Steve Demaree Books in Order

Cy Dekker and Lou Murdock investigate an elderly woman's poisoning in a house reached by fifty-two steps. With a locked entrance and neighbors watching visitors, the detectives face a crime neither apparent suspect seems able to commit.

A note left on Cy Dekker's snow-covered car announces an impending murder at an inn. He and Lou book rooms to prevent it, but a death and conflicting evidence turn their weekend into an investigation.

Steve Demaree recalls growing up in Lexington through its businesses, entertainment, childhood toys, music, and television. His personal recollections also follow the adventures and jobs that eventually led him toward a career as an author.

Castle Woods promises its wealthy residents privacy behind a towering wall. When one resident is murdered and another disappears, investigators must determine whether an outsider breached the community or danger has always lived within it.

New neighbors and a game of croquet add fresh complications to life on Aylesford Place. Young romance, memories of earlier times, and celebrations of unusual holidays bring the neighborhood together, though one resident enjoys them less.

An elderly woman is found dead over lunch in her locked apartment, but the autopsy places her death at breakfast. Cy and Lou must explain the timing and discover how poison reached her without contaminating her food.

Cy and Lou attend Hilldale's arts and crafts fair at their girlfriends' urging, only to discover a murdered vendor. Rival sellers, stolen designs, damaged merchandise, and angry customers give the detectives several possible motives to examine.

Two people disappear after a high school reunion, and their bodies bring Cy and Lou into another murder case. Interviewing former classmates reveals widespread hostility toward one victim, but the detectives struggle to identify the killer.

Twelve guests accept a free weekend at an isolated inn, anticipating gifts and entertainment. Locked doors, a power failure, and murder leave them trapped, trying to decide which guest, servant, or possible intruder they can trust.

Cy and Lou's childhood mentor is killed inside his secured library, yet surveillance shows nobody else entering. A poisoned dart and an obscure clue challenge the detectives to explain a murder that appears to defy access.

A woman's disappearance leaves investigators a photograph pierced by a knife. Similar crimes in other states reveal a link between victims, forcing police to trace the people pictured together and warn those who may be next.

Mystery novelist Brad Forrester inherits his grandparents' house on Aylesford Place, hoping for a quiet place to write. Eccentric neighbors, pranks, block parties, and a possible romance quickly complicate his plans for a peaceful first year.

Christmas preparations bring Aylesford Place's neighbors into another round of romantic entanglements and comic mishaps. More elderly residents take up paintball guns, newcomers join the familiar group, and the local park becomes central to neighborhood life.

A wealthy couple's vacation in a Gatlinburg chalet becomes frightening after a stranger's threatening call and the husband's disappearance. Messages and doorstep notes leave his wife struggling to distinguish trustworthy help from people involved in the danger.

A sheriff recruits retired detective Cy Dekker after a wealthy author's supposedly natural death proves suspicious. A medical examiner confirms poisoning, sending Cy toward a book fair and a suspect list spanning fellow writers, relatives, and neighbors.

Retired detectives Cy and Lou receive a bus trip to Gatlinburg, hoping to enjoy their time away. Cy suspects trouble before a body appears, and the resulting mystery tests Lou's determination to keep their vacation free of work.

Deaths following blind dates lead back to the same dating service, prompting retired detective Cy Dekker to investigate. Undercover dates complicate his relationship, while a missing person and kidnapping add urgency to the search for answers.

A neighborhood scavenger hunt brings Aylesford Place's residents together for more unusual holiday celebrations and comic encounters. A surprise gift from their wealthiest neighbor gives the familiar group another occasion to share adventures, jokes, and touching moments.

While vacationing in Gatlinburg, a retired detective jokingly promises a stranger that he will investigate free of charge if a corpse appears on the man's porch. The casual conversation becomes the starting point for another mystery.

Someone deposits two corpses in a retired detective's backyard during the night. Cy Dekker must return to investigating, determining who killed them and why the person responsible chose his own property as the place to leave them.

Cy agrees to accompany his retired homicide partner to a Christmas tree farm instead of using his familiar artificial tree. Their seasonal outing takes an unexpected turn when a corpse sends both detectives back into an investigation.

After handing out Halloween candy, Cy receives a call about a murder reported by text. He and Lou follow a phone's location into a remote area, confronting suspects whose motives and alibis offer little immediate help.

A dead body interrupts Cy and Lou's planned breakfast on April Fool's Day, although that death proves unrelated to murder. A subsequent killing sends them across the county, questioning people who appear to lack motives or possess alibis.

A woman celebrating her birthday and Valentine's Day dies at the hospital after telling a doctor she has been poisoned. Cy and Lou investigate a victim disliked by almost everyone, leaving plenty of possible suspects to consider.

Cy's new four-legged companion discovers a corpse during the winter's first snowstorm. Once murder is confirmed, Cy and Lou search the rural county, finding the reason for the killing easier to establish than the killer's identity.

More than fifty brief inspirational stories explore moments intended to encourage reflection, joy, and gratitude. These compact tales invite readers to consider their meaning, sometimes through a smile and sometimes through an emotionally moving turn.

Cy and Lou's Tennessee vacation is interrupted by a corpse bearing envelopes addressed to the detective and local police. The messages launch a trail through ten Pigeon Forge locations, where difficult clues complicate their murder investigation.

A jigsaw puzzle and library books point Cy and Lou toward a murder victim, but the clues leave dozens of possible houses and eight potential names. Finding the body only begins their effort to narrow the suspects.

Bestselling mystery author Sam Hendricks becomes involved in an actual murder investigation. His progress starts to outpace the police, creating friction with a detective as the novelist tries to apply his knowledge of fictional crimes to reality.

An elderly woman returns home after recovering from a fall, then dies after a meal supplied by six neighbors and shared with two grandchildren. Cy and Lou face eight suspects while puzzling over the method of murder.

A man's body is discovered in woods near three isolated houses after a resident reports an intruder. Cy and Lou must identify the victim and reconstruct his death while several men connected to the area remain elusive.

Newly married Cy and Lou return from their honeymoons to investigate another killing, this time alongside their wives. Indistinguishable sisters, misleading suspects, and a murderer who conceals bodies complicate the detectives' return to work.

Mystery writer Sam Hendricks investigates a missing woman while working on his next novel. When murder follows, he balances writing and his social life with a case in which his unusual sources take him beyond the police investigation.

A body in a neighboring swimming pool and another murder hundreds of miles away draw Cy and Lou into a home-swapping mystery. At a New York resort, they narrow a large gathering to a handful of suspects.

Cy and Lou investigate an unidentified man found dead in a front yard clutching a pink flamingo. Questioning witnesses and a nosy neighbor leaves them with two tangled problems: discovering who the victim was and who killed him.

Anonymous notes lead Cy Dekker and Lou Murdock into the woods to search for a buried murder victim. Once they find and identify the body, they must untangle a suspect list shaped by the dead man’s unpleasant history.

A young woman accepts an invitation to a singles party after checking that it appears legitimate. Days later, she is found dead at home in her party costume, leaving investigators to reconstruct what happened after the gathering.

Cy and Lou investigate a wealthy woman’s murder inside a house guarded by intimidating Dobermans. Guests summoned by the victim offer competing accounts, and the dogs make identifying who could have entered the house especially difficult.