Official Website of Best Selling Author

Lorena Mccourtney

Author of Mystery and romance novels with a foundation of faith and a splash of fun 

There's a new interview with me on the  The Suspense Zone site. Great site with lots of information about authors and books. See it at: 

To enter to win a copy of DESERT DEAD on The Suspense Zone site go to:

Trish Perry also has an interview with me on her blog site Also the opportunity to win a free copy of DESERT DEAD. See the interview at:

Latest Release

Seniors Ivy and Mac are on the road for their delayed honeymoon. Baja! Beaches! Romance, sunshine, and shrimp tacos!

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A panicky phone call from good friend Magnolia changes their plans. Magnolia has found a dead body. Magnolia has lost  a dead body. Ivy and Mac decide making a side trip to a desert ghost town in Arizona won't take long.

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Wrong!

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Because in addition to missing dead body, there is an old cowboy trying to revive a faded movie career, possible blackmail, a two-million-dollar insurance plolicy, an ex-model writing the Great American Novel, her artist boyfriend, and a hungry roadrunner named Harry.

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Plus a killer intent on putting Ivy and Mac into the category of the missing dead.

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Join Ivy and Mac for another lighthearted adventure through mayhem and mystery in this third book in the Mac 'n' Ivy Mysteries series

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A booksigning

The author and husband Jim

The author with son Bill and husband Jim

The author and author friend Cherie Coon. Visit Cherie's website at :

My husband and I live in southern Oregon. For many years we made our home on rural acreage, but a few years ago we moved to town. (With me dragging my feet all the way.) Now we have much less space and a lot more traffic and city noise, but--and I never thought I'd say this--I like living in town just fine. It suits our lifestyle for this time of life.

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One thing that didn't change when we moved to town is that I'm still writing mysteries. I traveled a rather unlikely route to becoming a mystery writer. There was no mystery in my earliest, fifth-grade writing. Those stories were always about horses (and quickly rejected by magazine editors who were not impressed with my youthful "talent"). The love of horses carried me through a degree in agriculture from Washington State College, although by then I had a vague idea of combining horses and writing. My first job out of college, however, turned out to be with a big midwestern meat-packing company. I quickly learned that writing about raising hogs and making sausage was not my life's calling.

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Marriage and motherhood intervened, and by the time I got back to writing I knew fiction was what I wanted to write. I started with short stories for children and teenagers, mostly for the Sunday School publications. Then I added women's short stories and romance novels, all the time promising the Lord I would get back to Christian writing eventually. Finally, after 24 published romance novels, it was time to make good on that promise. 

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The first seven books that followed this decision were Christian romances, but I threw a murder into one of them (Yesterday Lost) and realized -- Hey, I like this mystery stuff! I then wrote three serious and intense Christian mysteries (The Julesburg Mysteries), but I also discovered I prefer a more lighthearted approach to mystery writing. You'll find that lighthearted touch in my other mystery series. (Check them out on the "my books" page.)

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One of the nicest perks of being an author is hearing from readers, and I'd be delighted to hear from any of you. Use the "contact" page on this website to contact me, or visit me on Facebook.

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Lorena and author friend Carole T. Beers. Visit Carole's website at:

My Books

More information about each book is listed down below.

The Mac 'n' Ivy Mysteries

      Something Buried, Something Blue

       Detour

       Desert Dead

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The Ivy Malone Mysteries

      Invisible

       In Plain Sight

       On the Run

       Stranded

        Go, Ivy, Go!

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The Andi McConnell Mysteries

       Your Chariot Awaits

       Here Comes the Ride

       For Whom the Limo Rolls

The Julesburg Mysteries

         Whirlpool

         Riptide

         Undertow

The Cate Kinkaid Files

        Dying to Read

        Dolled Up to Die

        Death Takes a Ride    

Depression Era Romances

         Betrayed

         Midnight Escape

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Faith and Fun Romances

        Dear Silver

        Three Secrets (novella)

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Other Mysteries and Romances

          Yesterday Lost (e-book and audio)

           Searching for Stardust

          Canyon

The Mac 'n' Ivy Mysteries

Something Buried, Something Blue   

Book #1, The Mac 'n' Ivy Mysteries

Ivy Malone and Mac MacPherson have been dancing around the idea of marriage for some time, and now they've made the big decision. They're getting married! Except there is the problem of a dead body and a big pile of money. And a killer who's willing to bring their plan to a deadly halt.

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Detour

Book #2, The Mac n' Ivy Mysteries

What follows a wedding? A honeymoon, of course. The beginning of a happily-ever-after future in which Ivy and Mac will travel the country in their motorhome until they find the perfect place to settle down and live. No more dead bodies, no more murders. Instead, here they are on a detour to an old dinosaur park, and Ivy is up to her possum-gray hair in ghost goats, deteriorating dinosaurs, and -- what else? A dead body, of course. Is Ivy in danger from the dinosaurs? Or is it more of a case of Watch out dinosaurs, here comes Ivy!

Desert Dead

Book #3, the Mac 'n' Ivy Mysteries

A desert ghost town. A dead body. A missing dead body.

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Once more Ivy and Mac's honeymoon is postponed while they try to help friend Magnolia figure out what's going on here.

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Which is murder, of course. And a killer who's inclined to put Mac and Ivy in that same desert dead classification.

The Ivy Malone Mysteries

Invisible

Book #1, The Ivy Malone Mysteries

Ivy is dismayed to find she seems to have aged into invisibility. People just don't seem to see her any more. But she soon decides "invisibility" can be a handy asset when you're searching for a killer -- or a killer is searching for you.

In Plain Sight

Book #2, The Ivy Malone Mysteries

Ivy decides that keeping out of sight of the murderous Braxtons is her best plan for now, but keeping a low profile is not easy when she finds her new employer dead in the water. And, with a bomb planted under her old T-Bird, someone apparently wants to add her to the obituary list. Is it the Braxtons or a new killer?

On the Run

Book #3, The Ivy Malone Mysteries

Ivy is headed across the country in her newly acquired motorhome, the murderous Braxtons not far behind, her new stray cat and God her only companions. She finds what at first appears to be a safe refuge in a survivalist compound, less safe when two dead bodies turn up. But she now has a new friend, Abilene, and older friend Mac MacPherson to help, along with a not-so-helpful flock of emus.

Stranded

Book #4, the Ivy Malone Mysteries

Ivy, along with friend Abilene, is still running from the Braxtons, but disaster strikes near in a little mountain town in Colorado. The motorhome breaks down, and they are apparently stuck until they figure out how to afford the expensive repairs. A young woman with en empty house comes to their aid, but the house was the scene of a murder not long ago. And their new friend is the top suspect. Can they help prove her innocence, or will the killer get them too?

Go, Ivy, Go!

Book #5, The Ivy Malone Mysteries

It appears the murderous Braxtons may have given up on Ivy, so she decides to head home, back to Madison Street in Missouri. Boyfriend (?) Mac MacPherson, disapproving of the move, heads off in a direction. Is this the end for Ivy and Mac? But when Ivy gets home, she discovers a most unpleasant surprise in the upstairs bathroom. A dead body.

Was it supposed to be her? Maybe she was wrong about the Braxtons. And maybe she and Mac aren't really finished yet.

The Andi McConnell Mysteries

Your Chariot Awaits

Book #1, the Andi McConnell Mysteries

Downsized from her job.

Dumped by her boyfriend

Depressed about that upcoming 6-0 birthday.

But now there's surprising good news: she's inherited a limousine from an eccentric uncle. The bad news is that there's soon a dead body in the trunk.

Enter Keegan "Fitz" Fitzpatrick, former TV detective. But as they work together to solve the crime, a big question looms: when the bullets start flying, are the windows in that limousine really bullet proof?

Here Comes the Ride

Book #2, the Andi McConnell Mysteries

Andi and her limousine have a five-day gig ferrying guests for a "wedding of the century."

For Whom the Limo Rolls

Book #3, the Andi McConnell Mysteries

Andi's limousine business is chugging along nicely. Except that the limo also seems to be a magnet for murder.

The Julesburg Mysteries

Whirlpool

Book #1, The Julesburg Mysteries

Stefanie Canfield's life is swirling ever downward, from her husband's betrayal into accusations of arson - and murder. Did she do it? She isn't sure!

Riptide

Book #2, The Julesburg Mysteries

Twin sisters Sarah and Julie have just found each other after being raised by different families and each never knowing the other existed. They plan to turn the town's old Nevermore Theater into an arts and crafts mini-mall. But murder changes everything.

Undertow

Book #3, The Julesburg Mysteries

Angie Harrison has fled a glamorous life as a New York model to buy the local weekly newspaper. But her New York love follows her, and the deepest secret from her past also returns to haunt her.

The Cate Kinkaid Files

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Dying to Read

Book #1, The Cate Kinkaid Files. 

Cate, desperate for a job, goes to work as a temporary assistant private investigator. Her first assignment is supposed to be easy and uncomplicated. No danger, murder, or mayhem. Instead she finds herself up to her elbows in Whodunit Ladies, a paint-blobbed hunk, a deaf white cat - and killers! A New York Times bestseller.

Dolled Up to Die

Book #2, The Cate Kinkaid Files

When Cate responds to a frantic call about a triple homicide, she finds the victims aren't who she expects. Now she has a new rule: always check on whether the victims have human DNA. Although she soon finds another victim who has plenty of it and is off on another wild adventure involving a beautiful trophy wife, a woman who claims she can reveal your past lives, and husky Mitch Berenski.

Death Takes a Ride

Book #3, the Cate Kinkaid Files

Cate Kinkaid arrives at H&B Classic Auto Restorations to give a friend a ride. But, as usual, trouble finds Cate even there--this time in the form of one dead man, one wounded man, and what appears to be an obvious case of self-defense. Owner Matt Halliday wants to hire her, but not for this case. Instead, Cate is charged with finding a man who owns a particular motorcycle Matt would like to buy. As her search progresses, she begins to suspect that the shooting in Matt's office may not have been as cut-and-dried as it appeared.
 

Depression Era Romances

Betrayed

Rosalyn Fallon's life changes forever when her father' company collapses in the midst of the Great Depression, and she's betrayed by both the man she loves and her best friend. 

Midnight Escape

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Times are hard during the Great Depression, and Beth Curtis is even more desperate than most in this year of 1933.

She's always known the powerful Wilkerson family might try to claim baby Joey, the nephew she's been raising almost since birth. But until Guy Wilkerson shows up at her door, Beth hadn't realized how far they'd go to claim him, and legality doesn't matter to the Wilkersons. Beth, knowing she can't fight the Wilkersons' money and power, makes the only choice she can with Joey. Run! Hide! But Guy Wilkerson is a very determined man . . .
 

Faith and Fun Romances

Dear Silver

Silver Sinclair's love life has always been more like the sinking of the Titanic than a Club Med cruise, but this breakup letter from Chris Bentley is a new low. It's as cold and impersonal as a "You're fired" letter from an employer or a complaint about a defective widget. She'd be devastated by it except for one minor point: Who is Chris Bentley?
Silver's bewilderment quickly turns to indignation. What kind of guy writes such an insensitive letter to end a relationship? An insensitive clod, that's who! Which is exactly what Silver tells him when the sparks fly - and the latte spills - at their fiery first meeting.

Three Secrets (a romance novella)

Blue skies and moonlit sea, seashells and sunkissed beaches! This spot on the Baja coast is everything widow Carolyn McAndrews hoped for on her Christmas vacation from snow and cold back in Colorado. No eligible men or romance, her friend had warned, but that was fine with Carolyn.

But what she hadn't counted on is a refrigerator that won't work, undrinkable water, and a shower faucet that breaks off in her hand. She can't even turn around and head home; her van is stuck in the sand.

Enter Ward Setlow, a good-looking guy with crisp silver hair, an easy grin, and a fix-it ability to take care of all her problems. A guy who quickly disproves her friend's statement about a lack of romance here.

Ward also has a plan to use his fix-it talents to serve the Lord in the coming years, but no matter how deep and unexpectedly powerful the attraction between them is, Carolyn has secrets that mean this can never be more than a brief Christmas romance.
 

Other Mysteries and Romances

Canyon

The Holloway and McCord families have been friends and business partners for years, and now Kit and Tyler are planning a big wedding and an adventurous future together as river guides taking rafters through the wild rapids of the Grand Canyon. But Kit's father and Tyler's mother have plans too, shocking plans that open a canyon of difference between Kit and Tyler and shatter their future together.

Searching for Stardust

Stardust! The name jumps out at Jan Hilliard from the disjointed pages of her dead son's journal. Is she  just a fantasy out of his chaotic mind or a real girl who may be carrying Jan's grandchild? The last thing Jan wants is to work with her ex-husband to find Stardust - and the truth about their son's death - but she grits her teeth and does it.

Yesterday Lost

Who is she?
She was found injured and unconscious on a rugged stretch of Oregon coast. Now she's in a hospital with a shaved head and a cast on her leg, her memory and identity hidden in an unreachable pit in her mind.

But someone knows who she is! After considerable publicity, a warm and caring older woman, Lenore Lennox, shows up and identifies her. She's Kat Cavanaugh, New York model, who disappeared from her deceased parents' isolated home in northern California several months ago.

Relieved to know who she is, Kat returns home with Mrs. L. As her leg heals and her hair grows, she finds herself very much attracted to Jace Foster, manager of a nearby Christian school for boys.

But even though her past is only a shadowy flicker in her mind, ugly strands of that other life reach out to entangle her present. She was not, she realizes a nice person in that life. There's a hostile past with Jace, vengeful ex-roommates, professional clashes - and a fiancé she can't remember.

There's also someone from her past who is determined there will be no future for her.

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