What do you get when you cross “Desperate Housewives” and “24?”

You get the Ellie Foreman mystery series, written by Libby Fischer Hellmann, an author with seven novels and over 18 short stories to her name.

Ellie Foreman, a single mother and video producer lives in the Chicago suburbs. She has a teenage daughter, a senior citizen father, and an ex-husband who shows up at the most inconvenient times. Fortunately, her dry sense of humor, her best friend Susan, and an occasional bottle of wine help get her through life’s bumps.

But Ellie also has a sharply-honed sense of fair play and justice, and those traits usually get her into trouble, especially when she runs afoul of neo-Nazis, the Russian mob, or scions of rich Chicago robber-barons. Make no mistake: the Ellie Foreman books are novels of suspense. In fact, most reviewers call them mystery-thrillers.

The four-book series has won multiple awards:

• AN EYE FOR MURDER was nominated for an Anthony Award in 2003;
• A PICTURE OF GUILT (2003) was nominated for a Ben Franklin award;
• AN IMAGE OF DEATH (2004) and A SHOT TO DIE FOR (2005), both won Best Traditional Mystery at the Love is Murder conference.

What reviewers say about the series

• “A masterful blend of politics, history, and suspense “—Publishers Weekly
• “Hellmann knows what people are willing to die for and that knowledge makes her work shine.”—Chicago Tribune
• “Highly recommended, even if you don’t live in Illinois…”—Chicago Sun-Times
• “Ellie’s completely believable, because Hellmann writes believable. Her dialogue works… her characters, and her plot, even when unfamiliar or a little out-of-the-ordinary, are plausible.”— I Love A Mystery
• “Excellent dialogue, intriguing relationships, and good descriptions… I love Ellie’s down-to-earth attitude… a credit to the series.”—Mystery News

Libby Fischer Hellmann is the author of SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE, a stand alone thriller which has been very popular with the citizens of Kindle Nation. She also writes the Ellie Foreman and Georgia Davis mystery series, and the two-volume short story collection, Nice Girl Does Noir. She also edited the highly praised crime fiction anthology, Chicago Blues. She has lived in the Chicago area over thirty years.

So if you’re in the mood for an established author who delivers a great mystery, the Ellie Foreman books are for you. Best of all, prices on all four Ellie books have just come down to $2.99 each.