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Charlie Parker Mysteries Books in Order

Part ofConnie Shelton Books in Order

Browse the Charlie Parker Mysteries by Connie Shelton in order, with book summaries, series background on Charlie and Rusty, and clear suggestions for the best reading path through this New Mexico cozy series.

Last updated: January 17, 2026

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Publication Order

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24 books

1

Deceptions Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2025

At a helicopter industry gala, one of Drake’s old colleagues asks Charlie to track down a missing company van. What sounds like a routine job leads her to two frightened kids on the run, a dangerous payload, and a web of lies that someone is willing to kill to protect.

2

Cruises Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2024

Thirteen years after his wife vanished during a fiery anniversary cruise, businessman Talbot Farber is sure he has just seen her alive in an airport. Charlie and Ron follow a trail of insurance files and old shipboard rumors to learn whether Jenna Farber drowned or chose to disappear.

3

Road Trips Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2023

Charlie accepts a simple assignment, driving a runaway teen back to her mother in Arizona and spending one night on the road. Bad weather, a seedy motel, a surly passenger, and a murder at their destination quickly turn the errand into a joint case with the Heist Ladies.

4

Money Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2022

When cash starts disappearing from a local charity thrift shop, Charlie goes undercover to protect her beloved surrogate grandma Elsa from suspicion. The straightforward theft case turns deadly after her top suspect dies, forcing Charlie to hunt both a thief and a killer.

5

Old Bones Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2020

A fortune cookie message sends Charlie to visit her Aunt Louisa in a quiet English town, just as a hidden skeleton is found behind a café wall. With old gossip, a cold case website, and family loyalties colliding, she must clear her aunt before the past strikes again.

6

Escapes Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2019

While on a helicopter job in rural Maine, Charlie and Drake help an elderly man reach his son’s remote cabin, then realize they may have aided an escaped criminal. Digging into a ten year old case pulls Charlie into twisted family histories, political secrets, and a fresh murder.

7

Alibis Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2017

Spring in Albuquerque finds Charlie juggling a ridiculous cheating spouse surveillance job involving a star football player and her neighbor Elsa’s worries about troubled teen twins. When real danger surfaces behind the gossip, Charlie has to separate teenage mischief from something far darker.

8

Weddings Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2016

Joyful wedding plans in Charlie’s circle take a sharp turn when suspicious accidents and simmering grudges threaten to ruin the celebrations. As tempers flare and one incident turns fatal, she and Rusty must uncover a killer hiding among the guests.

9

Legends Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2014

Charlie and Drake head to Skagway, Alaska, flying tourists by helicopter to rustic cabins. When a guest discovers bones in an old mine and Charlie uncovers letters from a long gone prospector, she finds that gold rush legends and modern motives can be equally deadly.

10

Buried Secrets Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2013

Christmas in Albuquerque is disrupted when Charlie and Ron reopen a notorious case involving a mother once acquitted of killing her children. Hired by the grieving father, they sift through buried evidence and media fueled outrage to learn what really happened years ago.

11

Phantoms Can be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2012

An unexpected letter from the aunt she has never met lures Charlie to a medieval English town known for ghost tours. When creepy pranks against one of Aunt Louisa’s friends turn dangerous, Charlie must decide whether the threat is rooted in superstition or in very real malice.

12

Stardom Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2011

A bungled bank robbery turns worse when the criminals mistake Charlie for a glamorous movie star and decide ransom money will fix everything. Trapped with a gang that has nothing to lose, she has only her wits until Drake and the authorities can find her.

13

Gossip Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2010

A week at a plush Santa Fe spa sounds like just what Charlie needs, until she senses something rotten beneath the smoothies and massages. Surrounded by rumors, jealousies, and a missing guest, she has to separate idle talk from a very real threat.

14

Holidays Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2009

In this holiday novella, Charlie is stringing lights and setting out luminarias when a neighbor turns up dead next door. Between family visits and Christmas traditions, she races to catch a killer before the season is ruined for everyone on her street.

15

Obsessions Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2006

Hoping for a quiet lakeside vacation, Charlie instead becomes fascinated by an unsolved mystery: a showplace mountain home that exploded, a dead young woman, and a vanished owner. As she questions wary locals, she uncovers secrets someone will do anything to keep buried.

16

Balloons Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2005

Days before the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, record seeking pilot Rachael Fairfield receives frightening notes she blames on the felonious father she sent to prison. Hired to keep her safe, Charlie finds that behind the bright balloons and crowds, someone is determined to bring Rachael down.

17

Competition Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2004

Charlie and Drake head to Scotland to help a friend fly workers to North Sea oil rigs, only to land in the middle of a fierce business rivalry. When a teenager from the castle family is kidnapped, Charlie must untangle family drama and industrial sabotage to save him.

18

Reunions Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2002

Eighty something prospector Willie McBride vanishes just before a big family reunion, and his abrasive daughter begs Charlie to find him. The search leads to a near ghost town, rumors of buried gold, and a modern crime tangled with frontier era greed.

19

Honeymoons Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

2001

Charlie and Drake finally escape to a ski valley cabin for their honeymoon, but the trip derails when one of Drake’s employees is accused of murdering his priest brother. Following a trail of stolen religious art and family secrets, they find their own lives on the line.

20

Memories Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

1999

After returning from a visit with Drake in Hawaii, Charlie learns her parents have died in a suspicious plane crash. Her questions trigger a rash of thefts and threats, and she discovers that to protect her future she has to face a dangerous chapter of her family’s past.

21

Small Towns can be Murder

by Connie Shelton

1998

A Fourth of July weekend trip to the tiny village of Valle Escondido should be a peaceful escape. Instead, Charlie uncovers spousal abuse, old prejudices, and a string of ugly secrets that show just how deadly a quiet small town can be.

22

Partnerships Can Kill

by Connie Shelton

1996

When an old school friend’s restaurant partner dies in an apparent suicide, a key life insurance policy refuses to pay. Charlie’s investigation into the man’s finances exposes tax fraud, political ties, and a double life that makes his death look anything but straightforward.

23

Vacations Can Be Murder

by Connie Shelton

1995

Exhausted by work, Charlie books a solo trip to Kauai and a scenic helicopter tour. After she and pilot Drake Langston spot a body on the cliffs and Drake’s boss is charged with the crime, Charlie must solve a murder while deciding what this new romance might mean.

24

Deadly Gamble

by Connie Shelton

1995

Accountant and part time investigator Charlie Parker agrees to help an old friend recover a missing Rolex before the woman’s husband finds out. When the suspected thief is murdered, Charlie and her dog Rusty become the only ones determined to clear her friend’s name.

Series background & context

The Charlie Parker mysteries center on Charlotte "Charlie" Parker, an Albuquerque accountant who keeps getting dragged into cases that are anything but routine. By day she balances books and works with her brother Ron at their small private investigations firm. The rest of the time she is trying to keep up with her dog Rusty, her relationship with helicopter pilot Drake Langston, and a steady stream of people who need help.

In the first book, Deadly Gamble, Charlie agrees to do a favor for an old school friend whose expensive watch has gone missing. What should have been a simple bit of sleuthing turns into a murder case, and Charlie learns that her knack for following numbers and inconsistencies transfers surprisingly well to real‑world crime.

The series quickly settles into a rhythm of mysteries rooted in New Mexico life. Albuquerque, with its mix of suburban neighborhoods, high‑tech labs, and long history, is Charlie’s home base. From there she branches out to tiny mountain towns, ski resorts, pueblos, and neighboring states. Books like Small Towns Can Be Murder, Reunions Can Be Murder, and Buried Secrets Can Be Murder all rely on small communities where old grudges, land deals, and family ties run deep.

Charlie’s personal life weaves through the cases. Vacations Can Be Murder sends her to Kauai for much‑needed rest and introduces Drake, the helicopter pilot who later becomes her husband. In Honeymoons Can Be Murder the couple’s dream ski‑valley honeymoon quickly tangles with the murder of a priest and a ring of stolen religious art. Drake’s flying jobs often provide the backdrop for new adventures, whether it is shuttling workers to Scottish oil rigs in Competition Can Be Murder or working at the edge of a balloon festival in Balloons Can Be Murder.

Over time the stakes range from intimate to far‑reaching. Memories Can Be Murder forces Charlie to probe the suspicious plane crash that killed her parents, pulling laboratory secrets and old betrayals into view. In Escapes Can Be Murder and Old Bones Can Be Murder, she uncovers long‑buried crimes that cross borders and decades, including a case that briefly lands her in handcuffs.

The tone stays on the cozy side: there is violence, but it is not graphic, and much of the tension comes from puzzle‑solving and interpersonal conflict rather than pure menace. Food, holidays, and local traditions play a big role. Holidays Can Be Murder is a novella steeped in New Mexico Christmas customs, while other books make room for green chile stew, church fiestas, and the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Newer entries like Road Trips Can Be Murder, Cruises Can Be Murder, Money Can Be Murder, and Deceptions Can Be Murder show a slightly older, more seasoned Charlie who still dives headfirst into trouble when someone needs her. Long‑time readers get returning characters and running jokes; new readers can drop in almost anywhere, though starting with Deadly Gamble and Vacations Can Be Murder lets you see how her world and relationships grow.

At heart, this series is about an everyday woman who uses common sense, persistence, and a good support system to work through messy problems. If you enjoy amateur sleuths, regional detail, and a balance of humor and suspense, Charlie’s cases offer a long, satisfying run.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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All 24 Charlie Parker Mysteries Books in Order (2026)