October Fest
What’s October without a festive mood, a chill in the air, and a dead body? There’s big trouble brewing in little Battle Lake.
Cue the accordions: Battle Lake, Minnesota, is kicking off October Fest with polka, sausage, and cold suds. The big inaugural event? A debate between two congressional hopefuls. One, stultifyingly sincere. The other, a foot-in-mouth tippler.
Reporter Mira James is roped into covering their fighting words…and then a murder, when a relentless pit bull of a blogger is found dead at a motor lodge filled to capacity with fellow pundits, campaign entourages, and tourists―all of whom have just become suspects.
Mired to her neck in deadly mudslinging, it’s up to Mira to sort through a pile of the candidates’ dirty laundry and expose a killer who’s giving her the pre-Halloween jitters, all while managing mixed messages from local hottie Johnny Leeson. Who knew the political season could be so scary?
Jess Lourey
Jess Lourey writes about secrets.
She's the Amazon Charts bestselling, Edgar-nominated, ITW Thriller, Anthony, and Minnesota Book Award-winning author of young adult, magical realism, crime fiction, nonfiction, and children's books. She's a retired professor of writing and sociology, a recipient of The Loft's Excellence in Teaching fellowship, and a TEDx presenter (check out her TEDx Talk to discover the surprising inspiration behind MAY DAY, her first published novel).
She lives in Minneapolis with a rotating batch of foster kittens (and occasional foster puppies, but man are those goobers a lot of work). Drop by jessicalourey.com to find out more.
Murder by Month Mysteries
Murder by Month Mysteries consists of twelve primary books, and includes two additional books that complement the series but are not considered mandatory reads. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.

