Book picks similar to
Murder Between the Lines by Thea Cambert


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

Death Turns a Trick


Julie Smith - 1982
    That dirty job done, a lovely evening turns even more delightful when she’s picked up by the cops and spends the next two hours at the Hall of Justice. Could this day get any worse? Of Course! Guess who arrives home to find a dead hooker on her living room floor?Handsome Parker Phillips, Rebecca’s new beau and the most attractive man she’s met in ages, is arrested for the murder. (Worse, she suspects he might actually have done it.)On the plus side, another very attractive man is following the case--reporter Rob Burns of the San Francisco Chronicle, a possible ally. And there are other possibilities.Fans of Janet Evanovich, Joan Hess, and Elizabeth Peters will get a kick out of this one.

The Case of the Abandoned Aussie


B.R. Snow - 2016
    One morning while fishing, they hook a really big one; the dead body of a rich candy magnate who owns an island in the area. They also find Chloe, an Australian Shepherd puppy, swimming nearby and frantically trying to survive the trauma of being thrown overboard in the middle of the night. A fast-paced and funny mystery unfolds that affectionately focuses on dogs, food, and the natural beauty of the Thousand Islands region as Suzy and Josie embark on a mission to protect Chloe as well as figure out who killed the candy magnate. And as the list of suspects grows, and the victims pile up, they find themselves dealing with a unique cast of characters and wondering if they just might be the next target. The Thousand Islands Doggy Inn Mysteries, in Suzy and Josie, features two of the smartest and funniest lead female protagonists to hit the cozy mystery scene in a very long time, and their affection for food and boundless love and devotion to their dogs puts this new series in the Don’t Miss category. The Case of the Abandoned Aussie gets this fresh alphabet series off to a great start, and B.R. Snow promises that readers are in for a long, wild, and highly entertaining ride as the series moves forward.

Geared for the Grave


Duffy Brown - 2014
    But after someone sends a prominent local on her final ride, it’s up to one resourceful visitor to get things running again… Hoping to shift her chances of a promotion in her favor, Evie Bloomfield heads to Mackinac Island to assist her boss’s father. Rudy Randolph has broken his leg and operating his bike shop, Rudy’s Rides, is too much to handle by himself. But Evie’s good turn only leads to more trouble… After Evie’s arrival, wealthy resident Bunny Harrington dies in what looks like a freak bike accident. Upon closer inspection, Bunny’s brakes were tampered with, and now the prime suspect in her murder is also Bunny’s number one enemy: Rudy. So if Evie hopes to stay on her boss’s good side, she’ll need to steer Rudy clear of jail. Now she must quickly solve this mystery so she can put the brakes on the real killer’s plan…

Murder in Steeple Martin


Lesley Cookman - 2006
    The play, written by her friend Peter, is based on real events in his family, disturbing and mysterious, which took place in the village during the last war. As the investigation into the murder begins to uncover a tangled web of relationships in the village, it seems that the events dramatised in the play still cast a long shadow, dark enough to inspire murder. Libby's natural nosiness soon leads her into the thick of the investigation, but is she too close to Peter's family, and in particular his cousin Ben, to be able to recognise the murderer?

Maple Can Be Murder


Grace Lemon - 2016
    It’s just that kind of place. And things get a whole lot stickier for the residents when a businessman visiting the island ends up smothered at the local sugar bush. With maple syrup season in full swing, Ida Noe’s fudge shop is busier than a centipede at a toe counting contest – especially when she’s invited to showcase her world famous Maple Bacon Fudge at Sweeney’s Sugar Bush. All is sweet until some poor sap kicks the bucket in the sugarhouse and all fingers point to Ida’s best friend Maura Sweeney. With the help of her lumpy black Lab and origami loving friend, Ida is determined to “tap” the real killer and prove that maple can indeed be murder. Previously published as Maple Can Be Murder.

Case of the Strawberry Cream Stabbing


Jessica Lansberry - 2017
     After losing her husband, Beatrice thought her days of adventure were over, but then she meets a handsome debonair man who turns out to be a conman and murdered days later. Armed with her two quirky best friends and a sarcastic handsome police detective, Beatrice must solve the murder mystery before the crime gets too close for comfort! Case of the Strawberry Cream Stabbing is the first of these cozy mysteries new releases. There are absolutely no sex, gore, curse words or cliffhangers in these murder mystery books. This is an easy read about a retired school teacher and amateur sleuth who lives in a retirement community filled with colorful personalities. If you like cats and wise-cracking parrots, you'll enjoy these cozy mysteries for kindle. Although this book is part of a cozy mystery series, it can be read as a standalone book.

Murder by the Bay


Tonya Kappes - 2016
    The Blossom Bay Short Series is a series of short stories based on the characters of Blossom Bay. Some of the short stories will be mystery, some will be romance, while others will be woman's fiction. One thing is for sure, each short story with have the fun and charm of the Tonya Kappes novels you are use to reading. Murder By The BayJulia France has had a reoccurring dream of the same house for years. On her way to meet up with a group of friends for a get-away weekend, the dream house appeared right before her eyes. Lucky her! The house was not only a bed and breakfast for the quaint community, it was for sale! Julia knew it had to be fate and bought the house. Blossom Bay Inn is open for business and Julia's dream come true has come to a halt when someone is found dead at the Inn. Is Julia's dream over before it even started?

Moonshine & Magic


Bella Falls - 2018
    Now that she’s ready to return home, she plans to lay low and sip some of her Nana’s sweet tea while the town gossips come out to play. Unfortunately, on her first night back, Charli discovers the body of her crazy great-uncle (hey, everyone has one). She suddenly finds herself at the center of a mystery that threatens the very foundations of Honeysuckle Hollow and the safety of every paranormal citizen in it—starting with Charli herself. With the clock ticking, will Charli’s special magical talents be enough to save not only the town but her own life? Find out now in Moonshine & Magic: A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Book 1!

Secrets of the Specter: A Haunted Mystery, A Magical Cat & A Modern-Day Candlestick Maker


Molly Fitz - 2021
    I work in my family’s shop in the historic district of Larkhaven, Georgia, and also make a pretty penny from sharing videos of my process online.My life is simple, quiet, and all mine… until a white cat with mismatched eyes shows up outside my shop and refuses to leave. When I take him home, things get really weird. As in, I can now see things and people that were never there before.It gets even freakier when a voiceless spirit introduces herself to me via a handwritten letter. This specter claims that I share her name and will also share her fate if we can’t solve the mystery that’s haunted our town since 1781… and quickly, because she won’t be able to maintain her strength for much longer.Talk about a cold case! Can I actually find a way to free my eighteenth-century counterpart? Or has my new feline companion just signed my death warrant by opening my eyes to the secret supernatural plane in our otherwise sleepy small town?

Bought The Farm


Jeff Shelby - 2016
     Divorced, and with kids out on their own, she uses a recent inheritance to make big changes to her life. She quits her job and, on a whim, buys a hobby farm in rural Virginia, a hundred miles from her long-time home near Washington, DC. Despite the fact that she has no idea what she's doing, she's buoyed by the prospect of living in a small town and adjusting to country life. Until she finds a body in her bungalow. A handsome neighbor, a charming pastor, a grumpy bartender, and a bumbling sheriff all manage to complicate the situation, especially when Rainy herself becomes a suspect in the crime. When things take a turn for the worse, Rainy has to wonder – did she make a mistake buying the farm?

The Slay of the Santas


Kacey Gene - 2019
     It’s Christmas time in the snowy, quaint town of Middlebridge, Wisconsin, and Jennifer Hunter -- a sweet, organized second-grade teacher who has a mind for sleuthing -- is ready to spend her Christmas break crocheting, baking, and relaxing. But before the school bell can ring for Christmas break, her best friend and Middlebridge’s Lieutenant, Jake Hollow, shows up in her classroom, but he’s not there to bring a cup of Christmas cheer. There’s a murder in town, and he needs Jennifer’s help solving the crime. Jennifer soon discovers that not only is the killer targeting retired Santa Clauses, but he’s also staging his victims like scenes from the Charles Dickens novel A CHRISTMAS CAROL. As Jake and Jennifer follow the clues, more questions than answers start to arise: What is this Society of Santas they keep hearing about? Why is the killer leaving behind empty pudding packages at each crime scene? And what in the world does the book A CHRISTMAS CAROL have to do with the victims? Add to that a tight-lipped orphan boy who’s housing a pack of puppies in one of the victim’s buildings, a quirky book store owner who lies about ever having sold a copy of A CHRISTMAS CAROL and Jennifer’s date with a fellow school teacher that ends in total disaster. In between holiday parties, family obligations, baking, and creating handmade Christmas presents, Jennifer must craft together an investigation that catches the killer and saves the Santa Clauses in town. Otherwise, the night before Christmas might be their last. This clean, cozy mystery will captivate readers with Jennifer’s amateur sleuthing that entangles her in snow-deep shenanigans, cryptic car chases, and more chocolate pudding than she ever imagined. Readers will fall in love with the quick-witted and craft-loving Jennifer Hunter, who is down-to-earth and has a heart as warm as a crackling fire on a cold winter’s night. The charming friendship between Jennifer and Lieutenant Jake Hollow epitomizes the quaint, familial feel that lives in small towns, especially those sleepy hamlets with snow-capped houses and a love for Christmas. THE SLAY OF THE SANTAS is an exhilarating page-turner with cliffhangers around every corner, and it will bring the joy of the holiday season all year round. Readers who love cozy mysteries like Jessica Beck’s PUMPKIN PLEAS, Betty Hechtman’s BY HOOK OR BY CROOK, and Joanna Campbell Slan’s KIKI LOWENSTEIN SERIES and readers who have holiday favorites like Charles Dickens’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Louisa May Alcott’s LITTLE WOMEN, and O’Henry’s “THE GIFT OF THE MAGI,” will be enchanted by Kacey Gene’s THE SLAY OF THE SANTAS.

Frosted Shadow


Nancy Warren - 2011
    She’s also got a nose for trouble and a passion for solving mysteries. Imagine Columbo in a lavender suit. She never met a woman who wouldn’t look better with a little help from the Lady Bianca line of cosmetics. But don’t be fooled by appearances. Underneath the fake diamonds and the big hair is a sharp brain and a keen eye that sees the details as well as the funny side of life. When a Lady Bianca sales rep is murdered at the annual convention in Dallas, Toni is the one who notices things that some people, like sexy Detective Luke Marciano, might easily miss. Only someone who understands as much about how to make appearances deceiving could see into the mind of this killer -- a murderer who wants to give Toni a permanent makeover. Into a dead woman.

Gone With The Ghost


Erin McCarthy - 2017
    Except that’s exactly what happened. Ryan is very much dead, having shot himself with his own police-issued gun. Guilt and grief shouldn’t cause hallucinations though, but six months after Ryan went into the ground, Bailey is freaking out and swearing his ghost is standing in her kitchen. Which he is… Ryan claims he didn’t commit suicide, but was murdered, and he needs Bailey to help him find his killer so he can earn his ticket out of purgatory. Ryan’s counting on a stairway to heaven, as opposed to wings, since that might be a little unmanly for a cop, even a dead one. An expert in home design, with her own staging business, Bailey can tell you where to place a couch to improve flow and comfort, but solving a crime? Not her area of expertise. But with help from Ryan’s former partner, Marner, she is unraveling the mystery of what happened to Ryan that day… and unwittingly putting herself in grave danger. Murder By Design Series Book 1- Gone With The Ghost Book 2- Silence of The Ghost Book 3- Once Upon a Ghost Bestselling author Erin McCarthy offers her signature humor in this fun series about an uptight fashion-conscious home stager who finds herself stiletto-deep in murder...

Raining Men and Corpses


Anne R. Tan - 2014
    Raina Sun is a typical graduate student trying to keep her head above water as the bills roll in from a lawsuit disputing an inheritance from her dysfunctional family. Then her dashing college adviser cons her out of several months of rent. Her quest to get her money back sets into motion a streak of bad luck. First, she finds the dead body of an ex-lover and becomes the prime suspect to his murder. The only man she ever loved reappears as the lead detective to the case and wants to reignite their passion (or at least he’s sending out smoke signals). Her life careens out of control as her best friend does whatever it takes to get the inside scoop for the town’s newspaper. And her grandma moves into Raina’s postage-stamp-sized apartment, dragging a red suitcase and trouble. The family secret Raina has been running away from is now staring at her across the dining room table every morning.Raina must figure out how to extract herself before things get dicey. There is no place for an amateur when it comes to murder. The eclectic cast of characters in this amateur sleuth mystery will have you scratching your head and laughing until the end.

Bed and Breakfast and Murder


Patti Larsen - 2017
    Instead, I forced myself to smile and swallow and remind myself the elbow length yellow rubber gloves grasping the handle of the standard issue plunger were all that stood between me and Pooageddon.Suck it up, Fee. Big girl panties and adulting and all that."At what point," I waved the dripping plunger, wincing as droplets of yuck flew, "did I think owning a bed and breakfast was going to be glamorous and romantic?"Fiona Fleming hasn't lived in Reading, Vermont in over a decade, her escape from small town living leading her to New York City and a life of adventure. An adventure that has left her with no career, an ex who cheated on her and zero plans for the future. Her grandmother's death grants her a new chance--inheriting Petunia's, Iris Fleming's bed and breakfast, seems like the ideal fresh start. But when Fee finds out ownership of the property Iris willed her might be in question, she's drawn into the seedy underbelly of the cutest town in America after being singled out as the main suspect in a murder.