Traci Wilton Books in Order

Traci Wilton is the shared pen name of Traci Hall and Patrice Wilton, two romance writers who teamed up to create the paranormal cozy Salem B&B Mystery series. Their books pair a historic Massachusetts setting with a very practical widow, an opinionated ghost, and murders that tend to arrive at the worst possible moment.

The partnership grew out of a long writing friendship. Hall and Wilton first knew each other as critique partners, reading each other's work and talking through the hard parts of building a story. Years later, they decided to try writing together. The result was a mystery series that lets both writers bring their experience with romance, character chemistry, and small-town life to the page.

Traci Hall was born in the Pacific Northwest and has made South Florida, near the ocean, an important source of inspiration. She has said she always wanted to write. Before publishing, she raised a family and worked a mix of jobs, including florist, childcare provider, school aide, and barista.

She clearly likes keeping busy.

Hall writes across several lanes. Her books include the seaside romances in the By the Sea series, the Scotland-set Scottish Shire Mystery books beginning with Murder in a Scottish Shire, and later cozy mysteries written as Ellie Brannigan. Her work often puts everyday people in close-knit communities, where a family business, a local event, or a new chance at love can upend a carefully made plan.

Patrice Wilton came to fiction by a different route. Born in Vancouver, Canada, she wanted to write from an early age and was drawn to stories that carried readers somewhere else. She spent seventeen years as a flight attendant and traveled widely before sitting down at age forty to write her first book by hand.

That is a pretty serious detour on the way to a writing career.

Wilton's solo work is rooted mainly in contemporary romance, including the Paradise Cove and Heavenly Christmas series. Her stories tend to focus on women starting over, families working through old hurts, and people taking a chance on connection when life has not gone as planned. She has also spoken about enjoying tennis, golf, and a good beach read, interests that fit neatly with the warm-weather worlds of many of her novels.

Together, Hall and Wilton found a fresh setup in Mrs. Morris and the Ghost. Charlene Morris leaves Chicago after being widowed, buys a Salem mansion sight unseen, and discovers its former owner, Jack Strathmore, is still in residence as a ghost. Jack believes he was murdered, and Charlene needs answers if she is going to get her bed-and-breakfast open.

The books that follow use Salem's holidays, crowds, old houses, and spooky reputation as a backdrop for light paranormal mysteries. Readers who enjoy cozy puzzles get a capable amateur sleuth and a recurring cast, while the growing bond between Charlene and Jack gives the series its emotional thread. It is an easy mix of ghosts, gossip, community events, and very human motives.