Book picks similar to
Deja Brew by Natalie Summers
paranormal
witches
cozy-mystery
fantasy
A Wild Ghost Chase
Elle Adams - 2020
Her ghost-hunting gift has given her nothing but trouble, and she's decided she's better off living outside of the magical world with her trusty sidekick, Mart.But after she gets fired from her job at the morgue -- turns out the living don't generally appreciate it when the dead try to micromanage their own funerals -- she receives a message from a teen blogger in need of her assistance in getting rid of a troublesome spirit. Broke enough to give ghost-hunting one last shot, she decides to take on the case.The slight problem? Hawkwood Hollow contains more ghosts than living people, and they know something isn't quite right about their visitor. Determined to leave as soon as the ghost is dealt with, Maura lands herself in hot water when she clashes with a local paranormal detective and finds herself suspecting the trouble-making spirit was murdered.Maura's not one to give up without a fight, but it'll take all her skills to outwit the detective and send the ghost packing -- preferably without anyone realising the source of her unique skills.She'll show them a ghost-hunting witch like her might be just what Hawkwood Hollow needs.
The Witching Well
Shelley Dorey - 2021
Totally blind-sided, Shannon, a middle-aged, stay-at-home Mom, is traded in for a newer model.One of the few possessions her cheating EX didn’t swipe from under her nose, was the mountain resort she inherited from her dear Aunt Maeve. With limited funds and bleak job prospects after being out of the workforce for so long, the decrepit resort is a lifeline!What is with the water in the small town in the Catskill Mountains that every guy she meets looks like he stepped off the cover of GQ magazine? But, she’s HAD it with men! Or maybe not…Aunt Maeve’s lifeline comes with an extra feature. Shannon discovers a wishing well in her forest and learns that magic is real. So are witches and their spells. Her aunt Maeve was a witch and now it’s Shannon’s turn.And this discovery catapults her from the mundane. She’s no longer a Spanx-wearing, soccer mom fighting traffic and a mid-life spare tire. Who has time for bitterness when there’s a world of magical witchcraft to learn!But the learning curve is steep.Spells go off the rails. Sometimes you end up turning your best friend into a sex addict. Other times, looking for revenge on your Ex, it boomerangs back to bite you in the ass. She’s learning. Give her a break, okay?While she’s trying to figure this out, a handsome developer with designs on using her land to create a million-dollar subdivision has his eye on her enchanted resort.As if her personal tropical moments, a muffin-top and a bad back aren’t challenging enough, she has to deal with his tricks to sink her. Why does he want her property so bad? Can’t he find someplace else to pillage?Shannon is going to need all the magic that the little wishing well showers on her and then some.Witching Well, book one of the Hex After Forty series, is a story of a woman thrown into the deep end who surfaces, claiming her power. Mid-life, divorce, and trying to stay sane to be a good mother aren’t the end. There’s magic, heart-warming friendship and maybe even love in this roller-coaster ride of life’s next stage. Come along, buckle your seatbelts and get ready for some tears of laughter and joy.
A Dash Of Pepper: A Pepper Grinder Cozy Witch Mystery - Book One
Sam Short - 2019
Wait! Stop right there! That’s not how it’s pronounced! It’s pronounced Grin-der. Grin as in a big cheesy smile, and der as in how dare you mispronounce it! It rhymes with hinder, okay? She’s not a condiment dispenser; she’s a person! It’s easy. Grinder – hinder. Say that ten times, and you’ll have it. So, there’s a new witch in the Derbyshire town of Picklebury, situated in the beautiful region of England known as the Peak District. Her name is Pepper Grinder (that’s it – you’ve got it!), and she’s a dab hand at gardening, without knowing the first thing about plants. Actually, that’s not entirely true - she knows a lot about plants, but not the silly things such as their names, or at what time of the year they’re supposed to flower. No, Pepper knows none of that stuff, but her magic does let her know how a plant is feeling and what it needs to flourish. Such a gift is both a blessing and a curse, and Pepper is quick to find out that the police in Picklebury have a dim view of how she sometimes uses her powers. She’s used to that, though. It’s not the first time she’s had a police warning for sneaking around people’s gardens, and it definitely probably won’t be the last. When she’s not trespassing, or sitting beneath her favourite oak tree in the meadow, Pepper Grinder likes to be alone. She shares her cottage with a cat named Ziggy, and that’s the way she likes it. The fewer people in her life - the better, as far as she’s concerned, so it’s quite unusual when within the space of a day she inadvertently joins a club and takes a small role in a low-budget romantic film about a World War Two Spitfire pilot and his potato picking lover. With things already far more hectic than Pepper is used to, finding a dead body is an additional nuisance she could have done without, especially when she hears through the grapevine that the man’s death may not have been an accident. She can’t tell the police that, though – they’d think she was mad if she told them that her informer was a south-facing, fruit yielding plant, so Pepper must take control and solve the mystery herself, with a little help from members of the club she accidentally joined. With a film director on the hunt for the expensive equipment stolen from his film set, and a strange man skulking around the small canal-side town, Pepper soon realises that moving to Picklebury may have granted her the thatched roof cottage she’d always wanted, but it certainly hadn’t afforded her the peace and quiet she'd craved. A Dash Of Pepper is book number one in The Pepper Grinder Cozy Witch Mystery Series.
Three Dogs in a Row
Neil S. Plakcy - 2017
In IN DOG WE TRUST, Steve Levitan has returned to his hometown of Stewart's Crossing, in picturesque Bucks County, Pennsylvania, after a bad divorce and a brief prison term for computer hacking. While he’s getting his life back together, trying to start a new career in technical writing and reporting regularly to his parole officer, he becomes friendly with his next-door neighbor, Caroline Kelly, and her golden retriever, Rochester. When Caroline is killed, Steve’s high-school pal, the local police detective, asks him to become the dog’s temporary guardian. With canine charm and doggy love, Rochester begins to win Steve over, and these two unlikely sleuths work to uncover the mystery behind Caroline’s death. The second book in the series is THE KINGDOM OF DOG. When his mentor, Joe Dagorian, director of admissions at prestigious Eastern College, is murdered during a fund-raising event, Steve Levitan feels obliged to investigate. He and his golden retriever, Rochester, go nose to the ground to dig up clues, including a bloody knife and some curious photographs. But will Steve’s curiosity and Rochester’s savvy save them when the killer comes calling? It’s almost time for graduation in book three, DOG HELPS THOSE, and Eastern College is in trouble. A prominent alumna is dead, and a faulty computer program is jeopardizing student records and financial aid. It’s up to Steve and Rochester to dig into the situation and retrieve the culprits! Rita Gaines wasn’t a nice person—but she did love her dogs, and most of her clients respected her financial acumen and her talent in training dogs for agility trials. When she’s found dead, there’s a long line of potential suspects from Wall Street whiz kids to doting doggie daddies-- including one of Steve’s former students. Felae is an art prodigy now studying with Steve’s girlfriend, Lili, chair of Eastern’s Fine Arts department, and Rita hated his controversial senior project. When she tried to have his scholarship cancelled, he threatened to kill her. But is he the villain behind her death? In between helping Steve’s high school friend Rick track the killer, Rochester practices darting around weave poles and jumping over limbo poles while Steve helps shepherd the college toward the completion of another academic year. It’s spring in Stewart’s Crossing, and old friends – and their dogs—gather together to investigate and eventually, to celebrate.
Downward Death
Stella Bixby - 2021
Sure, she doesn't have friends, family, or a steady job. But she does have her pet pig, Penelope, and her VW Microbus, Mona.If only she could get her hair under control. Some might call it magic, Ellie just calls it annoying.Mad, sad, happy, or scared—it always starts the same way: with a little tingle. That's when she knows her hair is about to go berserk. Whether it pulls itself into curls, turns bright purple, or goes completely limp is beyond her control.But when she gets a letter from her newly departed grandmother telling her she inherited a farm, she knows it's time to get a handle on the hair situation. Especially, if she wants to find out why her mother left her at a fire station all those years ago.Cliff Haven, Iowa is the perfect small town. Friendly people, warm smiles, and almost no crime.Until Ellie shows up.When she finds a dead body in her cornfield, the entire town seems to think she did it. Will she be run out of town? Will her big hairy secret come out? Or will she be able to solve the crime and learn more about her family?Meet Ellie in this first installment of the Magical Mane Mystery Series!
Mysterious Merchandise
Astoria Wright - 2020
The sign reads “Magic Row,” and the stores have names like “Spellbinders” and “A Witch’s Thrift Shop.” Most intriguing (and terrifying!) of all is the dead body Alice finds behind a dumpster. She’s seen enough of the world to know that if she doesn’t stand up for the teen wizard orphan accused of the murder, no one will help prove his innocence. But, stepping into the Magic Row community means posing as a witch, and being found out means facing a hex so terrible only a rare person would risk it. Will Alice’s choice become the biggest mistake of her life or the best discovery of her lifetime?
Ink Witch
Lindsey Sparks (Fairleigh) - 2016
Three years ago, the gods abandoned us. We've been alone ever since. Kat Dubois is immortal, and she’s retired. She’s long since hung up her sword and left assassinating immortals to someone else... anyone else. She’s now a hard drinking, sass-flinging Seattle tattoo artist with the innate ability to read people’s fortunes using her charmed deck of tarot cards. Her days of bloodshed are over, and she has nothing but time — an eternity, in fact — to hide from her past. Until someone from her past shows up on her doorstep with news that her beloved older brother and mentor, Dominic, has gone missing. Kat may be the only person with the right skills — and access to the right magic — to track him down. She must confront her past if she’s to have any chance of finding and saving her brother. She must fight her demons. She must embrace the power within her. She must become the Ink Witch. MORE BOOKS IN THE ECHO WORLD: ECHO TRILOGY Echo in Time Resonance (an Echo Trilogy novella) Time Anomaly Dissonance (an Echo Trilogy novella) Ricochet Through Time
The Vine Witch
Luanne G. Smith - 2019
Then the skill of divining harvests fell into ruin when sorcière Elena Boureanu was blindsided by a curse. Now, after breaking the spell that confined her to the shallows of a marshland and weakened her magic, Elena is struggling to return to her former life. And the vineyard she was destined to inherit is now in the possession of a handsome stranger.Vigneron Jean-Paul Martel naively favors science over superstition, and he certainly doesn’t endorse the locals’ belief in witches. But Elena knows a hex when she sees one, and the vineyard is covered in them. To stay on and help the vines recover, she’ll have to hide her true identity, along with her plans for revenge against whoever stole seven winters of her life. And she won’t rest until she can defy the evil powers that are still a threat to herself, Jean-Paul, and the ancient vine-witch legacy in the rolling hills of the Chanceaux Valley.
Missed Connections: A Riveting Mystery- Book 1
Alexandria Clarke - 2018
She can’t make a break in her case without exposing the truth about her complicated friendship with the killer or give her boss enough information to keep him satisfied with her progress. Meanwhile, Veronica finds herself leading a double life as a woman named Virginia Burton. She ventures out in full view of the entire city, relying on her alter ego to protect her from notice. The two women are bound to run into each other again, but what will happen when they do?
A Throwback Witch
Holly Ice - 2020
Maybe magic. Not monsters.In an Edinburgh graveyard on Halloween, Bianca Nash is waiting for a monster to strike a deathblow. Instead, strange men appear, desperate for her to stick around.Within days she’s forced on a plane to Latvia – and magic school. But her first student welcome comes with a glare. What does devastatingly handsome bad boy Shane McKee have against throwback witches like her?The deeper Bianca gets into life at Wildes Witch Academy, the more questions she has – and the more she has to hide. This school is swimming in secrets, but who can she trust to help her find the truth?A Throwback Witch is the first book in a brand-new urban fantasy series featuring a strong, snappy heroine, a tattooed and deliciously bad-for-you hero, and serious romantic tension.Click now to join Bianca on her whirlwind introduction to magic and the infuriating Shane McKee.
Familiar Spirits
Sara Christene - 2020
Adelaide O’Shea runs the Toasty Bean, imbuing her coffee and tea with warm, cozy magic. When a black cat crosses her path, she worries her new pet might be unlucky, and her suspicions are confirmed when the next thing in her path is a dead man with her phone number in his pocket.And the cops aren’t the only ones breathing down her neck over it. There’s an old, dark magic in town, and it has its sights set on Addy. With the help of her two witch sisters, a handsome detective, and a charming veterinarian, can Addy solve the murder and escape the darkness? Or will she and her new spooky pet have to turn tail and run?
Dragons are a Girl's Best Friend
Joynell Schultz - 2019
On the inside? She’s something else completely. Magic runs through her veins, tempting her to use it, but Ruby isn’t sure how to control her new powers…until Ty, a dangerously handsome man from another world, spots her and identifies her as a witch. He offers some answers, but they come with a cost. Not only does using her powers make her a target to others trying to steal her magic and slay her pet dragon, but each act of magic must be balanced—and magic takes whatever it wants. Is all the chaos caused by casting a few spells to ruin her ex-boyfriend’s perfect skin worth it? Heck yeah. You’ll love this new adult urban fantasy series because it has everything you want to read about: magic, witches, dragons, romance, and a bit of good old-fashioned mischief.
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Books in the Series: Dragons are a Girl’s Best Friend, Quarter Witch Chronicles Book 1 While the Dragon’s Away, Quarter Witch Chronicles Book 2 A Good Dragon is Hard to Find, Quarter Witch Chronicles Book 3
School for Reluctant Witches
Auburn Tempest - 2019
Mystere LeJeune isn't only a witch--she's THE witch. Her family's magick roots weave deep into the rich soil and boggy swamps of the New Orleans paranormal community. It's no surprise that the LeJeune Book of Shadows is coveted by many--even those stupid enough to try to take it from her.
Lost Souls ParaAgency and the Three Witches of Burberry
K.M. Waller - 2018
The Assignment—stop witches from creating magical chaos in the small town of Burberry, South Carolina. There’s no dead body… yet. And there won’t be if Lex Dimas takes this assignment. Forced to take on the occasional paranormal case by his manipulative grandfather, he’d prefer to spend his days striking deals in the boardroom. Instead, he’s stuck in small town Burberry searching out witches who intend to harm the unsuspecting townspeople. Only, he doesn’t come upon a group of hateful witches—instead he finds a sweeter-than-peach-pie tea shop owner who wouldn’t harm anyone. Amira Walker and her two sisters come from a long line of witches who harness the power of emotional manipulation. But the Walker girls aren’t interested in fulfilling their witchy destinies, much to the chagrin of their three powerful aunts. When Lex shows up, Amira mistakenly believes he's spelled by the aunts in a love match attempt. To her mixed delight and disappointment, she discovers he’s there to apprehend a paranormal villain. As Burberry becomes a hotbed of magical activity, Lex is sure Amira’s youngest sister is to blame. It’ll be up to Amira to prove her sister’s innocence and help Lex find the true culprit. Can they survive malicious witchcraft and come together as a paranormal investigative team before it’s too late?
Witch Doggone Killer?
Paula Lester - 2020
Winter lasts for up to nine months there, and the biggest event of the year is the summer dog show. People come from all over to attend. It brings money and prestige to town.But when Willow’s landlord is poisoned to death, she quickly finds herself in a tricky situation. People are canceling their appointments, afraid when they learn someone was murdered in her clinic. And one of her employees is acting super strange.Then she’s asked to take over the dead man’s spot as a dog show judge, and she gets even more nervous. After all, she’s the town veterinarian, so is it even okay for her to be a judge? And, oh yeah, she’s a witch who can talk to animals, but only her elderly aunt is in the know on that point.Before long, Willow is in way over her head. She has to learn the rules for judging the dog show, save her business from financial ruin, and juggle a couple of potential love interests.But that’s not the worst of it. Willow is pretty sure she may be on the short list for the killer’s next victim. Now, she’s racing the clock to catch the murderer and finds herself having to choose between revealing her secret and possibly losing her life.