Kimmey Kruse Books in Order

The Kimmey Kruse mysteries are a short, lively pair of comic crime novels about a Texas-born stand-up comedian with a sharp eye and an unfortunate habit of being near dead bodies. Kimmey is small, stubborn, funny, and far more capable than people first assume. Her job puts her in clubs full of big personalities, bruised egos, and people who know how to perform.

In Funny as a Dead Comic, Kimmey is working a Chicago comedy club when an old lover dies in her hotel room. The death looks suspicious, and Kimmey quickly becomes part of the investigation led by Chicago detective Sal Pucci. She has a past as an insurance investigator, which helps explain why she notices loose ends and refuses to accept an easy answer.

A comic's job is to read a room.

That instinct serves Kimmey well as an amateur sleuth. She understands when people are putting on an act, whether they are fellow performers, nervous witnesses, or police officers who would prefer she stop asking questions. Her point of view gives the series a different rhythm from Susan Rogers Cooper's small-town sheriff and suburban mother mysteries. Kimmey is frequently on the move, working nights, and trying to hold on to a career built around making strangers laugh.

The second book, Funny As a Dead Relative, takes Kimmey from the comedy circuit back to Port Arthur, Texas. She returns to help with her injured grandfather and walks into the middle of a sprawling Cajun family gathering. Old feuds, food, relatives, romantic trouble, and a suspicious death by wasp stings give the book its busy, unpredictable energy.

Family is a major part of that second outing. Kimmey has to navigate Me-Maw, Paw-Paw, cousins she barely knows, and generations of conflict that nobody seems willing to explain plainly. The setting shifts from Chicago to East Texas, but Kimmey remains the same observant, exasperated narrator. She may complain about the madness around her, yet she cannot resist trying to sort it out.

Sal Pucci is also part of the continuing setup. His relationship with Kimmey adds friction, attraction, and a little extra trouble, particularly because he is a professional investigator and she is not supposed to be one. Their push and pull helps keep the stories brisk without taking attention away from the mystery.

There are only two novels in the series, plus Kimmey appears in a couple of short stories. Start with Funny as a Dead Comic to meet her in Chicago and see the partnership with Pucci begin. Then move to Funny As a Dead Relative for a warmer, wilder Texas-family mystery.