The first SIX books in the Kiki Lowenstein Cozy Mystery Series! FANS OF CLEAN, FUNNY BOOKS FILLED WITH GOOD FRIENDS, FAMILY, FOOD, AND FUR-BABIES REJOICE! You will gobble up these books faster than you can say, “I love chocolate!”Readers looking for a hilarious escape with just the right touch of romance and drama will love these appealing mysteries. Agatha Award finalist and Daphne du Maurier Award winner Joanna Campbell Slan displays a unique gift for turning life’s most dismal moments into humor, making us feel there’s hope for us all. Lovers of feel-good cozy mysteries, especially amusing ones with animals, hobbies and food, will discover a new favorite author. Perfect for readers of Alexander McCall Smith, Hope Callaghan, Amy Vansant, and Carolyn Hart. A sure thing for craft cozy fans of Brianna Bates, Laura Childs, Lois Winston, and Mollie Cox Bryan."A nicely crafted cozy full of amusing moments, real-life insecurities, and scrapbooking tips."--Kirkus ˃˃˃ BOOK #1-- PAPER, SCISSORS, DEATH (AGATHA AWARD FINALIST) JUST BECAUSE HER HUSBAND’S NAKED, DEAD, AND IN A HOTEL BED, it might not be what it seems. Of course it is. (Sigh.) New widow, Kiki Lowenstein, walks out of her pampered life and into a scrapbooking store, turning a hobby into a career. In short order, the police come for her and Family Services come for her daughter. With no other options, this papercrafter turns amateur sleuth.Hobbyists and non-crafters alike will love Kiki. Slan also provides the ultimate warm-and-fuzzy: a wonderful floppy-eared dog. PAPER, SCISSORS,DEATH is the kind of mystery that keeps you turning the pages just to spend time with the characters. ˃˃˃ BOOK #2 -- CUT, CROP & DIE SWEET MEMORIES MADE OF THIS: PASTRY, PIZZA, A POISONOUS PILL AND MURDER? Recovering from financial ruin and her husband’s murder, Kiki Lowenstein’s getting her life back on track until a rival scrapbooker goes into anaphylactic shock and dies. Now Kiki must rely on her new sleuthing skills.“This is without a doubt the best book I have read in ages.” -- Amazon Reviewer ˃˃˃ BOOK #3 -- INK, RED, DEAD AS MANY SECRETS AS PILES OF STUFF. IT ALL HIDES A MURDER IN A HOARDER’S HAVEN” An off-site event goes wrong because the hostess’s house is filled with cats and there’s a body in the freezer! "This [series] should quickly become a favorite." -- Booklist ˃˃˃ BOOK #4 -- PHOTO, SNAP, SHOT A RACIST PAST COMES BACK TO HAUNT ST.LOUIS AND ONLY A MOTHER’S LOVE CAN DEFY IT. Kiki must protect her child’s life by following clues that lead to an ugly chapter of St. Louis’s racist history. (Author’s Note: This book actually resulted in me receiving threats…but I wrote it anyway.) “Ms. Slan is a WRITER!! Not just a hack stringing words with no meaning on a page. She is an honest-to-god writer who does her art brilliantly.” -- Kathy Harris ˃˃˃ BOOK #5 -- MAKE, TAKE, MURDER KIKI FINDS A SEVERED LEG IN A DUMPSTER AND a cryptic message suggests that only she knows why it’s there. Can she prove that an abused wife was murdered and save the woman’s daughter from a similar fate? “There is something in every book that I identify with, whether it be love of food or a f

     The series opener, SHE’S NOT THERE, introduces TJ Peacock, a Milwaukee-based PI, a former cop struggling to make it in her own business. Her life intersects with that of Lisa Rayburn, a clinical psychologist who has just found evidence that abused women are going missing in the Milwaukee area. When the police inform Lisa that without hard evidence, they cannot open an investigation, she joins TJ on a mission to reveal foul play at work in the disappearances. TJ and Lisa put their lives on the line as they attempt to unearth a devious serial killer. In the next two books of the series, TRESPASS and GIRL UNDONE, TJ and Lisa maintain their friendship and use their skills to uncover a cold case from the past and a deadly plot by a serial killer against a crime blogger.

    In 1986, while Kate was a college student at Sweet Briar in western Virginia, she was raped and witnessed a murder. Kate’s eyewitness testimony convicts a man who’s released more than 20 years later based on DNA evidence. The development isn’t a complete surprise to Kate, who has lived with the knowledge that she perjured herself. Her life since the trial has been a disappointment, and her social life is limited by her possessive and creepy father, Pop, who keeps her on a tight leash. That constraint becomes even more difficult to bear when Kate, who works as a landscaper, falls for a gardener, Tony, and hopes she has found the love of her life. Things don’t go smoothly, and more blood is shed along the way to a jaw-dropping, but logical, climax that will make veteran mystery readers eager for more of Buhmann’s work. Big Al's Books & Pals 2014 Readers' Choice Awards: Mystery Nominee Twenty years ago, Kate Cranbrook’s eyewitness testimony sent the wrong man to prison for rape and murder. When new evidence exonerates him, Kate says that in the darkness and confusion, she must have mistaken her attacker’s identity. She is lying. Kate would like nothing better than to turn her back on the past, but she is trapped in a stand-off with the real killer. When a body turns up on her doorstep, she resorts to desperate measures to free herself once and for all from a secret that is ruining her life.

    

    Now she is simply trying to hang on to the only family she has left: her husband Scott, who is escalating from emotional to physical abuse; her cousin Laura Thornton, her best friend since babyhood; Laura’s ex-husband Sam; and Caro, the much-loved and wealthy young aunt who took Sarah in as a teenager. When Caro’s lifeless body is discovered, Sarah’s problems escalate. The family has motive, and none of them have alibis, prompting a close-minded homicide detective to hone in on them as his only suspects. To protect her family, Sarah has to find the strength to put aside her mind-numbing grief so she can focus on unraveling the mystery of Caro's death. It will take a depth of courage Sarah’s not sure she possesses, especially when every move she makes seems to increase the odds that one of the people she loves is the killer.

    She's able to tell the story behind any object simply by touch. It’s a gift that comes in handy when she solves cases with her partner, ex-cop Jack Burton. Together, Mia and Jack create a partnership that breaks all the rules, skirts every law, and lobs as many sparks and landmines at each other as if they were adversaries–which half the time they are—all while attempting to ignore their undeniable mutual attraction. (Buy the entire collection and it's no mystery how much you'll save!)

    (Fatal Flowers)"Bone chillingly realistic, right up there with King, Koontz, Crouch, and even Ann Rule." P. Wheeler (Dear Departed)"I don't know if he knows how really good this is. The pace and rhythm were addicting." Tom Jones (Shadowland Survivors)

    She dreams of cakes & pies. She dreams of crepes & brownies. And, more than anything, she dreams of making a career of serving her delicious treats to an adoring public. So, when her grandmother calls and asks her to move to Florida to help run her café, she cannot get out of Minnesota fast enough! And before she knows it she is standing in Paradise Point, the beautiful, oceanside plaza in which Bessie's Café is located, hardly able to believe her good fortune. Life is now exactly how Faith had imagined it could be. She's made wonderful friends. The café, now renamed the Slice of Paradise, has been renovated to showcase her amazing desserts. And both locals & tourists are loving it! Well, all except for one... The owner of a nearby cupcake shop is not at all happy with Faith's arrival in Paradise Point. She has accused Faith of trying to ruin her by stealing her recipes & designs. And she is not shy about letting everyone know it. So, when the woman is found dead the day after their confrontation, people immediately begin to consider whether Faith is the killer... Is Faith guilty of murder? If not, who is? And can Faith find a way to clear her name before her dreams turn into nightmares? Learn the answers to these questions and so many more inside this big, bundled box set! We'll see you in there!

     Julia Blake runs her own cleaning business. She also has the unfortunate knack of finding murdered bodies. Virtually Scared To Death – Short Story The first time she sees a dead body is when she discovers one of her clients, Mark Castle, lying dead on the floor of his luxury apartment. Julia soon suspects that Mark was murdered. He was a good friend and she is determined to find out who killed him. A Deadly Restoration – Short Story Julia’s neighbour, Leo Kennedy, is having restoration work done to his house. One night, Julia hears the sound of something breaking next door. She goes to investigate and finds Leo dead in his front room. A Party To Die For – Short Story Julia Blake has been working for Fiona Doyle for a few years. Fiona is in a bad mood as she tries to organise a party. Julia suggest that Fiona has a lie down. An hour later Julia discovers that Fiona has been suffocated in her bed. A Secret Killer In this story Julia visits one of her clients, a genealogist called Hugo Barnes. Hugo has uncovered a family secret during the course of his work. It’s a secret that gets Hugo killed. Death Takes A Trip When one of Julia’s elderly clients, Douglas Pedley, is found dead at the bottom of his stairs, it is soon obvious that he was murdered. A Fair Murder Julia helps out at the local school fair. The new head teacher, Deborah Paignton has made herself unpopular by implementing changes to the school and continually upsetting members of staff. Julia discovers Deborah’s dead body after the fair has finished. Death Shows Up Julia provides moral support for her friend, Louisa, as they go to a slimming club meeting. They are shocked to discover that the slimming club venue has been taken over by the local amateur dramatics group. The am-dram group are performing a play written by the enigmatic Brandon Briggs. Julia soon suspects that Louisa and Brandon have a secret past. At the next meeting, Julia finds Brandon’s murdered body hidden in a costume room. Murder Makes A Claim Julia agrees to cover some cleaning work for a friend. The cleaning work takes her and her colleague, Cain, to the offices of Inkwell’s Insurance in Leeds. It isn’t long before Julia and Cain discover the dead body of Karl Rayburn, the manager at Inkwell’s Insurance. They find out that everyone has a secret when it comes to their relationship with Karl. Julia is reluctant to get herself involved. But she soon realises she has no option but to make her own enquiries to find out who the killer is.

     To Kill For: Former LA Cop, Kat McKay, vows she'll never return to Brecon Point after leaving years ago. But when tragedy strikes, she returns to help solve a crime that hit a little too close to home. Uncovering the truth about her missing niece means that Kat will have to face the demons of her own past. And the only way to do that is by enlisting the help of the one man she left behind. Local cop, Finn Groves will do anything to solve the case--even if it means letting down his guard around the one woman who broke his heart years ago. With her niece's life on the line, Finn and Kat must put their past behind them in order to find Kat's niece. Will the McKays survive the explosive results or will they find one more reason to kill for? Blood Sport: The discovery of an injured child along a lonely road leads Kat and Finn to uncover a terrible sport that has been flourishing on their own doorstep. Hard Time: When it comes to family, Kat will do anything. Even if that means going against everything she believes in, and risking her already fragile relationship with the man she loves. Faced with a problem that is too much for her alone, she enlists the help of her one time partner, Kyle. Together they must uncover a deadly secret before any more innocent lives are lost. Gang Land: Leaving Brecon Point, Finn heads to L.A. in search of the one person that haunts him. Killing Fields: Jake McKay is coming home and bringing trouble with him. As he attempts to redeem himself in the eyes of his family he finds himself plunged into a nightmare unfolding on their doorstep, the consequences of which will rock the entire family.

    But when Robert’s girlfriend gets in an auto accident, everyone is sure Christy caused it. Can Mom and Christy solve yet another whodunit? And will Christy’s burgeoning relationship with a certain handsome detective survive?

    He is also an ex-art thief. The reason for his career change? Boston's red-hot real estate market is crashing, and Bruce figures his firm's institutional clients won't notice if a few million dollars is siphoned away during the resulting chaos. But the police definitely notice when the Gardner Museum of Art is robbed of $200 million in art. And Bruce can't help but notice when a stunning Harvard law student takes a curious interest in his cases. At stake? Millions of dollars. A lifetime in jail. The love of his life. Set in Boston during the early 1990s. Based on true events.

    Follow the misadventures of bored chaotic housewife, Cathy, as she starts out investigating a lipstick-covered love postcard to husband Declan and discovers a talent for exposing murderers and running her own detective agency. Looking for La La – Cathy, world’s least organized mother, finds her predictable marriage upturned as she investigates a lipstick-covered love postcard sent to husband, Declan. Could Declan really be having an affair? And why do all her friends seem to be hiding secrets? With a handsome artist admirer igniting long-forgotten sparks and the scheming antics of Declan’s new assistant, it's obvious Cathy’s marriage is in jeopardy. But there is also a killer on the loose. 5 Stars ‘Devoured this through broken glass’ Kimmy’s Korner To Catch a Creeper – Cathy’s brand-new job at a top London advertising agency gets derailed when enemies sabotage her new career. With husband Declan apparently in the throes of a nervous breakdown, she hides her shameful secret with a double life of lies and deception. Meanwhile there’s a burglar, the notorious Crouch End Creeper, terrorising their neighbourhood and Cathy’s attempts to expose him will put more than her own life in danger. 5 Stars ‘Insanely good read for fans of humor and mystery cozies’ Rabid Readers Reviews Meddling with Murder – Cathy’s new investigative agency, Crouch End Confidential, is failing badly since she’s too soft to charge their little old lady clients. But just as Declan decides to transplant the whole family to Norfolk, a spate of unexpected cases involving drug-dealing teenagers, vandalism, guns and stolen bikes throw her into some hilarious predicaments, posing as a clueless mathematics tutor and investigating her best friend’s fiancé. Little does she know that her meddling will lead her to murder… 5 Stars ‘A lovely, engaging cozy mystery which makes us laugh, have fun but also exercises our intelligence in solving the mystery!’ Njkinny's World of Books

    However, a degree of mystery surrounds his new colleague, Maria Barnes. She’s quirky, extremely talented, but comes with a chequered history. Is there more to her than meets the eye?It’s clear that the killer is on a mission which is far from over as the murders escalate. Can they work out who the next victim will be? Then, a chance discovery provides a lead: initials left at the crime scene. But, what do they mean?Even the Intelligence Services show an interest in Barnes and the case, so the pair break convention and go undercover looking for who or what CXVI really is. Woods’ life hangs in the balance when they discover the shocking truth.What do other readers think?Top Drawer – M A Comley – New York Times best selling authorA complex thriller with fascinating characters – Compulsive ReadersBreathtakingly fast paced – reviewerWow, a thriller to the end – S Hampson – Top 1000 reviewerBrilliant Thriller - Love Books Blog

    There is no road surface strong enough to resist the return to dirt in this climate.Blue touched my thigh with his nose, a gentle tap to remind me he was there. Thick jungle lined our path. This hill had the fewest homes on our route. No neighbors to wave a hello to or children to smile at as they raced by on bikes either too large or too small for them. There was just me, Blue, the burst of vegetation, and this road of rocks. I reached the top of the hill, my thighs and calves burned. Panting, I struggled to keep my pace.A low growl narrowed my attention onto a black and white street dog in the brush. Ears flat to her head, she curled her lips and showed teeth. Noting the swollen teats hanging low and exposed, I kept moving. "I'm not going to bother you, mama," I said in a steady voice. "We are just passing by."Blue slowed, and when I patted my thigh for him to catch up he stopped. I turned to look back at him, my senses on high alert. Blue was a mutt the height of a Great Dane with the coat of a wolf and the long snout of a Collie, with one blue eye and one brown. Blue has saved my life more than once so when he stopped, so did I.I recognized a twitch on his lip and saw the hackles raise off his shoulders and back making him appear even larger. A deep and rumbling growl left his chest. It was answered behind me. There were suddenly three dogs in our path. None as big or strong as Blue but together they looked dangerous.I'd been warned about this pack. Growing larger by the day, it was led by an aggressive alpha male the color of dirty water. This must be him, I thought, as the largest of the three, his head wide, fur the silt brown of an engorged river, growled at Blue. The compactness of his body spoke of strength and survival. When he barked, the saliva that shot from his mouth caught a ray of sunlight streaming through the thick foliage around us.The alpha stepped forward, revving his growl like a teenager on a motorbike. The bitch in the brush flanked our left side and when I turned right, two young dogs, their ears still soft from puppyhood, glowered at me.The owner of the guest house where I lived warned me to take a stick if I planned on running. "Just in case," she'd said with a dip of her head and a flip of her hand. Because of her advice I carried a light but solid piece of bamboo about twice the thickness of my thumb. I tapped it on the ground in front of me as I backed toward Blue, keeping my eyes forward, focused on the alpha but paying close attention to my peripheral vision, watching the dogs to my sides.When I reached Blue he moved backwards with me, slowly and deliberately. But the dogs followed. We stopped, and raising the stick over my head, I brought it down hard onto a rock. The loud sound and sudden movement spooked the pups to my right, but the alpha male just growled louder.The two dogs flanking him went crazy barking, the force of their calls lifting their front paws off the ground. The mother and the young ones joined in raising a ruckus that certainly beat mine. Blue, his front paws planted on the road, exposed his teeth and growled, his pitch wavering up and down. He wanted me to tell him it was okay to attack. I could feel his energy bundling up inside him, roiling around.Soon I'd have no control.P.S. The dog does not die.**Beware: If you can’t handle a few f-bombs, you can’t handle this series.**