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Charlie Parker Mysteriesseries.seoTitleShort

Start with Deadly Gamble and continue through all 21 books in the listed reading order.

21 books
Published 1995 to 2022
Status: Likely complete

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Deadly Gamble

Start with Deadly Gamble

Book 1 by Connie Shelton • Published 1995

Accountant and part time investigator Charlie Parker agrees to help an old friend recover a missing Rolex before the woman’s husband finds out. When the suspected thief is murdered, Charlie and her dog Rusty become th...

Complete List

Charlie Parker Mysteries reading order

Ends with Money Can Be Murder

  1. 1
    Deadly Gamble

    Book 1:Deadly Gamble

    Connie Shelton • 1995

    Accountant and part time investigator Charlie Parker agrees to help an old friend recover a missing Rolex before the woman’s husband finds out. When the suspected thief is murdered, Charlie and her dog Rusty become th...

  2. 2
    Vacations Can Be Murder

    Book 2:Vacations Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 1995

    Exhausted by work, Charlie books a solo trip to Kauai and a scenic helicopter tour. After she and pilot Drake Langston spot a body on the cliffs and Drake’s boss is charged with the crime, Charlie must solve a murder...

  3. 3
    Partnerships Can Kill

    Book 3:Partnerships Can Kill

    Connie Shelton • 1996

    When an old school friend’s restaurant partner dies in an apparent suicide, a key life insurance policy refuses to pay. Charlie’s investigation into the man’s finances exposes tax fraud, political ties, and a double l...

  4. 4
    Small Towns can be Murder

    Book 4:Small Towns can be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 1998

    A Fourth of July weekend trip to the tiny village of Valle Escondido should be a peaceful escape. Instead, Charlie uncovers spousal abuse, old prejudices, and a string of ugly secrets that show just how deadly a quiet...

  5. 5
    Memories Can Be Murder

    Book 5:Memories Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 1999

    After returning from a visit with Drake in Hawaii, Charlie learns her parents have died in a suspicious plane crash. Her questions trigger a rash of thefts and threats, and she discovers that to protect her future she...

  6. 6
    Honeymoons Can Be Murder

    Book 6:Honeymoons Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2001

    Charlie and Drake finally escape to a ski valley cabin for their honeymoon, but the trip derails when one of Drake’s employees is accused of murdering his priest brother. Following a trail of stolen religious art and...

  7. 7
    Reunions Can Be Murder

    Book 7:Reunions Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2002

    Eighty something prospector Willie McBride vanishes just before a big family reunion, and his abrasive daughter begs Charlie to find him. The search leads to a near ghost town, rumors of buried gold, and a modern crim...

  8. 8
    Competition Can Be Murder

    Book 8:Competition Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2004

    Charlie and Drake head to Scotland to help a friend fly workers to North Sea oil rigs, only to land in the middle of a fierce business rivalry. When a teenager from the castle family is kidnapped, Charlie must untangl...

  9. 9
    Balloons Can Be Murder

    Book 9:Balloons Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2005

    Days before the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, record seeking pilot Rachael Fairfield receives frightening notes she blames on the felonious father she sent to prison. Hired to keep her safe, Charlie finds that behind th...

  10. 10
    Obsessions Can Be Murder

    Book 10:Obsessions Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2006

    Hoping for a quiet lakeside vacation, Charlie instead becomes fascinated by an unsolved mystery: a showplace mountain home that exploded, a dead young woman, and a vanished owner. As she questions wary locals, she unc...

  11. 11
    Holidays Can Be Murder

    Book 11:Holidays Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2009

    In this holiday novella, Charlie is stringing lights and setting out luminarias when a neighbor turns up dead next door. Between family visits and Christmas traditions, she races to catch a killer before the season is...

  12. 12
    Gossip Can Be Murder

    Book 12:Gossip Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2010

    A week at a plush Santa Fe spa sounds like just what Charlie needs, until she senses something rotten beneath the smoothies and massages. Surrounded by rumors, jealousies, and a missing guest, she has to separate idle...

  13. 13
    Stardom Can Be Murder

    Book 13:Stardom Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2011

    A bungled bank robbery turns worse when the criminals mistake Charlie for a glamorous movie star and decide ransom money will fix everything. Trapped with a gang that has nothing to lose, she has only her wits until D...

  14. 14
    Phantoms Can be Murder

    Book 14:Phantoms Can be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2012

    An unexpected letter from the aunt she has never met lures Charlie to a medieval English town known for ghost tours. When creepy pranks against one of Aunt Louisa’s friends turn dangerous, Charlie must decide whether...

  15. 15
    Buried Secrets Can Be Murder

    Book 15:Buried Secrets Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2013

    Christmas in Albuquerque is disrupted when Charlie and Ron reopen a notorious case involving a mother once acquitted of killing her children. Hired by the grieving father, they sift through buried evidence and media f...

  16. 16
    Legends Can Be Murder

    Book 16:Legends Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2014

    Charlie and Drake head to Skagway, Alaska, flying tourists by helicopter to rustic cabins. When a guest discovers bones in an old mine and Charlie uncovers letters from a long gone prospector, she finds that gold rush...

  17. 17
    Weddings Can Be Murder

    Book 17:Weddings Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2016

    Joyful wedding plans in Charlie’s circle take a sharp turn when suspicious accidents and simmering grudges threaten to ruin the celebrations. As tempers flare and one incident turns fatal, she and Rusty must uncover a...

  18. 18
    Alibis Can Be Murder

    Book 18:Alibis Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2017

    Spring in Albuquerque finds Charlie juggling a ridiculous cheating spouse surveillance job involving a star football player and her neighbor Elsa’s worries about troubled teen twins. When real danger surfaces behind t...

  19. 19
    Escapes Can Be Murder

    Book 19:Escapes Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2019

    While on a helicopter job in rural Maine, Charlie and Drake help an elderly man reach his son’s remote cabin, then realize they may have aided an escaped criminal. Digging into a ten year old case pulls Charlie into t...

  20. 20
    Old Bones Can Be Murder

    Book 20:Old Bones Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2020

    A fortune cookie message sends Charlie to visit her Aunt Louisa in a quiet English town, just as a hidden skeleton is found behind a café wall. With old gossip, a cold case website, and family loyalties colliding, she...

  21. 21
    Money Can Be Murder

    Book 21:Money Can Be Murder

    Connie Shelton • 2022

    When cash starts disappearing from a local charity thrift shop, Charlie goes undercover to protect her beloved surrogate grandma Elsa from suspicion. The straightforward theft case turns deadly after her top suspect d...

Quick Answers

Charlie Parker Mysteries FAQ

What is the best order to read the Charlie Parker Mysteries series?

The recommended reading order is the numbered order shown on this page, starting with Deadly Gamble.

How many books are in the Charlie Parker Mysteries series?

There are 21 books currently listed in the Charlie Parker Mysteries series on GurusReads.

Where should I start with the Charlie Parker Mysteries series?

New readers should start with Deadly Gamble, the first book in the reading order.

Is the Charlie Parker Mysteries series complete?

Based on the publication years we have, the series appears likely complete and spans releases from 1995 to 2022.