Book picks similar to
Bewreathed by Margaret Maron


mystery
the-south
cozy-mysteries
myst-thrill

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...

Champagne: The Farewell: A Vengeance in the Vineyard Mystery


Janet Hubbard - 2012
    She meets the older and more urbane Olivier Chaumont, a juge d’instruction, or examining magistrate, and experiences a fairy tale evening. But when Chloe’s widowed aunt is found murdered after the wedding dinner, Max and Olivier are shocked back into their respective professional roles.  But to Max’s chagrin, Olivier is put in charge of the investigation and she is banned from an official investigative role.   The value of vineyards and champagne companies is at an all-time high, and Olivier learns that there are several people attempting to gain control of Lea’s business at the time of her death. Max, quietly using the sleuthing skills inherited from her famous detective dad, she insinuates herself into the victim’s family until their long-held secrets begin to spill out like marbles from an overturned dish. After another family member is found dead on the day of Lea’s funeral, however, Max puts her career, and her tentative relationship with Olivier, in jeopardy as her determination to find the murderer—and prove herself in the process—takes over.

A Murderous Valentine (Admiral Shackleford Mystery #1)


Beverley Watts - 2021
    Having been instrumental in improving the lives of so many (his words - others might be inclined to call it something slightly different...), he was struggling to reignite the spark in his own love life with the feisty Mabel. Short on ideas, he decides to gatecrash his much put upon former Master At Arms and best friend Jimmy Noon's Valentine idea and ends up in the middle of a murder mystery weekend... where real murder is on someone else's script. Stranded in the middle of nowhere with a hotel full of potential murderers, the unstoppable duo embark on a series of blundering escapades in an attempt to uncover the Murderous Valentine... The Admiral and Jimmy may be more Laurel and Hardy than Holmes and Watson, but can they catch a murderer...? This humorous cozy mystery short read is the first in The Admiral Shackleford Mysteries.

A Frightful Noel


Liz Bradford - 2018
    Doug and his partner, Rebecca Palmer, arrive on the scene of a gang execution and find a scared and pregnant witness to the murder. Their focus changes from hunting a murder to protecting this young girl from the killers. The snow storm swirling overhead only increases the risk on everyone's lives. Will they all make it through the night alive? You won't want to put this novella down! A prequel to Liz Bradford's NOT ALONE, read A FRIGHTFUL NOEL no matter where you are in the series. The Detectives of Hazel Hill Series A FRIGHTFUL NOEL - Prequel Novella NOT ALONE - Book One PURSUED - Book Two (coming 2019) ON YOUR KNEES - Book Three (coming 2019)

Chicken Culprit


Vikki Walton - 2018
    Discovering an old Victorian for sale in the small mountain town of Carolan Springs may be just what she needs. The beauty of Colorado beckons, so Anne heads west to start her new life.Yet, before Anne'scompletely settled in, her neighbor is found dead in his compost pile. What’s worse is that Anne’s quirky young neighbor, Kandi Jenkins, could be the killer. When Kandi begs for her help, Anne feels she has no choice but to help the young woman. However, she finds herself quickly at odds with the local sheriff. And while she uncovers more of the community's secrets, she's also exploring her awakening feelings for Sam Powers, the town's deputy coroner. Once Anne starts looking at who could be the real killer, the suspect list keeps getting longer and longer. It seems that Carolan Springs is a place of many secrets. But who would want to murder Ralph and who’s willing to kill again to keep their secret? Cast of Characters Stewart Rogers: Ralph’s nephew who’s always turning up unexpectedly. Hope Boswell: Doctor and herbalist who’s come home to care for her ailing mother. Faith Boswell: Dealing with early onset dementia, she still has what some call second sight. Eliza de French: An Ethiopian woman whose beauty hides an ugly secret. Jeff Jenkins: Kandi’s goal-oriented husband who often travels for work. ˃˃˃ First Book in The Backyard Farming Cozy Mystery Series Chicken Culprit introduces us to Anne Fremont, a divorcee starting over in the fictional town of Carolan Springs, Colorado. With a diverse cast of characters, the locale isn’t short of personalities and suspects. With a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor that women of a certain age can relate to, Chicken Culprit takes a look at love, loss and the impact of the past in our lives. ˃˃˃ Q&A with the Author 1. Why did you decide to write a mystery series around homesteading?Mysteries have always been my favorite genre since I received my first set of Nancy Drew books. When I finally decided to write my own I knew I wanted to write about something I love and that’s homesteading or backyard farming. I live in the suburbs but our landscaping is a combination of permaculture food guilds, gardens and Xeriscape. We have chickens and are beekeepers. My chicken, Rusty, was a character in her own right. Now she’s one in my first book. 2. What advice would you give to someone who wants to start backyard farming? Decide what you want the most and do that first. Then add to it. Don’t do too much at once. You can use the simple quiz on my website to help determine the top three things for your havenstead. 3. What’s a havenstead? I believe that your home should be your haven. Homesteading has been around for hundreds of years. Now you can create your own havenstead. 4. Can you give us a glimpse into the next book? Sure! Someone and possibly a couple of someone’s are going to die. It will feature another part of homesteading and that’s around the food production side of things. In this case the main star will be the elderberry plant. The book after that will feature bees. 5.

Mick Abruzzo: The Second Wire


Nancy Martin - 2014
    But when his family needs him, Mick feels obligated to help. This time, it's his presumed-dead brother, Little Frankie Abruzzo, who needs help getting out from under a pushy bookie. But the simple job of getting Frankie out of debt soon escalates into bad business that threatens the life Mick wants with his lover, Nora Blackbird.

Murder at the Snowed Inn (Claire Andersen Murder for All Seasons Cozy Mystery Series Book 1)


Imogen Plimp - 2020
    She knew her fresh start would be exciting, but she never expected it to be tinged with enthralling adventure, romance that’s sweet as sweet can be … and murder!Adorable and resilient, former NYC chef Claire Andersen is no stranger to second chances. She and her stock trader husband George had decided long ago to trade in their life of ambition for one of quaint & quiet adventure—by opening up a cozy neighborhood coffee shoppe on the ground floor their Brooklyn brownstone. He was the coffee-connoisseur, she was the baker extraordinaire. Claire was so happy, she could just die. But fate had other plans—it came for her husband instead.After George’s passing, Claire decides (with a nudge from her doting foster daughter Al) to trade in her life of brews and baked goods for breakfast—bed and breakfast, that is! And what better setting in which to start over than Galway, Maryland—a charming, snowy mountain town (and favorite cross-county ski destination of Claire’s youth).All is well in Claire’s new B&B venture—and with her new oven constantly in use, it’s mouth-watering, even—until her first guest is murdered in-house. It’s not long until one of the suspects Claire questions about the murder winds up dead, too. Suddenly, Claire finds herself starting over yet again—and trading in her hostess hat (she’d just dusted it off, too!) for a secret life as an amateur sleuth.But it’s not all B&B business and bodies: Claire also finds herself in the throes of not one, but two potential romances—each more toe-curling and butterflies-in-the-stomach inducing than the other.Alongside her trusty new pal Evelyn (who’s feisty enough to make anyone blush) and her faithful bloodhound Rupert, Claire races the clock to get to the next victim—before the killer does. And she knows she’d better hurry. Because if the killer catches her first, she might run out of second chances.Author's Note: This book contains a non-binary character whose preferred pronouns are they/them. If the notion of a non-binary character (and its resultant use of grammar) is offensive, then this book is not for you!

The Bat: The First Inspector Harry Hole Novel by Jo Nesbo l Summary & Study Guide


BookRags - 2015
    This study guide includes the following sections: Plot Summary, Chapter Summaries & Analysis, Characters, Objects/Places, Themes, Style, Quotes, and Topics for Discussion.

A Fatal New Year


J.A. Whiting - 2020
    Everything is going smoothly until the end of the night when she finds a dead man on the floor of her carriage.Who could have done this? Was it his friends, drunk and rowdy as Mae drove them back to their hotel? Or could it have been the sorority girl who seemed to be expecting the man at one of the carriage stops?With the help of her friend, Ross, the stable owner and retired lawman from Texas, and her big grey horse called Steel, Mae is determined to find out who is responsible for the death, but she soon learns that some people are equally determined to make sure she never does.

Tinker, Tailor, Schoolmum, Spy


Faye Brann - 2021
    And apart from being outstandingly good at paintball, no one would ever know that in a past life she was an undercover spy and has been trained to kill a man with her bare hands. Not even her husband, and certainly not the other mums at the school gate.But beneath the school runs and bake sales, Vicky had never quite said goodbye to the past. So, when a newcomer on the PTA sets alarms bells ringing and MI5 comes calling, she’s determined to prove that despite her expanding waistline and love of pink gin, she’s still every bit the cold-eyed special operative.When the assignment gets uncomfortably close to home, Vicky must decide if she has got what the job takes after all, and if home is really where her heart is…

The Abduction of Grace


Anthony Hulse - 2012
    Her parents suffer turmoil as they are suspected, although never charged with the crime. Anna Curren, an investigative journalist becomes obsessed with the case, and with the blessing of Grace's parents, who have lost confidence with CID, she employs the services of a private investigator. The trail leads the team to Majorca, Prague, and the South of France, and ultimately to links with the Russian mafia. A complex tale of obsession, greed, and passion, ultimately climaxing in a frightening and surprising scenario. This novel is a guaranteed page turner!

Disconnected


Jennifer Weiner - 2013
    But this time, she swears, will be different. She'll clean up her act, go to meetings, find a sponsor, and make a clean break with her past—starting with a new phone number.But old ties aren't so easy to sever. When Shannon's new phone starts getting messages she was never meant to see, Shannon has to decide whether to risk getting involved, or stay safely disconnected.Gripping, suspenseful and smart, Disconnected is a riveting tale of addiction and obligation, secrets and redemption.

The St. Valentine's Day Cookie Massacre


Elisabeth Crabtree - 2014
     What begins as a run of the mill, albeit tasty, assignment turns into something much more dangerous when one of the Cookie Jar’s employees is poisoned. Now Kat is chasing the biggest story of her life, while trying to catch the eye of her handsome editor and avoid becoming the killer’s next victim. A cozy novella: approximately 44,000 words

Brownies & Betrayal


Heather Justesen - 2012
    That was before she found the body of a woman with whom she had traded heated words the previous night, left her fingerprints on the murder weapon, and came under attack for trying to clear her name. When her cheating ex-fiance shows up, intent on convincing her to come back to work for him, Tess—armed with an extra batch of éclairs—decides to take control and solve the mystery herself, with the help of friends and frenemies alike. But will that be enough to save her when she gets too close and the killer decides it’s safer to get her out of the way?

Cranberry Bluff


Deborah Garner - 2014
    Accused and cleared of the crime, she flees both media attention and mysterious, threatening notes, to move across the country to Cranberry Cove, where she has inherited her Aunt Maggie's bed and breakfast on the Northern California coast. Her new beginning is peaceful - that is, until five guests show up at the inn for a weekend, each with a hidden agenda. Mix together one blushing honeymoon couple, one flamboyant boutique owner, a deadpan traveling salesman, and a charmingly handsome novelist, and there’s more than scones cooking at Cranberry Cottage Bed and Breakfast. As true motives become apparent, will Molly's past come back to haunt her or will she finally be able to leave it behind?