Author Lynn Bohart
"There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."
​
-W. Somerset Maugham
MY BOOKS
I am fortunate to have a loyal fan base, who seem to enjoy a wide breadth of mystery stories. Whether the stories involve a group of humorous, senior sleuths in the Northwest, follow a clever detective in a small town in Southern California, or follow a woman who tracks a killer through the timber country of Oregon, my books are designed for people who love a solid mystery with a touch of paranormal elements thrown in for good measure. Scroll down for the full list of my novels and short stories.
Inn Keeping With Murder
(An Old Maids of Mercer Island Mystery - Book 1)
​
Members of a certain book club are dying on Mercer Island. One woman drives off a cliff. Another drops dead in her peach cobbler at the St. Claire Inn. When the inn’s owner, Julia Applegate, becomes the prime suspect, she recruits her “sixty-something” group of friends to launch their own investigation. Together with the inn’s resident ghosts, they go after the truth. Add a talking parrot who likes to quote old movies, a Harlequin Great Dane, two miniature Dachshunds, and a very handsome detective (or two), and get ready for a romp down mystery lane! Join Lynn Bohart's thousands of satisfied readers with this popular cozy mystery.
A Candidate For Murder
(An Old Maids of Mercer Island Mystery - Book 2)
​
Someone is out to kill the detestable Dana Finkle. But her campaign assistant is killed instead. Dana recruits Julia Applegate’s help in finding the murderer before he hits his mark, even though the two women hate each other. She teams up with her book club to solve the crime. All hell breaks loose as the girls bend the rules, engage in a food fight, confront the killer on a rainy night in a graveyard, and do what it takes to bring the doer of the dastardly deed to justice. Join Julia's two Dachshunds, Ahab, the talking parrot, and the resident ghosts as they once again solve a murder.
All Roads Lead To Murder
(An Old Maids of Mercer Island mystery- Book 4)
​
Julia and the girls embark on a road trip when they volunteer to drive a luxury motorhome from Mercer Island to Wisconsin. What could go wrong? Just about everything. From Spokane, to Mt. Rushmore, to Wisconsin and then Chicago, this becomes the road trip from hell. Three dead bodies, a Keystone Cops road chase, a harrowing rescue in the mountains of Minnesota, and a Tarzan-like effort to save the life of a U.S. Senator at the largest Republican gathering in the country. Who said vacations can be boring?
A History of Murder
(An Old Maids of Mercer Island Mystery - Book 3)
​
When Julia finds a hidden room during a restoration, she and the girls decide to use it as the catalyst to write a book about the history of the St. Claire Inn. Bad idea. Their journey will take them down a dark path, revealing a sordid history that includes the sex trafficking of underage girls, multiple murders, and the tragic death of a baby. In the end, the four Old Maids will be pitted against a diabolical killer in the tunnels of an old mansion on Camano Island. But don't despair. All your favorite characters are back to help them out, including the ghosts, the Dachshunds, Ahab, and two good-looking detectives.
The Key to Murder
(An Old Maids of Mercer Island mystery- Book 5)
​​
Carter Davis is one of Julia’s oldest and dearest friends. When he shows up unexpectedly at her door, collapses, and dies, she notifies her brother Ben, who is supposed to be in London researching Jack the Ripper. Little does she know that Ben is not only in the States but at Carter’s home searching for something he left with Carter for safekeeping. Julia, Ben, and the girls will walk a fine line with the law this time, even putting Ben in jail and driving a wedge between Julia and her detective beau, David. Uh,oh.
No Place Like Home for Murder
(An Old Maids of Mercer Island mystery - book 6)
​
Someone is abducting homeless people off the streets of Seattle. When a woman is found dead in Rudy’s kitchen, Julia Applegate assembles an entire team to go undercover to exonerate her friend. Once again, this whacky—but fearless—group of older women will be joined by their team of helpful ghosts to blaze across the pages in search of a diabolical killer. When said diabolical killer holds a scalpel to Julia’s throat, one has to ask, “Is this the end of the Old Maids?”
Mass Murder
(A Giorgio Salvatori Mystery - Book 1)
As a veteran New York police officer, Detective Giorgio Salvatori moved his family to a small town in Southern California to get away from the dirt and crime of a large city. But when a dead woman is found hanging by her bra strap in the supply closet of a local monastery, he suspects his easy life is about to change.
His suspicions are confirmed when another body is found on the monastery grounds, and a monk's body is found floating in the duck pond. Add to that the ghost of a young boy who committed suicide back in the 1940s who appears to be communicating a series of messages, and Salvatori has more than a murder mystery to solve.
Complicated by his own religious background and a sudden personal loss, Detective Salvatori will face more than a killer with nothing to lose.
​
MURDER IN THE PAST TENSE
(A Giorgio Salvatori mystery- Book 2)
​
When Lisa Farmer disappeared on prom night in 1967, a young kid named Jimmy Finn was convicted of the crime. Forty-seven years later, her skeleton is discovered in an abandoned well and Detective Giorgio Salvatori is tasked with unraveling the truth about her murder. The investigation will lead to a historic landmark in town and a lifetime of hidden secrets, including the torture, rape and murder of dozens of young women stretching back decades. Fortunately, Giorgio’s wing men are back, including Giorgio’s brother, Rocky, Grosvenor (his Basset Hound), and the ghost of Christian Maynard. Together, they will face the horror of a sexual sadist and bring the culprit, or culprits, to justice, but not before Giorgio’s own family is put at risk.
.png)
The Essence of Murder
(A Giorgio Salvatori Mystery - book 3)
​
Lindsey Nagel is polyphobic. She’s afraid of needles, heights, and crowds. And yet, when a friend suggests she join the Essence of Life Society, a group of wannabe vampires, she agrees. But it’s not her blood they’re after. It’s her life.
Detective Giorgio Salvatori is joined by his brother, Rocky, his intrepid sidekick, Grosvenor, and the ghost of young Christian Maynard to solve this case. It will take them far beyond a group of people living in the shadows; it will lead them to drug trafficking, a vicious dog-fighting ring, and a heroic, but mysterious pit bull, named Shadow.
GRAVE DOUBTS
(A Lee Vanderhaven mystery)
Lee Vanderhaven embarks on a journey through the timber country of Central Oregon to discover the truth about the apparent suicide of her best friend from an overdose of insulin. She is accompanied by a strange onyx bird that seems to embody the spirit of her dead friend. Lee's search leaves her hanging from a steel beam above the “feed chain” in a local sawmill one night, with a crazed man trying his best to shake her loose. And even when she makes it out alive this time – the real killer lurks in the shadows with another hypodermic needle meant just for her.
SOMETHING WICKED
(A Halloween Short Story)
​
It's Halloween, and everyone loves a pumpkin patch. But even pumpkin patches can be dangerous, especially if people go missing. When the FBI arrives to investigate, even they aren't prepared for what they find - a blind woman reputed to be a witch, unearthly scarecrows, and a strange boy with a ghostly sister named, Beatrice. Once you read this short story, you may never look at Halloween the same again.
YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE
(A Collection of Scary Short Stories)
​
Were you a fan of The Twilight Zone or the X Files? What is it that scares you or gives you the creeps? Perhaps it’s murder. Ghosts. Or parallel universes and portals to the other side. Maybe it’s closet monsters or strangers after midnight. It’s all here in Your Worst Nightmare, a collection of six short stories of the paranormal, odd and unexplained.
​
