Book picks similar to
Perils in Provence by Carolyn L. Dean


mystery
cozy-mystery
fiction
cozy-mysteries

Vanilla Bean Vengeance


Agatha Frost - 2020
    She has always dreamed of one day opening a quaint candle shop in her home village of Northash, but at thirty-five, she still can't afford to take the risk. Stuck in a dead-end job at the local candle factory, and back living with her parents, Claire knows her life needs a shakeup.The last place she expected change to come from was the factory itself, but when the owner is shockingly pushed to her death, Claire's life is flipped upside down. She isn't the only person in the village depending on the factory, so when the murder plunges the business's future into uncertainty, Claire feels compelled to solve the crime.With the help of her retired-detective father and closest friends, Claire uncovers a tangled web of conspiracies, cover-ups, secrets, and lies, but can she uncover the truth before her candle shop dream slips through her fingers forever?Book 1 in the Claire's Candles Cozy Mystery series! Can be read as a standalone. A light, cozy mystery with a candle-loving British amateur female sleuth, in a small village setting with quirky characters. Written in British English. No cliffhanger, swearing, gore or graphic scenes! Contains mild peril.

Murder at the Marina


Ellen Jacobson - 2020
    A dead body on board—even worse.Mollie McGhie is hoping for diamonds for her tenth wedding anniversary. Instead, her husband presents her with a dilapidated sailboat. Just one problem—she doesn’t know anything about boats, nor does she want to.When Mollie discovers someone murdered on board, she hopes it will convince her husband that owning a boat is a bad idea. Unfortunately, he’s more determined than ever to fix the boat up and set out to sea.Mollie finds herself drawn into the tight-knit community living at Palm Tree Marina in Coconut Cove, a small town on the Florida coast. She uncovers a crime ring dealing in stolen marine equipment, investigates an alien abduction, eats way too many chocolate bars, adopts a cat, and learns far more about sailing than she ever wanted to. Can Mollie discover who the murderer is before her nosiness gets her killed?A Mollie McGhie Cozy Sailing Mystery - #1

Yappy Hour


Diana Orgain - 2019
    But when the owner, Rachel, leaves town on mysterious business―and her pet-unfriendly sister, Maggie, takes charge of the bar―things take a ruff turn. Not only does Maggie find a body sprawled on the floor, it’s accompanied by an incriminating letter with Rachel’s name on it. On impulse, she hides the letter from hunky detective, Officer Brad Brooks. “Pull up a chair, put your barking dogs on ice and enjoy the first in a hilarious new series.” Kate Carlisle, New York Times bestselling author, on Yappy Hour. With Rachel as the prime suspect, Maggie sniffs out the scene on her own while getting to know the Roundup Crew and their four-legged besties. The Doggie Daiquiris and Muttgaritas are flowing, but it’s not long before another body turns up. Thanks to the Roundup Crew, Maggie’s new litter of friends will do anything to save the bar and solve the mystery. . .and maybe find a bit of puppy love in the process. “[A] true winner.” Kirkus Reviews

A Witch Too Late


Paula Lester - 2019
    . . For Cascade Lorne, getting out of a messy marriage was supposed to be the ticket to starting over.On the brink of her big five-oh birthday, a special delivery transforms everything she knows and plunges Cascade into a bewitching world of unexpected delights, phenomenal power, and legendary creatures turned real.But before she has time to adjust, Cascade becomes the number one suspect in the murder of a powerful figure in this strange new world.With only a sarcastic talking cat and a mysterious but totally hot neighbor to help, Cascade must unravel a decades old mystery even as the killer plots to use her as the last piece in a lethal puzzle.

Catnip


Valerie Tate - 2012
    That formidable feline proves to be more than a match for the humans in his life, until one fateful night when, caught unawares, he is stuffed in a sack and carried away. A nosy neighbor with a nasty, suspicious mind points the finger of suspicion at the Dunbars and Christopher Mallory, the young attorney who is the trustee of the estate, and under the terms of the will, they face losing everything. When a murder occurs, Christopher finds himself confronting a ruthless killer who would do anything to conceal his or her identity, including to kill again.

Like a Bad Penny


Harper Crowley - 2019
    The good, the bad, and the ghoulish, streaming live and in color to thousands of subscribers. When Meredith and her team of ghost hunters take on a case in the tiny town of Oak Cliff, Georgia, they don’t expect anything out of the ordinary, just a ghost in a white dress that may or may not be related to a missing persons investigation. But this case is unlike anything Meredith has taken on before. Oak Cliff is a town awash in mysteries and lies, and the spirit Meredith’s searching for may not be the only one haunting the MacIver mansion.Determined to unearth the truth, Meredith and her team dig their way through layers of mysteries and strange occurrences, getting closer to the truth—and real danger. Because it’s becoming clear that someone, or something, wants the past to stay buried, at any cost, and Meredith’s search for the truth just might get her and her team killed. Fans of Amanda Lee and Rose Pressey, get ready to start an exciting new series...

Asking Fur Trouble


Ally Roberts - 2018
     Back home on Sweetwater Island after a decade long absence, Wendy is looking to start anew. Armed with a place to live and her trusty dog, Trixie, all Wendy needs is…well, everything. Money. A job. A plan. When one of the locals on the island assumes she’s a dog walker, she jumps at the chance to make a little money. But walking dogs leads her directly into the path of Caroline Ford. Or, rather, the body of Caroline Ford. An unfriendly police chief soon suspects that Wendy might be involved in the crime and she immediately sets out to prove her innocence. As she works to clear her name, she meets several islanders who already have the wrong impression about her…and who might be the one responsible for Caroline Ford’s murder. The situation turns dire when Wendy realizes she’s not just a suspect…she might soon be a victim, too. She knew coming back home wouldn’t be easy. She just didn’t expect it to be deadly, too.

It's Just a Little Crush


Caroline Fardig - 2013
    Residents are stunned when the body of a young woman is found strangled, and reporters at the Liberty Chronicle are thrilled, rather disturbingly, over the biggest news story to hit town this century. Lizzie Hart has even bigger problems. Lately, she can’t seem to concentrate on her job as copy editor at the Chronicle with the new hunky investigative reporter, Blake Morgan, swaggering around the office. How can a girl work when she’s using all of her energy combating Blake-induced hot flashes and struggling to repress the giggly inner schoolgirl that’s constantly rearing her dorky head? It’s a good thing that Blake barely knows Lizzie exists. After an odd string of events, however, Lizzie begins to wonder if Blake is really as fabulous as she has fantasized. When Lizzie and Blake find a co-worker dead, Blake’s personality changes completely—and not in a good way. Even though the police rule the death as an accident, Lizzie immediately suspects foul play and senses a connection to the recent murder. She is determined to bring the killer to justice, but is having some trouble getting her Nancy Drew on thanks to the pesky stalker she’s picked up—Blake Morgan. Wait, didn’t she want him to follow her around and pay attention to her? Not like this. Blake has turned from cool and smooth to cold and downright scary, making Lizzie wonder if he should be next on her suspect list.

Happy Birthday Murder (A Reporter Roland Bean Cozy Mystery)


Rachel Woods - 2021
    Someone broke into her house, and she needs his help.Rushing to his sister's rescue, Beanie nearly hits a man staggering into the road. After the stranger collapses in the street, Beanie rushes to render aid. To his horror, he recognizes the dying man as Robyn's boyfriend, Dr. Henry Montague. When Beanie asks the doctor who shot him, Henry’s last words shake him to the core: Robyn ... shot me.Refusing to believe his twin sister killed a man, Beanie vows to use his investigative skills to prove her innocence. Beanie discovers plenty of suspects as he delves into the doctor’s dirty dealings, but can he solve the case before the killer makes him the next victim?

Beach Blanket Homicide


Maggie March - 2018
    Her rescue dog Paco is a ghost whisperer. Together, they solve crime in this laugh-out-loud cozy mystery series!Everyone agrees that Lucy McGuffin bakes the muffins in Whispering Bay, but she's got another talent, one that she's tried her whole life to hide. Lucy can always tell when a person is lying or telling the truth. Being a human lie detector isn't all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you really don't want the answer to the universal question, "Does this dress make my butt look too big?"When Lucy is hired to cater the grand opening celebration of the city's new community center, she stumbles across the dead body of Abby Delgado, a prominent member of the Sunshine Ghost Society. Lucy's brother, Father Sebastian, a local priest, is the last person to have seen Abby alive. Convinced he'll be breaking a confidence, Sebastian refuses to cooperate with the police, forcing Lucy to put her skills to the test to save her brother's good name.Enter the town's new hotshot deputy, Travis Fontaine. Travis doesn't want an amateur like Lucy snooping around his turf, so he offers her a deal. He'll stay out of her kitchen if she stays away from his crime scenes. But Lucy isn't about to let her brother's fate rest in the hands of an arrogant cop.Good thing she has her best friend, Will, and her new rescue dog, Paco, to back her up, because it's up to Lucy to figure out what everyone in the quaint little beachside town is hiding.NOTE: This book was previously published under the name Maria Geraci

All I Got Was The Headache


Anne Avery - 2016
    Literally. Life, for Maxie, has never been the same since. Amelia has rotten taste in clothes, a fondness for single malt scotch, and an annoying penchant for meddling where she’s not wanted. As far as Maxie’s concerned, her fairy godmother’s “assistance” isn’t wanted anywhere, at any time, for any reason whatsoever. Unfortunately for Maxie, when it comes to heeding hints (not to mention demands and outright threats), Amelia has the hide of a rhinoceros—nothing gets through! Maxie is the owner and sole employee of Maxie Peterson Investigations. When she discovers her newest, richest, and (sadly) only client dead on her office floor with her letter opener through his heart, she isn’t surprised to find Amelia’s already on the job—Amelia can always be counted on to be in the middle of things, making them worse. What Maxie isn’t prepared for is the hunky new detective in charge of the case. Ben Trueblood is as hard-nosed as Maxie, and just as determined to find the killer, but he’s got a major advantage—he doesn’t have a fairy godmother making a mess of everything before he even gets started!

A Witchy Mistake


Rhonda Hopkins - 2020
    A misuse of powers. An Unexpected Consequence. Sixteen-year-old Charley Cooper is furious when her cousin Danu uses her powers to get back at a high school nemesis without considering the consequences. When someone attacks the other girl and she ends up in a coma, Danu becomes the prime suspect. As annoyed as she is at her cousin, Charley doesn't want her to go down for something she didn't do. Even though Charley has never had magical abilities of her own, when she has what she believes is a vision about an attack on Danu, she's forced to investigate. Can she find the guilty party before her cousin pays - one way or another?  If you enjoy magic, quirky characters, and small-town mysteries with a touch of romance, you're sure to enjoy A Witchy Mistake!

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.

The Root of All Evil


R.T. Green - 2021
    

Ghosts and Garlands


Morgan Vale - 2020
    A quiet evening with her best friend turns spooky when they encounter a ghost in her basement. Not just any ghost, though — the town’s storied founder herself.Now Kat, Pepper, and her snarky familiar Albus have a job to do. A grieving neighbor needs their help, and it wouldn’t be a holiday without a little ghostly intervention, right?And a witchy New Year!