What the Cat Saw


Carolyn G. Hart - 2012
    Nela knows that what she’s experiencing is completely irrational and tries to convince herself that she is simply transferring her own thoughts that she doesn’t want to face. When her adventurous sister, Chloe, goes on a trip and asks for a favor, Nela welcomes the distraction and agrees to substitute at Chloe’s job at a charitable foundation. Chloe has arranged a place for her sister to stay, but when Nela shows up, she encounters the previous tenant’s cat and gets a flash of thought: “. . . dead . . . dead and gone . . . She loved me . . . board rolled on the second step . . .” Nela wants to ignore what the cat saw, but the idea that the death of former tenant Marian Grant wasn’t an accident is something she can’t ignore. As Nela begins to do some research into Marian’s life, strange events begin to occur, all seeming to lead back to the Haklo Foundation. But when a detective becomes suspicious of Nela’s sister and a second murder occurs, Nela realizes she’ll have to make the most of her unwanted ability to figure out what’s really going on, before she meets her own untimely end…

Littered with Trouble


Eryn Scott - 2022
    She never imagined she would be a widow before the age of forty. To cope with the sudden loss of her husband, Lou moves across the country to live near her best friend in a town as cute as a button. Even though it means quitting her fancy New York editor job, she now owns the bookstore of her dreams. Well, almost. She definitely didn’t dream about a dead man showing up in her alley. Found with no identification, the police plaster the man’s face everywhere, along with the name of her bookshop, inundating Lou with negative press before she can even open. Worse, Lou was one of the last people to see him alive, and she didn’t even get his name.Worried the mystery man’s family is left without the answers she so desperately needed in her husband’s death, Lou tries to help find the man’s identity. On closer inspection, she realizes her conversation with the mystery man was full of clues. Starting with a confusing book page he left behind, Lou follows the trail. If she can solve this mystery, her bookstore might have a chance at being known for something more than murder.

Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter


Blaize Clement - 2005
    Then came a tragic accident. Now Dixie's a pet-sitter on Siesta Key, a lush, exotic barrier island where the people tend to be rich, suntanned, and tolerant of one another's quirks. As Dixie tried to get her life back in order, pet-sitting is the perfect job. She goes into people's homes while they're gone and takes care of their pets; she likes the animals, they like her, and she doesn't have to deal with people very much. She especially does not have to be afraid that she'll run into a situation that will cause her to lose her hard-won composure. But when Dixie finds a man bizarrely drowned in a cat's water bowl, she is drawn into a tangled web of danger and secrets. Unbeknownst to Lieutenant Guidry, the homicide detective handling the murder, Dixie begins her own investigation into the whereabouts of the cat's owner, who has now vanished. Fans of The Cat Who... book series by Lilian Jackson Braun will adore this riveting new pet-oriented sleuth and will eagerly await Dixie's next case: Will duplicity dog the dachshund?

Episode of the Wandering Knife


Mary Roberts Rinehart - 1950
     The Episode of the Wandering Knife: What’s a mother to do? When her daughter-in-law is slashed to death, the first thing is to hide the hunting knife that’s sure to implicate her innocent son. But it doesn’t stay hidden for long. It’s just turned up in a second victim, only to vanish once again. Whatever the cunning motive is for the ghastly crimes, the game of hide-and-seek with a deadly weapon is just beginning.  The Man Who Hid His Breakfast: A woman’s been found strangled in her bed. The only other person in the house is her daughter, Emma. Given Emma’s motive for wanting to escape the clutches of her domineering mother, the case seems open and shut. Except Inspector Tom Brent insists Emma couldn’t possibly have done it. His career depends on proving it. And it all starts with a very peculiar breakfast.  The Secret: Hilda Adams, the Homicide Bureau’s undercover “Miss Pinkerton,” is enlisted to investigate the odd behavior of Tony Rowland. The woman has suddenly broken off her engagement to a man she loves, crashed a car, and now keeps her elderly mother locked in her room. Does the Rowland family have reason to fear the neurotic woman? Or is Tony herself the one who’s afraid? If so, of what?

Orange as Marmalade


Fran Stewart - 2004
    This saucy cat and her human find a body in the library, and the fun begins. No one in Martinsville, a small town in northeastern Georgia, admits to knowing why Harlan Schneider was in the library. Clues seem to point to someone local, but nobody asks Marmalade. Then, when Biscuit's accident-prone sister visits, pursued by a creepy former boyfriend, Marmalade sees what's happening, but her humans just won't listen to her. So she decides to take matters into her own paws. Grab a cup of tea, sit back, and enjoy this snappy debut novel, with it's chatty cat and charming characters.

Cozy Mystery 7 Book Set: Cats, Cupcakes & Killers


Sylvia Selfman - 2016
    7 cozy mysteries 3 cozy mystery series 2 authors - Sylvia Selfman and Leigh Selfman THE IZZY GREENE MYSTERY SERIES 1- MURDER SHE TYPED 2-MURDER BY THE BOOK 3-MURDER TAKES A HOLIDAY 4-MURDER OVER MIAMI THE ROSIE KALE CULINARY MYSTERY SERIES 1-NOTHING BUNDT MURDER 2-ECLAIR CASE OF MURDER THE GHOSTLY COZY MYSTERY SERIES 1-HAUNT FLASHES

Cat on the Edge


Shirley Rousseau Murphy - 1996
    First the large, powerful feline discovers that, through some strange, inexplicable phenomenon, he now has the ability to understand human language. Then he discovers he can speak it as well! It's a nightmare for a cat who'd prefer to sleep the day away carefree, but Joe can handle it. That is, until he has the misfortune to witness a murder in the alley behind Jolly's Deli -- and worse, to be seen witnessing it. With all of his nine lives suddenly at risk, Joe's got no choice but to get to the bottom of the heinous crime -- because his mouse-hunting days are over for good unless he can help bring a killer to justice.

Meowing for Murder (A Clever Cat Detective Series Novel Book 1)


Sandra Baublitz - 2020
    It’s what sisters do.Lillian knew they’d argue like they always did. But murder?She’s shocked to find a dead neighbor in the middle of her sister’s living room. Why did the woman break in? And who killed her?It’s time for Lillian to pick up her spyglass and Saber to prowl for clues. A killer is on the loose.It will take one clever cat and one canny older woman to solve the purr-fect murder.

Catnap


Carole Nelson Douglas - 1992
    While Temple and Midnight Louie are on the case, the famous publishing mascots, a pair of Scottish Fold library cats named Baker and Taylor, are kidnapped for ransom. The pair must sniff out a murderer before Murder by the Book describes their fates.

Deadly Advice


Roberta Isleib - 2007
    Rebecca Butterman is supposed to help people resolve their internal conflicts--not stir up her own. But when her next door neighbor allegedly commits suicide, Rebecca's investigative instincts make it hard to maintain appropriate boundaries.

Miss Spelled


Morgana Best - 2015
    Her boyfriend dumps her when she inadvertently gives him food poisoning. Her workplace, a telecommunications center, fires all their staff as they are outsourcing offshore, and she is evicted due to smoke damage resulting from her failed attempts at baking. Amelia thinks her luck has changed when she inherits her estranged aunt’s store, two mysterious cats, and beautiful Victorian house.Yet has Amelia jumped out of the frying pan into the fire? To Amelia's dismay, the store is a cake store, and she discovers that her aunt was a witch. To add to the mix, the house has secrets of its own. When a man is murdered in the cake store, will Amelia be able to cook up a way to solve the crime? Or will her spells prove as bad as her baking? All Morgana Best books are clean cozy mysteries.

Gator Bowl


J.J. Cook - 2015
    He still has the old Airstream trailer he once used for his own restaurant many years before, and Zoe is sure she can convince him to let her make a food truck out of it.After making the perilous journey from Mobile, Alabama into the backcountry, Zoe finds her uncle embroiled in a cook-off with his neighbor—with the life of Saul’s albino alligator, Alabaster, in the balance. Once again, the gator has eaten chickens that didn’t belong to her. So Saul and his neighbor will each prepare a meal for a church social, and if Saul wins, the gator lives.Now it’s up to Zoe to prove herself in the kitchen and come up with something no one has seen before—the biscuit bowl!

An Unthymely Death and Other Garden Mysteries


Susan Wittig Albert - 2003
    Now you can join China in ten puzzling cases——and get a taste of her world...This delightful collection also serves to please with loads of wonderful herbal tidbits on everything from rosemary to feverfew to catnip. You'll find such to-die-for dishes as a Deadly Chocolate Valentine, Ruby's Applesauce-Mint Bread, China's Five-Spice Chicken and Veggie Stir-Fry, and McQuaid's Tex-Mex——and a host of creative ideas for your garden and home. It's a one-of-a-kind collection featuring a one-of-a-kind sleuth——who's worth spending some "quality thyme" with!

Gumboots, Gumshoes & Murder (Murder She Wrote meets Fargo)


Laura Hesse - 2011
    Betty Bruce, and her pot-bellied pig, Gertrude, stumble upon the body of elderly widow, Eliza Bone, floating bottoms-up in her Oscar fish tank. The one clue they have is a set of muddy gumboot tracks left at the scene. Their problem: everyone on Seal Island wears gumboots.As two more bizarre deaths occur on the island, Betty is left to wonder if there is a serial killer at work on her beloved Island. In the end, only Gertrude may be left standing! "Gumboots, Gumshoes and Murder" is the first novel in the trilogy of a continuing story - The Gumboot & Gumshoe Series. "The Dastardly Mr. Deeds" and "Murder Most Fowl" are the sequels. They need to be read in this order. Due to numerous requests by readers, two standalone stories will be released in 2020 - Gertrude & The Sorcerer's Gold and Chasing SantaFor more information on author, Laura Hesse, visit www.RunningLProductions.com

Outfoxed


Rita Mae Brown - 2000
    In the pristine world of Virginia foxhunting, hunters, horses, hounds, and foxes form a lively community of conflicting loyalties, where the thrill of the chase and the intricacies of human-animal relationships are experienced firsthand--and murder exposes a proud Southern community's unsavory secrets. . . . As Master of the prestigious Jefferson Hunt Club, Jane Arnold, known as Sister, is the most revered citizen in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountain town where a rigid code of social conduct and deep-seated tradition carry more weight than money. Nearing seventy, Sister now must select a joint master to ensure a smooth transition of leadership after her death. It is an honor of the highest order--and one that any serious social climber would covet like the Holy Grail.Virginian to the bone with a solid foxhunting history, Fontaine Buruss is an obvious candidate, but his penchant for philandering and squandering money has earned him a less than sparkling reputation. And not even Sister knows about his latest tawdry scandal. Then there is Crawford Howard, a Yankee in a small town where Rebel bloodlines are sacred. Still, Crawford has money--lots of it--and as Sister is well aware, maintaining a first-class hunt club is far from cheap. With the competition flaring up, Southern gentility flies out the window. Fontaine and Crawford will stop at nothing to discredit each other. Soon the entire town is pulled into a rivalry that is spiraling dangerously out of control. Even the animals have strong opinions, and only Sister is able to maintain objectivity. But when opening hunt day ends in murder, she, too, is stunned. Who was bold and skilled enough to commit murder on the field? It could only be someone who knew both the territory and the complex nature of the hunt inside out. Sister knows of three people who qualify--and only she, with the help of a few clever foxes and hounds, can lay the trap to catch the killer.A colorful foray into an intriguing world, Outfoxed features a captivating cast of Southerners and their unforgettable animal counterparts. Rita Mae Brown has written a masterful novel that surprises, delights, and enchants.From the Hardcover edition.