Created by Jess Loury
This twelve-book series follows the romantic misadventures and investigations of Minnesota gal, sometime reporter and eventual private eye MIRA JAMES.
Mira grew up in the Minnesota boonies of Paynesville but split as soon as she could for the bright lights of the Twin Cities and a BA in English. But for the next ten years or so, all she did was work as a waitress in a Vietnamese restaurant, partied hard, drink too much, and discover that her boyfriend was cheating on her, so…
It was back to the boonies, and a fresh start in rural Battle Lake in Otter Tail County, landing a new gig as a librarian, and finally putting that BA to at least partial use. And soon she scores another job — as an on-call reporter for the Battle Lake Recall, the local weekly.
Only problem? Mira seems to stumble upon —or otherwise get involved in a murder case — about once a month, starting with Jeff, a hunky local archeologist whose body she discovers in the library stacks, in the series debut May Day (2006). And so it goes in each book in this wacky romance-flavored screwball mysteries, each conveniently (and sequentially) titled after a month of the year. (A proposed spin-off series of novellas is named after the days of the week).
And so it goes. By November Hunt (2011), Mira’s working toward her PI license, and you bet there are plenty of quirky locals, wacky friends, embarrassing relationship issues, unsuitable suitors, sexy lingerie, romantic hijinks, screwball scenarios, and the inconvenience of monthly murders along the way. And plenty of blurry comparisons to Janet Evanovich‘s Stephanie Plum, of course.
Hell, one of the heavily promoted series’ selling points is that Jess Lourey was included in Book Riot’s “10 Funny Mystery Authors Like Janet Evanovich” list!
So there…
The series has legs, anyway. It’s been periodically re-issued, with brightener, spiffier and more brightly colored covers and “editorial revisions” at least twice.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
According to her Amazon bio, “Jess Lourey writes about secrets, fosters kittens, and travels. She’s surpassed over a million readers, been twice shortlisted for the Goodreads Choice Awards, twice shortlisted for the Edgar, and won the International Thriller, Anthony, and Minnesota Book Awards.”
UNDER OATH
- “Snappy jokes…edgy dialog…and a classic romance setup enhance a clever plot. More spunky than sweet; get started on this Lefty-nominated series if you’ve previously missed it.”
— Library Journal - “Lourey has cleverly created an entertaining murder mystery with the most unlikely murder accomplice ever… loaded with humor, and many of the descriptions are downright poetic.”
— Booklist
NOVELS
- May Day (2006) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
- June Bug (2007) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
- Knee High by the Fourth of July (2007) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
- August Moon (2008) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
- September Mourn (2009) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
- October Fest (2010) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
- November Hunt (2011) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
- December Dread (2012) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
- January Thaw (2013) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
- February Fever (2014) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
- March of Crimes (2017) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
- April Fools (2019) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
NOVELLAS
- Monday is Murder (2022) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
COLLECTIONS
- The Mira James Summer Bundle: May, June, July, and August (2018) | Kindle it!
- The Mira James Fall Bundle: September, October, November (2018) | Kindle it!
- The Mira James Winter Bundle: December, January, February (2018) | Kindle it!
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
- Stop the Presses!
Newsroom Eyes and Other Newshawks
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
