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This page lists novels, short story collections and non-fiction by Nancy Pickard.

Cover images are, where possible, of the first US edition and a recent paperback or digital edition.

Generous Death

Nancy Pickard

1984

A Jenny Cain novel.

"As director of the Port Frederick Civic Foundation, Jenny Cain is privy to the charitable intentions of the town's wealthiest citizens. There's eccentric old Arnie Culverson, who's promised millions to the local art museum. Who's found there one bright winter morning, neatly tucked into a priceless antique Chinese bed. With pillow and blanket. Dead. Then another dearly beloved donor dies in the night. And the killer leaves behind a nasty rhyme suggesting rich and beautiful Jenny will be next!"

Say No to Murder

Nancy Pickard

1985

A Jenny Cain novel.

"Jenny Cain was thrilled about the Liberty Harbor Restoration, a picturesque collection of shops, museums and restaurants. But when a runaway truck barreled into the project committee, it seemed someone in Port Frederick was out to sink Liberty Harbor. Then a wooden cross raised in unholy wrath made the message clear. Murderously clear. As director of the town's Civic Foundation, Jenny should have been glad when police detective Geof Bushfield reeled in a prime suspect. Unfortunately, it was the one person she was desperate to prove innocent. Fishing for a ruthless killer, she had to bait her trap fast - before the cold New England waters closed in over her own head!"

No Body

Nancy Pickard

1986

A Jenny Cain novel.

"Bright and beautiful Jenny Cain, director of the Port Frederick Civic Foundation, was dying of curiosity. A hapless visitor had slipped in the mud at the town's historic cemetery - and fallen right into an empty grave! When Jenny discovered that all the graves were vacant, it was the beginning of murder. Now Jenny has to dig up some answers, and fast--before the killer leaves her silent as a tomb!"

Marriage is Murder

Nancy Pickard

1987

A Jenny Cain novel.

"Jenny Cain and police detective Geof Bushfield already had pre-nuptial jitters. Then a sudden wave of domestic violence rocked placid Port Frederick - in just two weeks, the husbands of three battered wives were shot dead. Homicide was all too familiar to Geof, but this was enough to make him want to quit the force. Except that none of the wives confessed - and none of the guns were found. As Geof searched for clues, Jenny uncovered a dangerous secret - a murderous obsession that threatened to tear Port Frederick apart!"

Dead Crazy

Nancy Pickard

1988

A Jenny Cain novel.

"Jenny Cain didn't particularly like pompous, wealthy do-gooder MaryDell Paine, but she wasn't unsympathetic to her plea. MaryDell wanted the Port Frederick Civic Foundation - which Jenny headed - to fund a recreation center for former mental patients in the basement of an abandoned church. Despite competition from another buyer, Jenny was optimistic. Most of the neighbors didn't object to the center - until a man was found slashed to death in the basement, and all clues pointed to a paranoid schizophrenic patient. But when Jenny plunges into the shifting motivations of nervous neighbors, jealous lovers, greedy realtors and even her own charming, ne'er-do-well assistant, she comes up with another conclusion - one that puts her squarely in a cold-blooded murderer's line of fire!"

Bum Steer

Nancy Pickard

1990

A Jenny Cain novel.

"Charming amateur sleuth Jenny Cain returns in Bum Steer, to solve a mysterious murder that sends her on a twisting adventure in the wild, wild West."

I.O.U.

Nancy Pickard

1991

A Jenny Cain novel.

"After lying for years in a coma in a psychiatric hospital, Jenny's mother dies. At her funeral someone whispers a mysterious message in Jenny's ear. Jenny tries to discover the events in her family's past that led to her mother's mental collapse, but she is stonewalled by an old boy network."

The 27-Ingredient Chili Con Carne Murders

Nancy Pickard

Based on characters and a story by Virginia Rich

1992

A Eugenia Potter novel.

"When Eugenia Potter receives an urgent phone call from the manager of her ranch, Las Palomas, in Tucson, she's only too happy to drop everything and fly home. .... The ranch manager and his granddaughter are missing from Las Palomas and feared dead. A cryptic note written by one of them containing initials and a meeting time is the only clue that leads Mrs. Potter to suspect foul play. But why would anyone want to harm her old friends? And where could they have disappeared to? When a guest at a dinner gathering thrown by Mrs. Potter winds up dead - apparently from eating her own famous 27-ingredient chili - Mrs. Potter knows she must get involved in solving the crimes before the murderer strikes again."

But I Wouldn't Want to Die There

Nancy Pickard

1993

A Jenny Cain novel.

"When Jenny's friend Carol is killed while jogging in New York, the police write it off as another Manhattan mugging. But Jenny soon discovers that the story of Carol's life and death is full of dark and unexpected twists."

Confession

Nancy Pickard

1994

A Jenny Cain novel.

"David Mayer isn't looking for an emotional reunion when he reveals to Jenny and Geof Cain that Geof is his biological father. Geof is a cop and David wants him to help solve the alleged murder/suicide of his parents. But, when another violent murder is committed, the stakes rise and the pace heats up."

Twilight

Nancy Pickard

1995

A Jenny Cain novel.

"Jenny Cain is up to her ears in plans for the Port Frederick Autumn Festival when a young widow comes to her with a heart breaking story. Melissa Barney's husband was recently hit by a car at the intersection of a nature trail and a highway. Barney wants to close the trail, and Jenny is drawn into a long-running controversy that threatens disaster for all she holds dear."

The Blue Corn Murders

Nancy Pickard

1998

A Eugenia Potter novel.

"Mrs. Potter visits the Medicine Wheel Archaeological Camp near Cortez, Colorado, where she hopes to glean the wisdom of the ancients, and see some exciting ruins to boot. There's lots to see at the camp, and treats galore from Bingo, the cook, like Cream Cheese Corn Bread and Uncle Dick's Chicken. But trouble looms when a busload of youngsters disappears without a trace, drawing an eerie connection with the lost Anasazi tribe of so many years before. Then two women at Medicine Wheel end up dead. Are their deaths connected in some way? Who would want to harm them, and why? Mrs. Potter must take matters into her own hands as she investigates, hoping to avert another murder before it's too late."

Storm Warnings

Nancy Pickard

1999

A collection of short stories.

"These nine stories are linked by signs of foreboding, paths that lead to unexpected places, and the craftiness of human nature - showing that men and women, when faced with the subtle portents of disaster, may ignore warnings at their own peril."

• Valentine's Night
• A Rock And A Hard Place
• Sign Of The Times
• Dust Devil
• Storm Warnings
• Sex And Violence
• The Dead Past
• Speak No Evil
• It Had To Be You

The Whole Truth

Nancy Pickard

2000

A Marie Lightfoot novel.

"A masterpiece of psychological suspense, The Whole Truth is a compelling look at our fascination with the horrific crimes of our time. Nancy Pickard's characters are as close to flesh and blood as fiction can get -- and her writing is as close to perfection."

The Secret Ingredient Murders

Nancy Pickard

2001

A Eugenia Potter novel.

"Chef-turned-sleuth Eugenia Potter leaves her Arizona ranch to take charge of her teenage great-nephew and great-niece at a vacation home on the Rhode Island coast, but their fun-filled holiday is soon turned upside down by the murder of Stanley Parker, her cookbook collaborator and a passionate recipe collector."

Ring of Truth

Nancy Pickard

2001

A Marie Lightfoot novel.

"Sex, violence, evil, and betrayal -- the shocking murder case splashed across the Florida headlines has all the right elements for true-crime writer Marie Lightfoot's next bestseller. But there are disturbing twists, which leave Marie sensing in her gut that something does not jibe. Twist number one: the accused is a man of the cloth, who has allegedly killed his wife in collusion with his lover. Twist number two: a pair of young girls find the body in an abandoned mansion, adding the death of innocence to the magnitude of the crime. Twist number three: a shattering conviction turns the case on its ear. And the ultimate blow: for the first time in her career, Marie fails to win the the killer's confidence during a jailhouse interview. Suddenly, she knows with certainty there is more to the story than even she realized - and her conscience won't let her rest."

Naked Came the Phoenix

A Serial Novel By: Nevada Barr, J.D. Robb, Nancy Pickard, Lisa Scottoline, Perri O'Shaughnessy, J.A. Jance, Faye Kellerman, Mary Jane Clark, Marcia Talley, Anne Perry, Diana Gabaldon, Val McDermid, Laurie R. King

Editor: Marcia Talley

2001

"The promise of discretion and pampering-and a long-overdue reconciliation with her mother-draws Caroline Blessing, the young wife of a newly-elected Congressman, to the fancy Phoenix Spa. But after her first night in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, Caroline wakes to find the rich and famous guests in turmoil and under suspicion: the spa's flamboyant and ambitious owner has been murdered. As the secrets come out-and the body count rises, can Caroline keep herself from becoming the next victim?"

The Truth Hurts

Nancy Pickard

2002

A Marie Lightfoot novel.

"Filled with rich characterizations, steadily escalating suspense, and a rare depth of emotion, The Truth Hurts draws readers into a mystery that spans the present day and the tense, heartbreaking early days of America's civil rights movement."

The Virgin of Small Plains

Nancy Pickard

2006

"January 1987, Small Plains, Kansas. On the night of the decade's worst blizzard, a boy discovers the naked corpse of a beautiful girl. No-one can identify her, so the people of the town bury her with a gravestone marked with the date and 'Peace Be Unto You'. Seventeen years later, the mysterious dead girl - the 'Virgin of Small Plains' - has inspired a local myth. In the two decades since her death, strange miracles have visited those who faithfully tend her grave; some believe her spirit can cure deadly illnesses, while others credit her with the town's economic prosperity. Word of the legend spreads and Small Plains becomes a haven for an onslaught of spiritual seekers and the terminally ill, all hoping the Virgin will answer their prayers. When the mysterious Mitch Newquist reappears and a vengeful tornado devastates Small Plains, the truth begins to emerge.. What really happened seventeen years ago? Why did Mitch suddenly disappear the same night the Virgin's body was found - abandoning his first love, Abby Reynolds? And why are some of the town's leading citizens so determined that the truth remain buried?"

The Scent of Rain and Lightning

Nancy Pickard

2010

"Twenty-six years ago, when she was only three months old, Jody Linder's father was murdered as she slept in her cot. Her mother vanished, presumed dead. Local trouble-maker Billy Crosby confessed to the murder and was locked up, leaving his wife and son to face the consequences in the small Kansas town of Rose. But his son Collin, now a lawyer, has successfully petitioned for a retrial, which means that - for now - Billy is back in town. Jody is horrified - the man who tore her family apart is living just a few streets away. So why does she find herself wondering if Collin is right? What if Billy was innocent, and her close-knit family has been hiding a terrible secret all these years? "

Seven Steps on the Writer's Path

Nancy Pickard and Lynn Lott

2003

"There is no profession more maddening or more rewarding than being a writer. Yet surprisingly, all writers pass through the same sequence of stages in the course of their careers. It was this remarkable insight that inspired veteran authors Nancy Pickard and Lynn Lott to write one of the wisest and liveliest guides to the literary life ever penned— a volume of astonishing revelation, warm reassurance, brilliant encouragement, and welcome humor. No matter what you write or how much recognition you’ve received, you are bound to pass through the seven steps on the writer’s path: Unhappiness, Wanting, Commitment, Wavering, Letting Go, Immersion, and Fulfillment."

The First Lady Murders

Editor: Nancy Pickard

1999

"Mystery's best writers deceive, thrill, and entertain in this spellbinding collection of all-new stones centered around America's First Ladies - women who know that life at the White House can be murder."

• Secret President (Barbara Paul)
• Political Decision (John Lutz)
• "A" Is For Adams (Carolyn Wheat)
• You Run (Sarah Shankman)
• Bachelor's Wife (Judith Kelman)
• Lost At Sea (Pamela J. Fesler)
• Madame President (Anne Perry)
• Mother Of Our Country (Linda Grant)
• Dolley Madison And The Staff Of Life (Barbara D'Amato)
• Alice Holds The Cards (Carole Nelson Douglas And Jennifer Waddell)
• Jackie-O (Kristine Kathryn Rusch)
• Goodbye, Dolley (Gillian Roberts)
• Portal (T. J. MacGregor)
• Adams And Evil (Sarah Booth Conroy)
• Tale Of Two Sisters (Richard Timothy Conroy)
• Second Lady (Peter Crowther)
• First Ladies' Secret (Nancy Pickard)
• Mrs. Lincoln's Dilemma (Janet Dawson)
• Julia Grant, A.K.A. Private Eye (Jan Grape)
• Blood In Buzzard's Bay; Or, Sweets To The Sweet (P. M. Carlson)

Mom, Apple Pie, and Murder

Nancy Pickard

1999

"Anyone who's ever had a mother will love these delightful, all-new mystery stories with a maternal twist...from such stellar names as Carolyn Wheat, Nancy Pickard, Linda Grant, and plenty of others who finally prove that you can balance motherhood with murder. As a bonus, a sampling of apple recipes are included making this delicious anthology all the sweeter."

• Introduction (Nancy Pickard)
• A worm in the winesap (Susan Dunlap)
• Coin of the realm (Pamela J. Fesler)
• Mom and dad at home (Ed Gorman)
• The second-oldest profession (Linda Grant)
• Rotten to the core (Jeremiah Healy)
• The Maggody files: Death in bloom (Joan Hess)
• The gift (Gregory Janicke)
• Sex, lies, and apple pie (Janet La Pierre)
• Growth marks (Margaret Maron)
• With thanks to Agatha Christie (Sarah J. Mason)
• Out of Africa (Nancy Pickard)
• Clear sailing (Gillian Roberts)
• If you can't take the heat (Sarah Shankman)
• Thinking (Marilyn Wallace)
• A bus called pity (Carolyn Wheat)
• Hello? (Angela Zeman)
• A mysterious collection of apple recipes