Books

"Think Eat, Pray, Love but with a lot more redneck and a lot more sass." Kerrie Irish, Comfy Reading Blog

We’ve all dreamed of ditching everything and running off to another country -- but almost no one actually ever does. Well, Val feels like she's almost no one. Invisible to her husband and dissatisfied with her life, deep in her soul Val yearns to be someone else. Someone sexy. Someone happy. So she buys a ticket and takes off to Italy with only her favorite romance novel to guide her. Val’s got her heart set on relaxation, romance and reinvention. But she soon finds out that handsome men, like life, have plans of their own. In the race to rediscover herself, Val soon finds herself in over her head. What awaits her at the finish line may be a completely unexpected type of victory. Will Val score a home run? Or will she just want to run home?

Join Val on a roller-coaster ride through Europe that will leave you gasping! From gut-busting hilarity to gut-wrenching gaffs, finding yourself again is always worth the price of admission. Pick up a copy and come along for a tour of Italy, Germany, and the human heart.

It’s moving day for Val. And, as usual, anything that can go wrong does--beginning with her new boyfriend, Tom. When he shows up at her doorstep with an unwelcome delivery, Val becomes the unwitting center of attention for a whole new world of weirdos… wackos whose antics could have Val charged for human dismemberment. Plagued with a hot cop on her tail and a mean one on her trail, Val is forced to turn to old friends and new ones in her attempt to point the finger of blame on somebody else. But when an unexpected witness identifies Val as the guilty party, it may be time for her to skip town.

If you like deeply flawed characters and laugh-out-loud situations, the Val Fremden Midlife Misadventures are for you! Get set for a wickedly witty slide down the social ladder with a surprising cast of unexpected misfits!

Val Fremden is a lot of things. Quirky. Jaded. Disaster prone – to name a few. But more than anything, she’s afraid of commitment. So it's no wonder that when boyfriend Tom tells her he loves her, Val plays it cool. But when he accidently hauls her mom’s ashes to a junkyard, Val loses it like Chernobyl 2.0.

On the warpath with Tom, Val turns to her quirky, low-rent friends to help track down her mom’s cremains. But three botched stakeouts and two disasters later, she still hasn't got peanuts. Through trial (but mostly error), Val discovers it's not easy to outwit a mobile master of disguise when you're driving around a paddy-wagon full of nutcases. She loves Tom...she loves him not. Knowing Val, she’s gonna need a bigger flower.

Three Dumb is a satirical comedy about how life, over time, changes our perception of love and the things we value. It’s told through the eyes of a snarky, middle-aged woman with legendary commitment issues and a gnawing reluctance toward romance. Bet you can relate. ;)

What Four: Family Fruitcake Frenzy is a satirical look at something we've all come to love and dread -- spending time with our nutcase relatives during the holidays. It's told through the eyes of Val, a middle-aged woman who can't escape her redneck roots, no matter how far out on a limb she climbs.

All Val wants is a quiet holiday away from her oddball family. But that just ain't gonna happen. When Val and her boyfriend Tom travel to Hicksville, they find the annual "Family Fruitcake" competition already well underway. And there’s more than a few fruits and nuts in the running. But the biggest contest is between Val and her mom.  As their battle of wills heats up, unexpected ingredients get thrown into both women’s batter. It may be time to call in a game warden…. Who'll win? Who'll get their just desserts? And will Val’s half-baked family finally prove too much for Tom to handle, or will he rise to the occasion?

Treat yourself to What Four today, it's book four in the Val Fremden Midlife Misadventures series. An Amazon #1 Best Seller in Amateur Sleuths, Cozy Mystery, Humor & Satire, Women's Detective Fiction, Comedy, Humorous Dark Comedy, Men, Women & Relationships Humor, and Love, Sex & Marriage Humor!

When Val's fiancé Tom plans a romantic getaway and can’t go, one of Val’s pals goes instead. On the first day, her friend entangles Val in a prank that ticks off the wrong tourist. On the second day, she gets Val charged with murder. To clear her name, Val must go fishing for the real culprit. But what kind of bait do you use when you don’t want to get caught yourself? With both marriage and jail pressing down on her like potential life sentences, Val’s going to have to do some pretty fancy angling to get herself off the hook this time….

If you like deeply flawed characters and laugh-out-loud situations, you’ll love Five Oh: Mid-Century Meltdown. It’s the fifth book in Margaret Lashley’s hilarious Val Fremden Midlife Misadventures series.

Get set for a wickedly witty slide down the social ladder with a surprising cast of unexpected misfits!

When Val’s forced to take up dog-sitting as a second career, she runs into one tiny snag... She’s afraid of dogs.

In fact, the only thing she’s more afraid of is Tom moving in and wrecking her Sweatpants Saturdays. With neighbor Laverne facing the same impending doom, the two women decide sabotage is the perfect solution to change the plans of their cohabitation-minded boyfriends.

But their scheme soon gets sidetracked when a swarthy guy with a shady past moves in next door and neighborhood dogs start disappearing. With Tom away and a convicted felon grilling mystery meat next door, Val’s forced to rely on Winky and Goober to help her sniff out clues about the suspected canine chef.

I mean, really, what could possibly go wrong?

When Val tries to revive her old writing career, story ideas prove as elusive as a moment alone without her boyfriend Tom breathing down her neck. Tom’s moved in, and Val’s itching to move out – at least temporarily. A last-minute getaway to the country seems like the perfect solution for dissolving her writer’s block. But a fateful fish fry ends up inspiring a whole different kind of dead end.

With an angry horde of RVers pointing the finger at Val, she’s got to out-smart Bigfoot, out-do a seedy crafter, out-wit a psycho killer, and just plain “out” whoever in blue blazes keeps scaring the daylights out of her with those hideous shrunken heads! Whether Val gets out of this alive or not, one thing’s for sure -- she’ll never trust the internet again….

Val can’t solve all the world’s problems, so she’s settled on two: smashing every tacky figurine on the planet…and ridding the universe of her boyfriend’s hideous Barcalounger. During a neighborhood yard sale, the fate of Tom’s beloved chair comes down to a wager. But what Val puts up as an ante proves hard to live without, and soon has her wrestling with the demons she keeps locked inside her closet – both literally and figuratively.

With an old nemesis breathing down her neck and an old friend missing in action, Val soon finds herself jonesing for more than mere justice. Come along for the ride as Val’s “Hammer of Justice” lays waste to atrocities of both the ceramic and non-ceramic kind, and the gang learns that when you mess around with Karma, just who ends up dealing the final blow is anybody’s guess.

If you adore funny, women-centric mysteries like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum and hilarious-yet-heartfelt stories like Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones, you'll probably find yourself resonating with Val Fremden, too. She's a lovable, bungling mess who's a bit older, a tad more jaded, and a ton more experienced in big-time failure. Life’s been tough for Val. Still, she always manages to find her way with sardonic humor and an intrepid spirit. A gin and tonic now and then helps, too.

All Bobbie Drex wanted was something normal—a new career as a private investigator. But after signing up with Nick Grayson to complete her internship, nothing normal has happened since. In fact, when Grayson gets a call about a possible alien invasion going down in Plant City, Florida, normal packs its bags and books a flight for another planet.

Man pudding. Doomsday preppers. Wayne’s World wannabes ….

If all that weren't bizarre enough, there's the whole “living-with-a-hot-stranger-in-an-RV” thing. The horrors! Good thing Bobbie’s packing a Glock—and enough snark to qualify as a lethal backup weapon.

Join in the fun! This funny, twisty paranormal mystery series skips the gore and goes right for the laughs. In fact, the banter between the quirky characters it a riot. This is the smart, addictive, hilarious escape you've been yearning for!

When Bobbie and Grayson go on the hunt for the legendary Florida Skunk Ape, there’s more than one tangled mystery afoot. Grayson, the man Bobbie’s hung her life and career on, is every bit as evasive as the creature they’re tracking.

At the start of their investigation, a colossally bad judgement call leaves Bobbie wondering just exactly who—or what—the elusive being is. And she doesn’t mean Bigfoot. What she discovers may leave her questioning the entire primate subclass …

Swamp gas. Batman. Sasquash casserole.

Does ape imitate life, or does life imitate ape? It’s gonna take all of Bobbie’s fledgling investigative skills to figure out that age-old riddle.

What better place than the Sunshine State for dark souls to live out their golden years? After all, who would notice? Uh … Bobbie and Grayson, of course.

As a rogue physicist turned conspiracy chaser, Grayson’s motto is, “Have sentience, will travel.” As a broke, private-eye wannabe, Bobbie doesn’t have much choice but to follow his sketchy command. But every road Grayson travels down leads to the bizarre, the unexplained, and taco-induced heartburn.

Vampires. Zombiguanas. Ikigai smell.

It’s hard to decide which is scarier. But decide, Bobbie must. And before sundown, too. Because in the freaky parts of Florida she now investigates with Grayson, nothing is ever quite exactly as it seems ….

When Grayson and Bobbie head to the Florida Panhandle to witness a spectacle of nature, they take a wrong turn and quickly find themselves up to their armpits in arthropods. And that’s the good part of their vacation. Campers are disappearing without a trace from nearby Torreya State Park. Whatever’s stalking them soon sets its eyes on Bobbie and Grayson, too.

Toadsicles. Bugaboos. Entomophagous BBQ.

It’s enough to make anyone lose their appetite! Have Bobbie and Grayson bitten off more than they can chew? Or will they swallow their fears and capture the creature that’s been bugging them? Only one thing’s for sure. Either way, they’re gonna need a bigger can of Raid.

If you love quirky heroines and funny, unpredictable stories, the Val Fremden Midlife Misadventures series is for you. Part mystery, part women's fiction, all heart, each book is full of oddly endearing characters, zingy dialogue, and rip-roaring situational humor. Life is full of ups and downs. The bumps don’t seem so bad when you’re laughing along the way. Val and her unexpected friends are the kind of folks who can help you do just that.

When Bobbie and Grayson go in search of a new RV, a chance encounter at a homeowner’s fire sale ignites a hidden flame burning deep within Grayson. And it’s not spontaneous human combustion … Or is it? People in St. Petersburg, Florida keep mysteriously bursting into flames. While the pair investigate potential causes, sparks soon begin to fly between them as well, threatening to snuff out their budding romance. Hot pockets. Total burnouts. Suspicious ash holes. The heat is on to solve the case... The weirdness of The X-Files and the unwashed insanity of My Name is Earl collide to form Smoked Mullet, the eighth book in the deliciously snarky, totally abnormal Freaky Florida Investigations

Aspiring actress Doreen Diller has one big problem: everyone thinks she’s a serial killer—including her own geriatric mafia family. Mama mia! While filming a low-budget murder mystery on St. Pete Beach, a fellow actor ends up dead for real—and Doreen is cast as his killer! Suddenly she’s got a grumpy cop trying to pin the crime on her, and a cute cop trying to pin her down for a date. Honestly, there might not be enough sunscreen in the world to keep her from getting burned for this. Almost a Serial Killer is book one in the Doreen Diller Humorous Mystery Series

All Doreen Diller wanted was to be an A-List movie star. But after finding out her family in Florida is related to the mob, she may have to settle for Plan B—a hasty exit, stage right. Sophia, the reigning Godmother, is about to turn one hundred. But someone is determined to end her centennial celebration with a bang and grab the throne for themselves. As the party draws ever nearer, Doreen finds herself itching to make a clean getaway, her family hits her with a bombshell of its own. An offer she can’t refuse. Or can she?  Almost a Clean Getaway is book two in the Doreen Diller Humorous Mysteries series.

Hook, Lie, and Sinker. When a string of idiotic decisions lands Bobbie in a boatload of trouble, she’s got to keep a lid on her temper before she winds up on the next episode of Snapped! With her cousin Earl’s hand in one pocket and partner Grayson picking the other, Bobbie’s cash is disappearing faster than banana pudding at a Baptist pot luck. Oddly, so are the folks in the tiny fishing village of Astor, Florida. Chomp chomp ...

Two weeks ago Doreen was a complete nobody. Now everyone’s out to get her. And I don't mean in a good way. Doreen’s acting career was in the dumpster—until she played a serial killer on TV. Now she can’t seem to live the infamy down. It’s not helping that her Aunt Edna is a member of the Southern mafia. Or that the gang of elderly ladies at Edna’s apartment complex consider Doreen their rising new star. Hitman? Not exactly the role she’d been hoping for. Almost a Dead Ringer is book three in the Doreen Diller Humorous Mysteries series.

Ever since this aspiring actress relocated from LA to St. Petersburg, FL, it’s not just her location that’s gone South faster than potato salad in July. So has Doreen's acting career, her police record, and her waistline. But I guess that’s what happens when you’re accused of being a serial killer. Now a new scandalous rumor is about to point the spotlight not just on her, but her entire new-found Family as well. (Did I mention they’re elderly members of a Southern Mafia clan called the Collard Green Cosa Nostra?) Anyway, if the Family secret gets out, their quiet little life in the suburbs could go up in smoke. To avoid that fate, Doreen’s going to need to pull out all the stops -- and her best acting chops. I sure hope she knows karate ...  Almost a Suburban Legend is book four in the Doreen Diller Humorous Mysteries series.

Just when Doreen Diller thinks her newfound Mafia Family have given up their sketchy ways, she discovers there may be more life—and criminal behavior—left in the old gals yet. When Doreen uncovers a money-making scheme hidden in Kitty’s greenhouse, it doesn’t bode well for her plan to date handsome Officer Brady—or to become a policewoman herself. Does Doreen allow Kitty’s budding enterprise to fly under the radar, or does she sing like a canary?
It’s not an easy decision when you’re cuckoo for a cute cop. Almost a Birdbrain Idea is book five in the Doreen Diller Humorous Mysteries series.

The clock is ticking for 40-year-old Doreen Diller. Will the disaster magnet with a knack for solving crimes become a cop? An actress? Or the underboss for her newfound Mafia Family? Or has her time already run out …  Someone’s been spying on the Collard Green Cosa Nostra. What their intentions are is anyone’s guess. But one thing’s for sure; The heat is on and there are way too many cooks in the kitchen. When Doreen spots the FBI lurking around her place, she realizes her number may be up no matter which career she chooses. Will the Family pull together and try to save their little piece of retirement paradise? Or have they finally cooked up their own unavoidable recipe for disaster? Almost a Triple Whammy is book six in the Doreen Diller Humorous Mysteries series.

After 50 years of bumbling around on the planet, Val Fremden’s got nothing to show for her life but a long string of dead-end jobs and a two-digit bank balance. But just as she’s about to toss her champagne dreams and caviar wishes into the dumpster, Val discovers that Marco Shamway—the jerk who plagued her all through high school—is now a millionaire. Worse yet, the idea that catapulted Marco to fame and fortune was one he’d stolen … from her! In an instant, Val’s flimsy bubble of midlife complacency bursts like a rotten tomato, splattering sour-grape juice all over her mediocre existence. Out for revenge, Val’s determined to make her mark on the world even if it kills her—or better yet, him.  That Time I Kinda Killed a Guy is book one in A Val Fremden Humorous Mystery, the spinoff series to the Val Fremden Midlife Misadventures series.

When Val's longtime boyfriend Tom Foreman takes off without even saying goodbye—well, that’s just the kind of thing that can make a good woman go bad.
Out to track down Tom or die trying, everyone Val meets seems like a potential suspect. Especially her new coworker, Gary. Ever since he showed up, people around town have begun disappearing. On the trail of a possible serial killer, Val must keep a cool head and follow the clues. Will the weird and wacky chain of events that follows lead her to Tom, or send her over the edge? It’s gonna take an ex-Vegas showgirl, a Florida good ol’ boy, and an attorney of questionable stature to find out.  There's Something About Gary is book two in the A Val Fremden Humorous Mystery series.

Stuck working in a rundown thrift shop, Val yearns for a way out—a destiny that doesn’t involve sorting used clothes by how repulsive they smell. The only problem is, Val is in debt to her boss all the way up to her sweaty armpits. Desperate to find a way out of her dead-end job, Val decides to clean up her act, even if it means giving up her most precious possessions. But her attempt to turn over a new leaf won't be easy. And Val is about to find out that one good deed doesn’t necessarily lead to another. Especially when it comes to money. Will Val end up awash in cash? Or go tumbling back into the poorhouse? Either way, someone’s about to learn that paybacks can be hell.  Show Me the Funny Money is book three in A Val Fremden Humorous Mystery series.

Portal Letting for Fun & Profit

When Bobbie and Grayson head back to Plant City to help out some old friends, they run into a “hole” new set of problems. While investigating a rash of missing persons, it’s not long before they get under each other’s skin. What’s making them all hot and bothered? Each other. In more ways than one.

Bobbie’s down-to-earth explanations for the missing men irritate Grayson, while his otherworldly theories have her itching for a sane solution. But when new, conflicting evidence emerges in the case, they soon realize they’ve only scratched the surface of the mystery at hand.

Worm butts. BIMBO mobiles. Mystery meatballs. What's not to love?

Starting a new business is scary enough. But when Val Fremden takes on Geraldine Jiggles as her new partner, her smashing new concept for “retail therapy” may soon turn into a Little Shop of Horrors. Has Val signed a pact with the she-devil herself? Just exactly who is that sharp-tongued demon in polyester pantaloons, anyway? When Val starts investigating Geraldine’s past, what she discovers threatens to tear a hole the very fabric of reality itself—or at list rip it one heck of a new unseemly seam. It appears that Geraldine’s caustic wit may not be her only lethal weapon. And when somebody takes a long walk off a short pier, both women find themselves up to their necks in hot water. Come along for the hilarious ride as Val discovers that when you go digging around in someone else's ancient history, you could end up in ruins yourself. The Devil Wears Stretch Pants is book four in A Val Fremden Humorous Mystery series.

Psychologist Deanna Young has spent decades trying to overcome her own fears and phobias—a legacy of insecurities handed down by her neglectful mother.

But when her mother dies suddenly, Deanna uncovers a shocking secret that turns her life upside down, and casts doubt on everything she thought she knew—about her mother, about her friends, and even about herself.

It’s a secret someone else knows, too. And they would kill to keep it hidden.

As Deanna begins to untangle the sticky web of the past, what lies in wait for her there could put an end to both her sanity and her life. Torn between her fears and her desperate need to know, Deanna must decide if uncovering the truth is really what she seeks, or if it’s better left buried—either in her mind or in a shallow grave.

Suspenseful but not too gory, WHAT SHE FORGOT is perfect for fans of Melinda Leigh, Willow Rose, Mary Burton, Matthew Farrell, Rachel Caine, Loreth Ann White and Debbie Herbert.

★★★★★ "A nail-biting psychological thriller that’s fast-paced and thoughtful. Fans of Melinda Leigh will love how Lashley spins the tale--full of suspense, insight, and moments so tense you'll have to turn the page to find relief.” A.C. Fuller, best-selling author of The Crime Beat

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We all do things we can’t explain. Some blame it on their devilish inner child. But what if one day the wild child within you decided not to take “no” for an answer?

Would you be strong enough to stop it before it was too late?

When a string of macabre fires point to a man who’s supposed to be dead, the Mind’s Eye Investigators are forced to exhume his tortured past—and their own childhood demons—if they’re to catch the deranged culprit before he strikes again.

Nail-bitingly suspenseful but not too gory, the new Mind’s Eye Investigator series is perfect for fans of Melinda Leigh's Morgan Dane, the Willow Rose series, Mary Burton readers, and fans of Matthew Farrell, Rachel Caine, Loreth Ann White and Debbie Herbert.

THE CHILD WITHIN is book two in the new Mind’s Eye Investigator Series by best-selling mystery writer Margaret Lashley. Book One is WHAT SHE FORGOT. To find it, look for the purple book with the spider on the eyeball ….

PREORDER NOW!

When cryptid chasers Bobbie and Grayson head to a friend's prepper compound for a Halloween party, all bets are off about who the real freak is -- even when the masks come off. Grayson is acting strangely out of character. Bobbie's on the hunt for family jewels. Garth and his friends put the Trailer Park Boys to shame. And Earl? He's just being Earl. And quite frankly, that's enough. Full moons. Lord Baldemort. Deadly legume gas. On Halloween, nothing is as it seems. And before the night is through, somebody will have to battle The Great Bumpkin. This is Florida, after all. Fool Moon is book 5.5 in the Freaky Florida Investigations series.

Glad One is a hilarious, no-murder cozy mystery about a broke middle-aged woman who must find the true heir of her best friend’s will before it falls into the wrong hands. Perfect for readers who enjoy quirky, flawed characters and gonzo situational humor similar to that of Janet Evanovich, Jana DeLeon, & Helen Fielding. An Amazon best seller in nine humor and mystery categories, Glad One is the first book in the Val Fremden Midlife Misadventures series by Margaret Lashley.

Love The X-Files? Florida Man? My Name is Earl? This hilarious, fast-paced paranormal series is for you! The weirdness of The X-Files, the humor of Bad Monkey, and the insanity of My Name is Earl collide to form Freaky Florida Investigations--a deliciously snarky, semi-paranormal mystery series.
Loaded with delicious dialogue, unique plots, and twisty turns you'll never see coming it's the smart, addictive, gonzo escape you've been searching for!