Ann Purser Books in Order

A lively nonfiction survey of popular entertainment from 1901 to 1939. Purser looks at the shows, stars, and changing habits that shaped everyday leisure in the early twentieth century.

This practical nonfiction book offers support for parents raising a disabled child. Purser writes from close experience, with clear advice and an understanding eye for everyday challenges.

After Frank loses his job, Peggy Palmer persuades him to buy the Round Ringford post office and shop. Starting over in a close-knit village brings gossip, friendship, and a tragedy that changes everything.

A year after the Palmers arrive in Round Ringford, sharp-tongued Ivy Beasley is still watching everyone. Friendship, romance, village events, and gossip tangle the whole community in fresh trouble.

Peggy Palmer's new marriage is under strain just as Round Ringford's school faces upheaval. A modern young teacher, old village grudges, and Ivy Beasley's gossip make a peaceful place feel suddenly unsettled.

Newly married Robert and Mandy Bates hope for a simple life in Round Ringford, but family plans and village opinion quickly complicate it. As Peggy pursues her own hopes, the whole community feels the strain.

When Andrew and Annie Biship move into the Old Rectory, they discover that village life is warmer and harsher than it first appears. Misunderstanding the place and its people leads them toward tragedy.

A bright English summer brings tennis matches, barn dances, and two intriguing newcomers to Round Ringford. Beneath the easy charm, gossip, loneliness, and one damaging revelation threaten to spoil the season.

Housecleaner Lois Meade uses her access to Long Farnden homes to ask questions after a local spinster is murdered. The search uncovers old affairs, local grudges, and danger close to her own family.

Lois finds a body in a chapel, dressed in a suit of armor, and is pulled into another village investigation. Her talent for hearing what others miss makes her useful, and increasingly vulnerable.

A troubled new vicar and his handsome choirmaster bring trouble to Long Farnden. When suspected poisoning and fire expose secrets, prejudice, and tangled loyalties, Lois is drawn into the cleanup.

Lois hires the daughter of the reclusive Abrahams family, then strange letters and bad omens start unsettling everyone. Rumor, family pressure, and a possible death in floodwater point to a buried secret.

Opening a new office in Tresham should be good for business, until Lois notices a suspicious shop across the street and the mayor's odd connection to it. Murder exposes the town's grubby underside.

Lois cleans a house newly claimed by Reg Abthorpe, but the inheritance story does not feel right. Soon she is asking what happened to the supposedly dead old man and his beloved terrier.

Strange incidents rattle Long Farnden, from stolen horse tack to a fatal accident when a horse bolts in front of a van. With a doubtful new employee in the mix, Lois has to work fast before danger reaches her.

An elderly neighbor and his impossible rooster drive Lois's tenants to distraction. When both man and bird end up dead, Lois's son Douglas becomes a prime suspect in a very awkward village murder.

Lois's daughter's boyfriend is found badly injured in a ditch, and the trail leads through arson, blackmail, and local troublemakers. What starts as one attack quickly opens into a messier web of lies.

Ivy Beasley moves into retirement living expecting a quieter life, then befriends mysterious newcomer Gus Halfhide. When Gus's elderly neighbor is murdered, the pair help launch the Enquire Within detective agency.

A campaign to save the village hall turns ugly when someone sets the building on fire. Then a body is found in the canal, and Lois has to sort out a feud that is growing deadlier by the day.

Burglaries are hitting Long Farnden, Josie's shop is robbed, and Derek is attacked while interrupting a break-in. Lois and Inspector Cowgill race to stop a crime spree that is turning steadily more violent.

Ivy and her elderly sleuthing circle at Enquire Within are asked to look into a suspicious death in nearby Measby. Autumn gossip, old grudges, and a new resident's worries pull them into a tangled village mystery.

A wedding should be happy, but Lois's youngest son brings home a guarded young cellist, Akiko, and her valuable cello is stolen. When Akiko vanishes too, Lois faces a string of dangerous musical crimes.

With business quiet at Springfields, Ivy and Enquire Within are reduced to missing cats until Gus's ex-wife arrives in trouble. Soon the case involves missing jewels, hidden motives, and foul play near home.

When Josie's village shop is overrun by insects and reptiles, Lois traces the trouble to a local zookeeper and his nephew. Illegal animal dealing and a suspicious death turn a nasty prank into something darker.

Ivy's wedding plans are thrown into chaos when Roy's fortune attracts greedy relatives and someone objects at church. Then a body turns up in a bed at a furniture shop, and Enquire Within has another case.

At the Mill House Hotel, a woman is found strangled beside fake gems, and jeweler Donald Black looks guilty. Lois is not convinced, especially when a pyramid scheme, a second body, and family worries muddy the case.

Ivy takes a creative writing class just as a lonely widow at Blackwoods Farm reports ghostly visitations. The Enquire Within team follows clues through jealousy, lodgers, and a very human threat.