Book picks similar to
Murder at Stake by Constance Barker
cozy-mystery
mystery
cozy-mysteries
mystery-cozy
Scraps of Paper
Kathryn Meyer Griffith - 2003
It’s made her sympathetic to the missing and their families.Starting her new life, Abigail moves to small town and buys a fixer-upper house left empty when old Edna Summers died. Once it was also home to Edna’s younger sister, Emily, and her two children, Jenny and Christopher, who, people believe, drove away one night, thirty years ago, and just never came back.But in renovating the house Abigail finds scraps of paper hidden behind baseboards and tucked beneath the porch that hint the three could have been victims of foul play.Then she finds their graves hidden in the woods behind the house and with the help of eccentric townspeople and ex-homicide detective, Frank Lester, she discovers the three were murdered. Then she and Frank try to uncover who killed them and why…but in the process awaken the ire of the murderer. ***
Cutie Pies and Deadly Lies
Addison Moore - 2018
One too many suitors. And a killer. Living in Honey Hollow can be murder. A HILARIOUS cozy mystery from the New York Times bestselling author Addison Moore My name is Lottie Lemon and I see dead people. Okay, so I rarely see dead people, mostly I see furry creatures of the dearly departed variety. And for some reason those sweet, fluffy albeit paranormal cuties always seem to act as a not-so-great harbinger of deadly things to come for their previous owner. So when I saw that sweet orange tabby twirling around my landlord’s ankles, I figured Merilee was in for trouble. Personally, I was hoping for a skinned knee—what I got was a top spot in an open homicide investigation. Throw in a hot judge and an ornery detective that oozes testosterone and that pretty much sums up my life right about now. Have I mentioned how cute that detective is? Lottie Lemon has a bakery to tend to, a budding romance with perhaps one too many suitors and she has the supernatural ability to see the dead—which are always harbingers for ominous things to come. Throw in the occasional ghost of the human variety, a string of murders and her insatiable thirst for justice and you’ll have more chaos than you know what to do with. Living in the small town of Honey Hollow can be murder.
Armoires and Arsenic
Cassie Page - 2013
Granville, OMG to her friends and foes, as though the award-winning architect, interior designer and antiques dealer didn’t have enough on her hands.Olivia, a transplanted Los Angeleno, is the newest resident of Darling Valley, a picturesque town just outside of San Francisco and home of the DV Bills, as Olivia calls the largest concentration of billionaires anywhere in the country. Like the Astors and Rockefellers of old who outdid each other building humongous summer cottages in Newport, the DV Bills outdo each other with eye-popping piles of sticks stuffed with museum quality art hidden in the Marin hills. It was Olivia’s plan to make a killing decorating them.What Olivia liked best about moving to sleepy Darling Valley from LA was the absence of crime. No worrying about parking her car on a side street because it might get stolen. Nobody slipping sticky fingers into her purse and lifting her wallet while an accomplice distracted her at the sale rack at Neiman’s. Not having to trip over a dead body blocking the doorway of her office building while the LAPD took their sweet time locking down the crime scene. But the best part of living in Darling Valley was never having to find herself sitting across from Brooks at a dinner party while he romanced his new girlfriend and referred to Olivia as a client.What she hated about Darling Valley was the 400 miles between its pristine mansions and gritty but happening LA. Not far enough to save her from becoming Detective Gurmeet Richards’ lead suspect in a killing of a different kind. Yes, that’s Detective Richards of the devastating velvety eyes.Olivia should have remembered the advice her tea-leaves reading friend, Tuesday, gave her before she left LA. You get what you resist.Watch what happens when Olivia and Tuesday get to work proving her innocence amid the opulence and deception of her, idyllic but deadly new home.
A Maryland Witch (Witches of Crabtree Bay Book 1)
Catherine Mesick - 2019
While the town is still reeling from the news, Chloe’s high school rival is attacked and another young girl is placed under the infamous Sleeping Beauty Curse. Suspicious eyes soon turn to Chloe, and the whole town believes she is guilty. As Chloe investigates the attacks, with a little help from the handsome but irritating Professor Mike Fellowes, she discovers that there may be a deeper and deadlier plan afoot—one that’s focused on her. Can Chloe unravel the mystery in time? Or will she fall prey to the malevolent figure lurking in the shadows?
A Tell-Tale Treasure
Megan Marple - 2017
With her talking pet raven, Poe, and a new kid in town named Bigfoot, she's on the hunt for a treasure that's sure to change their lives. Maybe then she can stick it to all the mean girls in school... Armed with her wits, a couple of shovels, and the map, Edie and Bigfoot try their best to uncover the clues hidden under the blazing Lowcountry sun. But trouble has a funny way of finding Edie, and the only thing that might save her from it is a friend of the ghost variety... *You're reading a prequel to the Tell-Tale Tavern Mystery series, which includes a bonus chapter of "GIN & GHOSTS" (book 1). This is a novella length book that can be read in any order with the other books in the series. It is a clean read, with no graphic violence, sex, or profane language.*
Rest In Pieces
Katie Graykowski - 2015
She’s a feisty, single mom living in the small town of Lakeside, Texas where money does buy happiness and keeping up appearances is much more important than the truth. Six months ago on her thirtieth birthday, her husband decided that married life, fatherhood, and his job as the Lakeside Chief of Police weren’t as exciting as a permanent vacation to Grand Cayman with his mistress and a million dollars in diamonds he stole from the police evidence lockup. Mustang is a pariah in a Lakeside full of piranha. But she refuses to leave—this is her home, and she figures that if she can’t join them, then she’ll beat them at their own game. With a little luck, some intimidation, and the help of her good friends Monica and Haley, Mustang presides over her own little slice of Lakeside, the Bee Creek Elementary Parent Teacher Organization. All is quiet in Lakeside until Molly Miars, the kindergarten teacher, is found dead. According to the new police chief, she overdosed on heroin. That doesn’t explain why her head was the only body part to make it to her funeral. Mustang and her follow PTOers don’t buy the heroin overdose for a second. Vowing to do right by Molly, the PTO decides to investigate. Quickly they find that Lakeside isn’t the quiet, sleepy town it appears to be. There is a dark side—money laundering and drug trafficking. When Mustang’s name turns up on a contract killer’s hit list, things go from bad to worse. Can she and the PTO stay alive long enough to find out who killed Molly Miars?
Sunshine Hunter
Maddie Cochere - 2012
Often, she is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and things go downhill quickly. All of the books cross genres of chick lit, mystery, romance, humor, and action, bringing you a fast-paced, easy-breezy read.Working in a weight-loss center by day and a racquetball club by night, Susan Hunter enjoys her life, the sport, and her friends. ... Sunshine Hunter opens with Susan finding out her new boyfriend of three months is married. To escape the drama, she accepts an offer from her best friend to tag along for a week in Florida. Here the mystery begins, and Susan believes she and her friend are being stalked. She also learns of a murder back home in Ohio and soon finds out she's wanted for questioning. The story takes an adventurous turn when she ends up in the Gulf of Mexico. ... Humorous, sometimes ominous, Sunshine Hunter is quirky and fun! Approx. 52,000 words.
Woof at the Door
Laura Morrigan - 2013
But when a Doberman turns out to be the only witness to a crime, Grace will have to let the cat out of the bag in order to catch a killer. Grace Wilde’s job is anything but normal. When she’s not helping out at the zoo by comforting agitated lemurs, she’s listening to the woes of annoyed house pets. Grace’s life gets even more complicated, though, when the cops summon her to a crime scene to help deal with the murder victim’s terrified Doberman. The pooch turns out to be the only one who saw what happened the night of the shooting—and only Grace can get the information out of him. The problem is, how will Grace tell the distractingly gorgeous Sergeant Kai Duncan that it’s the dog who’s giving her the intel without spilling her big secret or sounding crazy? Left on her own, Grace will have to follow the pup’s lead to track down the killer. But she’ll have to be careful—or curiosity may end up killing the cat whisperer.
Paper Phoenix
Mickey Friedman - 1986
Maggie Longstreet has plenty of them after slimy, ambitious Richard trades her in for a more recent model. She’s so depressed she can barely get out of bed when Larry Hawkins, a seemingly not-at-all depressed acquaintance, commits suicide out of the blue. Suddenly Maggie goes on high alert, remembering something her evil ex said about Larry—something highly suspicious. And from there, it's just a short segué to a bracing new development: “When some women get divorced they go back to school, I thought. Some do volunteer work at the hospital, or join communes and learn to birth calves. Some have affairs with inappropriate men. My new interest is burglary. Maggie Longstreet, former wife and mother, past president of the Museum Guild, now starting a career as a second-story woman.” Fortunately, Maggie isn’t alone in her adventure—a very attractive, much younger man proves a lot more fun than Richard ever was. In fact, the real delight of this witty, sly mystery is seeing Maggie come alive again after a suffocating marriage. Set in the’70s, it has a bit of that Mad Men feel of women on the brink of something big. And completely unexpected. You know Maggie’s going to be okay when she says: “I’d rather have had one of those cute little guns with a mother-of-pearl handle, but this (diamond pin) would have to do. I concealed it in my hand. At least now I was armed—or pinned.”
Frosted Shadow
Nancy Warren - 2011
She’s also got a nose for trouble and a passion for solving mysteries. Imagine Columbo in a lavender suit. She never met a woman who wouldn’t look better with a little help from the Lady Bianca line of cosmetics. But don’t be fooled by appearances. Underneath the fake diamonds and the big hair is a sharp brain and a keen eye that sees the details as well as the funny side of life. When a Lady Bianca sales rep is murdered at the annual convention in Dallas, Toni is the one who notices things that some people, like sexy Detective Luke Marciano, might easily miss. Only someone who understands as much about how to make appearances deceiving could see into the mind of this killer -- a murderer who wants to give Toni a permanent makeover. Into a dead woman.
Death in the Park
London Lovett - 2018
Hoping to open a bed and breakfast, Sunni sets herself the task of refurbishing the rundown Cider Ridge Inn, a two-hundred-year-old house with a sordid past. In the meantime, she's stuck writing dull human interest stories for the Junction Times. But when Sunni decides to bend the rules on her first newspaper assignment, she soon finds herself in her favorite place—right in the center of a murder investigation. Now if she can just steer clear of the
cocky, irritating and far too appealing local detective
, Brady "Jax" Jackson.It isn't long before Sunni discovers that avoiding Jax is a piece of cake compared to staying clear of the equally
cocky, irritating and far too appealing two-hundred-year-old ghost
haunting the halls of the Cider Ridge Inn.
Death in the Park
is a full-length cozy mystery novel with a fun paranormal twist.Book 2,
Killer Bridal Party
is now available!
Plateful of Murder
Carole Fowkes - 2016
Ordinary objects like roller coasters and men's hairpieces make her knees knock loud enough to be a band's rhythm section. Unfortunately, the only job Claire can find is working for her Uncle Gino in his seedy detective agency. Until now, her cases have all be middle-aged men with trophy wives who needed watching. But when Gino retires and leaves her in charge, Claire gets swept up in a murder case despite her fears. Both the client who hired her and the handsome police detective want her off the case. When the wrong person is charged, it's up to the terrified detective to summon all the courage she can to find the true killer.
Adventures of a Vegan Vamp
Cate Lawley - 2016
But waking up gaunt, hangry, and undead makes for a very bad day. Mallory's killer better hide, because she's just discovered blood, meat, and dairy don't agree with her, and a future with no cheese is grim indeed. She's out to find her killer... and maybe a vegan cheese that doesn't melt her nose hairs.
Murder is Elementary
Diane Weiner - 2014
What a joy to be able to attend the holiday concert without worrying about how her chorus will perform. But wait. Where's the principal? Susan offers to check, only to find the principal lying dead on her office floor. Of course, now that she's retired she has time to help the local police (one of whom is her daughter) solve the mysterious crime. Did the principal die of natural causes? The bruise on her face doesn't seem severe enough to be fatal. What about that funfetti cupcake sitting on her desk? Could she have been poisoned? Susan has just found the perfect retirement activity, much to her daughter's chagrin. And when the principal's teenage daughter, one of Susan's all time favorite students, asks for help - how can she say no? Little does she realize that this crime will take her far from the schoolhouse doors, as she investigates a mystery that extends back into one family's painful past.
Hyde Park Heist
Bettie Jane - 2018
A generation of lost youth. An elite women’s group determined to find their place in the world. Welcome to Piccadilly Ladies Club. Julia Barlow is an elite member of this all-female club for writers, illustrators, and daughters of accomplished gentleman. She is caught between her desire to prove herself as a respectable journalist in male-dominated 1920’s London and a carefree existence as one of the Bright Young People living life on her terms. When a scavenger hunt at Hyde Park goes badly and her dear friend Jimmie is accused of a heinous crime, Julia finds herself and her friends in the middle of a high-society scandal that could destroy their charmed way of life. Can she clear Jimmie’s name or will her stubborn determination to find her place in the world get her and her friends into even more trouble? Hyde Park Heist is the first book in Piccadilly Ladies Club Mysteries. Join Julia and her best friend Edith on rowdy treasure hunts, at exclusive, often garish house parties, and at speakeasies and jazz clubs where they dance and drink the nights away, challenging the standards of their birthright at every turn.