Lolli Powell Books In Order

Publication Order of Kisses and Killers Thrillers Books

Publication Order of Spirit of the Law Mystery Books

Publication Order of A Top Shelf Mystery Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Lolli Powell is an American mystery and romance author. She liked fiction from a young age, and growing up; she decided to fulfill her life dream of crafting stories.

Lolli worked as a dancer, a police officer, a technical writer, a bartender, and a nurse. She holds two English degrees, which she applies when creating her stories,

The Body on the Barstool

The Body on the Barstool in the A Top Shelf Mystery series. Ricki Fontaine’s uncle drops dead, leaving her to run a bar in Ohio town. Left with a lousy apartment and a few reliable job prospects, she packs up and goes to Buckeye State.

Currently, she’s trying to change the Top Shelf from the bar famous for Friday night fights into an only drinking place where one can be free to bring their grandmother. Ricki even rents an apartment above the bar where she lives with her cat, Jasper.

Ricki is a hardworking lady trying to improve the bar, knowing it isn’t an easy thing to run a dive bar, She’s aimed at improving its image, and everything is going well until one morning. She finds her ex-husband lying dead on a barstool during the day’s opening hours changes all her plans. He’s stabbed with one of her knives in the bar.

The police know the bar and everything that goes there, even before her uncle dies. To save her bar, Ricki has to ensure she doesn’t end up in jail by trying to dig in and know who murdered her ex-husband and the motive behind it.

At first, she was happy about moving from New York and starting afresh in a different place. Her college love had turned into a marriage that later proved not to be working, so they separated, and her ex-husband remarried his secretary.

Once she relocated to Waterton, Ricki and Michael remained friends and were even talking. It was a big surprise to her when Michael showed up in Top Shelf without notice, especially when he was dead inside her closed and locked bar. Since the police are used to this kind of case in that particular bar, Ricki is the prime suspect. When did all that happen? Is someone trying to set her up?

What follows is a journey of resolving the mystery surrounding the murder: there are many surprises and relatable moments to keep the reader sucked into the end. The Body on the Bar Stool is an intriguing story about love loss and murder. What begins as a simple murder in Ricki Fountaine’s bar turns out to heal the past and future of those involved.

Whiskey Kills
Whiskey Kills is the second in the A Top Shelf Mystery series. Most big cities are known to be dangerous, but a former resident of New York and a current bar owner Ricki Fontaine finds the small town of Waterton, Ohio, to be the center of most murders. Her new bar is open for business; as usual, the Shelf leads to another dead person.

Ricki’s friend, Ruby Fogarty, is charged with the murder of her boyfriend by giving him a whole bottle of whiskey until he dies. Everyone in the neighborhood knows the killer except for Ricki, who feels differently. The story thickens when Ruby tells Ricki that she isn’t sure whether she killed Frank since she was staggering drunk on a fateful night and can’t remember anything that happened.
The police have already closed the case, but Ricki knows that Ruby is not guilty and is set to investigate who the real killer is. Gabriel, Ricki’s detective boyfriend, can’t pursue the case further after the chief police have pronounced it closed. Ricki’s sleuthing journey follows as she tries to figure out who the killer is and the motive. Follow Ricki as she stumbles around, trying to help her friend in her entertaining journey.

Who is Frank’s real killer is the question lingering in your mind on the journey to finding out? As Ricki digs deeper to find the truth, he gets some surprising information she never expected. She also ends up learning more about herself and her cat Jasper.

Even though Gabriel believes Ruby is innocent, he doesn’t like how Ricki is meddling in the case, which causes more tension in their relationship.

The story touches on grief, family, greed, and societal social issues. If you are looking for a cozy mystery, Whiskey Kills is your kind of book. The absence of intimate moments and violence makes it cozy, and the author does great in throwing in some humor instead.

Ricki’s sarcastic wit on everything ranging from mothers to men will have you sucked in from the start to the end. The mystery thrown on the pages is solid enough to keep the reader up late at night.
Lolli Powell introduces the reader to a well-developed set of characters with motives that will keep you guessing who the killer is. She maintains the suspense so well as she peels the mystery’s back layers, unveiling new connections and motivations to the end.

There are enough suspects to look into and clues that an experienced detective might find complex to figure out.

As Ricki’s investigations put her at odds with her detective boyfriend, Gabriel Russel’s sarcasm is pointed to the opposite sex. Even though Gabriel is crazy about Ricki, he doesn’t seem to worry so much when he finds out she is doing what is supposed to be his job.

However, he doesn’t like how she risks her life by minding other people’s business. The real killer also doesn’t like how she keeps digging down the case.

Ricki’s sarcastic and funny comments will keep you moving through the pages. As she tries proving that a girlfriend didn’t kill her boyfriend by whacking him with a whiskey bottle, Ricki struggles running her newly opened bar, a visit from her parents, and the attentions of her cop lover.

The likable characters and interesting storyline blend in to make an intriguing read. Even though Ricki is a stubborn character getting herself in more trouble, she’s interesting. The writing flows smoothly, making the book a quick read. The author uses her skills to create tension and suspense in the cozy story.

The setting is well described, with fully formed characters to make a great ending. Lolli offers little sexual tension in the book, giving readers a breezy thriller to enjoy. She catches the atmosphere of the county-town setting and the locals’ characteristics.

The story is narrated in the first person, as seen through Ricki’s eyes, a no-nonsense lady with a cheeky and doubtful attitude towards men and relationships. The humor is well-intentioned in the light-hearted and amusing novel.