J.L. Greger

Is science a mystery to you? Sara Almquist will make science fascinating as she and her FBI colleagues solve mysteries in New Mexico and worldwide. You'll also meet the perfect gentleman in my books, Sara's Japanese Chin dog—Bug. As you read the books, you may think Sara has better taste in dogs than in men.

Most of these books have won awards. (*Finalist for New Mexico/ Arizona book awards, #Public Safety Writers Association [PSWA] award winner, ^NM Press Women award winner)

Here are blurbs on my thrillers/mysteries:

FAIR DREAMS: Fairs are supposed to be fun. However, scientist Sara Almquist and her FBI colleagues find little to smile about as they investigate a murder at a medieval fair in Santa Fe. Many of the fair's troupe are involved in a web of crimes and are likely suspects.

FOR WHOM THE CRANES CALL: The wildlife refuge at Bosque del Apache is a noisy but idyllic spot as cranes settle there for the winter. Then the body of a man wearing new red boots is found on Christmas Day. Investigators quickly lean many had reasons for wishing him dead. (Book 15)

#CRAZY LIKE A GOAT. Scientist Sara Almquist and her colleagues investigate the murder of a retired professor. Why did someone poison his booze? Did he know to much about the dark side of a successful chain of senior living centers? Or had he played too many pranks on his friends and neighbors? (Won first prize for mysteries in PWSA contest. Book 14)

#^THE MAN WHO LOOKED FOR DEATH. Who can Sara Almquist and FBI agents trust as they investigate a murder in the ghost town of Golden Gully? The medical examiner thinks the victim was tortured for several days before he was killed. However, the ten residents in this remote town in the Gila National Forest deny knowing the man, and the sheriff’s office is less than cooperative. (Book 13)

*#ESCAPE FROM A DARK CAVE: An environment that pleases one individual may be a nightmare to others. Sara Almquist confronts this truth as she investigates the murder of an autistic man near a historic cave in the Cibola National Forest. As she reconstructs the victim’s final days, she learns he found the cave to be soothing; she finds it depressing. Maybe her personal problems are coloring her outlook on the cave. (Book 12)

*The U.S. consular office in Manaus Brazil is a *BUNGLE IN THE JUNGLE. Can Sara Almquist figure out how the staff in this office became so enmeshed in the illegal trade of drugs and cultural artifacts? (Book 11)

*FAIR COMPROMISES: In a race against time, Sara Almquist and her FBI colleagues must determine how attendees at a U.S. Senate candidate's rally were poisoned with botulinum toxin and investigate related murders before the killer strikes again. (Book 10)

*GAMES FOR COUPLES: A man participating in a study of cultured meat - meat grown in a test tube - dies. Was his death caused by toxic compounds in the product, lethal competition among biotech firms, or spite between battling couples? (Book 9)

*DIRTY HOLY WATER: Sara learns what if feels like to be a suspect when a friend is murdered. Of course, she didn't kill the woman, but can she prove it before she's scheduled to take a romantic trip to India? (Book 8)

*#THE FLU IS COMING: Which is deadlier: a new form of flu which killed half or Sara's neighbors in a walled community or a drug kingpin determined to break out of the quarantined enclave? (Book 1)

*MURDER...A WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT: Can Sara and her sister determine how a diet doctor in a medical center was poisoned before the killer strikes again? (Won first place in PSWA contest. Book 2)

IGNORE THE PAIN: Did Sara learn too much about the coca trade and too little about a sexy new colleague while on a public health assignment in Bolivia? (Book 3)

*MALIGNANCY: After being shot at twice in one day by gang members disguised as police, Sara accepts a risky assignment in Cuba. Was that a wise decision? (Won first place in PSWA contest. Book 4)

I SAW YOU IN BEIRUT: Will Sara's past provides clues to aid the extraction of a nuclear scientist from Iran? (Book 5)

*RIDDLED WITH CLUES: Will tales about the Vietnam War from an undercover drug agent and messages from a homeless veteran save a woman? (Book 6)

*^A POUND OF FLESH, SORTA A pound of sheep guts contaminated with plague bacteria which causes plague is delivered to Sara's home. Is it a threat by gang leaders to prevent Sara testifying at their racketeering trials or as a plea for help from an employee in a meat packing plant. (Book 7)

If you're not in the mood for thriller or a mystery, why not read about families in two collections of short stories: THE GOOD OLD DAYS? and *OTHER PEOPLE'S MOTHERS.

Or maybe you'd like to read to a child a picture book: COME FLY WITH ELF. It's about a Papillon who wants to fly in a hot air balloon.