If You Like Margaret Maron

Track of the Cat  by Nevada Barr
Anna Pigeon has fled New York City after the accidental death of her husband, and she now works as a law enforcement ranger at Guadaloupe Mountains National Park. There she finds the remains of fellow ranger Sheila Drury, who apparently was clawed to death by a mountain lion. Although an autopsy confirms this judgment, Anna becomes convinced that the claw marks have been faked. This is the first title in the Anna Pigeon series.

A Rumor of Bones by Beverly Connor
Signing on with the archaeological dig at the Jasper Creek site, forensic anthropologist Lindsay Chamberlain finds herself investigating when several bodies are found that are much more recent than the Indian village they are excavating. This is the first title in the Lindsay Chamberlain series.

Dead Man’s Island by Carolyn Hart
Widowed Henrietta Collins had been a globetrotting newspaper reporter. She has now turned her considerable writing skills to successfully authoring mystery novels. It is with dismay that she receives a call from an old lover -- arrogant, wealthy Chase Prescott. Accepting his plea for
help, she travels to his private island off the South Carolina Low Country coast,and discovers that there had been an attempt to poison him. This is the first title in the Henrie O series.

Desert Heat by J.A. Jance
Joanna Brady finds her husband, Andy, shot in the Arizona desert on the night of their tenth wedding anniversary. But this is only the beginning of the destruction of the comfortable world of Joanna and her nine-year-old daughter, Jenny. This is the first title in the Joanna Brady series.

Last Dance by Jim and Joyce Lavene
When the prom queen is found brutally murdered, Sheriff Sharyn Howard recalls that a similar murder occurred on the night of her prom ten years ago. Her father was the sheriff of Diamond Springs and the man he sent to prison for the murder now sits on death row. But Sharyn's convinced there are too many similarities between the two murders and that the true killer is still at large. This is the first title in the Sharyn Howard series.

Uncivil Seasons by Michael Malone
A rare snowstorm has enveloped Hillston, North Carolina, covering everything--including a shocking murder. Detective Justin Savile, the wayward son of Hillston's founding family, is expected to arrest the usual scapegoat, but the boozy Justin has never been good at doing the expected. This is the first title in the Hillston series.

If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O by Sharyn McCrumb
Sheriff Spencer Arrowood keeps the peace in his small Tennessee town most of the time. Every once in a while, though, something goes wrong. When 1960s folksinger Peggy Muryan moves to town seeking solitude and a career comeback, she receives a postcard with a threatening message, and her idyll is shattered. Then a local girl who looks like Peggy vanishes without a trace. This is the first in the Ballad novels.

The Cheshire Cat’s Eye by Marcia Muller
To tourist bay-windowed Victorian mansions are quaint, peaceful symbols of old San Francisco, but on the secluded hill above Steiner Street, the gingerbread has sparked a bitter battle. A controversial restorer is found dead, awash in garish house paint. PI Sharon McCone is called in only to discover another bitter feud, this time between the developers and members of the city's powerful architectural community. This is the first title in the Sharon McCone series.

Simon Said by Sarah Shaber
When Professor Simon Shaw begins investigating the murder of a woman who turns out to be the long missing heiress to the Bloodsworth estate, he finds himself trying to find answers to a case that is more than seventy years old and that someone wants to keep unsolved. This is the first title in the Simon Shaw series.