Book picks similar to
Deadly Farce by Jennifer McAndrews


mystery
contemporary
murder-mysteries
private-investigator

Murder in Aspen Notch


Kathleen McKee - 2019
    Now newlyweds, they’d decided to relocate to Aspen Notch, a small town in the Poconos, where they could enjoy the mountain vistas and a restful retirement. Out of the blue, Alan was offered an interim position as chief of police, Aspen Notch’s only cop. Thinking it would be an easy gig in a quiet town, Sue encouraged Alan to accept the job while she focused on the renovations to the home they bought. They were barely settled before Sue found a dead body, inherited an unruly puppy, and was sent a death threat. Would Sue be able to help Alan solve the crime before the killer made good on the warning? Murder in Aspen Notch, an engaging whodunit, is the first book of the Aspen Notch Mystery series.

Smarty Pants (Sisters From Hell Book 3)


Marika Ray - 2021
    Everything I’ve worked so hard for depends on her not screwing things up for me. I should run, not walk, away from her, but all I want to do is strip her layers until I get to the…heart—yeah, that’s what I was going to say—of who she really is. I may be smart, but love might be the most clever of us all.

Miss Behave (The Anderson Family Series Book 1)


Traci Highland - 2018
    Instead, she’s stuck at the Pendleton Falls Herald, where her massive investigative skills are wasted penning the paper’s advice column, Miss Behave. Her shot at a meaty story comes when she’s assigned to write up a profile of a local business, Brookes Jewelers. She is determined to write the piece so she can use the article to impress a real paper. Unfortunately Hunter Brookes, co-owner of Brookes Jewelers and the Pendleton Falls Herald, is rather persistent, in his own hot little way, that the piece should be nothing more than a glorified sales pitch. But when diamonds disappear, Piper may get the chance to do a real investigation, leading her to confront family secrets and worst of all, turn to her mother for help. Piper soon realizes that there is more to Mr. Brookes than a tight ass and a ridiculous fascination with name tags. Together they deal with roasted pigs, crazy cat ladies, and gun-toting fashionistas. In all the chaos, they just might find the one thing that neither one was looking for: true love. Perfect for fans of romantic comedy, funny women's fiction, humor, and contemporary romance..

The Wedding Cake Wish : (Little Duck Pond Cafe, Book 17)


Rosie Green - 2021
    

The Big Book of Dumb White Husband


Benjamin Wallace - 2012
    He's confronted the HOA. He's even taken on Santa himself. He doesn't usually win. These are the tales of the Dumb White Husband and they are all available here in this collected edition.This handsome volume includes:Dumb White Husband vs. the Grocery Store - John would rather sit and watch the game, but his wife needs some things at the store. Can he complete the list and get back in time to see the end of the game?Dumb White Husband vs. Halloween - Every Halloween, Chris has the scariest house on the block and gives out the best candy. But, this year, someone is showing him up and he'll stop at nothing to find out who.Dumb White Husband vs. Santa - Erik has planned the perfect Christmas for his family. The plan is foolproof, bulletproof and flame retardant. Nothing can undo the hours of planning and preparation. Nothing except maybe odd-shaped packages, ill-timed fruitcakes or an errant neighborhood Santa Claus.Dumb White Husband vs. the Tooth Fairy - Erik always has a plan and he's sure he would have figured out the whole Tooth Fairy thing eventually. But, when his three-year-old son takes a frisbee to the mouth, he's forced to speed things up. Between neighborhood kids with big mouths and unhelpful dentists he's going to need to improvise. Will he bend to the pressure of inflation? Will he get caught in the act? And, what do you do with those teeth anyway?Dumb White Husband for President (A novella) - There comes a time in every man's life when he must stand for the things he believes in. John doesn't believe in bagging his grass. So, when a new allergy-prone neighbor gets the HOA to require it, there's only one thing he can do - run for President of The Creeks of Sage Valley Phase II.John, Chris and Erik put aside most of their differences to run a campaign that they hope will see John elected as President and end the meddling of the rule-loving new kid on the block. Will they succeed? It's doubtful.

It Takes A Village To Kill Your Husband


Jethro Collins - 2012
    Hollis Whitney is a successful and fabulous HGTV hostess on the brink of turning 40. She also happens to be madly in love with her carpenter even though she is married to sleazy movie director Frank Fielder. When Hollis discovers that Frank is diddling his latest (and much younger) leading lady, she sets out on a mission to kill him off. Her bitchy Beverly Hills friends catch wind of her plan and insist on helping her plot out the perfect murder. Together the women use their power and connections to help Hollis dig the hole that will bury Frank – figuratively and literally. What follows is a tale of the unique skills each woman brings to the plan and a moving story about long-lost love, finding yourself, onion rings and the importance of pink. Killing your husband could just be the secret to a happy ending.

Kilbride House


Sheila Forsey - 2019
    Victoria Goulding, a Protestant, falls in love with Canice Meagher, born on the Blasket Islands and a Roman Catholic. To be together they must elope. Before their escape, the hand of fate plays its cards and changes their lives irrevocably.Sixty-three years later, in the leafy suburbs of New York, Edith Goulding, Victoria’s sister, has died. Edith left Ireland in the winter of 1955 all those years ago, never to return. In her will she has insisted that her daughter Catherine and granddaughter Lainey visit Kilbride.Kilbride House, despite all its grandeur, holds shocking memories within its walls – memories that have slipped through the cracks of time. As the ghosts awaken the lies begin to unravel, and everything is altered. The past cannot remain untold.

Instructions For Falling In Love Again


Lucy Mitchell - 2019
    Buried at the bottom of a drawer are a collection of notebooks full of Dan's advice on how to live without him. Pippa's notebook is red and contains his instructions on how to fall in love again. But Dan doesn’t just want Pippa to fall in love with anyone - Dan’s crazy suggestion is that Pippa should date his handsome friend, Mikey Stenton, a known thrill-seeking ladies’ man. Reluctant to follow Dan’s advice, Pippa enters the world of dating. She embarks on a humorous journey of self-discovery, with the help of her children and two best friends.  It isn't long before Pippa is finding it hard to ignore Dan's instructions and Mikey Stenton. Is Mikey really the man that everyone thinks him to be? Or was Dan right, and Mikey’s simply been misunderstood?   An uplifting and heart-warming story about friendship and finding love, the second time around.

Doc Martin: Practice Makes Perfect


Sam North - 2013
    Once a high-flying London surgeon, his suddenly developed blood phobia means he has to take a job in a local practice.But while the Doc’s medical skills are second to none, his bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired. He immediately starts infuriating the locals, none more so than school teacher Louisa Glasson...

Spring Blooms at the Hummingbird Hotel


Daisy James - 2022
    

Hammered, Nailed and Screwed


Kathleen Hering - 2012
    It’s his voice all right. But his ashes are in the urn on Laura’s fireplace mantle. . . Now wealthy from her husband’s life insurance benefits, Laura tries to put her life in order. She strains to keep her sense of humor and sanity as vandals destroy her car and burglars ransack her house. Is it the final straw when the new resident of the home she shared with her late husband is killed on the very designer tile Laura selected for the entryway? All this—plus mysterious and threatening messages from her cheating, lying, no-good husband—begins to push the ever-tasteful Laura to that tacky place known as despair. Oregon Detective Chris Pfeifer has everyone including Laura on his suspect list while Laura has everyone including Detective Pfeifer on her dinner date list. Between decorating gigs, Laura and her co-workers – a cantankerous retiree and a handsome young contractor – assist Detective Pfeifer as he unravels the truth behind the bizarre twists in Laura’s life.

Wanna Get Lucky?


Deborah Coonts - 2010
    Almost everyone writes her off as another Vegas victim. But, Lucky O’Toole, head of customer relations at the Babylon megacasino, smells a rat, though she’s got a lot on her plate: the adult film industry’s annual awards banquet, a spouse-swapping convention, sex-toy purveyors preying on the pocket-protector crowd attending ElectroniCon… Still Lucky can’t resist turning over a few stones.When a former flame is one of the snakes she uncovers, Lucky is certain the woman’s death was no Sin City suicide. To top it all off, Lucky’s best friend, Teddie—Las Vegas’s finest female impersonator—presses to take their relationship to the next level. Leave it to Lucky to attract a man who looks better in a dress than she does.Lucky must manage the Babylon’s outrageous festivities, solve the crime, and struggle to keep her life and libido from spinning out of control.

Kicking The Habit


Kari Lee Townsend - 2013
    When the Feds swarm into the small, eccentric town of New Hope, Massachusetts, seeking answers, Army Ranger turned police detective Ace Jackson finds himself sidelined. He isn’t thrilled when he’s assigned to nun-sit while the investigation unfolds, ordered to keep his disconcertingly attractive charge safe at all costs.That turns out to be easier said than done when Sister Mary Sleuth drags Ace through a series of misadventures and crazy encounters as she attempts to solve the case herself, despite a ruthless assassin who keeps popping up to take potshots at her.

Salty Sky


Seth Coker - 2016
    Coleman is both wrapping up a reunion for childhood friends and battening down the hatches for an approaching hurricane when his life gets a jolt of adrenaline.Francisco Escobar, nephew of Columbian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, has spent the last two decades maintaining a low profile but now ready to expand his family’s empire. As Escobar plans for new business opportunities, he also wrestles with how to handle old grievances.In this riveting thriller, Seth Coker develops a range of unforgettable characters while providing a nuanced glimpse of a waterman’s life on the North Carolina coast.

Orchids and Stone


Lisa Preston - 2016
    Help! Help me, please.Daphne Mayfield sought a moment of quiet in a park—a break from city life, a tense relationship, and chronic overwork—but then an elderly woman makes a desperate plea. Daphne is reluctant to get involved when she’s not sure what’s happening, but she wants to help the stranger. Is the rambling old lady the victim of a crime or a victim of dementia?As her unease grows, Daphne can’t let go of the encounter. No matter what her boyfriend or her friends say. No matter what the retired homicide detective warns. Though she knows she’s meddling in other people’s lives, her instincts scream that the danger is real.With each increasingly bold intervention, Daphne involves herself in someone else’s crisis until she’s in too deep to turn back. She’s not just fighting for a stranger’s life…she’s fighting for her own.