Tory Bauer Books In Order

Publication Order of Tory Bauer Mystery Books

Tory Bauer is the main character in a novel series written by American bestselling author Kathleen Taylor. Bauer works as a diner waitress in South Dakota, a sassy and witty lady who uses her deductive skills in helping solving crimes. Tory Bauer Mystery series began in 1993 after the publication of the first novel Funeral Food, the second book Sex and Salmonella was published in 1996. The series consists of 6 books, and Foreign Body is the last book in the series.

Funeral Food (1998)

Funeral Food is the first novel in Tory Bauer Mystery series, and in this book, we meet the lead character of the series Tory Bauer at a café in South Dakota. She is in her 40’s, an overweight and a widow. She lives in a trailer with a co-worker and the worker son. In Delphi South Dakota, you will find not many amusements and this suit perfectly for the recent widow, Tory. She seeks no additional excitement rather than hash sling at the café she works.

On the other hand, a co-worker and the trailer mate Delphine is quite the opposite. She is always hungry for a new thrill. So when a young, handsome Charles Winston visits the café where Tory works, Delp’s soon clings on the missionary like ketchup on fries. Delphine is entirely unconcerned on how her boyfriend, a fierce short- tempered deputy, Big Dick Albrecht will react.

Several days later, Tory discovers, Winston’s body stuffed in a closet and it is up to her to clean up the mess left behind. Tory unending thirst for answers and her natural investigative skills are put into action as she dives deeper to uncover the local town secrets. However if not cautious, she might end up dead, and thus she must do whatever is necessary to survive.

The novel is themed in Delphi South Dakota, a place where the summer is always hot and dusty while the winter is very harsh. Moreover, it is a small town where each day is a resemblance of the previous day however that changed when a body is discovered in the Cafés closet. The reporters arrive at the small town to report on the murder. There is a vivid description of the whole town such that one can visualize the city and also feel the scorching heat. In other words, the town is almost a character on its own.

Also, the small town residents a quirky and unique, after visiting the café they all had weaknesses described in a way that made them life like. The murder occurred way into the book, and one can see the book building toward the crime, but the solution to the murder case does not seem quite an easy task.

Cold Front (2000)

For Tory death is a party, she is good at dishes and also good at dishing out gossip. However, now it is her secrets that are being spread all over the town. It is during the new years eve in the small town of Delphi, and whether gossiped or not, Tory is focused on ensuring that she has a good time and doesn’t mind whether it kills her or not.

Ian O’Hara, a pleasant and handsome man visit to the small town is cut short after he is brutally murdered. During his less than 24-hours stay in Delphi, he had made some love interactions with some women- including Delphine, Tory’s roommate.

With the whole town focusing on what the new year has got to offer, the ever curious Tory Bauer is busy digging for clues that could have led to the death of Ian and possibly catch the lethal slayer on the loose. However, the killer is determined not to get caught, and he will do anything to ensure this, even if it means sending the amateur detective into an early grave.

Kathleen Taylor makes a vivid description of the weather- and this time she describes the winter climate as so cold, it kills, how it affect the small town is put into a clear description. The novel is fast paced with a good plot development right from the start to the very end. The characters are quite intriguing with each character undertaking its role in a grand manner.

Foreign Body (2001)

For Tory Bauer, the salt-tongued waitress, she is no longer taking any orders from anyone. She is now one of the co-owner of the small café in Delphi. Since the corpses lying around her premises are bad for business, Tory is reasonably agitated when a young Swedish lady and a member of the International Coral Group commits suicide and leaves behind a note claiming, Reverend Clay Deibert, a sexual predator was the reason why she had committed suicide.

Now for sure, Tory knows well that the reverend is the main suspect in the murder case, he is also Tory’s cousin by marriage. Tory got other suspects at hand, Meg the slutty and the only Canadian woman in the choir is responsible for the entire plot. However, when a body is found in the reverend closet, Tory Bauer realizes that saving the reverend could be one of the toughest missions she is yet encountered.

This is a duel between Tory and the Killer, who is determined to do anything to ensure survival, even if it means sending Tory to an early grave. Will Tory survive this mess this time round? Read the entire novel to find out what happened.

Sex and Salmonella (1996)

Kathleen Taylor once again rocks the publishing realm with a sassy mystery featuring the ample-bodied, savvy waitress Tory Bauer the untrained but a self-made part-time detective with skills equivalent of the CIA or the FBI agents. When a festival comes into town, Tory makes a friendship with one of the carnival worker who is found dead some hours later and once again the self-made detective dives again deeper on a quest to unmask the killer and bring him/her to justice.

Sex and Salmonella is one of the best books in Tory Bauer Mystery series featuring Tory Bauer. The plot is engaging with every aspect described to the latter. If you love cozy mysteries novels, then an addition of Kathleen Taylor books to your book library would be a great decision that you will never regret.