Book picks similar to
Dead Girls Don't Blog by Pamela Frost Dennis


mystery
cozy-mystery
cozy-mysteries
first-reads

Trust No One


Debra Webb - 2020
    She’s locked in a bitter struggle with her ex-husband and teenage daughter, and her reckless new partner is anything but trustworthy.Still, she has a job to do: there’s a killer at large, and a pregnant woman has gone missing. Once Devlin and her partner get to work, they quickly unearth secrets involving Birmingham’s most esteemed citizens. Each new layer of the investigation brings Devlin closer to the killer and the missing woman, who starts looking more like a suspect than a victim.But just as answers come into view, the case twists, expands, and slithers into Devlin’s personal life. There’s a much more sinister game at work, one she doesn’t even know she’s playing—and she must unravel the truth once and for all to stop the killer before she loses everything.

Sex, Murder & Killer Cupcakes


Allison Janda - 2014
    Most days, she can’t even control her hair. But when the star of Marian’s racy, underground magazine turns up dead and the police are convinced she’s the guilty party, it’s up to Marian to find out who really did it before it’s too late. While danger isn’t exactly her middle name, there’s plenty to go around, especially when Marian begins to suspect that her long-time man crush is behind it all. Amazon top 100 Best Seller Amazon #2 Women Sleuth Best Seller Amazon #2 Mystery Best Seller

Caught Dead Handed


Carol J. Perry - 2014
    This October she's returned to her hometown--where her beloved Aunt Ibby still lives--to interview for a job as a reporter at WICH-TV. But the only opening is for a call-in psychic to host the late night horror movies. It seems the previous host, Ariel Constellation, never saw her own murder coming. Lee reluctantly takes the job, but when she starts seeing real events in the obsidian ball she's using as a prop, she wonders if she might really have psychic abilities. To make things even spookier, it's starting to look like Ariel may have been an actual practicing witch--especially when O'Ryan, the cat Lee and Aunt Ibby inherited from her, exhibits some strange powers of his own. With Halloween fast approaching, Lee must focus on unmasking a killer--or her career as a psychic may be very short lived. . .

Resort to Homicide: A Merrifield Mystery Novella


Christine Chianti - 2016
    Giving in to her brother's request, she goes to visit his new island resort during a special weekend for the investors. Spending time at Rim Runners should have been the perfect prescription to help rebuild her life, but the mood at the resort is like the weather-stormy. As hurricane Anna cuts them off from the mainland, tempers flare resulting in threats and sabotage. When the body of one of the guests is found, Laura is forced to rely on her training to find the killer before the storm lets up and they can slip away.

Deadly Summer


Denise Grover Swank - 2018
    Since then, she’s hit—what gossip sites just love to call—the gutter. Nearly bankrupt, betrayed, estranged from her greedy mother, and just about unemployable, she’s coaxed into that desperate haven for has-beens: reality TV. Winging it as a faux PI, she’ll solve off-the-cuff mysteries in her hometown of Sweet Briar, Alabama. For added drama, there’s police chief Luke Montgomery, inconveniently Summer’s first and only love. It’s when Summer stumbles upon a very real corpse that Darling Investigations takes an unexpected twist. The growing list of suspects is a big draw to viewers, but the reality is that Summer doesn’t know whom she can trust. Someone has written this killer new scene especially for her, and unless Summer gives the role everything she’s got, it could be her last…

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.

Cold Waters


Debbie Herbert - 2019
    After a summer-night swim with her best friend, Ainsley, Violet is found confused, wandering in the forest—and Ainsley’s never seen again. But without a body, murder charges won’t stick, so Violet is sent away.After more than a decade in a psychiatric ward, Violet returns to her broken-down hometown of Normal, Alabama, to claim her dead mother’s inheritance and help her overworked sister care for their unstable, alcoholic father. Violet, still haunted by that night eleven years ago, endures horrific flashbacks and twisted hallucinations while townsfolk spit accusations—and for all she knows, they’re right.As the summer heats up, details of Ainsley’s fate appear like a beast’s wild eyes, watching in the darkness, and grim revelations about Violet’s family threaten to devour her. Already on the edge of madness, Violet must fight to keep her sanity long enough for the terrible truth to burst from the cold, dark waters.

Rise and Die


Ginny Gold - 2014
    For two years, she’s been the sole breakfast spot in town so when culinary rival, Tessa Doyle, moves to the small town, Kori can’t help but think she’s just there to compete. Suddenly, Tessa’s Sunrise and Shine café is under attack, with a rock through the window on Monday morning. Kori knows she’s innocent, but still doesn’t feel much empathy for her breakfast nemesis. But when Kori gets arrested and grilled by Detective Gunn and childhood friend Lieutenant Zach Gulch, she can’t help but wonder if she’s the new target. And when things escalate to Tessa’s murder, Kori comes under more scrutiny. Will she and best friend Nora Farmer be able to crack the case before she’s on the receiving end of a deadly dish? Or is she in more danger than she realizes and should skip town to avoid the heated investigation? INCLUDED: In The Kitchen with Ginny Gold—Goat Cheese Omelets and The Early Bird Café’s menu! **Rise and Die is approx. 28K words and is volume 1 in the The Early Bird Café Cozy Mystery Series.

Double Whammy


Gretchen Archer - 2013
    But once there, she runs straight into her ex-ex husband, a rigged slot machine, her evil twin, and a trail of dead bodies. Davis learns the truth and it does not set her free—in fact, it lands her in the pokey. Buried under a mistaken identity, her hot streak runs cold until her landlord Bradley Cole steps in. Make that her landlord, lawyer, and love interest. With his help, Davis must win this high stakes game before her luck runs out.

One Deadly Sister


Rod Hoisington - 2009
    She doesn't need this. She's holding an old grudge and resents having her life interrupted. The brother doesn't come looking for trouble, he simply wants to get past his Philadelphia divorce and start a new life in Florida, but woman-trouble comes looking for him. Unfortunately, he arrives in the small Florida ocean side town just as someone murders the local gubernatorial candidate. The brother doesn't have a clue about women and gets seduced and framed. The brother hasn't bothered with his estranged sister up north for years, but now as a stranger in a hostile town she's his only hope. She reluctantly decides to at least check out her brother's predicament in Florida. This small step leads the sister into an ever-increasing entanglement of deceit, double-cross, and danger, and she must somehow persuade the irresistible investigating detective to play things her way. ONE DEADLY SISTER is the first book in this popular women sleuth mystery romance series. Followed by THE PRICE OF CANDY, SUCH WICKED FRIENDS, CHASING SUSPECT THREE, ALIVE AFTER FRIDAY and INTO THE HEAT.

It's Just a Little Crush


Caroline Fardig - 2013
    Residents are stunned when the body of a young woman is found strangled, and reporters at the Liberty Chronicle are thrilled, rather disturbingly, over the biggest news story to hit town this century. Lizzie Hart has even bigger problems. Lately, she can’t seem to concentrate on her job as copy editor at the Chronicle with the new hunky investigative reporter, Blake Morgan, swaggering around the office. How can a girl work when she’s using all of her energy combating Blake-induced hot flashes and struggling to repress the giggly inner schoolgirl that’s constantly rearing her dorky head? It’s a good thing that Blake barely knows Lizzie exists. After an odd string of events, however, Lizzie begins to wonder if Blake is really as fabulous as she has fantasized. When Lizzie and Blake find a co-worker dead, Blake’s personality changes completely—and not in a good way. Even though the police rule the death as an accident, Lizzie immediately suspects foul play and senses a connection to the recent murder. She is determined to bring the killer to justice, but is having some trouble getting her Nancy Drew on thanks to the pesky stalker she’s picked up—Blake Morgan. Wait, didn’t she want him to follow her around and pay attention to her? Not like this. Blake has turned from cool and smooth to cold and downright scary, making Lizzie wonder if he should be next on her suspect list.

Murder in the South of France


Susan Kiernan-Lewis - 2011
    Along the way, she finds handsome Laurent Dernier, a sexy if nefarious Frenchman who it's not clear is there to help or hinder Maggie's search for the girl. Meanwhile, her sister's murderer sets his sights on the little girl — and Maggie.The first book of the Maggie Newberry Mystery Series, Murder in the South of France was originally titled Murder on the Côte d’Azur.

Up in Smoke


Shannon VanBergen - 2017
    Geraldine is her quirky grandmother. Mix in a bunch of gun-toting grannies, an outrageous retirement home, and an unsolved mystery and there's bound to be some excitement. Follow along as Nikki and the cast of retirement home vigilantes work to solve the mystery before everything goes up in smoke. Specially priced at $0.99 for a limited time only Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited Up in Smoke is part of the Glock Grannies Cozy Mystery series. If you like fun cozy mysteries and outrageous characters, you are going to love Up in Smoke. Buy Up in Smoke and start solving your next mystery today! Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Fields' Guide to Abduction


Julie Mulhern - 2018
    After all, what's better than the beach when a girl is feeling blue? When Poppy is abducted, she'll need all her smarts, all her charm, and a killer Chihuahua, to save herself in this new series from the USA TODAY bestselling author of The Country Club Murders. Dead body #1 found in bed, with me. That was a shock.
 Dead body #2 found in bed, not with me. That was a relief. 
Dead body #3 died telling me I’m a lousy actress. I already knew that.
 Dead body #4 died trying to kill me.
 Dead body #5 died kidnapping me.
 Dead body #6 died guarding me.
 Dead body #7 was a really bad man.
 Dead body #8 was an even worse man. That's a lot of dead bodies for a girl looking for a week's relaxation in Cabo. And, I’m probably leaving a few out—math isn’t my thing. Unless I can escape the cartel, I might be the next dead body. “Poppy Fields is in a tough spot. People are dying at a statistically significant rate after interacting with her, starting with her ex-boyfriend. Now a drug cartel is chasing her, the police have taken her passport, and that beach vacation where she was supposed to chill out has turned into a nightmare. Action, humor, great characters, and an intriguing mystery, Mulhern has packed a lot into this excellent mystery. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy!” ~ Julie Moffett, USA TODAY bestselling author of the Lexi Carmichael Mysteries "The best book I've read this year!" ~ Gretchen Archer, USA TODAY bestselling author of the Davis Way Crime Capers

River Bodies


Karen Katchur - 2018
    The crime is eerily similar to a twenty-year-old cold case: another victim, brutally murdered, found in the Delaware River. Lead detective Parker Reed is intent on connecting the two murders, but the locals are on lockdown, revealing nothing.The past meets the present when Becca Kingsley, who returns to Portland to be with her estranged but dying father, runs into Parker, her childhood love. As the daughter of the former police chief, Becca's quickly drawn into the case. Coming home has brought something ominous to the surface - memories long buried, secrets best kept hidden. Becca starts questioning all her past relationships, including one with a man who's watched over her for years. For the first time, she wonders if he's more predator than protector.In a small town where darkness hides in plain sight, the truth could change Becca's life - or end it.