Books

We’ve all dreamed of ditching everything and running off to another country. But almost no one actually 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.

With only her favorite romance novel to guide her, Val decides Italy is the perfect place for some 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, what awaits Val 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?

If you've ever dreamed of ditching your life and running off to Europe, now’s your chance! 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. Get your ticket now!

Absolute Zero is a full-length, stand-alone novel. It's also the funny, yet often heart-wrenching prequel to the hilarious Val Fremden Midlife Mystery Series. Absolute Zero is not itself a mystery, per se. (Unless you count the mystery of why in the world we do the crazy things we do!) This novel is a satirical look at starting over after forty. Just like life, it's full of ups and downs. It's told through the eyes of a sharp-witted, reluctantly redneck woman who’s always played it safe – until now. Freedom comes at a great price for Val. Will it be worth it? Well, that's up to you....

Pick up a copy and come along for a tour of Italy, Germany and the human heart.

When you’re pushing 50 with an industrial bulldozer, birthdays can be a real pain. What was intended as a gag gift from Val's boyfriend ends up making her gag all right – and lands her in a whole heap of trouble with the law.

With one hot cop on her tail and a mean one on her trail, Val turns to old friends and new ones to help prove she’s not into human dismemberment.

Who’s the good cop? Who’s the bad? And who’s the dwarf in the Halloween mask?

Will a pair of falsies help Val stumble onto the truth? If not, she’s got to rely on her wacky, beach-bum friends if she’s going to escape the fickle finger of fate.

If you like deeply flawed characters and laugh-out-loud situations, you’ll love Two Crazy: Bust a Move. It’s the second book in Margaret Lashley’s hysterical Val Fremden Midlife Mystery Series.

Why wait? Get your copy and start laughing today!

They say three’s the charm. But charming isn’t Val’s style.

Val Fremden is a lot of things. Quirky. Jaded. Disaster prone. But more than anything, she’s afraid of commitment.

When boyfriend Tom tells her he loves her – then trades away her mom’s ashes for a tiki hut – Val’s just not feelin’ it.

On the warpath with Tom, Val’s forced to rely on her oddball 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 she's driving a paddy-wagon full of nutcases.

She loves Tom...she loves him not. Knowing Val, she’s gonna need a bigger flower….

If you love funny, hard-to-solve mysteries that put gaffs over gore and laughs over legalese, the Val Fremden Mystery Series is for you! Part Bridget Jones, part My Name is Earl, each book in the series is packed with crazy characters, zingy dialogue, hilarious similes and rip-roaring situational humor, making them a laugh a minute!

Often compared by readers to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum, Margaret Lashley’s character, Val Fremden, is 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.

Life’s a beach and then you die. If you’re ready for a good laugh and a great mystery, check out Three Dumb. It’s the third book in Margaret Lashley’s hysterical Val Fremden Mystery Series. Buy it now and let the laughs begin!

All Val wants is a quiet holiday away from her oddball family. But that just ain't gonna happen.

After a close brush with a crazy cousin in St. Pete, Val and her boyfriend Tom travel to Hicksville to 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?

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.

If you like deeply flawed characters and laugh-out-loud situations, you’ll love What Four. It’s the fourth book in Margaret Lashley’s hilarious Val Fremdens Mystery Series. Give yourself the gift of laughter. Buy a copy and head down the road to Crazyville today!

Val’s always been unlucky at love – and a whole bunch of other things. But she’s never actually felt cursed. Until now.

When 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 Mystery Series. Get your copy now and join in on the fun!

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 schemes get 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?

If you like deeply flawed characters and laugh-out-loud situations, you’ll love Six Tricks. It’s the sixth book in Margaret Lashley’s hilarious Val Fremden Mystery Series. Pick up a copy and get laughing today!

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….

If you like wacky, deeply flawed characters and laugh-out-loud situations, you’ll love Seven Daze: Low-Rent Rendezvous. It’s the seventh book in Margaret Lashley’s hilarious Val Fremden Midlife Mystery Series. Pick up a copy and get laughing today!

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.

Who’ll win the bet? Who’ll lose? And who in the world is Sir Albert Snoggles, III?

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 love funny, hard-to-solve mysteries that put gaffs over gore and laughs over legalese, the Val Fremden Mystery Series is for you! Part Bridget Jones, part My Name is Earl, each book in the series is packed with crazy characters, zingy dialogue, hilarious similes and rip-roaring situational humor, making them a laugh a minute! Get ready for another wild ride in Figure Eight! It’s the eighth book in Margaret Lashley’s hilarious Val Fremden Mystery Series.

Planning for a rainy day has never been Val’s forte. But when a storm brews up right in her own backyard, Val’s forced to get off her lounge chair and spring into action.

A shady, ham-fisted developer’s threatening to knock down Val’s favorite beach haunt, along with all the precious memories held within its shabby walls. With the owner’s signature on the bill of sale, the plan seems like a done deal.

Or is it?

Something fishy’s going on at the beach, and it’s going to take all the wits Val can muster to put a pig-headed developer out to pasture. But with her friend Goober missing in action, can Val get her act – and her troops – together in time to keep Sunset Beach from being wiped off the map?

Sandwiched between ghosts of the past and hopes for the future, Val needs to whip up a miracle if she’s going to save her own bacon….

If you like wacky, deeply flawed characters and laugh-out-loud situations, you’ll love Cloud Nine! It’s the ninth and final book in Margaret Lashley’s hilarious Val Fremden Mystery Series.

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 wannabees ….

Not to mention the whole “living with a stranger in an RV” thing.
The horrors!

Good thing she’s packing a Glock—and enough snark to qualify as a lethal backup weapon.

When Bobbie and Grayson go on the hunt for the cryptic 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 legendary animal they’re tracking.

A colossally bad judgement-call leaves Bobbie wondering just exactly who—or what—the elusive creature is. And she doesn’t mean Bigfoot.

What she discovers may leave her questioning the entire primate subclass ….

Swamp gas. Batman. Sasquash casserole.

Does life imitate ape, or ape imitate life?

It’s going to take all of Bobbie’s fledgling investigative skills to figure out that enigma.

Ape Shift is book four in the Freaky Florida Mystery Adventures Series.

Preorder it now! Or sign up for my newsletter and be among the first to find out when it releases!

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 leads to the bizarre, the unexplained, and to taco-induced heartburn.

Vampires. Zombiguanas. Ikigai smell. Cheesy moustaches.

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 barbeque.

It’s enough to make anyone lose their appetite!

Have Bobbie and Grayson finally 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 ...

Weevil Spirits is book five in the Freaky Florida Mystery Adventures Series.

Preorder it now! Or sign up for my newsletter and be among the first to find out when it releases!

Over 700 5-Star Reviews and counting! If you love oddball heroines and funny, hard-to-solve mysteries, the Val Fremden Midlife Mystery Series is for you. Each book in the series is packed with crazy characters, zingy dialogue, hilarious similes and rip-roaring situational humor, making them a laugh a minute! Life is full of ups and downs. The bumps don’t seem so big when you’re laughing your butt off along the way. Val and her unexpected pals are the kind of friends who can help you do just that.

The boxed set includes Glad One and Two Crazy and Three Dumb. A bonus link in Glad One also enables readers to join my newsletter and receive as a welcome gift a Free Copy of the "leave 'em gasping" prequel, Absolute Zero!

Grab your starter set and start laughing today!

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.

Then again, it’s the middle of gator-hunting season. And with horrendous tales of a murderous beast trolling the riverbanks, just who’s the angler and who’s the bait is as blurry as swamp gas at midnight.

Bang Sticks. Dead-Eye Gravy. Limbic Pentameter.

Given the deadly school of suspects they’re forced to wade through, the mismatched trio will have to cast a pretty wide net to snag this monstrous culprit.

Will they be able to swallow their fears and tackle the mystery afloat? Or will they end up as the killer’s next catch of the day? This is one fishy case that could spell their final recipe for dis-Astor ...

Half Crocked is book eight in the Freaky Florida Mystery Adventures Series.

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.

It’s enough to make someone break out in hives!

Complicating matters, Grayson finally gets word on his Mothman scat samples—escalating their problems excrementally.

This time, it looks like these two have truly stepped in it—big time.

Scatman Dues is book six in the Freaky Florida Mystery Adventures 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

More info →

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!

Being broke, jobless and divorced at age forty-five is bad enough. But when Val Fremden’s only friend ends up dead, it’s hard not to think the world’s out to get her.

Maybe it is….

The sugar-white sands of St. Pete Beach attract weirdos like mosquitoes to a bug zapper. So when the heir to Val's friend's estate can't be found, the local loonies quickly swarm in, buzzing around for a piece of the leftover pie.

Determined to find her friend’s true heir, Val reluctantly turns to three crackpots for help – a drunk, a redneck, and a snarky beach bum. Working at odds with each other, their bumbling investigation attracts the attention of a hot cop. He quickly gets into the fray and under Val’s skin. Whether it’s in a good way or bad only time will tell.

Love your mysteries with a side of snide? Get set for a heaping helping of Southern-fried screwball action in this hilarious accidental thriller! Grab your copy now!

If you love funny, hard-to-solve mysteries that put gaffs over gore and laughs over legalese, the Val Fremden Mystery Series is for you! Part Bridget Jones, part My Name is Earl, each book in the series is packed with crazy characters, zingy dialogue, hilarious similes and rip-roaring situational humor, making them a laugh a minute!

Often compared by readers to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum, Margaret Lashley’s character, Val Fremden, is 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.

Life’s a beach and then you die. If you’re ready for a good laugh and a great mystery, check out Glad One and its crazy cast of characters today!

“Florida Man” has met his match in Bobbie Drex, a down-and-out native of the Sunshine State. She may be short on cash, but she’s always packing enough snark to give any whack-job a run for his money.

Including her wisecracking, redneck cousin, Earl.

But when a mysterious stranger arrives at her mechanic shop seeking repairs to his ratty old RV, it’s Bobbie who’s in for a complete overhaul.

Phantom shooters in hot-pants. Gonadal twins. Norman Bates in a turban. Mothman pooper scoopers.

It’s enough to make anyone want to run off and join the circus! But in Florida, you don’t have to. Wait long enough, and the freak show comes to you.

So, grab some mosquito repellent and a lawn chair. Then sit back and relax. Things are about to go sidesplittingly off the rails in the Sunshine State ….