Book picks similar to
Murder Between the Lines by Thea Cambert


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

Murder Under the Magnolias


Charmain Zimmerman Brackett - 2016
    After the murder of a young woman with a mysterious tattoo, Grace finds herself in the middle of an investigation and wonders if these parties she's beautifying are actually fronts for something more sinister.

On What Grounds


Cleo Coyle - 2003
    Clare arrives at work to discover the assistant manager dead in the back of the store, coffee grounds strewn everywhere. Two detectives investigate. But when they find no sign of forced entry or foul play, they deem it an accident. Still, Clare is not convinced. And after the police leave, Clare can't help wondering...If this was an act of murder, is she in danger?

Must Love Murder


Etta Faire - 2016
    All men, she doesn't discriminate. So when she takes a job at her aunt's sketchy matchmaking club, she knows it's going to mean trouble. Love is a sham, after all. But she never thought she'd be solving a murder, especially not the murder of her aunt's horrible neighbor who calls women "hussies," thinks the matchmaking club is a brothel, and snoops where he shouldn't be snooping. The guy kind of had it coming.But when her aunt becomes the main suspect and the police don't seem to care that things aren't matching up like they should, Marcie is forced to become the perfect match for the evil man's puzzling murder.

A Fatal New Year


J.A. Whiting - 2020
    Everything is going smoothly until the end of the night when she finds a dead man on the floor of her carriage.Who could have done this? Was it his friends, drunk and rowdy as Mae drove them back to their hotel? Or could it have been the sorority girl who seemed to be expecting the man at one of the carriage stops?With the help of her friend, Ross, the stable owner and retired lawman from Texas, and her big grey horse called Steel, Mae is determined to find out who is responsible for the death, but she soon learns that some people are equally determined to make sure she never does.

Flowers and Foul Play


Amanda Flower - 2018
    Her fiancé left her for their cake decorator. Then, her flower shop wilted after a chain florist opened next door. So when her godfather, Ian MacCallister, leaves her a cottage in the Scottish Highlands, Fiona jumps on the next plane to Edinburgh. Ian, after all, is the one who taught her to love flowers. But when Ian’s elderly caretaker Hamish MacGregor shows her to the cottage upon her arrival, she finds the once resplendent grounds of Duncreigan in a dreadful shambles—with a dead body in the garden.Minutes into her arrival, Fiona is already being questioned by the handsome Chief Inspector Neil Craig and getting her passport seized. But it’s Craig’s fixation on Uncle Ian’s loyal caretaker, Hamish, as a prime suspect, that really makes her worried. As Fiona strolls the town, she quickly realizes there are a whole bouquet of suspects much more likely to have killed Alastair Croft, the dead lawyer who seems to have had more enemies than friends. Now it’s up to Fiona to clear Hamish’s name before it’s too late in Flowers and Foul Play, national bestselling author Amanda Flower’s enchanting first Magic Garden mystery.

Murder in the South of France


Susan Kiernan-Lewis - 2011
    Along the way, she finds handsome Laurent Dernier, a sexy if nefarious Frenchman who it's not clear is there to help or hinder Maggie's search for the girl. Meanwhile, her sister's murderer sets his sights on the little girl — and Maggie.The first book of the Maggie Newberry Mystery Series, Murder in the South of France was originally titled Murder on the Côte d’Azur.

Killer Cruise


A.R. Winters - 2019
    All Adrienne wanted was a fun new job on a cruise ship—instead, she’s dealt three big surprises.Surprise number one, wonderful: Her best friend Samantha has joined the cruise!Surprise number two, also quite good: the First Officer is rather handsome.Surprise number three, definitely not good: Samantha is suspected of murdering a VIP cruise passenger.Throw in a few more surprises—an over-the-top boss, a potentially homicidal chef, and a blast from Adrienne’s past—and this cruise might end up being Adrienne’s last.Join Adrienne, her new friend Cece, and First Officer Hot Stuff—er, First Officer Ethan Lee—as they try to uncover the truth before it’s too late…

Retirement Can Be Murder: Every Wife Has a Story


Susan Santangelo - 2009
    Carol dreads Jim's upcoming retirement more than a root canal without Novocain. She can't imagine anything worse than having an at-home husband with time on his hands and nothing to fill it -- except interfering in the day-to-day activities of their household and driving her crazy. Until her plans to stall Jim's retirement result in Jim's being suspected of murdering his retirement coach.

The Case of the Flashing Fashion Queen


N.L. Wilson - 2011
    firm where she's worked for years, Dix Dodd has hung out her own shingle at the ripe age of 40. There are plenty of cheating husbands to go around, and Dix has a knack for busting them. Problem is, it doesn't always pay so well. Conscious that the guys back at the old firm are laying bets about how soon she'll come crawling back, she figures she's got six months to make a go of it.The going gets even tougher when she hires Dylan Foreman. But when he told her about getting fired from his law firm and disbarred for putting common decency before the firm's interests, she hired him on the spot. In addition to being smart, he's gorgeous enough to remind her she's a woman. And at 28, young enough to make her feel like a total cougar.Things start looking up when Dix gets hired by millionaire businessman Ned Weatherby's wife Jennifer Weatherby, to tail Ned 24/7 for a week, for a cool ten grand. Easy-peasy, right? Wrong! The job lands Dix in the middle of a murder investigation - with her as the prime suspect and her arch-enemy Detective Richard Head (a.k.a., Dickhead, one of the cheating husbands she'd nailed) gunning for her.Dix will need all her ingenuity, as well as the help of Dylan and her oddball cast of supporters to extricate herself from this one.

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. . .

Murder at Mile Marker 18


Denise Jaden - 2020
    Her late husband had been the mystery novelist with a penchant for the suspicious. She was born for the crock pot, not the magnifying glass, and yet here she is elbow deep in fettuccine, cat treats, and teenagers with an attitude, the combination of which lands her smack-dab in the middle of a murder investigation.Maybe she should have thought twice about delivering a casserole to a grieving family. Maybe she should have avoided the ever-changing green eyes of her seventh-grade crush—now the most heart-stopping cop in town. Maybe she should have stopped listening to the insightful mewls of her cat, Hunch, who most likely wants her to be the town’s next murder victim.Whatever the case, Mallory Beck got herself into this investigation, and she has a distraught teenage girl counting on her to deliver the truth.Add book one in the brand new Mallory Beck Cozy Culinary Series, to your to-read list now!

Footprints in the Frosting


Laura Pauling - 2015
    When footprints in the frosting lead to a body facedown in one of her cheesecakes, Holly becomes a prime suspect.With her opening day delayed, Holly deals with a nosy no-good reporter and the local cop, the handsome Officer Trinket, as she puts her sleuthing skills to the test to save her business and her name. With the help of her dog, Muffins, she needs to find the real murderer, before the killer looks to frost someone else.

Dipped, Stripped, and Dead


Elise Hyatt - 2009
    But finding things to refinish is tough - especially when Dyce goes Dumpster diving for discarded furniture and uncovers a gelatinous-looking corpse. Turns out the body was immersed in a vat of lye - a techniquie used for refinishing furniture - making Dyce a prime suspect.Now, in order to clear her good - and thanks to her parents, slightly absurd - name, Dyce has to play private eye. But solving a murder isn't child's play, especially when the next victim just might be her...

Pawsitively Poisonous


Melissa Erin Jackson - 2019
    Amber Blackwood, lifelong resident of Edgehill, Oregon, has earned a reputation for being a semi-reclusive odd duck. Her store, The Quirky Whisker, is full of curiosities, from extremely potent sleepy teas and ever-burning candles to kids’ toys that seem to run endlessly without the aid of batteries. The people of Edgehill think of the Quirky Whisker as an integral part of their feline-obsessed town, but most give Amber herself a wide berth. Amber prefers it that way; it keeps her secret safe. But that secret is thrown into jeopardy when Amber’s friend Melanie is found dead, a vial of headache tonic from Amber’s store clutched in her hand. Edgehill’s newest police chief has had it out for Amber since he arrived three years before. He can’t possibly know she’s a witch, but his suspicions about her odd store and even odder behavior have shot her to the top of his suspect list. When the Edgehill rumor mill finds out Melanie was poisoned, it’s not only the police chief who looks at Amber differently. Determined to both find justice for her friend and to clear her own name, Amber must use her unique gifts to help track down Melanie’s real killer. A quest that threatens much more than her secret …

The Sweet Taste of Murder


CeeCee James - 2016
     After a scandalous divorce, Elise returns from the big city to her southern home town only to trip over the body of the town playboy. He leaves behind a heap of trouble that includes missing money, missing pets, and mourning lovers, and the suspects just keep piling up. Caught in her own drama, Elise is quick to wash her hands of it, until her best friend, Lavina, winds up as the number one suspect. Can Elise clear her friend’s name without ending up as the next one dead? Or are her friendship blinders keeping her from seeing the truth?