Mary Lee Ashford Books in Order

If you want the true starting point: Game of Scones
If you want the full Sugar and Spice run: Game of Scones → Risky Biscuits → Quiche of Death
If you like small town gossip and fundraiser chaos: Game of Scones → Risky Biscuits
If you want a tighter family weekend mystery: Quiche of Death

Mary Lee Ashford writes the kind of mysteries that make room for murder, friendship, food, and a little everyday chaos all at once. She is based in Iowa, has long been a supporter of public libraries, and comes across in her bios and interviews as someone who is not only a serious reader, but someone who genuinely likes the community that grows around books.

Cozy mystery was a natural lane for her.

Before readers met Sugar Calloway in Game of Scones, Ashford was already building a writing life from several directions at once. She also writes as one half of Sparkle Abbey, the pen name she shares with Anita Carter for the Pampered Pets mysteries. That name came from their rescue pets, Mary Lee's cat Sparkle and Anita's dog Abbey, which tells you a lot about the tone of the books before you even open one.

Her path into publishing was not a neat, straight line. In one piece about writing careers, she described it as more roller coaster than plan. Before publication, she won first place in the Daphne du Maurier contest and was also a finalist in the Murder in the Grove contest and Killer Nashville's Claymore Dagger contest. Those early results gave her work a strong push before the books themselves arrived.

She has also spent years showing up for other writers.

Ashford founded the Iowa chapter of Sisters in Crime and later served on the Midwest board of Mystery Writers of America. She has also been active in groups such as Sisters in Crime, Guppies, and Novelists, Inc. That organizing streak fits the rest of her life too. She teaches creativity in Drake University's Certified Public Manager Program, gives workshops on craft and publishing, and has written about creativity outside her fiction work as well.

Like a lot of mystery writers, she has balanced books with a full working life. Official bios describe work in technology and public service, and she has said that writing often happened alongside full time work and family life. That may be one reason her novels feel grounded. The murders are fictional, but the schedules, side jobs, obligations, and community ties around them feel recognizably real.

Readers usually meet her through one of two paths. Some start with Sparkle Abbey and the Pampered Pets books, beginning with Desperate Housedogs, a pet centered cozy series with humor and an easygoing pace. Others start with the Sugar and Spice mysteries, including Game of Scones, Risky Biscuits, and Quiche of Death, where cookbook projects, small town politics, and amateur sleuthing all get folded together. Across both names, she tends to favor clever setups, recurring friendships, and mysteries that entertain without getting grim.

You can also see her reading life all over the work. In interviews, she has talked about growing up on Agatha Christie and enjoying classic puzzle mysteries, along with funny contemporary series. She has also said that revision is her favorite part of writing, more than the first draft. That makes sense. Her books are built on timing, clues, and character chemistry, and those things usually get sharper in revision.

These days, her bios place her in the Midwest, often more specifically central Iowa, with her husband Tim, a cat named Zoey, and a big family that includes two sons, daughters in law, and grandchildren. She still teaches, still supports writers, and still seems deeply interested in how creativity works in ordinary life, not just on the page.

This is probably why her fiction feels so welcoming. It comes from someone who loves mystery, loves process, and knows that books are often part of a bigger, busier life.