Book picks similar to
Secrets in a Bottle by Shelly West


mystery
cozy-mystery
cozy-mysteries
mystery-cozy

Drugged on Deck


Susan Harper - 2020
    What could possibly go wrong? Hope Harper has spent four years working her way up on the Caribbean Honey cruise ship, and is finally sure a promotion is coming her way. When she gets passed over again, and for a pretentious young man with less experience, she could just…well, you know. When a cruise guest is killed, she is thrown in the middle of a murder on the high seas. Can she put her feelings aside and solve the mystery, or will the killer get the best of her and the crew?

Appraisal for Murder


Elaine L. Orr - 2011
    It doesn't prepare you to find out that your soon-to-be-ex-husband has a gambling problem, raided your assets, and embezzled from his bank. Jolie Gentil moves to Great Aunt Madge’s bed and breakfast at the Jersey shore, taking her cat Jazz, and joining Madge's pair of prune-eating dogs. Jolie does not view this as a retreat, just a smart change. She had no idea her life at the Jersey shore was about to get even more complicated... Finding a body your first day on a new job will do that.

At Wits' End


Kirsten Weiss - 2017
    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!

The Final Arrangement


Annie Adams - 2012
    But there’s a problem—Quincy is now the main suspect in The Vulture’s murder. Armed with only her Zombie delivery van, good intentions, and the business card of a handsome cop named Alex, she must find the killer, save the flower shop, and keep from ending up in the next casket. If she can dodge burning bushes, the plague of a polygamist ex, and her mother's Mormon Mafia Spy Network, her life with Alex and her shop could become the perfect arrangement.

All I Got Was The Headache


Anne Avery - 2016
    Literally. Life, for Maxie, has never been the same since. Amelia has rotten taste in clothes, a fondness for single malt scotch, and an annoying penchant for meddling where she’s not wanted. As far as Maxie’s concerned, her fairy godmother’s “assistance” isn’t wanted anywhere, at any time, for any reason whatsoever. Unfortunately for Maxie, when it comes to heeding hints (not to mention demands and outright threats), Amelia has the hide of a rhinoceros—nothing gets through! Maxie is the owner and sole employee of Maxie Peterson Investigations. When she discovers her newest, richest, and (sadly) only client dead on her office floor with her letter opener through his heart, she isn’t surprised to find Amelia’s already on the job—Amelia can always be counted on to be in the middle of things, making them worse. What Maxie isn’t prepared for is the hunky new detective in charge of the case. Ben Trueblood is as hard-nosed as Maxie, and just as determined to find the killer, but he’s got a major advantage—he doesn’t have a fairy godmother making a mess of everything before he even gets started!

A Murder in Hope's Crossing


Brooke Shelby - 2019
    Relocating to the idyllic New England town of Hope’s Crossing, where her family has settled since its founding, should be a welcome refresh. Aunt Clara is eager to retire and hand Maggie the keys to her store. And her new home might even help Maggie awaken her family’s rumored witchy powers. Maggie’s plans have all the makings of a spell for success—until the sorcery turns sour. Not long after the move, Aunt Clara is murdered in retaliation for an act of charity. Since Maggie inherits Clara’s small fortune, shop, and home, all eyes turn to her. With no witnesses and no suspects with an obvious motive, Maggie is framed as the perfect killer. Proving her own innocence is an uphill battle, especially when other descendants of Salem Witch Trial survivors like her are under constant threat and persecution in the pious town. To clear her name, Maggie will have to draw on the kindness of a few quirky residents, her aunt’s crafty cat, and her own blossoming supernatural powers. With a deadly criminal on the loose, the newest witch in town might be the best chance Hope’s Crossing has to defeat murder with magic…

Death in Dalkinchie


Carly Reid - 2019
    When the head judge is poisoned, Jessica's extensive notes, observational skills and ability to be in the wrong place at the right time are put to the test again. Can Jessica narrow down the list of suspects to find the killer before there’s another victim? If you love locked room mysteries, quirky characters, and a Scottish small-town setting, you’ll love Death in Dalkinchie. This is the first full-length novel in the Dalkinchie Mysteries series.

Hurricane Season


Mickey Friedman - 1983
    But it was an ill wind that blew through the Gulf-coast Florida town in the summer of '52.Diana Landis, well-known in every barroom, and more than a few bedrooms in town, was found beneath the dock, afloat in a fishing net. Her lover, Bo Calhoun, had already seen his family's moonshine still set ablaze by arsonists. Congressman Robert "Snapper" Landis seemed more interested in his tough reelection campaign with Gospel Roy McInnes than in his daughter's murder. And Wesley Stafford, a young seminarian more familiar with salvation than seduction, was in jail when, it seemed, he confessed to the killing.All that was before storekeeper Lily Trulock left her neglecting husband to his beekeeping and ran her skiff to the island of St. Elmo, where an even bigger wind threatened to blow the lid off the whole county!

One for the Money


D.B. Borton - 1993
    Detective work seems a logical choice. So, she sells her suburban house, buys an apartment building in a “transitional” neighborhood, and begins her training, only to discover a dead body in an upstairs apartment. What’s the connection between a murdered homeless woman and the Golden Age of Hollywood silent movies? Cat races to discover it before the killer can strike again. In this first book of the popular Cat Caliban series from the 1990s, Cat assembles her colorful cast of helpers and neighborhood hangers-on.

Dead Wrong


Kate Allenton - 2017
    She isn’t known for her finesse, but she’s good at what she does. Her intuition and insight have never steered her wrong.When there’s an attempted murder on the only detective who knows her secrets, she’s willing to step outside the safety of her anonymity and insert herself smack-dab in the middle of an active investigation. She has the skills to help, but convincing the sexy, skeptical detective to accept that help is much harder than dealing with the dead.With an attempted killer on the loose and another cold case nipping at her heels, Cree will risk more than her secret identity to solve both cases. She’ll risk her sanity and her life.

Strawberry Cream Cupcake & Murder


Ann S. Marie - 2015
    Remember, ‘stressed’ is ‘desserts’ spelled backwards! Her ex-fiancé ran off with her money, her dreams, and her best friend. But that won’t stop Dana Sweet from trying to make a fresh new start. They say the best revenge is sweet success and that’s what Dana plans to do. Turn the struggling cupcake café she inherited from her grandmother into a success. Dana takes a chance and re-opens the café under a new name, Cozy Cupcakes Café, where frosted cupcakes are served with a spoon and delivered with a sweet fortune cookie-like message to brighten customers’ days. But moving back to Berry Cove in Ontario is not as easy as it looks. For one thing, Dana is not welcomed to town by her competitor. Moreover, the employees at the bake shop haven’t warmed up to her yet. And when the Berry Cove Gazette food critic who gave the café a scathing review turns up dead, all sticky fingers point to Dana. And now a gorgeous detective has her under surveillance... A Dana Sweet Cozy Mystery series: Strawberry Cream Cupcake & Murder (Book 1) Blueberry Cream Cupcake & Murder (Book 2) Chocolate Cream Cupcake & Murder (Book 3)

The Case of the Flashing Fashion Queen


N.L. Wilson - 2011
    firm where she's worked for years, Dix Dodd has hung out her own shingle at the ripe age of 40. There are plenty of cheating husbands to go around, and Dix has a knack for busting them. Problem is, it doesn't always pay so well. Conscious that the guys back at the old firm are laying bets about how soon she'll come crawling back, she figures she's got six months to make a go of it.The going gets even tougher when she hires Dylan Foreman. But when he told her about getting fired from his law firm and disbarred for putting common decency before the firm's interests, she hired him on the spot. In addition to being smart, he's gorgeous enough to remind her she's a woman. And at 28, young enough to make her feel like a total cougar.Things start looking up when Dix gets hired by millionaire businessman Ned Weatherby's wife Jennifer Weatherby, to tail Ned 24/7 for a week, for a cool ten grand. Easy-peasy, right? Wrong! The job lands Dix in the middle of a murder investigation - with her as the prime suspect and her arch-enemy Detective Richard Head (a.k.a., Dickhead, one of the cheating husbands she'd nailed) gunning for her.Dix will need all her ingenuity, as well as the help of Dylan and her oddball cast of supporters to extricate herself from this one.

Playing At Murder


Gillian Larkin - 2017
    Now that she’s retired, she makes that dream a reality and sets herself up as an investigator. With reluctant help from her sister-in-law, Sable, Connie takes on her first client. What starts out as a simple case of tracking down a missing person soon turns into an intriguing case of deception, phone hacking and murder.

Stiff in the Sand


Winnie Reed - 2019
    She's got a new job blogging about food and she's super-thrilled to be traveling to a new resort to sample the fare and meet local celebrities. One of who is First-Kiss-Robbie. The first boy to kiss her, he's a famous chef now.She finds out her photographer is a hot guy with a major chip on his shoulder. More like an iceberg, considering the way Deke treats her.She's not so thrilled when she discovers a body in the sand dunes. One with a knife sticking out of him. A chef knife. Robbie's chef knife.She's even less thrilled when she makes the mistake of handling the knife.Now, she's under suspicion and Detective McHottie's got his eye on her--and not in a good way.Can she find the real killer before she becomes his target?

Second-Hand Murder


Blair Merrin - 2016
    Will Cassie, and her P.I. pal Dash, find out the meaning behind the unusual artifact before it's too late? This Paranormal Cozy Mystery is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat, and make you laugh out loud too!