Book picks similar to
Hopeless Pocus by Rachel Rivers


paranormal
mystery
first-in-series
cozy-mystery

A Taste of the Nightlife


Sarah Zettel - 2011
    Her restaurant, Nightlife, is poised to take the top slot in the world of "haute noir" cuisine. But when a drunk customer causes a scene, a glowing review from the city's top food critic doesn't seem likely-especially when that customer winds up dead on Nightlife's doorstep. Now, with her brother under suspicion for the murder, Charlotte has to re-open her restaurant and clear her brother's name-before they both become dinner.

Half Blood


Lauren Dawes - 2012
    ‘You killed me,’ she breathed, swallowing down on the hard lump in her throat. It wasn’t often that someone got an opportunity to come face to face with their killer."A battle for werewolf territory and rights has Rhett fighting for his life and for the survival of the pack. The last half blood—a half human, half vampire hybrid—has been found and Rhett has been chosen as her unlikely Guardian. The pack’s survival hangs on her completing her transformation, but a Sicarii—a vampire assassin—is hunting her to ensure that never happens …Indigo’s hard exterior is nothing compared to the dark secret she carries within her. Her haunted eyes alone tell of her struggle and desire to live. But what she doesn’t know is that she is hard-wired for survival; the very blood in her veins and the legacy of her father demands it. But when her life takes a violent turn, her heritage and her fate may be the very thing to get her killed …

Small Town Shock


Issy Brooke - 2015
     Except for Penny May. She’s tired of the stress of her job in London, and it’s time for an early retirement. In an effort to reclaim the exuberance of youth that she once had, she gets a funky hair style, a classic motorcycle - and a dog with “issues”. Dog ownership is harder than she expected, but she won’t give up. To avoid postmen, people in hats, people with bags and all the other dogs in the world, she has to walk in lonely places at lonely times … it’s almost inevitable that she stumbles across a dead body, really. It might not be the most conventional way of settling into a new community, but the locals open up to her, and soon she’s involved in the investigation. But her need for justice brings her into conflict with Drew, the local blacksmith who’s been helping her with dog training, and Cath Pritchard, the detective constable. Is her need for friendship stronger than her need to find the killer? And will she ever be able to walk her dog in daylight? This is a clean read suitable for all; it’s a standalone novel with no cliffhanger, and the mystery is fair-play and solved. “Some Very English Murders” can be enjoyed in any order but you may prefer to follow them chronologically.

Pleating for Mercy


Melissa Bourbon - 2011
    But when she opens a dressmaking boutique in the turn-of-the-century farmhouse she inherited, Harlow senses an inexplicable "presence". Her old friend Josie orders a gown for her upcoming wedding, but when Josie's boss turns up dead, Harlow has to find the killer-with a little help from beyond.

The Tegen Cave


Inge-Lise Goss - 2013
    But when people around her start dying from poisonous spider bites after she receives a mysterious package with a spider concealed inside, she worries that the family has found her. Life takes an even more bizarre turn when she seems to be not only immune to the spider venom, but also surrounded by a sinister group of people using spiders to incapacitate their prey. Even her new boyfriend starts acting suspiciously. Just who can she trust?Then to make matters worse Sara’s twenty-fifth birthday approaches, and her dark heritage begins to emerge. She is forced to make a life-or-death decision. And somehow, she must find a way to deal with the crime family.

Strange Magic


Syd Moore - 2017
    No, not at all. It’s no surprise therefore when she inherits the ramshackle Essex Witch Museum, her first thought is to take the money and run.Still, the museum exerts a curious pull over Rosie. There’s the eccentric academic who bustles in to demand she help in a hunt for old bones, those of the notorious Ursula Cadence, a witch long since put to death. And there’s curator Sam Stone, a man about whom Rosie can’t decide if he’s tiresomely annoying or extremely captivating. It all adds up to looking like her plans to sell the museum might need to be delayed, just for a while.Finding herself and Sam embroiled in a most peculiar centuries-old mystery, Rosie is quickly expelled from her comfort zone, where to her horror, the secrets of the past come with their own real, and all too present, danger as a strange magic threatens to envelope them all.

The Kitchen Witch


Annette Blair - 2004
    What else can explain what's happening to him? Logan, a television producer, can't seem to concentrate on anything since he met his enchanting new neighbor.... LOGAN HOPES SHE IS BAD, *VERY BAD*. When Logan agrees to help Melody find a job at his TV station, he never expects the culinary-challenged siren to land her own cooking show. Her charisma keeps things bubbling on the set, and behind the scenes, things are starting to steam up between them. Logan knows he can't resist her charms -- but is there more to their attraction than the here and now? If only he had a crystal ball to show him....

Witch Happens


A.M. King - 2018
    Febe just found out she comes from a long line of…witches! Febe Summer is not having a good day. Or a good year, for that matter. She lost her fiancé, her job, and her apartment all in one day—on her 25th birthday! Talk about the worst. Birthday. Ever! She’s jobless, penniless and soon to be…homeless. Will she be able to rebound and pick herself up again? Oh, and she just found out, thanks to a dark family secret, that she’s not who she thought she was. She’s a witch! And she’s not allowed to practice magic—yet. When she moves back to her small hometown of Blackshore Bay, there’s more family drama than she can handle. Her aunties are out of control, her sister is being secretive and someone has murdered the malicious town gossip. Will she be able to find out whom, before it’s too late?

Touched


A.J. Aalto - 2011
    Twice-Touched by the Blue Sense--which gives her the ability to feel the emotions of others, and read impressions left behind on objects--Marnie also has a doctorate in preternatural biology and a working knowledge of the dark arts. She is considered without peer in the psychic community. Then her first big FBI case ended with a bullet in one shoulder and a chip on the other, a queasy heart and a serial killer in the wind, leaving her a public flop and a private wreck. When the FBI’s preternatural crimes unit tracks her down at a remote mountain lodge for her insight on a local case, her quiet retirement is promptly besieged by a stab-happy starlet, a rampaging ghoul, and a vampire-hunting jackass in tight Wranglers. Marnie figures the only real mystery is which one will kill her first. Too mean to die young, backed up by friends in cold places, and running with a mouth as demure as a cannon’s blast, Marnie Baranuik is about to discover that there’s no such thing as quitting time when you’re Touched.

Once Wicked


Cindy Stark - 2018
     An innocent spell. Let the mayhem begin. Hazel Hardy knows she shouldn’t tempt fate, but she’s desperate and…hello, cheap real estate. Her family’s fears don’t stop her from opening a teashop in the quaint New England village where the townsfolk once drowned her ancestor for being a witch. Unfortunately, times haven’t changed…much, anyway.No worries. She swears she won’t stir up trouble…in a cauldron or otherwise. But then her customer’s husband turns up dead. Whispers of “murderous witch” point toward a seemingly innocent girl, and Hazel can’t resist poking her nose where it doesn’t belong.Real trouble shows up when she meets the charming police chief, who doesn’t like witches and who doesn’t hide his attraction to her. Worse, she’s brewing a crush on him, too, and she finds she adores searching for clues to help him solve the case. She convinces herself she’ll be fine as long as they find the murderer before she accidently uses magic again or before he notices the crazy cat from her grandmother’s haunted house that’s stalking her. Buy Once Wicked today to immerse yourself in murder, magic and mayhem! Once Wicked is the first book in the Teas and Temptations Cozy Mystery series. If you like lighthearted paranormal mysteries with a fun romance like Amanda M. Lee and Zoe Arden write, then you’ll love Cindy Stark’s mystical adventures!

The Temptation of Dragons


Chrys Cymri - 2016
    ‘Holy water doesn’t harm vampires. Which is just as well, as it would make it impossible to baptise them.’ When I was asked by a dragon to give him the last rites, I never dreamed it would lead to negotiating with his cannibalistic family or running from snail sharks. Life as the priest of a small English village is quite tame in comparision. At least I have Morey, a gryphon with sarcasm management issues, to help me. And if all else fails, there’s always red wine and single malt whisky. As if my life weren’t complicated enough, a darkly beautiful dragon named Raven keeps appearing where I least expect him, I’ve met a handsome police inspector who loves science fiction as much as I do, and my younger brother is getting into trouble for trying to pick up vampires. That’s what happens when you’re dealing with an incredible and dangerous parallel world full of mythical creatures. And I have to learn to navigate it all without losing myself, or my brother…