Books in the Toni Carey Mysteries:
Me doing research, 1979
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​The first TONI CAREY MYSTERY -  BUZZ KILL 

​ ​Book 1 in the Toni Carey Mysteries Series
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​With a bossy mother, a deteriorating Los Angeles apartment, and a love life going nowhere, magazine writer Toni Carey's childhood memories of caring for her uncle's beehives lead her to the bucolic citrus town of Loma Vista. But a bludgeoning, a murder, and a hot Sheriff's detective have more than the bees buzzing.

"Buzz Kill is the bee’s knees! When Toni “Cookie” Carey’s beloved Uncle Horace is found unconscious in his home, she joins forces with a handsome detective to get to the bottom of things. Uncle Horace, an avid bee hobbyist, has left clues in the hives, but can the insects help Toni solve the case? Buzz Kill is buzzing with fun, mystery and romance." — Sue Ann Jaffarian, author of the popular Odelia Grey mysteries and Ghost of Granny Apples mysteries.

"With its quirky heroine, appealing setting, and intriguing bee-centric plot, Buzz Kill is a honey of a mystery read." --  Ellen Byron,  ​Agatha Award - winning author of the Cajun Country Mysteries and the author of The Catering Hall Mysteries under the pen name Maria DiRico.

Buy here in the format of your choice! Trade paper also available at Amazon
CLICK HERE FOR A REVIEW & INTERVIEW PUBLISHED IN KINGS RIVER LIFE MAGAZINE! ​ Buzz Kill By Kate Thornton | Kings River Life Magazine
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​The second TONI CAREY MYSTERY - MEDIUM DEAD -
Book 2 in the Toni Carey Mystery Series
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A knock on Toni's Los Angeles apartment door sends her once again to the sleepy citrus town of Loma Vista, where wealthy women are disappearing at the Church of the Inner Light. But a murder at the Plato Institute, a hush-hush think tank on the edge of town, draws Toni into a world of secret research, long-buried crimes, and an attractive but quirky doctor who competes with Sheriff's Detective Peter Martin for Toni's attention.

Coming next year - DEAD DREAMS​​, Book 3 in the Toni Carey Mysteries
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Kitty Morse and her little dog, Coco, makes an appearance in KITTY TAKES A CHANCE 
​This quirky mystery/romance - and little Coco - are sure to steal your heart. 



Book 1 in the Kitty and Coco Mystery Series
​She should never have accepted that engagement ring. Kitty Morse has a few days to herself before her fiancé and their friends show up for a vacation. But a missing child, a sweet little doggy, and a couple of murders lead her and a charming investigator on a detour that could change her life and his. 
NOW AVAILABLE in ebook & paperback!
Coming this Summer  - KITTY TAKES A DETOUR, Book 2 in the Kitty and Coco Mysteries
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  • BACK IN PRINT! AND AVAILABLE IN E-FORMAT FOR THE FIRST TIME!
 
"Critically acclaimed commercial failure"  - my 2010 collection of selected short stories

INHUMAN CONDITION     
​Reprinted with ALL  the original material!

"Sometimes we need to examine carefully the things we think we know: the pet shop owner in town, the teenage girl who lives next door, the people with whom we work, or the nice man who walks his dog each evening in our neighborhood. The stories in this collection will drive that point home, and perhaps give you reason to re-define the word "inhuman." In this quirky and literate collection, crime comes in many forms and sometimes the mystery surrounding it is why we didn't see it before it was too late. Take wild trip through a bumpy minefield of human - and otherwise - endeavor and see what makes us tick. But read it with the lights on."
​SHATTERING GLASS WON THE ​ANTHONY AWARD! ​        BOUCHERCON 2021
​CONGRATS TO KELLI STANLEY AND HEATHER GRAHAM AND ALL THE CONTRIBUTORS!
The remarkable women at NASTY WOMAN PRESS  ​invited me to submit to their inaugural anthology. 

The brain child of KELLI STANLEY and the work of the Creative Resistance, it includes my story, "The War Never Ends" which addresses Military Sexual Trauma (MST,) my usual themes of revenge, and the satisfactory balancing of the universe by women who refuse to be marginalized.

Introduction to my story:

When I first thought about submitting a story, I kept coming back to the topic of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and how it can be both a devastating blow to a promising military experience and the cause of lifelong PTSD for the service member who survives it. I was a soldier in the US Army for 22+ years, but some things are just too difficult to write about . So I tried to make the protagonist in my story more accessible to all women. You don't have to be a soldier to be assaulted, but as a soldier you may have the kind of buddies who can help you through it. Unfortunately, there is often a culture which glorifies assault, denigrates the survivor, and allows perpetrators to continue without check. Every assault survivor I have spoken to wanted a sense of justice, but many of them also wanted to bury their honorable service and forget that they too were heroes. Even now I have a hard time finding female veterans self-identifying on Veterans Day. The assault and injustice destroys more than their confidence. It takes their pride of service, too.

How can you get through it? Vengeance seems the most obvious.
Revenge, though, is a tricky thing; it never really does what you want it to do. But I truly believe that friendship can help to overcome the most devastating experiences.

My story is dedicated to the real Artie, now gone, and the real Joe, happily still with us - and to all of the brave survivors, true heroes, every one.

​SHATTERING GLASS A Nasty Woman Anthology is NOW AVAILABLE!  Winner of the 2021 ANTHONY for best Anthology
Editors and Authors at the California Crime Writers Conference, Los Angeles, June 2015
THANK YOU FOR VISITING  - CHECK BACK SOON!
All content copyright 2016-2023 Kate Thornton