Each book is written in first person, which carries the risk of the main characters sounding like the same person with a different face. This is not the case with Ms. Senecal's writing. The personalities of her characters come through loud and clear; Lainey's hurt and determination, Molly's spontaneity and emotional growth, Megan's hesitant and introspective nature, Becca's list-making and healing.
They never get too dark, and they don't involve a lot of mental work to keep up, so they are really good to read to relax or fill time.
Book 1: Strangers On This Road (Avalon, Catalina Island, CA)
Book 2: Danger in Academia (New York City, NY)
Book 3: Enemy at the Wedding (England)
Book 4: The Heartbroken Brides (San Francisco, CA)
The first four books feature Elaine (Lainey) Parker. In Strangers On This Road, Elaine is 18. Four years pass before Danger In Academia. In The Heartbroken Brides, she is 24. She meets her love interest, Aiden, in the first book but they do not reconnect again until the second. These first four are my favorites. Good flow, great chemistry between the characters, lots of mystery and carefully placed frustration. Each book furthers the relationships between characters and fills in back story.
Book 5: Death on the Menu (Los Angeles, CA) features Molly Faraday, the friend and college roommate of Elaine. We first meet Molly in Danger in Academia. Molly is an actress/waitress who literally stumbles upon a mystery, which she would really rather not have anything do do with. She's emotionally immature, impulsive, and very likable. Her coworker Dan becomes a stabilizing influence.
Book 7: The Missing Tourist (Europe)
Books 6 and 7 are about Megan Hofflin, who we have not met before. Her parents, Nancy and Hugo, have a role, either directly or by reputation, in every book. Megan's adventures begin when she goes through a breakup and decides to vacation alone to mark her 30th birthday. When she helps a woman in trouble in The Night Ferry she is pulled into a cloak-and-dagger mission. She meets Cai and it isn't long before they are attached at the hip.
The Missing Tourist takes place only three months after the previous book, so there is both continuation of character development on top of a new mystery. Lainey and Aiden end up playing a significant supporting role in this one.
Book 8: Beneath These Streets (San Francisco, CA)
Book 9: Murder on Santorini (Greece)
Rebecca Rossiter is a new character for books 8 and 9. She is a friend with Lisa, Lainey's childhood friend. Becca is in her early 30s, recently divorced. Beneath These Streets involves Cal, but it isn't really much of a romantic interest. The characters are not compatible that way, despite giving it a half-hearted try. The mystery topic should have been interesting, but despite a few interesting moments the storytelling fell flat. Beneath These Streets is the weakest book in the series. It took the longest to read because it didn't keep my attention for long.
When I read Murder on Santornini, I got the feeling the point of the previous book was a long lead-up to make the story in this one possible. It is much more intriguing of a story, start to finish. This book introduces Miles, someone Becca went on a few dates with before he stopped calling. Cal is also in this book, with a new love interest. Although the behavior of the characters can be exasperating or confusing, it all gets explained in time. Aiden makes an appearance near the end.
I made a flowchart of how the main people are connected in the series. It is not super detailed or complete, but it helps to keep track of the overlap. (One correction: Hugo & Nancy Hofflin make a personal appearance in Book 8.)
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