New York Times Bestselling Series

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Buy it here:

February 2013
ISBN-10: 0425251675​
ISBN-13: 978-0425251676

February 2012
ISBN-10: 0425246191​
ISBN-13: 978-0425246191

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A Novel Idea Mystery Series by Lucy Arlington

Sylvia May

February 2014
ISBN-10: 0425252248
ISBN-13: 978-0425252246

Lucy Arlington is the nom de plume for the writing team of Ellery Adams and Sylvia May, two friends who collaborated on an idea that became A Novel Idea Mystery Series. Together they wrote the first three books in the series.

A Novel Idea Mystery, Book One

After losing her job as a journalist at the age of forty-five, Lila Wilkins accepts an internship at A Novel Idea, a thriving literary agency in North Carolina. Being paid to read seems perfect to Lila, although it's difficult with the cast of quirky co-workers and piles of query letters. But when a penniless aspiring author drops dead in the agency's waiting room-and Lila discovers a series of threatening letters-she's determined to find out who wrote him off.

A Novel Idea Mystery, Book Two


At the Book and Author Festival, which is sponsored by the Novel Idea Literary Agency, Lila Wilkins expects to discover some talented new authors, but what she finds instead is the body of an editor to whom she bears an eerie resemblance. Trouble is, the editor’s death isn’t the only literary murder taking place. Soon a blossoming author is also killed, and Lila has a gut feeling that the two murders are linked. Now she must hunt down the dark figure who killed these women—and to her surprise, she just might find the clues hidden in a manuscript.

A Novel Idea Mystery, Book Three


Inspiration Valley, NC, is bubbling with excitement for the Taste of the Town festival. Lila Wilkins is right in the middle of it all. Along with her coworkers at the Novel Idea Literary Agency, Lila is organizing a grand celebrity chef event, featuring food television's biggest stars, complete with cooking demonstrations, cookbook giveaways, and a culinary writing contest.  But just as the celebration is about to start, the demo kitchen blows up, taking one of the star cooks with it. With all the explosive egos of the cook’s colleagues, it’s hard to find someone who didn’t have a motive to eliminate the competition. Now Lila will have to scramble to figure out which of her clients is a killer...before someone else gets burned.