Deadly Resolutions (1989; Walker Publishing Company- New York) 
The New Year's Day hike is a tradition with the New York Coast Walkers Club, and reluctant walker, Abigail Doyle, finds more than foul weather to grouse about on this particular jaunt. A body in a bunker at Breezy Point, Rockaway, is enough to get anybody's year off to a lousy start. Luckily, efficiency expert cum private investigator, Abby is too tough and smart to be shaken - even by the discovery that the victim is an army general, as well as heir to a prominent fortune, and that she is herself among the prime suspects.

The last thing she expects is to form an alliance with a tall, redheaded police detective named Margaret Standish. More bodies turn up - a general's wife, for one - with Abby always suspiciously on the scene, and she needs every ally she can get. Somebody is out to cover up something, and that somebody doesn't care whom they hurt to do it. Abby and her walking-club friends top the list of possible next victims, but most scary is the danger to her daughter. Even Abby's wily city smarts and her quick hand with a gun and a knife may not be enough to save Jackie; after painful years of estrangement from her child, Abby can barely face the possibility of losing her again.

Meanwhile, Abby is up against some powerful adversaries - from big money developers with land-grabbing on their minds, to top-echelon army brass intent upon closing ranks to avoid scandal at any cost. They all want Abby off the case...or do they?

Red Roses for a Dead Trucker (2000; Pendulum Press)

A Valentine's Day rendezvous with a former lover at a secluded mountain inn almost turns disastrous when Abby's car is run off the road by a big truck, and she narrowly escapes death. Determined not to let the close call spoil her idyllic weekend, she checks in at the inn, where Todd has made all the arrangements.

Except one - murder. His.

Sure that her close call with the truck was no accident, Abby suspects that there was more than romance behind Todd's invitation, and whatever it was is connected to his death. Relying on her skills as a private investigator and systems analyst, she vows to find his killer. Two more people die as Abby's investigation uncovers corruption in the trucking industry and pits Abby against dangerous enemies who don't hesitate at murder to get what they want. 

Efforts to force her off the case deepen her resolve to bring those responsible to justice. Realizing her sleuthing is risking her life, and that of her daughter, she calls on a policewoman friend for help. Their love-hate relationship takes a new twist as they band together to catch Todd's killers, and save a female CEO's company from an illegal takeover. Aided by her loyal male secretary Chris, and the anger of Todd's eccentric mother Electra, Abby finds her daughter to be a willing ally - and as headstrong as she is. Red Roses For A Dead Trucker is the second in a series of Abby Doyle mysteries.

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Anna Ashwood Collins with her biggest fan - Mollie Anna Booth - at her recent book-signing of "Red Roses" at the Jonesboro, GA Barnes & Noble.