Book picks similar to
Two Widows and the Thrift Store Murders by Ruth Ross
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The Third Girl
Nell Goddin - 2015
She’s looking for peace, beautiful gardens, and pastry—a slower, safer life than the one she’d been living outside of Boston. But you know what they say about the best intentions… Molly has barely gotten over jet-lag before she hears about a local student’s disappearance. In between getting her old ramshackle house in order and reveling in French food, Molly ends up embroiled in the case, along with the gendarmes of Castillac. And unlike the Nancy Drews she loved as a child, this mystery stirs up emotions she thought had been put to rest..and terrifies the residents of her beloved village.
Elvis and the Dearly Departed
Peggy Webb - 2008
And no one gets into Eternal Rest without passing muster with Elvis--the basset hound who's convinced he's the reincarnation of the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Brewing up a big ol' pitcher of Mississippi mystery, Peggy Webb's delightful new series is as intoxicating as the Delta breeze.Normally, Callie Valentine Jones spends her days fixing up the hairdos of the dead, but when the corpse of local, prominent physician Dr. Leonard Laton goes missing, it's bad for business. So Callie and her cousin Lovie (Eternal Rest's resident wake caterer) have no choice but to go in hot pursuit of the recently embalmed, last seen bound for Vegas by way of downtown Tupelo. In Vegas, Callie and Lovie hit the jackpot when they find the dearly departed inside a freezer owned by his showgirl mistress, Bubble Malone. But their luck runs out when Bubble decides to join her man in the afterlife. With the poisonous Laton family tree providing plenty of rotten suspects, Callie, along with some help from her basset hound, Elvis, is determined to crack this case--and have a killer singing "Jailhouse Rock" in time for her next haircutting appointment. . .Pure southern lunacy of the best possible kind." --Laurien Berenson
Zoned for Murder
Evelyn David - 2012
Landing a job with a local paper, she's bored to tears covering bake sales and Little League games. But when a developer tries to build an outlet mall in a neighboring town, what starts out as potentially a great clip for her resume, suddenly turns dangerous and ugly. Someone will do anything to block the mall's construction. Dirty money, nasty politics, and shady land deals abound as Maggie pursues the scoop that might jumpstart her career. When murder is added to the mix, she realizes that meeting her deadline might be the last thing she ever does. Read Maggie's byline as she rebuilds her career, dips her toes into a shark-filled dating pool, and investigates a small New York town Zoned for Murder.
Mama Does Time
Deborah Sharp - 2008
Mama's antics - especially her penchant for finding trouble - drive her daughters Mace, Maddie and Marty to distraction.One night, while settling in to look for ex-beaus on COPS, Mace gets a frantic call from her mother. This time, the trouble's for real: Mama found a body in the trunk of her vintage convertible, and the police think she's the killer. It doesn't help that the handsome detective assigned to the case seems determined to prove Mama's guilt, or that the cowboy who broke Mace's heart shows up at the local Booze 'n' Breeze in the midst of the investigation. Before their mama lands in prison - just like an embarrassing lyric from a country-western song - Mace and her sisters must find the real culprit.MAMA DOES TIME is a traditional mystery with a comedic edge: Agatha Christie meets "My Name is Earl.''Penned by a native Floridian, set in cattle-and-citrus country, the story reveals an authentic slice of the state. Everyone knows Disney World and sexy South Beach. But how many know Florida's ranches, rodeo, and Southern-fried flavor, just fifty miles from the coast?
Paper, Scissors, Death
Joanna Campbell Slan - 2008
Memories of friends, family . . . and murder? Mousy housewife Kiki Lowenstein has two great loves: scrapbooking and her young daughter, Anya. But her happy family album is ruined when her husband, George, is found naked and dead in a hotel room. As Kiki tracks down George's murderer, she discovers his sordid secret life. Cruel taunts by George's former flame compel Kiki to spout an unwise threat. When the woman is murdered, Kiki's scissor-sharp words make her the prime suspect. She could be creating scrapbook keepsakes for the rest of her life-behind bars. Supported by her loyal friends, along with a little help (and a lot of stomach flutters) from the dashing Detective Detweiler, can Kiki cut the true killer out of the picture and design a new life for herself and Anya?
Let Us Prey
Jamie Lee Scott - 2011
Though Mimi is hired to act as bodyguard for Lauren’s upcoming book tour, plans change when Lauren's assistant is murdered and the slaying is a replica of a scene from Lauren’s newest novel. A novel that hit bookstores the same day as the killing. Now instead of playing bodyguard, Mimi is cracking computer code, and chasing down vampires. These vampires come alive on the streets of Santa Cruz, as part of a live-role-playing game. Mimi must find the connection between the vampires and the author to track down the killer. This would be much easier if Detective Nick Christianson wanted her investigating the case.Nick, Mimi’s old college fling, is the lead homicide investigator. Though he wants her off the case, he also wants to pump her for information. Nick may have used her in the past, but this time she’ll use him to try to catch the murderer first.
Trudy, Madly, Deeply
Wendy Delaney - 2013
With no physical evidence of foul play, Char's on the case, much to the irritation of Detective Steve Sixkiller, who doesn't want her to stick her pretty nose for trouble in his investigation. But she's a woman on a mission to uncover the truth, and she'd better keep her eyes open or the next body on the way to the morgue could be hers....
Dead Angler
Victoria Houston - 2000
But when Doc Osborne catches more than he bargained for, he winds up in the middle of a murder mystery -- and only Chief of Police Lew Ferris can get him out of it.
A Dead Red Cadillac
R.P. Dahlke - 2011
But when her trophy red Cadillac is found tail-fins up in a nearby lake, the police ask why a widowed piano teacher, who couldn’t possibly see beyond the hood ornament, was found strapped in the driver’s seat. Reeling from an interrogation with local homicide, Lalla is determined to extricate herself as a suspect in this strange murder case. Unfortunately, drug running pilots, a cross-dressing convict, a crazy Chihuahua, and the dead woman’s hunky nephew throw enough road blocks to keep Lalla neck deep in an investigation that links her family to a twenty-year old murder only she can solve.
A Case of Imagination
Jane Tesh - 2006
It doesn't help that her landlord Reid Kent, does a brisk business and briskly hits on Mac to rejoin his agency. He maintains no one will hire a former Miss Parkland as a serious PI.Mac has been friends forever with Jerry Fairweather. Jerry claims to be psychic and is, unlike his two brothers, somewhat screwy. And he refuses to claim a share in the Fairweather fortune. But he shares some good news with Mac—his Uncle Val has died and left him a house. The two friends drive out to Celosia, a half hour away, where they discover a local beauty pageant in trouble and a house just perfect for setting up shop. A Psychic Shop. The arrival of lawyer Olivia, Jerry's shark-like girlfriend, rouses both Mac's interest in the mystery at the pageant and the one in her own heart. And then comes the first murder.A Case of Imagination is Jane Tesh's playful first mystery, the start of a series by an author who admires Terry Pratchett, Martha Grimes, Carl Hiaasen, and P.G. Wodehouse.
Coming Unclued
Judith Jackson - 2014
The lights are up, the presents are — actually, only the lights are done, but Val still has a week! Once the dreaded office party is over she can make quick work of the rest of her list.There’s only one, big problem with that plan. The morning after the party, after passing out in the living room, Val stumbles into her bedroom and finds her boss, Mr. Potter, lying in her bed. Okay — two, big problems. Mr. Potter is dead, murdered; his blood soaking into Val's new, 400-thread-count sheets.Val knows that regardless of a couple minor incidents where she was a teensy bit hostile after one too many drinks, there is no way she killed her cheap, petty, world-class halitosis suffering boss. May he rest in peace. The problem is, the police are convinced it was she who stabbed Mr. Potter. Someone has to find the real killer and it looks like it will have to be Val. But she's not alone; her best friend and her seventy-four-year-old neighbor are along for the ride. Coming Unclued is Book One in the humorous Val Valentyn series.
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.
An Open Book
Sheila Connolly - 2012
After part-time librarian Sarabeth Dodson discovers elderly Edith Hathaway dead in a snowdrift in small-town Strathmere, Pennsylvania, she enlists the help of Police Chief Vanessa Hutchins to get to the bottom of the mystery. With no footprints around the body and no purse, what was the retired school teacher doing out in the middle of nowhere in the snow? The answer may have something to do with the library book Edith failed to return... Includes a preview of the first book in Sheila Connolly's brand-new County Cork Mystery series—Buried in a Bog. Also includes excerpts from the first book in the Orchard Mystery series—One Bad Apple—and the first book in the Museum Mystery series—Fundraising the Dead.
52 Steps To Murder
Steve Demaree - 2006
An elderly woman is found poisoned in the upstairs bedroom of her home whose front door stands 52 steps above the street in an old-fashioned whodunit that blends clues, red herrings, suspects, and humor.
Sign Off
Patricia McLinn - 2012
TV journalist Elizabeth “E. M.” Danniher will tell you she committed two sins — she didn’t stay young, and she made an enemy of a powerful news executive — her ex. She used to break national news. Now her top story as the “Helping Out!” reporter at dinky KWMT-TV in Sherman,Wyoming is getting a refund for a defective toaster. Tough, funny and determined, Elizabeth wrestles with isolation, keeping a professional edge, and an evolving self-image. Is Wyoming — the land of cattle, cowboys, tumbleweeds, and fewer than six people per square mile — her new home or a road to permanent obscurity? Soon she’s in a battle of wills with ex-football player turned journalist Mike Paycik, who sees her as a handy rung on his career ladder. And there’s the matter of a deputy sheriff—missing or murdered? Elizabeth finds herself investigating at the insistence of a girl who’s set on proving her father’s innocence. Not that enigmatic rancher Thomas David Burrell makes investigating easy. But Elizabeth won’t fade to black without a fight, no matter how final some might want to make her SIGN OFF. Don’t miss any of the Caught Dead in Wyoming series by USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn:Sign OffLeft HangingShoot FirstLast DitchLook LiveBack StoryCold OpenHot Roll