Friday Night Mystery Club

Decatur, Illinois/1986 A nasty divorce leaves Cragan Collins with a mountain of bills and her grandmother to support. She takes a job as an ad salesperson for the Gazette. The market is tough, but Cragan finds a mentor in business reporter, Robert Smithson. One icy January day, Robert is found dead in a city park. His murder is dismissed as gay-on-gay crime. Cragan asks The Friday Night Mystery Club to find justice for Robert. Will Cragan's quest for the truth land her on the obituary page?

Decatur, Illinois/1986 Being a divorced career woman in the late 80s isn't easy. Cragan Collins finds the friendship of other working singles invaluable, especially as she learns the ropes of selling. When Cragan finds a saleswoman unconscious in the mall parking lot, she runs for help. But being a good samaritan means taking the blame when the other woman dies. Later Cragan learns the woman lied to her . . . repeatedly. Cragan is left wondering if she really knew her friend at all! Now a grieving Cragan sorts through her own feelings of disappointment while dodging accusations by the dead woman's family. In the meantime, Cragan has attracted the interest of three attractive men. No wonder her head is spinning! To top it off, her friend's killer thinks Cragan knows too much. The problems keep piling up. All Cragan needs is a kernel of truth, and she'll figure out whodunnit.

The year is 1986, the place is . . . pitiful. It's Decatur, Illinois, known for high unemployment, striking unions, the pervasive stink of soybean processing, and seven railroad crossings at one intersection. A wrong turn along life's marital highway has left Catherine "Cragan" Collins stuck in Decatur. With a mountain of post-divorce bills to pay, Cragan takes a job selling high-priced newspaper advertising. On the rebound, she accepts an invitation from Ross Gentry, a quiet hunk who favors pearl snaps and cowboy boots. Cragan reasons that her heart is safe, because she and Ross come from two different worlds. But one night in his arms might be enough to prove her wrong. Without warning, everything blows up in Cragan's face. Her boss threatens to take away her accounts, a friend's little sister is kidnapped, and an overnight guest is shot. Cragan's best friend, Pru, is accused of attempted murder. Cragan calls an emergency meeting of the Friday Night Mystery Club. Can their combined talents prove that Pru is innocent? And will they find an answer in time to save Cragan from the wrath of a vengeful shooter? It takes a club to solve a mystery!

From bestselling cozy mystery author Joanna Campbell Slan comes a thrilling new installment in the Friday Night Mystery Club series, featuring a group of female amateur sleuths. Decatur, Illinois/1986-In this small Midwestern town, everyone has something to hide, from Japanese business interests eyeing a piece of property to an angry sharpshooter harboring a murderous obsession. Meanwhile, working women struggle to make their way in a man's world, and their primary opposition might well be . . . other women. Cragan Collins has a lot on her plate: a demanding job as an advertising rep, a complicated love life, and an upcoming public speaking contest. But when a shooter targets a performer at one of her ad accounts, Fast Freddy's Gentleman's Club, and leaves a young dancer critically injured, Cragan and her mystery-solving friends spring into action. They suspect that Pru, the club's star performer and their housemate, may be the real target-and the danger to her is far from over. This cozy mystery features female amateur sleuths who love reading mysteries. The book blends humor, romance, and suspense while tackling themes of workplace equality and acceptance.