Scraps of Paper


Kathryn Meyer Griffith - 2003
    It’s made her sympathetic to the missing and their families.Starting her new life, Abigail moves to small town and buys a fixer-upper house left empty when old Edna Summers died. Once it was also home to Edna’s younger sister, Emily, and her two children, Jenny and Christopher, who, people believe, drove away one night, thirty years ago, and just never came back.But in renovating the house Abigail finds scraps of paper hidden behind baseboards and tucked beneath the porch that hint the three could have been victims of foul play.Then she finds their graves hidden in the woods behind the house and with the help of eccentric townspeople and ex-homicide detective, Frank Lester, she discovers the three were murdered. Then she and Frank try to uncover who killed them and why…but in the process awaken the ire of the murderer. ***

Claus For Alarm


Gretchen Allen - 2019
     Charlotte Claus, not to be confused with the ever-popular Mrs. Claus, volunteers to house-sit for a friend of the family while he is out of the country on business. She arrives in Partridge Point on her own, as this time of year is a very big one for her husband, Kris, not to be confused with the even-more-popular, Santa Claus. Things heat up fast, when Charlotte finds herself in charge of the town’s prestigious cookie exchange. Baking one’s way into oblivion, while keeping track of all of the other cookie participants would set anyone in their right mind on edge. Anyone but Charlotte, that is. With the patience of a saint, she brings the Claus-doubting town of Partridge Point jingling its way right onto the nice list. Except, unfortunately, for her neighbor, Hannah, the mayor of Partridge Point, who is accused of murder. Refusing to let the sweet woman end up in jail, Charlotte promises to rein in the crowds of people that are positive that Hannah is a criminal. Partridge Point will never be the same, after Charlotte brings the joy and spirit of the season back to everyone’s hearts, even in the midst of the town’s largest scandal, and a murder that threatens to ruin the Christmas magic that she’s worked so hard to spread. Can Charlotte save the day and solve the crime of the season before the cookies burn, and goodwill goes up in smoke?

Sharpe Shooter


Lisa B. Thomas - 2015
    They found a skeleton in the closet…literally. When they identify the man’s body 40 years after his disappearance, the family turns to their niece, Deena Sharpe, to uncover the truth about his murder. Deena, a burned-out high school teacher, soon discovers that a mysterious author is about to implicate her dead uncle in his latest conspiracy theory. She must channel her inner Lara Croft and Lois Lane to solve the puzzle and protect her family name. With the help of her off-beat brother and others from the cozy town of Maycroft, Texas, Deena takes on a quest that leads to more questions than answers. Along the way, she discovers some truths about life and herself as well.

Makeup & Murder


Stephanie Damore - 2017
    When she’s attacked inside a client’s home and wakes to find a dead body, she gives up the safety of selling lipsticks for the dangerous role of detective. The dead man was her top client’s husband, and it turns out he used his money to buy more than happiness. With suspects piling up, a killer on the loose and her own life threatened, Ziva vows to solve the case and digs her high heels in even deeper. The last thing she expected is finding another dead body – or befriending the murderer!

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 Secret of Seaside


Agatha Ball - 2017
    AND MURDER! Paige Comber dreams of running off to Paris to train at the Cordon Bleu, but fresh out of college, she is stuck running her granny's coffee shop in the small town of Seaside. It looks like a lousy summer until a handsome stranger named Nate arrives. He's here to help his Uncle Byron with his affairs, but when his uncle's body washes up on the beach and Nate is thrown into prison, it is up to Paige to find out who might have been crazy enough to do it. BOOK ONE in the PAIGE COMBER MYSTERY series

Alas, She Drowned


Monica Knightley - 2016
    Betrayal. Tea and Scones. When ex-novice nun, turned steamy romance writer, Maggie O’Flynn moves to the charming village of Stratford Upon Avondale to open a tea room she expects plenty of murders, betrayal, and duplicity. On the stages of the town’s renowned Shakespeare Festival. But when a theater critic is found murdered on the town’s riverbank and the prime suspect turns out to be the sexy bookshop owner Maggie has had her eye on, she takes matters into her own hands. Will she be able to dig through the layers of betrayal and duplicity to find the true murderer before that handsome bookseller, Nate Larimer, finds himself behind bars? With the help of her loud, brash, spitfire of a friend, Gina Mattucci, Maggie plans to do just that. With a bit of Shakespeare, copious amounts of tea, and a faux-English setting to rival anything the real England has to offer, ALAS, SHE DROWNED is the first book in THE STRATFORD UPON AVONDALE mystery series. Lovers of cozy mysteries will find a cozy home in Stratford Upon Avondale.

Skeletons in the Closet


Jennifer L. Hart - 2008
    As the wife of retired Navy SEAL, and the adoptive mother of two little hellions, Maggie is constantly looking for ways to improve her family’s financial situation. She accepts a cleaning position for her new neighbors (who redefine the term ‘eccentric’), never imagining she will end up as the sole alibi for a man with a fascination for medieval torture devices when he is brought up on murder charges.While Maggie struggles to prove the man’s innocence, her deadbeat brother arrives, determined to sell Maggie and Neil on his next great scheme and to mooch with a vengeance. If that isn’t bad enough, her in-laws, (the cut-throat corporate attorneys) descend on the house, armed with disapproval and condemnation, for the family’s annual Thanksgiving celebration.As the police investigation intensifies, Maggie searches for the killer among the upper echelon of Hudson, Massachusetts in the only way she can— by scrubbing their thrones.Of the porcelain variety, that is…

Invisible


Lorena McCourtney - 2004
    So when vandals romp through the local cemetery, she takes advantage of her newfound anonymity and its unforeseen advantages as she launches her own unofficial investigation.Despite her oddball humor and unconventional snooping, Ivy soon becomes discouraged by her failure to turn up any solid clues. And after Ivy witnesses something ominous and unexplained, she can't resist putting her investigative powers to work again. Even the authorities' attempts to keep Ivy out of danger and her nosy neighbor's match-making schemes can't slow her down. But will the determination that fuels this persistent, quirky sleuth threaten her very safety?

A Maryland Witch (Witches of Crabtree Bay Book 1)


Catherine Mesick - 2019
    While the town is still reeling from the news, Chloe’s high school rival is attacked and another young girl is placed under the infamous Sleeping Beauty Curse. Suspicious eyes soon turn to Chloe, and the whole town believes she is guilty. As Chloe investigates the attacks, with a little help from the handsome but irritating Professor Mike Fellowes, she discovers that there may be a deeper and deadlier plan afoot—one that’s focused on her. Can Chloe unravel the mystery in time? Or will she fall prey to the malevolent figure lurking in the shadows?

Seven Lives to Kill


K.M. Waller - 2020
    But when her eccentric Aunt Ginger passes away, she leaves Loretta her prized cat sanctuary. Her aunt's dying wish is that the seven remaining felines are allowed to live out the rest of their days in comfort on the little farm.Recently widowed and ready for a change, Loretta relocates to the town of Saint Wales, Florida to honor her aunt's wishes thinking how hard can it be to look after a few cats.Only, the neighbors aren't exactly hospitable and several have been trying to shut down the sanctuary for years. Worse, someone is out to sabotage the farm by any possible means putting the cats and Loretta in danger. Not only that, a close friend of her aunt's doesn't believe Aunt Ginger died of natural causes.Can Loretta settle into her new role as cat mom and protector while fending off the cat haters and a possible murderer?

Perils in Provence


Carolyn L. Dean - 2018
     A dangerous past life. A new mysterious boss. An old chateau with some very suspicious characters. Jennifer was happy working as a baker at the Ravenwood Inn, but when fate comes calling in the form of Gable Landon, she’s ready to jump at the new career he offers. Soon she’s globetrotting from Oregon to Bruges, then on to Provence to assess a rundown property her boss might want to buy. The charm of southern France and its food and landscape is almost intoxicating, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s made a new friend, a French bulldog named Orly. What Jennifer hadn’t expected, though, was stone cold murder. Clean language, and only rated PG because hey, there’s a murderer running around in this book.

Secrets in a Bottle


Shelly West - 2019
    She's been struggling to make it in Boston when a call beckons her down to the cozy seaside town of Wallace Point. Now's her chance to meet a grandmother she never knew--if Grandma survives, that is!Grandma is in a coma after an apparent break-in at her antique store, leaving Abigail to run Whodunit Antiques in her absence. The locals are very protective of Grandma, their de facto town matriarch, making Abigail wonder... just who is this woman?When Grandma wakes up, a mystery unfolds, starting with a dead body, a broken ship in a bottle, and a historical maritime rivalry. Will Abigail uncover the centuries-old secret that put Grandma in the hospital? And will Abigail learn why her mother kept her away from Grandma for all these years?The Whodunit Antiques series is fun, quirky, and, most importantly, cozy! So settle into your favorite chair, preferably with a cup of hot cocoa in hand, and get ready to escape into a town whose residents are always up to mischief, and where pirates run amok.

Bribing Saint Anthony


Rita Moreau - 2014
    A missing husband. A plot to blow up a national treasure. Fortune telling aunts. Mary Catherine, MC for short, didn’t move as the Queen of Boca Vista, Babbs La-Fleur, placed a pile of cash, which appeared out of a purse she knew cost more than her car, smack dab in the middle of her desk.Word at all the cocktail parties was that MC had a skill that came in handy for an aging socialite going through a divorce. She was good at finding cash in hidden bank accounts. Cash to pay for a nip and tuck and a new identity: Cougar. Hired that day by Queen Babbs to find her bad boy husband, Charlie, MC was back on familiar ground, tracking down bad guys through clues left in the DNA of their paper life. Asking her Aunt Sophia to read the family fortune telling cards might have helped. Instead, the paper trail Charlie left takes MC from a murder in the world of rich socialites to working with covert government agents deep in the world of counter terrorism.Praise for Bribing Saint Anthony Review from Sheldon Siegel "I had a chance to read Bribing Saint Anthony on a recent flight. It was a great read! I don't have a lot of time to read for fun these days, and your story was a treat. You have a nice touch, and MC is an engaging lead. Reminded me a bit of Carl Hiaasen--What is it about Florida, anyway?!? Keep up the good work!" Cheers from San Francisco, SheldonSheldon Siegel is a New York Times best-selling author of the critically acclaimed legal thriller series featuring Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez, two of the most beloved characters in contemporary crime fiction.

Pecked To Death


Vanessa Gray Bartal - 2012
    When her beloved neighbor and mentor dies, Sadie returns home in disgrace after humiliating herself in front of the nation. She intends to stop at home, pay her respects, and start anew somewhere else. But then the will is read, and Abby has left something unusual for Sadie in her will--a request to solve her murder. Luke Sawyer has finally put his life back on track; he's finally put his old best friend, Sadie Cooper, out of his mind. And then she comes in like a hurricane to rip his careful life apart again. She won't give up her ridiculous quest to solve a murder that doesn't exist, and she won't stay out of Luke's head. The fastest way to get her out of town is to help her figure out what happened to Abby, but the only way to do that is to get close to her again. Together, Sadie and Luke must team up to figure out what's going on. They'll get closer than they ever wanted to be to each other, and closer to a killer than they know.