THE MAGNOLIA BLUFF CRIME CHRONICLES
SAME TOWN. DIFFERENT AUTHORS.
Once upon a time, the Underground Authors all took a chance on living for awhile in a mythical little Texas town known as Magnolia Bluff. You’ll be surprised to find out what deadly secrets are hidden away in places where you’d never expect them to be. Magnolia Bluff is a wonderful Hill Country town to visit for a spell. But I don’t think you’d want to stay around very long. Strange things go on in Magnolia Bluff.
– Caleb Pirtle III (1941-2023)
DEATH WEARS A CRIMSON HAT – Book 1 – Harry Thurgood just wants a quiet life, and to leave his past in the past. And he thinks he’s found the perfect place in sleepy Magnolia Bluff, Texas. Until the murder of a prominent citizen threatens to let the skeletons out of his closet.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B09XGSSKCW
EULOGY IN BLACK AND WHITE – Book 2 – Death Stalks a Small Town. Magnolia Bluff waits…With apprehension…With dread…With terror…May twenty-third is coming…Somebody always dies on May twenty-third…Why? No one knows…A killer walks in the shadows…The killer is ready to strike again.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Z9VPJYH
THE GREAT PEANUT BUTTER CONSPIRACY – Book 3 -Can lyrics from Jimmy Buffett’s songs help Bliss solve a month-old murder? Can Bliss expose the killer before people find out she’s been getting clues from a ghost, and um…a toucan? More important, can she find the killer before the killer finds her?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B36K3J7L
YOU WON’T KNOW HOW…OR WHEN – Book 4 – On day one of Father Frank’s first vacation in four years, a man says to him, “I’m gonna kill you.” His vacation hasn’t started well, and if he can’t stop this man from killing, it will end suddenly – and much worse.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B62RDGZD
THE FLOWER ENIGMA – Book 5 – JJ and Jo find the ideal spot to get away from their busy work lives—Magnolia Bluff offers Flower Bed & Breakfast, a quaint country destination within the beautiful Texas Hill Country. This romantic getaway isn’t even close to plan. Lives are at stake, and the young couple won’t accept failure.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B6QK4FGK
THE SHINE FROM A GIRL IN THE LAKE – Book 6 – In Book 6 of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles, an elusive and sadistic murderer emerges to terrorize the faculty and students of Burnet College. Suspicion falls on Dr. Michael Kurelek, clinical psychologist and archer. Tormented by grief, and a secret that could destroy his academic standing, he is determined to turn the tables. Someone in Magnolia Bluff is killing without remorse, but Kurelek is now the hunter.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B8WDD57
DEWEY DECIMAL DILEMMA – Book 7 – Magnolia Bluff, Texas, is a typical small town in the heart of the Hill Country. Just because it is small and everybody knows everyone’s business, the town isn’t insulated from murder and mayhem. Which begs the questions: Who’s responsible for breaking into houses? How are poodles, ghosts, drug cartels, and Ponzi schemes connected with a serial killer?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BHTX2MLV
JUSTICE – Book 8 – A young girl is discovered raped and murdered just outside of Magnolia Bluff, Texas. State Conservation Police Officer, Madison Jackson is stunned to her core. The sight of that battered and bruised child on a stainless-steel slab in the morgue sends Madison on a perilous trip south of the border into the heart of the deadly Mexican cartel country. Madison is kidnapped. Will she make it out alive?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BKYDL3ZH
BORN AND BRED TEXAN – Book 9 – Blue Bonet, widowed and in mourning, returns to Magnolia Bluff in her home state of Texas. Her grandmother had bequeathed an old lake house to her, and she cherishes childhood memories there. She arrives at the lake and finds the house she remembers as being grand, is now in disrepair. She tackles the repairs, and is determined to make a new life for herself, It seems like an uphill battle. A roller coaster of ups and down conspire to destroy her dream, and she begins to wonder if you really can’t go home again.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BKX1SY36
THE DOG GONE DIAMOND DILEMMA – Book 10 – Lately, Magnolia Bluff, a quiet little community in the Texas Hill Country near the Burnet Reservoir, has seen too many gruesome murders. In Linda Pirtle’s The Dewey Decimal Dilemma, Caroline, the town’s librarian, found the body of her friend Terresa Brown in the alley which separated their Victorian homes. Terresa was only the first to be targeted.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BVXHLRXS
WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD MICE – Book 11 – Bliss is hauled back to Magnolia Bluff, Texas in a police car. Her boyfriend, with whom she broke up three months ago, has been found dead in the ashes of the Annual Celtic Faire bonfire. She was miles away when he died, but a witness, someone she considered a friend, said she was in town. And no one can prove otherwise.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BTW6WQSX
ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG – Book 12 – The entire Doyle clan is celebrating Easter at Old Man Thompson’s barn. Though Bliss isn’t blood-related, they insist she be a part, which kind-a makes sense since months ago she uncovered the murderer of patriarch Merrick Doyle, who now resides, in spirit, in the general store. The barn walls vibrate with the beat from the popular band Loco-Motion. Suddenly, the lead singer lights up like fireworks on the Fourth of July. Nina Warren has been electrocuted, and things look bad for the family.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C1H42CFZ
WHO KILLED LILLY PAINE – Book 13– Deputy Detective Madeline (Maddy) Dawson returns home to take a new job with Magnolia Bluff’s Sheriff’s Department. But when she discovers the body of a family friend in Miller Creek, Maddy finds her life turned upside down.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C4KLWY34
MEN LYING DEAD IN A FIELD – Book 14 – In Book 14 of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles, Dr. Michael Kurelek is caught unawares when his father appears in Magnolia Bluff, just released from sniper duty in Ukraine. When a stranger turns up dead shortly after, shot through the heart in a field outside of town, Mike needs to act. His investigation will place him in the sights of a deadly adversary. Everyone has a secret, but someone is killing psychologists, and Michael Kurelek could be next on the list.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C6R19NG6
DEATH IN THE ABSENCE OF RAIN – Book 15 – Trapped in the midst of a generational drought, the water level of Magnolia Bluff’s Burnet Reservoir begins to drop, and the ghost town of Crystalline Flats slowly comes back from the dead. When the river was dammed to create the reservoir, the flood had overwhelmed the dying old town and left it buried underwater. Now the ruins are rising like skeletons of stone and wood from their watery grave. And the secrets of Crystalline Flats are secret no longer.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CBL1LFKC
THE KILLER ENIGMA – Book 16 – When JJ and Jo recognize privacy doesn’t exist for them, they head back to Magnolia Bluff to check on their friends and recapture the small-town anonymity. They reject the status of urban legends in favor of acceptance and a quiet, peaceful life. A supermodel needs time and space to recharge herself between jobs, and he needs time to adore his wife. Does Magnolia Bluff hold the answers to their prayers, or will a dark past overtake them?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C4TWZQFB
SECOND CHANCES – Book 17 – Retired New York Police Detective, Brandon Turner wanted to move as far away from the Big Apple as possible. Pointing a finger at a map, he ends up in Magnolia Bluff, a small town in the Texas Hill Country. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy to retire here as he’d hoped. While exploring a park with his dog and the real-estate agent showing him the property, they discover a body. They report the death and, as far as Turner is concerned, that’s where it ends. But it’s not that simple. Can Turner and the local police set aside their differences long enough to stop a potential drug ring from destroying more lives?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CG93DD7T
TEN MILLION WAYS TO DIE – Book 18 – Harry Thurgood has a secret life he wants to keep secret. Magnolia Bluff, Texas seemed like the perfect place where he could leave his cares behind. But when he falls in love with Ember Cole, trouble has found him. Again. Ten Million Ways to Die is a killer of a murder mystery. It’s an exciting and deadly romp through the small Texas Hill Country town of Magnolia Bluff. Where murder is always waiting in the wings.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CKV36LQG
BYE BABY BYE – Book 19 – Texas law enforcement officer, Madison Jackson awakes to discover her infant kidnapped from her crib. Was it revenge for someone Madison had arrested or something far more sinister? Madison’s estranged husband is incarcerated in Supermax. As the second in command of a deadly Mexican cartel, did he issue the order to abduct their daughter? Madison escaped the clutches of the treacherous crime organization once before. Will she now have to travel back to perilous cartel country to save her daughter’s life?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CNF3W5DM
TEXAS SUMMERS ARE MURDER – Book 20 – When a murder occurs in the park, the small-town police grab a harmless drunk known as Fergus. Blue and her best friend, Gloria, come to Fergus’s defense. This move draws the ire of some who want to see Fergus tarred and feathered. But as they snoop to find the real murderer, Blue and her friends unwittingly put themselves in the crosshairs of a dangerous criminal.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CPKM1ZN1
WHO MOURNS ELEKTRA – BOOK 21- Five dead in Magnolia Bluff. Psychopath? Or someone gunning for justice? Harry Thurgood and Rev. Ember Cole are planning their wedding. However, once again murder rocks the small town of Magnolia Bluff, Texas. And Harry and Ember wonder how long it’s going to take before police detective Reece Sovern once again tries to pin the murders on them. Meanwhile, Mary Lou Fight, whose vendetta against Harry and Ember is in high gear, has her private detective digging up dirt on the couple. The perfect storm hits when Harry and Ember are arrested for murder and Mary Lou is given the information that will defrock Rev. Cole. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVR4RG26.
GIRLFRIEND RETREAT…CHEAPER THAN THERAPY – BOOK 22 – A group of lifelong friends convene on the Circle R Ranch in Magnolia Bluff, Texas, a small town in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. Caroline McCluskey, the town’s librarian, and her planning committee have put together an itinerary for a long, relaxing weekend. The women are relaxing and enjoying cocktails around the pool when a sniper fires a shot through the double French doors leading into the ranch house. Caroline’s friends are in a panic. Who would shoot at them and why? They’ve not been in town long enough to make an enemy. Caroline had promised a “weekend like none other,” and the retreat certainly lives up to her claim. The friends face one catastrophe after another, ranging from mistaken identities to murder. Will Caroline, female sleuth extraordinaire, be able to protect her friends during their visit to Magnolia Bluff? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW1DR8FB.
A CHANCE OF A GHOST – BOOK 23 – Danny & Maria have moved their young family from Tampa, Florida to the outskirts of Magnolia Bluff, Texas. They have spent the last year and a half renovating an old Victorian mansion. It had been neglected for years and needed a lot of work. Now, most of the work is done. During renovations they would hear things go bump in the night. Floorboards would creak. Sometimes, tools would be found in very odd places. They did not think much of that until their son woke up screaming for them in the middle of the night. He had seen a shadowy man at the foot of his bed. Danny immediately called his cousin Mike in Tampa. Mike and his wife Maureen are paranormal investigators with Tampa Bay Spirits. As soon as they got the call, they packed up their car and headed west. While enroute to Magnolia Bluff, Maureen sees in her mind’s eye a shadowy figure walking through the house. The closer they get to Magnolia Bluff, the stronger Mike feels someone in Magnolia Bluff will be murdered. Is Mike’s premonition correct? Is there a shadowy figure walking through the mansion? Who is the shadowy figure? Why is he there? What is lurking in the attic? Who is in danger? What else will the team discover during their visit in peaceful Magnolia Bluff? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CXQBL1NC
COURTIN’ DISASTER – Book 24 – Can a yellow throat toucan, and lyrics from Neil Diamond songs, help Bliss solve the murder of a local woman competing in the annual fishing derby? The phone rings at the crack of dawn. Life for Bliss, Whitney, and Hannah shoots rapidly out of control. First, the only fisherman at the derby is found in her ex-husband’s BBQ smoker. Even though Lucy’s less-than-sparkling personality offers up a truly diverse group of suspects, her on-again-off-again relationship with the ex makes him the leading suspect. But was it possible for the 120-pounds-soaking-wet man to lift the muscular woman alone?Next, another murder—also a tournament competitor, and VP at the bank. As far as Bliss knows, the two people’s lives never crossed. Is it a coincidence they both die of an insulin overdose? Strange that each of their spouses are diabetics. A visit in the form of Whitney’s deceased exe’s brother drops another snag in the day. Nobody “just passes” through Magnolia Bluff, Texas. What’s behind Matt’s sudden appearance and persistent demands for money? As the girls decode clues brought by Diablo the toucan, a Tibetan monk arrives to perform a ceremony to transition Merrick’s ghost from the general store to the girls’ home. Unfortunately, Matt’s interference sends Merrick’s spirit shooting into the ether. Can they get him back, or is he lost forever? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVQW5CH5
JUST DYING TO GLAMP – Book 25 – For newly widowed Mamie West, it’s time to get out of the house and do something. She has no idea what she is getting herself into. After buying the vintage camper of her dreams at a local used car lot, she joins the Gals Gone Glamping. At her first campout, one of the Three Gees is found murdered in her own campsite. Mamie soon discovers a cryptic note in the woman’s RV, but when the same note is left for her, she becomes the sleuth, trying to figure out who the killer is before she becomes the next victim. Along with her sidekick, Boston terrier Babs, she captures the interest of Magnolia Bluff police officer Nick Vandegan, who not only investigates the murder but is willing to offer his protection to the women, especially Mamie. Who would want to kill an innocent, fun-loving, adventurous woman out on a camping trip? Will Mamie’s curiosity and determination to solve the mystery get her more than she bargained for? –
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D57KP91D
Howdy!
As you can see, there’s a lot going on in Magnolia Bluff, Texas.
There’s a new book about it being released every month.
We’re making room for more folks in Magnolia Bluff…so drop by again if you dare…
Thanks for visiting!
– The Underground Authors.