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Nancy Boyarsky

Nancy Boyarsky is the bestselling author of the award-winning Nicole Graves Mysteries.

Reviews compared The Swap to the mysteries of Mary Higgins Clark and praised Nancy for contributing to the “women-driven mystery field with panache” (Foreword Reviews) as well as for their “hold-onto-the-bar roller coaster” plots (RT Book Reviews). Kirkus had special praise for The Bequest, concluding, “Boyarsky’s weightless complications expertly combine menace with bling, making the heroine’s adventures both nightmarish and dreamy.” In Liar Liar, Foreword Reviews falls once more for the “tough and likable protagonist Nicole Graves” and Midwest Book Review praises the “exquisite tension” throughout the story.

Before turning to mysteries, Nancy coauthored Backroom Politics, a New York Times notable book, with her husband, Bill Boyarsky. She has written several textbooks on the justice system as well as articles for publications including the Los Angeles Times, Forbes, and McCall’s. She also contributed to political anthologies, including In the Running, about women’s political campaigns. In addition to her writing career, she was communications director for political affairs for ARCO. Her debut novel The Swap—book one of the Nicole Graves Mysteries—won the prestigious Eric Hoffer award for Best Micro Press Book of the Year.

In response to the controversial and incendiary themes explored in Liar Liar, Nancy Boyarsky was invited to present at the American Library Association Annual Conference in 2018 on “Women-Driven Mysteries in a Post #MeToo World.” In her latest novel, “Boyarsky’s imagination serves up a court case that plays with expectations during an era where we push to believe women, resulting in some real bad baddies whom it feels good to root against.” (Foreword Reviews).

The sixth installment of the Nicole Graves series will be released September 21, 2021. Her last Nicole Graves adventure, The Entitled, was published September 29, 2020.

Nancy has been a writer and editor for her entire working career. She coauthored Backroom Politics, a New York Times notable book, with her husband, Bill Boyarsky. She has written textbooks on the justice system and contributed to anthologies, including In the Running about women’s political campaigns and The Challenge of California. She has also written for the Los Angeles Times, West magazine, Forbes, McCalls, Playgirl, Westways, and other publications. She was communications director for political affairs for ARCO.

Order of Books in the Nicole Graves Mysteries:
1. The Swap
2. The Bequest
3. Liar, Liar
4. The Ransom
5. The Entitled
6. The Moscow Affair
7. The Big Shakeup

In addition to writing mysteries, Nancy is producer and director of the “Inside Golden State Politics” podcast.

Nancy can be contacted through her website, nancyboyarsky.com.

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Liar Liar

Liar Liar

$15.99eBook: $7.99

"Boyarsky's imagination serves up a court case that plays with expectations during an era where we push to believe women, resulting in some real bad baddies whom it feels good to root against."
– Foreword Reviews

"Liar Liar creates exquisite tension..."
– Midwest Book Review 

The truth is elusive in Liar Liar.

"Tough and likeable" (Foreword Reviews) Nicole Graves finds herself in the crosshairs when she reluctantly agrees to babysit a witness in a high-profile rape trial. Mary Ellen Barnes is suing her university's star quarterback for rape when the authorities won't act. In the court of public opinion, Mary Ellen appears to be the quintessential, pious, good girl. But her lies and mysterious comings and goings lead Nicole to suspect that she’s not what she seems.

It isn't just Mary Ellen who's acting suspiciously. No one wants to own up to the truth in Liar Liar, not even Nicole, whose fiance; begs her not to look into the case. But when the witness goes missing during the trial, Nicole is caught up in a tangle of lies that turns deadly. After the investigator assigned to the case fails to do his job, Nicole is determined to find the killer on her own, no matter the risks.

More info →
The Bequest

The Bequest

$16.99eBook: $6.99

"Nicole Graves is a charming and straight-shooting heroine."
– Foreword Reviews

"Boyarsky’s weightless complications expertly combine menace with bling, making the heroine’s adventures both nightmarish and dreamy. "
– Kirkus Reviews

Nicole Graves, still reeling from her London kidnapping in The Swap, is struggling to balance work at L.A.’s most prestigious law firm and a long-distance romance with her English lover. Things go sideways when she tracks down a missing colleague. The murder of the firm’s in-house investigator, his mysterious wealth, and his inexplicable bequest make Nicole a target for the police, the paparazzi, and the killer. When Nicole’s life takes an unexpected turn, she uncovers evil and corruption among the city’s most powerful people. The fast-paced mystery unravels against the backdrop of L.A. with its peculiar mix of balmy weather, the celebrity-crazed media, and a corrupt power structure hidden by the veneer of glamour and wealth. This second in the Nicole Graves series is a stand-alone novel.

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The Big Shakeup

The Big Shakeup

$14.99eBook: $6.99

Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, or so they say.

P.I. Nicole Graves arrives early at work, just as Los Angeles is hit with “the Big One,” a long-predicted, devastating earthquake. When the building stops shaking, Nicole finds Jerry, her boss, in his office dying of a gunshot wound. It appears to be suicide.

Nicole is shocked to learn that the police have decided Jerry’s death was murder and even more shocked that she’s their only suspect when there’s no shortage of people with motives. And there’s the question of why the detectives are pursuing this one case when all city workers, including the police, are in an all-out search and rescue operation for survivors. All she can do is evade capture long enough to prove her innocence and catch the real culprit.

Nancy Boyarsky's writing has been praised as "well-crafted, tautly-written" by James Lilliefors, author of the Amy Hunter novels The Psalmist and The Tempest, and "thoroughly entertaining and unforgettable" by Dave Edlund, USA TODAY bestselling author of the Peter Savage Novels.

"Like John le Carre, Boyarsky portrays a world of espionage that’s more grit than glamour and where it can be a struggle to distinguish the good guys from the bad. A real page-turner with a satisfying resolution." –Mally Becker, author of The Turncoat’s Widow (Praise for The Moscow Affair, Nicole Graves Book 6)

Each book in the Nicole Graves Mysteries is written as a stand-alone. Readers do not need to read every book in the series to follow along.

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The Entitled

The Entitled

$14.99eBook: $7.99

"Vibrant street scenes, swift pacing, and Nicole’s steely nerve make The Entitled an entertaining adventure."

– Foreword Reviews

Travel to London and retrieve Abigail Fletcher, a 17-year-old in a study abroad program at the prestigious King’s College in London. The assignment sounds simple enough.

But Abigail’s return is put on indefinite hold when she’s charged with the murder of her boyfriend, a former student at King’s. Nicole believes Abigail has been framed, but the victim’s tight-knit circle of friends and relatives are most unwilling to talk to an American detective. Further complicating the case, is Abigail’s defiant and uncooperative demeanor.

As evidence stacks up against Abigail, Nicole discovers that she herself has become the next target. Nicole’s first solo case abroad as a private detective has just turned a lot more deadly than she ever anticipated.

More info →
The Moscow Affair

The Moscow Affair

$14.99eBook: $7.99

"The Moscow Affair is a thoroughly entertaining and unforgettable thriller punctuated by smart dialog, richly crafted scenes, and a topical plot." –Dave Edlund, USA Today bestselling author of Valiant Savage

In this fast-paced mystery, P.I. Nicole Graves agrees to an unusual, short-term assignment working for MI6 in Russia. It sounds straightforward, even pleasant: a two-week luxury riverboat cruise on the Volga, observing a group of fellow passengers and filing a daily report on their activities. It's simple enough, except for one caveat: No matter what these people do, she’s to tell her handler at MI6—no one else, especially not the Russian police. When one of the riverboat passengers winds up dead, Nicole realizes this assignment was anything but straightforward.

Soon, Nicole is immersed in a high-stakes game of murder and espionage where trusting a stranger can be as deadly as a bullet.

"Nicole Graves is the best fictional sleuth to come down the pike since Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone." –Laura Levine, bestselling author of the Jaine Austen Mysteries

The Nicole Graves Mysteries have been compared to the mysteries of Mary Higgins Clark and praised for contributing to the "women-driven mystery field with panache" (Foreword Reviews) as well as for their "hold-onto-the-bar roller coaster" plots (RT Book Reviews).

Kirkus Reviews concluded, "Boyarsky's weightless complications expertly combine menace with bling, making the heroine's adventures both nightmarish and dreamy." And Foreword Reviews has fallen for the "tough and likable protagonist Nicole Graves" while Midwest Book Review praises the "exquisite tension" throughout the plot.

Each book in the Nicole Graves Mysteries is written as a stand-alone. Readers do not need to read every book in the series to follow along.

More info →
The Nicole Graves Mysteries Boxed Set 1-3

The Nicole Graves Mysteries Boxed Set 1-3

eBook: $10.99

The Swap - Book 1 in the Nicole Graves Mystery series

"full of page-by-page surprises" –Kirkus Reviews

"a hold-onto-the-bar roller coaster of a mystery" –RT Book Reviews

When Nicole Graves arranges a summer-long swap of her Los Angeles condo for a London couple’s house, she thinks it’s the perfect arrangement. She’s always dreamed of seeing the real London; she’s also hopeful the time away with her husband Brad will be good for their troubled marriage. But things don’t turn out the way Nicole expects: The Londoners fail to arrive in L.A. and appear to be missing. Then people begin following Nicole and making threats, demanding information she doesn’t have. Soon, Nicole realizes she’s in serious trouble––but she can’t get Brad or the police to believe her. When the confrontations turn deadly, Nicole must either solve the case or become the next victim.

Winner of the Eric Hoffer Award — Best Micro Press Book of the Year

The Bequest - Book 2 in the Nicole Graves Mystery series

Nicole Graves, still reeling from her London kidnapping in The Swap, is struggling to balance work at L.A.’s most prestigious law firm and a long-distance romance with her English lover. Things go sideways when she tracks down a missing colleague. The murder of the firm’s in-house investigator, his mysterious wealth, and his inexplicable bequest make Nicole a target for the police, the paparazzi, and the killer. When Nicole’s life takes an unexpected turn, she uncovers evil and corruption among the city’s most powerful people. The fast-paced mystery unravels against the backdrop of L.A. with its peculiar mix of balmy weather, the celebrity-crazed media, and a corrupt power structure hidden by the veneer of glamour and wealth.

“Boyarsky’s weightless complications expertly combine menace with bling, making the heroine’s adventures both nightmarish and dreamy.” –Kirkus Reviews

Liar Liar - Book 3 in the Nicole Graves Mystery series

Nicole Graves finds herself in the crosshairs when she reluctantly agrees to babysit a witness in a high-profile rape trial. Mary Ellen Barnes is suing her university’s star quarterback for rape when the authorities won’t act. In the court of public opinion, Mary Ellen appears to be the quintessential, pious, good girl. But her lies and mysterious comings and goings lead Nicole to suspect that she’s not what she seems. It isn’t just Mary Ellen who’s acting suspiciously. No one wants to own up to the truth in _Liar Liar_, not even Nicole, whose fiancé begs her not to look into the case. But when the witness goes missing during the trial, Nicole is caught up in a tangle of lies that turns deadly. After the investigator assigned to the case fails to do his job, Nicole is determined to find the killer on her own, no matter the risks. The truth is elusive in Liar Liar.

“Nicole Graves is a charming and straight-shooting heroine” –Foreword Reviews

“Nicole Graves is the best fictional sleuth to come down the pike since Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone.” –Laura Levine, author of the popular Jaine Austen Mysteries

More info →
The Nicole Graves Mysteries Boxed Set 4-6

The Nicole Graves Mysteries Boxed Set 4-6

eBook: $12.99

The Ransom (Nicole Graves Mysteries, #4)

"Nicole Graves is the best fictional sleuth to come down the pike since Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone." –Laura Levine, bestselling author of the Jaine Austen Mysteries

As a newly minted private investigator, Nicole Graves expects to take on legal cases for corporate clients. But when her client’s son, Brad Rexton, is killed trying to protect his wife, Ashley, from a home invasion-turned-kidnapping, the firm is hired to investigate what will become Nicole's most dangerous case yet.

Within a few days, someone dear to Nicole is kidnapped in the same manner as Ashley. Nicole is willing to hand over the ransom at any cost but finds it’s not so easy. The kidnappers have an uncanny ability to track her every move, and they suspect a trap. When their most terrifying threat is delivered to her door, Nicole is faced with a dreadful choice: Can she count on the police or must she risk going it alone?

The Entitled (Nicole Graves Mysteries, #5)

"Vibrant street scenes, swift pacing, and Nicole’s steely nerve make The Entitled an entertaining adventure." – Foreword Reviews

Travel to London and retrieve Abigail Fletcher, a 17-year-old in a study abroad program at the prestigious King’s College in London. The assignment sounds simple enough.

But Abigail’s return is put on indefinite hold when she’s charged with the murder of her boyfriend, a former student at King’s. Nicole believes Abigail has been framed, but the victim’s tight-knit circle of friends and relatives are most unwilling to talk to an American detective. Further complicating the case, is Abigail’s defiant and uncooperative demeanor.

As evidence stacks up against Abigail, Nicole discovers that she herself has become the next target. Nicole’s first solo case abroad as a private detective has just turned a lot more deadly than she ever anticipated.

The Nicole Graves Mysteries have been compared to the mysteries of Mary Higgins Clark and praised for contributing to the "women-driven mystery field with panache" (Foreword Reviews) as well as for their "hold-onto-the-bar roller coaster" plots (RT Book Reviews).

Kirkus Reviews concluded, "Boyarsky's weightless complications expertly combine menace with bling, making the heroine's adventures both nightmarish and dreamy." And Foreword Reviews has fallen for the "tough and likable protagonist Nicole Graves" while Midwest Book Review praises the "exquisite tension" throughout the story.

The Moscow Affair (Nicole Graves Mysteries, #6)

"The Moscow Affair is a thoroughly entertaining and unforgettable thriller punctuated by smart dialog, richly crafted scenes, and a topical plot." –Dave Edlund, USA Today bestselling author of Valiant Savage

In this fast-paced mystery, P.I. Nicole Graves agrees to an unusual, short-term assignment working for MI6 in Russia. It sounds straightforward, even pleasant: a two-week luxury riverboat cruise on the Volga, observing a group of fellow passengers and filing a daily report on their activities. It's simple enough, except for one caveat: No matter what these people do, she’s to tell her handler at MI6—no one else, especially not the Russian police. When one of the riverboat passengers winds up dead, Nicole realizes this assignment was anything but straightforward.

Soon, Nicole is immersed in a high-stakes game of murder and espionage where trusting a stranger can be as deadly as a bullet.

More info →
The Ransom

The Ransom

$15.99eBook: $6.99

As a newly minted private investigator, Nicole Graves expects to take on legal cases for corporate clients. But when her client’s son, Brad Rexton, is killed trying to protect his wife, Ashley, from a home invasion-turned-kidnapping, the firm is hired to investigate. Nicole soon discovers that Ashley is not the person she claims to be, but her real identity remains a mystery.

Meanwhile, a long-delayed and undesired inheritance is finally deposited into Nicole’s bank account. Within a few days, someone dear to Nicole is kidnapped in the same manner as Ashley. The perpetrators demand Nicole’s full inheritance as ransom. She’s willing to hand the money over but finds it’s not so easy. The kidnappers have an uncanny ability to track her every move, and they suspect a trap. When their most terrifying threat is delivered to her door, Nicole is faced with a terrible choice: Should she count on the police or risk going it alone? Each Nicole Graves books can be read in the series or as a stand-alone novel.

More info →
The Swap

The Swap

$16.99eBook: $7.99Audiobook: $18.95

"Full of page-by-page surprises" – Kirkus Reviews

When Nicole Graves arranges a summer-long swap of her Los Angeles condo for a London couple’s house, she thinks it’s the perfect arrangement. She’s always dreamed of seeing the real London; she’s also hopeful the time away with her husband Brad will be good for their troubled marriage. But things don’t turn out the way Nicole expects: The Londoners fail to arrive in L.A. and appear to be missing. Then people begin following Nicole and making threats, demanding information she doesn’t have. Soon, Nicole realizes she’s in serious trouble––but she can’t get Brad or the police to believe her. When the confrontations turn deadly, Nicole must either solve the case or become the next victim.

More info →