Lacy Steele Books In Order

Publication Order of Lacy Steele Mysteries Books

The Lacy Steele series is a series of highly popular mystery novels written by one of the reputed American novelists named Vanessa Gray Bartal. It is comprised of a total of 7 novels, which were released between the years 2011 and 2014. Each and every novel of this mystery series features the lead protagonist in the role of the fictional character named Lacy Steele. She is shown as trying to become successful in life, but luck does not seem to be on her side. After trying her hand at numerous places, she finally returns back to her tiny hometown called Mudville and begins staying with her grandmother. Lacy Steele hopes to make something of her life with whatever opportunities she will get in Mudville. But, after life keeps going for a toss all the time as she frequently gets involved in some or the other mysterious situation. And every time, she tries to come out of the mysteries by solving them and then hopes to have a peaceful life ahead. Author Bartal initiated the series in the year 2011 and in the same year she released its debut book under the title of Morning Cup Murder. As of now, she is still working to publish more mystery books in the series in the future. Author Bartal has published all the novels on her own in the format of eBooks. In the initial part of the series, Lacy is shown being brought down at the time of the holiday season as she is reminded of of being left by her fiance and being betrayed by her sister named Riley. Also, she thinks that a couple of her close friends have forgotten her.

Lacy Steele begins to think that things have gone from bad to worse. And then more problems come to her with the arrival of her mother. Then one day, a locket is suddenly delivered to her that has a note printed on it that says ‘I Love You’. Following the receipt of the locket, Lacy realize that her problems are getting sorted out one after the other. This makes her wonder who is her Secret Santa. As the series progresses, Lacy Steele goes on to buy a historic building known as the Stakely building, which is located in the center of the town. She considers it as a historical heritage and tries to save it from being torn down by the developers and the mayor. But to do so, she is required to confront the mayor and make him understand the importance of the historic building and the value that it has for the town. In the meantime, her boyfriend named Tosh begins to distant himself from her when his brother arrives in town. And for picking up a cold case of the 20 year murder that had taken place in her building, Jason becomes upset with Lacy Steele. But, Lacy thinks that the murderer has been hiding all these years and that he is making plans to commit another murder. She takes it as her responsibility to make sure that the people around her are safe, and for doing so she does not mind dealing with a brutal murderer or bringing up an old case.

The debut novel of the Lacy Steele series written by author Vanessa Gray Bartal is entitled ‘Morning Cup of Murder’. It was released in 2011 as a Kindle edition by author Bartal herself. Bartal has mentioned the primary characters of this plot as Lacy Steele and Jason Cantor. At the beginning of this book, Lacy Steele is depicted as going through a few disastrous years in her attempt to do something of her own in life. When she loses all her hopes to move any further, she decides to head back to her hometown. While returning, Lacy’s mind is always filled with the thought that she has turned herself into a failure. Now, the only person who Lacy thinks will help to make her come out of her miserable state definitely is her grandmother. And so, Lacy decides to move in with her. She knows that she will make her grow fat as she likes to use food as a means to show her love. Lacy goes on to reconnect with Jason after which she feels that she has added more confusion to her already depressed condition. Jason is an old friend from her high school, who has now become a cop. She seems to have developed feelings for him. But, Jason does seem to remember her as the frizzy haired geek that she was. Instead, he considers Lacy as an attraction for problems. Everyone knows that people around her keep getting arrested on murder charges and Jason does not want to land in any problem. When someone very close to Lacy Steele gets arrested in a murder case, Lacy vows not to stop until she has solved the mystery. She does not care to put her own life in danger. Lacy shows a great deal of determination to save her loved one and also to put her life back on track. And in the middle of all this, the thing that bothers her the most is the love that she has developed recently for Jason Cantor.

Another well known novel of the series is titled as ‘Arch Enemy of Murder’. Published in 2012, this book features the central characters as Lacy Steele, Jason Cantor, and Tosh. The book opens by showing that Lacy has all her focus towards the grand opening of the remodeled building that she bought recently. But, she keeps getting distracted by matters of life and death. At first, her sister, Riley, faces an attack and then the friends’ group of her grandmother. In addition to that, Lacy finds herself caught between Tosh and Jason, and is not able to decide who will be better for her. And given the huge amount of work stress that she has, Lacy hopes that she does not get involved in one more murder investigation. But, she cannot help herself when a request comes to her from an unlikely source. When Jason comes to know about this, he asks Lacy not to get involved. On the other hand, Tosh motivates her to help the needy ones and asks her to definitely take up the case. This causes more tensions between Lacy’s close friends resulting in enmity. Lacy suspects that the person she has decided to defend might be guilty. As her best friends have entered into a fight because of her, she feels torn between them. Lacy cannot afford to lose any of them and both are very dear to her. Soon, her attention is shifted towards a killer who seems to have secrets worth dying for. She is required to race against the clock and catch the killer, so as to prevent an innocent person from getting convicted.