Book picks similar to
Secret of the Season by Shawn McGuire
mystery
christmas
short
witches
Bloodshed in the Bayou
Leslie Langtry - 2015
Life is good until the father who abandoned her as an infant turns up dead in the swamp. Who else can help her but Ida Belle, Gertie and Fortune? And they've got their work cut out for them as they try to solve two mysteries - who Hugo Ancelet really was, and who killed him?
Peace on Earth: An Irma Saves Christmas Novella
Maia Ross - 2019
Surrounded by seasonal joy - and way too many stuffed Yuletide beavers - at the island house her family has owned for generations, she's all set for the perfect holiday.But when a young friend asks for help with figuring out a financial snafu, her perfect day is in jeopardy. Can Irma - a woman with a yen for strong tea, cardio, and a well-oiled gun - find a thief before the festive season kicks off, or will Christmas be ruined?Peace on Earth is a 30,000 word holiday novella, and is the first book in the forthcoming Beaver Island Mystery series.
Silver Hollow Cozy Mysteries Box Set, #1-3
Leighann Dobbs - 2019
Welcome to the small town of Silver Hollow with its bewitching magic and twisty mysteries. Follow the Quinn cousins, Issy, Gray, Ember and Raine and their quirky familiars as they become embroiled in one paranormal mystery after another. If you like enchanting witches, snarky familiars and hard-to-solve mysteries in a quaint small town setting, then this box-set is a must read. This set includes the first 3 books in the series: Book 1: A Spell of Trouble Book 2: Spell Disaster Book 3: Nothing to Croak About
The Window
Kevin Wignall - 2012
The job is simple, to kill a man and get out of town immediately. Why would he stay? He hates Christmas, and hanging around after the crime could be dangerous, but a stranger's compassion forces him to question everything he's always believed, tempting him to stay just another day longer... First published in the Christmas edition of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (Jan, 2004), this story was subsequently reviewed in Mystery Scene, which described it as "bordering on the magnificent". (Please note - this is a short story of approximately 45 Kindle pages.)
A Likely Story
Donald E. Westlake - 1984
(Or maybe Mary will find a fella of her own who can start contributing to the support.)So Tom's surefire bestseller, The Christmas Book is begun, and Tom's troubles begin. His editor quits, Ginger doesn't want to get married, Mary won't give him a divorce, his new editor announces she's pregnant (and quits), the woman in an iron lung enters his life, and a third editor begins work on the book. Then things really get complicated.
Shattered Spirits (The Jeff Resnick Mysteries Book 7)
L.L. Bartlett - 2016
He loses his job to a replacement, his girlfriend pressures him to move in, his bank accounts are hacked, and a restless spirit begs for his help—all in less than a week. But it’s soon apparent that his so-called random accident is anything but, and the murder of a close friend has a hobbled Jeff on the run. Can he discover who’s out to destroy his life—and threaten those he loves most?
Mistletoe Malarkey
Stella Bixby - 2021
They practically live together. Now, Shayla's meeting his family for Christmas.In Ireland. Seamus is a park ranger, shares an apartment with three other guys, and drives a beat up pickup truck. How would Shayla have known he was practically Irish royalty? When they arrive at the airport and are bombarded by camera flashes, Shayla's insecurities move closer and closer to the surface. An old girlfriend, a creepy uncle, and an entire town are on hand for a getting-to-know-you dinner party. Everything is going well until someone ends up dead.The guarda want Shayla to stay out of it. She may be a police officer in the United States, but she has no jurisdiction in Ireland. Too bad, she can't seem to keep from stumbling onto clues everywhere she goes. Cozy up with this fun Christmas mystery this holiday season.
Witch Myth: A Yew Hollow Christmas- Book 1
Alexandria Clarke - 2018
With help of her two best friends and her cousin Morgan, Noelle discovers that an evil witch has plans to abduct all of the kids in town. Can she find her student in time to save him and the rest of Yew Hollow’s children?
Cozy Christmas Shorts
Gemma HallidayJanel Gradowski - 2016
**The authors are donating a portion of proceeds from this collection to Toys for Tots!** This LIMITED TIME collection includes the holiday short stories from some of our most popular series: Baby It's Cold Outside (Tahoe Tessie Mysteries) by Gemma Halliday & T. Sue VerSteeg Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas (Greatest Hits Mysteries) by Leslie Langtry Sleighed at Castle Rock (Amelia Grace Rock 'n' Roll Mysteries) by Anne Marie Stoddard The Blonde Before Christmas (Barb Jackson Mysteries) by Anna Snow Rosolio Red (Franki Amato Mysteries) by Traci Andrighetti Christmas Al Dente (Southern Pasta Shop Mysteries) by Jennifer L. Hart Ornamental Danger (Working Stiff Mysteries) by Kerri Nelson Christmas Canapés & Sabotage (Culinary Competition Mysteries) by Janel Gradowski A (Gingerbread) Diorama of Death (Helen Binney Mysteries) by Gin Jones Motion for Mistletoe (Jamie Winters Mysteries) by Kelly Rey Christmas, Spies & Dead Guys (Gianna Mancini Mysteries) by Jennifer Fischetto
Bloodlust Blonde
Steve Higgs - 2019
Oh, and she’s a boy. When a name from her past suddenly surfaces, Jane knows that she is the only one that could solve the case. With the detectives unavailable and a tearfully desperate client, there is no choice but to pretend she knows what she is doing and answer the cry for help, but is she really dressed for fighting vampires? Her client has a time-sensitive problem – she was bitten by a vampire last night and swears she can feel her canines growing. With no time to lose and a boyfriend at home making dinner, Jane begins a race against time to save the client and stop the transformation, but does the client even know what she wants? Cross-dressing isn’t always glamorous. This book is part is a long-running series that follows the cases undertaken by the Blue Moon Investigation agency. The stories do not contain cussing or graphic descriptions of sex or violence but do allude to both. There is nothing R rated but I would not let my nine-year-old niece read them.
Slip and Go Die
Sharon Rose - 2012
A terrible accident say the local police. But why did Beulah leave her cabin without a coat? It was thirty below in Parson's Cove. Someone must have forced her, amateur sleuth, Mabel Wickles suggests to her friend, Flori. Nobody seems to know anything, and Mabel is becoming frustrated.When Mabel witnesses some strange goings-on one night in the vacant house next door, she perks up. A person or persons unknown appear to be using the empty house for nefarious purposes. Could they be connected to Beulah's death? Mabel suspects they might and she sets out to investigate.But Mabel should be cautious. One unsuspecting resident of Parson's Cove has already slipped and died. She might be next.
Naughty: Nine Tales of Christmas Crime
Steve Hockensmith - 2010
But that doesn't mean the people celebrating it are always so nice. Criminals get the Christmas spirit, too!In this collection of hilarious short stories, you'll see what the thieves, killers, psychos and scumbags are up to come the holidays...and it's not caroling door to door. Well, not unless they're casing the neighborhood for a break-in, as a rag-tag gang does in the title story. You'll also meet a mall elf menaced by a very, very bad Santa (in "I Killed Santa Claus"), a London police inspector hunting for the man who murdered Ebenezer Scrooge (in "Humbug"), a trucker out to save his shipment of Cabbage Patch Dolls from bumbling hijackers (in "Special Delivery") and many more characters you'll never forget.Originally published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, these nine tales from award-winning short story master Steve Hockensmith (Holmes on the Range, Dreadfully Ever After) are sure to have you ho-ho-hoing from the first page to the last.
Greensmith Girls
Raven Snow - 2016
It’s an insular community and home to a lot of strange happenings. It’s also home to the Greensmith family. Rumor has it that they’re a family of witches. The rumors are right. Rowen Greensmith moved away to escape her crazy family. She has her own place and a job in tabloid journalism. Things aren’t perfect, but she’s hopeful they’ll improve. When Rowen’s Aunt Lydia calls her with news of a murder, all of that is turned on its head. During the annual Greensmith family yard sale, Rowen’s Aunt Nadine sold a chest that turned out to have a dead body in it. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the woman she sold it to has now turned up dead! It’s a juicy story, and once Rowen’s boss catches wind of it, Rowen is put on the case. Now Rowen is thrown back into the life she tried to escape. Everyone in the town of Lainswich remembers her, even the ones she rather wishes didn’t. The only total stranger is a handsome businessman who’s new to town. Unfortunately, he has motives all his own. If Rowen wants to save her family, she’s going to have to solve not one but two murders. First, though, she’s going to have to deal with the police, suspicious locals, and her crazy family. Knowing Lainswich, there’s a decent chance she’s going to have to deal with quite a bit of the supernatural as well. Rowen is about to be thrown into one of the most hectic weekends of her life. She’ll be lucky if she can make it out in one piece. The theme of this book is a Supernatural/Paranormal Witch Themed Cozy Mystery. It is a Novel, approx. 40,000 words in length which will typically take the average reader about two hours to read. It is the first volume of the Lainswich Witches Mystery Series. This book is a standalone, reading further volumes is not required to resolve or enjoy the book. Romance is clean.
Blood of Half Gods: Kallen's Tale
Bonnie Lamer - 2013
Kallen is forced to do a lot of that nowadays. He waited for Xandra while she ran off to fight the Witches on her own. He waited for her to return from the Shadow Realm where he could not follow her. And more times than he can count, he has waited for her to regain consciousness.This time is different. This time, she may be gone forever. She has disappeared without a trace and he has no idea how to get her back. ***** Reader Message *****Blood of Half Gods: Kallen’s Tale is meant to be read after Blood of Half Gods. This is a companion book that gives the reader a look into Kallen’s mind as he and Xandra travel to the land of the Giants. In an effort to avoid as much redundancy as possible, I have condensed some scenes, focusing less on Xandra and more on Kallen. This could cause confusion if this book is read before Blood of Half Gods.I hope you enjoy this look into Kallen’s world.
Witches in Wonderland (Wicked in Moonhaven #3)
J.D. Winters - 2017
In the meantime, they’re each working to clean up the strange town of Moonhaven with its Alice in Wonderland themes and its oddball inhabitants, trying to solve a few murders and find out what happened to Haley’s missing family. If only Haley’s grandmother—the one who brought her back from the dead—wouldn’t always seem to be the guilty party. Just what is she planning, anyway? A Mad Hatter's game of Musical Chairs?