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
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Welcome Marva Dasef, author of The Midnight Oil, Book 2 of the Witches of Galdorheim Series
MIDNIGHT OIL Shipwrecked on a legendary island, how can a witch rescue her boyfriend if she can’t even phone home? BLURB: Kat is a nervous wreck waiting for her boyfriend’s first visit to her Arctic island home. He doesn’t show up, so she’s sure he’s given her the brushoff. When she learns he’s disappeared, she…
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Tugger Cookies Are A Winner In The Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries
I am in the cookie business. It just goes to show you. When you become an author, you become the chief, cook and bottle-washer of your literary career. I should have known ‘baker’ was right around the corner.I stole this idea from another mystery writer and cyber buddy, Cindy Sample, author of Dying For a…
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Welcome Catherine Evans Latta, Author of Beirut Summer
Please help me welcome friend and fellow author, Catherine Evans Latta! I adore her and she’s a very fine writer. Beirut Summer, a heartfelt and stirring book of poetry, is a book I tend to leave out on the coffee table as an offering for anyone to pick up and read. It’s easy to become…
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My Take on Blogging Into 2012, an “Introspective”
Yesterday my final guest ‘broke bread’ with me on Blogging into 2012 aka This and That. This month long journey has seen a variety of men and women writers presented, one highlighted each day. They cover every genre in writing imaginable, whether it be fantasy, romance, scifi, paranormal, YA, mystery, memoir, or fill in the…
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Welcome Kat Holmes, Ending 31 Days of Blogging Into 2012
What better way to end January’s blogging party than with Kat Holmes! Kat Holmes, writer extraordinaire, is a Muse author who is not only prolific but when not writing on her own, partners in a mother/daughter team, Kat being the daughter part. Who is the mother? Anybody?? Win a copy of A Wedding to Die…
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Welcome James Hartley, author of Teen Angel and Many Others
Well, hello, Jim! And welcome to This and That. This is a busy man, who is also an author of paranormal short stories, novellas and novels. Just zip on over to his page at MuseitUp Publishing at http://tinyurl.com/87w39nq for a sampling of his work. Good writing and magic abounds. There is not shortage of ghosts,…
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Welcome Susan A. Royal, Author of Not Long Ago
Let’s give a big welcome to Susan A. Royal! She’s a new author and we all know how exciting that can be. This an opportunity to get to know her better and, frankly, given her answers, she seems like quite a woman. Here’s Susan: First, let me thank Heather for allowing me to be here…
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Welcome Lin Holmes, Author of…A Lot!
Welcome Lin Holmes, a woman I admire for her strength of will, sweetness of nature, and creative output. I first met Lin when we were both newcomers at MuseItUp and she had just had Santa is a Lady published. Since that time, Lin has had many other publications through Muse, too numerous to mention. Her…
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Welcome, Ingrid Ricks, author of Hippie Boy
I will be honest, I haven’t read Hippy Boy yet but plan to do so. After seeing the cover and reading 38 fantastic reviews on Amazon, it’s on my to buy list. But first, let’s get to know Ingrid a little better: 1. What is your favorite book? This changes on a monthly basis, but…
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Welcome J.Q. Rose, author of Sunshine Boulevard
Before we get to her interview, let me say that Janet – the name her comrades are allowed to call her – has so much warmth, humor and good will, it radiates from every word she writes. Get a load of her picture. This is a lady bubbling over with life! If you haven’t read…
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Welcoming Dianne Hartsock, Author of Trials of a Lonely Spectre
This is a intriguing cover and makes you want to read this paranormal short story. The blurb sounds fantastic! But first, a little bit about Dianne, who reveals a lot through her interview. 1. What is your favorite book? Out of all the questions I’m asked, that’s still the hardest one for me to answer.…
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Welcome Scarlett Valentine, author of Awakening
Join me now and meet the talented, award-winning author, Scarlett Valentine. She’s cornered the market on romance, love, and not just a little good, old fashioned lust. Don’t believe me? See the excerpt below of Awakening. This section is hot, hot, hot! But first, Scarlett’s interview, where we learn more about her and her delightful…