Press Release - RM Howe Books

BELOVED BRITISH MYSTERY SERIES RELAUNCHES

The Azalea and I Series by RM Howe Returns with New Publisher and New Edition

Lake District, England — June 2026

British author RM Howe announces the relaunch of her acclaimed Azalea and I cozy mystery series under new publisher Daisyblue Publishing. The series, which follows best friends Barbara (Babs) and Azalea (Lea) through a series of international adventures, murder mysteries and unforgettable friendships, returns with a new edition of Book One — Azalea and I: On the Road in Europe — alongside the continued availability of Book Three, Azalea and I: On the Road to Mutiny.

The relaunch marks a significant new chapter for a series that has already earned devoted readers across the UK and beyond, with reviewers praising its warmth, humour and vivid international settings.

ABOUT THE AZALEA AND I SERIES

The Azalea and I series is a warmly told, character-driven cozy mystery series set against a backdrop of real international destinations — each researched and written by an author who has personally lived and travelled in the places she describes.

At the heart of every book is the friendship between Babs and Lea — two women whose completely different personalities and ways of seeing the world somehow always lead them to the same truth. Babs is grounded, practical and determined. Lea is artistic, apparently dizzy and secretly brilliant. Together they are irresistible.

One reader captured the series perfectly: “I wished I had a friend like Azalea in my own life.” It is the kind of response that defines what this series does — it does not just entertain, it stays with people.

THE SERIES AT A GLANCE

Book One — Azalea and I: On the Road in Europe (REPUBLISHING NOW via Daisyblue Publishing)
Book Two — Azalea and I: On the Road to Spain (Republishing soon via Daisyblue Publishing)
Book Three — Azalea and I: On the Road to Mutiny (Available now)
Book Four — Azalea and I: On the Road to The Manor (Coming 2026 — set in the English Lake District)

Future books in the series are planned for Malta and a return to Spain, with further international destinations already in development.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

RM Howe was born in the Lake District — one of England’s most dramatic and beloved landscapes — and spent 25 years in London before her international travels took her to Spain, where she lived on the Costa del Sol for two years. She has also travelled extensively across India, Africa, Australia, the Far East and North America.

Every destination in the Azalea and I series is one she knows personally. The Lake District setting of Book Four — On the Road to The Manor — draws directly from her childhood and her intimate knowledge of the landscape, its people and its atmosphere.

RM Howe currently works at an English stately home — the very kind of setting at the heart of Book Four — bringing an authenticity to the series that readers consistently respond to.

WHAT READERS SAY

“A delight to read a story not set in the UK or USA — the Spanish atmosphere and humour are wonderful”
“I wished I had a friend like Azalea in my own life”
“Gripping and twisty with lots of banter — a fabulous read”
“The friendship between the two leads is utterly relatable”
“For fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Richard Osman — this is the series you have been looking for”

PERFECT FOR READERS WHO LOVE

Alexander McCall Smith — warm, character-driven series with humour and heart
Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club — female friendship, mystery and wit
Mary Stewart — international travel settings with genuine atmosphere
Armchair travel fiction — real destinations written by someone who has been there
Cozy mysteries with depth — warmth and humour alongside genuine intrigue