Normally.But nothing is pleasant or normal about murder.I never thought, in my wildest dreams at 26-years-old, I would see my first dead body. Or take over my grandmother’s floundering pet grooming business, without a lick of experience aside from managing the shop’s (Stone Age) back office, drain my savings account for the shop’s renovations, begin hearing my Chihuahua’s voice inside my head, and wind up a possible suspect in the murder of one of my employees.Now, if I can clear my name, discover the real killer—without getting whacked myself, come to terms with hearing my chatty pup, all while keeping the family business afloat, my life won’t slip down the proverbial drain.♥Author’s Note: Some, more mature, readers in the humorous, cozy mystery genre may love to hate my main character, Steely Lamarr, and that’s okay. But as the writer, it is my duty to remain true to her character and her story. Steely doesn’t claim to have all the answers, nor does she always make the wisest of decisions. Her character is loosely based on a few of my own experiences married to a law enforcement officer in my 20’s, and coupled with inspiration drawn from our oldest daughter’s personality, whose steely attitude and tenacious spirit kept her feet on the ground and her head held high during the difficulties in her young adult life. As with my own daughter, I have a deep appreciation for Steely’s growth, maturity, and her willingness to own and learn from her mistakes as the series progresses. My hope is readers will acknowledge and appreciate this as well. If not, remember, there’s always pie, and pie makes everything better.~Publisher's note: This is the 2nd edition of How to Leash a Thief. Many readers of the 1st edition stated it read like a "cozy" mystery. Although it does contain many cozy mystery elements, we at Pigasus Publications do not want to mislead readers. Our readers’ happiness is top priority. How to Leash a Thief does not contain explicit sex or excessive violence. Some cozy mystery fans might enjoy the story. But we want to inform readers, the book does contain minimal use of curse words and sexual innuendos. Thank you for your interest!

    All of her customers and their pets are like family. It had been a typical day at Pet Palace. Leah was going to meet some friends for dinner where she suddenly finds out one her customers had been found dead at home. Was it from natural causes or could it have been murder?

    Residents are stunned when the body of a young woman is found strangled, and reporters at the Liberty Chronicle are thrilled, rather disturbingly, over the biggest news story to hit town this century. Lizzie Hart has even bigger problems. Lately, she can’t seem to concentrate on her job as copy editor at the Chronicle with the new hunky investigative reporter, Blake Morgan, swaggering around the office. How can a girl work when she’s using all of her energy combating Blake-induced hot flashes and struggling to repress the giggly inner schoolgirl that’s constantly rearing her dorky head? It’s a good thing that Blake barely knows Lizzie exists. After an odd string of events, however, Lizzie begins to wonder if Blake is really as fabulous as she has fantasized. When Lizzie and Blake find a co-worker dead, Blake’s personality changes completely—and not in a good way. Even though the police rule the death as an accident, Lizzie immediately suspects foul play and senses a connection to the recent murder. She is determined to bring the killer to justice, but is having some trouble getting her Nancy Drew on thanks to the pesky stalker she’s picked up—Blake Morgan. Wait, didn’t she want him to follow her around and pay attention to her? Not like this. Blake has turned from cool and smooth to cold and downright scary, making Lizzie wonder if he should be next on her suspect list.

    But when her first client, the wealthy Amelia Nethercutt, is found dead, the job takes a decidedly sinister turn.Kate thought she and her family were making a fresh start in her husband's hometown, but she quickly learns that small towns can hold big secrets. When her first client is poisoned just after Kate leaves her mansion, she knows she's gotten off to a bad start. But things only get worse when the police find Kate's fingerprints on the murder weapon, suddenly putting her in the position of suspect number one. The stopwatch is ticking for Kate to prove she had nothing to do with the murder, and the odds are further stacked against her when items stolen from the Nethercutt mansion start showing up in the McKenzie home. Now, Kate must trust her methodical skills and expert eye to sort out who is trying to frame her and to find the real killer before she's organized right into a jail cell.

    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?

    Along the way, she finds handsome Laurent Dernier, a sexy if nefarious Frenchman who it's not clear is there to help or hinder Maggie's search for the girl. Meanwhile, her sister's murderer sets his sights on the little girl — and Maggie.The first book of the Maggie Newberry Mystery Series, Murder in the South of France was originally titled Murder on the Côte d’Azur.

    This is their first full-length story. When San Francisco Homicide Inspector Rebecca Mayfield arrives at the scene of a deadly shooting, she's shocked to find that the witnesses have caught the killer, and that he's someone she knows. Rebecca's a by-the-book detective, and she's always done her job according to the rules, without hesitation ... until Richie Amalfi comes back into her life. Richie knows his way around everything and everyone in his city. When people say they "know a guy who knows a guy," Richie's the guy they're talking about. He can usually help people out of tight situations, but suddenly finds he can't get himself out of hot water when he's accused of murder. Richie's on the run, and he runs straight to Rebecca to help him prove his innocence. From the nightclubs of North Beach to the scenic heights of Twin Peaks, dangers lurk and more deaths happen. As Rebecca discovers there's a lot more to Richie than she thought, and a lot more to like than she imagined, she soon fears not only for her life, but also her heart.

    A professional. A healer. Not a killer. When a client ends up dead on my massage table, I become the number one suspect. I have Means. Motive. Opportunity. But I didn't kill her. The clock is ticking, someone is stalking me, I have to find out who before I end up in jail or worse...dead.

    Ashley Crane is busy nursing a broken heart, working tirelessly as a cook, and hanging out with her family and best friends when her boss at the restaurant is murdered. At first the investigation is left to Nathaniel Thompson, the local handsome police detective. But when Thompson arrests the wrong suspect, Ashley takes the investigation into her own hands. Solving the case won't be easy. She'll need help from her parents April and Burt, her best friends Sean and Lara, and her cute and clever cat Charlie. It's up to Ashley Crane to find the real murderer in Comfortville before they strike again.

    But then Pali learns the lavish wedding must take place on Valentine’s Day—only nine days away. Oh, and one other little hitch—the groom’s been missing at sea for more than a week. But no worries, the bride assures Pali, with or without the groom the wedding will take place. She’s struck a deal with the groom’s best friend to be his proxy, if necessary. Two days before the nuptials, a male corpse floats ashore on a South Maui beach. Looks like the groom’s shown up just in time. But what’s it gonna be—a wedding…or a funeral?Show More Show Less

    Honey has a few goals in life. Her first is to hustle enough fares and tips to pay the rent and buy those red sequined spike heeled slut shoes she lusts after. Her next goal is to kick her budding relationship with police Lieutenant Jon Stevens into high gear. Honey's problem is that dead bodies and live thugs keep getting in the way of her goals. While she admires the Lieutenant's well formed rear end, the Lieutenant is busy chasing the bad guys who are busy chasing Honey. When Honey's new best friend Belle, former prostitute and wife to one of the dead bodies, is kidnapped by the local mafia, Honey sets out to rescue her. Follow Honey as she drives her taxi through a big hole in the local crime scene.

    An elderly woman is found poisoned in the upstairs bedroom of her home whose front door stands 52 steps above the street in an old-fashioned whodunit that blends clues, red herrings, suspects, and humor.

    Stacy's Rolex watch is missing and she begs Charlie to help locate it before her husband finds out. Things are complicated by the fact that Stacy had been seeing another man, Gary Detweiller, and he's the one she suspects of having stolen the watch. With a little detective work, Charlie and her sidekick dog, Rusty, retrieve the missing watch and all should be well. But three days later, Detweiller is murdered. All eyes turn to Stacy as the prime suspect. Once again, Stacy begs Charlie's help in proving her innocence. As she begins to ask questions, Charlie learns that Detweiller's life was not as simple as first perceived and that any number of people had grievances against him. And before she can pinpoint the killer, her own life is in danger as well. Includes new foreword from the author upon the 20th anniversary of first publication of this ongoing series' first title.

    She's got a new job blogging about food and she's super-thrilled to be traveling to a new resort to sample the fare and meet local celebrities. One of who is First-Kiss-Robbie. The first boy to kiss her, he's a famous chef now.She finds out her photographer is a hot guy with a major chip on his shoulder. More like an iceberg, considering the way Deke treats her.She's not so thrilled when she discovers a body in the sand dunes. One with a knife sticking out of him. A chef knife. Robbie's chef knife.She's even less thrilled when she makes the mistake of handling the knife.Now, she's under suspicion and Detective McHottie's got his eye on her--and not in a good way.Can she find the real killer before she becomes his target?

    Due to a dead-end job and a cheating boyfriend, the Twin Cities have lost their charm, and Mira decides to begin a new life in rural Battle Lake. Right away she is offered jobs as an assistant librarian and part-time reporter, and falls into an unexpected romance with a guy who seems to be the perfect man until he turns up dead between the reference stacks her tenth day on the job. Anxious to learn more about the man who had briefly stolen her heart, Mira delves into the hidden mysteries of Battle Lake, including a old land deed with ancient Ojibwe secrets, an obscure octogenarian crowd with freaky social lives, and a handful of thirtysomething high school buddies who hold bitter, decades-old grudges. Mira soon discovers that unknown dangers are concealed under the polite exterior of this quirky small town, and revenge is a tator-tot hotdish best served cold.A hip, humorous, and gripping account of small-town murder, this novel is the first in a series of cozies featuring Mira James, an urban woman with rural Minnesota roots.