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Martha Kemm Landes
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Welcome! I'm Martha Landes
I write fun, light mysteries in a genre I like to call "rom-com-steries."
From the silly, Pity Mystery Series
to the exciting mysteries set in New Mexico,
these fun stories are enjoyed
by all ages and genders.
Sign up for my newsletter, Mini Morsels from Martha, to get occasional e-mails from me
Just click here!
Available Now!
Crime Flies
Murder doesn't always happen on the ground.
Crime Flies
When 32-year-old Upcycled shop owner, Maria Olson, is lucky enough to secure a booth at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, she is excited but nervous.
Will she be able to repurpose enough balloon-themed products to sell? Will she make enough money to cover the booth rental fee? And can her goofy friend manage her other shop while she’s gone?
All is wonderful at the Fiesta. She meets new friends, sells plenty of products, and her bestie, Jill, does a good job watching her main store in the Out of the Box shopping center.
Things go south when a new friend dies in a freak ballooning mishap. Maria suspects it wasn’t an accident. After all, ballooning is safer than most forms of transportation. She keeps an eye on her suspects, all while making more products, working long hours at her booth, and dealing with uninvited foreign houseguests.
In Crime Flies, Maria finds herself caught in a whirlwind of high-flying danger.
"Fast-moving and action packed. The scrapes Pity gets herself into are quirky and funny. And I always love a happy ending" - Melanie Feger
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Book#1 in the Pity Mystery Romp Series
Pity the Movie Lover
She was dying to be in a movie until...
Pity Kole, a busy music teacher/single mom, is excited
when Hollywood comes to town, and is ecstatic
when she is chosen as a stand-in for the leading actress. Things turn tragic when a fellow stand-in is killed
in a freak accident involving Tulsa's iconic Golden Driller statue. Pity believes the man was murdered and,
on impulse, sets out to prove it herself. Unfortunately,
the goofy gal gets into ridiculous and
dangerous situations on and off the set.
Pity also must deal with her horrible school
principal and an overbearing admirer.
Do we pity the movie fanatic,
or will she have her day in the spotlight?
Click the buttons to go directly to Amazon. Thank you!
Book #2 in the Pity Mystery Romp Series
Pity the Garage Sale Addict
A murder was more than she bargained for.
Pity Kole is a self-proclaimed garage sale addict who
spends much of her free time bargain hunting.
When she discovers suspicious notes in a purple desk purchased from a yard sale, she is convinced they
are clues to a long-ago murder.
With the help of friends, family members, and a handsome policeman, Pity must solve a crime
authorities had written off as an accident.
When she plunges headfirst into a pool of mystery
her life, and those of her daughters,
turn dangerously complicated.
Do we pity the shopaholic,
or will the goofy gal discover the truth?
Click the buttons to go directly to Amazon. Thank you!
Book #3 in the Pity Mystery Romp Series
Pity the Stranded Tourist
There's no place like Rome...
unless you discover a murder.
Amid various holiday activities, music teacher and single mom, Pity Kole must find time to enter a jingle-writing contest. After all, the prize is a trip to Rome, Italy!
Pity is gobsmacked when she wins and along with her sister, sets out for a European adventure. Unfortunately, the impulsive gal finds herself in ridiculous and embarrassing situations, Italian style. When members of the famous Greco Motors family are mysteriously injured, who better to investigate than Pity herself? Between language confusion and her own goofy spontaneity, Pity finds herself on one wild and dangerous ride after another prompting the question; Will Italy survive her visit?
Do we pity the detained traveler, or will she make it back to Oklahoma a hero?
Click the button to go directly to Amazon. Thank you!
Book #4 in the Pity Mystery Romp Series
Pity the Reluctant Fan
There's no crying in baseball...
until something goes afoul.
When Pity is invited to go with her boyfriend on a bus tour of East Coast Major League Baseball parks, she is reluctant to go because she doesn’t like bus rides and worse, she dislikes sports. But she agrees to go along and spend quality time with Mike and explore the exciting, big cities.
Unfortunately, Mike must leave the tour for a family emergency, leaving Pity to attend the games surrounded by extreme sports fans. When misfortune befalls several people on the bus, Pity senses foul play. With something more interesting to focus on than the games, she goes to bat for her new sport-loving friends and investigates her suspicions. In her typical style, Pity slides into trouble everywhere she goes, often causing more problems than she fixes.
Do we pity the miserable spectator, or will she hit a home run and solve the mystery?
Click the buttons to go directly to Amazon. Thank you!
An exciting mystery set in New Mexico!
Upcycled to Death
An Out of the Box Mystery
Maria Olson lives in an adobe home in Albuquerque New Mexico’s Old Town. The creative 30-year-old is excited to open her own store called 'Upcycled' in the new shipping container shopping center.
She meets the other eclectic merchants, including the handsome brothers who own Rusty Railroad Brewery.
Just days before the new center opens, Maria
stumbles over a dead body lying next to her shop. When the death is deemed suspicious, she takes a close look at the other business owners and
wonders if she might be in danger.
Maria and her pregnant best friend search for answers, but have to deal with an aggravating detective, a sleazy landlord, crazy mishaps, and dangerous situations.
Click the buttons to go directly to Amazon. Thank you!
If you like photography or pets, you'll love this mystery.
Framed Fur Murder
A Picture This Mystery
Andrea "Ande" Nilson is the spunky 28-year-old owner
of Picture This on Main photography studio in the university town of Brookings, South Dakota.
The petite gal spends her days photographing her favorite subjects-pets, to her least favorites-children.
Ande's sidekick, Flash, is a talented parrot who gets the attention her clients to smile for the birdie.
The Main Street merchants are frustrated by the shabby work of the construction crew renovating Main Street. Being the most outspoken one in the group,
Ande makes it her job to get the crew in line.
But when a suspicious death occurs, she becomes the number one suspect and goes into full detective
mode to clear her name.
Will she find the murderer and clear her name or will she forever be framed fur murder?
Click the button to go directly to Amazon. Thank you!
Upcycled to Death
An Out of the Box Mystery
Maria Olson lives in an adobe home in Albuquerque New Mexico’s Old Town. The creative 30-year-old is excited to open her own store called 'Upcycled' in the new shipping container shopping center.
She meets the other eclectic merchants, including the handsome brothers who own Rusty Railroad Brewery.
Just days before the new center opens, Maria
stumbles over a dead body lying next to her shop. When the death is deemed suspicious, she takes a close look at the other business owners and
wonders if she might be in danger.
Maria and her pregnant best friend search for answers, but have to deal with an aggravating detective, a sleazy landlord, crazy mishaps, and dangerous situations.