Homemaker

by Ruthie Knox, Annie Mare

Overview

When a former friend and devoted mother vanishes, a confident homemaker turned amateur sleuth follows an unexpected trail of scandals and secrets to find her.

Prairie Nightingale is both the midlife mother of two teenage girls and a canny entrepreneur who has turned homemaking into a salaried profession. She’s also fascinated with the gritty details of other people’s lives. So when seemingly perfect Lisa Radcliffe, a member of her former mom-friends circle, suddenly disappears, it’s in Prairie’s nature to find out why.

Given her innate talent for vital pattern recognition, Prairie is out to catch a few clues by taking a long, hard look at everyone in Lisa’s life—and uncovering their secrets. Including Lisa’s. Prairie’s dogged curiosity is especially irritating to FBI agent Foster Rosemare, the first interesting man Prairie has met since her divorce. His square jaw and sharp suits don’t hurt.

But even as the investigation begins to wreak havoc on Prairie’s carefully tended homelife, she’s resolved to use her multivalent homemaking skills to solve the mystery of a missing mom—and along the way discover the thrill of her new sleuthing ambitions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781662530906
Publisher:	Amazon Publishing
Publication date:	06/01/2025
Series:	Prairie Nightingale , #1
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare are authors of more than a dozen romance novels between them. Together they write contemporary queer romance as Mae Marvel. Ruthie and Annie live in a very old house with a garden in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with two teenagers, two dogs, multiple fish, three cats, four hermit crabs, and a bazillion plants. For more information, visit www.ruthieknox.com and www.anniemare.com.

Editorial Reviews

Behind all [the] motives for murder is a clear-eyed look at the enduring inequality between men and women.” —Kirkus Reviews

“In this witty series launch from Knox and Mare, divorced mom Prairie Nightingale…is a lovably eccentric protagonist, and her first adventure goes down easy. Cozy fans will be satisfied.” —Publishers Weekly

“Original, imaginative, deftly crafted, and a fun read from cover to cover.” —Midwest Book Review

“Gorgeously written and frequently hilarious…I adored every word of this book, and I’m hoping for a zillion more in this world.” —Emma Barry, author of Bad Reputation

“Homemaker has it all: a ripped-from-the-headlines mystery, a found family of big-hearted, hilarious feminists, a slow-burn romance, and the most compelling heroine-slash-amateur sleuth I’ve read in ages. I don’t just want more Prairie Mysteries—I want her to be real so we can hang out. Pick up this book. You’re going to love it.” —Molly Fader, USA Today bestselling author of The Sunshine Girls

From the Publisher

2025-05-29
Sometimes it takes a homemaker to solve a convoluted murder case.

Prairie Nightingale’s business card says “Homemaker,” but the divorced, sharp-eyed mother of two has more ambitious plans for her life in Green Bay, Wisconsin. While waiting for her kids at school pickup, Prairie wonders why her former friend Amber Jenkins is carrying a very expensive handbag when her car has a broken taillight and her phone has a broken screen. Prairie used to be a member of a mothers’ group until she revealed that the popular Dr. Nathan Carmichael was sexually abusing his patients, causing a major scandal in Green Bay and turning Prairie into a pariah. She still has a good relationship with her ex-husband, Greg, but she’s realized that he took her considerable skills for granted during their unequal marriage. When local mom Lisa Radcliffe goes missing, Prairie gets a chance to prove her chops as an investigator. Why would someone as happy and well-off as Lisa disappear? Although Prairie’s always liked Lisa, who made serious money as a person high up the line of people selling Kitty Blue products, she quickly learns that the people below Lisa are losing money and the FBI is investigating the business. She manages to get on the fringe of her former group by organizing a vigil for Lisa, where the police announce that they’ve found her vehicle but not her. Along the way, she catches the attention of attractive FBI agent Foster Rosemare. He warns her against sleuthing, but her keen eye and local contacts dredge up a lot of information he might never have learned, and their quixotic partnership leads to both a killer and a promising relationship.

Behind all those motives for murder is a clear-eyed look at the enduring inequality between men and women.

Kirkus Reviews