Which of These 12 Killer Authors Will I Read First?

After months of figuring out ambiguous clues in Fine Print, deciding they were too obscure, adding a bit more clarity, removing clarity, and adding a bit more in again, you’d think the last thing I’d want is a new mystery to read.

Yeah. Not hardly. I found myself digging through page after page of ideas.  This one.  That.  The other. Then I realized I just couldn’t be the only one who likes a good mystery.

So, I decided to compile a list.

Do you know how many amazing Christian Fiction Mystery authors there are?  Do you?  Yeah.  I didn’t have a clue and still knew I would need to whittle down that list a bit.

I decided to set some parameters. That oughtta fix it nicely, right?

So, I decided to limit it to Indie authors this time.  Why not?  We live once.

To find the best names, I then decided to ask in a Facebook group I love–one for readers.

I sent out a call for suggestions for Indie mystery authors only.  And these were the names I got!  Without further ado:

Note: links in this post are likely affiliate links that provide me a small commission, but it doesn’t add to your cost at all.  🙂  Additionally, the authors are unaware of my doing this post, so I have no “incentive” to do it other than me just wanting a good read.

Which of These 12 Killer Authors Will I Read First?

Christy Barritt

I first learned about Christy Barritt from, get this, my husband. A friend got me her novella, It Came Upon a Midnight Crime for my birthday one year, and a couple of weeks later, when we met in Michigan, I brought it with me.  I begged her to write a teasing inscription to my husband, and she complied with something along the lines of, “For a guy with great taste in authors and wives–too bad they aren’t the same person.”  I can’t remember exactly how it went, but I had to tease Kevin, and… well… she was gracious enough to let me.  😀

Christy Barritt is both conventionally and independently published, but if you really want a great mystery series (or so says my husband), you might want to check out her work. I’m most interested in reading her “Squeaky Clean” series.

And hey, she got the most “votes” in my Facebook group.  That says a lot, don’t you think?  I would have bought one of her books as part of this experiment, but my husband owns them all.  Ahem.

Joanie Bruce

I actually reviewed two of Joanie’s books about eighteen months ago.  If you’d like to read more about them, check out that review HERE. I recall liking most that I could figure it all out and she STILL kept me guessing about whether I was right or not.  I enjoy that in a mystery.

Unfortunately, there’s only one full-length book since those as far as I can see.  I’ll be trying that one out ASAP.  She did add a novella into a Christmas collection put out by Celebrate Lit, but I really didn’t enjoy it as much.  🙁

Hopefully, this is not the last of the mysteries by Joanie Bruce (and somehow, I suspect it most definitely is not. 🙂

Lyn Cote

She wasn’t one of the authors listed on that site, but she’s in a Facebook group I’m in, and I realized that she publishes independently as well as conventionally!  I’ve enjoyed her books in the past, and when I went to look her up…

I found THIS one!  Squee!!!  Why squee???  Because… get this.  It was FREE! WOOHOO!  I am so jazzed about this book!

It looks like a wonderful book, and I suspect it’ll be one of my favorites from this list.

Steve Demaree

I had not heard of Steve Demaree, or so I thought.  You see, I went over to Amazon to check out what he has to offer, and something happened. When I clicked on the first book in his “Dekker” series, um… yeah. I bought it back last year. *blush*

The first thing I did was click the “Look Inside” and start reading.  For those like me,  you should know.  It’s written in first-erson.  I will say, however, that he had me chuckling just with that first page.  I suspect I’m gonna let myself get over the first person business… because it’s going to be worth it.

At 3.99, the price isn’t too shabby, either!

Heather Day Gilbert

I wasn’t surprised to see Heather Gilbert listed.  Cathe Swanson has been recommending her for a couple of years now. So, I zipped over Cathe’s blog and grabbed the LINK to her review of the audiobook.

Cathe also has a great blog post by Ms. Gilbert about mothers-in-law on her blog.  You might want to check THAT out, too.

I’ve had Miranda Warning for some time. And for those looking for a good read, this book is FREE right now on Amazon.  Squee!

April Hayman

Well, anyone who knows me very well knows I’m a fan of April Hayman.  Her Heirlooms of Deception series is going to sit among my favorites for a long time. I’ve been dying to read her Spilled Ink since she first conceived it.  Of course, it’s changed a dozen times since then, so I’m going to have to read it the minute it comes out. Alas, that won’t be until next year now.

She’s written two novellas in the series. Trip the Light Fantastic, and Lead a Merry Dance. Even the book she’s doing for an upcoming collection has turned into a mystery.  Squee!  I’m so excited about this upcoming book, Words that Bind.  And, I suspect we’ll have a lot of mystery elements in her upcoming serial novel, Recovering the Relics of Jezebel Jones. To read my review of Lead a Merry Dance, check it out HERE. https://chautona.com/lead-merry-dance-review/

Cynthia Hickey

I recognized Cynthia Hickey’s name, but I didn’t know anything about her books.  Her book, Anything for a Mystery, grabbed my attention, and the .99 price tag didn’t hurt, so I went ahead and snagged it.  It is written in the first person, but considering how the first page reads, I think I might be able to stomach it.  Hee hee.  Not sure why I think this—I’ve got nothing to back it up—but I have a feeling I’ve found a new go-to” mystery author.  🙂

John Michael Hileman 

I’d never heard of Mr. Hileman, and looking at his books, I’m not confident he’s my kind of genre.

He seems to be kind of a cross between Steven James, Ted Dekker, and maybe Alton Gansky. I can’t back any of that up… it’s just the feel I get looking at his synopses.

Still, he’s an indie author who some people have recommended, so I thought I’d share for those who like their mystery with a lot of suspense, supernatural stuff, and an extra “kick” to the thriller department.

Sarah Holman

I wasn’t familiar with Sarah Holman, either, but when I saw she was part of the Vintage Jane Austen series, I got excited.  She wrote the book Emmaline—a retelling of Austen’s Emma but in 1930s America.  I’ve been planning to read all of those, so this’ll be cool.

Her Kate’s Case Files series, beginning with Kate’s Innocence, do look interesting, however.  The “Look Inside” of book one left me uncertain how I’ll feel about them.  Time, I suppose, will tell.  I’d love to know if any of you have read anything by Ms. Holman!

Karin Kaufman

With a title like Death of a Dead Man, Karin Kaufman “had” me before I read a word of the synopsis or in the “Look Inside” portion.  The .99 price tag had me clicking to buy before I read further, too.  My goal with this whole post was not just to find new authors but support them.  So far, only two of these I haven’t purchased from yet!

Alas, this book is yet another first-person perspective, so I am not confident in how much I’ll love it, but I’m not sorry I bought it. I love the premise of a book about a man declared dead after seven years… and then dying.  Talk about cool!

Who knows, with all this first-person mystery stuff, maybe I’ll learn to like the first person-ness.  🙂  Let’s face it. Sometimes it IS the best way to tell a story.  That’s why I did the Journey of Dreams series.

Debra Marvin

I’ve been seeing these Nosy Parker Series mysteries everywhere in the past couple of weeks!  So when I looked her up and saw that Debra Marvin was the author, I knew I’d need to buy the first one. Except that it’s not written by her. Still…

A “Look Inside” gave me a squee!!! Moment!  Because you see, it’s not first-person!  So I snagged that sucker right away, and then I felt instantly sad.  Um… there are only three reviews on this book!  AAAK!  That’s just not enough.

So, if you have 2.99 to spare, or if you’re a Kindle Unlimited user who loves mysteries, I hope you’ll read and leave her a review.  It would bless her, I’m sure.  And as a reader, I would have loved to have seen more reviews to get a better picture of if I’d like it!

Then I’ll read book 2 by Debra Marvin! The Case of the Clobbered Cad.

Lorena McCourtney

I’ve seen Ms. McCourtney around for some time, now.  I didn’t realize she had Indie books, but it may be that Rogue Ridge Press is her Indie imprint.  I’m leaving her here because I recognize the name of one of the people who mentioned her in the Facebook group and she’s usually spot on about these things.

Either way, let’s face it!  Lorena McCourtney has a bunch of interesting-looking books.  I’m particularly intrigued by the Andi McConnell Mysteries—despite being yet another, first-person perspective.  When I “Looked Inside” I found that they were originally published by Thomas Nelson, so it seems like perhaps the author has gotten her rights back and republished.  Good for her!  I decided I had to support her for that reason if no other!

So, there you have it. 

A dozen indie authors for you to try!  WOOHOO!  If you have favorites among these, please tell me who!   I’ve got to start somewhere, right?

Hey, you know what?  I’ll even throw a “baker’s dozen” in there.  How about this gal?

Chautona Havig

She’s written a couple of mystery series.  First, there’s the Hartfield Mysteries—Four books and a novella!  Take an eccentric author, add a Mayberry-like hometown, and a few murderous plots, and voila!  A mystery series that combines retro elements in a modern setting.

Then there’s The Meddlin’ Madeline Mysteries—not your traditional “whodunnits,” this series shows more the development of a detective’s skills than a traditional “here’s the crime and here’s the solution” format. So, if you’re looking for something a little different, this might just be the set for you, and book three has just been released!  Until 3-31-18, you can even get a bonus short story with purchase (they have not been sent yet.  Keeping these stories short keeps proving more difficult than I’d like to admit.  Ahem.

Oh! I almost forgot.

Definitely reading Debra Marvin’s, The Case of the Clobbered Cad.  Just as soon as I read the first book in the series.