Book picks similar to
The Case of the Slain Soprano by Susan Moore Jordan


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cozy-mysteries

True Blue Murder


Elise M. Stone - 2016
    The former librarian has developed her first hybrid, a plant with unusual deep blue flowers, and hopes to win a first place ribbon. Maybe even best in show. But her excitement turns to dread when the aggravating Bette Tesselink, her fiercest rival, turns up dead, and she becomes the logical suspect. There’s never been a murder in the village of Rainbow Ranch, and it soon becomes apparent that the young Chief of Police is in over his head. Under pressure from the mayor, Lilliana is afraid he’ll arrest her in order to close the case. Her only option is to begin her own investigation and find the murderer before she winds up in jail. The first in a new cozy mystery series sure to engage you with its fascinating characters and twisty plot.

If the Curse Fits


Kennedy Layne - 2019
    Unfortunately, the consequences of being hexed by the only immortal Lich Queen has kept Lou a little too busy to find a solution to her problem.What's the hex, you ask? In Lou's tragic case, her curse gives her the foresight of murders yet to be committed. It's the ultimate race against time--can she discover the culprit prior to the actual deed or can she save the victim and catch the murderer in the act?This poor hexed witch is going to need all the help she can get. Unfortunately, her help comes in the form of a warlock who is obsessed with conspiracy theories, an overly optimistic yet naïve healer, and a rather pretentious familiar who has an obsession for proper etiquette. Come join this traveling mystery band while they try to solve another murder as they're faced with powerful druids, two odd magical hares, and a mysterious man who definitely knows more than he's willing to say.

Stilettos & Scoundrels


Laina C. Turner - 2020
     Freelance journalists fight for their assignments, and Presley thinks she’s won the battle when she’s hired to interview pompous womanizer Senator Daniels. But when the senator turns up dead a day later, Presley climbs right to the top of the senator’s security team’s suspect list. A security team run by her high school ex-boyfriend. Can she prove her innocence and not fall for the one guy she swore she’d never look in the eye again, or will she wind up with a lifetime gig in prison?

Marshmallows and Murder: A Comedy Cozy Mystery (Mom and Christy's Cozy Mysteries Book 7)


Christy Murphy - 2018
    Read in any order. Fletcher Canyon is hosting its first fair! But when Christy finds a dead body and the mayor becomes the prime suspect, the town's reputation nosedives.Meanwhile, Christy's relationship with DC Cooper slips into crisis mode after an awkward interview with a TV reporter. Can Mom and Christy save the mayor, Fletcher Canyon's reputation, and Christy's relationship with DC?Find out in this cute, comedy cozy.

The Return of Betty Snickerdoodle


Pepper Frost - 2021
    Bea's made millions off those syrupy holiday romance novels — and now Cash wants a piece of the action! What Cash doesn’t know is that Bea’s no ordinary septuagenarian millionaire. She’s a fearless, wily ex-poker pro who loves nothing more than being underestimated. And now she’s concocted a high-stakes plan to teach Cash a lesson. It’s a gamble that just might blow up in Bea’s face. Luckily, she has a friend in her corner — Angela Garcia, the brilliant, beautiful marketer who used social media to make Betty Snickerdoodle a publishing phenomenon. Cash will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Can Bea and Angela stop him – and save their publishing enterprise – before it’s too late?

The Gossiping Gourmet


Martin Brown - 2014
    But for love of his caramel chicken and cherry fudge brownies, everyone has a story to share regarding their fellow citizens—Stories that too often find their way into his weekly gossip-filled newspaper column, "Heard About Town." When the great chef and his admirers, the Sausalito Ladies of Liberty, take offense to a newly arrived Manhattan power couple, their insular world of tasty sauces and stinging insults leads to deadly results.Everyone has their own theory about who killed Warren. But it takes the combined efforts of Rob Timmons, the local newspaper publisher, and Eddie Austin, his childhood friend and Marin County’s top detective, to unravel this tale of delicious dishes and malicious deception.

The Way the Cookie Crumbles: Ginger Burnet Cozy Mysteries Prequel


Clementine Moore - 2021
    Recently returned from big city life, and in an attempt to reconnect with her roots and restart her life, she takes up the job of school baker at the esteemed Chiswick Park Academy. Further turning her back on her recent past and following her true aspirations as an amateur baker, stars seem to finally align in Ginger’s life.When a mysterious invitation to a bake-off challenge for a new TV reality show comes up, Ginger takes the opportunity to further cement her presence in the small town. She still has a month until her new job starts, so what harm could possibly be done?As the contestants gather at the highly gated Manor, things take a bloody turn, and all of a sudden ten strangers will need to work together to get out of their host’s murdering sight.Can Ginger solve the mystery and save her life in time? Will her natural instincts protect her from the mansion’s death traps?Find out in this page-turning mystery full of wild turns and family secrets that will rock Little Chiswick to the core, and announce the arrival of a new amateur sleuth in town!*If you like quirky characters, witty dialogue, heart-wrenching twists and turns, and lots of mystery, then you’ll love “The Way the Cookie Crumbles”

Killer Cleavers & Cupcakes


Mel McCoy - 2020
    One luxury cruise ship heading to the Bahamas. And an elusive killer running amok with a penchant for cleavers.After overstuffing her husband with a button-bursting amount of cookies and cakes, Ruth Shores—charmed mother, grandmother, wife, and retired pastry chef—decides to take a dream job in the kitchen of the brand-new, luxury cruise ship, Splendor of the Seas. Luggage rolling behind her, she sets out on her first day, and it's everything she imagined. That is, until she runs into the rudest, most inconsiderate person she’s ever crossed paths with: Loretta Moran.That’s okay—Ruth refuses to allow a stranger to ruin her idyllic new life. But when a body is found in the kitchen, both women become prime suspects in a murder investigation. Compelled to prove their innocence, Ruth and Loretta must work together, all while desperately covering up a mouse running loose in the dining room. Can they set their differences aside to unveil the real killer before they both lose their jobs—or worse, their lives?Pranks. Scandals. Cover-ups. All wrapped up in this fun and quirky cozy mystery!Killer Cleavers and Cupcakes is the first book in this nutty, lighthearted Cruise Ship Cozy Mystery Series. So, get nestled in a cozy chair, pour your favorite beverage, and get ready for an exciting Bahamas escapade aboard the Splendor of the Seas!

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.

Murder on the Hill


Kennedy Chase - 2014
    Until now she’s been know as many things: Thief, Bandit, The girl dressed like a ninja… When she’s offered an investigative position at the Silvers Finders Agency, she decides it’s time to go straight. But when a jewelry store break-in she’s investigating turns into a murder case, Harley will need all her skills to find the killer and avoid the attentions of a Russian crime boss. With the help of her new friends, and some from her underworld past, Harley faces a race against the clock. She’ll need to uncover the secret behind the artifact left at the jewelry store if she’s to catch the murderer. If she fails, it won’t just be the job she loses — but her life.

In The Beginning, There Was a Murder


P.C. James - 2020
    Pauline Riddell has grand ambitions for her future at the armament factory. So, when her closest workmate reveals a salacious affair with a married man, Pauline refuses to risk her career by listening to the scandal. But she’s shaken to her core when the police arrive with news of her best friend’s homicide.Desperate for justice, Pauline’s insistent poking into the investigation only makes her the prime suspect. And now to clear her name, she must unravel a web of deadly clues entangling her in a sinister plot.

First Case


Kathi Daley - 2017
    The fact that she had been murdered on Friday October 13th exactly eleven years after she’d been one of five teenagers to survive the Friday The 13th Massacre, made her passing worthy of notice by the national news agencies Jillian Hanford used to work for. When an old editor of Jillian's offered her the chance to write a human interest piece about Katrina’s life and subsequent death, she jumped at the chance to re-launch her currently defunct career. Of course in order to make the sort of impact she was after, she’d not only need to write about Katrina’s unusual life, but she’d need to answer the question of who was responsible for her death. She knew she'd need help so she decided to enlist the help of the five writers currently living at the writer's retreat on Gull Island. Jillian would soon discover a decade old secret covering a shocking truth that was better left unrevealed.

Blind Sight


Tanya R. Taylor - 2019
    She lives with her beloved dog Vanilla ("Nilla" for short) in a cozy neighborhood that is quite "active" due to what occurred in the distant past. Though legally blind, she plays an integral role in helping to solve pressing and puzzling mysteries, one right after the other, which, without her, might remain unsolved. The question is: How can she do any of that with such a handicap?

White Satin & Murder


Harper Harris - 2018
    A clingy Yorkie. And a dead Maid of Honor. It’s the first wedding Valerie Masters has ever planned and the start of her new business.There’s money flowing in Buckingham Downs, California, a small coastal town largely taken over by the rich, where weddings are a billion-dollar business. Val works tirelessly to make sure this one- the very first that she’s been hired to plan- is perfect, juggling a temperamental florist, a diva cake baker, and a self-obsessed DJ who’s threatened to walk off the job if the Chicken Dance is requested.Not to mention the biggest Bridezilla Val has ever seen, the bride’s “unique” family and snooty Maid of Honor.Starting a new business is hard, and this first wedding is turning out to be more than Val bargained for. Right before the wedding, Val finds the Maid of Honor dead and the expensive, one-of-a-kind wedding dress missing!Now, on top of getting a hitch-filled wedding to go off without a…well…you know, she has no choice but to solve this mystery. No wonder half of all new businesses fail!The stakes couldn’t be higher. This socially influential family has already threatened to ruin Val if any part of the wedding is ruined.But who among this motley cast of characters could be a murderer and a dress thief? And will Val figure it out in time to pull off the perfect wedding? Or will her business crash before it’s even started?White Satin & Murder is a full length cozy mystery novel full of humor, intrigue, and an adorable furry friend named Buttons. It's the first book in the Val Masters Wedding Planner series, which can be read in any order and are best enjoyed together.

Death in Room 7


K.J. Emrick - 2015
     Adelle Powers, or Dell as she is known around the town of Lakeshore, is living her dream life. She and her best friend Rosie Ryan are owners of the wonderfully quirky Pine Lake Inn, a very popular Australian tourist destination. Running her own inn is the only thing she has ever wanted to do and it is her pride and joy. So when Dell's friend Jessica calls to say she's coming for a visit Dell is ecstatic and can't wait to show it off to her friend. Surprisingly Dell finds that Rosie is less than thrilled about the visit and can't understand why. They were all such good friends, or so she thought. It would seem that Rosie may know something about Jessica's past that Dell doesn't. Some sort of secret that Rosie is reluctant to share with her. When Jessica is found dead in her room the following day it would appear that her secret past may have finally caught up with her. Horrified by the death of her good friend in her very own inn, Dell soon gets drawn into the mystery. And things take a turn for the very weird when Jessica's ghost visits her, more than once, directing Dell to clues that have been overlooked by a very incompetent police investigation. Soon Dell finds her own life in peril as she gets further into the mystery surrounding her friends life, and death.