Dawn

Fall has hit Hawaii, which means it’s the slow season for tourism, but the crime season is as hot as ever. One of the world’s most famous diamonds is doing a world tour, and its next stop is Maui. But someone intends to make that its last stop when the diamond disappears from the resort where it was on display. Charlie is immediately hired to find the thief— and the diamond—and quickly discovers that the diamond is supposedly cursed, and anyone who desires it too badly is in danger.

As December sweeps through South Lick, Indiana, Robbie's life seems merry and bright like the string lights glistening around town. But strange happenings signal a bumpy ride into the holidays. First a man raises eyebrows at Pans 'N Pancakes when he claiming to be the long-lost half-brother of Robbie's assistant. Then a fire destroys the home of a controversial anesthesiologist, exposing skeletal remains in his attic. Helplessly intrigued, all Robbie wants for Christmas is to stop her winter wonderland from becoming a real nightmare.

While looking forward to her high school reunion back in California, Robbie's anticipation is complicated by memories of her mother's untimely death. At first, she has fun hanging out with her old classmates and reuniting with the local flavors - avocados, citrus, fish, and spicy Cali-Mex dishes. But then she gets wind of rumors that her mother, an environmental activist, may not have died of natural causes. With the help of friends, Robbie starts clearing the smoke surrounding the mystery - but what she finds could make it hard to get back to Indiana alive.

When local businessman Jed Greenberg is found dead with a Chocolate lab whimpering over his body, the police start sniffing around Robbie Jordan's country restaurant for answers. Was it something in Robbie's hot cocoa that killed Jed, or was it Cocoa the dog? As the suspects pile as high as her holiday tree, Robbie attempts to get to the bottom of the sickly sweet murder.

While Robbie scrambles through breakfast orders for her expanding clientele at Pans 'N Pancakes, tempers run as high as the sticky August heat in South Lick, Indiana. Real estate developer Fiona Closs plans to build a towering luxury resort at one of the most scenic hilltops in Brown County, and not everyone can see the sunny side of the imposing proposition - including Robbie's furious Aunt Adele, who doesn't waste a minute concocting protests and road blockades. When a vocal protester is silenced forever at the resort site, Robbie ditches the griddle to catch the killer.

Summer is around the corner and Sarah is making sure the store is stocked and ready for tourist season. But while the weather's heating up, Sarah gets involved in a case that is decidedly cold, when a man who was linked to a drowning death years ago is found dead himself, on the same stretch of beach. Some of Sarah's friends from the store knew the victim—and the young woman who drowned—very well and are concerned they could be dragged into the case.

Life has changed for TV journalist and intuitive sleuth Elizabeth Danniher. But one thing hasn't changed -- murder still creeps down the road to Sherman, Wyoming. Elizabeth’s life is taking another major turn, and her Caught Dead in Wyoming fellow investigators discover what’s over the horizon in each of their lives. The latest death involves an off-season dude ranch and its staff, ardent rivals in a quest for buried treasure, a wildlife whisperer who seemed to know no enemies, and legends and exploits of long dead outlaws.

Elizabeth and friends prepare to celebrate Christmas, with all its joys and complications. Not to mention short-staffing at the local TV station with changes to come. But that’s not all Elizabeth has on her plate for the holidays. Someone’s put a wish on the Christmas Wishing Tree set up at KWMT-TV that has her name on it...and it’s a weird one.

A young woman comes to Elizabeth at KWMT to solve a kind of theft Elizabeth has never encountered before. That’s challenge enough, with the TV station for sale and the top candidate to buy it known for eliminating news departments. But Elizabeth also senses there something more bothering Hailey Newhall.

That’s right, Thurston Fine, the egotistical anchor at KWMT-TV is the first person deputies want to talk to when his self-described biggest fan is found dead. What’s Elizabeth Margaret Danniher to do? The station’s in an uproar, heading for a train wreck, and desperately needs her experience and leadership. At the same time, here’s an intriguing puzzle right in front of her…which might free or condemn her greatest enemy. In TV news, cross talk between the anchor and reporter is supposed to elicit new and interesting information.