• USA TODAY Bestselling Author of

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    An angry ex-wife. A rich mistress. And a dead body in a storage unit.

    Released March 19, 2024

    Coroner Fenway Stevenson opens her boyfriend’s storage unit—and discovers a corpse wrapped in an expensive Persian rug. There’s no shortage of suspects: the dead man’s girlfriend, the bitter ex, the sneaky co-worker. Can Fenway unmask the killer before the storm hits? Or will Fenway be the next victim of the drug dealers’ violence?

     

    The early reviews are in!

    "★★★★★ Off-the-charts fun to read!"

    "★★★★★ A fantastic whodunit murder mystery! Fenway is awesome!"

    "★★★★★ Had me guessing to the very end. Just love Fenway!"

    "★★★★★ Kept me up reading way past my bedtime"

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    Now Available Exclusively in my Author Store

    Rookie Year

    Every novel from The Reluctant Coroner to The Accused Coroner is here, chroncling Fenway's first year in Estancia—her journey to county coroner, the challenges she faces, and the cases she solves.This collection also includes two novelettes and two novellas, and presents all the stories in chronological order:

    • Book 1: The Reluctant Coroner
    • Novelette: The Coroner and the Body in the Bath
    • Book 2: The Incumbent Coroner
    • Novelette: The Coroner and the Walk-In Freezer
    • Book 3: The Candidate Coroner
    • Book 4: The Upstaged Coroner
    • Book 5: The Courtroom Coroner
    • Novella: The Christmas Coroner
    • Book 6: The Watchful Coroner
    • Book 7: The Accused Coroner
    • Novella: The Clandestine Coroner

    If you purchase these books separately, you'd spend almost $35 (and you wouldn't get the second novelette). But Rookie Year will be available for only $19.99... and it's available ONLY on my author store.

  • BLOG

    Stuff I'm reading, stuff I learned, and stuff I like!

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    About Paul Austin Ardoin

    Paul Austin Ardoin is the USA TODAY Bestselling Author of The Fenway Stevenson Mysteries and the Woodhead & Becker Mysteries. His stories and essays have appeared in the anthologies The Paths We Tread, Turning the Tide, 12 Shots, Bottomfish, and Sweet Fancy Moses. His network security articles have been published in Channel Futures, California Computer News, and European Communications. Paul has a B.A. in Creative Writing from University of California, Santa Barbara, and he makes his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with his wife and dogs.

  • news and announcements

    Now Available for pre-order! Woodhead & Becker series Book 4

    THE EXECUTIVE MURDER

     

    A dead billionaire. A compromised police force. And her daughter in the crosshairs.

    Disgraced federal investigator Bernadette Becker is taking a well-deserved vacation at a music festival—when a mysterious man in the crowd gives her a clue that upends her life. Soon, Bernadette is sending her family into protective custody while she an her partner, forensic toxicologist Dr. Kep Woodhead, figure out who killed a billionaire in his home. The local police are on the take, and they don't know who to trust. Uncovering clues and dodging gunfire, Woodhead and Becker cross the country chasing the killer—who is now targeting Bernadette's daughter.

    Now available for pre-order at all major retailers! 

     

    BIG NEWS & NEW RELEASE

    I’m in a brand-new crime thriller anthology—10 full novels!

     

    My first novel in the Woodhead & Becker series, The Winterstone Murder, is featured in the new anthology The Secrets We Keep—along with 9 other thrillers from bestselling authors like Meghan O’Flynn, Jack Benton, Tom Fowler, D.F. Hart, P.D. Workman, and more!

     

    Buy The Secrets We Keep from your favorite eBook retailer

    Praise for Woodhead & Becker

    "Ardoin is the real deal"

    —Mark Stay, host of The Bestseller Experiment podcast

     

    "A unique break from the standard police procedural that left me wanting more."

    —J.W. Atkinson, author of Ashes of Malice

     

    "If you enjoy deftly woven storylines, quirky but relatable characters, and 'wow, didn't see that coming' twists and turns, then I strongly recommend The Winterstone Murder."

    —D.F. Hart, author of the Vital Secrets series

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