JUDI STOA'S
The Cousins at
Long Lake Mysteries
And the Donchyaknow Life Lessons Blog
About the Author
As one of eight kids in the Stoa family in Fargo, ND, Judi Stoa learned early to create havoc and stories.
Her brothers taught her to play football; her sisters taught her to pluck her eyebrows; she taught herself to ride a unicycle.
Judi graduated from North Dakota State University with a B.S. in business and communications. During her 37-year career, she chose positions and corporations that supported her value to see and bring out the best in herself and others. In 2018, she retired as a communications director at a global technology company to return to creating havoc and stories.
Today, Judi has published her fifth book in the “Cousins at Long Lake Mysteries” series and has launched "Judi Stoa's Donchyaknow Life Lessons to see and bring out the best in yourself and others" blog.
She lives in Highlands Ranch, CO with her wife, Kathleen; they spend about a third of their time at their lake home on Long Lake, near Vergas, MN.
About The Cousins at Long Lake Mysteries
In this coming of age mystery series, sisters Olivia and Abby, and their cousin Lexi solve “whodunit” cases near their lake cabins on Long Lake at Vergas, MN.
The characters are strong and witty, female leads, inspired by Judi Stoa’s actual nieces.
In each book in this unique series, readers can be both artists and students because Judi invites readers to sketch on blank pages provided for them in the books. She also includes “Ask a Cuz” sections to provide readers with more detail on real people, events, and information focused on history, environment, and technology mentioned in the story.
Since beginning the “Cousins at Long Lake Mysteries,” in 2009, Judi has matured the main characters, and advanced the complexity of the plots and writing at the pace of her nieces’ aging. They are 14, 16, and 17 years old in the latest “Mystery of the Absolute Power Plant."
The Cousins at Long Lake Mysteries Series
The Mystery of the
Absolute Power Plant
For ages 14 and above.
In the fifth book in the Cousins at Long Lake Mysteries series, “The Mystery of the Absolute Power Plant,” trouble begins in a flash when sisters Olivia and Abby get stuck by a lakeside power plant during a violent thunderstorm where they help save a victim from nerve agent poisoning. When Lexi joins them, the teenage cousins are on the run to survive a bomb-cyclone blizzard and outfox attempted killers who are tampering with power grids for political reasons to make a day that the earth really stands still. Call it Nancy Drew infused with Nancy Pelosi—will the girls save the world from another country becoming the undisputed top superpower?
The Curse of the Loony Days
Talent Show
For ages 12 and above.
The fourth mystery for the cousins at Long Lake, the “Curse of the Loony Days Talent Show” features teenagers Lexi, Olivia and Abby, along with their many cousins and new friends, as they try to find out who is messing with the local annual talent show on its 50th anniversary.
Helping to save the talent show, the cousins become stars of the show, and still find time to fight a foreign agent trying to ruin the Minnesota lakes and the world’s major food supply.
The Mystery of the Flying Ghost
For ages 10 and above.
In the spirit of honoring her hero Amelia Earhart, 13-year-old Lexi volunteers at an airplane museum, but soon learns that she and her cousins Olivia and Abby have flown directly into two mysteries as they encounter eerie flying lights in the museum, hidden passageways, a secret flying suit, and someone or something who will not stop until they get what they want.
The Mystery of the Sunken Viking Ship
For ages 8 and above.
Like many pre-teens, sisters Olivia and Abby, and their cousin Lexi are concentrated on convincing their parents to give them cell phones as Christmas gifts, but when Abby discovers a possible ancient Viking mooring stone on their lake shore, the cousins’ focus snaps to solving a 1,000-year-old mystery that comes with stranger danger.
Join Olivia and Abby, and Lexi, as they race against short daylight hours, lots of snow and a mysterious man following them, to search for an old ship at the bottom of Long Lake, Minnesota.
Listen to Judi read the first chapter.
The Mystery of the Laughing Loon
For ages 6 and above.
Meet sisters 10-year-old Olivia and 8-year-old Abby, and their 11-year-old cousin Lexi. These best friends become detectives when someone steals the 20-foot loon statue on their lake.
Join Cousins Lexi, Olivia and Abby in their first mystery at Long Lake, Minnesota.
What Readers Are Saying
"What a great book! Not only was it a fun mystery story about three clever and adorable girls (Lexi, Olivia, and Abby) but it had so much more to offer! My son (age 10) really enjoyed illustrating the book himself. The author has blank pages with descriptions from the story so that children can draw their own illustrations. It really made the story come to life for my son, and I loved that he used his own imagination to visualize the story. We both really enjoyed the "Ask-a-cuz" sections as they provided interesting and informative facts related to the story (for example we learned who invented life jackets and what an environmentalist does.) We enjoyed Ms. Stoa's nostalgic story telling style about a large and loving family vacationing on a lake in Minnesota. The colloquialisms were lots of fun, too. We highly recommend this book and cannot wait to read her next book! Uff-da!" --Michelle Schmitz, Amazon book reader, August 28, 2020
“Judi Stoa has written a book that appeals to all ages--for those who are young, they can immerse themselves in the adventure of Olivia, Abby and Lexi and with the interactive nature of the book, they can almost live the story.
For those of us that are older, reading it can conjure up wondrous memories of family times and while my family did not take vacations with others, we had special moments of fun and laughter every Sunday at my grandparents. I highly recommend this book. I cannot wait to read the next one.”
--Teresa Roche, an Amazon book reader
“This is a lovely mystery book. My girls (10 and 11) really enjoyed the story, the illustrations and the "ask-a-cuz" sections. They like that there is a place to draw their own ideas of how things in the book may look and that the author drew her own interpretations as well. They also like that "things you might wonder about" are talked about in the "ask-a-cuz" sections. We just ordered the next book in the series and they can't wait to read it. As a parent and teacher, I like that readers are able to interact with the book, not only by reading it, but also by drawing their own ideas of how scenes in the book may look. This helps keep readers engaged in the story and encourages them to more fully explore their own thoughts and ideas about what they have read.”
–Amazon book reader
Meet the Inspiration Behind the Characters
These are Judi’s nieces today—Abby (16), Lexi (19), and Olivia (18). They like the “Cousins at Long Lake Mysteries” series characters based on themselves. The girls have given input to plot and dialogue over the years, as well as to sign and sell books at the annual Vergas Loony Days
Street Fair.
Read More
In the News
Articles and news releases
"Donchyaknow Life Lessons" Blog
Take on a heart-warming stroll down memory lane in Judi Stoa's "Donchyaknow Life Lessons," to help you see and bring out the best in yourself and others.