Death on the River Walk, by Carolyn Hart (1999)

Carolyn Hart's heroine in this series of mysteries is Henrie O, doubtless a takeoff on the famous author of short stories with a twist, O. Henry.

Death on the River Walk, by Carolyn Hart (1999)

Backmatter:
Pulitzer Prize-winning ex-reporter Henrietta O'Dwyer Collins no longer chases hot stories all over the world, but murderous mysteries seem to find her. This time, a frantic phone call from an old and dear friend on the other side of the world sends Henrie O rushing to the fabled city of San Antion, (Texas) to check out the baffling disappearance of her friend's devoted granddaughter, Iris Chavez. Iris, employed at the Tesoros Gallery on SAn Antonio's famous River Walk, has suddenly dropped from sight without a word.

Soon Henrie O discovers that amidst the exquisite objects in the prestigious gallery and among the family members is hidden a dark secret--one Henrie O must uncover if she is to find Iris. Late one dark night on the River Walk, Henrie O sees a sprawled body...and realizes that treachery and disgrace lurk in the shadows of an old and respected business...and death awaits anyone daring to uncover the truth.

Opening paragraph

I glanced at the computer printout that rested on the passenger seat of the rental car, a casual picture of a grandmother and granddaughter, arms linked, faces aglow with laughter and love. The bright photograph had been scanned into a computer half a world awayand the resulting crisp picture that had issued from my daughter's computer was one of the small miracles that no one remarks in today's technological wonderland. The grandmother, Gina Wilson, was one of my oldest friends, a shining memory from the happiest years of my life. The granddaughter, Iris Chavez, was a child I'd come to know because she spent so much of her growing up time with Gina. Iris was near in age to my own granddaughter, Diana.

From Wikipedia:
Hart's Henrie O mysteries feature 70-something retired newswoman, Henrie O'Dwyer Collins, as she travels the country and the world, solving crimes that seem to follow her as she travels. Henrie gets by on her grit, tenacity, and sensible shoes.

Dead Man's Island (1993)
Scandal in Fair Haven (1994)
Death in Lovers' Lane (1997)
Death in Paradise (1998)
Death on the River Walk (1999)
Resort to Murder (2001)
Set Sail for Murder (2007)

Track of the Cat, by Nevada Barr

Track of the Cat, by Nevada Barr, is the first in a series of park ranger Anna Pigeon mysteries. In many ways, Barr is the Dick Francis of the American mystery novel. All of Francis' books had something to do with horses, and all of them had a hero who, the final chapter, was invariably beat up or had to fight for his life against overwhelming odds before coming out triumphant.

Such is the case with Anna Pigeon. No pampered city woman, detecting from her bed and breakfast, antique gallery, or catering firm. No, she's an outdoorswoman, who strides confidently in her milieu, with the strength of body and of will to defeat the powerful villains who commit murder in a National Park anywhere near her.

In Track of the Cat, we first get to know Anna. She prefers animals and the outdoors to people and civilization. She drinks too much, to dull the pain from the loss of her husband, who had died in a traffic accident years before. She also has a sister, whom we only ever hear on the phone, who is also a psychiatrist. But mostly there's Anna...and why she hasn't been given a TV series of her own sometime in the last 20 years boggles the mind!

In Track of the Cat, the park service is attempting to introduce the endangered mountain lion back into the park. However, the program is jeopardized when Anna finds the body of a fellow park ranger, ostensibly killed by a mountain lion. As hunters fan out to get the man-eater, Anna tries desperately to prove that the villain they're looking for is a two-legged one.

Sample paragraphs:

Anna fished teo of the soggy lemon slices from her water bottle, mashed them to a pulp, and rubbed the pulp into her wet handkerchief. Tying it over her mouth and nose, she fervently hoped it would cut the stench of death down to a tolerable level.

Next she took the camera she'd been using on the lion transect and hung it around her neck. Switching on the headlamp, though it was not yet dark enough to do her much good, she waded into the saw grass.

The camera helped. It gave her distance. Through its lens she was able to see more clearly. Sheila Drury was parcelled out into photographic units. As sheclicked, Anna made mental notes: no scrapes, no bruises, no twisted limbs. Drury probably hadn't fallen.

Track of the Cat --Guadalupe Mountains National Park (1993)
A Superior Death --Isle Royale National Park (1994)
Ill Wind --Mesa Verde National Park (1995)
Firestorm --Lassen Volcanic National Park (1996)
Endangered Species --Cumberland Island National Seashore (1997)
Blind Descent --Carlsbad Caverns National Park (1998)
Liberty Falling --Statue of Liberty National Monument (1999)
Deep South --Natchez Trace Parkway (2000)
Blood Lure --Glacier National Park (2001)
Hunting Season --Natchez Trace Parkway February (2002)
Flashback --Dry Tortugas National Park February (2003)
High Country --Yosemite National Park February (2004)
Hard Truth --Rocky Mountain National Park March (2005)
Winter Study --Isle Royale National Park April (2008)
Borderline --Big Bend National Park April (2009)

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Nevada Barr:

Nevada Barr (born March 1, 1952, Yerington, Nevada) is an American author best known for her Anna Pigeon series of mystery novels set in national parks in the United States. Barr won an Agatha Award and Anthony Award for best first novel for Track of the Cat. She lives in New Orleans.

Although Barr was born in Nevada, she was named not after her state of birth but after a character in one of her father’s favorite books.[Interestingly, neither Wikipedia nor the source from which they got this information bothers to give the title of the book. Wouldn't they think fans of Barr would want to knwo that, also?]

She grew up in Johnstonville, California, and finished college at the University of California, Irvine. With a masters degree in drama, she pursued a career in theater,TV, films, commercials and voice work for almost two decades. When her then-director husband changed careers and became interested in the environmental movement she began working as a seasonal park ranger in the summer.

Barr created the Anna Pigeon series while working at her second seasonal job in Guadalupe Mountains National Park,Texas. Pigeon is a law enforcement ranger with the United States National Park Service. The books in the series take place in various national parks, where Pigeon solves murders that are often related to natural resource issues.

Barr's first permanent Park Ranger job was on the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi. She resigned to focus on writing when her books began to achieve commercial success.

On the Slam, by Honor Hartman

On the Slam, by Honor Hartman, is "A Bridge Club Mystery." There are only two books in the series to date, On The Slam in 2007, and The Unkindest Cut, in 2008.

Meet Emma Diamond: novice bridge player, recent widow, and the kind of person who never leaves her grocery cart sitting willy nilly in the parking lot. And now, after a vile woman in her new neighborhood in Houston is poisoned during a bridge game, Emma has a new identity: amateur detective.

I didn't really care for this book, yet another in a series of amateur female detectives who have no career, yet are better detectives than the police. Emma Diamond is a widow, who plays bridge (and the bridge notes at the end of the book are interesting). The woman who was murdered hardly seems vile, and Emma is annoyingly unaffected by her death.

The novel takes place in Houston, Texas, but I didn't get a "sense of place," it could have taken place anywhere.

A few paragraphs

I glanced over at the doorway, and Nate McGreevey sttod watchintg, again looking past me at someone else in the room. I started to speak to him, but Janet came in just then and and picked up a small paper plate. She spooned a large amount of the spinach dip onto it, then added a handful of wheat crackers on the side. At this rate, there might not be spinach dip left for much longer.

Janet caught my expression, and her gaze hardened. "There's plenty of food for everyone," she said.

"Yes, of course," I murmured politely and started to turn away.

She wasn't paying any attention to me. She scooped up a large dollop of spinach dip with a cracker and popped it into her mouth. She smiled as she chewed.

I heard her murmur "yummy" as I headed bck to my table.

Then, suddenly, I heard gasping, choking sounds from behind me.

I turned back and, to my horror, Janet was clutching her throat with both hands. Her plate had dropped to the floor in front of her. She reached out a hand toward me,, but I was rooted to the spot.

A split second later, I recovered my voice. I yelled out, "Gerald! Something's wrong with Janet."

The room went completely still behind me, and for a long moment, no one moved. No one except Janet, that it. She collapsed against the island, hands still clawing at her throat. The platter of crudites went flying as she elbowed it on her way down.