Jerrilyn Farmer Books In Order

Publication Order of Madeline Bean Culinary Mystery Books

Publication Order of Red Carpet Murder Mystery Books

Jerrilyn Farmer is an award-winning and widely acclaimed American writer, who likes to write cozy mysteries, fiction, thriller, mystery, and suspense novels. She is particularly renowned for writing the Madeline Bean book series in which she has depicted the chief protagonist named Madeline Bean in the role of a Hollywood caterer. Farmer is also known for her collaboration with Joan Rivers. Together, the two authors started a new series of mystery novels in 2009. However, they were able to add just one novel to that series. In addition to the elements of mystery, suspense, and intrigue, Farmer writes her books with excellent humor. Her books have been loved and appreciated in multiple countries of the world. Author Farmer originally hails from Lincolnwood, Illinois. She has obtained a degree in Acting & English from the University of Northern Illinois.

Following her graduation, Farmer relocated to Los Angeles in order to pursue a career in the field of acting. But, things didn’t quite work out for her. So, she ended up achieving a career as a writer for TV shows. She used to mainly write for sketch comedy and game shows. After working for several years in the TV industry, Farmer thought of raising her career one level up by becoming an author of full-length novels. Subsequently, she wrote and published her debut book in 1998. Her first book, Sympathy for the Devil, received nominations for the Edgar award, Agatha award, and Macavity award and ended up winning the latter. Farmer received nominations for the Lefty award and the Agatha award for her second book as well. In addition to writing novels, Farmer has taught the art of mystery writing to students in the Extension’s Writers Program at the UCLA. Currently, she resides in Los Angeles, California.

Author Farmer says that she did not intend to become an author when she was growing. Although, she used to read a lot. As an avid reader, Farmer used to think that books just came into being and rarely noticed that it required a lot of hard work and human effort. Even when she realized it later, she never thought of doing the hard work herself and producing a book. It took her quite a while for Farmer to gather the courage to do what it takes to be a writer and when the time was right, she rolled up her sleeves. Farmer is of the belief that book tours help in the effective selling of books of the fiction genre. However, she also believes that this tactic doesn’t really work for new writers. Book tours benefit those authors who already have a fan following.

The titles of Farmer’s books are generally selected by her publishers. She provides a working title to the publishers, who take the final decision of keeping it or replacing it with a more catchy one. Farmer knows it very well that an excellent title is a part of the book’s sales pitch and doesn’t argue with the publishers in that regard. Farmer chose to write humorous mysteries because it is something that the readers have shown a great interest in recent years. She hopes to write many more humorous mysteries in the years to come. Author Farmer is highly grateful to all the readers who have read her novels and loved her work. She wishes to keep entertaining them for as long as she can in the upcoming years. Even though Farmer has not written a book in almost a decade, she is hopeful that she is going to come up with a great story very soon. Until then, she hopes that readers will read and enjoy her already published mystery books.

The Madeline Bean series written by author Jerrilyn Farmer is comprised of a total of 8 books released between 1998 and 2008. Each and every novel of this series features the main protagonist in the form of Madeline Bean, who is a caterer based in Los Angeles. While catering to the popular stars of Hollywood, Madeline takes up sleuthing in between in order to solve the mysteries taking place around her. Sometimes, she takes up the job of sleuthing to help clear her name or that of her colleagues from wrongful framing. Some of the essential characters mentioned in the novels other than Madeline Bean include Wesley Westcott, Bruno Huntley, Xavier Jones, Vivian Duncan, Chuck Honnett, etc. The debut book of this is entitled ‘Sympathy for the Devil’. It was released in 1998 by the Avon publishing company.

The book opens by showing that Madeline Bean catering to Hollywood parties and events. In her latest stint, Bean and her partner Wesley Westcott pull off a grand Halloween party for a notorious producer named Bruno Huntley. Her exotic food is liked by every guest at the party. Soon after, Huntley comes to the dance floor and falls down. He is found dead and the reason behind his death is found to be poisoning. The police arrest Wesley as the prime suspect as he was known to have an old dispute with Huntley. Madeline Bean knows that Wesley is not guilty. She takes it upon herself to investigate the matter and find out the truth behind Huntley’s murder. In the process of unraveling the truth, Madeline unearths a few hidden secrets that involve several prominent people from Hollywood. In the end, Madeline Bean succeeds in catching the real killer and clearing the name of Wesley Westcott.

The second installment of this series is known as ‘Immaculate Reception’. It was also published by Avon in 1999. The novel opens by depicting that the Pope is visiting Los Angeles for breakfast. The task of arranging the morning meal is given to Madeline Bean and her catering company. Preparing the welcoming extravaganza for Pope and 2 thousand high profile people accompanying is seen as a great opportunity by Madeline Bean. But, things take a nasty turn when one of the priests is found dead. His body is found from the room of a Hollywood star and a Latin scrawl is found near the body tucked in a recipe book. At the time of such a turmoil, Madeline experiences a shock of her life when her former fiancee named Xavier Jones arrives out of nowhere. He had left Madeline at the altar around 10 years ago without giving any solid reason. Even the reason behind his return after all these years is not known. However, Madeline is focused on the task of clearing the unholy mess before the arrival of the Pope. She fears that the historical event might not see the light of the day if unholy things keep taking place in the city.