Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Book 2 in the Tower District Mystery Series, "One of You" will be released May 2024! 

Check back for event info! 

 


 

Roxi Carlucci’s new life in Fresno, CA is starting to come together. She has a new podcast, works as a part-time P.I. with her cousin Stephen Carlucci, and is helping local bookstore owner Clark Halliwell put on the first-ever Tower Halloween Mysteryfest! To top it all off, her favorite author, the Queen of Cozy Mysteries, Marilyn Bradford, will be there!

The brutal summer heat is gone and has been replaced by the dense tule fog—perfect for Halloween! While Roxi misses her life as a children’s author living on the California Coast, she is beginning to feel at home in the Tower District—the cultural oasis of Fresno—where she lives with her cousin Stephen, her pet rat Merlin, a Pit Bull named Watson, and a black cat named Dan.

She just wishes everyone would stop calling her the “Jessica Fletcher” of the Tower District! Even if there will be murders on the page at Mysteryfest, there’s no way there will be another real murder like when she first arrived! But when one of the authors is found dead, she fears she jinxed herself! The Carlucci’s are hired to find the killer before they strike again! Will Mysteryfest turn into a murder fest? How is the local gossip website back, and what does it know about the death of Roxi’s parents?

 

 A woman starting over. A gossip website. A handsome playwright with a dark side. A director with an explosive temper. And a murder without a motive. It’s a mystery set in the historic Tower District—Fresno's dining, arts, and entertainment hub.

One of Us is available on Amazon.

Barnes and Noble.com

And on Kobo

You can also purchase it at Clovis Book Barn, in Clovis, CA (they have signed copies)

You can follow me on Goodreads, BookBub, Instagram!

Purchase One of Us merchandise on RedBubble

Praise for "One of Us"
Lorie Lewis Ham hits one out of the park with her first book in the new Tower District Mysteries series.  Literary Liz

Well-written, Ham walks you through the twists, turns, and surprises that face Roxi and Stephen as they work with the local police to solve the murder.
~Christa Reads and Writes

I loved how the author maintained a consistent focus on the plot. After a brief introduction to the protagonist, the plot starts to move and never stops until the end.
~Mysteries with Character

An utter delight, ONE OF US captures a unique neighborhood and introduces us to interesting well developed characters while providing an eminently intelligent and enjoyable mystery.
~Cozy Up With Kathy

Check out my event page for other past & future events and guest posts

More praise for One Of Us-
An entertaining mystery with a unique setting—the Tower District in Fresno. And an adorable pet named Merlin. He's a rat. Trust me on this -- you'll love clever Merlin.

    -- Elaine Viets, author of the Angela Richman, Death Investigator mysteries

In her new novel Lorie Lewis Ham brings the Tower District of Fresno charmingly alive.  Seeking a new life in a new town, Roxi Carlucci immediately gets involved in local amateur theatre and pet rescue activities and her cousin’s private investigator business. Before long she stumbles over a dead body at rehearsal.

I loved the charming, quirky, instantly endearing Roxi with her love of all things King Arthur and Sherlock Holmes, her pet rat Merlin, her intense curiosity about everything and her eagerness to plunge into her new life. That plus the Mafia family she’s trying to disassociate from, the circle of new friends, and a fast-paced mystery makes One of Us a treat for mystery readers and a fab start to a promising new series.

Vicki Delany/Eva Gates, One Woman Crime Wave, 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for Contributions to Canadian Crime Writing 

In this mystery, One of Us, the Tower District of Fresno is as important as the characters. A close-knit community, with ties to the theater and arts, it add layers of originality and depth to the plot. When a member of a theater group is murdered, Roxi Carlucci, newly arrived to the area, is immediately drawn in to the investigation. Roxi, along with all the other characters in this new mystery, is well drawn with a unique personality. Because of the location, and the interesting characters who inhabit the neighborhood, this is a great start to a promising mystery series.

--Marilyn Meredith, author of the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mysteries.

Welcome to my closet, so to speak, where I "unpack" my writing for you. I have been writing mysteries since I was a teenager and I have published 6 of them. Four of those 6 featured gospel singing amateur sleuth Alexandra Walters. Most of them are now out of print. For the past 13 years I have been focusing my attention on my online magazine Kings River Life, and more recently also our sister site KRL News & Reviews. Since May of 2018 a lot of my attention is also going to our mystery podcast, Mysteryrat's Maze, which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors.

After many years, I finally released a brand new mystery in 2021, which debuted a brand new series, featuring podcaster and part time P.I. Roxi Carlucci (If you read my other books-she is the cousin of Stephen Carlucci). The books are based in Fresno, CA, and more specifically in my favorite part of that town called The Tower District. The photo in the background of this website is a photo I took of the Tower Theatre in the Tower District!
 

Happy reading,

Your Mysteryrat Lorie!