Book picks similar to
Battle of the Hexes by Morgana Best


paranormal
cozy-mystery
witches-and-wizards
mysteries

Sand-Witch on Rye


Molly Dox - 2017
    Turmoil, murder, and cookie jar spirits are turning the paranormal world upside down. Katy can’t help digging for clues when Miss Priss turns up dead at the local bowling alley. Too bad her magic is rusty. She’s having a spell of a time finding answers. Magic is only good when you remember how to use it. Teaming up with her best friend, Katy hopes to reveal the truth before it’s too late. With an itch to become a better witch, she knows she’ll need to brush up on her skills, but with no time to spare, she needs to find answers before the killer strikes again. Sand-Witch on Rye is the first book in The Soup and Sand-Witch Cozy Mystery series, and offers a family-friendly read with no foul language.

Chaos in the Countryside


Astoria Wright - 2018
    Life couldn't be more idyllic for Cari, but healing humans and fae folk proves challenging at times, especially when secrets unfold in The Faerie Apothecary Mysteries. About Chaos in the Countryside The quiet town of Moss Hill would be in trouble if not for one daring nature faerie: a sprite known as Chaos. Though she is little, she is...fierce isn't the right word. Spirited is more accurate. She's traveled far and wide to warn the half-human, half-elf Carissa Shae about a danger that's coming to the countryside. Carissa's Seelie Tree Apothecary shop is no stranger to faeries, but with this new arrival, its owner, and Moss Hill, will never be the same. Is this cozy town ready for a little Chaos?

Witch Way to Murder


Shirley Damsgaard - 2005
    She's created a comfortable existence with her kooky, colorful grandmother Abby, and if it were up to her, they could live out their days—along with Ophelia's dog Lady and cat Queenie—in peace and quiet. But, to Ophelia's dismay, she and Abby aren't a typical grandmother/granddaughter duo. She possesses psychic powers, and Abby is a kindly witch. And while Ophelia would do anything to dismiss her gift—harboring terrible guilt after her best friend was killed and she was unable to stop it—threatening events keep popping up, forcing her to tap into her powers of intuition. To make matters worse, a strange—yet devastatingly attractive—man is hanging around Ophelia's library, and no matter how many times she tells him she's sworn off men forever, he persists. Soon this handsome newcomer reveals he's following a lead on a local drug ring, and then a dead body shows up right in Abby's backyard. And much as Ophelia would like to put away her spells forever, she and Abby must use their special powers to keep themselves, and others, out of harm's way.

The Slay of the Santas


Kacey Gene - 2019
     It’s Christmas time in the snowy, quaint town of Middlebridge, Wisconsin, and Jennifer Hunter -- a sweet, organized second-grade teacher who has a mind for sleuthing -- is ready to spend her Christmas break crocheting, baking, and relaxing. But before the school bell can ring for Christmas break, her best friend and Middlebridge’s Lieutenant, Jake Hollow, shows up in her classroom, but he’s not there to bring a cup of Christmas cheer. There’s a murder in town, and he needs Jennifer’s help solving the crime. Jennifer soon discovers that not only is the killer targeting retired Santa Clauses, but he’s also staging his victims like scenes from the Charles Dickens novel A CHRISTMAS CAROL. As Jake and Jennifer follow the clues, more questions than answers start to arise: What is this Society of Santas they keep hearing about? Why is the killer leaving behind empty pudding packages at each crime scene? And what in the world does the book A CHRISTMAS CAROL have to do with the victims? Add to that a tight-lipped orphan boy who’s housing a pack of puppies in one of the victim’s buildings, a quirky book store owner who lies about ever having sold a copy of A CHRISTMAS CAROL and Jennifer’s date with a fellow school teacher that ends in total disaster. In between holiday parties, family obligations, baking, and creating handmade Christmas presents, Jennifer must craft together an investigation that catches the killer and saves the Santa Clauses in town. Otherwise, the night before Christmas might be their last. This clean, cozy mystery will captivate readers with Jennifer’s amateur sleuthing that entangles her in snow-deep shenanigans, cryptic car chases, and more chocolate pudding than she ever imagined. Readers will fall in love with the quick-witted and craft-loving Jennifer Hunter, who is down-to-earth and has a heart as warm as a crackling fire on a cold winter’s night. The charming friendship between Jennifer and Lieutenant Jake Hollow epitomizes the quaint, familial feel that lives in small towns, especially those sleepy hamlets with snow-capped houses and a love for Christmas. THE SLAY OF THE SANTAS is an exhilarating page-turner with cliffhangers around every corner, and it will bring the joy of the holiday season all year round. Readers who love cozy mysteries like Jessica Beck’s PUMPKIN PLEAS, Betty Hechtman’s BY HOOK OR BY CROOK, and Joanna Campbell Slan’s KIKI LOWENSTEIN SERIES and readers who have holiday favorites like Charles Dickens’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Louisa May Alcott’s LITTLE WOMEN, and O’Henry’s “THE GIFT OF THE MAGI,” will be enchanted by Kacey Gene’s THE SLAY OF THE SANTAS.

Maple Can Be Murder


Grace Lemon - 2016
    It’s just that kind of place. And things get a whole lot stickier for the residents when a businessman visiting the island ends up smothered at the local sugar bush. With maple syrup season in full swing, Ida Noe’s fudge shop is busier than a centipede at a toe counting contest – especially when she’s invited to showcase her world famous Maple Bacon Fudge at Sweeney’s Sugar Bush. All is sweet until some poor sap kicks the bucket in the sugarhouse and all fingers point to Ida’s best friend Maura Sweeney. With the help of her lumpy black Lab and origami loving friend, Ida is determined to “tap” the real killer and prove that maple can indeed be murder. Previously published as Maple Can Be Murder.

Haunted And Hexed


Misty Bane - 2019
    Probably. Instead, I'd been lured in by the cute little beach town, a handful of instant friends, and a hunky local. My name is Dru Rathmore Davis, and In my defense, my life had pretty much just fallen apart. So, after learning that I'd inherited a bookstore from a grandmother that I never even knew existed, I was desperate to make this my fresh start. I daydreamed of owning a quaint little bookstore and spending my weekends reading on the beach. Sounds great, right? And what could possibly go wrong? Turns out, everything. The bodies start piling up along with my arrival in town, someone may have murdered Granny… and that’s only the beginning. As a former private investigator, I really can't help but find myself drawn (or pushed) into doing a little investigating of my own. It also helps that the Police Sergeant is super hot… cliché, I know, but what's a girl to do? Things are much more complicated than they first appear though, and being new in town certainly has its disadvantages. No one is who they seem to be. Not even me. The only ones I can trust are the dead. Well, and my cat. But none of them are talking. Or are they?

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!

Daisy McDare and the Deadly Art Affair


K.M. Morgan - 2014
    Instead she finds herself heartbroken and in the middle of a murder investigation. Daisy is in the middle of a decorating job at a famed local celebrity's mansion when the arrogant painter is found murdered in his backyard studio. Suddenly there's a house full of suspects, each with a bigger reason to want the victim dead than the next. When the local police get stumped during their investigation, Daisy realizes she'll have to take matters into her own hands. But she can't crack the case alone. She recruits her cupcake-baking best friend Samantha, wise-cracking Granny Annie, and her feisty West Highland Terrier Shamus to find the killer. Other Daisy McDare books: Daisy McDare And The Deadly Legal Affair Daisy McDare And The Deadly Directorial Affair