The Doctor Rowena Halley Series Books 1-4: Four Dark Comedy Mysteries

They say knowledge is power. For newly minted PhD Rowena Halley, all her book learning isn't enough to keep her safe. She'll have to rely on her Moscow-honed street smarts instead.

Get the first four books in the Doctor Rowena Halley series and three bonus companion novellas in one boxed set!

"Brilliantly-written and highly entertaining, a must read..." The Prairies Book Review

"A charming blend of academic inspection and social commentary that weaves an engrossing personal perspective into a blend of social observation and evolving romance." D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

Meet Rowena Halley, a former human rights activist turned academic. Rowena thought teaching on US college campuses would be a lot safer than interviewing torture victims in Russia. Boy, was she wrong.

Rowena quickly gets caught up in campus intrigue that threatens to turn deadly. Meanwhile, the life and lover she thought she'd left behind in Moscow might not be so firmly back in the past as she'd believed.

Written by a Russian professor with extensive insider knowledge of the topic, these books take a deep dive into the dark underbelly of American higher education. Serious and satirical in turn, they combine mystery, dark humor, and a touch of romance in a searingly funny examination of contemporary American and Russian society.

*Content warning*: These books contain adult language—and have the one-star reviews to prove it. You've been warned.

Foreign Exchange (bonus novella)

Rowena travels to Moscow to spend the holidays with her fiancé, opposition journalist Dima Kuznetsov. But a story he's investigating takes a potentially deadly turn—for their love, and maybe for their lives.

Campus Confidential

Newly single and fresh from her dissertation defense, Rowena starts her first faculty job. She was expecting poor treatment and lousy pay. Murder seems a bit much.

Permanent Position

The good news: Rowena has a new job and maybe even a new boyfriend. The bad news: the job pays starvation wages, and the boyfriend is three states away. But it's when Rowena gets sucked into a nasty domestic dispute between a student and his mail-order Belarusian bride that things get really dangerous.

Summer Session

Rowena is looking forward to a fun interlude with American boyfriend Alex while teaching an intensive summer program. But their weekend getaway is interrupted when a student goes missing. 

Summer Break (bonus novella)

Dima has spent the last year and a half in the comparative safety of the war zone in the Donbass. But now his past is catching up with him. A life-or-death confrontation might force him to rethink everything.

Trigger Warning

Rowena is starting a new job that almost pays a living wage (!!!). But when a prominent female gamer and feminist activist is targeted by a student men's rights organization, Rowena gets drawn into a potentially deadly stew of toxic misogyny and heartbreak.

Winter Break (bonus novella)

When the commander of a separatist battalion in the Donbass makes Dima an offer he can't refuse, he finds himself one step closer to finding out who's behind the hit that's been put out on him. But if he gets too close, he might not survive long enough for it to matter.