Dough Knot Murder: A Christmas Short Story


CeeCee James - 2019
    What should be all sugar cookies and hot cocoa takes a drastic turn when one of the guests turns up cold—as in stone cold dead. With no help in sight, the two hope to find the killer before anyone else gets iced out. Including them. "I love the Baker Street Series!" "Good mix of characters to keep you turning pages & looking forward to next." "Reward yourself by making some of the recipes included!!!" Previously published as part of the boxed set titled Six Merry Little Murders. This short story has been newly edited with and expanded. 
Be sure to read through the end to catch a few special recipes including Cecelia’s Christmas morning bread, a little something from Oscar, and my own secret Chicken Pot Pie! Plus a note from me! This story is special to me (I share a bit more about that at the end), and I hope you love this grumpy, darling man as much as I do! It turns out, the world would be a better place with a few more Oscars and Cecelias. Other books in the series include- Cherry Pie or Die Cookies and Scream Creme Brulée To Slay Drizzle of Death Slash in the Pan Terror on Top A clean, cozy read. No graphic violence, sex, or strong language.

A Curse for Christmas


P.A. Mason - 2021
    Little did I know that a magical calamity would threaten the big day.You know the real kicker? It was Mom—a renowned magical healer—who came down with a mystery malaise on Christmas Eve. I couldn’t remember a time where she had anything worse than a sniffle. To see her bedridden scared me to my core.To examine the facts and solve the case, I had to think fast before Mom’s condition got any worse. With a new werewolf beau in her life, half the town of Tumbling Springs were whispering behind Mom’s back, the loudest of them a hex witch with a nasty view of weres. On the other hand, a new business rival in the next town over had Mom’s healing services on the rocks. The question was—did either witch have enough motive to do something as awful as all that to Mom?If you enjoy paranormal cozy mysteries with a seasonal Christmas flare, this holiday special is for you.

A Blush of Murder


Summer Prescott - 2018
     Twin sisters Tessa and Hayley inherit a Victorian mansion in small-town Louisiana when a beloved aunt passes. The two are at odds about what to do with the once-grand, but now a bit decrepit, pink mansion. Secrets, lies and sinister happenings become the center of Tessa's universe, but she vows to let nothing stop her from getting to the bottom of the murder of the grandparents that she never knew. Surrounded by suspicious characters, Tessa fears for her life, but finds help in the form of a handsome small-town cop, who isn't above using his dimples to open doors. Will Tessa unlock the secrets of her family's past? Or will she be the next in line to die?

Witch, Please!


M.Z. Andrews - 2018
    Both Detective Mark Whitman and Sorcerer Merrick Stone have expressed a desire to woo her, but she’s had to put them both on the back burner while she and her son have gotten their thriving restaurant and B&B up and running. But now that things at Habernackle’s have settled down a little, Linda is at a crossroads. It’s time to pick which man has her heart! Unable to make up her mind, Linda enlists the help of local matchmaking witch Sweets Porter to help. But when everything goes haywire will Linda be forced to start back at square one again? Or will she finally choose one of the men to call her own? ​ This is a Witch Squad Cozy Mystery Short-Story. It falls after Witch School Dropout and before The Witch Within in the series. If you haven’t read the series yet you may discover a few character spoilers.

red velvet villainy


Molly Maple - 2022
    The beloved Gus wouldn't hurt a fly, so when he ends up in the hospital after being attacked, no one quite knows where to point the finger.With the restaurant hanging on by a thread and a criminal on the loose, Charlotte knows she will have to solve this crime with a soup ladle in one hand and a cupcake pan in the other. When it becomes clear that there is more to the coveted soup recipes than meets the eye, Charlotte is certain that the person who attacked Gus won't stop until Gus is silenced once and for all."Red Velvet Villainy" is filled with layered clues and cozy moments, written by Molly Maple, which is a pen name for a USA Today bestselling author.

Diagnosis Dead


Jonathan KellermanDoug Allyn - 1999
    With an introduction by editor Jonathan Kellerman and biographical headnotes for each author.Contents:Dream lawyer by Lia MateraBroken doors by Brendan DuBoisFour views of justice by Jon L. BreenThe bad boyz club by Doug AllynImage by John LutzVerdict by Nancy PickardThe back page by Faye KellermanHero by Jeremiah HealyTherapy by Jonathan KellermanNatural Deathby Inc. by Max Allan CollinsThe oath by Marilyn WallaceBackwater by Michael Z. LewinExpert opinion by Benjamin M. SchutzShow me the bones by Carolyn Wheat

James, Fabulous Feline: Further Adventures of the Connoisseur Cat


Harriet Hahn - 1993
    But his deductive abilities will be put to the test when he’s called on to detect philatelic forgeries at Thwaites, one of the city’s great auction houses. The recently knighted cat also finds time to coach a croquet team, oversee rehearsals of a sequel to Cats, and help deliver a baby. Not to be outdone by cheesy actors or blundering attorneys, he makes his film debut and testifies in a criminal trial at the Old Bailey. But he has a special place in his heart for St. James’s Palace, the address he longs to call home. This delightful sequel to James the Connoisseur will prove irresistible catnip for feline lovers.

An Unreasonable Doubt


Jonathan L. Howard - 2014
    Unfortunately, the Cresswill case was anything but. It started as a suicide, but then it was a murder pretending to be a suicide. Then it appeared that it was a suicide masquerading as a murder pretending to be a suicide. It was all so ridiculous, but the only thing a jury needs to acquit is a reasonable doubt, even when it seems quite unreasonable. Or is it? Or not? Perhaps to find the truth, the police need help that is every bit as unhinged as the case…

Nowhere to Go and All Day to Get There


Gar Anthony Haywood - 2014
    Two short mysteries featuring amateur sleuths Joe and Dottie Loudermilk.

Private Eyes


Rene Fomby - 2017
    In less than 48 hours, his best friend has a date with the needle, the kind of date you don’t walk away from with a kiss. Moose has to find out who framed his pit bull buddy for the savage slaying of a French poodle — and then convince the humans that he’s nailed the right guy. But with no leads and little evidence to go on, there’s only one person in Chicago that has a prayer of hunting down the real killer in time: Antonio Gattogrosso, legendary proprietor of the Feline Detective Agency. Fat Tony. The rave reviews are pouring in: "It's a great summer read. Just like me, you'll want to keep an eye out for it!" - Fisheye Martinez "I predict it will be a smashing success, dahlinks!" - Madame LuLu, astrologer to the stars "Buy dis book if you knows what's good for youse." - Fat Tony Gattogrosso

Purgatory (Jon Stanton Mysteries Book 11)


Victor Methos - 2017
    But his job in Homicide has served up a bad case of insomnia and hallucinations, and just as his body, mind, and spirit are about to break, he begins investigating an intriguing series of merciless murders. As his condition deteriorates, he refuses to turn the case over to his partner, knowing he couldn’t rest until justice is served. Unfortunately, justice is what the killers believe they’re delivering, and their next delivery comes a little too close for comfort.

The Red Headed League


David Eastman - 1982
    A suspicious new member solicits the aid of Sherlock Holmes in uncovering the secret behind the Red-Headed League.

Charles Fort and the Beast of Loch Ness (Charles Fort Historical Mysteries #2)


T.E. Scott - 2016
    Together they must investigate a strange murder at Boleskine House on the banks of Loch Ness. But what dark creature lurks at the heart of the Loch? And what do the murders have to do with Boleskine’s most infamous resident, Aleister Crowley? Second in the Charles Fort Historical Mysteries series by TE Scott, for fans of Golden Age style detectives and historical mysteries.

The First Wife


Diana Diamond - 2004
    Sure, age isn't a problem. Neither are her looks. Heaven knows that plenty of perfectly respectable men would consider themselves lucky to end up with someone like her. Then again, the last perfectly respectable man to end up with her - her ex-husband - ended their marriage, not to mention Jane's belief in happy endings...But she just can't muster the cynicism to resist William Andrews - a dashing, debonair widower with two children of his own. Soon, Jane's doing what she swore she'd never do: Marching down the aisle, promising to have, hold, serve, and protect, 'til death do them part. But why does Andrew seem so obsessed with his dead wife? And why do the children seem to hate Jane so passionately?As Jane struggles to understand the nature of the powerful hold Andrews's first wife still exerts over the husband and children she left behind, her day-to-day life grows increasingly more dangerous. During a family outing, she is suddenly thrown violently from her horse. Had someone deliberately spooked the horse? As she takes a midnight swim, the mechanical dome over the pool closes on her. Did it short circuit, or was it sabotage? Are these just coincidences, or are the stakes and risks getting higher the closer Jane gets to the truth? Someone would clearly like to see her follow the first Mrs. Andrews to the grave. Why?In a thriller that moves from New York to Paris to the Caribbean, a plot filled with relentless suspense, and a witty and intelligent heroine worth cheering for, this latest from Diana Diamond is her best yet, an unputdownable romance of deadly proportions.

All Those Who Came Before: The Sixth Spookie Town Murder Mystery (Spookie Town Murder Mysteries Book 6)


Kathryn Meyer Griffith - 2020
    It’s their turn. First off, it at long last solves the enigma of Abigail’s first husband Joel Sutton’s disappearance, and death, a decade before…the tragic event that sent Abigail to Spookie in the first place to begin a new life. The new life that would grow so big as to include a new love, a new family, quirky, but well-meaning friends, and the strange murder mysteries her new friends would drag her into over the years. As an unsolicited, and unwanted, envelope arrives from Abigail’s now dead detective she’d hired a decade before to find her missing first husband, its contents sends Frank searching for the truth. The envelope’s files are full of disturbing facts concerning the unsolved crime and it piques Frank’s interest. Soon, against Abby’s wishes, he’s on the cold trail of what actually happened to Joel Sutton–had he been a victim of just an accident, as some have always believed, or did someone murder him? In his search for the truth, Frank ends up in lethal danger when the investigation comes to a violent conclusion. This story is also about an infamous haunted house at 707 Suncrest, in the woods; about the cold blooded murders of a whole family that occurred there forty years before. Is the house on Suncrest truly haunted by the ghosts of the dead family? Is it dangerous? When Abby decides to paint a series of canvases of the spooky old house, she’ll find out. Then along with those two new mysteries to unravel, of course, all of Spookie’s quirky town characters have returned to irritate, amuse and sleuth with Abby and Frank. Will they get out of these new mysteries alive, too? Perhaps.