If Looks Could Kill


Kate White - 2002
    Smart and savvy, she's got a sixth sense when it comes to seeing the truth in a story-especially if it's murder. Bailey's in bed with her commitment-challenged lover K.C. when she gets a frantic call from her high-maintenance boss at Gloss magazine. Grabbing coffee and a cab outside her Greenwich Village apartment-the consolation prize in her divorce settlement-Bailey reluctantly heads uptown. At Cat Jones's Upper East Side town house, she finds something that seriously clashes with the chic décor: the dead body of the family's live-in nanny. As Bailey-unofficially-delves into the murdered girl's past, she finds no shortage of A-list suspects. But when a startling discovery suggests that Cat may have been the intended victim, Bailey is suddenly up to her bed head in high-profile investigation that's perfect fodder for a tabloid headline: Is someone trying to kill the editor's of women's magazines? With the spotlight on New York's glitzy media world, Bailey interviews back-stabbing editors, straying husbands, and one sexy, six-feet two psychologist who could make her decide to kick K.C. to the curb. Sporting her pair of red slingbacks and armed with the investigative skills she's honed as a true crime reporter, she sets out on a search that takes her from Manhattan's exclusive Carnegie-Hill area-the nanny heartland of America-to the ritzy weekend estates of Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Bailey will need all her street smarts and some lightning-fast detective work to catch a killer who could end up deleting her name from the masthead for good.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder


Joanne Fluke - 2000
    And it all began on these pages, with a bakery, a murder, and some suddenly scandalous chocolate-chip crunchies. Featuring a bonus short story and brand new, mouthwatering recipes, this limited edition of the very first Hannah Swensen mystery is sure to have readers coming back for seconds.Hannah Swenson already has her hands full trying to dodge her mother's attempts to marry her off while running The Cookie Jar, Lake Eden, Minnesota's most popular bakery. But once Ron LaSalle, the beloved delivery man from the Cozy Cow Dairy, is found murdered behind her bakery with Hannah's famous Chocolate Chip Crunchies scattered around him, her life just can't get any worse. Determined not to let her cookies get a bad reputation, she sets out to track down a killer. Who would have the sheer audacity and the motive to kill the most punctual delivery man Hannah ever had? Topping the list is the high school football coach. What exactly was his wife doing, making the rounds with the milkman? Could Max Turner, owner of Cozy Cow Dairy, have had a secret he didn't want to share with his top employee? The more Hannah snoops, the more suspects turn up. Why has Lake Eden's most prominent prodigal son, Benton Woodley, just resurfaced? And what about the mysterious Mr. Harris who seemed interested in buying the property next to the dairy, but then disappeared? This is one murder that's starting to leave a very bad taste in Hannah's mouth. And if she doesn't watch her back, Hannah's sweet life may get burned to a crisp.Filled with a healthy sprinkling of humor and a delightful assortment of nuts, CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE MURDER serves up a great new mystery series and introduces a delicious, down-home sleuth that mystery readers will surely savor for years to come.

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.

Death by Dumpling


Vivien Chien - 2018
    . .The last place Lana Lee thought she would ever end up is back at her family’s restaurant. But after a brutal break-up and a dramatic workplace walk-out, she figures that a return to the Cleveland area to help wait tables is her best option for putting her life back together. Even if that means having to put up with her mother, who is dead-set on finding her a husband.Lana’s love life soon becomes yesterday’s news once the restaurant’s property manager, Mr. Feng, turns up dead―after a delivery of shrimp dumplings from Ho-Lee. But how could this have happened when everyone on staff knew about Mr. Feng’s severe, life-threatening shellfish allergy? Now, with the whole restaurant under suspicion for murder and the local media in a feeding frenzy―to say nothing of the gorgeous police detective who keeps turning up for take-out―it’s up to Lana to find out who is behind Feng’s killer order. . . before her own number is up.

A Tough Case to Crack


Cindy Bell - 2016
     Kerri Gale is getting ready for the grand opening of her nut shop, ‘Nuts about Nuts’, in the small town of Cascade Grove. She is new to the area and is enjoying setting up home with her Yorkshire Terrier, Cashew, and spending time with her new friend, Natalie. But when possible evidence from the murder of the previous shop owner is found in the shop, Kerri finds herself right in the middle of a murder investigation. A handsome reporter, Steve, is writing an article about the murder, but can Kerri rely on him? Then her grandfather, who she hasn’t seen in ages, turns up out of the blue and is being very secretive. During the chaos Kerri has to try to juggle everything so she can find the murderer and her shop can open on time. Can she trust Steve or is he just using her for a story? Can she trust her grandfather or is his sudden arrival not a coincidence? Will Kerri solve the murder? Or is Natalie right and ghosts are to blame? Recipes for Toasted Pecan Cookies and Maple Nut Pie are included!

Who Murdered Mr. Malone?


Hope Callaghan - 2014
    Nothing that is, until a body was found in the woods behind the local elementary school. With the entire town in an uproar, "Garden Girl" Gloria Rutherford makes it her personal mission to find the killer or killers and solve the mystery with some help from her friends. With a little amateur detective work, Gloria is able to uncover enough clues that point right to the murderer. She's about to discover, however, things aren't always as clear cut as they would appear.

Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse


Harper Lin - 2015
    She spends her days making delicious artisan cappuccinos, until she stumbles upon her neighbor’s dead body. When the police discover Mr. Cardosi was poisoned, Francesca becomes a suspect. The victim’s son, Matty, happens to be Francesca’s old high school friend. Together, they uncover the secrets of the locals in order to find the killer in their idyllic beach town. Includes two special cupcake recipes!

Murder in Cottonwood Springs


Dianne Harman - 2018
    You can read all of them with Kindle Unlimited.Sheriff Rich got the call every lawman dreads - a relative's murder. And it's even worse when it's your sister. Brigid moved back to Cottonwood Springs to be with friends and family when her marriage and her publishing company both ended. When her best friend's murdered, she's determined to find the killer.A new romance and an adopted big Newfoundland are pretty comforting at times like these.Recipes included!

Guidebook to Murder


Lynn Cahoon - 2014
    So why is she caught up in the business of murder?When Jill's elderly friend, Miss Emily, calls in a fit of pique, she already knows the city council is trying to force Emily to sell her dilapidated old house. But Emily's gumption goes for naught when she dies unexpectedly and leaves the house to Jill—along with all of her problems. . .and her enemies. Convinced her friend was murdered, Jill is finding the list of suspects longer than the list of repairs needed on the house. But Jill is determined to uncover the culprit—especially if it gets her closer to South Cove's finest, Detective Greg King. Problem is, the killer knows she's on the case—and is determined to close the book on Jill permanently. . .

Shakespeare's Landlord


Charlaine Harris - 1996
    Lily Bard came to the small town of Shakespeare to escape her dark and violent past. Other than the day-to-day workings of her cleaning and errand-running service, she pays little attention to the town around her. So when she spots a dead body being dumped in the town green, she's inclined to stay well away. But she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and despite her best efforts, she's dragged into the murder case. Lily doesn't care who did it, but when the police and local community start pointing fingers in her direction, she realizes that proving her innocence will depend on finding the real killer in quiet, secretive Shakespeare.Shakespeare's Landlord is the first book in Charlaine Harris's Lily Bard mysterious series.

Off Kilter


Hannah Reed - 2014
    At the urging of her best friend, bestselling author Ami Pederson, Eden decides to embark on an open-ended trip to the picturesque village of Glenkillen in the Scottish Highlands, to do some hands-on research for a book of her own. But almost as soon as Eden arrives in the quaint town, she gets caught up in a very real drama… The town’s sheep shearer is found murdered—clipped with his own shears—and the locals suspect Vicki MacBride, an outsider whose father’s recent death left her the surprise heir to his lucrative sheep farm. Eden refuses to believe the affable heiress is a murderer, but can she prove that someone is out to frame her new friend before she finds herself on the receiving end of more shear terror?

Mastiffs, Mystery, and Murder


Sandra Baublitz - 2017
    Not dead bodies. Clarissa’s boyfriend is tracking a suspect in the death of a dog fancier. It’s up to Clarissa and Paw to provide him cover as they compete in the show. But the competition turns deadly when another dog owner is murdered. Are the deaths connected? Clarissa and Paw must sniff out the clues to solve the crime before the killer collars them. Will Best in Show become Best in Death?

Smugglers & Scones


Morgan C. Talbot - 2017
    Raymond Moore. Guests come there to write their own crime novels. When a real-life murder takes a local’s life and washes a handsome boat pilot into her arms, Pippa is yanked into a deadly plot of her own. A tangle of secrets crashes past into present, and Pippa must uncover clues dating back to Seacrest’s Prohibition days, including a secret Moore himself hid from the world.Juggling her book-writing guests, small-town intrigues, secret club agendas, and a possibly fatal attraction, Pippa must sort fact from fiction to know who to trust before a desperate killer claims a final revenge nearly a century in the making.

Thyme of Death


Susan Wittig Albert - 1992
    Now, when China's friend Jo dies of an apparent suicide, China looks behind the quaint facade of Pecan Springs. Though she finds a lot of friendly faces, China is sure that one of them hides the heart of a killer.

Elementary, She Read


Vicki Delany - 2017
    The shop--located at 222 Baker Street-specializes in the Holmes canon and pastiche and is also the home of Moriarty the cat. When Gemma finds a rare and potentially valuable magazine containing the first Sherlock Holmes story hidden in the bookshop, she and her friend Jayne (who runs the adjoining Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room) set off to find the owner, only to stumble upon a dead body. The highly perceptive Gemma is the police's first suspect, so she puts her consummate powers of deduction to work to clear her name, investigating a handsome rare-books expert, the dead woman's suspiciously unmoved son, and a whole family of greedy characters desperate to cash in on their inheritance. But when Gemma and Jayne accidentally place themselves at a second murder scene, it's a race to uncover the truth before the detectives lock them up for good.