Victoria Abbott / Mary Jane Maffini Books In Order

Publication Order of Book Collector Mystery Books

Publication Order of Camilla MacPhee Mystery Books

Publication Order of Fiona Silk Mystery Books

Publication Order of Charlotte Adams Mystery Books

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Ladies Killing Circle Books

Publication Order of Victoria Abbott Picture Books

Publication Order of Cozy Chicks Kitchen Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Mary Jane Maffini
Mary Jane Maffini is a lapsed librarian, a member of the Ladies Killing Circle, former co-owner of Ottawa’s Prime Crime Mystery Bookstore. She was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia and has a BA and a Masters in Library Sciences from Dalhousie.

Mary’s short stories, many of them indicating a deep mistrust of old ladies, can be found in the seven Ladies Killing Circle anthologies, Cold Blood V, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Storyteller Magazine, Iced, and some other popular publications.

Mary is a former President and a current member of Crime Writers of Canada. She was a former board of directors member of the Canadian Booksellers Association.

Mary is a frequent panelist at mystery conferences like Malice Domestic and Bouchercon in America and Bloody Words National Mystery Conference in Canada.

She is a native of Nova Scotia, like many of her characters, Mary Jane lives in Ottawa with her long-suffering husband and two miniature dachshunds.

“The Busy Woman’s Guide to Murder” won the RT Award for Best Amateur Sleuth in the year 2012. For her short stories, she has won a pair of Arthur Ellis Awards, and was nominated for three others. In the year 1994, she won the Ottawa Citizen short story contest for “Death Before Doughnuts”.

With her daughter, Victoria, she writes under the pen name of Victoria Abbott. Together, they write the “Book Collector Mystery” series.

Mary’s debut novel, called “Speak Ill of the Dead”, was released in the year 1999. She writes the “Fiona Silk” series, the “Charlotte Adams” series, and the “Camilla MacPhee” series. Her books are from the cozy mystery genre.

“The Icing on the Corpse” is the second novel in the “Camilla MacPhee” series, and was released in the year 2001. It may well be forty below in Canada’s capital, but Camilla, victims’ advocate, feels the heat. A savage serial batterer goes out on a rampage to get revenge against his ex-girlfriend, the terrified woman turns to Camilla and the rest of Justice for Victims for some assistance.

A sudden change of fortune causes her client to start feeling the chill. Camilla takes the case slowly, now a murder, and receives a frosty reception from the cops. Quickly everybody linked to the case is cooling their heels in jail or attempting to stay out of the morgue’s cold storage. Camilla’s starting to skate on some thin ice trying to find the killer, literally.

This is an engaging whodunit that keeps you guessing until the very end. The more readers got to know Camilla and her friends and family, the more they grew infatuated with this series.

“Little Boy Blues” is the third novel in the “Camilla MacPhee” series, and was released in the year 2002. Camilla is looking forward to cutting loose at the huge open-air extravaganza, Ottawa’s Bluefest. There is also the behind of her annoying office assistant, named Alvin that is finally quitting.

Then the news from the East Coast comes, and Jimmy, Alvin’s younger brother, has disappeared from the midst of a Canada Day crowd in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Could he be dead? Was he abducted? Sleuthing around Sydney irritably on Alvin’s behalf, and Camilla manages to make the usual amount of people froth at the mouth. This includes Jimmy’s forlorn buddies, frantic family, and puzzled teachers.

She doesn’t spare the guy at the chip stand or the parish priest. Before Camilla knows what’s going on, all roads head back to Ottawa, where there is a killer with everything to lose waits to create chaos among the guitar pickers, the tens, and all the swaying, happy crowds. If Camilla is unable to sort this entire mess out, how many others will die?

“Organize Your Corpses” is the first novel in the “Charlotte Adams” series, and was released in the year 2007. Charlotte Adams is a professional organizer. There is not a single thing that is out of place inside her closets, however it is her life that is a mess. She has moved back home to Woodbridge, New York after dumping her cheating ex-fiance, and began making to-do lists, a few of which include solving the occasional murder.

Charlotte’s new gig has her going through years of accumulated junk to locate some important documents. However, she finds her client, who is the meanest teacher in the entire town, dead under a pile of the debris that has been plaguing her. There is no end to the long list of suspects. One that begins with Charlotte herself.

“Too Hot to Handle” is the second novel in the “Fiona Silk” series, and was released in the year 2007. Fiona Silk is broke once more. Her romance writing career has been tanking, her former husband stalls with her divorce settlement and her small house might be sold for unpaid taxes. However, Lola (Fiona’s new agent) has got a plan for her. Fiona can write an erotic cookbook. It is good timing since Hot Stuff! En Feu!, the television event is getting shot in her small town.

Media, producers, staff are going to descend on the village, including a pair of sensuous and popular chefs. This project would be simpler if Fiona had a current sex life or even a working oven. Fiona’s still shaky after she witnessed the mysterious crash of a Cadillac as well as the death of the driver who had treated to an episode of road rage.

Still she wants to cobble that erotic cookbook she is supposed to write. If Fiona could only keep her mind off of that fatal crash. Quickly bad things begin to happen to people, however, oddly, just when Fiona is nearby. Before too long Fiona’s house is on fire. Then there is danger happening at the Hot Stuff En Feu! location. The body count rises. Will Canada’s most reluctant sleuth be able to stop this killer before she is killed?

Readers thoroughly enjoyed this book, finding themselves laughing and wishing the best for each and every one of the characters. Fans liked the location and the characters as well. These are characters that are interesting and that you instantly identify with.