Some characters arrive quietly.
Others refuse to leave until you tell their story.
Sam Sunday did exactly that.
Before a devastating car accident changed his life, Sam built a reputation as a meticulous home inspector with an eye for details most people missed. The accident left him paraplegic, took the life of his beloved wife, Sophia, and shrank his world overnight. Now he grumbles, keeps people at arm’s length, and longs for the day he’ll see Sophia again. Although his circumstances changed, his sharp mind never did. He still notices the details everyone else overlooks.
Intelligent, observant, and more than a little stubborn, Sam combines a dry sense of humor with razor-sharp wit and enough sarcasm to keep everyone around him on their toes. Beneath that gruff exterior, he fiercely protects the people he loves and relentlessly pursues justice for those who need it most.
Every great detective needs a partner, even if Sam would never admit it.
Enter Reggie Lowes.
Reggie desperately needed a nursing job. Sam desperately needed a caregiver who wouldn’t quit after a few days, just because he could be considered ornery and stubborn. On paper, they couldn’t be more different. Sam is older, set in his ways, and convinced no one meets his standards. Reggie is younger, covered in tattoos, sports a mohawk, and has learned not to judge people by appearances because he knows what it feels like to be judged himself.
What begins as a temporary arrangement—Sam agrees to keep Reggie on until he can finally beat the younger man at chess—slowly grows into an unlikely friendship built on trust, loyalty, and plenty of good-natured banter.
Their relationship is the heart of every Sam Sunday mystery.
Of course, no Sam Sunday mystery would be complete without the cats.
JB, Sophia’s mischievous orange tabby, has an uncanny ability to find trouble—or perhaps let trouble find her. Her adventures have a habit of pulling Sam into mysteries he never intended to investigate.
Nancy, the quiet black cat, usually watches the chaos unfold with the unmistakable expression of someone wondering how the humans managed to complicate life again.
Sophia named them after two of her favorite detectives—Jessica “JB” Fletcher and Nancy Drew. Looking back, it’s almost as if she knew Sam’s future would involve solving mysteries of his own.
When I began writing the Sam Sunday Mystery Series, I had one guiding principle.
I wanted readers to have a fair chance to solve the mystery.
Too many mysteries rely on hidden information or last-minute surprises that readers could never have predicted. While those twists can be entertaining, I wanted to create something different.
That’s where the Clues That Matter Method™ was born.
Every important clue is there. Where every conversation matters. Every detail has a purpose. If you’re paying attention, you have everything you need to solve the case right alongside Sam.
Some readers figure it out before he does.
Others are surprised until the very end.
Either way, I want the solution to feel earned.
The Sam Sunday Mysteries follow an unlikely detective duo as they uncover hidden truths one mystery at a time. Sam Sunday, a brilliant but grumpy paraplegic, and his tattooed, mohawk-sporting nurse, Reggie Lowes, travel to intriguing destinations where murder, secrets, and unexpected friendships await. With two mischievous cats, memorable characters, and mysteries inspired by classic children’s book titles, each adventure blends humor, heart, and plenty of surprising twists.
A grumpy paraplegic. A tattooed nurse with a mohawk. One missing cat… and one very inconvenient murder.
Retired home inspector Sam Sunday has gone through one in-home nurse after another. His sharp tongue and impossible standards have driven them all away, and he isn’t convinced the newest hire will last any longer.
Reginald Lowes has other plans.
Covered in tattoos and sporting a mohawk, Reggie has been judged by appearances his entire life. This nursing job is his last chance to get back on his feet, and he’s determined not to let Sam—or anyone else—stand in his way.
When Sam’s beloved cat, JB, is “catnapped” by his cantankerous neighbor, Ivy Coleman, better known as Poison Ivy, the unlikely pair sets out to bring him home. Instead, they discover Ivy’s lifeless body.
With Reggie suddenly under suspicion, Sam relies on the keen eye for detail he developed during years of inspecting houses. As he begins to notice what everyone else has overlooked, he becomes determined to prove his nurse’s innocence… if for no other reason than that he refuses to break in yet another replacement before finally beating the young man at chess.
Can Sam uncover the truth before the killer claims another victim—and before the police arrest the wrong man?
An unlikely pair—a grumpy paraplegic and his mohawk-sporting, tattooed nurse—are about to discover that college campuses have deadly secrets, too.
Sam Sunday and his full-time nurse, Reggie Lowes, head to Colorado for a quiet summer visit with Sam’s brother, Daniel, a professor at J. Chaffee College. Between catching up with family and helping Sam regain his strength, murder is the last thing either of them expects.
Everything changes when they discover the body of a campus janitor floating in the gym’s whirlpool.
The police quickly dismiss the crime as a drug deal gone wrong, but Sam notices details everyone else has overlooked. Before long, the evidence begins pointing toward the last person he ever expected to suspect—his own brother.
Desperate to save her husband, Daniel’s wife begs Sam to prove he isn’t a murderer… even as she admits Daniel has been hiding something from her for the first time in their marriage.
Can Sam uncover the truth before his brother is arrested… or will the evidence force him to believe the impossible?
A murdered attorney. A missing sister. A nation convinced Sam Sunday’s sister is America’s oldest serial killer.
Retired home inspector Sam Sunday built a reputation for noticing the details everyone else overlooks. That gift has helped him solve murders before—but nothing prepares him for the case that strikes at the heart of his own family.
Days after someone murders her law partner, Emily Sunday vanishes without a trace. Soon, the FBI uncovers evidence linking her to a string of suspicious deaths spanning decades, and headlines across the country brand her as “America’s Oldest Serial Killer.”
Sam refuses to believe it. The compassionate attorney and devoted sister he knows couldn’t have spent a lifetime hiding a trail of murder.
With his loyal nurse, Reggie Lowes, at his side, Sam retraces Emily’s life, determined to clear her name. Every clue reveals another victim, another buried secret, and another reason to question everything he thought he knew.
As the evidence mounts, Sam faces an impossible choice: accept that everything he believed about his sister was a lie… or prove that someone spent decades creating the perfect lie.
If Sam can’t prove Emily’s innocence, history will remember her as America’s oldest serial killer.
Every Sam Sunday mystery begins with a crime, but the heart of the story has always been the people.
Each novel celebrates friendship, second chances, and the courage to see beyond first impressions. It reminds us that life can still hold purpose after everything changes.
Sam uses a wheelchair, but it never defines him. His intelligence, determination, compassion, and relentless pursuit of justice define who he is. With every mystery he solves, Sam reminds us that our greatest strengths come from our character, not our circumstances.
Readers often ask why I chose to make Sam a paraplegic who uses a wheelchair.
The answer is simple: I understand, at least in part, what it feels like when people see your disability before they see you.
I live with fibromyalgia, and throughout much of my twenties, I relied on a wheelchair because I simply couldn’t walk long distances. I remember the curious glances, the assumptions people made, and the challenge of navigating places that didn’t consider accessibility. More than once, people spoke to whoever accompanied me instead of speaking directly to me. Those experiences shaped Sam’s world—not because his story is my story, but because the emotions behind it are real.
Too often, writers create characters with disabilities to inspire others or to evoke pity. I wanted something different. I wanted a hero whose disability shaped his perspective but never defined his worth. Sam doesn’t inspire readers because he uses a wheelchair. He inspires them because he refuses to stop noticing the people and truths everyone else overlooks.
When I created Sam, I wanted readers to meet a character whose disability felt authentic without becoming the center of his identity. Sam isn’t defined by his wheelchair any more than any of us should be defined by the challenges we face. He’s brilliant, sarcastic, stubborn, compassionate, and occasionally exasperating. He just also happens to use a wheelchair.
I also intentionally made both Sam and Reggie men. Many stories about disability come from a female perspective, and I wanted to explore friendship, vulnerability, and resilience through two very different men who learn to trust and depend on each other. Their relationship allows me to reach readers who might not otherwise pick up a story about disability while reminding all of us that compassion, dignity, and belonging aren’t limited by age, appearance, or ability.
I hope readers finish these books with more than an engaging mystery to solve. I hope they begin to see disability a little differently. I hope they notice the person before they notice the wheelchair. If these stories help even one reader do that, then I’ve accomplished something even more meaningful.
When you step into Sam’s world, I hope you don’t just enjoy solving the mystery.
I hope you fall in love with the people solving it.
Every story begins with a puzzle, but it quickly becomes a story about friendships that deepen, hope that appears in unexpected places, and ordinary people who choose to make an extraordinary difference despite their brokenness.
If you’re ready to meet Sam, Reggie, JB, and Nancy, I’d love to welcome you to the series. Just don’t be surprised if you start piecing together the clues before Sam does.
Until our next story,
Anna
Sharing Stories of Grace, Mystery, and Hope
