top of page
  • Black Twitter Icon
  • Black Facebook Icon
  • Black Instagram Icon
Official Website of Best Selling Author

Lorena Mccourtney

Lorena 2-22-24_edited.jpg

Author of Mystery and romance novels with a foundation of faith and a splash of fun 

 New Release!

Charlie's Secrets

charlie's secrets_small.jpg

Mac, with Ivy's assistance, usually writes lighthearted articles for travel magazines about quirky people, places, and events, but now they're doing the memoirs of a mysterious and reclusive woman who always hides behind a veil. They expect a simple book for family and friends, but these memoirs turn out to be an explosive expose of the woman's three prominent and well-known ex-husbands.

Ex-husbands who are desperate to stop publication of the incriminating memoirs. How far are they willing to go to stop the memoirs? Bribes, threats ... murder?

Beware those ex-husbands,  Ivy and Mac! Now that you know all their secrets, you're also in line for their dangerous determination to stop the memoirs.

Watch out for those sneaky peacocks too!

The three books in my romantic mystery/suspense series about what goes on in a small town on the rugged Oregon coast are now available in a boxset, THE JULESBURG MYSTERIES. 

Julesburg appears calm, even sleepy, on the surface, but that quiet surface conceals dangerous secrets and undercurrents, even murder.

WHIRLPOOL: The woman who stole Stefanie's husband is dead. Did Stefanie kill her? She isn't certain!

RIPTIDE: Sarah and Julie, born as twins but separated at birth, are happy to have now found each other. But one fateful night changes everything.

UNDERTOW: Angie left a life as a successful New York model and now owns the weekly Julesburg Herald. She's writing a series about the town's old buildings. Will the Nevermore Theater trap her in its deadly legendary curse?

THE TUNNEL OF DOOM

tunnel of doom_small.jpg

Is Mac the next hot new movie star? Probably not. But he is an extra in a movie being filmed near a mysterious California mountain famed for the myths and legends surrounding it. He even gets a promotion above "extra" level; now he's Bigfoot and he's lumbering around roaring and head-butting people.

Ivy is mildly indignant that she's a movie-extra reject. Too short. Although her job as assistant to the ranch woman providing lunches for cast and crew does not, at least, require a costume both hairy and itchy and she doesn't have to head-butt anyone.

Production of "The Tunnel of Doom" does not go smoothly however. An explosion during the hiring of extras. A dead bus. A poisoned salad. Someone is definitely trying to stop completion of the movie.

And when the sabotage escalates to a murderous level, Ivy and Mac are right in the midde of it

NEW AUDIOBOOKs

LIMO_ROLLS_small.jpg

FOR WHOM THE LIMO ROLLS, Book #3 in the Andi McConnell Mysteries, is now available as an audiobook, narrated by the talented Melinda Cumming.

Andi's life is momentarily normal. Her limo business is flourishing, as is her friendship with former TV detective "Fitz," and her relationship with the Lord is growing.

Can "normal" remain for Andi? Doubtful. Not when there's an odd new renter in her duplex. Plus unlikely changes in her grumpy neighbor, Tom, now that he has a girlfriend, and the girlfriend's strange "helper," who seems to speak from some other dimension.

And then there's the dead body. . .

You can find it, along with the other two audiobooks in the series in the Audible Books department on Amazon, or contact me for a coupon code to get a free audiobook.

HERE COMES THE RIDE reducedCover2flat.jpg

HERE COMES THE RIDE, Book #2 in the lighthearted Andi McConnell Mysteries, is now available as an audiobook, as well as the original e-book.

Andi and her new limousine service have a fabulous new gig, five days ferrying guests at the "wedding of the century." But this wedding has a few surprises, including a murder . . . or two.

Narrated by the talented Melinda Cumming.

I have a few coupons for a free audiobook. If you'd like one, contact me through the "contact" page here on my website.

YOUR CHARIOT AWAITS - larger Cover.jpg

YOUR CHARIOT AWAITS, Book #1 in the Andi McConnell Mysteries, is now available as an audiobook.

Andi has just been downsized from her job, dumped by her boyfriend, and she's depressed about an upcoming 60th birthday. Good news! She inherits a limousine from an eccentric uncle. Bad news: the dead body that turns up in the trunk.

Narrated by the talented voice-over actor Melinda Cumming

Contact me through the "Contact" page here on this website if you'd like a coupon for a free audiobook. 

Would you like to see a video of how an audiobook is made? 

Click on the "Video" link to the left.

RECENT E-BOOK AND PAPERBACK RELEASE

cookie_small (2).jpg

THAT'S THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLES

 

Book #4, the Mac 'n' Ivy Mysteries

What comes after the honeymoon for Ivy and Mac? Looking for a quiet, comfortable place to settle down and leave the nomadic motorhome life behind. No more dead bodies. No more killers.

What do they find instead? Murder!

Beginning with a runaway Miranda and a fiancée in a ruffled red bikini, continuing with a missing gun and a dead man with a gunshot hole in his chest. Was he the sweet guy the fiancée claims he was? Or was he a slick bank robbing con man, with any number of people . . . including the fiancée . . . eager to put a bullet in his chest?

The most sensible reaction for Mac and Ivy would probably be to head down the road in their motorhome and look for a different place to settle down. But they both have a strong concern for someone in trouble, and there's also Ivy's persistent mutant curiosity gene . . .

Available in both e-book and paperback editions.

See complete list of books down below

Booksigning 11-19-18.JPG

A booksigning

Jim's 90th.jpg

The author and husband Jim

My birthday 2017.jpg

The author with son Bill and husband Jim

Cherie Coon and me 5-23-19.JPG

The author and author friend Cherie Coon. Visit Cherie's website at :

Carole & me 12-9-19.JPG

Lorena and author friend Carole T. Beers. Visit Carole's website at:

About

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

My husband and I live in southern Oregon. For many years we made our home on rural acreage, but a few years ago we moved to town. (With me dragging my feet all the way.) Now we have much less space and a lot more traffic and city noise, but--and I never thought I'd say this--I like living in town just fine. It suits our lifestyle for this time of life.

One thing that didn't change when we moved to town is that I'm still writing mysteries. I traveled a rather unlikely route to becoming a mystery writer. There was no mystery in my earliest, fifth-grade writing. Those stories were always about horses (and quickly rejected by magazine editors who were not impressed with my youthful "talent"). The love of horses carried me through a degree in agriculture from Washington State College, although by then I had a vague idea of combining horses and writing. My first job out of college, however, turned out to be with a big midwestern meat-packing company. I quickly learned that writing about raising hogs and making sausage was not my life's calling.

Marriage and motherhood intervened, and by the time I got back to writing I knew fiction was what I wanted to write. I started with short stories for children and teenagers, mostly for the Sunday School publications. Then I added women's short stories and romance novels, all the time promising the Lord I would get back to Christian writing eventually. Finally, after 24 published romance novels, it was time to make good on that promise. 

The first seven books that followed this decision were Christian romances, but I threw a murder into one of them (Yesterday Lost) and realized -- Hey, I like this mystery stuff! I then wrote three serious and intense Christian mysteries (The Julesburg Mysteries), but I also discovered I prefer a more lighthearted approach to mystery writing. You'll find that lighthearted touch in my other mystery series. (Check them out on the "my books" page.)

One of the nicest perks of being an author is hearing from readers, and I'd be delighted to hear from any of you. Use the "contact" page on this website to contact me, or visit me on Facebook.

My Books

My Books

More information about each book is listed down below.

The Mac 'n' Ivy Mysteries

      Something Buried, Something Blue

       Detour

       Desert Dead

       That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles

       The Tunnel of Doom

        Charlie's Secrets

The Ivy Malone Mysteries

      Invisible

       In Plain Sight

       On the Run

       Stranded

        Go, Ivy, Go!

The Andi McConnell Mysteries

       Your Chariot Awaits

       Here Comes the Ride

       For Whom the Limo Rolls

The Julesburg Mysteries

         Whirlpool

         Riptide

         Undertow

 

The Cate Kinkaid Files

        Dying to Read

        Dolled Up to Die

        Death Takes a Ride    

                  

Depression Era Romances

         Betrayed

         Midnight Escape

Faith and Fun Romances

        Dear Silver

        Three Secrets (novella)

Other Mysteries and Romances

          Yesterday Lost (e-book and audio)

           Searching for Stardust

          Canyon

The Mac 'n' Ivy Mysteries

something buried_small.jpg

Something Buried, Something Blue   

Book #1, The Mac 'n' Ivy Mysteries

Ivy Malone and Mac MacPherson have been dancing around the idea of marriage for some time, and now they've made the big decision. They're getting married! Except there is the problem of a dead body and a big pile of money. And a killer who's willing to bring their plan to a deadly halt.

 

detour_small.jpg

Detour

Book #2, The Mac n' Ivy Mysteries

What follows a wedding? A honeymoon, of course. The beginning of a happily-ever-after future in which Ivy and Mac will travel the country in their motorhome until they find the perfect place to settle down and live. No more dead bodies, no more murders. Instead, here they are on a detour to an old dinosaur park, and Ivy is up to her possum-gray hair in ghost goats, deteriorating dinosaurs, and -- what else? A dead body, of course. Is Ivy in danger from the dinosaurs? Or is it more of a case of Watch out dinosaurs, here comes Ivy!

desert dead_med.jpg

Desert Dead

Book #3, the Mac 'n' Ivy Mysteries

A desert ghost town. A dead body. A missing dead body.

Once more Ivy and Mac's honeymoon is postponed while they try to help friend Magnolia figure out what's going on here.

Which is murder, of course. And a killer who's inclined to put Mac and Ivy in that same desert dead classification.

The Ivy Malone Mysteries

Invisible.gif
In Plain Sight.jpg
On The Run.jpg
Stranded.jpg
GO_IVY_GO_small (2).jpg

Invisible

Book #1, The Ivy Malone Mysteries

Ivy is dismayed to find she seems to have aged into invisibility. People just don't seem to see her any more. But she soon decides "invisibility" can be a handy asset when you're searching for a killer -- or a killer is searching for you.

In Plain Sight

Book #2, The Ivy Malone Mysteries

Ivy decides that keeping out of sight of the murderous Braxtons is her best plan for now, but keeping a low profile is not easy when she finds her new employer dead in the water. And, with a bomb planted under her old T-Bird, someone apparently wants to add her to the obituary list. Is it the Braxtons or a new killer?

On the Run

Book #3, The Ivy Malone Mysteries

Ivy is headed across the country in her newly acquired motorhome, the murderous Braxtons not far behind, her new stray cat and God her only companions. She finds what at first appears to be a safe refuge in a survivalist compound, less safe when two dead bodies turn up. But she now has a new friend, Abilene, and older friend Mac MacPherson to help, along with a not-so-helpful flock of emus.

Stranded

Book #4, the Ivy Malone Mysteries

Ivy, along with friend Abilene, is still running from the Braxtons, but disaster strikes near in a little mountain town in Colorado. The motorhome breaks down, and they are apparently stuck until they figure out how to afford the expensive repairs. A young woman with en empty house comes to their aid, but the house was the scene of a murder not long ago. And their new friend is the top suspect. Can they help prove her innocence, or will the killer get them too?

Go, Ivy, Go!

Book #5, The Ivy Malone Mysteries

It appears the murderous Braxtons may have given up on Ivy, so she decides to head home, back to Madison Street in Missouri. Boyfriend (?) Mac MacPherson, disapproving of the move, heads off in another direction. Is this the end for Ivy and Mac? But when Ivy gets home, she discovers a most unpleasant surprise in the upstairs bathroom. A dead body.

Was it supposed to be her? Maybe she was wrong about the Braxtons. And maybe she and Mac aren't really finished yet.

The Andi McConnell Mysteries

YOUR CHARIOT AWAITS - larger Cover.jpg
HERE COMES THE RIDE reducedCover2flat.jp
LIMO_ROLLS_small.jpg

Your Chariot Awaits

Book #1, the Andi McConnell Mysteries

Downsized from her job.

Dumped by her boyfriend

Depressed about that upcoming 6-0 birthday.

But now there's surprising good news: she's inherited a limousine from an eccentric uncle. The bad news is that there's soon a dead body in the trunk.

Enter Keegan "Fitz" Fitzpatrick, former TV detective. But as they work together to solve the crime, a big question looms: when the bullets start flying, are the windows in that limousine really bullet proof?

Here Comes the Ride

Book #2, the Andi McConnell Mysteries

Andi and her limousine have a five-day gig ferrying guests for a "wedding of the century."

For Whom the Limo Rolls

Book #3, the Andi McConnell Mysteries

Andi's limousine business is chugging along nicely. Except that the limo also seems to be a magnet for murder.

The Julesburg Mysteries

WHIRLPOOL coverFinal.jpg
RIPTIDE2 coverFinal.jpg
UNDERTOW coverFinal.jpg

Whirlpool

Book #1, The Julesburg Mysteries

Stefanie Canfield's life is swirling ever downward, from her husband's betrayal into accusations of arson - and murder. Did she do it? She isn't sure!

Riptide

Book #2, The Julesburg Mysteries

Twin sisters Sarah and Julie have just found each other after being raised by different families and each never knowing the other existed. They plan to turn the town's old Nevermore Theater into an arts and crafts mini-mall. But murder changes everything.

Undertow

Book #3, The Julesburg Mysteries

Angie Harrison has fled a glamorous life as a New York model to buy the local weekly newspaper. But her New York love follows her, and the deepest secret from her past also returns to haunt her.

The Cate Kinkaid Files

Dying to Read (format change to JPEG Hig
Dolled  Up to Die -small.jpg
Death Takes a Ride - large_edited.jpg
Betrayed-medium size.jpg

Dying to Read

Book #1, The Cate Kinkaid Files. 

Cate, desperate for a job, goes to work as a temporary assistant private investigator. Her first assignment is supposed to be easy and uncomplicated. No danger, murder, or mayhem. Instead she finds herself up to her elbows in Whodunit Ladies, a paint-blobbed hunk, a deaf white cat - and killers! A New York Times bestseller.

Dolled Up to Die

Book #2, The Cate Kinkaid Files

When Cate responds to a frantic call about a triple homicide, she finds the victims aren't who she expects. Now she has a new rule: always check on whether the victims have human DNA. Although she soon finds another victim who has plenty of it and is off on another wild adventure involving a beautiful trophy wife, a woman who claims she can reveal your past lives, and husky Mitch Berenski.

Death Takes a Ride

Book #3, the Cate Kinkaid Files

Cate Kinkaid arrives at H&B Classic Auto Restorations to give a friend a ride. But, as usual, trouble finds Cate even there--this time in the form of one dead man, one wounded man, and what appears to be an obvious case of self-defense. Owner Matt Halliday wants to hire her, but not for this case. Instead, Cate is charged with finding a man who owns a particular motorcycle Matt would like to buy. As her search progresses, she begins to suspect that the shooting in Matt's office may not have been as cut-and-dried as it appeared.
 

Depression Era Romances

Betrayed

Rosalyn Fallon's life changes forever when her father' company collapses in the midst of the Great Depression, and she's betrayed by both the man she loves and her best friend. 

MIDNIGHT ESCAPE_small.jpg

Midnight Escape

Times are hard during the Great Depression, and Beth Curtis is even more desperate than most in this year of 1933.

She's always known the powerful Wilkerson family might try to claim baby Joey, the nephew she's been raising almost since birth. But until Guy Wilkerson shows up at her door, Beth hadn't realized how far they'd go to claim him, and legality doesn't matter to the Wilkersons. Beth, knowing she can't fight the Wilkersons' money and power, makes the only choice she can with Joey. Run! Hide! But Guy Wilkerson is a very determined man . . .

 

Faith and Fun Romances

Dear Silver - little.jpg

Dear Silver

Silver Sinclair's love life has always been more like the sinking of the Titanic than a Club Med cruise, but this breakup letter from Chris Bentley is a new low. It's as cold and impersonal as a "You're fired" letter from an employer or a complaint about a defective widget. She'd be devastated by it except for one minor point: Who is Chris Bentley?
Silver's bewilderment quickly turns to indignation. What kind of guy writes such an insensitive letter to end a relationship? An insensitive clod, that's who! Which is exactly what Silver tells him when the sparks fly - and the latte spills - at their fiery first meeting.

Three Secrets (a romance novella)

Three Secrets copy2.jpg

Blue skies and moonlit sea, seashells and sunkissed beaches! This spot on the Baja coast is everything widow Carolyn McAndrews hoped for on her Christmas vacation from snow and cold back in Colorado. No eligible men or romance, her friend had warned, but that was fine with Carolyn.


But what she hadn't counted on is a refrigerator that won't work, undrinkable water, and a shower faucet that breaks off in her hand. She can't even turn around and head home; her van is stuck in the sand.


Enter Ward Setlow, a good-looking guy with crisp silver hair, an easy grin, and a fix-it ability to take care of all her problems. A guy who quickly disproves her friend's statement about a lack of romance here.


Ward also has a plan to use his fix-it talents to serve the Lord in the coming years, but no matter how deep and unexpectedly powerful the attraction between them is, Carolyn has secrets that mean this can never be more than a brief Christmas romance.
 

canyon_small.jpg

Other Mysteries and Romances

Canyon

The Holloway and McCord families have been friends and business partners for years, and now Kit and Tyler are planning a big wedding and an adventurous future together as river guides taking rafters through the wild rapids of the Grand Canyon. But Kit's father and Tyler's mother have plans too, shocking plans that open a canyon of difference between Kit and Tyler and shatter their future together.

Searching for stardust-smallest.jpg

Searching for Stardust

Stardust! The name jumps out at Jan Hilliard from the disjointed pages of her dead son's journal. Is she  just a fantasy out of his chaotic mind or a real girl who may be carrying Jan's grandchild? The last thing Jan wants is to work with her ex-husband to find Stardust - and the truth about their son's death - but she grits her teeth and does it.

Yesterday Lost

Yesterday Lost-FB size.jpg

Who is she?
She was found injured and unconscious on a rugged stretch of Oregon coast. Now she's in a hospital with a shaved head and a cast on her leg, her memory and identity hidden in an unreachable pit in her mind.

But someone knows who she is! After considerable publicity, a warm and caring older woman, Lenore Lennox, shows up and identifies her. She's Kat Cavanaugh, New York model, who disappeared from her deceased parents' isolated home in northern California several months ago.

Relieved to know who she is, Kat returns home with Mrs. L. As her leg heals and her hair grows, she finds herself very much attracted to Jace Foster, manager of a nearby Christian school for boys.

But even though her past is only a shadowy flicker in her mind, ugly strands of that other life reach out to entangle her present. She was not, she realizes a nice person in that life. There's a hostile past with Jace, vengeful ex-roommates, professional clashes - and a fiancé she can't remember.

There's also someone from her past who is determined there will be no future for her.

Contact

Contact form:

If you'd like to be on my e-mail list to receive an announcement when I have a new book available, just fill out the form below. Or I'm always happy to hear from friends and readers on any subject you want to talk about!

Contact Us

Thanks for submitting!

Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go to font for titles, paragraphs & more.

© 2019 Lorena McCourtney 

  • White Twitter Icon
  • White Facebook Icon
  • White Instagram Icon
bottom of page