madeline st. john

Mimi LaFleur, septuagenarian party animal, never met a cliché or a man she didn’t take to like a duck to water. She finds herself stuck on a ranch in Ojai while headlining a crime conference with her uptight, young assistant Lizzie, who chronicles their adventures.

Mimi’s built a marketable reputation as everyone’s favorite crime solving grandma on TV, but a compromising photo from her chorus girl days has found its way into the hands of bestselling author Kayleigh. When Kayleigh’s body is discovered with Mimi hovering over it, Mimi’s in hot water.

Lizzie must add beating a murder rap to her list of usual duties: fetching cocktails, scheduling beauty appointments, and riding herd over Mimi’s Little Poopsie, twenty pounds of snowy Persian fluffiness infused with the vim and vigor of a small Rottweiler.

Lizzie doesn’t have to look too hard for suspects. Kayleigh left behind a ghostwriter denied the limelight, a jilted boyfriend, and a fading literary star jealous of her success. Finding the culprit proves to be more difficult—Lizzie may not have a snowball’s chance in Hades.

Back in the Saddle Again is a 6,000 word short story.