Dorothy Cannell Books in Order

Ellie Simons hires Bentley T. Haskell to pose as her fiancé at a dreadful family weekend, hoping to survive the humiliation. Then her uncle dies, a bizarre will appears, and Ellie must solve a murder to claim her future.

Tessa Fields insinuates herself into the Tramwell sisters' ancestral home while searching for the truth about her birth. Her scheme, a prickly romance, and a pair of murders turn the book into a comic Gothic mystery.

Newly married Ellie is settling into life with Ben when two eccentric investigators ask for her help. Their target is a secretive club that may be arranging the deaths of unfaithful husbands all over town.

Pregnant Ellie expects a quiet spell, but Ben's chance at an elite chefs' society sends them to Mud Creek, Illinois. There, a Gothic mansion and a house full of secrets turn a family trip into another eccentric mystery.

A brisk short mystery that turns ordinary money worries into something more dangerous. Even in miniature, Cannell mixes domestic comedy, sharp observation, and a neat final twist.

A compact, mischievous mystery that turns a January shopping outing into trouble. Cannell packs quick character strokes, dry humor, and a tidy surprise into a very short space.

Ellie and Mrs. Malloy join a women's group that promises romance, confidence, and transformation. Then suspicious deaths begin to pile up, and Ellie's attempt to revive married life becomes another offbeat village murder case.

Ellie plans a civilized anniversary dinner for her in-laws and gets chaos instead. When a group of exasperated women joke about murdering their mothers-in-law and accidents start turning serious, the laughter suddenly looks dangerous.

This collection gathers Dorothy Cannell's short mysteries, including the Agatha-winning title story. Expect brisk setups, sly humor, and her usual knack for turning awkward family and social situations into tidy little crimes.

When the village librarian is found dead among the stacks, Ellie is pulled into a mystery involving romance novels, town gossip, and talk of a cursed library. Cannell turns literary silliness into a playful whodunit.

At gloomy Gossinger Hall, a shocking change to the will is followed by the butler's death in very odd circumstances. His granddaughter Flora is left to untangle old thefts, family honor, and a mystery that reaches far beyond the estate.

When a series of charwomen die under suspicious circumstances, Ellie goes undercover with broom and apron in hand. Household gossip, dusty secrets, and Mrs. Malloy's return help turn spring cleaning into a murder inquiry.

Ellie's long-absent father reappears carrying the ashes of his latest love, Harriet, just as Ellie and Ben are meant to leave on holiday. Soon strangers want the urn, Harriet's relatives seem suspicious, and Ellie wonders what is really inside it.

A message from Ellie's dead grandmother sends her and Mrs. Malloy to a village séance. What begins as family weirdness becomes a search for the truth about an old murder and a killer who may still be very much alive.

After a decorating disaster at home, Ellie stumbles into detective work with Mrs. Malloy and a local private eye. Their case leads to Moultty Towers, where an old accusation, a missing heiress, and a family curse refuse to stay buried.

When a frightened girl begs for help at newly bought Cragstone House, Ellie and Mrs. Malloy head to Yorkshire. A vanished husband, ghostly rumors, and two real murders turn the grand house into a proper Gothic tangle.

Ellie returns to her old boarding school to help recover a stolen trophy she would rather forget. Then her dreaded former games mistress turns up dead, and the school becomes one more closed world full of grudges and secrets.

A wrong turn strands Ellie Haskell at a crumbling manor where a reality show is filming brides for a lord. When a contestant dies and old family secrets surface, Ellie starts asking whether the crash was really an accident.

After her husband leaves her, Sarah Draycott starts over in a small Maine coastal town. New friendships, a lonely boy, and old griefs force her to rethink what home, love, and healing might look like.

In 1932, trouble arrives at Mullings when the Stodmarsh family's new mistress brings along an ornamental hermit. Housekeeper Florence Norris watches scandal turn to violent death and quietly begins piecing together what the household would rather hide.

When Kenneth Tenneson's fatal fall is ruled an accident, Florence Norris suspects the village is missing something. A second will, old family secrets, and a threatened inheritance pull her into another 1930s country-house puzzle.

Florence Norris is about to marry George Bird when a stranger brings word of an old illegal burial. Their wedding plans are soon tangled up with letters, long-buried secrets, and another death in Dovecote Hatch.