The Olivia Penn Mystery Series
For readers who enjoy small-town mysteries with community atmosphere, amateur sleuths, and emotional depth.
Welcome to Apple Station, Virginia, where advice columnist and amateur sleuth Olivia Penn discovers that life in a charming small town isn’t always as peaceful as it seems. Filled with heart, humor, memorable characters, and twisty mysteries, these award-winning cozy mysteries blend small-town charm with page-turning suspense.
Where the Light Shines Through
The Olivia Penn Mystery Series
Book One
In a charming southern town, a historic manor hides deadly secrets, and one determined advice columnist must uncover the truth to save her friend.
For fans of Nancy Drew, Clue, and small-town cozy mysteries!
Olivia Penn is looking forward to visiting her father as spring blooms in her hometown of Apple Station, Virginia. Her plans to enjoy a week of relaxation with her friends and family are upended after a shocking murder shakes the close-knit community.
When a body is found under mysterious circumstances at an abandoned manor and the police suspect her childhood friend of murder, Olivia refuses to let him take the fall. Convinced they’ve got it wrong, she follows the clues left behind by the victim and uncovers long-buried secrets that tie her friend to the crime scene.
With time running out and the killer’s trail growing cold, she must navigate tangled relationships, hidden motives, and a treacherous web of lies. With help from her friends and a loyal beagle, she races to solve the mystery before there’s another victim. But to reveal the truth, she must dare to do the unthinkable and take a leap of faith into where the light shines through.
Can Olivia save her friend and thwart the killer’s plan? Or will it be lights out for them both?
Silence Says the Most
The Olivia Penn Mystery Series
Book Two
A dead body is found floating in a lake. A child’s drawing places her at the crime scene. The shocking connection lands her in deep water.
Advice columnist Olivia Penn’s cozy hometown of Apple Station, Virginia, is buzzing with preparations for the annual fall festival and Halloween parade. Pumpkins, witches, and ghosts line the streets, the leaves are turning, and the crisp autumn air makes for perfect sweater weather. With a new romance blooming, the season feels more charming than spooky—until a lakeside picnic with a friend puts her in the wrong place at the wrong time.
When a body is discovered amid an algae bloom under mysterious circumstances, long-standing tensions between a local organic farm and a country club resurface, revealing multiple motives for murder. As suspects point fingers, the only reliable witness is a young boy with autism who doesn’t speak.
As Olivia investigates why the child has linked her to the crime scene, she uncovers a crucial clue hiding in plain sight. But when an unexpected encounter leads to a startling revelation, she must improvise a risky plan to stop the killer. With time running out, justice hinges on quick thinking and a leap of faith.
Can Olivia unmask the killer before the evidence vanishes? Or will she become the next victim and be silenced forever?
Under the Cocoon Moon
The Olivia Penn Mystery Series
Book Three
A dead body in the woods. A rare sapphire is missing. The connection changes her life forever.
A SILVER FALCHION TOP PICK FOR COZY MYSTERY
Advice columnist Olivia Penn is looking forward to spending the holidays with her friends and family in her cozy hometown of Apple Station, Virginia. The Christmas spirit has sparked a new romance, and everything seems merry and bright, until she’s mistaken for a dead woman.
When a stranger makes a wild accusation involving the parents of the man she’s falling for, Olivia finds herself in a no-win situation. As evidence mounts, a mysterious murder near his father’s cabin attracts the attention of the FBI. Caught between mother and son, she investigates to clear his family’s name while matching wits with a legendary thief.
With time running out, she must set a trap using herself as bait, or the killer may vanish without a trace. Her new love hangs in the balance, and her life is on the line. Justice will hinge on sixty minutes and a phone call.
Will the call be answered? Or will the thief recover the sapphire and silence her forever?
When the Carnival Came
The Olivia Penn Mystery Series
Book Four
SILVER FALCHION AWARD JUDGES’ TOP PICK
COZY MYSTERY
A mysterious murder at an abandoned army base. A carnival has rolled into town. The shocking connection forces her to choose between a dear friend and her new love.
Spring is blooming in Apple Station, Virginia, and advice columnist Olivia Penn’s new romance is heating up. With love in the air and the carnival in town, life seems picture-perfect, until a stranger shows up at her door with carnations and a cryptic message for her friend.
When Olivia follows the trail and finds her friend standing over a dead body, she discovers there’s more to the carnival than just fun and games. Compelled to keep an impossible secret from both her new love and the police, Olivia is recruited to go undercover and investigate who among the quirky carnival crew had a motive for murder.
In a race to protect her friend and solve the crime, she must trust a man she never expected to see again. Together, they carry out a daring plan to unmask a killer and save the lives of thirty very precious, valuable feathered friends.
With the killer on the verge of vanishing without a trace, justice hinges on quick thinking and a bold move. Will she and her new love survive to see another day?
Without a Shadow of Doubt
The Olivia Penn Mystery Series
Book Five
Find the cat. Crack the case.
The Highland Games have arrived just outside Apple Station, Virginia, bringing bagpipes, kilts, and a tide of tartan-clad tourists to the cozy small town. Advice columnist Olivia Penn is ready for a weekend of fun now that her life has finally settled into a quiet, steady rhythm. But when a local turns up dead in one of the town’s most iconic homes, a cryptic message from a friend draws her into a tangled mystery.
As Olivia investigates, family secrets and surprising motives surface, linking three brooches, an antique cross, and a 17th-century Scottish Bible. Clues connect seven suspects to the crime, and each has something to hide. When her friend can’t be found and the police start asking questions, the mystery hits closer to home and runs deeper than she ever imagined.
After an unlikely witness makes a shocking revelation, Olivia enlists her friends and a heroic search and rescue golden retriever to help her follow the trail before it goes cold. The man she loves is caught in the crosshairs, and to protect him, she’ll have to risk everything. Justice hinges on a missing cat, a chase through the woods, and a stare-down with a mama bear.
The Case of the Broken Heart
An OLIVIA PENN COZY MYSTERY
SHORT STORY
A missing locket. A nosy Yorkie. A mystery she didn’t see coming.
The day before heading home to visit her dad in the small town of Apple Station, Virginia, advice columnist Olivia Penn stumbles into a mystery inside her Georgetown condo building. A friend’s sentimental locket has vanished, and Olivia offers to help track it down.
What begins as a simple favor quickly turns into a twisty investigation involving quirky neighbors, puzzling clues, and a pint-sized dog who just might hold the key to the case.
Can Olivia recover the locket before she leaves town? Or will a broken heart be left behind?
This charming, cozy mystery short-story prequel to The Olivia Penn Mystery Series is filled with heart, humor, and a clever amateur sleuth you’ll love to root for.
Meet Olivia. Follow the clues. Fall in love with the series.
The Olivia Penn Mystery Series is a complete cozy mystery series set in Apple Station, Virginia. While each mystery can be read as a standalone, readers may enjoy following the books in publication order.