Book picks similar to
A Real Basket Case by Beth Groundwater
mystery
cozy-mysteries
cozy-mystery
fiction
Grace Under Pressure
Julie Hyzy - 2010
Everyone wants a piece of millionaire Bennett Marshfield, owner of Marshfield Manor, but now it's up to a new curator Grace Wheaton and handsome groundskeeper Jack Embers to protect dear old Marshfield. But to do this, they'll have to investigate a botched Ponzi scheme, some torrid Wheaton family secrets-and sour grapes out for revenge.
Meet Your Baker
Ellie Alexander - 2014
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is bringing in lots of tourists looking for some crumpets to go with their heroic couplets. But when one of Torte's customers turns up dead, there's much ado about murder...The victim is Nancy Hudson, the festival's newest board member. A modern-day Lady Macbeth, Nancy has given more than a few actors and artists enough reasons to kill her...but still. The silver lining? Jules's high school sweetheart, Thomas, is the investigator on the case. His flirtations are as delicious as ever, and Jules can't help but want to have her cake and eat it too. But will she have her just desserts? Murder might be bad for business, but love is the sweetest treat of all...
A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die
Edith Maxwell - 2013
But when a killer strikes on her property, her first foray into the world of organic farming yields a bumper crop of locally sourced murder…Cam’s first growing season has gotten off to a slow start, but her CSA is flourishing thanks to a colorful group of subscribers led by Lucinda DaSilva, an enthusiastic Brazilian volunteer who’s vowed to eat nothing but locally produced food for one year. When Cam fires her only employee, local handyman Mike Montgomery, because he won’t follow organic growing practices, it seems like just another day at the office—until she finds him with a pitchfork sticking out of his neck.The police suspect Cam of Mike’s murder, but when their investigation goes nowhere, Lucinda joins Cam in the hunt for the real killer. In a small New England town full of eccentric locavores, there’s no shortage of possibilities—from a neighboring farmer who competes with Cam for customers to a Swedish chef whose romantic designs on her have recently taken a turn for the odd. And then there’s the local militia group with its decidedly nonlocal agenda…To clear her name, Cam will have to dig up secrets buried deep beneath the soil of Produce Plus Plus Farm. And she’ll have to catch a murderer whose motto seems to be “Eat local. Kill local.”
A Clue for the Puzzle Lady
Parnell Hall - 1999
A baffling clue leads him to consult Bakerhaven’s resident puzzle expert—his first big mistake. Soon Cora’s meddling, mischief-making behavior drives Chief Harper to distraction and inspires many cross words from her long-suffering niece, Sherry. But when another body turns up in a murder that hits much closer to home, Cora must find a killer—before she winds up in a wooden box three feet across…and six down.
Veiled Threats
Deborah Donnelly - 2002
. . . Don’t miss amateur detective Carnegie Kincaid, expert in all things matrimony and murder, in the Hallmark original movie Wedding Planner Mystery on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries!
A WEDDING TO DIE FOR . . . When love is in the air, Carnegie Kincaid is not far behind. A wedding planner who works out of her Seattle houseboat, Carnegie makes magic—usually—with fractious families, brimming brides, and cantankerous caterers to give loving couples the wedding they’ve always wanted. So why is her dream job turning into a perfect nightmare? It started when Carnegie agreed to plan the wedding of one of Seattle’s most prominent families—who happen to be going through a high-stakes, headline-grabbing legal war. Before she can get her bride-to-be into just the right dress, a murder and a kidnapping plunge Carnegie into a mystery of extortion and violence. With a shadowy figure stalking her, a rich lawyer wooing her, and an annoying reporter pursuing her, Carnegie is putting all wedding plans on hold. In an explosion of sheer terror, she must hunt down a killer—till death do her part.
Wicked Weaves
Joyce Lavene - 2008
INCLUDES RENAISSANCE RECIPES AND FUN FACTS!Assistant professor Jessie Morton spends her summers at the Renaissance Village honing her skills and finding the lady, lord, or serf whodunnit. This summer Jessie is the apprentice to Mary Shift, a basket-maker with a dark past as well as incredible weaving skills. One day a man is bid a deadly fare-thee-well with Mary's signature weave around his neck. It's up to Jessie to spring Mary from the stocks of the Myrtle Beach police station. Yet innocence is hard to prove in a place where there's a fine line between reality and good theater, and history is bound to repeat itself.
Better Off Read
Nora Page - 2018
She takes to her bookmobile, Words on Wheels, to collect allies and rally library support throughout Catalpa Springs, Georgia.However, Cleo soon rolls into trouble. A major benefactor known for his eccentric DIY projects requests all available books on getting away with murder. He’s no Georgia peach, and Cleo wonders if she should worry about his plans. She knows she should when she discovers him bludgeoned and evidence points to her best friend, Mary-Rose Garland. Sure of Mary-Rose’s innocence, Cleo applies her librarian’s sleuthing skills to the case, assisted by friends, family, and the dapper antiquarian bookseller everyone keeps calling her boyfriend. Evidence stacks up, but a killer is overdue to strike again. With lives and her library on the line, Cleo must shift into high gear to close the book on murder in Better Off Read, the charming Bookmobile series debut by Nora Page.
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.
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?
Dying to Remember
Karin Kaufman - 2018
But Ray’s memories of the killing are at odds with the official report, and most people in town would rather forget about the tragic event. When Ray’s investigation turn deadly, past and present collide and Kate must act quickly to uncover the truth.As Kate hunts for clues, she makes a discovery that will change her life forever. It seems that Ray’s talk about fairies in the woods of Smithwell was more than just talk—and reality isn’t quite the ordinary thing Kate imagined it to be. Can she and her new sleuthing partner, a determined little fairy named Minette, solve two murder cases before a third body shows up?
This light, cozy mystery offers a clean read with a female amateur sleuth in a small-town setting. No foul language, sex, gore, or graphic scenes of any kind. It can be read as a standalone, but it will be enjoyed more as part of the series.
Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited.
THE SMITHWELL FAIRIES COZY MYSTERY SERIES:
Book 1: Dying to Remember
Book 2: Dead and Buried
Book 3: Secret Santa Murder (coming soon)
Wreath of Deception
Mary Ellen Hughes - 2000
The entertainment she's hired, Cuddles the Clown, is little help, grumbling and complaining until Jo is ready to strangle him. Someone else does silence him, though – for good. With a dead clown in her storeroom and murdered with one of her craft items, Jo becomes the prime suspect. She works to clear her name, unaware that the crafty killer is ready to do anything it takes to stop her – and won't stop at murder!Includes directions for a craft project!
Clammed Up
Barbara Ross - 2013
But that was before a catered wedding on picturesque Morrow Island turned into a reception for murder. When the best man’s corpse is found hanging from the grand staircase in the Snowden family mansion, Julia must put the chowder pot on the back burner and join the search for the killer. And with suspicion falling on her old crush, Chris Durand, the recipe for saving her business and salvaging her love life might be one and the same.
Uncommon Grounds
Sandra Balzo - 2004
Maggy needs the store to succeed. Starting over after her divorce, she's quit her PR job to open the coffee store. And if things aren't already tough enough, she begins to suspect one of her friends is responsible for Patricia's murder. Maggy joins forces with Sarah Kingstown, Patricia's closest friend, to investigate her killing. Together, they uncover unsavory small-town politics, bribes, kickbacks, and rampant infidelity. Before she's through, Maggy's sense of right and wrong will be shaken to its foundations. For once in her life, she is forced to draw her own line in the sand, and be prepared to defend it. Sandra Balzo currently resides in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
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...
Murder by the Book
Lauren Elliott - 2018
But she didn't expect her sleuthing skills to come in so handy in a little seaside town . . .Addie left some painful memories behind in the big city, including the unsolved murder of her fiancé and her father's fatal car accident. After an unexpected inheritance from a great aunt, she's moved to a small New England town founded by her ancestors back in colonial times—and living in spacious Greyborne Manor, on a hilltop overlooking the harbor. Best of all, her aunt also left her countless first editions and other treasures—providing an inventory to start her own store.But there's trouble from day one, and not just from the grumpy woman who runs the bakery next door. A car nearly runs Addie down. Someone steals a copy of Alice in Wonderland. Then, Addie's friend Serena, who owns a nearby tea shop, is arrested—for killing another local merchant. The police seem pretty sure they've got the story in hand, but Addie's not going to let them close the book on this case without a fight . .