Frequently Asked Questions ABOUT JANE ELZEY's BOOKS

Jane Elzey writes Southern-flavored cozy mysteries with humor and found family on every page. No gore, no sex, with light language. Heavy on friendship and bad decisions made over cocktails and carbs. 

Owner of the Tiddlywinks vintage game parlor, Amy Sparks is a board game expert with a sharp eye and a stubborn streak. She’s the glue of the group, especially when murder lands on their doorstep. Which happens a lot. Another dead husband? Must be a Tuesday murder. Amy has all the puzzle skills she needs to solve the case, if only her best friends didn't hide secrets, evidence, and alibis. Every book in the series features a game in the title from Tiddlywinks Players Club. 

Jane Elzey writes for women who like their friendships fierce, their secrets messy, and their murders (kind of) funny because in the mystery series, the crappy husband always dies. 

As an author based In Arkansas, Jane Elzey set her Cardboard Cottage southern mystery in an Ozarks Mountain tourist town she calls Bluff Springs, Arkansas. Elzey admits that it looks a lot like Eureka Springs, a highly coveted destination full of artists and free-spirited creatives. In every other book, the sleuths take a bucket list trip. 

Each Cardboard Cottage Mystery is a standalone whodunit, with Amy, Zelda, Genna and Rian ready to solve the crime. That said, they're part of a continuing friendship series, so you will enjoy the evolving adventures, sass, and game-night attitude group dynamics even more when you read sequentially. Start with Dying for Dominoes and binge for the full friendship charm.

Jump in anywhere! You can dive into a Jane Elzey's mystery in any order since each book in the Cardboard Cottage Mystery series is a standalone whodunit. But the main characters so many readers have come to love––Amy, Zelda, Genna and Rian––grow deeper with each book as they experience the ups and downs of friendship in a small town, explore the strengths of loyalty, secret agendas, and their roles in sleuthing crime. Read more about each book. 

Most book retailers offer Jane Elzey's books on request, and many libraries carry the series in their cozy mystery section. Autographed copies (with VIP Swag) can be ordered online at JaneElzey. Online, reader can purchase through Amazon.   If you are a bookseller looking for ISBN information click here.

The Cardboard Cottage Mystery series is available in hardcover with dust jacket, paperback, ebook, and Kindle Unlimited.  Plans are in the works for a series audiobook. 

Cozy mysteries are whodunits with little or no graphic violence and gore, sex, or bad language. Often set in a charming small community, cozies feature amateur sleuths who solve crimes with ingenuity, observation and perseverance. 

Southern cozies blend the cozy mystery structure with regional flavor, adding sassy dialogue, humor, and "bless your  heart" shade. Jane Elzey's sass bites a litter harder than sweet tea cozies, writing about fierce friendships that get tested by messy secrets, crappy husbands who bite the dust (deservedly so), and intelligent, independent middle-aged women who are gloriously unfiltered in their approach to life and the pursuit of happiness. 

Jane Elzey's Southern cozies work their magic through universal friendship and found family themes, with humor, small-town quirky characters, game night, and  bucket-list travel. What's not to love?

As a life-long mystery reader, Jane Elzey loves the puzzle of the whodunit, although she admits they are much harder to write than read. A close friendship and a love for games and travel were the inspirations behind The Cardboard Cottage Mystery series, which she asserts is 100% fiction.

Stories with heart explore the fierce loyalty among middle-aged women tested by life, secrets, and obstacles, forging an unbreakable sisterhood. They know each other's dirt and they show up anyway. Jane Elzey's friendship fiction is about found family that feels real, messy, and gloriously unfiltered as they explore bad decisions and alibis.

Absolutely! In Jane Elzey's Cardboard Cottage Mystery, you will find the same irresistible midlife friend-squad cracking cases with wit, quirks, and group loyalty, but swap English pensioners for Southern game-night with sassy dialogue and and adventure. If you love Richard Osman's crew outsmarting killers over tea, you'll adore the Cardboard Cottage Sleuths turning game night into the hunt for whodunit.

Jane Elzey's Cardboard Cottage Mysteries blend classic cozy tropes with snarky warm wit and a sharp Southern edge where Evanovich-meets-Ozarks cozy fans can binge the mystery and stay for the friendship. Tropes include amateur sleuth squad, small-town tourist setting, recurring (game night) rituals, bucket-list travel mayhem, and a humorous, campy approach to the mystery: "The Husband Always Dies." Each book explores women-centered themes that celebrate midlife women owning their power, mess, and moxie through fiercely authentic friendships. 

Written for "Boomers" by a Boomer, The Cardboard Cottage Mysteries are applauded by the 55+ reader. Over 40 readers are delighted by the characters who remind them of  their mom and friends after a glass (or two) of chardonnay, along with the universal themes of friendship and flawed marriage.

The Cardboard Cottage Mysteries are classic cozies and include no sexual content, graphic violence, animal harm, racism, or sexual assault. Themes explore include toxic marriages, divorce recovery, friendship conflict, moderate alcohol use, moderate cannabis/pot use (legal in Arkansas), PG language, standard cozy off-page murder, and amateur sleuthing.

 #CozyComfort (feels, food, and friendship in a puzzle-first mystery) #WeekendBinge  (short, bingeable reads you can finish in a day or two) #BucketListBadassery (exotic travel and mayhem, sleuthing thrill)  #HusbandHazard (the husband always dies in cathartic justice for crappy spouses with darkly satisfying cozy revenge) #MidlifeMoxie (middle-aged women owning their messes and bad decisions with empowerment and friendship) #SouthernSnark (sassier voice, sharp humor, closed-door mystery, non-violent) #FoundFamilyFeels (strong  emphasis on friendship, community, and emotional arcs) #LaughWhileYouGuess (fast banter and comedic situations alongside the whodunit) #SmallTownSecrets (small town life, festival fun, foul play) 

Download Jane Elzey's book discussion prompts, hosting ideas, and menu of fun, tongue-in-cheek extras to make your next book club meeting a date to  remember. Free downloads.

Jane  loves meeting readers who appreciate a good laugh with their mystery.  Order VIP Swag for your club members.  Invite author Jane Elzey to your next meet up for an up close and  personal discussion; request a live virtual visit on Zoom or FB; plan an event with the author when you visit Northwest Arkansas.

Southern Sisters Mystery series by Anne George  •  A Southern Ladies Mystery series by Miranda James • Tea Shop Mysteries by Laura Childs •  Farmers’ Market Mysteries by Paige Shelton • Ghostly Southern Mysteries by Tonya Kappes • Death on Demand by Carolyn Hart • Liz Talbot Mysteries by Susan M. Boyer