Book picks similar to
A Cop and a Coop by Hillary Avis


mystery
cozy-mysteries
cozy-mystery
fiction

Deadly Dog Days


Jamie M. Blair - 2019
    What she isn’t looking for is one of their bodies floating in the canal. When she and her estranged husband, the town sheriff, are both named suspects for the murder, Cameron takes solving the crime into her own hands, teaming up with her eccentric co-workers who dub themselves The Metamora Action Agency. As if hunting for a murderer with two high school geniuses, the town drunk, and an elderly kleptomaniac isn’t hard enough, Cameron adopts the five mangy guard dogs of her deceased neighbor. But maybe a stint at playing gatekeeper is just what she needs to come face-to-face with the killer and save another neighbor from being the next victim.

True Blue Murder


Elise M. Stone - 2016
    The former librarian has developed her first hybrid, a plant with unusual deep blue flowers, and hopes to win a first place ribbon. Maybe even best in show. But her excitement turns to dread when the aggravating Bette Tesselink, her fiercest rival, turns up dead, and she becomes the logical suspect. There’s never been a murder in the village of Rainbow Ranch, and it soon becomes apparent that the young Chief of Police is in over his head. Under pressure from the mayor, Lilliana is afraid he’ll arrest her in order to close the case. Her only option is to begin her own investigation and find the murderer before she winds up in jail. The first in a new cozy mystery series sure to engage you with its fascinating characters and twisty plot.

Risky Relics


E.Z. Pennington - 2017
    The strange thing is that Pauline had been gone for years, simply disappearing from the face of the earth. Then one day, Becky received a letter via her aunt's lawyer, telling her she'd inherited an antique shop. She wasn't a very impulsive person, but Becky took up the offer, packed up her life and moved to Rose Hollow. Rose Hollow was a tiny town in Maine, wildly wealthy and full of strange residents: there was always something going on. An uncomfortable chill runs just below the surface, belying a community that plays for keeps but plays it closer to the chest. The residents are nice, but nosy and Becky feels sort of out of place after she moves in and re-opens the store that that been closed for years. Then, after one late night, a dead body turns up in Becky's store, and it is up to her to find out who did it or risk losing her store and the new life she's just begun! This Cozy Mystery Novel is packed with quirky characters, rousing romps and a whodunnit that wraps up cleanly. No cliffhangers, no curse words and no obscenity.

Lights, Camera, Murder


Nikki Haverstock - 2016
     Melissa McBallister is young, rich, and beautiful but frustrated. She wants nothing more than to be a famous author like her mother. When the opportunity to be on a new reality TV show comes her way, she grabs the chance, hoping to find some inspiration. When a castmate is murdered during a live broadcast and her blood is literally on Melissa’s hands, the young writer gets more than she bargained for—reality TV is much stranger than fiction. Can Melissa prove that she’s innocent? Ryan Sethi prefers to produce TV commercials. They’re boring and safe. But he can’t pass up the opportunity to produce a show about socialites in Fishcreek Falls, an exclusive ski town high in the Rocky Mountains. But can he keep the show, cast, crew, and especially Melissa safe while a killer is on the loose? Or will a reality TV show gone bad ruin both of their lives? Reality TV Cozy Mysteries 1

Tail Wagging Trouble


Leona Fox - 2016
    Now, Ellen is fully invested in finding the murderer. With handsome police chief Andy, her precocious friend Kelly, and Scampy the dog by her side, Ellen is determined to find the killer before he or she goes free.

The Curse: A Cozy Mystery From the 1920s


Alice Simpson - 2018
    Jane grapples with a vandalized shop, a kidnapping, a creepy doll with seemingly supernatural powers, and a stolen diamond necklace. What do all these have in common? It's up to Jane to find out. About the Jane Carter Historical Cozy Mystery Series: This quirky historical cozy mystery series is set in the fictional American city of Greenville during the 1920s, and features Jane Carter, a young widow who returns home to live with her father after the tragic death of her journalist husband. Jane’s father owns a local newspaper, and wants Jane to take it over someday, but Jane is adamant that she has no desire to be a reporter. Instead, she turns her talent for writing to concocting melodramatic romances for fly-by-night rags who almost never pay on time. This work pays so poorly that Jane supplements her income by becoming an agony aunt, soliciting letters from the lovelorn through advertisements in the back of women’s weekly magazines. Jane dispenses advice to all and sundry, but her personal life is in shambles. Jane claims that she's holding out for a millionaire before she marries again, but the only man who makes her heart beat faster is Jack, a reporter on her father's staff. Not only has Jane vowed she will never be a newspaper man herself, she's doubly insistent on never again marrying one. While trying to turn out enough column inches of overwrought romantic bilge to keep her old car on the road, and herself in shoes, Jane runs into the most extraordinary circumstances. In Jane's madcap world, it's a constant round of kidnappings, curses, stolen jewels, counterfeit paintings, and hidden stashes of gold. There's plenty of crime to go around, but nary a murder. Accompanying Jane on her adventures is her best friend, Florence. Jane and Flo may get into one perilous situation after another, but they are never damsels in distress, because, as Jane puts it, "A real lady always carries her own pocket knife." Neither Jane nor Flo think it beneath them to slip a cosh into their handbag, either, should the situation call for it. All this getting into harm's way alarms the Carter's housekeeper, Mrs. Timms. Mrs. Timms believes it's her mission in life to turn motherless Jane into a proper lady, but seeing as Jane has just turned twenty-four, Mrs. Timms considerable efforts appear to have been in vain. However, the housekeeper won't give up trying, just as Jane won't give up on seeing Mrs. Timms and her father center-aisling it to the alter and saying, "I do." If you like light-hearted historical mysteries with quirky characters and a bit of zany humor, this may be the series for you! These are murderless mysteries. Despite a constant crime wave, there seem to be no murders in the city of Greenville. There may be plenty of peril in the form of kidnappings, heists, and the occasional assault, but nobody ever dies, and justice is always served. There’s plenty of romance, but sex is strictly behind closed doors. Suitable for readers looking for a "clean" mystery novel. This series may be of interest to fans of: Lee Strauss (Ginger Gold Mysteries), Jaqueline Winspear (Masie Dobbs Mysteries), Patricia Wentworth (Miss Silver Mysteries), Jessica Ellicot (Berl and Edwina Mysteries Series), Clara Benson, L. B. Hathaway (Posie Parker Mysteries), Leighann Dobbs (Hazel Martin Mysteries), T. E. Kinsey (Lady Hardcastle Mysteries), Margarete Addison (Rose Simpson Mysteries), Emily Organ (Penny Green Mysteries), and the Phryne Fisher Mystery Series.

Dying for Dinner Rolls


Lois Lavrisa - 2013
    How is that for a first day on the job as an amateur sleuth? Along with her friend Annie Mae, Cat investigates the brick-paved, oak-lined streets of Savannah to find their friend's murderer.

Murder as Sticky as Jam


Diana Orgain - 2018
    Her best friend, Vicki, supplies the shop with honey and homemade lotions, candles and royal jelly. While Mona and Vicki are off taste testing the gluten-free catering the shop mysterious burns down. When a body is recovered from the fire, Vicki’s brother, incidentally the most handsome cop Mona has ever laid eyes on, is assigned to the case. Everyone in town has a motive and it's up to Mona to solve this sticky situation.

Over My Dead Husband's Body


Etta Faire - 2018
    She got a dead roommate. The first in the paranormal series The Ghosts of Landover Mysteries. Carly Taylor thought her luck was finally changing. Being broke, divorced, and living in her mother’s basement wasn’t where she thought she’d be at thirty-one. So when her ex suddenly dies and leaves her his family’s Victorian, she can’t sign the paperwork fast enough.That’s when she realizes there’s a catch. And it’s a lying, cheating, annoying one she can’t get rid of.Her ex is haunting the house and wants her to solve his murder case, which Carly figures is the only way to get the jerk to leave once and for all.Through channeling with his ghost, Carly is taken straight to the day her ex was poisoned at a strip club to relive the memory with him moment by moment, take down clues, and figure out what happened.But just like a free house, nothing is ever as easy as it seems, at least not in the strange county of Landover where small-town secrets meet the paranormal. And it’s a toss up about which is weirder.

Deadly Gamble


Connie Shelton - 1995
    Stacy's Rolex watch is missing and she begs Charlie to help locate it before her husband finds out. Things are complicated by the fact that Stacy had been seeing another man, Gary Detweiller, and he's the one she suspects of having stolen the watch. With a little detective work, Charlie and her sidekick dog, Rusty, retrieve the missing watch and all should be well. But three days later, Detweiller is murdered. All eyes turn to Stacy as the prime suspect. Once again, Stacy begs Charlie's help in proving her innocence. As she begins to ask questions, Charlie learns that Detweiller's life was not as simple as first perceived and that any number of people had grievances against him. And before she can pinpoint the killer, her own life is in danger as well. Includes new foreword from the author upon the 20th anniversary of first publication of this ongoing series' first title.

A Dead Man and Doggie Delights


Aleksa Baxter - 2020
    With her faithful Newfie, Miss Fancypants, at her side, Maggie is determined to find the real killer and clear her grandpa's name.Assuming he isn't the actual killer, of course...

A Flair for Chardonnay


Deborah Garner - 2016
    The fourth generation Tremiato Winery promises answers, but not before a dead body turns up at the vintners’ scheduled Harvest Festival. All four Tremiato siblings have possible motives, as well as a few peripheral acquaintances, but only one could be the guilty party. As Sadie juggles truffles, tips and turmoil, she’ll need to sort the grapes from the wrath in order to find the identity of the killer.

Bark Once for Murder


Susie Gayle - 2016
    Business is good, and he’s dating again for the first time since his divorce, but in the course of a single day, Will’s whole life turns upside-down. A corporate giant threatens to destroy his business, his ex-wife decides to move back to town, and worst of all, he discovers a dead body. When Will’s girlfriend is arrested as a suspect, it’s up to Will, with the help of an adorably enthusiastic shelter dog, to uncover the identity of the killer, in a town where just about anyone could be a suspect.

Murder Under the Magnolias


Charmain Zimmerman Brackett - 2016
    After the murder of a young woman with a mysterious tattoo, Grace finds herself in the middle of an investigation and wonders if these parties she's beautifying are actually fronts for something more sinister.

The 13th Fellow


Tracy Whiting - 2015
    AND PROVENCE! American Professor Havilah Gaie has always seen herself as “an academic version of Pam Grier’s characters: smart, quick on their feet, loyal with a keen sense of purpose.” Now she’s got a chance to suit up for action because suddenly she’s a witness in a murder, having spoken with the victim on her phone moments before he was attacked. Against the panoramic backdrop of the Cassis cliffs of Provence, France, the beautiful people of poetry--poets, academics, and patrons of the arts--are assembling at a centennial honoring the founder of the Félibrige Foundation. Finding itself with a surplus of talent, the Foundation has awarded one more than its customary dozen fellowships, but even before the gathering can get underway, the unlucky 13th fellow has fetched up dead. But what's the motive? Professional jealousy? Romantic rivalry? Or something to do with a dark secret about the Félibrige’s founder? Havilah’s at the center of the mystery, and so is Thierry Gasquet, a dashing French agent who doesn't care much for amateur detectives. A specialist in several academic disciplines, fluent in several languages, honored for her academic achievements by the Ordre des Palmes Académiques, and equally appreciated for her accomplishments in filling out a bikini, Havilah is shocked by her colleague’s murder and determined to ferret out the truth. But she’ll have to stay a few steps ahead of Gasquet, who’s been assigned to protect her and avert an international scandal. He’s bossy, but he’s certainly enjoying keeping her in his sights, which isn't easy—she moves pretty fast! The 13th Fellow introduces a uniquely contemporary heroine--a worldly academic female sleuth (fashionable as well!) who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, but who solves her mysteries with a blend of action and zee justly famous leetle gray cells. (As well as a lot of well-placed nosiness.) She’ll appeal to fans of Attica Locke and of African-American sleuths like Charlotte Justice, Talba Wallis, Tamara Hayle, and especially Frankie Bailey’s Professor Lizzie Stuart—not to mention Pam Grier! Those who enjoy international settings will love the Provence setting, and everyone who loves a mystery will appreciate this perfect blend of cozy mystery and action-adventure thriller.