A PEACH OF A MURDER introduces Phyllis Newsom and her friends, a group of retired teachers, as they become involved in a series of murders centered around the annual Peach Festival in the Texas town where they live. Rich in the colorful and sometimes deadly details of small-town life, this book and the ones that will follow it feature not only intriguing mystery plots and likable characters but also delicious recipes for a variety of baked goods.

A PEACH OF A MURDER is a delightful cozy with a senior amateur sleuth who wins your interest and holds it. And she shares her peach cobbler recipe along with several others. RECOMMENDED.
                                                          - Sally Powers from I Love A Mystery

At this year's school carnival fund-raiser, the obnoxious president of the Parent Teacher Organization is found stabbed through the heart with Phyllis Newsom's own knife, with traces of incriminating frosting. Clearing her name will be no piece of cake...

I love the cast of characters in Livia J. Washburn’s “fresh-baked” mysteries. They’re non-stereotypical senior sleuths – with Phyllis and Sam in the lead – who are easy to cheer on. The writing and plotting in this series’ second book is even better than the first, A Peach of a Murder.

                                                                          -- Mystery News

THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE KILLER

Christmas comes to Weatherford, Texas, in this delicious new entry in the national bestselling series.

Yuletide is here—and retired teacher cum amateur sleuth Phyllis Newsom looks forward to finishing up this unlucky year. But she won't be hanging up her apron just yet—because this year's Christmas bake-off is going to be cutthroat.

Phyllis would like to think she's entering the Christmas cookie contest for the fun of it—but that's not exactly true. She can't imagine anyone beating her snowflake-shaped lime sugar cookies. Then, during her annual Christmas cookie exchange, Phyllis heads over to the elderly Mrs. Simmons's home and finds her dead, in a pile of lime sugar cookies. But with a number of names on Santa's naughty list, this case may be a hard cookie to crumble.

Reprinted in mass market paperback: November 3, 2009

KILLER CRAB CAKES

In this bake-off, people get knocked off. The irresistible new entry in the national bestselling series.

When Phyllis's cousin asks her to look after her Oak Knoll bed-and-breakfast for a few weeks, Phyllis jumps at the chance—mostly because the inn is located close to the annual Rockport, Texas, Just Desserts competition. Determined to beat her friendly rival and enjoy some peaceful downtime with her boyfriend Sam, Phyllis concocts the ultimate sweet treat.

But Phyllis's holiday turns bitter when she and Sam discover a dead body—and all signs point to murder. Dismayed that bad luck seems to pop up wherever she goes, Phyllis wants to stay out of this one. But as the list of suspects gets too close for comfort, she decides to throw herself into the mix. Because when it comes to solving murders, Phyllis is one smart cookie.

FRANKLY MY DEAR, I'M DEAD

Things start quietly enough: a visit to the quaint apartment where Margaret Mitchell wrote her great opus, then a stop at the Gone with the Wind Movie Museum, and a hearty Southern luncheon at Mary Mac's Tea Room that will surely guarantee her new clients will never be hungry again. What could possibly go wrong?

Quite a lot, it turns out. During an overnight stay at a lovely recreation of Tara-complete with a full cast of actors-things start to really go south. The actor playing Clark Gable playing Rhett Butler is found dead, apparently the victim of a fatal dose of Southern in-hospitality. Before anyone can even think "Where shall I go? What shall I do?" the police have the place under lockdown, insisting everyone remain at the mansion while they investigate.

Delilah finds herself taking over the investigation when their #1 suspect is her son-in-law Luke-the not-so-bright husband of her daughter, Melissa. But life starts imitating art when the actors begin taking their roles a little too seriously-believing they actually are Ashley Wilkes, Scarlett O'Hara, and Melanie. Next stop: Sunset Boulevard.

With all the drama of Margaret Mitchell's epic story suddenly coming to alarming life, Delilah's only chance to head off a not-so-Civil War is to track down and confront the deranged murderer. But shemust move quickly and very quietly, or risk becoming the next victim of a killer-who frankly doesn't give a damn..

Delilah is in charge of a tourist group taking a cruise on a Mississippi Riverboat that’s going to stop in Hannibal, Missouri, the town where Mark Twain was raised.  She doesn’t have any help on this trip since her daughter Melissa and son-in-law Luke are back in Atlanta taking care of the literary travel agency business while she’s gone.

The cruise, which starts in St. Louis, is scheduled just to be a one-night trip, so Delilah isn’t anticipating any problems, but trouble inevitably crops up when one of the members of her tour turns up dead.  His neck is broken, and it’s definitely not an accident, which means the riverboat may be stuck in Hannibal for longer than planned.

Winner of The American Mystery Award and The Private Eye Writers Of America's Best Original Paperback Award.

Hollywood in the twenties was a fantastic place to be . . . if you were successful.  Lucas Hallam worked two jobs, movie cowboy and private detective.  As a former Pinkerton man and a Texas Ranger, Hallam thought he'd worked on just about every kind of case there was.  Then he ran into Elton Forbes, founder of the Holiness Temple of Faith, a cult with far more enemies than followers . . .

Here's the real Hollywood of the studio days . .  . glamour, glitz, and an underside of dark and dangerous secrets.

Reprinted in hardback

Summary :

"There is more tension than in a barbed-wire fence."                                     
--The Los Angeles Times

Tie A Black Ribbon