble when she starts snooping. The situation grows even more fraught when a shocking link is revealed between the mystery corpse and one of Alpine’s own, unearthing a long-buried dark secret. Tongues are wagging on Front Street—and the gossip contains an air of menace. Meanwhile, Mary Daheim has written her best book yet.

Praise for The Alpine Yeoman
 
“Daheim injects enough wit and color to make her tale more entertaining than the standard small-town mystery.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“A core of familiar characters adds charm to all Daheim’s ‘alphabet’ stories. Readers will find this new one similarly enjoyable.”—Fredericksburg Free Lance–Star
 
“A witty and wonderful story that will keep readers glued to the pages . . . This author should be given a pat on the back considering this is the twenty-fifth novel in the Emma Lord series . . . and each one just keeps getting better and better!”—Suspense Magazine

“This is the twenty-fifth Alpine mystery and Mary Daheim continues to delight readers with new twists and a wonderful and ever-evolving cast of eccentric characters. Highly recommended.”—I Love a Mystery

Praise for Mary Daheim and her Emma Lord mysteries
 
“Always entertaining.”—The Seattle Times
 
“Mary Daheim writes with wit, wisdom, and a big heart. I love her books.”—Carolyn Hart
 
“Daheim writes . . . with dry wit, a butter-smooth style, and obvious wicked enjoyment.”—The Oregonian
 
“The characters are great, and the plots always attention-getting.”—King Features Syndicate
 
“Even the most seasoned mystery fans are caught off-guard by [Daheim’s] clever plot twists.”—BookLoons
 
“Witty one-liners and amusing characterizations.”—Publishers Weekly

An exhilarating installment in Mary Daheim’s beloved and long-running small-town murder mystery series set in Alpine, Washington, and featuring unforgettable newspaper editor Emma Lord
 
Winter in the small mountain aerie of Alpine should be as quiet as new-fallen snow on the Cascades, but from the Grocery Basket to the Venison Inn, the town is humming. At the Alpine Advocate, editor Emma Lord and her staff are on deadline with a feature about the opening of RestHaven, a new rehab and mental health facility. Front Street is buzzing with gossip about Emma’s recent engagement to Sheriff Milo Dodge. And now that fool Wayne Eriks has climbed an electric pole in the middle of a storm and got himself electrocuted.
 
Sheriff Dodge doesn’t buy the idea that Wayne’s death is an accident. But how—and, more important, why—he died is only one of the conundrums that keep the sheriff and Emma working overtime. Why is RestHaven giving Alpine so many restless nights? What to make of allegations that someone’s trying to kill the richest man in town . . . or whispers of a rash of indecent behavior at the local high school? After Vida Runkel, the Advocate’s stalwart House & Home editor, disappears into thin air, Milo and Emma suddenly have too many loose ends to solve before they can even think about tying the knot.
 
The Alpine Xanadu features beloved characters from the series alongside some sinister new ones—not to mention a mystery that will shake Alpine to its core.
 
Praise for Mary Daheim and her Emma Lord mysteries
 
“Always entertaining.”—The Seattle Times
 
“Mary Daheim writes with wit, wisdom, and a big heart. I love her books.”—Carolyn Hart
 
“Daheim writes . . . with dry wit, a butter-smooth style, and obvious wicked enjoyment.”—The Oregonian
 
“The characters are great, and the plots always attention-getting.”—King Features Syndicate
 
“Even the most seasoned mystery fans are caught off-guard by [Daheim’s] clever plot twists.”—BookLoons Reviews
 
“Witty one-liners and amusing characterizations.”—Publishers Weekly

The picturesque town of Alpine in the Cascade Mountains is decked out in Christmas cheer, but at the Alpine Advocate, editor and publisher Emma Lord is fretting over how her brother and her son—both priests—will react to her affair with Sheriff Milo Dodge. Another family is singing the blues when Postmaster Roy Everson shows up with bones that may belong to his mother, who’s been missing for sixteen years. But the most disturbing discovery is the decomposed corpse found in a cave on Mount Sawyer. When Milo returns from his own family ordeal, he and Emma try to find time away from the unnerving investigation to reunite. But they’ve drawn the attention of a dogged killer who thinks the lovers’ bliss is to die for . . . literally. Scandal, intrigue, desire, and untimely death are the ingredients in Mary Daheim’s deliciously chilling holiday treat.

BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Mary Daheim’s The Alpine Xanadu.
 
“[An] enduring favorite . . . [Mary] Daheim takes her readers back to the quaint little town of Alpine, Wash., where murder and mayhem always seem to be on the back burner.”—Wichita Falls Times Record News
 
“Daheim keeps this long-running series lively with generous helpings of small-town chatter, charm and middle-age romance.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Daheim is one of the brightest stars in our city’s literary constellation.”—The Seattle Times

Includes an excerpt of Mary Daheim’s next Emma Lord mystery, The Alpine Xanadu

Nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, the charming hamlet of Alpine is preparing for Thanksgiving, while Emma Lord, editor and publisher of The Alpine Advocate, feels her spirits sink. There will be no family or friends to share the day, but a call from Sheriff Milo Dodge on the Monday after the holiday weekend leaves her no time to wallow. Three alarming letters, sent to the sheriff from an anonymous writer, assert that the murder conviction of Alpine resident Larry Petersen ten years earlier was the result of a wrongful arrest. Adding to the miscarriage of justice, Petersen recently died behind bars. Then a fourth letter arrives, threatening retribution in the form of another death—most likely Emma’s or Milo’s. Mary Daheim’s Emma Lord novel is a rich and authentic blend of small-town life and chilling menace.

Picturesque Alpine is no longer the brawling logging town of yesteryear. So when a drunken fight at the Icicle Creek Tavern leaves a loner named Alvin De Muth dead, the residents feel as if they’ve gone back to the Bad Old Days. The inquiry into the incident should be a no-brainer, but since the witnesses were half-tanked at the time, Sheriff Milo Dodge is left with conflicting stories. But soon Emma Lord, editor and publisher of The Alpine Advocate, has an even bigger story to report: a heartbreaking highway accident that leaves two people dead and one on life support. Rumors are flying: Are the two tragedies linked in some inexplicable way? Assisted by that human bulldozer Vida Runkel, the Advocate’s House & Home editor, Emma goes for the gold.

Emma Lord is shocked to hear that the Advocate is embroiled in a ruthless takeover bid. Soon, battle lines are drawn and war is declared. Then the first casualty is discovered facedown at the Tall Timber Motel. The victim is Dylan Platte, front man for the buy-out offer Emma turned down cold. Naturally, Emma is a prime suspect. Then it turns out that the dead man has a big surprise for the living–one that involves the glamorous Ginger Roth, a bodacious Alpine newbie who can perform the dumb blonde act in her sleep. Emma’s ever-inquisitive House & Home editor, Vida Runkel, plumbs her extensive grapevine, from the Burger Barn to the Venison Inn, determined to connect the dots. But when an Advocate insider is next to take a bullet, Emma and the rest of the Alpiners make it their mission to find a killer.

Welcome to mystery lovers’ favorite destination: Alpine, Washington, Mary Daheim’s picturesque old logging town in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. From the Venison Inn to the Upper Crust Bakery, Front Street is jumping–and the nerve center of the community is the office of The Alpine Advocate, Emma Lord’s weekly newspaper, which keeps folks up to speed on everything from joyous weddings to sudden, violent death.

THE ALPINE SCANDAL

It’s a quiet morning at the Advocate until the mail brings shocking news: a formal obituary for Alpiner Elmer Nystrom. As far as anyone knows, Elmer is alive and well. But he hasn’t turned up for work, so Emma and her unstoppable House & Home editor, Vida Runkel, rush to the Nystrom home, where they find Elmer’s lifeless body in the henhouse, half buried under straw. Not only has he been murdered, but his obituary had been mailed before he died. Though Elmer was well liked by everyone, the same cannot be said of his standoffish wife or his son, the town’s new orthodontist.

Rumors fly–straight into the office of the Advocate. Why did Dr. Nystrom’s new receptionist resign at the end of her first day? Why are the Nystroms’ neighbors so close-mouthed? Who mailed that prophetic obituary? With Sheriff Milo Dodge in the hospital, it’s up to Emma and Vida to get to the bottom of the tragedy. Alpiners love scandal, and with Elmer’s murder, they’ll get their fill.

The Alpine Scandal, number nineteen in this bestselling series, is as suspenseful and charming as its predecessors, a delicious look into the life of a small town where all inhabitants know one another–just not as well as they thought.

For many mystery readers, Alpine, Washington–Mary Daheim’s fictional small town in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains–has become a beloved second home, a delicious retreat from the stresses of life. Yet the editor of The Alpine Advocate, Emma Lord, knows all too well that the picturesque old logging town is loaded with scandal: family feuds, illicit romance, chicanery, and sometimes deadly violence.

THE ALPINE RECLUSE

In the middle of a hot midsummer night, Emma is awakened by fire trucks rushing to a blaze at the nearby home of newlyweds Tim and Tiffany Rafferty. At daybreak, Tiffany and her unborn child are safe, but Tim, never blessed with good luck in all his thirty-plus years, has perished in the fierce conflagration. Sheriff Milo Dodge suspects murder and arson, and rumors fly from the Burger Barn and Mugs Ahoy to the Grocery Basket and the Venison Inn. Some swear the Rafferty marriage was crumbling. Others hint at stock fraud. A few mention momentary sightings of a possibly mad recluse known as Old Nick.

Sacrificing the heady enticements of a budding romance to nail down a great story, Emma shifts into high investigative gear while her fearless House & Home editor, Vida Runkel, rushes in where angels fear to tread: straight into the private lives of some of Alpine’s most respectable–and now terminally edgy–citizens. But neither Emma nor Vida suspects the unbelievable truth.

“[A] well-paced and compelling murder mystery.”—Romantic Times

Quilters at the Burl Creek Thimble Club in Alpine, Washing-ton, are planning a fête to welcome back returning member Genevieve Bayard. But Gen’s homecoming is cut short when she dies suddenly at a dinner party. Emma Lord, owner and publisher of the local newspaper The Alpine Advocate, vows to sleuth her way to the truth, and enlists the help of her trusted “House & Home” editor, Vida Runkel. Surprisingly, Vida seems downright unwilling to get involved. To make matters worse, murder isn’t the only crime in Alpine. There have been several burglaries, which may or may not be connected to Gen’s de-mise. As Emma digs, she uncovers a shocking scandal that may point the finger of guilt at one of her nearest and dearest . . . while changing the history of Alpine itself.

“[Daheim] amiably captures the rhythms and crosscurrents of small-town life.”—Kirkus Reviews

As her myriad of fans can attest, USA Today bestselling author Mary Daheim creates wonderful mysteries peopled with marvelous characters as quirky as they are endearing. The Seattle Times says Daheim is “one of the brightest stars in our city’s literary constellation”—and the popularity of her irresistible Pacific Northwest crime series has swept across the nation.

For a small town newspaper like The Alpine Advocate, a new play at the local community college is big news. Editor and publisher Emma Lord is duty-bound to attend opening night, but expects the amateur enterprise will serve only as a cure for insomnia. The play is dubbed “a black comedy,” but the only laughs Emma gets are from the bad acting and the wretched script. And while the turgid production makes Wagner’s Ring cycle seem like a vignette, the real drama begins just before the final curtain.

Hans Berenger, dean of students, wasn’t well known or well liked around Alpine, but the audience found his death scene genuinely convincing—until they realized he wasn’t acting. No one can say how or when the blanks in the prop gun were replaced with the real bullets that killed Berenger, but the list of suspects reads like a playbill of the cast and crew. They all had opportunity, access, and their own axes to grind with the thespically challenged dean.

Seeking the assistance of Vida Runkel, the Advocate’s redoubtable House and Home editor, Emma Lord vows to unravel a mystery that spirals out into unexpected places. As Emma sets the stage for the most likely suspect, she finds herself in a two-character scene whose next cue could make the resolute editor take a final—and permanent—bow.

SPECIAL EDITION: MURDER

Not even in Alpine, Washington, could the death of octogenarian Jack Froland be considered big news—except by his drinking buddies at Mugs Ahoy. But that suddenly changes when in the middle of the funeral, Jack’s widow hysterically insists that he was murdered. Emma Lord, publisher of The Alpine Advocate, who is already investigating a threatening letter received by the town’s beautiful blonde judge, now suspects she has two hot stories to unravel. Backed by her House and Home editor, that bottomless repository of scandal Vida Runkel, she prepares for a triple-threat special: murder, blackmail, and—as wildfire sweeps the mountainside— possible arson as well. But success will not come cheap. With a killer roaming the woods, it may cost Emma her life. . . .

READ ALL ABOUT IT!
The Alpine Advocate
Novels by Mary Daheim

DEAD NEWS DAY

Two months after an unlucky snowboarder vanished on the slopes above Alpine, his disappearance is old copy. Emma Lord, publisher of the Alpine Advocate, is back to writing about graduations and the latest outbreak of chicken pox-until the town’s oldest family feud flares up, leaving three people dead, their bodies stowed in a meat freezer. The startling discovery of a fourth body sharing the victims’ chilly repose launches Emma on the story of a lifetime. But as she races to scoop the upstart radio station with the late-breaking news, Emma unwittingly uncovers a shocking conspiracy that will change her life forever. . . .

READ ALL ABOUT IT!
The Alpine Advocate
Novels by Mary Daheim


BONUS FEATURE: "My Alpine" by Mary Daheim

For once, Emma Lord, editor-publisher of The Alpine Advocate, isn’t thrilled by having an inside track. The Seattle strangling murder of Alpine native Carol Stokes is generating headlines, but the accused killer is Emma’s long-lost cousin Ronnie, who swears he was out drinking when his girlfriend was strangled. But he can’t prove it, and neighbors claim they heard the couple fighting moments before the murder. Now Emma and supersnoop Vida, the Advocate’s house-and-home editor, must find another suspect. Someone who hated Carol enough to write a tragic ending to her life story. Someone who is preparing to edit Emma and Vida right out of existence. . . .

KILL THE COMPETITION

Emma Lord, editor and publisher of The Alpine Advocate, has never faced such cruel competition–especially not the fierce personal attacks mounted by Alpine’s radical new publication, Crystal Clear. So when Crystal Bird, the editor, commits suicide, Emma sheds no tears. But Sheriff Milo Dodge determines that Crystal was murdered, and the little town is out for blood–namely, Emma’s. Pursued by hate mail and flying bricks, Emma vows to draw some blood herself–from the enemy who set her up to take the fall. . . .