Book picks similar to
Nearly Departed by Shari Hearn


mystery
mysteries
short-mystery-and-romance
cozy-mystery

Bayou Bubba


Sam Cheever - 2015
    Together, they follow a trail of gold coins to Sinful, Louisiana, where a homeless guy named Bayou Bubba turns up dead with an alligator tooth in his hand and a gold coin between his teeth. Is Bubba Miss Chance’s long lost father? Or will the mystery of his disappearance suck her down into the bogs of the Bayou, and ruin her favorite purse?

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?

Sinfully Delicious


Anna Snow - 2014
    Now, Gertie, Ida Bell, CIA Assassin in hiding Fortune Redding, and hunky Sheriff Carter LeBlanc know they had better solve the mystery of the missing pudding fast, because if they’ve learned anything since Fortune came to town, it was that the simplest of mysteries could turn the town of Sinful upside down… especially where Francine’s pudding was concerned.

The Helena Diaries: Trouble in Mudbug


Jana Deleon - 2013
    You should not read this novella prior to completing Trouble in Mudbug. The novella contains major spoilers for the novel and would not make sense if read beforehand.Do you love Helena Henry?Did you wonder what she was thinking during Trouble in Mudbug, or what she was up to when she was off-page in the novel?If so, then this novella is for you. All of Helena’s thoughts and actions during Trouble in Mudbug, compiled in a diary for you to enjoy.

Rosolio Red


Traci Andrighetti - 2015
    Now that she finally has some time off from her PI job, she’s cooking him up a special holiday treat, and it’s not figgy pudding. Her Yuletide plans are dashed, however, when her meddlesome Sicilian grandma goes missing and she has to hurry home to Houston to investigate. All the evidence points to foul play, but then there’s a bizarre break in the case—one that makes her wonder whether her notorious nonna has been naughty or nice.Rosolio Red is book 2.5 in the Franki Amato Mysteries, but it can be read as a standalone story. If you like zany characters and laugh-out-loud humor with a splash of suspense, then you’ll drink up this fun series by USA Today Bestselling Author Traci Andrighetti. Cheers!

The Body in the Bog


J.L. Johnson - 2015
    The story is set immediately following the events in her first book of the series, 'Louisiana Longshot.' What is it with this town and bones? Fortune Redding can't believe her bad luck in discovering bones, human bones. Fortune already knows Ida Belle and Gertie, founding members of the Sinful Ladies Society, are knee-deep in secrets, but she's about to find out exactly how stubborn they can be. They refuse to tell her anything about the body in the bog, except that it's a secret they've kept for over 40 years. With the two of them unwilling to to tell her anything, Fortune must discover the secret surrounding these particular bones and the reason the mystery needs to remain hidden. Because where better than Sinful, Louisiana for a mystery of such magnitude to remain hidden all these years? And who better to keep it hidden than the remarkable women of the Sinful Ladies Society?

Calamity Jayne


Kathleen Bacus - 2006
    Crowned "Calamity Jayne" by Iowa Department of Natural Resources officer Rick Townsend, Tressa's out to gain a little hometown respect --or die trying. Unfortunately for Tressa, that may be the case. She's just been handed the perfect opportunity to get "Ranger Rick," the doubting Don Juan of the DNR, and a skeptical citizenry to finally take her seriously. How? By solving a murder no one else believes happened...No one, that is, except the killer.Yup, Calamity Jayne is in it up to her hot pink snakeskin cowgirl boots and matching rhinestone belt. Tressa would tell you her momma never raised no dummies, but the jury's still out on that one.

Bubba and the Dead Woman


C.L. Bevill - 2010
    His ex-fiancee is deader than a door nail and everyone thinks he dun did it. His house is haunted. His mother is running an illegal gambling ring. His dog likes to bite people too much. And he's got to find out who really did it before the sheriff throws him in jail...again.

Dance of the Winnebagos


Ann Charles - 2011
    Yet here she was stuck in Jackrabbit Junction, Arizona, with an ornery old man, his smartass dog, and a parade of blue-haired babes. When Claire’s grandfather and his army buddies converge in the Arizona desert, it’s her thankless job to keep them out of trouble with the opposite sex. But when she finds a human leg bone and partners with a reluctant geotechnician to dig up secrets from the past, trouble finds her. She’s losing her heart. Worse, if she doesn’t stop digging, she could lose her life.

A Skeleton in the Family


Leigh Perry - 2013
    So she settled in and began reconnecting with old friends. Including Sid. Sid is the Thackery family’s skeleton. He’s lived in the house as long as Georgia can remember, although no one, including Sid, knows exactly where he came from and how he came to be a skeleton. Sid walks, he talks, he makes bad jokes, he tries to keep Georgia’s dog from considering him a snack. And he manages to persuade Georgia to let him leave the house. But when she takes him to an anime convention—disguised as a skeleton, of course—he sees a woman who triggers memories of his past. Now he is determined to find out how he died—with Georgia’s help. But their investigation may uncover a killer who’s still alive and well and bad to the bone…

A Nun in the Closet


Dorothy Gilman - 1975
    A wounded man hides in the house. A suitcase stuffed with money sits at the bottom of the well. Apparitions haunt the nights. God knows what will happen next.

Hiding in the Bayou


Riley Blake - 2015
    Convinced Carter didn’t commit the crime, Fortune turns to Ida Belle for help. In the meantime, Gertie tries a dangerous stunt and lands in the hospital. While there, she takes time to piece together a murder clearly executed by amateurs but the motive isn’t what it seems.

A Blooming Fortune


Stephen John - 2019
    Fortune, Ida Bell and Gertie run into roadblock after roadblock before they receive help from an unexpected source. The victim's highly eccentric brother and sister arrive in Sinful with their own suspicions and a very special set of skills. A Blooming Fortune is filled with twists and turns as Fortune and her new friends work to unravel the mystery.This book was previously released in as "Devil's Helmet," and rose to number one position in KindleWorlds, in January 2018. This version has been re-edited with new material added.What readers have said about Stephen's other Miss Fortune books:Of the many other authors who contribute to this series Stephen John is one of my favorites. He continues with the main characters and weaves a series of intrigue and chaos into his story.I have now read a few of these stories by this author and this one I enjoyed most of all. The regular characters are back, joining a couple of newbies who prove to be interesting as well. Once again, the crime solving aspect of the story proves intriguing. It left me fulfilled and more than ready to read the next chapter in this particular writer's Miss Fortune setting. Great stuff.I absolutely love this series! Fortune has lost a dear friend which broke my heart, but she has also made some new friends as well. As always there is comedy, action, and a dash of love tossed in.Definitely a must read!While staying true to Ms. DeLeon's canon, Mr. John carves out a very nice niche for himself. I've come to really enjoy his stories featuring these characters and this one is a doozy.A well-structured mystery, and probably the most literary of the Kindle Worlds Miss Fortune Mysteries I've read so far. I loved this book as much as I loved the original books by Janet DeLeon. I wish he would write more.

Take the Monkeys and Run


Karen Cantwell - 2010
    Typical, that is until she sets out to find the missing link between a bizarre monkey sighting in her yard and the bone chilling middle-of-the-night fright fest at the strangely vacant house next door. When Barb talks her two friends into some seemingly innocent Charlie’s Angels-like sleuthing, they stumble upon way more than they bargained for and uncover a piece of neighborhood history that certain people would kill to keep on the cutting room floor.Enter sexy PI Colt Baron, Barb’s ex-boyfriend who would love to be cast as new leading man, filling the role just vacated by her recently estranged husband, Howard. When Colt flies in from out of town to help Barb, events careen out of control and suddenly this mini-van driving mother of three becomes a major player in a treacherous and potentially deadly FBI undercover operation. It’s up to her now. With little time to spare, she and she alone, must summon the inner strength necessary to become a true action heroine and save the lives of those she loves. The question is can she get them out alive before the credits roll?

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.