Book picks similar to
When the Sandpiper Calls by Peggy Darty
mystery
cozy-mystery
peggy-darty
cozy
Where Is Joe Merchant?
Jimmy Buffett - 1992
For Desdemona, Merchant is the missing link in her ongoing communications with space aliens. Tabloid journalist Rudy Breno only cares that Merchant gets bigger headlines than Elvis. And for renegade seaplane pilot Frank Bama, the mystery of the presumed-dead-but-often-sighted rock star is turning his life upside down. In his debut novel, Jimmy Buffett cooks up an irresistible gumbo of dreamers, wackos, pirates, and sharks, as he leads Trevor and Frank on a wild chase through the Caribbean Islands to a place where anything can happen . . . and everything does.
Wake the Dawn
Lauraine Snelling - 2013
Border Patrol agent Ben James' life is in tatters. A tragic accident stole the love of his life and he never finished grieving. Turning to the bottle for support, he lost sight of what was important. While making his last patrol run before a storm rolls in, Ben's canine partner Bo finds an abandoned baby hidden in the woods. As Ben rushes the child to the only clinic in the area, the storm strikes with unexpected fury.Esther Hanson runs a second-rate clinic in the small community of Pineville, Minnesota, on the Canadian border. Though she has fought for years to get the equipment she needs, the town refuses to approve the funding. When the unprecedented storm ravishes the area, cutting them off from all outside help, Esther struggles to help her patients without giving in to overwhelming emotions. The event triggers a long-suppressed memory, and Esther must come face to face with the reality of her past and learn to forgive herself.Brought together by the life of a child, Ben and Esther become each other's reason to change.
The Watch on the Fencepost
Kay Dibianca - 2019
. . This award-winning mystery/romance is the ultimate puzzle! A mysterious gold watch propels Kathryn Frasier into a quest to prove her parents' recent deaths were not an accident. But when she solves the mystery behind the watch, she uncovers a dark family secret and stumbles onto a trail of cryptic clues that lead her to a remarkable cast of characters, all of whom had a connection to her parents: an actress with a talent for disguises, a politician with a secret of his own, and a handsome businessman who shows a sudden romantic interest in Kathryn. But can she solve the mystery before she becomes the next victim?
Cowboy Christmas Guardian
Dana Mentink - 2017
But after rancher Barrett Thorn rescues her from an attack, the handsome widowed cowboy seems to feel responsible for her. That is, until he discovers she's from the family that he'll never forgive for his wife's death. As the threats against Shelby escalate, cowboy honor and an unexpected attraction keep Barrett by her side, even at his own risk. And since Shelby won't back down, Barrett must protect the brave, loyal woman he has no business falling for…a woman someone wants to kill by Christmas.
A High-End Finish
Kate Carlisle - 2014
But while Shannon can do wonders with a power drill and a little elbow grease, she’s about to discover that some problems aren’t so easily fixed.... Shannon’s home-renovation and repair business is booming, but her love life needs work. On a blind date with real estate agent Jerry Saxton, she has to whip out a pair of pliers to keep Jerry from getting too hands on. Shannon is happy to put her rotten date behind her, but when Jerry’s found dead in a run-down Victorian home that she’s been hired to restore, the town’s attractive new police chief suspects that her threats may have laid the foundation for murder. Determined to clear her name, Shannon conducts her own investigation—with the help of her four best friends, her eccentric father, a nosy neighbor or two, and a handsome crime writer who’s just moved to town. But as they get closer to prying out the murderer’s identity, Shannon is viciously attacked. Now she’ll have to nail down the truth—or end up in permanent foreclosure.…
Mama Does Time
Deborah Sharp - 2008
Mama's antics - especially her penchant for finding trouble - drive her daughters Mace, Maddie and Marty to distraction.One night, while settling in to look for ex-beaus on COPS, Mace gets a frantic call from her mother. This time, the trouble's for real: Mama found a body in the trunk of her vintage convertible, and the police think she's the killer. It doesn't help that the handsome detective assigned to the case seems determined to prove Mama's guilt, or that the cowboy who broke Mace's heart shows up at the local Booze 'n' Breeze in the midst of the investigation. Before their mama lands in prison - just like an embarrassing lyric from a country-western song - Mace and her sisters must find the real culprit.MAMA DOES TIME is a traditional mystery with a comedic edge: Agatha Christie meets "My Name is Earl.''Penned by a native Floridian, set in cattle-and-citrus country, the story reveals an authentic slice of the state. Everyone knows Disney World and sexy South Beach. But how many know Florida's ranches, rodeo, and Southern-fried flavor, just fifty miles from the coast?
In the Nick of Time
Susette Williams - 2018
Nick Claussen knows he’s a workaholic but what’s a guy to do when murder doesn’t take a holiday? Hopefully they’ll be able to get through the holidays alive. THE 12 MYSTERIES OF CHRISTMAS series: • IN THE NICK OF TIME by Susette Williams • GABRIEL’S SECRET by Alexa Verde • GUARDING CANDY KANE by V.B. Tenery • MURDER: UP ON THE ROOFTOP by Tina Dee • JOY IN JEOPARDY by Lynette Sowell • HOLLY IN HIDING by P. Creeden • STARR WITNESS by Susette Williams • NOELLE ON THE RUN by Alexa Verde • GOLDEN BELLES ARE WRINGING by Gina Conroy • DEATH BY FIGGY PUDDING by Tina Dee • DANGER FOR GLORIA by Lynette Sowell • MERRY WITHOUT MALICE by P. Creeden
Between Skies (Kate Bennett, #1)
Rick Murgittroyd - 2018
Kate Bennett knows that. But it was never supposed to hit this close to home. Never. Horribly, she loses her forty-one year-old husband, Pete, a Pastor growing a fine church in Orlando, Florida, to a sudden heart attack. After the funeral, Kate is faced with two realizations. She’ll have to vacate the church’s parsonage, leaving her, her two teen-aged children, and her grandmother without a place to call home. The second dilemma is far more subtle, but growing steadily. Her anger has a strange new life. A knock on her door addresses the first issue. The second isn't so easily solved. Kate’s old boss, Caleb Moore, wants Kate to come back to work for him as an investigator in his bail bonds firm, something she did extremely well, but hoped she’d never have to do again. At first, she refuses, even after he explains they have an opportunity to solve a thirty-five-year-old cold case murder of three teenagers that could pay them a cool million dollars. She eventually accepts the offer, believing that God hasn’t taken care of her and her family, so it’s up to her. She doesn’t want or need His help. Kate and her family arrive in Northern Michigan to begin work. But after only hours in Cedarview, Michigan, she discovers there are those who don’t want the case reopened, let alone solved. Murder is still murder and some will do anything to make sure that fact stays hidden. Kate is determined, but her adversaries are willing to steal everything from her to keep their secret, even her life. The conclusion will set you back, the lesson will change your life.
Betrayal at the Beach
K.L. Montgomery - 2021
With the help of children’s librarian Molly Simmons and cataloguer Evangeline Dupree, Sunshine and her colleagues scour Bryce Beach for suspects, clues, and the stolen treasure.Can she and her squad recover the proceeds from the library’s annual fundraising gala and Bryce Beach’s most priceless historical artifact, the Bible with the town’s founding fathers’ signatures? But here’s the most vexing question of all: could one of Sunshine’s colleagues be a backstabbing traitor out to destroy the library?
Robbery, Murder and Cups of Tea: A Novella
Phil Church - 2013
When one of his neighbours is brutally murdered, he gets the chance to investigate a real crime. Unfortunately, the hunt for the killer is far from simple, as winter sets in and he struggles to deal with his wife's disinterest, his friend's bungling enthusiasm, a village that will happily implicate anyone and everyone, and a rising body count.
Sweet and Deadly
Charlaine Harris - 2007
So she stayed, taking a job at the local paper, to try to both convince the sheriff that she was right-and maybe convince herself she was wrong. After all, her father had been the town doctor, loved (she always thought) by all. To think he was killed was to think that one of her friends or neighbors has harbored some deep resentment toward him. Then she finds the dead body of the women who had been her father's nurse for many years. Obviously murdered. Now Catherine knows that she was not wrong about her parent's death. Someone in Lowfield has a terrible secret, a secret worth killing for. Not once, not twice, but -- when another body is found -- three times. And the killer won't hesitate to add more victims to the list, as Catherine gets closer and closer to the truth.
Critical Care
Candace Calvert - 2009
She's determined to make a fresh start--new hospital, new career in nursing education--move forward, no turning back. But her plans fall apart when she's called to offer stress counseling for medical staff after a heartbreaking day care center explosion. Worse, she's forced back to the ER, where she clashes with Logan Caldwell, a doctor who believes touchy-feely counseling is a waste of time. He demands his staff be as tough as he is. Yet he finds himself drawn to this nurse educator . . . who just might teach him the true meaning of healing.
Dead Men Don't Eat Quiche: Martin and Owen Funny Romantic Mysteries (Martin and Owen Funny Mysteries Book 2)
Nina Cordoba - 2017
It is highly recommended that you read "Gum" first.~WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU MAKES YOU HUNGRIER.Rika's father, Chef Diego Martín, has finally been able to return to Los Angeles after 15 years, brought over to work in the VIP Center restaurant of the Temple of Microtology by its founders. But, a month later, his sous chef is found dead, and Diego is missing. Rika is panicked at the thought of losing her one living parent permanently. All she knows is that she has to find her father, and she needs Nick Owen by her side.Not one night passed in the last six months that Nick hasn't lain awake thinking of Rika, even though he's given up hope she'll contact him. It's for the best, anyway. He sent her away last summer because he wasn't right for her. But when she calls and asks him to fly to L.A., nothing can stop him from racing to her side.However, he may not be prepared for what he discovers in her hometown, like Rika's formidable grandmother who treats him like a molester, the fact that L.A. men find him really, really attractive, or the weird Hollywood cult members who are spying on him and Rika. Oh, and maybe worst of all--LeeAnne. Nick never wants to see tears in Paprika's beautiful eyes again. But is there really a chance of finding her father alive and solving the murder before the Microtologists get Rika, too?Read Dead Men Don't Eat Quiche now and find out! -Next book: Dead Men Don't Flip. To get book release notifications, have the opportunity to become a beta reader or read and reviewer, and other fun stuff, join Nina's reader group at the NinaCordoba website.
Sister Eve, Private Eye
Lynne Hinton - 2014
And Eve adores a good mystery. Especially a murder.Two decades into her calling at a New Mexico monastery, Sister Evangeline Divine breaks her daily routine when a police officer appears, carrying a message from her father. Sister Eve is no stranger to the law, having grown up with a police captain turned private detective. She's seen her fair share of crime--and knows a thing or two about solving mysteries.But when Captain Jackson Divine needs her to return home and help him recover from surgery, Sister Eve finds herself taking on his latest case.A Hollywood director has disappeared, and the sultry starlet he's been running around with isn't talking. When the missing man turns up dead, Captain Divine's case escalates into a full-blown murder case, and Sister Eve's crime-solving instincts kick in with an almost God-given grace.Soon Sister Eve finds herself soul-searching every step of the way: How can she choose between the vocation in her heart and the job in her blood?
Knit One, Kill Two
Maggie Sefton - 2005
Now, in the first in a brand-new series, she learns how to knit one, purl two, and untangle the mystery behind her aunt's murder. — Kelly Flynn would be the first to admit her life in Washington, D.C., is a little on the dull side. But coming back to Colorado for her beloved aunt’s funeral wasn’t the kind of excitement she was seeking. The police are convinced that her Aunt Helen’s death was the result of a burglary gone bad, but for the accountant in Kelly, things just aren’t adding up. After all, why would her sensible, sixty-eight-year-old aunt borrow $20,000 just days before her death? With the help of the knitting regulars at House of Lambspun, Kelly’s about to get a few lessons in cranking out a sumptuously colored scarf -- and in luring a killer out of hiding...