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!

    She's baffled at the news that a great uncle she's never even heard of before has left her his old funeral home. Stranger still, the mortuary is in an unfamiliar small town. Fullmourn is less than thirty minutes away, but the place is a complete mystery.Things get even weirder, though…More shocking than a surprise Great Uncle and a peculiar small town is the "gift" she receives from a ghost. The gift is the craft. Witchcraft, to be exact. The spirit of an old witch has to pass her magic onto someone before crossing the veil to the afterlife. Since no one shows up for her memorial, Hazel was the "lucky" recipient of her strange and unusual powers.But, the whole witchcraft thing might have to wait…When Hazel gets into an argument with grouchy Fullmourn resident, George Cadell, she knows her reputation is about to bite the big one. Of course, George appears to be innocent in the squabble, so when he's found dead in front of the funeral home Hazel just inherited, she becomes the prime suspect.Hazel is one toadstool short of an alibi, and the hunky town Sheriff, Nicodemus "Nico," Quillen doesn't entirely believe in her innocence. But Hazel isn't the only one in Fullmourn who might have wanted George – an unrepentant jerk - on the other side of the grass. Hazel needs all the help she can get exhuming the real culprit.With her new familiar, Loftus, the cursed mouse, and her cousin, Rook, the mortician, at her side, Hazel's prepared to harness her unique abilities and summon any spirit, to catch the real killer. She's desperate to clear her name before the funeral home goes belly up, but will her mission lead her right into a killer's snare?

    Steven Sable, are at his family's lodge, where his grandfather allegedly jumped to his death from the roof-although Sable says it was foul play. But the patriarch's isn't the only ghost around. The place is lousy with souls, all with something to get off their ghoulish chests. Now M.J. will have to to quell the clamor-and listen for a voice with the answers...

    He's targeting half-bloods, people with limited magical ability. People just like Emma. The police are baffled by the long string of deaths, but they're not willing to put in the legwork to make an arrest. After all, magic users can take care of themselves, right? Except, those with real power don't give a damn about half-bloods. So, when Emma wakes from a strange dream that nearly gets her killed in the waking world, she knows she has to deal with it herself. With only her boggart shop-assistant and the two strange men who have offered to help, can she thwart the killer and make the city safe again?

    Yet here she was stuck in Jackrabbit Junction, Arizona, with an ornery old man, his smartass dog, and a parade of blue-haired babes. When Claire’s grandfather and his army buddies converge in the Arizona desert, it’s her thankless job to keep them out of trouble with the opposite sex. But when she finds a human leg bone and partners with a reluctant geotechnician to dig up secrets from the past, trouble finds her. She’s losing her heart. Worse, if she doesn’t stop digging, she could lose her life.

    A place for those who don’t belong. Sixteen years after a family feud drove her from the cozy Northwoods village of Whispering Pines, Wisconsin, former detective Jayne O’Shea returns to prepare her grandparents’ lake house for sale. Once there, not only does she find that the house has been trashed, her dog discovers a dead body in the backyard. Jayne intends to stay out of it, but when it becomes obvious the sheriff isn't interested in investigating the death, Jayne can't stop herself. Her list of suspects grows faster than the plants in the commons’ pentacle garden. Could it be the local Wiccan green witch with her stash of deadly plants? The shopkeeper who slips into trances and foretells death? The visitor determined to practice black magic? What Jayne knows for sure is that the closer she gets to solving this crime, the more the sheriff wants her to back off. And when a local fortune teller provides a crucial clue, Jayne knows it’s up to her to solve this murder.

     But then Melina’s entire life veers off course when she finds her temperamental landlady in her best friend’s psychic shop next door, lying in a pool of blood, with a crust of bread sticking out of her mouth! Which means she and her friend BettyJo are suspects in the murder. Then BettyJo finds another dead body, and they realize their lives are in danger as well. Meanwhile, Melina's seventy-year-old grandmother takes a walk on the wild side, and ends up breaking a few laws too. Not to mention, Detective Graham, lead investigator on the case, takes a fancy to Melina and her muffins, but that won’t stop him from charging both her and BettyJo with the crimes. Unless, Melina takes matters into her own hands and finds the killer herself. But finding a killer is a heck of a lot tougher than baking bread!

     Recipes included in each book. In Castle Creek West Virginia, rivalries run deep, but has this tiny town’s biggest rivalry finally led to murder? When widely disliked socialite Macie Dixon is found dead on the set of her cooking show, suspicion falls on her rival, elderly family matriarch, and owner of the Red Herring Inn, Liddy Lou Cormier. As the investigation heats up, friendships will be tested, and long buried secrets will come to light. With the evidence stacking up against Liddy Lou, her granddaughter Q’Bita will risk her relationship with Sheriff Andy Hansen, and her own life, to clear her Nana’s name. It will take every ounce of Q’Bita’s culinary cunning, and a little help from her best friend Jamie and brother-in-law Rene, to figure out who’s behind the sinister cinnamon buns that killed Macie Dixon. Sign up for the Red Herring Inn newsletter using the link on the About J Lee Mitchell page to get access to contests, freebies, and an inside look at upcoming books. New subscribers will receive BONUS CONTENT as a thank you for signing up.

    They've come to Enchanted Village in Salem, Massachusetts, to join the family business, but they soon find themselves knee deep in murder...Until three weeks ago, Darcy and Harper were working dead-end jobs and trying to put their troubles behind them. Then their aunt Velma delivered a bombshell: They're actually Wishcrafters - witches with the power to grant wishes with a mere spell. Wanting a fresh start, they head to their aunt's magic-themed tourist town to master their newfound skills.But their magic fails them when a wannabe witch turns up dead - strangled with Aunt Ve's scarf - and Ve's sweetheart, Sylar, is found looming over the body. Ve is standing by her man, but Darcy overheard Skylar wish that the victim would disappear - forever. With Harper distracted by her handsome new crush, Darcy is determined to sleuth her way to the truth. But it'll take more than a wish to unravel this mystery....

    Magical. Deadly.Emory Chastain, owner of Healing Herbs, sells everything from love potions to herbal tea blends. She is also the most powerful witch of the modern era. When a stranger drops dead in her shop, Emory is left with no choice but to investigate.Enlisting the help of her friends and the very handsome Noah, she soon discovers that someone is using magic to poison people, turning them stark raving mad. The clock is ticking, can Emory stop the killer? Or will time run out for the residents of Deepwood?Potions, Poisons, and Peril is the first book in the paranormal cozy mystery series, Deepwood Witches Mysteries.

    A haunted house? Bring it. Solving a dead witch’s murder? Now that’s when it gets interesting…Kat Ramos has a quite a to-do list. The Manhattan jewelry designer wants to open her own shop, but she’s running short of funds. That’s when she receives a very intriguing proposition—to travel to the very haunted and extremely quirky Virginia town of Banshee Creek and help undo the deadly Hagen House curse.In order to so, however, she must marry handsome haunted house contractor (yes, that’s a real career in Banshee Creek) Liam Hagen, manage a mysterious magical store, solve a centuries-old murder, and embrace her witchy heritage. Will Kat prevail, or will the Hagen Curse claim one last victim?

    The Deadly Jellybean Affair guarantees you another head-spinning murder mystery adventure by a retired witch. What secrets lie behind the brutal murder? And can she uncover them without drawing attention from the killer? A Retired Witch… A Cruel Murder… Can a few old tricks solve a crime? Left a very comfortable widow after her dear husband passed, Mary Tuttle has many abilities, some of which have allowed her to open the doors to her dreams, a bead shop by the name of Beads and Baubles. But when she stumbles across the body of a dead Morhollow party-girl, Mary discovers that there are much deeper secrets behind the attack of her newly hired employee, who was beaten, bruised, and hidden just out of plain sight. There is no questioning the fact that Mary is compelled to solve the case and find the killer… But she will need to return to her roots to do it. Faced with the realization she will have to dust off her spell books, consult with her domestic cat, and be sure to steer clear of the police investigation, Mary knows she will have to play things carefully to find out the truth.But she will need to return to her roots to do it. Of course, it would be a lot simpler if the Captain of the Morhollow Police Department didn’t happen to be her son. Can Mary narrow down the long list of suspects before giving herself away? Or will she take one too many risks and place herself in the sights of a killer?

     Jinx Hamilton is ready to trade in waitressing for becoming her own boss. The shop she inherits from her eccentric aunt in Briar Hollow, North Carolina seems like the perfect fit. As Jinx handles the enchanted inventory and the unruly clientele, she discovers her aunt also willed her magical powers without an instruction manual! As if that weren’t enough, she’s forced to deal with four cats, several homeless ghosts, and a potential serial killer. With a little help from her best friend and a dreamy new neighbor, Jinx must keep the business afloat and the murderer at bay. And it’ll take more than clever bookkeeping and spellcasting to keep the store… and herself… from going under. Witch at Heart is the second book in an enchanting series of humorous paranormal fantasy novels by Juliette Harper. If you like twisty mysteries and hilarious hijinks, you’ll love Harper’s cozy fantasy world.

     Attorney Petra Rakowtiz lives in a world much like ours...except that her latest client is a wizard. In a society divided into those with magic and non-magic powers, Petra finds herself on the non-magical side of the equation, instead opting for a career making sure that all people—powerful or powerless—get the justice they deserve. Only her ideas of justice are tested when Petra's first murder case falls into her lap after her lead investigator is arrested for killing his ex-girlfriend. While Petra wants to believe he's innocent, her client conveniently keeps "forgetting" to tell her anything that makes him look bad. Suspects begin to pile up, including one who would kill to keep his secret and one who tempts Petra to let her guard down and fall in love again. And the fact that the accused is a wizard sends the press on a hate campaign, claiming his powers are enough to make him a danger to society. Petra might agree that magic can be unpredictable...especially when she suddenly posses those powers herself for the first time. With the Wizard Council threatening to lock her up for her inability to control her new power, and her client's life on the line if she doesn't prove him innocent, Petra has to make the real murderer appear before she herself disappears. "The book will make you believe in the power of magic in all of us...and the power of love! A really clever mystery wrapped in a fantastically fun new world." ~ Gemma Halliday, New York Times bestselling mystery author

    With her talking pet raven, Poe, and a new kid in town named Bigfoot, she's on the hunt for a treasure that's sure to change their lives. Maybe then she can stick it to all the mean girls in school... Armed with her wits, a couple of shovels, and the map, Edie and Bigfoot try their best to uncover the clues hidden under the blazing Lowcountry sun. But trouble has a funny way of finding Edie, and the only thing that might save her from it is a friend of the ghost variety... *You're reading a prequel to the Tell-Tale Tavern Mystery series, which includes a bonus chapter of "GIN & GHOSTS" (book 1). This is a novella length book that can be read in any order with the other books in the series. It is a clean read, with no graphic violence, sex, or profane language.*