Malice Domestic sounds deliciously wicked, doesn’t it?  What does it mean?  A traditional murder mystery without explicit violence or sex in which the well-drawn characters are known to each other.  Motive and opportunity, clues and red herrings, and a detective to solve it all.  This is essentially the definition of that classic of mystery subgenres.

The Syracuse Mysteries is the tag line for a series of mystery novels I have developed in the vein of Agatha Christie and the malice domestic style.  Death on Stoneridge introduces the denizens of a Syracuse, New York, where murder seems to occur far too often.  My recurring characters will in turn become suspects, murderers, victims, and possible detectives who solve the crimes committed as the series progresses.

Yes, that’s right.  Unlike a Sherlock Holmes who solves every case, my characters like Edith Baxter, Tim and Marie Dewitt, or Sgt. Robert Phelan must be in a position to solve the mystery at hand.  It’s a matter of having access to the right set of clues.  Later on, new characters, like Thaddeus Alcott and Mame Giry, will emerge as the “detective” who identifies the killer.  In this way, I am attempting to create several detectives (in the vein of Kinsey Millhone, Inspector Lynley, and Miss Marple) who share the spotlight.

Additionally, there is the hint of a broader mystery to carry readers through each novel.  Thomas Phelan, Robert’s father, was murdered at a New Year’s Eve celebration in 1982.  Hints and clues to this retrospective murder, involving several series characters, appear in the novels leading up to God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, in which the crime is solved.  Think of it as the first season of a television series in book form.

Click on the novel titles below for more about each book, and be sure to search this site for more about The Syracuse Mysteries and maybe a story or two.

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THE NOVELS

Available Now!

Death on Stoneridge

April 1987.  After a string of burglaries, one night Edith Baxter overhears a cry for help, a popping noise, a car engine revving and then racing up the street.  Has she overheard a murder?  The next morning Edith asks her police officer grandson to make inquiries into what happened.

Read the Prologue here.

Published through Soul Mate Publishing and now available as an ebook and trade paperback on Amazon.com.

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Death at Danforth House

May 1987.  Author Robin Lyons has invited a select group of guests to Danforth House for a murder mystery weekend.  However, ulterior motives will lead to murder, and Edith Baxter is on the scene to unravel it all.

Read the Prologue here.

Published through Soul Mate Publishing and now available as an ebook on Amazon.com.

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Forthcoming Titles:

Murder at the Gardens

May 1987.  Prof. Zellar has acheived his dream of establishing a botanical gardens in Syracuse, but when he is poisoned at the opening reception, past secrets and recent troubles behind the scenes soon surface.  Who wanted the professor’s dream to die?  And what other agendas do the denizens of Syracuse hold?

Read the Prologue here.

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