Book picks similar to
Restless Natives by Nan Sampson


mystery
first-in-a-series
cozy-mystery
cozy-mysteries

Knitting Up a Murder (Yarn Genie Mysteries Book #1)


Celeste Bennett - 2015
    On the run, she sheds her rich identity and navigates life without servants or money. When she chooses undercover FBI agent Frank Bachman's car to hide in, she begins the wildest journey of her life. When her husband is found murdered by her knitting needle, Imogene enlists Frank's help to find the true killer and recover her stolen money. Imogene and Frank must sidestep their growing attraction in order to unwind the web of deceit that surrounds her. As the truth unravels, Imogene learns the truth about her life, her marriage and why more than one person wants her dead.

Strictly Murder


Lynda Wilcox - 2012
    What they failed to mention was the dead celebrity in the master bedroom. Personal assistant Verity Long's house hunt is about to turn into a hunt for a killer. It will take some fancy footwork to navigate the bitchy world of dance shows, television studios, and dangerously gorgeous male co-stars. When Verity looks like the killer's next tango partner, she discovers that this dance is ... Strictly Murder.

Crime and Nourishment


Miranda Sweet - 2017
    Neither does the island of Nantucket. A NEW RELEASE cozy mystery perfect for fans of Agatha Frost, Cynthia Ellingsen, Cindy Bell and CeeCee James When Agnes Mary Clarissa Christie Prouty, a.k.a. Angie, abandons her fiancé and her analyst job at a big Manhattan investment firm, she doesn’t expect to end up back where she started—the island of Nantucket.  It’s not every day you get a chance to open a bookstore, complete with bookmark-eating cats and cantankerous great-aunts.  Especially when your childhood friends agree to provide you with the world’s best pastries from their bakery down the street. Everything goes great until one of the locals turns up dead on the fourth of July, the sound of the gunshots covered by the local fireworks display. But did it have to happen right after Angie delivered a book to his home making her a prime suspect? Angie and every gossip on the island, including her great-aunt and her friends, are on the case.  But trying to discover the truth is going to take more than a simple murder investigation.  Someone’s guilty and the deadly secret might cut closer to home than anyone wants to admit.Being an amateur detective is harder than it looks, even when you’ve been named after the Queen of Crime.  This cozy mystery/amateur sleuth novel is book one in the Angie Prouty Nantucket Cozy Mystery Series

Murder, Curlers, and Cream


Arlene McFarlane - 2016
    Not only has she got a meddling mother, a wacky staff, and a dying business, but now she’s got a dead client who was strangled while awaiting her facial.With business the way it is, combing through this mystery may be the only way to save her salon. Until a second murder, an explosion, a kidnapping, death threats, and the hard-nosed Detective Romero complicate things. But Valentine will do anything to untangle the crime. That’s if she can keep her tools of the trade in her bag, keep herself alive, and avoid falling for the tough detective.In the end, how hard can that be?

Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse


Sherri Bryan - 2015
    Eves, nestled in the south-west corner of England. While she loves the tranquility of St. Eves, where crime is almost unheard of, and nothing really exciting ever happens, her good friend, Chief Inspector Nathan Costello, is longing for a good, juicy felony to get his teeth into.When the arrival of newcomers to the community of St. Eves triggers a chain of events that end in tragedy, Nathan relishes the thrill of investigating his first murder, while Charlotte unwittingly turns amateur-sleuth to help solve the case and restore peace and harmony to the town as quickly as possible. Twists and turns abound in Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse, the first book in the Charlotte Denver Cozy Mystery series.

Psychic Sugar Rush


Dee Cee Streams - 2021
    But when a mysterious lawyer contacts her about coming to the reading of her estranged great-grandmother’s will, her life is turned upside down when she finds herself the proud owner of a psychic shop in small town called Psychic Falls. Mixing her pastries together with the psychic power she’s not even sure she has inside, Sage establishes her new psychic bakery called Psychic Sugar Rush. Before she and Tempest can even officially open the doors of their new shop, a local is found dead with one of their signature Crystal Ball Cakes in his mouth. As Sage somehow gets pulled in to being a detective along with a fortune-teller and baker, she finds herself digging into the secrets of Psychic Falls that leads her to a cherries jubilee cake, a bickering witch and enchantress, a pastry-eating cat, a waterfall that is not all it appears to be, and an actual guy from her dreams. As Sage learns the history of magical crystals called Falls Gems that are only found in Psychic Falls, her only wish is that she can find the murderer before a curse tears her own family apart and shuts Psychic Sugar Rush’s doors for good before they can even sell their first pastry.

Sprinkled


Gina LaManna - 2014
    She just never expected the lows to be so… sparkly. After falling on her face during an attempt to follow in her recently-deceased mother’s stripper-boots, Lacey realizes she’s not cut out for life on stage. She sets out on a year-long investigation to find her true family, never expecting she’ll find it with a capital “F.” With a rumbling stomach, a need for money (check engine lights don’t fix themselves!), and a conscience that operates at 78% on a good day, Lacey is sucked into a whirlwind of Family secrets, hard-as-cement cookies, and mysterious, sexy men who unfortunately shoot guns, sometimes aimed at her face. The long-lost-granddaughter of Carlos Luzzi, the Godfather of the Italian Mafia, Lacey accepts her first assignment for the mob: finding fifteen million dollars of ‘the good stuff.’ Even after she enlists the help of her mouthy best-friend and her cousin, a technical genius and social disaster, she finds that going toe-to-toe with the rival Russian mob is more dangerous than expected. No one chooses their Family, but Lacey Luzzi will be lucky if she can survive hers. ** ** Lacey Luzzi: Sprinkled, is a full-length, laugh-out-loud, humorous cozy mystery with a strong female protagonist in the spirit of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum, albeit one working for the wrong side of the law…

The Book Club Murders


Leslie Nagel - 2016
      Charley Carpenter has poured heart and soul into her clothing store, Old Hat Vintage Fashions. She’ll do anything to make it a success—even join the stuffy Agathas Book Club in order to cultivate customers among the wealthy elite of Oakwood, Ohio.   Although mixing with the most influential women in town has its advantages, Charley finds the endless gossip a high price to pay. But after two women with close ties to the Agathas are brutally murdered, everyone falls under threat—and suspicion. When key evidence indicates that both murders are the work of the same hand, Charley realizes that the killer has arranged each corpse in perfect imitation of crime scenes from the Club’s murder mystery reading list. She uses her membership in the Club to convince Detective Marcus Trenault to use her as an inside informant. Not that he could stop her anyway.   Intelligent, fearless, and every bit as stubborn as Marc is, Charley soon learns the Agathas aren’t the only ones with secrets to protect. Passions explode as she and Marc must race against time to prevent another murder. And if Charley’s not careful, she may find herself becoming the killer’s next plot twist.

The Two Towns


J.J. Salkeld - 2014
     It is DC Jane Dixon's first week on Kendal's CID team. Her new boss, DI Andy Hall, gives her an open file to review, and it's a far from straightforward case. A woman has died in suspicious circumstances in a Windermere caravan park, and although her husband is suspected there's not a shred of solid evidence against him. Can Jane move the case forward, or will a cold-blooded killer really get away with murder? The rest of the team is busy too, because a vulnerable teenager from a troubled family has gone missing from home. There's nothing to suggest that the boy has been abducted, so what could have caused him to run away from home? DS Ian Mann, a tough ex-military man, and DC Ray Dixon are both heavily involved in the investigation. This story introduces key members of the investigative team, as well as many of the themes that are developed in the full-length Lakeland Murders novels: including a strong sense of place, and an understanding that while justice usually prevails it is rarely complete, or completely fair. Reader reviews for the full-length novels in the Lakeland Murders series include: 'Well developed, realistic, relatable characters, great plot, believable detailed scenes, good action sequences. Recommend to those that appreciate British detective novels. Always devour Lakeland murder mysteries.' 'Love J J Salkeld's books, his understanding of police procedure, his ability to draw his characters out into real people is, I believe, up there with the best of them and it is good to find crime stories set in Cumbria for a change.' 'Salkeld is good. Not just as a writer of gripping detective stories; but even more for his feisty exposure of the lunacies of institutions, hierarchies, and power. A refreshing and enlightening anarchist - much needed in these jaded, compliant and consumptive times.'

A Berry Deadly Welcome


A.R. Winters - 2018
    Only one problem: Kylie can’t cook to save her life, and the longtime chef walks out on Kylie’s first day. Answering the call for a new chef, in walks lovely Rachel Summers, a friendly local brownie-addict who immediately gets the job. But when Rachel is found dead a few hours later, all fingers point to Kylie and her killer brownies. Could Kylie have made a major kitchen blunder and poisoned the woman? Did a bitter former employee tamper with her pantry? Or was there more to Rachel than the kind smile and eager-to-please attitude she sported at the interview? With the help of the few remaining café regulars, Kylie sets out on a journey to uncover the truth behind who killed Rachel Summers!

Booked for Murder


CeeCee James - 2017
    She expected by the job description to cater to the crazy whims of some of the richest people in America. Make it snow in Florida--check. Helicopter wedding--check. Deliver a baby--check. But what was never on her job resume was dealing with the murder of business mogul Norman Olsen. He’s a huge figure in the gaming video business, but now it looks like he had some dangerous enemies – including his own wife and son. When the murderer targets the hotel again. Maisie thought the worst of her worries was getting fired. But, as she uncovers clues, the murderer focuses on Maisie. Suddenly, it’s personal.

Scrabbling for the Culprit


Jane Wallace - 2020
     Adult triplets Cassie, Callie and Lonnie Parker, have thrown their hearts and souls into planning the Scrabble tournament Callie is hosting at the local high school. But, when a bookcase full of dictionaries lands on a beloved teacher, murmurs of foul play threaten the entire competition. With the new-to-the-county detective, who doesn't know the townspeople yet and a school full of suspects, can these siblings work together to find the killer, keep everyone else safe, and move all the pieces into place to run spectacular tournament?

Death by a Honeybee


Abigail Keam - 2010
    They are not cozy or fuzzy, but they do try to be humorous and witty. Sometimes they succeed. Each novel/novella has a stand-alone mystery, but the stories are also about the continuing life saga of a middle-aged Southern woman as she faces many serious obstacles. Josiah faces the world with sarcastic humor and a number of quirky, oddball friends that can only be found in the Southern town of Lexington, the heart of the Kentucky horse country. Some mysteries end with a bang, some are not solved at all and the first one ends with a cliff hanger, but they always entertain in the sassy, humorous and suspenseful world as Josiah goes about sleuthing. The Josiah Reynolds Mystery Series is just like fried chicken . . . finger-licking good! Add some sweet tea and a piece of chocolate pecan pie with a scoop of ice-cream and you got yourself some tasty reading. Description Josiah Reynolds is a beekeeper trying to stay financially afloat by selling honey at the Farmers' Market. She finds her world turned upside down when a man is found dead in her beeyard, only to discover that the victim is her nemesis. The police are calling the brutal death murder and Josiah is the number one suspect! Josiah makes the rounds of quirky characters that can only be found in the lush Bluegrass horse country. Fighting an unknown enemy in the glamorous world of Thoroughbreds, oak-cured bourbon and antebellum mansions, Josiah struggles to uncover the truth in a land that keeps its secrets well. Death By A HoneyBee is the first of an episodic series and as such ends in a cliff-hanger which is crucial to the rest of the series. Attached to HoneyBee is a bonus chapter from Death By Drowning which continues our heroine's story in linear time. I hope you enjoy reading Death By A HoneyBee as much as I have enjoyed writing it. It was a labor of love.

Better Off Wed


Laura Durham - 2005
    Annabelle knows that even her trusted wedding emergency kit won't be able to salvage their careers if she and Richard can't find the real culprit.It's no easy task since the slain matron was perhaps the most hated socialite in DC, but Annabelle navigates through the city's colorful wedding industry and powerful social scene on the deadly trail of a killer. Always the bridal consultant and never the bride, she's seen her fair share of bouquet tosses. But there's no telling what surprises a ruthless killer will throw her way if she gets too close.

Matrimony in Christmas River


Meg Muldoon - 2019
     It’s one year before the infamous Gingerbread Junction murder scandal, and Cinnamon Peters is feeling downright Grinch-like this holiday season. After her cookie house crumbles in the annual Gingerbread Junction Competition, the pie baker extraordinaire wants nothing more than to shut herself in her house for the rest of December and be left alone. Unfortunately, she’s got a friend’s wedding to attend this New Year’s Eve, a wedding gingerbread castle to build, and that unpopular pie shop of hers isn’t going to run itself. But when the best man is found face down in a ditch days before the wedding, it’s clear that somebody’s out to ruin the event. Can Cinnamon figure out who’s trying to sabotage the wedding before it’s too late? Matrimony in Christmas River is a heartwarming holiday mystery perfect for readers who can’t get enough of Cinnamon Peters and the cozy, feel-good world of Christmas River. This mystery is a prequel to Murder in Christmas River in the Amazon bestselling Christmas River Cozy Mystery Series.