Maude Rogers is older than your average detective and doesn't tolerate fools. Her one job is to catch criminals and stay alive until she can retire.
Three novels and one novelette take the reader through various cases that Maude and her partner must solve. She has some bad habits and arthritic aches and pains that are just as much a part of her as her sense of humor and dedication to the job.
The first book introduces the reader to a grisly murder in a five floor tenement building. The story line is one of action, twists, and insight into a most terrible murderer who just won't quit.
The second and third books plus the novelette are filled with criminals and a few good guys who want to be a part of the action. Also Maude learns that some things she is doing to herself have to change. The reader is allowed to see her grow as she sees the error of her ways.
Following several murders, means, motive, and opportunity all point to out-of-work actresses Bootsie Kittredge and Babs Harrison. Their claims of righteousness and lack of guilt seem fabricated, thanks to a cheerfull announcement made to the patrons