Missing Marlene

“Devilishly well-paced, a cozy with a satisfying bite.”—Candace Robb, author of Owen Archer Mysteries Series

The last thing literary agent and widowed single mom Jane Stuart needs on a busy day is a call from her son Nick’s school saying his nanny Marlene never showed up at the end of the day to pick him up. That's odd, thinks Jane. The pretty blonde, daughter of an old friend of Jane’s, had always been reliable before and a great nanny to boot. Jane feels a sense of obligation to her old friend and calls Ivy. Truth be told, Ivy was the reason she hired Marlene in the first place.

But Ivy has no idea where Marlene is. Jane wonders. If something’s happened to Marlene, she should notify the police. But when she does, the police figure Marlene has run away. No one else cares.

What happened to Marlene?

Never one to settle, Jane starts to snoop.

Juggling book deals, rival agents, and a rocky romance with an author too handsome for his own good, Jane uncovers that Marlene had a secret life—including some erotic videos, a boyfriend with violent tendencies (as well as a police record), and an off-again, on-again flirtation with a mystery man. Jane finds out nothing about him, which makes her want to track him even more.

But it’s Jane’s trusted tortie Winky who uncovers the critical clue. It is the last key which makes all the puzzle pieces fit. As Jane and Winky get to the bottom of who the real killer is, they try desperately to get the police to make their move before the killer strikes again—this time, with Jane as the next victim.

3.46 average rating, 123 ratings, 8 reviews, added by 239 people, 73 to-reads, 86% of people like it—Goodreads

3.9 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)—Amazon

***** Five Stars “The nanny is missing and hardly no one cares. Starting reading this last night and couldn't put it down. It is one of the best mystery books that I have ever read. The book started out nice, put picked up steam. This story has everything. A missing nanny, murder, sex, friends, lovers and family. It is hard to tell too much about the story without giving away the twist of the ending that I never saw coming.”—T Toms, Amazon customer

“A very fast and fun read.” Lennie Alickman

“The Jane and Winky series is as cozy as a kitten – with tiny sharp claws.”—Jill Churchill

"MISSING MARLENE is fast-paced fun. The characters are engaging and the twist at the end took me by surprise."—Laurien Berenson

"Jane Stuart, the heroine, is a Miss Marple for the millennium!"—Kensington Publishing

”Miss Marple Lite!”--Kirkus Reviews

Evan Marshall is owner of The Evan Marshall Agency an independent literary agency specializing in fiction and author of The Marshall Plan® For Novel Writing, the international bestseller on novel writing technique now in its 20th anniversary edition. He is the author of 10 commercially published mysteries including the series Manhattan Mysteries and Jane and Winky Suburban Sleuths, named “Miss Marple Lite” by Kirkus Reviews. His books appeal to fans of Janet Evanovich, Lilian Jackson Braun, Agatha Christie and Alexander McCall Smith. You can reach him at evan@evanmarshallagency.com.