An Affair to Dismember


Elise Sax - 2013
    That’s why Gladie is more than a little skeptical when her Grandma Zelda — who is more than a little psychic — recruits her into the family’s matchmaking business in the quaint small town of Cannes, California. What’s more, Gladie is also highly unqualified, having a terrible track record with romance. Still, Zelda is convinced that her granddaughter has her clairvoyant “gift.” But when the going gets tough, Gladie wonders if this gift has a return policy. When Zelda’s neighbor drops dead in his kitchen, Gladie is swept into his bizarre family’s drama. Despite warnings from the (distractingly gorgeous) chief of police to steer clear of his investigation, Gladie is out to prove that her neighbor’s death was murder. It’s not too long before she’s in way over her head — with the hunky police chief, a dysfunctional family full of possible killers, and yet another mysterious and handsome man, whose attentions she’s unable to ignore. Gladie is clearly being pursued — either by true love or by a murderer. Who will catch her first?

Murder 101


Maggie Barbieri - 2006
    Her car has been stolen so she has to walk to the train station to get to her office at St. Thomas, a college in the Bronx, New York. When she arrived she finds two homicide detectives waiting for her. The good news is that they found her car; the bad news is that in the trunk was the body of one of the students in her Shakespeare seminar.Trying to get her name off of the handsome Detective Crawford’s suspect list turns out to be just one of her problems. Alison has to bail her ex out of jail; deal with the victim’s distraught parents, classmates of hers when she was a student at St. Thomas; and grade those Shakespeare exams, which seem to be getting a lot of attention for a boring old stack of reports. And in the meantime, who would want to kill college student Kathy Miceli?

Wanna Get Lucky?


Deborah Coonts - 2010
    Almost everyone writes her off as another Vegas victim. But, Lucky O’Toole, head of customer relations at the Babylon megacasino, smells a rat, though she’s got a lot on her plate: the adult film industry’s annual awards banquet, a spouse-swapping convention, sex-toy purveyors preying on the pocket-protector crowd attending ElectroniCon… Still Lucky can’t resist turning over a few stones.When a former flame is one of the snakes she uncovers, Lucky is certain the woman’s death was no Sin City suicide. To top it all off, Lucky’s best friend, Teddie—Las Vegas’s finest female impersonator—presses to take their relationship to the next level. Leave it to Lucky to attract a man who looks better in a dress than she does.Lucky must manage the Babylon’s outrageous festivities, solve the crime, and struggle to keep her life and libido from spinning out of control.

By Book or By Crook


Eva Gates - 2015
    But when her ten-year relationship implodes, Lucy realizes that the plot of her life is in need of a serious rewrite. Calling on her aunt Ellen, Lucy hopes that a little fun in the Outer Banks sun—and some confections from her cousin Josie’s bakery—will help clear her head. But her retreat quickly turns into an unexpected opportunity when Aunt Ellen gets her involved in the lighthouse library tucked away on Bodie Island. Lucy is thrilled to land a librarian job in her favorite place in the world. But when a priceless first edition Jane Austen novel is stolen and the chair of the library board is murdered, Lucy suddenly finds herself ensnared in a real-life mystery—and she’s not so sure there’s going to be a happy ending....

A Dead End


Keeley Bates - 2015
    Blackballed by the producers of her hit TV show, she returns home to the affluent town of Westdale, chock full of Mayflower descendants, to enroll in college and lead a quiet life...until she discovers a skeleton in her house. Kit quickly finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation led by the handsome detective, Romeo Moretti. With the help of her new neighbors, Kit channels her former character, hotshot detective Ellie Gold, in order to solve the murder so she can get back to renovating her house and avoiding the Mayflower Madam, who also happens to be her hypercritical, gin-swilling mother. Saints & Strangers cozy mystery series: Book 1: A Dead End Book 2: The Deep End Book 3: The Bitter End

Murder in the Family


Paula Bernstein - 2014
    She is barely managing to hold it all together, when her life is shattered once again by the brutal murder of her beautiful, bright, zany and recently divorced sister-in-law Beth. Hannah is determined to do whatever she can to assist the police in finding the murderer. She soon becomes obsessed with the details of Beth's life. As she encounters her sister-in-law's eclectic collection of friends and former lovers, she discovers that all was not as it seemed. Not only was Beth a woman with a secret life, but her secrets may have led her inexorably to a rendezvous with her killer. Inspired by the real-life murder of the author’s cousin, this story has everything—mystery, heart, family, secrets and romance—as Hannah struggles to make sense of Beth’s murder and bring the killer to justice.

Jasmine


Blair Howard - 2017
    The girl had been in the concrete pipe for more than a week. The daytime temperatures were hitting 120 degrees. It was the stench that drew the kids to her. Who was she? Who put her there? Who… killed her? It’s Kate Gazzara’s first case, a mind-bending riddle, and as if that wasn’t enough, she has a new partner to cope with. Check out this gripping, fast-paced thriller. The first in the new Harry Starke spin-off series featuring street-smart Lieutenant Kate Gazzara and a cast of fascinating characters, including the man himself, Harry Starke, and several other old friends. Grab your copy now.

Taking the Fall


Laney Monday - 2014
    Now, she’s just burned out—and burned by love. She’s ready to retire from competitive judo and pursue a new dream in a new town, with her biggest supporter, her recently divorced little sister, Blythe. But on their first day in town, Blythe falls for local sleaze-bag reporter, Ellison Baxter, and their small-town welcome is stained by Baxter’s murder. The weapon—Blythe Battle’s hair brush. In this fast-paced, fun cozy mystery, Brenna, the proud new owner of the building that formerly housed Bonney Bay’s lone recreational opportunity for kids, Little Swans Ballet, is ready to turn tutu-clad powder-puffs into little warriors by opening a judo school for kids in its place. But now she must clear her sister’s name and save her new dream from ending even more disastrously than her Olympic hopes. Brenna must deal with one crazy member of the local police force, who’s determined to see the sisters pay—and another cop, whose deep brown eyes just might drive Brenna crazy—in a way her battered heart just can’t take.

Bed, Breakfast & Bones


Carolyn L. Dean - 2016
     Sure, she could pack her bags and travel back to LA…or should she dig in, heal from her failed romance, and find a whole new set of friends and adventures in Ravenwood Cove? And how could a quiet little coastal village have so many secrets? Includes the free recipe for Amanda’s (and the author’s) favorite cinnamon rolls. First novel in the Ravenwood Cove ebook series. Paperback and audiobook (with Whispersync) versions coming soon. Mild PG rating (because hey, there's a dead guy in it).

When You're Gone


Marguerite O'Callaghan - 2017
     Eighteen-year-old Lydia Stone wakes up one morning in the north London gothic mansion she shares with her family, to find that her twin sister Kate has disappeared off the face of the earth. CCTV footage shows Kate entering a night club in south London on the night she went missing, but there is no evidence that she ever came out of the club, and police are considering the idea that she was sex-trafficked. In the days and weeks that follow, Lydia takes a closer look at her twin sister's life; her modelling career, penchant for fetish clubs, and interesting array of older friends. It seems like Kate was definitely hiding something. But she isn't the only one...

True Blue Murder


Elise M. Stone - 2016
    The former librarian has developed her first hybrid, a plant with unusual deep blue flowers, and hopes to win a first place ribbon. Maybe even best in show. But her excitement turns to dread when the aggravating Bette Tesselink, her fiercest rival, turns up dead, and she becomes the logical suspect. There’s never been a murder in the village of Rainbow Ranch, and it soon becomes apparent that the young Chief of Police is in over his head. Under pressure from the mayor, Lilliana is afraid he’ll arrest her in order to close the case. Her only option is to begin her own investigation and find the murderer before she winds up in jail. The first in a new cozy mystery series sure to engage you with its fascinating characters and twisty plot.

The Royal Wulff Murders


Keith McCafferty - 2012
    When a fishing guide reels in the body of a young man on the Madison, the Holy Grail of Montana trout rivers, Sheriff Martha Ettinger suspects foul play. It's not just the stick jammed into the man's eye that draws her attention; it's the Royal Wulff trout fly stuck in his bloated lower lip. Following her instincts, Ettinger soon finds herself crossing paths with Montana newcomer Sean Stranahan. Fly fisher, painter, and has-been private detective, Stranahan left a failed marriage and lackluster career to drive to Montana, where he lives in an art studio decorated with fly-tying feathers and mouse droppings. With more luck catching fish than clients, Stranahan is completely captivated when Southern siren Velvet Lafayette walks into his life, intent on hiring his services to find her missing brother. The clues lead Stranahan and Ettinger back to Montana's Big Business: fly fishing. Where there's money, there's bound to be crime.

The Bear Trap


Paul Doiron - 2014
    Legendary Maine woodsman and bush pilot Charley Stevens tries to convince young Mike Bowditch of the dangers awaiting rookie game wardens.

The Neon Lawyer


Victor Methos - 2014
    He joins a seedy fly-by-night firm in Salt Lake City out of desperation. After he loses his first case—a speeding ticket—he’s convinced his career is over. But to his shock, his boss hands him a slightly more complex case: capital murder.Brigham’s new client is Amanda Pierce, a lost, exhausted woman who gunned down the man who tortured and killed her six-year-old daughter. A jury may prove sympathetic to her unbearable pain, but the law is no fan of vigilante justice—and neither is Vince Dale, the slick and powerful prosecutor who’s never lost a murder case. There’s no question that Amanda pulled the trigger—she did it in front of five witnesses. If she pleads guilty, she will avoid a death sentence, but saving her life this way comes with an admission that what she did was wrong. However, if she refuses the “guilty” label, Brigham will have no choice but to fight for his career—and Amanda’s life.

Murder is a Family Business


Heather Haven - 2011
    But the 34-year old Latina, WASP and 100% detective has her work cut out for her when the man is murdered on her watch. Of all the nerve. Set in the present, Murder is a Family Business is the first in a series of humorous mysteries revolving around Lee Alvarez, and rest of the Alvarez Family, detectives all. Seemingly light and frothy on the surface, the novel nevertheless explores familial love, the good, the bad and the annoying.Completing the family is Lee's Never-Had-A-Bad-Hair-Day aristocratic mother, Lila; computer genius brother, Richard; beloved uncle "Tio;" and her energetic orange and white cat, Tugger. When this group is not solving murders, they run Discretionary Inquiries, a successful Silicon Valley agency that normally deals with the theft of computer software. The love, humor and camaraderie shared within this family are what set this series apart from others.