Jess Lourey

Perfect town. Perfect homes. Perfect families. It's enough to drive some women mad... In a tale inspired by real events, pregnant journalist Joan Harken is cautiously excited to follow her fiancé back to his Minnesota hometown. After spending a childhood on the move and chasing the screams and swirls of news-rich city life, she's eager to settle down. Lilydale's motto, "Come Home Forever," couldn't be more inviting. And yet, something is off in the picture-perfect village. The friendliness borders on intrusive. Joan can't shake the feeling that every move she makes is being tracked. An archaic organization still seems to hold the town in thrall. So does the sinister secret of a little boy who vanished decades ago. And unless Joan is imagining things, a frighteningly familiar figure from her past is on watch in the shadows. Her fiancé tells her she's being paranoid. He might be right. Then again, she might have moved to the deadliest small town on earth.

Bloodline

Killers hiding in plain sight. Small-town secrets. A girl who knows too much. From the Amazon Charts bestselling author of Unspeakable Things and Bloodline comes a nerve-twisting novel inspired by a shocking true crime. Minnesota, 1977. For the teens of one close-knit community, summer means late-night swimming parties at the quarry, the county fair, and venturing into the tunnels beneath the city. But for two best friends, it's not all fun and games. Heather and Brenda have a secret. Something they saw in the dark. Something they can't forget. They've decided to never tell a soul. But their vow is tested when their friend disappears--the second girl to vanish in a week. And yet the authorities are reluctant to investigate. Heather is terrified that the missing girls are connected to what she and Brenda stumbled upon that night. Desperately searching for answers on her own, she learns that no one in her community is who they seem to be. Not the police, not the boys she met at the quarry, not even her parents. But she can't stop digging because she knows those girls are in danger. She also knows she's next.

A Thriller

The Quarry Girls

Inspired by a terrifying true story from the author’s hometown, a heart-pounding novel of suspense about a small Minnesota community where nothing is as quiet—or as safe—as it seems.

Cassie McDowell’s life in 1980s Minnesota seems perfectly wholesome. She lives on a farm, loves school, and has a crush on the nicest boy in class. Yes, there are her parents’ strange parties and their parade of deviant guests, but she’s grown accustomed to them.

All that changes when someone comes hunting in Lilydale.

One by one, local boys go missing. One by one, they return changed—violent, moody, and withdrawn. What happened to them becomes the stuff of shocking rumors. The accusations of who’s responsible grow just as wild, and dangerous town secrets start to surface. Then Cassie’s own sister undergoes the dark change. If she is to survive, Cassie must find her way in an adult world where every sin is justified, and only the truth is unforgivable.

Unspeakable Things

The Amazon Charts bestselling author of Unspeakable Things and Bloodline explores the darkness at the heart of the rural Midwest in a novel inspired by a chilling true crime. In the summer of '84, fourteen-year-old Frankie Jubilee is shuttled off to Litani, Minnesota, to live with her estranged mother, a county prosecutor she barely knows. From the start, Frankie senses something uneasy going on in the small town. The locals whisper about The Game, and her mother warns her to stay out of the woods and away from adults. When a bullying gang of girls invites Frankie to The Game, she accepts, determined to find out what's really going on in Litani. She's not the only one becoming paranoid. Hysteria burns through the community. Dark secrets emerge. And Frankie fears that, even in the bright light of day, she might be living among monsters.

Litani

The Taken Ones

Minneapolitan Mira James has been taking it easy since college graduation--too easy. Due to a dead-end job and a cheating boyfriend, the Twin Cities have lost their charm, and Mira decides to begin a new life in rural Battle Lake. Right away she is offered jobs as an assistant librarian and part-time reporter, and falls into an unexpected romance with a guy who seems to be the perfect man until he turns up dead between the reference stacks her tenth day on the job. Anxious to learn more about the man who had briefly stolen her heart, Mira delves into the hidden mysteries of Battle Lake, including a old land deed with ancient Ojibwe secrets, an obscure octogenarian crowd with freaky social lives, and a handful of thirtysomething high school buddies who hold bitter, decades-old grudges. Mira soon discovers that unknown dangers are concealed under the polite exterior of this quirky small town, and revenge is a tator-tot hotdish best served cold. A hip, humorous, and gripping account of small-town murder, this novel is the first in a series of cozies featuring Mira James, an urban woman with rural Minnesota roots. Praise: "Jess Lourey writes about a small-town assistant librarian, but this is no genteel traditional mystery. Mira James likes guys in a big way, likes booze, and isn't afraid of motorcycles. She flees a deadend job and a deadend boyfriend in Minneapolis and lands up in Battle Lake, a little town with plenty of dirty secrets. The first person narrative in May Day is fresh, the characters quirky. Minnesota has many fine crime writers, and Jess Lourey has just entered their ranks!"--Ellen Hart, Lamda Award-winning author of Jane Lawless & Sophie Greenway Series

May Day

After eleven straight months of discovering a dead body a month, librarian Mira James thinks she's finally broken her bad luck streak. That is until she finds a disturbing note in a book, a clue that could lead to breaking open one of Minnesota's biggest crime syndicates. She follows the trail and is horrified to discover that it leads to her father, who died in a car accident 13 years earlier. To make matters worse, Mira catches wind that her sexy Adonis boyfriend, Johnny, is planning a surprise for her. Problem is, she doesn't know if it's a marriage proposal or an intervention.As Mrs. Berns and Mira take on their final case together, Mira discovers it's more personal than she could have imagined, and that she holds the fates of her dearest friends in her hands.

April Fools

Faith Falls is a snug little Minnesota town constructed over a mystery, a place where the most impressive building is a gorgeous Queen Anne with turrets, cantilevered gables, and a wraparound porch. In a concealed room beneath the twisting stairs of the Queen Anne lies the Catalain Book of Secrets, the repository of the wisdom the Catalain women have gathered since the beginning of time. Ursula Catalain, current keeper of the Book of Secrets, is content to concoct spells in her garden cottage until the ghost of the man she murdered when she was 12 appears at her door in a new form. His return pulls Jasmine, Ursula's daughter, back into the fold. Once believed to be the most powerful of the Catalains, she foreswore her gift years before to bury a shameful secret. The ghost of the murdered man also calls home Katrine, Jasmine's sister, who has been banished for fourteen years. Finally able to return to Faith Falls and the beloved Queen Anne, Katrine must claim her true Catalain power to save her mother and sister from the dark family curse.

A Book Club Pick!

The Catalain Book of Secrets

Catch Her in a Lie

Quarry Girls

Maybe it's time for me to leave this crazy town, hightail it back to Minneapolis, and become a cat-collecting, fist-shaking, asexual English professor...Furious after being stood up by local hottie Johnny Leeson, Mira decides to abandon Battle Lake, Minnesota, where the women are churchgoers, the men like to hunt, and the body count is above average. But when a cheerleader bites the dust, Mira is called back to the town that has done her wrong. She's begins investigating the New Millennium Bible Camp, a disturbing place with a Stepford Wives meets Hee Haw vibe. She wants desperately to ditch Battle Lake, but before she does, Mira is hell-bent on confronting her own demons and catching a killer.

August Moon

★ "...[A] hair-raising thrill ride." ―Library Journal (starred review) A troubled codebreaker faces an epic plot reaching back through centuries of America's secret history Salem Wiley is a genius cryptanalyst, courted by the world's top security agencies ever since her quantum computing breakthrough. She's also an agoraphobe shackled to a narrow routine since her father's suicide. When her intelligence work unexpectedly exposes a sinister plot to assassinate the country's first viable female presidential candidate, Salem finds herself both target and detective in a modern day witch hunt. Drawn into a labyrinth of messages encrypted by Emily Dickinson and codes tucked inside the Beale Cipher a hundred years earlier, Salem begins to uncover the truth: an ancient and ruthless group is hell-bent on ruling the world, and only a select group of women stands in its way. Salem's Cipher is the first in an ongoing series of heart-pounding thrillers that international bestselling author Lee Child calls "highly recommended!" Salem's Cipher Mercy's Chase ★"A fast-paced, sometimes brutal thriller reminiscent of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code." ―Booklist(starred review)

Salem's Cipher

The Reaping

From the bestselling author of Unspeakable Things, Bloodline, and Litani comes a gripping and emotional paranormal mystery featuring four generations of Catalain women battling the curse that threatens to destroy their already-divided family ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Katrine Catalain returns from London, broken and bereft, her life there destroyed. She finds Faith Falls just as she left it, a snug little Minnesota town constructed over a mystery, a place where the most impressive building is the gorgeous Victorian mansion she calls home. The Catalain women have always had an uneasy truce with the people of Faith Falls, but Katrine's return brings all the bad blood to the surface, dredging up secrets, bitter curses, and more than one unexplained murder. The Catalain women must find a way to make peace with their past or lose everything that's ever mattered to them. This lush, intoxicating tale weaves together fear, love, mystery, and magic. Read this thrilling bestseller today! If you'd like to spend more time with the Catalain women, check out Seven Daughters, a Catalain novella. "[T]ightly plotted, and Lourey shines when depicting relationships―romantic ones as well as tangled links between Catalains...." ―Kirkus Reviews "Lourey expertly concocts a Gothic fusion of long-held secrets, melancholy, and resolve..." ―Publishers Weekly "Think Alice Hoffman...spell-binding!" ―Midwest Book Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mira James investigates a serial killer who uses online dating sites to seduce and kill women who look just like her--and leaves a candy cane as his calling card. Original.

December Dread

Salem's Cipher (A Salem's Cipher Novel)

✨ How much can go wrong in a single Monday? PI-in-training Mira James is about to find out. ✨ Big city gal Mira James is finally settling into itty bitty Battle Lake. Sure, there's that pesky dead-body-a-month hitch, and her hunky musician boyfriend has begun receiving mysterious late-night texts. The fact that her problematic ex-boyfriend seems to be tailing her doesn't help, either. But Mira is determined to ignore all that for one day so she can focus on the December wedding of two dear friends. She's succeeding, too, until Kennie Rogers, Battle Lake mayor and frenemy extraordinaire, is kidnapped right in front of her eyes by a murderous Santa Claus. Ho-ho-ho-oh-no! Can Mira save Kennie (and her relationship) before the slay bells ring...for good? Find out in this 124-page Murder by Month romcom novella featuring all your Battle Lake favorites. PRAISE FOR THE MIRA JAMES ROMCOM MYSTERIES ⭐ "Lourey skillfully mixes humor and suspense . . . the characters are wonderful and wacky, and the mile-a-minute pace never falters." ―Booklist (starred review) ⭐ "Get started on this Lefty-nominated series if you've previously missed it!" ―Library Journal (starred review) ✨ Jess Lourey named to Book Riot's "10 Funny Mystery Authors Like Janet Evanovich" list! ✨

A Romcom Mystery Novella

Monday Is Murder

⭐ Remember the itch to color inside your books as a child? It's time to celebrate that sweet, forbidden fun with the first and only “you better not color in here!” interactive picture book. Perfect for ages 2-8. ⭐ Claudette the dragon knows what's best for everyone: what food they should eat, what clothes they should wear, and even where they can color. You know what else? She's not afraid to tell them. Being bossy makes her feel safe and smart, two of her favorite things. But what happens when she realizes she’s not in charge of anyone but herself? Have your crayons ready so you can help her to find out! Teacher and bestselling author Jess Lourey's heartwarming and hilarious tale reminds us that as much as we want to hoard our treasure and tell others what to do—especially when we've gone through some big changes—life is more fun when we share, support, and create. It’s the first in a series of story books that encourages children to be creative participants in what they’re reading (or what’s being read to them). PSSST! Person buying the book: If you let a child draw inside these pages against Claudette’s demands, it becomes a sweet snapshot of their interests and abilities, one that can be added to several times. If you own the digital version, or, like Claudette, have control issues (it’s okay! we’re all a work in progress), your little reader can draw on paper instead. In either case, have markers, colored pencils, or crayons at the ready as this book is meant to be a one-of-a kind, interactive giggle-fest centered in kindness and compassion. ⭐ Leave My Book Alone! makes a wonderful gift. ⭐

Starring Claudette, a Dragon with Control Issues

Leave My Book Alone!

★ "Once again, the very funny Lourey serves up a delicious dish of murder, mayhem, and merriment." ―Booklist (starred review) The Minnesota State Fair is the beloved home of 4H exhibits, Midway rides, and everything on a stick. The festival fun is riding high until the recently crowned Milkfed Mary, Queen of the Dairy, a Battle Lake native, is brutally murdered while her regal likeness is carved in butter. Can Mira James, covering the fair for the Battle Lake Recall, manage make-out time with guitar-slinging Johnny Leeson while winning a blue ribbon for caging a killer? You bet your last deep-fried Nut Goodie! September Mourn is the fifth in an ongoing series featuring Mira James, an urban woman with rural Minnesota roots. The books can be read in any order; each novel stands alone. Get all the Mira James mysteries today! May Day June Bug Knee High by the Fourth of July August Moon September Mourn October Fest November Hunt December Dread January Thaw February Fever March of Crimes April Fools Or, if you love to sink into a delicious binge read, check out the smart-priced bundles! Mira James Mysteries Summer Bundle, Books 1-4 (May, June, July, and August) Mira James Mysteries Fall Bundle, Books 5-7 (September, October, November) Mira James Mysteries Winter Bundle, Books 8-10 (December, January, February) PRAISE FOR SEPTEMBER MOURN "Janet Evanovich fans have a new reason to celebrate! September Mourn is fun, funny, and so cleverly written, you'll be guessing until the very end." ―Gemma Halliday, best-selling author of Mayhem in High Heels

September Mourn

★ "It's not easy to make people laugh while they're on the edge of their seats, but Lourey pulls it off...in her very clever series."―Booklist (starred review) November in Battle Lake, Minnesota, is cold enough to freeze the balls off a pool table. lt's also deer hunting season. When Tom Kicker is killed in a hunting accident, Mira James is hired to investigate―a job that brings her closer to her P.I. license. Braving subzero temps and shrieking blizzards, Mira uncovers a decades-old scandal that has never quite died, unlike the cold stiffs who are piling up in the town morgue. As she pieces together the clues, Mira discovers that Battle Lake's good-old boys have been up to some bad business. But with threats and enemies around every icy corner, she may not live long enough to expose the truth. November Hunt is the seventh in a series of comic caper mysteries featuring Mira James, an urban woman with rural Minnesota roots. The books can be read in any order; each novel stands alone. Get all the Mira James mysteries today! May Day June Bug Knee High by the Fourth of July August Moon September Mourn October Fest November Hunt December Dread January Thaw February Fever March of Crimes April Fools Or, if you crave a comic caper cozy book bender, check out the smart-priced bundles! Mira James Mysteries Summer Bundle, Books 1-4 (May, June, July, and August) Mira James Mysteries Fall Bundle, Books 5-7 (September, October, November) Mira James Mysteries Winter Bundle, Books 8-10 (December, January, February) PRAISE FOR NOVEMBER HUNT "Lourey has a knack for wholesome sexual innuendo, and she gets plenty of mileage out of Minnesota."―The Boston Globe "Lourey's seventh cozy featuring PI wannabe Mira James successfully combines humor, an intriguing mystery, and quirky small-town characters."―Publishers Weekly "A good story told well, with solid writing."―Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

Jess Lourey

About

Books

Join the club