The third San Juan Islands Murder Mystery novel is now available! Read a character interview, find out about the plot or see a new review.
Announcing a brand new novel – The Second Shot! This romantic suspense novel — now a PNWA Literary Contest Award Winner — features all the mystery, action and romance that you expect from a Bethany Maines novel. Now available on all platforms!
Action & Adventure
Carrie Mae Mysteries
The Carrie Mae make-up ladies aren’t just selling lipstick – they’re packing heat and saving the world.
Shark Santoyo Crime Series
Where the criminals are savage, the stakes are high and even the suburbs hide secrets that can kill.
San Juan Islands Mysteries
Deceit, deception, spies and murder? Include a dog, and that’s everything we love…
GALACTIC DREAMS
A Cosmic Fairy Tale Collection
Bethany Maines, Karen Harris Tully and J. M. Phillippe collaborate to bring you a sci-fi anthology like no other. Featuring three novellas inspired by Mulan, Thumbelina, and Sleeping Beauty, all set in space, this collection reimagines fairy tales for a new age—the future.
TALES FROM THE CITY OF DESTINY
Think you’re alone in this city? Think again. Goblins, faeries, vampires, and werewolves are all clawing for their piece of the American dream in Tacoma, Washington.
Follow Ariana Grace, the half-faery antiques and “assets” dealer, through 8 tales of mystery, murder, and adventure as she shows us just what’s lurking in Tacoma’s alley’s, pool halls, and brothels.
WILD WATERS
In the jungles of 1960’s Vietnam, when a team of Navy SEALs is brought together with a pair of reporters, no one is prepared for the explosive, and otherwordly, secrets that will be revealed.
“A steamy romance … resulting in a giant twist. Compelling with great characterizations.”
F.M. Meredith, author of A Crushing Death
“Fascinating story. Full of intriguing characters and a plot that kept me turning the pages.”
Sally Berneathy, author of Death by Chocolate
GALACTIC DREAMS Vol 2
A Cosmic Fairy Tale Collection
Bethany Maines, Karen Harris Tully and J. M. Phillippe collaborate to bring you a sci-fi anthology like no other. Featuring three novellas inspired by The Little Mermaid, Rumpelstiltskin, and The Six Swans, all set in space, this collection reimagines fairy tales for a new age—the future.
Award Winner
Blue Christmas was selected as a finalist at the 2020 WriteMovies Romance and Comedy Awards!
Award Winner
The Second Shot has been named a PNWA 2019 Literary Contest Award Winner.
Award Winner
Blue Christmas is now an award winning screenplay! Watch the table reading at the Romance Film & Screenplay Festival!
Award Winner
The Seventh Swan is a 2019 Book Excellence Award Finalist in the Adventure category.
MEDIA
Reviews
Project Status
The Second Shot
The Deveraux family is wealthy, powerful, and in a lot of trouble.
Book 1 of The Deveraux Legacy & a PNWA 2019 Literary Contest award-winner.
A drunken mistake in college cost US Marshal Maxwell Ames the affection of Dominique Deveraux and six years later, he’s determined to fix the slip-up. But there’s just one tiny problem—someone wants the Deveraux family dead. Dominique Deveraux never expected Max to reappear in her life, let alone apologize, but as Dominique investigates the mysterious attacks on her wealthy family Max quickly becomes far more than her one time college classmate. Now, Max and Dominique must dodge mercenaries and bullets as they try to make sure that they’re the only ones who get a second shot.
Bulletproof Mascara
The Carrie Mae make-up ladies aren’t just selling lipstick – they’re packing heat.
When Nikki Lanier was offered a position with the Carrie Mae cosmetic corporation, she leapt at it. Soon, Nikki learns that the powder and lipstick are simply cover-up for the Carrie Mae Foundation: a secret organization of international espionage and high-tech mascara founded for the purpose of “helping women everywhere.” Whisked off to Thailand with the legendary agent Val Robinson, Nikki is soon in over her head. Between investigating the abduction of a human rights activist, tracking down a murderous arms dealer, keeping up with her wildly dangerous new partner, and occasionally trying to date a hunk who may or may not be CIA, Nikki has to use all the courage and cosmetic technology she’s got to bring down the bad guys and get out alive. Nikki got more than just a job; she got a career in intrigue and espionage, complete with knock-out gas perfume, stiletto stiletto’s and a some kick-ass new friends. It’s a dream job, as long she can survive.
An Unseen Current
You never know what’s beneath the surface.
When Seattle native Tish Yearly finds herself fired and evicted all in one afternoon, she knows she’s in deep water. Unemployed and desperate, the 26 year old ex-actress heads for the one place she knows she’ll be welcome – the house of her cantankerous ex-CIA agent grandfather, Tobias Yearly, in the San Juan Islands. And when she discovers the strangled corpse of Tobias’s best friend, she knows she’s in over her head. Tish is thrown head-long into a mystery that pits her against a handsome but straight-laced Sheriff’s Deputy, a group of eccentric and clannish local residents, and a killer who knows the island far better than she does. Now Tish must swim against the current, depending on her nearly forgotten acting skills and her grandfather’s spy craft, to con a killer and keep them alive.
Shark’s Instinct
Book 1 of the Shark Santoyo Crime Series
Fresh out of prison and fresh out of luck, twenty-something Shark wants back into The Organization. But when Geier, the mob boss with a cruel sense of humor, sends Shark to the suburbs to find out who’s been skimming his take, Shark realizes he’s going to need more than his gun and an attitude to succeed. With the clock ticking, Shark accepts the help of the mysterious teenage fixer, Peregrine Hays, and embarks on a scheme that could line his pockets, land him the girl and cement his reputation with the gang—if he makes it out alive.
Compact with the Devil
In her hilarious, action-packed debut, Bethany Maines introduced sleuth Nikki Lanier and melded the best of Charlie’s Angels, Alias, and Janet Evanovich in a smart, ultra-modern spy spoof.
Still reeling from the break up with CIA agent Z’ev Coralles, Nikki is tracking a Basque anarchist who may be planning to kill fellow Carrie Mae operative Camille Masters. Nikki’s search leads her to Camille’s son, bad-boy pop star Kit Masters, who’s traveling to Paris on tour. When Nikki receives a picture of Z’ev with another woman, Kit is happy to help mend her broken heart, but first they have to fend off masked gunmen and get Kit safely to his New Year’s Eve concert. When internal conflict within Carrie Mae gets her fired from the mission, Nikki defies orders and recruits her friends to help solve the case. But staying alive long enough to do it–and untangle her increasingly messy love life–will be the hardest thing Nikki’s ever done.
Wild Waters
The mission that brings them together will tear them apart.
In the steamy jungle of 1960’s era Vietnam, when a team of Navy SEALs are brought together with a pair of reporters, no one is prepared for the explosive, and otherwordly, secrets their encounter will reveal. Lt. Ben Kolley, former WWII frogman, leads one of the first teams of Navy SEALs, including the elusive point-man with an uncanny sense of the water – Catch. The reporters, a drunken writer, and Kahele, a female photographer with dark eyes and an even darker secret are the first allowed to interview a SEAL team. But neither Kahele or Catch are prepared to discover an attraction for each other that’s like nothing they’ve ever experienced. Soon, Catch is breaking all the rules to be with her, and Kahele finds herself entangled by a passion she’s never felt before. But for Ben, Kahele dredges up horrifying memories of an old mission – one where not all of his team returned. Can Kahele be trusted or is she the monster Ben fears? The clock is ticking, and soon all their lives depend on Ben.
Against the Undertow
You never know what will drag you down.
Former actress Tish Yearly is determined to turn an old Orcas Island homestead into the premier wedding venue in the San Juans Islands of Washington, but money, skill and her grandfather, Tobias Yearly, are all standing in her way. Tobias, the septuagenarian ex-CIA agent, wants them to become private investigators. Tish might be able to ignore her grandfather’s whims, except that her one time love interest and current friend, handsome Sheriff’s Deputy Emmett Nash, was just accused of murdering his ex-wife’s boyfriend. Now Tish and Tobias are on the case, and it should be easy—after all, who could really think Nash was a killer?—but the further they investigate, the more people seem to be threatening her life: the police detective on the case, Nash’s angry ex-wife, his psychotic ex-girlfriend, and a strangely venomous group of hippies. Almost everyone on the island seems determined to stop her. Tish is swimming against the undertow, but it might not be enough to save either Nash or herself.
Shark’s Bite
Book 2 of the Shark Santoyo Crime Series
Shark has been doing his time in the suburbs and doing his best to stay away from Peregrine Hays. But when Shark becomes the target of a crooked ATF agent, he has no choice but to call on Peri. As they attempt to close down Fowler’s operation, Shark and Peri must contend with an angry biker gang, Shark’s smoking hot parole officer, Peri’s alcoholic uncle, and their own undeniable attraction to one another. And Shark begins to suspect that Peri has her own reasons for being interested in Agent Fowler. Can Shark walk the knife edge between Peri, his gang and the law to bring down Fowler and get back into the upper echelons of The Organization?
When Stars Take Flight: A Galactic Dreams Novella
Inspired by the fairy tale Thumbelina and reimagined for a new age—the future.
Alliance Ambassador Lina Tum-Bel knows she’s up against a galaxy full of trouble as she attempts to rebuild the Interstellar Alliance, but she never thought a simple mission to reconnect with the space bases of Nebula Six would have her fleeing for her life with an army behind her. Kidnapped by the To’Andans, tortured by the Moliter, and rescued by Sparrow Pandion—the spy who hides a secret pain—Lina must battle for her freedom, her survival and her heart. Her training says that she can’t trust her handsome rescuer, but her telepathic gift says there is no one she can trust more. Maybe together, she and Sparrow can learn to fly.
High-Caliber Concealer
Carrie Mae might look like an organization of nice ladies who sell make-up, but a few know the truth – they’re an international espionage agency dedicated to helping women.
Nikki Lanier is a top level Carrie Mae agent with everything under control – except her life. And when her teammate just made a blunder that put them all on suspension, Nikki decides to visit her grandmother’s farm. But her simple vacation is complicated by dangerous drug smugglers, the childhood sweetheart who broke her heart, and the sudden arrival of not only her mother and teammates, but also her current boyfriend, CIA Agent Z’ev Coralles. Now Nikki must discover what her family is hiding, whether or not she still has feelings for her ex, and how the smugglers are getting their drugs across the Canadian border, all while keeping her family – and Z’ev – in the dark about what she really does for a living. But soon Nikki must choose between keeping her secret and keeping her friends and family alive. Nikki might be a high-caliber concealer, but this time it might not be enough.
Shark’s Hunt
Book 3 of the Shark Santoyo Crime Series
After being blackmailed into abandoning Peri by her uncle Al, the ex-special forces private investigator, Shark knows he must focus on his mission—bring down Geier. But it’s a mission complicated by a brewing gang war between The Organization and the Scarecrow Jacks. And when Geier sends Shark head-hunting against the Scarecrows, Shark finds his paths crossing with Peri once again. And soon, Shark finds that he may be forced to rely on Al to not just survive, but to save Peri.
The Seventh Swan - A Galactic Dreams Novella
Inspired by the fairy tale The Six Swans and reimagined for a new age—the future.
A 2019 Book Excellence Award winner!
Keelia Black of the Swan Clan and her six brothers have always been able to conquer anything, but when they land on a desolate asteroid base they find themselves facing a foe unlike anything they’ve ever encountered. Fang Nazari, rogue weapons developer and undisputed queen of the asteroid holds her step-son, Jericho, and five other prisoners hostage—forcing them to dig for an ancient artifact buried at the asteroids core. Keelia and her brothers are quick to stage an escape, but when the brothers flee the asteroid they are forced to leave Keelia behind. And as Fang holds Keelia in silent captivity, Keelia realizes that there is more to Fang’s madness than a simple thirst for power. Fang is under the sway of a malevolent force that endangers not just Keelia and Jericho, but the lives of everyone in the galaxy. As the Swan Clan searches for her, Keelia, Jericho and the other prisoners must risk their lives to not only free themselves, but prevent a primordial evil from escaping.
Glossed Cause
Sunscreen, waterproof mascara, and a silenced .38 will take a girl anywhere she wants to go in life.
Top Carrie Mae agent Nikki Lanier’s nemesis and ex-partner Val Robinson has returned from the dead and she wants Nikki’s help. When Val said that Phillipe Lanier—Nikki’s long-absent father—had been kidnapped, Nikki dropped everything—friends, family, boyfriend, to fly to the rescue. But soon Nikki realizes that her father’s kidnapping may not be what it seems and she may have just tanked her life for one of his ridiculous schemes. As Nikki and Val arrive in Amsterdam, Nikki realizes that if wants her life back, she’s going to have to not only stop an international arms dealer, but convince her boyfriend, CIA Agent Z’ev Coralles, that she’s not the bad guy and that Carrie Mae isn’t a terrorist organization. But with Philippe refusing to be rescued, and an INTERPOL agent gunning for Val and Nikki, as well as making moves on Z’ev, Nikki is starting to doubt her own abilities. Can she do it, or is it a Glossed Cause?