End of the Lane


Sonia Parin - 2018
    She’s looking for a sea change and starting a new job in a new town. With any luck, she should be able to put her past behind her in no time. Her first assignment working for the Eden Rise Gazette will be to cover the weekend’s bake sale. Within a short time of arriving in town, there is a slight change of plans and Abby finds herself giving a statement to the police. Now her new job and her new life hang in the balance… Clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language but lots of fun, quirky dialogue & characters.

Scoop Away


S.Y. Robins - 2015
    Everything is riding on the Cow & Moon launch going as planned. With all of Amber's life savings poured into the business she has no plan B. When, on the day of the official launch, a women drops dead in the middle of store, Amber is not only in danger of losing her business - she is a prime suspect. Taking matters into her own hands, Amber decides to investigate the case herself. She needs to clear her own name, and she needs to save the business she has worked so hard to start. When she meets Ryan, the cute barista/manager of a competitor's store, Amber really has to put her instincts to the test. Could Ryan be the one to blame, or is Amber not seeing what is right in front of her nose?

Gator Bowl


J.J. Cook - 2015
    He still has the old Airstream trailer he once used for his own restaurant many years before, and Zoe is sure she can convince him to let her make a food truck out of it.After making the perilous journey from Mobile, Alabama into the backcountry, Zoe finds her uncle embroiled in a cook-off with his neighbor—with the life of Saul’s albino alligator, Alabaster, in the balance. Once again, the gator has eaten chickens that didn’t belong to her. So Saul and his neighbor will each prepare a meal for a church social, and if Saul wins, the gator lives.Now it’s up to Zoe to prove herself in the kitchen and come up with something no one has seen before—the biscuit bowl!

Flamingo Fatale


Jimmie Ruth Evans - 2005
    Things can't get much worse—until the next day when she finds her missing pink flamingo stuck in his very dead body.

Murder by Serpents: The Mystery Quilt


Barbara Graham - 2007
    As the body count rises, Sheriff Tony Abernathy and his wife Theo must stitch the scraps of information together to find the killer.

Death of a Dead Man


Karin Kaufman - 2017
    So when a stranger arrives in town and stirs painful memories of a baffling episode in the town’s past, Rachel vows to put an end to his mischief.But events take a nasty turn when Rachel discovers a body in her own backyard and suspicion for the murder falls on her widowed neighbor. Despite being warned off the case by the town’s handsome but aloof police chief, Rachel makes it her mission to clear her neighbor’s name and find the real killer. Can she crack the case before another body turns 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.

To Helen Back


Susan McBride - 2014
    And as Milton was hardly beloved, plenty of folks had a reason to do him in ... Grone's next-door neighbor was furious about a fence that encroached on her property, among other wicked deeds. A pair of zealous tree huggers wanted Grone's hide for selling a parcel of pristine land to a water park. Grone's current and ex-wife both wanted a cut of the profits, which Grone seemed unwilling to share. Even the town preacher knew Grone's soul was beyond saving. Though most of River Bend would rather reward the killer than hang him, Sheriff Biddle's not about to let this one go … and neither is Helen Evans. With a penchant for puzzles and an ear for innuendo, Helen quickly fingers the culprit before Biddle puts the wrong suspect in jail.

Dog on It


Spencer Quinn - 2009
    Chet might have flunked out of police school ("I'd been the best leaper in K-9 class, which had led to all the trouble in a way I couldn't remember exactly, although blood was involved"), but he's a detective through and through.In this, their first adventure, Chet and Bernie investigate the disappearance of Madison, a teenage girl who may or may not have been kidnapped, but who has definitely gotten mixed up with some very unsavory characters. A well-behaved, gifted student, she didn't arrive home after school and her divorced mother is frantic. Bernie is quick to take the case-something about a cash flow problem that Chet's not all that clear about-and he's relieved, if vaguely suspicious, when Madison turns up unharmed with a story that doesn't add up. But when she disappears for a second time in a week, Bernie and Chet aren't taking any chances; they launch a full-blown investigation. Without a ransom demand, they're not convinced it's a kidnapping, but they are sure of one thing: something smells funny.Their search for clues takes them into the desert to biker bars and other exotic locals, with Chet's highly trained nose leading the way. Both Chet and Bernie bring their own special skills to the hunt, one that puts each of them in peril. But even as the bad guys try to turn the tables, this duo is nothing if not resourceful, and the result is an uncommonly satisfying adventure.With his doggy ways and his endearingly hardboiled voice, Chet is full of heart and occasionally prone to mischief. He is intensely loyal to Bernie, who, though distracted by issues that Chet has difficulty understanding-like divorce, child custody, and other peculiar human concerns-is enormously likable himself, in his flawed, all-too-human way.

Sweet Deal Sealed


Judith A. Barrett - 2020
    She moves to her hometown in southern Georgia and buys a charming, old-fashioned donut shop, complete with the owner's dog, cat, and secret recipes. Karen O’Brien begins her new life as the Donut Lady.Karen's struggles to solve the prison murder and adapt to civilian life become even more complicated when a neglected boy suddenly disappears from his sketchy living conditions. While the Donut Lady searches for the missing boy and pursues clues to solve the prison murder, the killer stalks her.The Second Edition of BOOK 1 of SWEET DEAL SEALED, DONUT MYSTERY SERIES includes all of the FIRST EDITION story PLUS murders to solve and a killer to stop. Right up Donut Lady's alley!

The Bacon Burger Murder


Rosie A. Point - 2020
    After all, she’s barely had time to relax since she’s solved her mother's cold case.When Christie heads out to visit Griselda, her bestie, hankering for a delicious Bacon Burger, she walks into a crime scene instead. The newest restaurateur in town is dead… poisoned, and he just so happens to be Griselda’s biggest burger competition.Chris’ best friend is the prime suspect. She has to solve the mystery or see Grizzy take the fall for a crime she didn’t commit. Not on her watch!Sleepy Creek’s favorite characters return in this follow-up series to the Burger Bar Mysteries. Grab your copy today.

Merit Badge Murder


Leslie Langtry - 2014
     When CIA agent Merry Wrath is "accidentally" outted, she's forced her into early retirement, changes her appearance, and moves where no one will ever find her—Iowa. Instead of black bag drops in Bangkok, she now spends her time leading a young Girl Scout troop. But Merry's new simple life turns not-so-simple when an enemy agent shows up dead at scout camp. Suddenly Merry is forced to deal with her former life in order to preserve her future one. It doesn't help matters that the CIA sends in her former, sexy handler to investigate…or that the hot new neighbor across the street turns out to be the local detective in charge of her case. And when Merry is forced to take on a roommate in the voluptuous form of a turned KGB agent/bimbo, things become trickier than wet work in Waukegan or cookie sales in the spring. Nothing in the CIA or Girl Scouts' training manuals has prepared her for what comes next…

Loose Screw


Rae Davies - 2011
    She even lets a cat shove her around.When Lucy trips over the body of a buckskin-clad relics trader, her ex-boss asks her to cover the story. She tries to tell him no, but old habits die hard and soon she finds herself directly in the path of a killer and the exasperating, if attractive, detective in charge.Can Lucy catch a killer or is this the last confrontation for her—period?

A Gilded Grave


Shelley Freydont - 2015
    Within the walls of their fabulous “cottages,” competition for superiority is ruthless … and so are the players. During her first Newport season, Deanna Randolph attends a ball given in honor of Lord David Manchester, a Barbadian sugar magnate, and his sister, Madeline. The Manchesters are an immediate success—along with their exotic manservant and his fortune-telling talents.  But on the nearby cliffs, a young maid lies dead—and suspicion falls on Joseph Ballard, a member of one of the town’s most prestigious families.  Joe humiliated Deanna when he rebuffed an engagement to her, but while he may be a cad, she knows he isn’t a killer. Now the reluctant allies must navigate a world of parties, tennis matches, and séances to find the real murderer. But a misstep among the glittering upper classes could leave them exposed to something far more dangerous than malicious gossip…