Book picks similar to
The Potion Commotion by Constance Barker


mystery
paranormal
cozy-mysteries
paranormal-mystery

Cold as a Witch's Toffee


Sara Bourgeois - 2019
    The dog is talking! When Allegra Darling, star fitness instructor, inherits an ice cream shop from her Uncle, she is shocked, appalled, and at a loss. Allegra Darling doesn’t eat carbs, and she won't be caught dead selling them. When she goes to the little town of Knox Hills to sell the property, her Uncle’s attorney gives her the absolute worst news possible. She can’t sell the shop. If she does, she loses her entire inheritance. Things get even worse when her stockbroker fiancé breaks up with her over email… for a plus-size model. Distraught, Allegra goes to the ice cream shop and devours an entire tub of Toffee Twist ice cream. Unable to move, she sleeps on the floor in a puddle of her tears mixed with the last shreds of her dignity. Allegra is in for a huge shock the next morning when she wakes up to find her Uncle’s lawyer dead in the shop. What was he doing there? Who killed him? How is Allegra going to prove to the town of Knox Hills she didn’t murder him? After all, everyone saw her fighting with him the day before. But, that’s not the biggest surprise. Something happens to Allegra when she moves into her Uncle’s old house. Magic she’d forgotten comes alive inside of her when she steps inside her childhood refuge. She’ll have to harness her new powers and find a way to solve the crime one spell at a time. Cold as a Witch's Toffee is the first book in An Allegra Darling Cozy Mystery Series. It is a clean read suitable for all ages.

Body at the Crossroads


Cate Martin - 2020
    Her career as a book illustrator not yet exactly launched, Ingrid faces two options: live in her battered old Volkswagen, or go back to her mother's small town in northern Minnesota.The small town that still haunts her dreams more than a decade since she last visited it. Or rather, not the town but the grandmother.All of the drawings she fills notebooks with witches and the trolls that do their bidding? Not as whimsical in her nightmares as she sketches them in the bright light of day.If not for her beloved cat Mjolner, living in the Volkswagen just might tempt her.But the cat wants four walls and a door, so north she goes. And finds trouble in the form of a dead body before she even finds her grandmother's little town. How much can a town of stoic fishermen possibly be hiding?As Ingrid is about to find out, quite a lot.

Witch on Ice


Cat Larson - 2019
    And you thought you had problems.Hi, my name is Sammara Eve Hain and I don’t admit that to just anyone.Especially the witch part.If it were up to me, I would’ve been born into a nice, normal family. One that went camping on weekends and played board games and watched television.Not one that spent their Saturday nights cackling around a cauldron and turning people into frogs.Okay, that’s an exaggeration. They don’t cackle.But they’re definitely not normal. And the frog thing?May I introduce my fiancé, Fernando? Mr. Short, Green, and Bewitched. Courtesy of my sister.All I ever wanted when I left my small town of Bigfoot Bay thirteen years ago was to disappear into the big city and lead an ordinary life.I never expected to return.And when I stumbled upon my childhood nemesis frozen solid inside a wall of ice, I never expected I’d be forced to stay.With my betrothed frog at my side and no sister in sight.** Witch on Ice is the first in a new humorous cozy mystery series. Suitable for all ages. **

Moonshine and Manslaughter


Ellie Moses - 2019
    She's a mountain witch and he's a werewolf warlock. Their magick serves to strengthen the bonds of duty and family. When Billy Jack becomes the prime suspect of a murder at one of his prized still sites and Jolene's ward protecting the area is broken, it's apparent powerful forces are aligned against them. Dark magick lingers in the hills and hollows of their home, Devil's Elbow. Can Jolene find the real killer before Billy Jack is sent to the Federal pen? Set for a spell and have a heaping helping of hospitality and murder in this Appalachian flavored cozy mystery series starting with Moonshine and Manslaughter.

Little Feather


Dianne Harman - 2020
    She rushed home to Little Feather, Oklahoma, hoping to quickly find her mother so she could return to her life in the big city.But once Miranda begins to search for her, she finds there is much more to Little Feather and her mother than she originally thought. First, the city is an oasis for supernatural creatures, and secondly, her mother was the Paranormal Investigator who kept them all in line.As a P.I., it was her mother's job to make sure the paranormal creatures stayed out of view from humans and didn't commit any crimes. But now that she's gone that’s changing.Miranda finds herself caught up in a world she never knew existed. She needs to find her mother before paranormal things get out of hand in Little Feather, and two very attractive men are willing to help her.

Dark, Witch & Creamy


H.Y. Hanna - 2017
    This series has me completely bewitched!"Caitlyn's world changes when she learns that she was found as an abandoned baby and adopted by her American family. Now, her search for answers takes her to the tiny English village of Tillyhenge where a man has been murdered by witchcraft - and where a mysterious shop selling enchanted chocolates is home to the "local witch"...Soon Caitlyn finds herself fending off a toothless old vampire, rescuing an adorable kitten and meeting handsome aristocrat Lord James Fitzroy... not to mention discovering that she herself might have magical blood in her veins!When she's dragged into the murder investigation and realises that dark magic is involved, Caitlyn is forced to choose. Can she embrace her witchy powers in time to solve the mystery and save those she loves?

No Lathering Matter: A Magical Soapmaker Mystery


S.E. Babin - 2021
    Unfortunately, that’s just what she’ll have to do, when a missing box of lye from her store gets linked to a recent small-town murder and everyone labels her as the prime suspect.With a wise-cracking, uppity skeleton as her sidekick, Ivy is forced to investigate the crime, all while trying to figure out who would want to implicate her in such a serious ordeal—especially considering the cops and their new necromancer-for-hire are all but certain of her guilt. Meanwhile her biggest business rival sees the open investigation as the perfect opportunity to muscle Ivy out of business, and also her super cute librarian crush may have finally noticed she's alive.Uh-oh, it looks like she may not come out of this squeaky clean, after all… But hopefully she can still come out of it alive.

Witch Is When It All Began


Adele Abbott - 2015
    Private investigator, Jill Gooder, has been hired to find a serial killer because, as usual, the police can't buy a clue. Jill, the not so proud owner of a crazy, one-eyed cat, probably can't expect too much help from her PA/Secretary, Mrs V, who spends all day knitting. And just in case all of that wasn't bad enough, Jill's just about to discover she's a witch. ...break out the custard creams.

Like a Bad Penny


Harper Crowley - 2019
    The good, the bad, and the ghoulish, streaming live and in color to thousands of subscribers. When Meredith and her team of ghost hunters take on a case in the tiny town of Oak Cliff, Georgia, they don’t expect anything out of the ordinary, just a ghost in a white dress that may or may not be related to a missing persons investigation. But this case is unlike anything Meredith has taken on before. Oak Cliff is a town awash in mysteries and lies, and the spirit Meredith’s searching for may not be the only one haunting the MacIver mansion.Determined to unearth the truth, Meredith and her team dig their way through layers of mysteries and strange occurrences, getting closer to the truth—and real danger. Because it’s becoming clear that someone, or something, wants the past to stay buried, at any cost, and Meredith’s search for the truth just might get her and her team killed. Fans of Amanda Lee and Rose Pressey, get ready to start an exciting new series...

Family Secrets


Shawn McGuire - 2017
    A place for those who don’t belong. Sixteen years after a family feud drove her from the cozy Northwoods village of Whispering Pines, Wisconsin, former detective Jayne O’Shea returns to prepare her grandparents’ lake house for sale. Once there, not only does she find that the house has been trashed, her dog discovers a dead body in the backyard. Jayne intends to stay out of it, but when it becomes obvious the sheriff isn't interested in investigating the death, Jayne can't stop herself. Her list of suspects grows faster than the plants in the commons’ pentacle garden. Could it be the local Wiccan green witch with her stash of deadly plants? The shopkeeper who slips into trances and foretells death? The visitor determined to practice black magic? What Jayne knows for sure is that the closer she gets to solving this crime, the more the sheriff wants her to back off. And when a local fortune teller provides a crucial clue, Jayne knows it’s up to her to solve this murder.

Love at First Spell


Samantha Silver - 2020
    But when she's struck by a taxi and the cab comes out of it the loser, Mina discovers something her mother had been hiding from her for her whole life: Mina is a witch.And you thought your family had secrets.Travelling to the paranormal town of Fairy Falls, Mina almost immediately finds herself embroiled in controversy when a wizard is poisoned right in front of her.Never one to sit on the sidelines, when Mina is asked to stay in town until the investigation is completed she decides to take matters into her own hands. With the help of her Pokemon-obsessed cousin and a talking cat with a dramatic streak, Mina sets about finding the killer.Between crazy relatives, magical gym sessions, and duelling paranormal families, Mina quickly finds a murder investigation might be the most normal thing about Fairy Falls. And who exactly is the strange journalist with the gorgeous green eyes that she keeps running into? However, as Mina gets closer to finding the murderer, she finds out that small towns don't necessarily mean small secrets. Can Mina solve the case before the killer turns Mina's new fairy tale life into a nightmare?Fairy Falls is the first book in the fun new paranormal cozy mystery series by Samantha Silver.

Happiness is a Smoking Gun


Alaine Allister - 2016
    An eccentric aunt. An unsolved murder.Out of work reporter Clarissa Spencer is being stalked by a stray cat. She can't cook to save her life, her garden is an overgrown mess and her chocolate chip cookie addiction is out of control. Then to top it all off, she gets struck by lightning.Clarissa thinks she has it bad - until she learns the town mayor has been murdered. Okay, so it could be worse...Clarissa makes it her mission to expose the true killer before her arch nemesis - an infuriatingly handsome reporter from the city newspaper - can. Unfortunately, solving a murder is easier said than done...especially with the lunacy in Clarissa's life!

Southern Magic


Amy Boyles - 2018
     It's the worst day of her life. But when Pepper discovers she’s a witch and has inherited the most important store in the magical town of Magnolia Cove, Alabama, she’s as happy as a pig in mud. Too bad the shop is a familiar pet store and Pepper doesn’t like animals—not even a teensy bit. Determined to sell the shop and get the heck out of town, Pepper’s plans go haywire when a local storeowner winds up dead and Pepper gets accused of murder. Thrust into a magical mystery, Pepper teams up with a mysterious private detective and a cat so traumatized by the murder that she’s not talking—and that cat could hold the key to Pepper’s innocence. Now Pepper must avoid trouble, solve the mystery, and placate her new grandmother, who keeps a strict ten p.m. curfew that’s enforced by the talking end of her shotgun. Sounds like a simple day in the life—as if. Can Pepper solve the murder or will she become the next victim of the Magnolia Cove murderer? And most importantly, will Pepper learn to love the animals she’s in charge of? Find out now!

Deadly Deals and Donuts


Cindy Bell - 2017
    They love working together and despite a few hiccups things are running along smoothly. That is until business comes to a grinding halt when the owner of the hot dog truck is found murdered. Wanting the murder solved as quickly as possible so justice can be served and business on Green Street can return to normal, the friends decide to do a little digging of their own. But things go from bad to worse when it looks like the murderer is targeting the food truck owners on Green Street. It is a race against the clock to find the killer before Joyce and Brenda become the next victims. Recipe Included: Chocolate Glazed Donuts with Sprinkles

Tide Dance


Danielle Garrett - 2018
     Tourist season is underway in the coastal community of Beechwood Harbor. Holly Boldt is up to her eyebrows in work. Between the coffee shop and her potion business, things are moving at a break-neck pace. But when a teenage runaway starts causing trouble around the harbor, she has to step in, especially when she realizes the terrified girl isn’t just another out-of-towner on summer vacation. With her posse of magical misfits, Holly’s ready to kick up some sand and get to the bottom of the guarded teen’s dilemma. After all, summer in Beechwood wouldn’t be any fun without a little magic mystery. **Previously published in the Spell or High Water Anthology.** ***Fits in the timeline after the events of Lucky Witch, book five in the Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery series.**