The third Dead Detective book, Dead for the Show, changes setting from Michigan to Toronto, where Seamus investigates the death of a theater's costume designer. 

By this time I was into the groove of writing a series, so I'll comment on the differences between series and stand-alone novels. Readers who like series grow attached to the main characters and wait for new books so they can find out what's happening in their lives (or in Seamus' case, their afterlives). Stand-alones have a different feel, especially in mystery novels, where it can't be assumed the protagonist will even live through the events of the book. (We all knew Jack Reacher didn't die at the end of that one book, because there was still money to be made in that series.) 

In some ways series are easier to write than stand-alones, because the main characters carry from one book to the next. Problems still exist, like what if a reader picks up this book but missed the first two? How much does that person need to know about what's gone on before, keeping in mind that those who love the series already know the information? I try to include quick comments that provide clues for new readers and reminders to those who know Seamus well.

Another problem is keeping the details straight. What color did I say Seamus' hair was? How old is he? What does his voice sound like? I try to keep a folder of info on each series so I can go back and look up details, but sometimes I find myself doing a search through the files of all the previous manuscripts, trying to find where (or if) I said a character grew up or what kind of car she drives.

While I enjoy reading series, I get tired after a half-dozen or so in most cases. I'm not sure, but I think the author's mood might contribute to that. While it's nice that readers like a series, the writing in Book 8 or 12 might become formulaic and flat. When I read a series, I pace myself, reading perhaps one a year. My husband buys every book he can find by an author and stacks them up beside his chair, reading to start the next when he finishes the current one. Once I told a woman I'd just met about the Dead Detective series. Two days later she stopped by to tell me she'd read all four.  Her question? "What else have you got?"

Dead for the Show: Seamus is asked to investigate the death of Cassie, a young woman who refuses to believe she's dead. To demonstrate that she isn't being pranked, he goes to her old place of work in Toronto, where he finds that her sister, who has taken her place as costume mistress on the theater's crew, is in danger of joining Cassie in the Afterlife. This book is available here for $2.99