Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How to Host a Killer Party | 2010 | Penny Warner | Buy |
| 2 | How to Crash a Killer Bash | 2010 | Penny Warner | Buy |
| 3 | How to Survive a Killer Séance | 2011 | Penny Warner | Buy |
| 4 | How to Party with a Killer Vampire | 2011 | Penny Warner | Buy |
| 5 | How to Dine on Killer Wine | 2012 | Penny Warner | Buy |
The Party-Planning Mysteries put Penny Warner’s real-world expertise in event planning to fictional use. Presley Parker is a San Francisco party planner whose events keep getting disrupted by murders, starting with How to Host a Killer Party (2010). The five-book series ran through How to Dine on Killer Wine (2012), with each title playing on the “how to” format.
The series cleverly merges Warner’s non-fiction background in party planning with her mystery writing, creating books that include genuine event-planning tips alongside whodunit plots. The fun-titled entries like How to Crash a Killer Bash and How to Party with a Killer Vampire kept the tone light and entertaining.