The Hannah Ives Mysteries Series

Amateur sleuth Hannah Ives has a new home, but after a gruesome discovery in the chimney, she has a new case on her hands.  Is a tragic discovery from the past triggering a number of shocking present-day events?   When Hannah loses out on the cottage of her dreams because of an unscrupulous real estate agent, she and her husband, Paul, buy a fixer-upper instead. But contractors restoring the chimney soon make a tragic discovery: the mummified body of an infant.   Hannah, already researching the history of her home in the county archives, is searching for clues to the dead infant’s identity when more shocking events occur. Suddenly, her access to the courthouse is denied and the records she has been examining are slated for destruction. Someone with money, influence, or both is trying to make sure incriminating information stays buried. Can Hannah solve the crimes before the evidence and over one hundred years of county history go up in smoke?   “Readers who haven’t met Hannah should do so promptly.” ―Booklist

When a family cruise ship vacation goes from overjoyed to overboard, amateur sleuth Hannah Ives dives in to solve a mystery.   Hannah, her sisters, and fourteen-year-old niece Julie set sail from Baltimore on a bonding cruise, and have a dramatic first night when Pia Fanucci, a bubbly bartender magician’s assistant whom Hannah befriends, narrowly escapes injury during an illusion. But while Pia may make light of the incident, it’s no laughing matter when Julie suddenly disappears. Has she gone overboard, or is she injured somewhere on the enormous ship?   To make matters worse, Hannah meets David Warren, a grieving father whose twenty-two-year-old daughter vanished without trace from an earlier cruise. With claims of a proper investigation proving to be an illusion, Hannah teams up with David and Pia to stop a seafaring predator from striking again.   “Talley’s 12th Hannah Ives mystery delivers steady wit, intrigue, and shocks.” —Publishers Weekly

Hannah learns that old wounds never die, especially in a retirement community full of vengeful murderers.   When Hannah Ivy visits her friend Nadine Smith Gray at the Calvert Colony retirement community, she didn’t expect to be introduced to such a wide range of characters. Nor did she expect to become a volunteer in the memory care unit. Even more surprising is her discovery of the dead body of one of the residents. As it’s clearly not a victim of old age, Hannah helps the local detective sift through a disturbingly large cast of suspects. Seems old grudges never retire, but Hannah is determined to put a murderer on ice forever.   “This is the thirteenth Hannah Ives mystery, and the series feels as fresh as the day it was born.” —Booklist

Hannah can’t resist a leading role in a historical reality show, but she never expected murder to be the main theme.   Lights, camera, murder . . . It doesn’t take much arm-twisting to persuade Hannah Ives to join the twelve-strong cast of Patriot House, 1774, a reality show recreating eighteenth-century colonial life during the turbulent days leading up to the American Revolution. But when a member of the production crew is found murdered, it’s up to Hannah to change the course of history before hers is ended on live TV.   “Likable Hannah is a sympathetic character who holds the cast of Patriot House and this premise-driven tale together.” —Booklist

When a man is murdered in the woods and the main suspect appears to be a big-footed legend, amateur sleuth Hannah Ives steps in to solve the mystery.   Hannah is delighted to reconnect with her former roommate, Susan Lockley, owner of Scarborough Fairs, at a college reunion, and agrees to step in when Susan’s assistant drops out of managing the Sasquatch Sesquicentennial in Granite Falls, Oregon. But when Martin Radcliffe, a professional debunker, is found murdered, surrounded by gigantic footprints, the culprit appears, or was meant to appear, obvious: Bigfoot.   Fantasy or fact? As the conference disintegrates into a chaos of finger pointing, mistrust, and fear, it falls to Hannah to restore order. Working closely with Jake, a retired policeman and his K-9, Harley, Hannah hastens to stave off the vigilantes and solve the crime before Bigfoot, if he exists, comes one step closer to extinction.   “As Talley’s 15th cozy reminds us once more, you can’t take her genial heroine anywhere without her stumbling into a different form of homicide.” —Kirkus Reviews   “Citations regarding unusual humanoid creatures, most dating to the late 19th century, head each chapter of this entertaining entry.” —Publishers Weekly  

A trip to Denver to research legalized marijuana turns into a murder case: “Very entertaining…[the] solution is both surprising and memorable.”—Booklist   It’s a well-known fact that some members of the cancer-survivor support group Hannah Ives works with take marijuana. Recreational use of the drug may be illegal, but a few, like Maryland State Senator Claire Thompson, are prescribed it on medical grounds. Now Claire has co-sponsored a Cannabis Legalization Bill—and wants Hannah to be part of a fact-finding task force that testifies before the Maryland State Senate. Before long, Hannah is in Denver, Colorado, the Mile High City, staying at a B&B with a group of pot pilgrims and medical refugees—some of whom, like her, are on a mission for information. But when one of the group is found dead, and a closer inspection of the body reveals they may not be who they seem, Hannah is plunged into a dangerous cocktail of drugs and death.   From the Agatha and Anthony Award-winning author, this is an involving mystery starring a “heroine who must not be missed” (Sujata Massey, author of The Salaryman’s Wife). “Witty, well-constructed…Talley takes the reader on a timely and illuminating trip into the often befuddling world of marijuana legislation.”—Publishers Weekly “Hannah Ives tackles life’s up and downs with humor, intelligence, and courage.”—Deborah Crombie, Macavity Award-winning author   “In this American version of a manor-house mystery, Hannah has to figure out who among the guests—a young academic couple, a naval cadet, senior citizens on their way to a wedding—is hiding what…[an] amusingly colorful setting.”—Kirkus Reviews 

Hannah Ives is always ready to support others like herself who have been through the gauntlet of fear and uncertainty that a diagnosis of cancer often brings. So when friend and fellow survivor Dorothy Hart asks for help building sets for the Naval Academy's upcoming production of Sweeney Todd, Hannah readily agrees. But it means associating with an old foe -- a vindictive officer whose accusations once nearly destroyed Hannah's home life. And when one corpse too many appears during a dress rehearsal of the dark and bloody musical, Hannah finds herself accused of murder -- and enmeshed in a web of treachery and deception that rivals the one that damned the "Demon Barber." Caught up in a drama as sinister as any that has ever unfolded on stage, Hannah stands to lose everything unless she unmasks a killer before the final curtain falls ...

Cancer survivor Hannah Ives looked Death in the eye . . . and walked away victorious. But the terror she once felt in its shadow pales before the ice-cold fear that now grips her heart in the wake of an unthinkable crime: the kidnapping of Hannah's innocent grandson. One-year-old Tim vanished from the day care center at the luxurious upscale spa his parents recently opened, and the lack of a ransom note suggests the innocent child may have fallen into the hands of the worst sort of fiend. Hannah will find no peace until the boy is found and his abductor punished—not even taking comfort in the caring words of a dear friend and spiritual advisor whose own life and marriage may be haunted by something dark and sinister. But the hunt may be leading Hannah to places she never dreamed she'd have to go . . .