The contributors praise the way the series smartly spoofs that familiar chick-lit epiphany—I have a bad job and what I really want is a good man!—in Bounty Hunting as a Metaphor for Dating, Why Stephanie Should Quit Her Job … but Never Will, and Nothing Better than a Bad Boy Gone Good. Several essays veer from the chick-lit perspective and focus instead on the comic theme of luck and chance that ties Stephanie to the barroom gamblers and gangster meanies of her home town in Luck of the Italian?: Skill versus Chance.

     Welcome to Hillcrest, a small box-canyon town snuggled high in the mountains of Colorado. It’s been Penny’s home for her whole life, and she’s always thought of it as a peaceful -- if boring -- place to live. All of that changes when the elderly Claudine Terra is killed, and a mysterious mountain pass behind her mansion opens up to through traffic. Could the new visitors to town, including a handsome vampire, have something to do with Claudine’s murder? Penny is intent on finding out. She wants to save her failing PI business, get her love-life in order, and prove the police department wrong, all in one fell swoop. But as Penny learns about her own witchy powers, things turn out to be a bit more complicated than she expected. For one thing, her ex boyfriend, Chris (a captain on the Hillcrest Police Department) is suddenly single. And then there’s the fact that her precious cat won’t stop throwing up. On top of that, Penny’s attempts at casting spells tend to go horribly wrong! This is the prequel to the Hillcrest Witch Cozy Mystery series. A full length, funny cozy mystery.

    Living in Los Angeles in a small apartment over an Italian restaurant, she works in a used book store doing inventory, but she spends most of her time reading a mystery series. After an accident involving the books, Gladie has lost her memory and believes she’s the detective in the last book that she read. Determined to track down her arch nemesis, Gladie finds herself in an adventure of a lifetime.Road to Matchmaker is perfect for fans of the Matchmaker Mysteries or for those interested in starting this funny, romantic mystery series.

     After a scandalous divorce, Elise returns from the big city to her southern home town only to trip over the body of the town playboy. He leaves behind a heap of trouble that includes missing money, missing pets, and mourning lovers, and the suspects just keep piling up. Caught in her own drama, Elise is quick to wash her hands of it, until her best friend, Lavina, winds up as the number one suspect. Can Elise clear her friend’s name without ending up as the next one dead? Or are her friendship blinders keeping her from seeing the truth?

    George Bonifield Mountclemens, the paper's credentialed art critic, writes almost invariably scathing, hurtful reviews of local shows; delivers his pieces by messenger; lives with his all-knowing cat Koko in a lushly furnished house in a moldering neighborhood, and has a raft of enemies all over town.He offers the newcomer a tiny apartment in his building at a nominal rent, and Qwilleran grabs it, surmising the deal will involve lots of cat-sitting. Meanwhile, a gallery whose artists get happier treatment from Mountclemens is owned by Earl Lambreth. The acerbic critic has praised paintings there by a reclusive Italian named Scrano; the junk assemblages of Nino, who calls himself a ``Thingist,'' as well as works by Lambreth's attractive wife Zoe.It's Zoe who, one night past closing, finds her husband stabbed to death in the vandalized gallery. Days later, Qwilleran, guided by an insistent Koko, finds Mountclemens's knifed corpse on the patio behind his house.

    After part-time librarian Sarabeth Dodson discovers elderly Edith Hathaway dead in a snowdrift in small-town Strathmere, Pennsylvania, she enlists the help of Police Chief Vanessa Hutchins to get to the bottom of the mystery. With no footprints around the body and no purse, what was the retired school teacher doing out in the middle of nowhere in the snow? The answer may have something to do with the library book Edith failed to return... Includes a preview of the first book in Sheila Connolly's brand-new County Cork Mystery series—Buried in a Bog. Also includes excerpts from the first book in the Orchard Mystery series—One Bad Apple—and the first book in the Museum Mystery series—Fundraising the Dead.

    She's one small step away from acquiring her Private Investigator license, and has her eye on the prize.Accepting her first real case - investigating the murder of casino-mogul Ethan Becker - should be exciting. Instead, things spiral out of control and Tiffany finds herself in over her head, as she confronts secretive suspects, corrupt casino henchmen and her mysterious, ex-Special Forces bodyguard.Tiffany's poker-hustling Nanna and pushy parents want her to find a nice man and settle down, but Tiffany just wants to track down the real murderer before he finds her first...

    The problem is that Tessa is not in the coffin. Dealing with the wisecracking ghost of her sibling, Lainey and her three surviving sisters set out to fulfill Tessa's wish from beyond the grave--to find out who killed her.But hidden among the vines of the dead sister's multi-million dollar wine-making business lurks a killer who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

    At one of these, Kait is outted by the most popular guy in school, Ethan Ripley. Yet, instead of humiliating her for all the world to see, he asks for her help, and Kait finds herself entangled in a murder mystery. Not only is the thrill of the mystery exciting, but more importantly Ethan knows her name! A little sleuthing is well worth that!

    She knows she can make the B&B work, even if there is a faux-UFO in the roof. After all, what’s not to love about a Victorian nestled in the high Sierra foothills? None of her carefully crafted policies and procedures, however, can prepare her for a corpse in room seven – the body of her small-town sheriff’s ex-husband. But Susan has her own plans to solve the crime. In Susan’s mind, Men in Black, conspiracy-crazed old ladies, and an angry sheriff are just part and parcel of catering to UFO enthusiasts. But is there a government conspiracy afoot? Or is the murder a simple case of small-town vengeance? Susan must keep all her wits about her. Because the killer isn’t finished, and if she isn’t careful, her fate may be written in the stars… Breakfast recipes in the back of the book!

    As Skye sets up for the event, she’s stunned when a statuesque, scantily clad blonde shows up at Bunny’s door—Ruby, a sex-toy shop owner who used to be a showgirl with Bunny in Las Vegas. Bunny is overjoyed to be reunited with her old friend, but barely a minute later, Ruby butts heads with the police over showing off paraphernalia from her shop. More mayhem ensues when Ruby’s beloved Cadillac is vandalized and her room is set on fire. It appears that someone is after Ruby, but the blonde is too nervous to cooperate with the authorities. Ruby’s evasive behavior convinces Skye that she’s hiding some critical information that would explain the recent havoc at the bowling alley. With the safety of the Spring Break Bash attendees on the line, Skye decides to find out Ruby’s secret before some nefarious criminal decides that dead blondes tell no tales.

    Lily Bard came to the small town of Shakespeare to escape her dark and violent past. Other than the day-to-day workings of her cleaning and errand-running service, she pays little attention to the town around her. So when she spots a dead body being dumped in the town green, she's inclined to stay well away. But she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and despite her best efforts, she's dragged into the murder case. Lily doesn't care who did it, but when the police and local community start pointing fingers in her direction, she realizes that proving her innocence will depend on finding the real killer in quiet, secretive Shakespeare.Shakespeare's Landlord is the first book in Charlaine Harris's Lily Bard mysterious series.

    First, she had to cover a story on a barricaded gunman who likes to dance naked in his window. Second, she's receiving death threats with her morning newspaper. Lastly, and most importantly, her mom keeps vetoing her outfit choices.It's all in a day's work for this hardworking, if easily distracted, reporter.Avery Shaw is hot on the trail of the story, even if it means tangling with her hot ex-boyfriend -- the county sheriff -- and the equally hot, if slightly shadier pawnshop owner down the street.Getting the story is going to be totally worth it -- that is if Avery can survive the week.

    Molly starts snooping around and finds herself in hot water with the killer, but the uneasy alliance Molly forms with a gorgeous detective may be the start of something wonderful.

    She spends her days making delicious artisan cappuccinos, until she stumbles upon her neighbor’s dead body. When the police discover Mr. Cardosi was poisoned, Francesca becomes a suspect. The victim’s son, Matty, happens to be Francesca’s old high school friend. Together, they uncover the secrets of the locals in order to find the killer in their idyllic beach town. Includes two special cupcake recipes!