Mary Monica Pulver Books In Order

Publication Order of Needlecraft Mysteries Books

Publication Order of Peter and Kori Brichter Books

Publication Order of Sister Frevisse Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Mary Monica Pulver otherwise known as May Kuhfeld, Margaret Frazer, and Monica Ferris is an educator, lecturer public speaker, short story writer, and novelist from Indiana. She was born in Marshall, Indiana to homemaker Marie Therese Pulver and electrician Harry Gene. Monica would later get married to museum curator Albert Kuhfeld. She spent much of her childhood and young adulthood in Wisconsin, where she graduated from a Milwaukee High School. She then joined the US Navy and for six and half years practiced as a military journalist, two of which were in London. Pulver would later get to attend the University of Wisconsin to get her college degree. In 1983, she made her writing debut as Abbess of Deer Abbey, Margaret of Shaftesbury when she was a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Her first work was “Pass the Word,” a short story that was sold to “Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.” She has since gone on to sell more than twenty short stories to magazines and anthologies in France, Germany, Italy, and England. Monica Pulver has also had her work featured in prestigious anthologies such as “Silence of the Loons,” “The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives,” “Murder Most Crafty,” “The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits,” “Unholy Orders,” “The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives,” “Royal Whodunnits,” and “Shakespearean Mysteries.”

Mary Monica sold “Murder at the War,” her debut novel to Saint Martin’s Press in 1987. It was such a success that it was a nominee for Best First Novel at the Anthony Awards and spawned four more titles in the “Peter and Kori Brichter Mystery” series. She later teamed up with Gail Frazer and combined their names to become Margaret Frazer. Together, they wrote the “Dame Frevisse” adventures about a medieval nun who lived during the times of Geoffrey Chaucer. The authors had a falling out after a few titles though Gail is still writing the series on her own. Mary Monica went back to writing short stories for magazines and anthologies but it was not long before she was approached by a senior editor at Berkley. He was looking for someone to write a cozy about a middle-aged woman that crotchets while also being an amateur sleuth. Since Pulver’s mother did cross-stitch and she knew someone that did blackwork, she thought why not write it herself. She took the name Monica so as not to confuse her audience and since she spun stories, she also took the name Ferris. The heroine of her cozy mystery series was a widow named Margot Berglund who is the owner of a prosperous crocheting shop. She would also go back to writing the “Peter and Kori Brichter Mystery” series about a policeman and his wife who solve murders in a small-town setting. Monica currently has more than ten novels in the “Peter and Kori Brichter Mystery” and the “Sister Frevisse” series alongside several short stories and single standing novels.

Mary Monica Pulver has been a teacher of mystery writing at seminars, workshops, and libraries in Ramsey and Hennepin County and at the North Hennepin Community College. She has also done signings, lectures and appeared on panels at the Malice Domestic, Bouchercon, Magna Cum Murder, Minicon, and Diversion science fiction and mystery conventions. She has been a keynote speaker at national, state, and local stitchery guilds. Her novels have become bestselling titles on the independent mystery bookstore lists and on USA Today. She is also very active in writer associations and is a member of the Sisters in Crime. Monica is also a volunteer for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Rescue and a paid speaker on how to become and live the life of a mystery writer. To get better at her job, she does needlework and often studies the medieval era. When she is not writing her novels, she can be found performing her duties as Lector and Lay Eucharistic Visitor at the Minneapolis Episcopal Church of Saint George.

Mary Monica Pulver’s “Murder at the War” is a modern mystery novel that introduces the SCA, otherwise known as the Society for Creative Anachronism. It is made up of a group of enthusiasts that for knowledge and fun selectively recreate and research the events of the Middle Ages. At their colorful meetups they usually call each other by popular medieval names while wearing clothing that harks back to the period. They meet every year to stage mock tournaments modeled on medieval warfare. They also display their medieval art and crafts during these meetups. In the debut novel of the series “Murder at War,” the lead character is a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism and policeman Peter Brichter. The man who is known as Stefan von Helle at the meetups is married to Kori who usually goes by the medieval name Katherine of Tretower. As is their custom, they attend the yearly tournament to have some fun only for things go wrong when Thorstane Shieldbreaker, a notorious troublemaker is found killed. Peter and Kori are the lead suspects in the murder as they had a very public bust up with the dead man. It is now up to Lady Katherine and Lord Stefan to use their knowledge of their society to try to solve the crime and clear their names.

“The Unforgiving Minutes” by Monica Pulver is the first novel of the series chronologically. It introduces Charter, Illinois’s Peter Brichter. He is an exceptional detective but given his abrasive nature, he does not make many friends among his colleagues. He has recently been posted to the organized crime unit, which means he may have to change his ways if he is to survive and thrive. Surprisingly, he finds that things are going well for him as he has met Katherine McLeod “Kori” Price, a young woman he is very much interested in and he also likes his new boss. Kori the woman he has fallen for is very much interested in horses though she is still haunted by the mysterious murder of her parents while she was still a child. Peter has a lot on the line both on the personal and professional front as he investigates Nick Tellios, a gangster who is also Kori’s guardian. While the Organized Crime Unit is small and underfunded, Peter is determined to make a success of his case. He has made a name for himself as a no-nonsense detective who is smart and often sees through people, sifts through facts, and solves some of the toughest cases.

Mary Monica Pulver’s “Ashes to Ashes” opens to Peter Brichter the Detective Sergeant working on an arson/murder case since the higher-ups believe it could have something to do with organized crime. A body had been found in the charred remains of an appliance store in town in what was believed to have been an arson attack. It is a bizarre case as he cannot find a breakthrough even though he has interviewed a ton of suspects and witnesses. To add to the complications of the case is the fact that he has to deal with a dirty cop named Eddie Dahl that has been forced on him as a partner on the case. Back at home, he is arguing with Katherine his wife about when to start a family. He had told her that it was not the right time to have children but now that she is already pregnant, things could not have been frostier. The silver lining in the whole thing is that he has started making friends with Isaac Kader a fellow bibliophile and exceptional arson investigator.