INVISIBLE WOMEN MYSTERIES
Thank you for stopping by our web site and helping us make Invisible Women Mysteries visible. No, we’re not a science fiction series, we’re based in the very real phenomenon of invisibility many people experience—especially if they’re mature women. Our friend Ruth noticed it after age 50. She saw the bright side, “I don’t have to worry about doing something stupid, because no one’s paying attention anyway!”
There’s a not-so-bright side as well.
You’re standing before a hostess at a tony restaurant, telling her you have a reservation, when two men step right in front of you, smile at the hostess, and get seated.
You make an extremely cogent point at a business meeting, only to have it ignored, then a male colleague makes the same point five minutes later to group accolades.
You’re trolling the aisles of a big-box home improvement store, list in hand, looking north and south for help, only to find the employees look the other way, or walk past you to help the man who just appeared at the end of the aisle.
If any of these sound familiar, you just might be an invisible woman, too.
Experts are not clear when the dreaded invisible woman syndrome hits. Lots of our younger friends tell us it’s more about gender than age. Maybe so, but after 50, when gray hairs appear and your glasses have two kinds of lenses, a quaint metaphor becomes your daily reality.
We’ve turned this phenomenon on its head and let our detectives, event planner, Vanessa Lawless, and attorney, Alice Ainsworth use invisibility and their many other talents to solve mysteries all across Texas.
Invisible Women Mysteries
Meet the Invisible Women Detectives
Alice Ann Ainsworth and Vanessa Lawless. Seasoned real estate attorney, Alice Ainsworth (known to her family as Alice Ann), has relied on intellect and analysis to build her successful 35-year career. A senior partner in a national law firm, she’s recently relocated from Los Angeles to Houston. The local management team has asked her to consider a “retirement package.” In reality, she’s being kicked out the door. She fights back and lands a lucrative contract with oilman Jake Elliott’s multibillion dollar firm, Rattler Enterprises. Before their first meeting, police charge Fran Elliott, Jake’s first wife and Alice’s adored cousin, with his murder. To clear her cousin, Alice takes an unexpected journey through fake documents, family deceit, and laundered money.
Enter Vanessa Lawless. Once Houston’s premier event planner, Vanessa’s trying to save her business in a world of younger (and slimmer) planners armed with smart phones, databases, and Twitter. Bankruptcy seems imminent until Fran Elliott rescues her floundering business. In the rush of events after Jake’s murder, the accused murderer can’t remember to pay Vanessa. Desperation–and the past due notices crammed in her purse - fuel Vanessa’s desire to assist Fran.
Mutual need brings Vanessa and Alice together. It’s not a mix made in heaven.
Alice is ruled by logic and facts. Her idea of excitement is delving into a pile of multi-page legal documents. Vanessa is brash and runs on instinct. She could charm the bark off a pine tree and isn’t afraid to use her feminine charms to get information.
Solving mysteries isn’t all these two women have on their plate. Alice lives the sandwich generation. Her days are filled with her law practice while catering to the genteel demands of her grand dame mother-in-law, Miss Mary, while her husband travels the globe on business. Vanessa prides herself on being independent, yet her knees buckle when she encounters her on-and-off boyfriend, police detective Elston Garrett.
Join these amateur detectives as they waltz across Texas-from the vast ranchlands of South Texas to the high rises of Houston to the pine curtain of East Texas. They will prove that invisibility has its rewards and murderers get their due.
Our Books
Money, Murder and Charm
Money, Murder and Charm is the first book in the Invisible Women Mystery series.
In this contemporary mystery set in Texas, attorney Alice Ainsworth and event planner Vanessa Lawless band together to solve the murder of oilman Jake Elliott and clear Alice’s cousin, Fran Elliot, from a murder charge.
Jake is found shot dead after Tropical Storm Danny hits Houston for the second time in 24 hours. Fran, the first of his three wives, seems more interested in the next meeting of the Symphony Board than facing up to her legal challenges.
Alice and Vanessa take on the case. With an uneasy mix of legal acumen and flamboyant intuition, they unmask the complex personal, business and legal transactions leading to Jake’s death. His third wife, the lovely and pious Graciela, makes a warp speed change from grieving widow to steely businesswoman. Adding to the volatile mix are Jake’s two feuding sons, one an ambitious businessman, the other a frustrated composer. Jordy McMartin, Jake’s enigmatic ranch manager, hovers around the action and appears to know secrets he’s unwilling to share.
Then, there’s Miranda, Jake’s second wife, the woman we all love to hate. And Fran is still enmeshed in the Elliott web and can’t give up her ties to Jake and the family. In a life or death encounter at El Rincón, Jake Elliott’s vast South Texas ranch, the two detectives confront the killer.
A Red Dirt Death
In Progress... The two detectives are pulled into a decades old mystery in the deep Piney Woods of East Texas where invisibility equals danger.
About the Authors
Joyce and Patty have been friends since their college days at Baylor University in Waco. Each had talked about writing a novel for years. After Joyce finished her dissertation, they launched their first book, Money, Murder, and Charm. Thanks to e-mail, smartphones, and airplanes, they’ve been able to collaborate and continue their conversations about writing and life.
Joyce Langenegger
Co-Author
Joyce Langenegger, writing as Jaye Lang, is a reformed attorney who now teaches government and is an administrator at Blinn College. She is a co-author of the college textbook, Practicing Texas Politics. A native Texan, she grew up on a small farm in Central Texas and spent her summers picking cotton. After decades in Houston, she’s now back in the country outside Bryan-College Station. She has a knack for picking good men, great dogs, and tasty bar-b-que. Her perfect day includes writing, teaching, a walk with her Golden Retriever, and time with her husband of more than 40 years. A highlight of her year is judging bar-b-que at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s World Championship Bar-B-Que Contest.
Patricia Prado
Co-Author
Patricia Prado resides in the Portland, Oregon area. She has a master’s degree in political science and her career path weaves (a bit unsteadily) through free-lance writing, fundraising, and governmental relations. Her childhood was spent in deep East Texas, behind the Pine Curtain, mastering the intricacies of baton twirling and back roads driving. She now owns an impressive array of rain gear for outdoor adventures in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.