Official Site of M. Culler
Mystery, Fantasy,
and Romance Author

Historical Romance

Charlotte Harkness thinks there is a quiet grace and dignity among the dead... at least when they're not feeling chatty

Charlotte Harkness has (quite cheerfully) accepted that she’ll never find love. An undertaker’s daughter who reads embalming manuals and hears the dearly departed? It’s enough to make any Victorian patriarch despair.

When Lavinia Everly’s corpse arrives at Harkness and Sons, Charlotte is tormented by the girl’s final memories, her death at the hands of the mysterious “Jack.” Charlotte knows she must find the killer before madness consumes her.

Dr. James Everly shuns society’s rules to find out who killed his little sister. When he joins forces with the undertaker’s daughter, he never expected his new ally to be so quick-witted and beautiful.

James and Charlotte agree to pose as a courting couple to continue their investigations. Falling in love wasn’t part of the plan.

As danger mounts, Charlotte and James race to stop “Jack” before he can strike again. Will they succeed, or become the next victims on his list?

Belling the Tiger(ess)

Rowena Mumford has the eye of every single man in quiet Cedar Point, Massachusetts. Her beauty and fortune outweigh her mischievous black cat, Tiger, and the murmurs of witchcraft that surround her. Tired of pointless suitors, Rowena states the man who can place a bell around Tiger’s neck may woo her. Soon, all of Cedar Point is hoping for a spring engagement!

Augustus Warwick, a dreamer who owns the local sweet shop, believes he has no chance of winning Rowena’s heart. The eccentric confectioner is too busy trying to perfect a new confection before Easter Sunday. But Tiger has taken a shine to his shop, and Augustus has taken a shine to Miss Mumford. Will he be able to win her heart—and will he want it once he learns about her secret?

The Earl's Christmas Contest

Can Lord Thomas, Earl of Whitstead, convince his oldest friend that he’s in love with her—in just twelve days?

Childhood friends Lord Thomas Willoughby, Earl of Whitstead and Lady Phillipa Elmsworth are sick of the marriage-minded mayhem of the London Season. When Thomas proposes that they wed to escape the heartbreak and heartache they see around them, Pip gamely accepts. After all, almost no one is marrying for love in London. Why not marry for friendship?

To keep rumors at bay, Tom and Pip have conspired to act besotted with one another in public and to live as amicable companions when in the privacy of their own home. However, the young couple will soon face sharp scrutiny when it comes time to host Christmas at Whitmore Castle, a beloved tradition that half the gentry will attend.

Christmas at the castle means so much to Tom, and it’s Pip’s first true test as the new Countess of Whitstead. To take their minds off of the endless hosting duties and tedious guests, Tom suggests a Christmas contest. Who can outdo the other by planning the sweetest surprises and finding the most unusual gifts in a friendly battle of wits and wills? It’s all in good fun, but as Christmas Eve approaches, Phillipa and Thomas begin to realize they’re in danger. Both are on the verge of breaking their promises not to ruin a perfectly good marriage with something as messy as love.

Will Christmas at Whitmore Castle end in triumph—or scandal?

Works

Cozy Mystery

Pick of the Litter

A Holiday Pet Sleuth Mystery

A litter of puppies. A mysterious craftsman with a beautiful secret. A stubborn, spunky terrier. Can Fiona solve a Mother’s Day mystery?

Spring means it’s time to bloom, but Fiona Milton is stuck in “blah.” Her love life has stalled, her dreams are on hold, and even Macbeth, her faithful terrier, can’t tug her out of this rut.

But a litter of puppies left in her yard might just do the trick! The hunt to find their rightful owner soon has Fiona helping a handsome stranger with a precious secret he needs help to protect. Could Fiona’s life be back on track—or will disaster rip it away just as she opens her heart?

Join Fiona and Macbeth as they solve a mystery that will lead to adventure, romance, and a new chance at finding a fur-ever family.

A New Year's Cat-aclysm

A Holiday Pet Sleuth Mystery

Davida Maxwell has one night to make sure her entire year goes right. As the new owner of the New Hope Animal Shelter, all she needs is one blockbuster gala, complete with donors with deep pockets, to turn a dilapidated building into a dream come true.

New Year’s Eve could set her up for a bright future.

Or it could ruin her career and her reputation.

When the gala’s biggest donation goes missing, Davida knows that she will be viewed as incompetent at best, or a thief at worst.

With midnight looming, go-getter Davida has three goals:

Distract the guests.

Keep Sparkler, the shelter’s kitten mascot, out of the punch bowl.

Solve the mystery and find the missing money!

Can she do it all by New Year’s Day? Or is this New Year’s Eve just the start of a new disaster?

A New Year's Cat-aclysm by M. Culler is a cozy mystery with a twist of holiday romance that you're sure to love! Check out the other books in the Holiday Pet Sleuths series!

Framed by the Fireworks

A Holiday Pet Sleuth Mystery

In Shay’s Point, New Jersey, the Fourth of July isn’t just a holiday—it’s the holiday. Sadly, crime refuses to go on vacation.

Fourth of July weekend is always busy in Shay’s Point, but even tireless Libby Shay has to admit that this year’s festivities will break records. Aside from the usual fireworks, the bustling beach town is also hosting a historical reenactment on land and sea. Libby’s sure she’s out of her mind for agreeing to host a special showing at her tourist-attraction art gallery, Seafoam Frames while juggling everything else.

It turns out… she was right. When a famous painting is stolen from her gallery, suspicion falls on Libby—and the only witness who can identify the real culprit? Weighs twenty pounds, sheds like crazy, and barks.

Can Libby clear her name with some help from her trusty pup, Fox, and some unlikely help from an old family rival? Or is she doomed to be framed by the fireworks?

Get ready for a brand new cozy mystery series set in Victorian Somerset and starring a spunky young "Miss Marple"! Meet Daphne Noble, the heroine of the Mill-Upon- Mortlake Cozy Historical Mysteries.

When Daphne Noble leaves London for Mill-Upon-Mortlake, Somerset, she knows she’ll face an uphill battle.

For one thing, she wasn’t born in the village, which means she’ll be an outsider until she is buried in the churchyard. Secondly, the villagers aren’t sure what to make of “London Girls,” especially ones that work in shops instead of being respectably married!

As Daphne tries to settle into English country life, scandal plagues Somerset. Mr. Bell, her employer, has gone missing, and with him the idea of giving the sleepy Somerset town a modern village shop. As an outsider from Taunton, Bell’s townie ways may have ruffled a few feathers, but surely no one would murder a man over trying to bring Mill-Upon-Mortlake into the 1890s. Would they?

It’s up to Daphne to prove herself useful in the eyes of the village, discover what has befallen Mr. Bell, and keep her job. But will her investigations make her seem indispensable? Or just inconvenient?

Scandal Comes to Somerset is the first book in The Mill-Upon-Mortlake Cozy Historical Mystery series by M. Culler.

Fantasy

The Mer Series

When Val faces a choices between an uncertain afterlife or an aternity with a strange race of beautiful underwater beings, she'll find adventures, secrets, and lies.

But she'll also find a new family, a new purpose, and the love she was waiting for... if she can survive life as one of The Mer.

A fantasy adventure with romance and an inspirational message.

Jack the Ripper: Demon Hunter

Jack the Ripper is the most feared man in London. But it's all a lie, a misunderstanding, and it's ruining Jack Bramley's life!

Jack Bramley inherited his grandfather's apothecary, his small flat above the store, his battered bicycle for completing deliveries, and his sacred ceremonial dagger for dispatching demons. No one mentioned that last bit in the reading of will.

Now Jack must race against time to dispatch demons and save the soul of his sweetheart. Staying alive would be nice, too.

Queen Slayer

A Snow White Retelling

with a Twist!

Long Live the One True Queen…

The Brotherhood of Poison Roots has always ensured that the One True Queen stays firmly on the throne. Any who challenge her rule are assassinated with ruthless efficiency.

Hemlock has been raised by The Brotherhood, but hasn’t earned his title. His blade is still untested, waiting for work that’s minor enough for a fledgling Huntsman.

Only suddenly, Hemlock is being sent on a solo mission, his very first. It’s not just any mission, either. It’s every Huntsman’s dream to have this honor… If he’s successful, he’ll join the ranks of the elite, becoming more than a Huntsman.

He’ll become one of the fabled Queen Slayers.

Raven refuses to believe her father’s deathbed confession—that her mother was a heretic, executed upon capture, for challenging the One True Queen’s claim to the throne. Only, if her father’s dying missive is to be believed, her mother wasn’t a heretic. She was the last surviving member of the royal family… and the “One True Queen” is an imposter and always has been.

Correction. Next to last surviving member.

If she survives, Raven might be able to expose ancient lies and free her world from a sinister secret. Only one thing stands in her way… the Queen Slayer.

Contemporary Romance

Seventh Floor Surprises

Small town? Check. Stress-free? Check.

Olivia loves her new life away from the high-pressure world of Manhattan. Her big city friends may expect this to turn into a rom-com where the new girl falls for the rugged hometown hero, but that’s not Olivia’s dream. She just wants to be left alone with her exotic aquarium and her sweet new apartment.

Olivia discovers that even in a small town, there’s always something to surprise you. In this case, the surprise has four paws— and an owner that saves the day!

The Searching Hearts Duology

An undefeated romance.

When Calvin Bradley loses everything, he wants to hide from God and life by staying off the grid and living on his own terms. But when a tragic accident throws him into the path of Ellen Camstead, everything changes.

Ellen Camstead hasn’t been able to get her life out of park. She's about to do something drastic to prove that she's more than just a small-town preschool teacher.

A meeting with a wounded veteran and his dog suddenly throws her into fast forward.

Will these two still be together at the end of a bumpy road of healing, loss, and love?

The Second Santa Solution

A Christmas Romance for the young... and young at heart!

Single nurse Joy Beardsley knows just what her busy daughter, Samantha, needs for Christmas—a sweetheart. But when the cute Santa at the mall catches her eye, Joy starts to wonder if she just might get her wish for a Christmas romance of her own. A little merry mayhem causes a case of mistaken identity before Joy’s big Christmas Eve date. Samantha ends up meeting a handsome gentleman herself when she delivers a gift to her mom’s new beau. The problem of two lonely hearts might just be solved by a second Santa Claus! Will both ladies end up with a new love before New Year?

In the Press

I could not put this book down! The characters are well developed, and I immediately felt a connection to Charlotte, a woman who wants to follow her dreams, and not in a traditional female role.

Captivating Read! I read this book in a day because I couldn't put it down!

What I love most is M. Culler's ability to keep the reader in suspense in many ways throughout the storyline. The author's wide variety of well-developed characters are so true to life you would think it was based on a true story.

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Bio

M. Culler grew up locked in papery castles. She held the key, don't worry. Books were her best friends, and writing more of them seemed to be the right thing to do. A hobby turned into a lucrative side career (and then an addiction).

In other words, M. Culler is a writeaholic, and she's thankful for it! Indulge in an underwater world of fantasy with The Mer, get wrapped in sweet, smalltown romance with Searching Hearts, or travel back to Victorian London to solve a murder with The Undertaker's Daughter. Come into the castle... you'll be an honored guest!

In The Press

Bio

News & Events

Join Book Dragons: M. Culler's Readers' Group!

Launching a New Historical Cozy Mystery Series!

News and Events

December Guest Author: Anatasia Abboud

Check out Tremors Through Time:

Unwinding a long, lace table runner, she removed layers of tissue paper. As the last of the wrappings fell away, she choked back tears and stared at the face of her farmer, a face she had known all her life.

The small, framed drawing was one of the few things of value she possessed. Faded and fragile, it was a bona fide and precious antique, handed down through her father’s family for generations, placed in her keeping by her grandfather. It had hung in the great room of the farmhouse. She’d stood looking up at it so often that Gramps had finally moved it to her room. She couldn’t have been more than eight years old.

After that, she’d shared every sadness, every disappointment, and every joy with her farmer. She gazed at the beloved face.

No one knew who he was, but he’d been the impetus for her chosen career, the very reason she’d wanted to study medieval history. In her studies, she’d come across drawings of medieval farmers guiding their teams of oxen, but hers stood alone, strong and sure, facing the artist.

She touched the glass, tracing him with her finger, feeling that, somehow, he reached through the centuries to comfort her.

“I wish you were here,” she whispered.