Hi. I’m Heather.
I write mysteries.
Cleopatra Almost Slept Here, Book 11 of the Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries Debuted August 15, 2026. Yippee! This is my favorite book. But, of course, I would say that! Like a proud mama, I love all my books as I give “birth” to them. As to writing this story with the Alvarez family in Egypt, it was huge fun. Anything that can go wrong does and nobody knows why! Until …
| THE ALVAREZ FAMILY IS ON THE VACATION OF A LIFETIME – IF IT DOESN’T KILL THEM FIRST! |
| When the entire Alvarez family – including private investigator Lee Alvarez and the rest of the members of the family’s P.I. business, Discretionary Inquiries, Inc. – is offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance to volunteer on an archaeological dig, they’re airborne in hours. It’s billed as “a nice, relaxing family vacation”— all they have to do is identify Cleopatra’s mother! But they’ve barely landed in Cairo when someone tries to run their van off the road. |
| Author Haven hasn’t missed a trick in this modern-day interpretation of the classic mystery-at-a-dig genre.It’s got everything – pyramids, train rides, a Nile cruise, the requisite cobra, exotic history, mysterious messages, and, of course, there’s a haboob! (That’s “sandstorm” to us boobs.)Naturally, Haven adds her own delightfully off-center flourishes: imagine the witty banter of the statuesque P.I. and her hunky ex-SEAL husband dropped into Death on the Nile with a world-class chef, a computer genius, hovering in-laws, two cats, a toddler, and a hat maker. Dame Agatha meets Nick and Nora Charles, if you will. If Nora had a blueberry yogurt stain on her shirt. And a charming camel called KFC standing in for Asta. What is nearly unimaginable is Alvarez matriarch Lila loosening up enough to wear Birkenstocks – in public. Otherwise, the extended Alvarez family is up to their usual hijinks: brother Richard, the computer genius, has the answer before the question is asked; Tugger the cat inadvertently reveals the culprit(s); hunky husband Gurn needs rescuing; Lee goes rogue; and Tío the chef, as always, plies them with delicious food.As spoofy and goofy as the set-up is, the danger is real: two waiters have disappeared from the hotel boat housing the dig crew. The boat is peopled almost entirely by eccentric and suspicious characters who are hiding something – right up to and including Lee’s father-in-law! At the heart of the mystery, as always when ancient treasures are involved, is a solution as old as time: greed, running rampant in every imaginable form in a witty and refreshing tale that would make even the Dame laugh out loud. |
Fans of PI stories, cozy mysteries, and women sleuths will lose their own heads over Lee Alvarez and her adorable (and vexing) family of investigators, including Tugger the cat! Lee’s sharp and funny like her fellow female protagonists Kinsey Millhone (Sue Grafton) and Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich), but she cleans up better – say, Nora to her dapper husband’s Nick. And the rest of the large, loving, interfering, and resourceful Alvarez family will delight lovers of Lisa Lutz’s family series, The Spellman Files.
A Wedding to Die For, Book 2 of The Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries is still under development by a major original programming production company (no names) for a series of television movies. However, my advice to anyone trying to do this is to start when you are very young. It’s been five years in the making with still no signs of going forward, backward or dying. But you know what? The thrill is still there. And I’m still in the game! It’s hard to say how these things go, but the fact that someone wants to turn my stories about the Alvarez family into movies for television makes me jump for joy.
Hotshot Shamus, book 4 of the Persephone Cole Vintage Mysteries, won the second place Insipere Award for Best Clean Mystery 2023. Go Percy! Percy Cole is one of the first female detectives in New York City’s history, and a woman very comfortable in a man’s world. It was a joy getting back to this series. Percy’s my kinda gal. Sort of how I’d like to be if I had the nerve.
Lucky me. I get to travel the world in my mind and be all the characters in my books, including the cats! As Confucius once said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
While I love a funny mystery, I tend to read anything of interest to me, especially if it’s well-written. Most of the time, though, when I read a book, I like it to be on the lighter side of life. If I want to cry, I only have to step on a scale. l tend to write about what I consider to be some of the important things in life: the recently immigrated, one of America’s natural resources, the family unit, relationships, and the seeking of justice. They may be wrapped around a mystery and a laugh, but those subjects will always be there.
Or visit my blog below where I muse upon occasion.
Thanks,
Heather
A Mystery Writer’s Musings
-
We Interrupt This Blubathon To Bring You A Special Author, Rochelle Weber!
Please join me in welcoming a peach of a lady, Rochelle Weber. In reading her bio, I had no idea she was an ex-Navy veteran. Let’s hear it for all the veterans and what they give to this country. Moving on, below is a short interview with Rochelle, a chance to get to know her better: …
-
BOOKS WE LOVE BLURBATHON
Here’s Sheila Claydon’s latest: In a rut, and with her love life at an all time low, Claire Harris makes a New Year’s resolution to join an Internet dating agency. Her challenge is twelve dates or twelve months, whichever comes first, unless she is lucky enough to meet Mister Right along the way. On her…
-
BOOKS WE LOVE BLURBATHON
Running Scared by Cheryl Wright Emma Larkin is running for her life – nowhere is safe. Stalked by her husband’s killers, and desperate to protect her young daughter, Emma must find what the killers are looking for before she becomes their next victim. When undercover cop, Gary Bedford, planned a relaxing break, he hadn’t counted…
-
BOOKS WE LOVE BLURBATHON
My Mozart, a new release from Juliet Waldron, author of the highly acclaimed Mozart’s Wife. Mozart was her teacher, her mentor, her rescuer–and, finally, fatally, her lover. .. At dawn, in the marble palace of a Prince, a nine-year-old sings for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then at the peak of his career. Always delighted by musical…
-
BOOKS WE LOVE BLURBATHON
Finally got this (I think)! All the authors at Books We Love are simultaneously posting one author’s work on their blogs. Here goes with Margaret Tanner and her award-winning book, Savage Possession. In 2008, with a title of Storm Girl, Savage Possession was a Semi-Finalist in the Amazon Break Through Novel Award. A sweeping tale of…
-
I HAVE BECOME A PROMOTING ‘HO!
Never did I think I would see the day when I would shamelessly push, promote, advertise, and in general, throw myself on the mercy of the eWinds out there. Between the Alvarez Family and the Persephone Cole Mystery Series, I hawk like a barker for a 3rd-rate carnival. Facebook and I are close pals. I’m…
-
Jingle All The Way!
I love Christmas. Always have. Ever since I found out the tubby guy in the red suit did NOT give me those presents once a year, I’ve been on a high. Let’s face it, Santa’s a little weird. Definitely someone my doctor would want to talk to about his weight. Further, what’s with the white…
-
Tagged: The Next Big Thing – Find Out What I’m Working On!
I’ve been tagged in a blog game called The Next Big Thing. The game involves authors answering questions about their work in progress (aka WIP). So I am “it” for the moment, and I am off to the 20th century, 1942, to be exact, to talk about a murder taking place under the Big Top. Come along…
-
My Only Burn is Heartburn
Monday I’m giving a lecture on the art and craft of writing. As if I know more than my cats about this. But that’s the funny thing about being published. Suddenly, everybody thinks you know something. Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. You give it a shot. I do know a decent novel is not done…
-
Writer’s Slump
I don’t have writer’s block. If need be, I can sit down and write something. Aren’t I doing it now? Well, I didn’t say I could write something of value, just something. However, I have been working on the final cleanup of a novel I’ve been penning for the past six years, getting it ready for publication. You know how…
-
A Heap of Trouble is a Heap of Good Writing
Join me in getting to know author Lorrie Unites-Struiff a little bit better. A Heap of Trouble is a western humorous romance action story. That’s a lot of stuff for Struiff to put in one book, but she does it with style! This book has something for everyone and I love the cover. It’s, of course, by Suzannah Safi.…
-
A Visit with Roseanne Dowell, Author of Ring Around the Rosy
I’ve had the good fortunate to be part of a group of writers that include the likes of Roseanne Dowell. In my opinion, Roseanne is a talented and prolific writer, who creates easy to read page-turners of the romantic/mystery type, where you not only meet some lovely, charming people, but get to wonder who did the…