Charlotte Graham Books In Order

Publication Order of Charlotte Graham Books

Charlotte Graham is a series of cozy mystery novels by Stefanie Matteson. Matteson is a publicist, journalist, and novelist who writes characters that have been compared to one of the most popular cozy sleuths, Miss Marple. She went to Skidmore College from where she got a degree in Chemistry after which she worked as a reporter and editor, winning several awards for her journalist work in the sciences. “Murder at the Spa” her first novel that introduced her most famous sleuth Charlotte Graham was published in 1990. She followed that up with several novels that were just as successful as her first. The series now has more than seven titles that have been just as successful. She has received praise from the likes of Library Journal that have described her work as set in picturesque and opulent surrounding with delightful characters and stories that revive shipboard romances with humorous wit. Her lead character in the series is a divorced woman that had a glamorous acting career in the 1930s but has now retired to become an amateur sleuth extraordinaire. Stephanie left journalism to become an executive vice president at Beckerman and has represented clients in the real estate, economic development, and clean technology sectors. She currently lives in Hackensack in New Jersey.

Charlotte Graham Series are cozies that follow Charlotte Graham, the grand Madame of the screen and stage. To Charlotte, beauty and glamor come naturally as she was an Oscar-winning actress in the 1930s though she has never lost her grace and flair for dramatics. However, as a retired actress, she got bored and decided to take up amateur sleuthing and has become quite adept at it. She understands the murderous passions driven by avarice, hate, and love, which has made her one of the most sought after sleuths in her locale. Just like she had done on the silver screen, Charlotte Graham brings a touch of class to her sleuthing performances, even as she gets better at her sleuthing with each case that she solves. While Charlotte Graham is one of the best sleuthing characters who can hold her own in almost any mystery, there are other aspects that make these novels so intriguing. They are set in spectacular and scenic locations and use history to make the stories come alive. From mansions by the sea to Cliff Walks, to huge mansions built by the American robber barons, there is everything beautiful and spectacular in the Charlotte Graham series.

In “Murder at the Spa” the first novel of the Charlotte Graham series of novels, Charlotte has just gone on a trip to a luxury spa. Her enjoyment is interrupted when she has to help track down a cunning killer that just struck. She was a legend of the silver screen and had lived the Hollywood life for years and is considered a bonafide star from the golden age of the movie industry. She has everything anyone could ever ask for be it the money in the bank, the Oscars in the cabinet and now a knack for resolving homicides. She had first become interested in investigative work when someone had put a real bullet into a revolver on set which made her kill her colleague. But she was not the type to let such a thing slide and had gotten into investigations and found the culprit. In her new life in retirement, her friends know her as the Queen of Mystery and always call her up when they need a sleuth. Compared to the stress of life in Hollywood, investigating and going after criminals is easy and fun for Charlotte. She is getting a cleanse at her best friend’s spa who needs her to investigate a saboteur who is claiming her spa is poisoning visitors. But then A fellow visitor takes an overdose of barbiturates and drowns in the tub and Charlotte does not believe it is an accident. She loves healthy living and letting go but there is nothing that is fascinating to her as investigating a homicide. Not even the most cunning killer can get away with murder when the queen of mystery is after them.

“Murder at Teatime” the second novel in the series has Charlotte Graham the queen of mystery return to save a scenic island in Bar Harbor, Maine. She spent more than four decades on Broadway and in Hollywood, but when her latest play was finished she decided to take a well-deserved vacation on a remote island in Maine. She spends a few weeks sailing with a few of her Hollywood friends but she is soon bored. But her boredom is short-lived as one of her best acquaintances named murder is coming to visit. The residents of the island are divided into two opposing camps over a proposed development with most supporting the plan. One of the most vocal opponents is a Dr. Franklin Thornhill who owns land in the middle of the proposed development and is refusing to sell. But then Thornhill dies in a suspected poisoning after he attends the celebration of the Summer Solstice, organized by his niece who is also the village witch. There are several suspects including his daughter and son in law the beneficiaries of his estate, the property developers, and the niece who would have been left homeless if a marriage he favored went on as planned.

“Murder on the Cliff” the third novel of the Charlotte Graham series has legendary actress and amateur sleuth Charlotte investigating the death of a geisha. She had been staying at an elegant seaside resort in Japan when the geisha accidentally fell off a cliff to her death. When Commodore Mathew Perry had thrown Japan open to the world, Townsend Harris the American consul had promptly fallen for Okichi the legendary geisha. But it was a short and doomed romance that came to an end with the young woman jumping off a cliff to her death. It has been more than 100 years since the fateful romance and Okichi-mago the last descendant of Okichi the once scorned geisha has been invited to the resort on Newport Rhode Island in remembrance of Perry’s achievements. Okichi-mago is one of the most famous geishas in Japan and her visit has political overtones, which makes it worse when she ends up dead in an eerily similar manner to what happened to her ancestor. Charlotte does not believe that the geisha committed suicide and is determined to find the killer.