Masterclass Detective Agency - A Reading Guide

This was my attempt at a modern day detective series, featuring ex-cop Helen Masters and her punkette ex-con partner Erin Dane, as they solved crime while getting tied up quiet a bit.  In the end, I didn't do much with the series despite the stories being well received, and despite originally intending to return to it, I later decided that the Penance storyline was a good end point.  So this is a smaller guide than my previous two, and also includes two spin off stories from the same setting.

Main Case Files
Masterclass Detective AgencyThe sun was barely up on Saturday morning when Brenda arrived at her little jewellery story she ran on the eastside of the city, ignoring the slight chill that hung in the air as she walked around to the backdoor.  A short, round woman of forty with short dark hair and an aquiline nose, Brenda was a respected member of the neighbourhood business community, having operated her store there for almost twenty years now.  She mostly ran it herself, but had a pair of girls, Pippa and Ester, who helped out during the busier times during the week.  In fact Brenda was expecting Pippa, a slender red haired girl of twenty-two, to already be at the store as she was going to help Brenda with the store’s stocktake before they opened for the day.
Brenda opened the back door and walked into the small foyer inside, where she hung up her coat.  She was dressed in a smart navy blue suit and a cream blouse, stocking and sensible shoes, ready to get to work straight away.  Sh Masterclass Detective Agency - StalkerKay Hendrix slept peacefully in her bed, dreaming of mysteries that could translate into bestsellers once she awoke in the morning.  The famous crime writer was fifty years old, lean and handsome in an elegant way, with short sandy coloured hair that was slowly turning grey.  She was dressed in silk pyjamas, and was snuggly tucked in beneath the blankets as she slumbered.  Kay lived in a mansion on the edge of the city, gated away from the general populace.  The isolation helped her concentrate on her writing, focusing on what she did best, but it also kept her away from fans that got a little too obsessed with her works.  
Unfortunately, her isolation was not fool proof.
Her first indication something was wrong was when a pressure on her chest roused her.  Kay’s eyes fluttered open, her mind groggy, but she quickly became aware of that slender form atop of her.  Her eyes widened, but before she could react a strip of duct tape was stretched tig Masterclass Detective Agency: Penance Part 1
Prison life was a series of routines, as dictated by the schedule laid out by the warden.  You got out of bed at the same time, you ate at the same time, you exercised at the same time, you did your assigned chores at the same time, and then went to bed at the same time.  Day in, day out; never changing.  It was a soul crushing existence for many, though some thrived in this environment.  Some even genuinely reformed their ways.
Anastasia Fox was not one of those people.  
Rather than seek redemption or admit defeat, Fox had spent her time learning the routine, looking for lapses in security, blind spots, or corrupt guardswomen.  And in the four years she had spent in the prison as part of her life sentence, Fox had found all of the above.  It had taken time, and patience, but she had both, and she had used her knowledge to get herself a plumb job in the laundry, the least observed section of the prison.
And so she had gone about her routine, remainin Masterclass Detective Agency: Penance Part 2
Erin Dane was back in her chair, her hands once again tied behind her back.  She was still in shock from seeing Fox again, the woman who had led her to a life of crime back when she was a teenager, a woman who had gotten Erin hooked on drugs and alcohol.  Erin had since gone straight since they had last seen each other, and had been clean and sober for three years now, but there was still one addiction she had never truly managed to overcome; her addiction to Anastasia Fox.
“Where did you take Gia,” Erin said, trying to sound defiant but failing miserably.
“She safe,” Anastasia Fox said, sitting across from Erin with a seductive smile on her face.  She was flanked by Traci and Lynn, who Erin recognized from the bad old days, and they were still apparently totally loyal to Fox after all these years.  “She's just insurance, to make sure you behave.  I need your help, baby.  I have to go away, but to do that I need money.  M

Spin Offs