Cindy Sample

 
Overview

WOULD DATING BE THE DEATH OF HER?

Unsure if she is looking for Mr. Right, or Mr. Every Other Saturday Night, divorced mother of two, Laurel McKay reluctantly joins THE LOVE CLUB, a popular local dating service. Dressed to kill, she meets bachelor number one at a trendy restaurant. But the date is a bust, literally, when the guy decides Laurel is dessert, and she breaks his nose with her cell phone. It gets even worse when the man is found murdered the next morning, and Laurel has his blood on her clothes.

Despite her now being a person of interest to the police, Laurel bravely ventures out on date number two. When that unlucky bachelor disappears during dinner, Laurel’s only alibi is a bottle of Dom Perignon. The sexy investigating detective thinks she’s innocent and is worried she may be the next target. That’s more than enough motivation for Laurel to find a murderer determined to kill her social life––before dating becomes a dead end she can’t escape.

 
Overview

2012 LEFTY AWARD FINALIST BEST HUMOROUS MYSTERY

IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO––BUT ONLY ONE TO MURDER

Discovering she has two left feet isn’t the biggest problem for Laurel McKay when she agrees to learn a foxtrot routine for her best friend’s Lake Tahoe wedding. Stumbling over the lifeless body of a sexy Russian dance star with her broken shoe heel stuffed in his mouth… is far worse. Almost as bad as running into the hunky detective she dated briefly before he disappeared from her life.

When another death occurs on the ballroom floor, Laurel finds herself waltzing her way into the dark secrets of the Golden Hills Dance Studio. Navigating kids, career, wedding planning and murder requires some fancy footwork. Can Laurel tango with a killer and stay alive?

 
Overview

2014 LEFTY AWARD FINALIST BEST HUMOROUS MYSTERY

2014 SILVER FALCHION FINALIST BEST TRADITIONAL MYSTERY

PARADISE CAN BE MURDER

When Laurel McKay attends a Hawaiian wedding, her vacation soon becomes more deadly than the calorie count in her daiquiri.

Her post-wedding holiday upends after a beautiful hula dancer is found dead on the rocks below Daiquiri Dave’s, the oceanfront restaurant owned by Laurel’s brother and sister-in-law.

When the police arrest a family member for the murder, Laurel is plunged into a mystery where exotic Big Island locations––a coffee plantation, black sand beaches and a volcano—reveal their deadly side. And where is her hunky on-again/off-again boyfriend detective when she needs him?

Laurel zip-lines and four-wheels her way through the island paradise unearthing hidden secrets. Will ingenuity and pluck be enough? Or will this hula be her last?

 
Overview

2015 LEFTY AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST HUMOROUS MYSTERY

2015 NEXT GENERATION INDIE AWARD FINALIST IN THE MYSTERY and HUMOR CATEGORIES

Hang on to your saddle! It’s going to be a wild ride!

When Laurel McKay agrees to perform with the Sassy Saloon Gals during Hangtown’s annual Wagon Train parade, her greatest fear is a wardrobe malfunction. Before she can lace up her corset, a 150-year-old skeleton turns up on her grandmother’s property. Did Laurel’s great-great-grandfather murder his mining partner? Gran insists not and wants Laurel to prove it.

Then the body of a prominent citizen is discovered dangling above a Main Street hotel shortly after Laurel’s ex-husband decked him. When her detective boyfriend throws her ex in jail for murder, Laurel, with the help of her zany friends and family must find the real killer.

Juggling two kids, a new boss, a wilting romance, and two murder investigations would be enough to turn any woman into a chocolate addict. Extra pounds are the least of Laurel’s worries as she and her Mustang-driving octogenarian grandmother try to unearth some long-buried secrets before the killer adds their names to Hangtown’s bloody history.

 
Overview

2016 LEFTY AWARD FINALIST BEST HUMOROUS MYSTERY

To Laurel McKay, there is nothing better than spending an autumn afternoon in the Apple Hill area, munching on caramel apples and cinnamon donuts. It’s a good thing her daughter Jenna has landed a seasonal job at Apple Tree Farm and Bakery.

Then Laurel stumbles over the bakery owner’s corpse coated in powdered sugar. Axel Thorson was a well-respected member of the community. Who wanted to sweeten him up?

The police arrest teen Tony Perez, the heartthrob grandson of the bakery manager,so Jenna decides to help him by solving the case herself, a move that lands her in jail. With Laurel’s detective honey in another state, and her octogenarian grandmother threatening to chase down the culprit, what’s a soccer mom with a sweet tooth to do but go undercover.

Detecting among donuts should be a piece of cake, but not if Laurel discovers first-hand that sugar can kill you.

 
Overview

DYING FOR A DIAMOND – 2018 LEFTY AWARD FINALIST BEST HUMOROUS MYSTERY

Warm breezes, tropical seas, a handsome new husband? What more could a girl dream of?

When newlyweds Laurel McKay and Tom Hunter embark on their honeymoon cruise, they look forward to sunny days exploring the Caribbean islands and intimate evenings together. Their dream quickly goes “poof,” when Laurel’s family decides to tag along and their romantic duet turns into a party of eight.

The first night on the ship, Laurel witnesses someone “going overboard.” But no one is reported missing, and the chief of security gives Laurel’s sighting the same credibility as an alien landing.

After a series of diamond thefts, Laurel discovers that suspicious shipmates are as plentiful as calories on this cruise. When a murder occurs, and a family member becomes the top suspect, Laurel is determined to unmask the killer before her dream honeymoon becomes a nautical nightmare.

 
Overview

Laurel McKay Hunter is thrilled to join her new husband, Tom, as a partner in his budding detective agency, Gold Country Investigations. With her past experience as a crime solver, even Tom admits she’s a natural. Her first case is perfect, too, for Laurel’s banking skills: a friend of her grandmother wants help with a South Lake Tahoe timeshare scam.

When the timeshare salesman is found dead, with Gran’s fingerprints on the murder weapon, Laurel’s case moves from money to murder.

A second murder takes Laurel to the snow-capped summit of Heavenly Ski Resort, a boat race across the deep waters of Lake Tahoe and an unexpected Dumpster dive as she tries to solve her case.

Unfortunately, the killer seems determined that Laurel’s first case will be her last!

Synopsis

Heads turn when Laurel McKay Hunter gets a gig as an extra in a movie filming locally. Why? Laurel’s a dead ringer for the female lead. The next day the actress vanishes from the set. The frantic director recruits Laurel to double for the missing woman while she uses her off-screen investigative talents to search for her.

Despite having zero acting experience, Laurel reluctantly steps in. Then she stumbles over a dead body on the set. Is the murder connected to the actress’s disappearance?

Laurel chases after clues as the action moves from the historic Gold Country to sun-kissed Malibu beaches to the glamorous and sometimes seedy Hollywood scene. The intrepid detective quickly discovers all that glitters is not gold. Can she find the actress and catch a killer before it’s too late? Or will her final role be playing dead?

 
Synopsis

When a six-foot-tall elf arrives at Laurel McKay Hunter’s detective agency, it can only mean trouble. Then her eccentric grandmother refers her to an old flame who wants Laurel to track down the rustlers who have stolen his herd. Of reindeer!

On top of everything, her best friend ropes her into filling in for an injured member of the Elf cast. Amid all this chaos, Laurel discovers her grandmother is dating a man decades younger. Is there something fishy going on beneath the mistletoe?

Elves, reindeer, and an unexpected romance make celebrating this holiday season more of a challenge than Laurel could ever have imagined.

DYING FOR A DECORATION is a heartwarming holiday mystery that will keep readers ho-ho-hoing until the last page.

"Author Cindy Sample has tied a bow on a light-hearted Christmas present for readers—DYING FOR A DECORATION, the 9th book in her Laurel McKay Humorous Mystery series. This time the beloved heroine is out to solve multiple puzzling crimes from the Christmas-cheer-stealing culprit who rustles a herd of reindeer to the villain who’s graduated from roasting chestnuts to torching homes. Laurel comes through in tinsel-sparkle style accompanied by a charming cast of zany family members and friends. Gift yourself laughter this holiday and read DYING FOR A DECORATION!"

Linda Lovely, author of A Killer App, An HOA Mystery  

"A six-foot-tall elf, an eccentric grandmother, and a reindeer rustler are only part of Laurel McKay Hunter’s holiday problems. When an elderly client is attacked and left for dead, Laurel discovers that everyone and everything is suspect. Even the mistletoe smells fishy. But can she find the culprit before she ho-ho-hos herself right out of the sleuthing business? DYING FOR A DECORATION is a funny, heartwarming holiday mystery that will keep readers turning the page until the hilarious ending."

Heather Haven, Award-winning Author of the Alvarez Family Mysteries

'Racking your brain for the perfect gift? Just in time for the holidays is DYING FOR A DECORATION, the 9th and newest book by Cindy Sample. If you've read any of the "Dying" books, you know you're in for wacky characters, wild chases and a corkscrew of plot twists with lots of humor and steamy stuff thrown in for good measure. DYING FOR A DECORATION is warm-heartted fun, suspenseful, a nod to the positives in small town living, and hugely entertaining. Just the book to read while you cozy up in an armchair and wait for Santa."

Wendy Schultz, The Mountain Democrat

“This ninth in the series includes all the hilarious banter and engaging characters we have come to expect from this reliable author. This is definitely a stocking stuffer for mystery fans and those looking for a very clever and very funny holiday read.”

Cynthia Chow, Kings River Life Magazine