Book picks similar to
Sugar Cookies and Sirens: A Sugar Shack Witch Mystery Holiday Novella by Danielle Garrett
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Ghost Gifts
Laura Spinella - 2016
Her remarkable gift may help others rest in peace, but it also made for an unsettling childhood and destroyed her marriage. Finally content as the real estate writer for a local newspaper, Aubrey keeps her extraordinary ability hidden—until she is unexpectedly assigned the story of a decades-old murder.Rocked by the discovery of a young woman’s skeletal remains, the New England town of Surrey wants answers. Hard-nosed investigative reporter Levi St John is determined to get them. Aubrey has no choice but to get involved, even at the terrifying risk of stirring spirits connected to a dead woman’s demise and piquing her new reporting partner’s suspicions.As Aubrey and Levi delve further into the mystery, secrets are revealed and passion ignites. It seems that Aubrey’s ghost gifts are poised to deliver everything but a normal life.
The Whispering Dead
Darcy Coates - 2021
Her new home is tucked away at the edge of a cemetery, surrounded on all sides by gravestones: some recent, some hundreds of years old, all suffering from neglect.And in the darkness, she can hear the unquiet dead whispering.The cemetery is alive with faint, spectral shapes, led by a woman who died before her time... and Keira, the only person who can see her, has become her new target. Determined to help put the ghost to rest, Keira digs into the spirit's past life with the help of unlikely new friends, and discovers a history of deception, ill-fated love, and murder.But the past is not as simple as it seems, and Keira's time is running out. Tangled in a dangerous web, she has to find a way to free the spirit... even if it means offering her own life in return.
Plague
Gregg Luke - 2019
Mitch has uncovered a startling pattern: dramatic environmental changes always occurred prior to devastating outbreaks, and current climate change may be such a catalyst. But before his plane lands, Mitch’s journey takes a terrifying turn. He is intercepted by a woman who represents a dangerous faction whose interest in Mitch’s research opposes his mission to save lives. To secure Mitch’s cooperation, his research assistant is being held hostage. With so many lives on the line, Mitch embarks on a turbulent trip around the world, uncovering pieces of the puzzle until he ultimately holds the key to prevent — or precipitate — global devastation. Unless he can find a way to stop the lunatics behind his abduction, a plague the likes of which the world has never known will be unleashed.
Murder and Mahjong
Annabel Chase - 2020
When Eloise Worthington drops dead and awakens in the afterlife, she knows she doesn’t belong—mainly because she’s surrounded by a supernatural cocktail of species she never knew existed. Gods, witches, vampires, werewolves—and now Eloise, a middle-aged human more concerned with getting her way than getting out of someone else’s. She quickly learns that this supernatural retirement village isn’t the last stop on the Afterlife Express and villagers can be blinked out of existence, which is exactly what happens to Zeus. Yes, that Zeus. Unfortunately, it appears that Eloise is to blame—or is she? Never one to shy away from a challenge—although her idea of a challenge usually involves tequila and a cartwheel—Eloise sets out to clear her name and, in the process, figure out where she truly belongs. Welcome to Divine Place, because sometimes a fresh start requires a little divine intervention.
The Librarian's Vampire Assistant
Mimi Jean Pamfiloff - 2018
NOBODY MESSES WITH HIS LIBRARIAN. . . Who killed Michael Vanderhorst’s maker? It’s a darn good question. But when the trail brings Michael to hellishly sunny Phoenix, Arizona, his biggest problem soon becomes a cute little librarian he can’t seem to stay away from. He’s never met a bigger danger magnet! Even her book cart has it out for her. And is that the drug cartel following her around, too? “Dear God, woman! What have you gotten yourself into?”Things go from bad to worse when local vampires won’t play nice.Can this four-hundred-year-old vampire keep his librarian safe and himself out of hot water? Can he bring his maker’s killer to justice? Yesterday, he would’ve said yes. But yesterday, he didn’t have a strange connection with a librarian. Yesterday, people weren’t trying to kill her.
Mr. Darcy and the Missing Earl: A Pride and Prejudice variation
Juliana Abbott - 2021
Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet want the same thing - to be as far away from each other as possible. However, when family obligations bring them both to Havers Manor, they have no choice but to tolerate each other's presence.They avoid one another as much as they can until a sudden rainstorm traps them in the manor.As if that was not bad enough, their weekend takes a shocking turn for the worse when their host, the cantankerous Earl of Haver, goes missing, and there is only one suspect: Mr. Darcy.Due to his ill-temper at being near the woman who broke his heart, Darcy has turned the entire household against him, leaving Elizabeth as his only ally.Stranded in the old manor, Darcy and Elizabeth find themselves growing ever closer as they work together to solve the mystery of the Earl's disappearance and to prove Mr. Darcy's innocence.Will they find the true culprit and save Mr. Darcy before it is too late and their blossoming romance is cut short before it has a chance to grow? ** Please note: This story starts off-canon in a world where Elizabeth and Jane have built a lasting friendship with Georgiana Darcy, which led to the circumstances at the start of this novel.Mr Darcy and the Missing Earl is a sweet and clean mystery romance featuring Our Dear Couple in this Pride & Prejudice Variation, and it's ~60k words long.
The Finger Trap
Johnny Worthen - 2015
He’s had 12 years to prepare for his divorce and didn’t. He had his entire life to choose a career and hasn’t. Now time’s up, and he’s in a world of trouble. But all of that changes when Tony takes a first date to a drunken party and ends with him facing prison for the murder of a girl he hardly knew. To save himself, wise-cracking Tony must discover who the mysterious girl was, what she was involved in, and what the hell she saw in him in the first place.
Bo Blackman: The First Three Novels
Helen Harper - 2015
This is a collection of the first three books in the Bo Blackman series, which are about a young private investigator in London - except it's a London filled with vampires, witches and daemons. Book One - Dire Straits A half-dead daemon, a massacre at her based PI firm and evidence that suggests she's the main suspect for both ... Bo Blackman is having a very bad week. Book Two - New Order Bo becomes embroiled in a dangerous game of magic tit-for-tat - with murderous consequences. Book Three - High Stakes When a woman is brutally assaulted, barely escaping with her life, Bo ensures she forms an integral part of the investigation. The trouble is that she may end up being confronted with a darkness that she's simply not ready for...
Fifteen Digits
Nick Santora - 2012
Five walks of life. Every day they come together at the white shoe law firm Olmstead & Taft. But they’re not lawyers. They’re “Printers”: blue-collar guys consigned to the dark basement of the firm charged with copying, collating and delivering the mountains of paperwork that document millions of dollars of sensitive legal secrets.Until the five are approached by an ambitious young attorney who teaches them what they have: insider information. Together they make a plan: take the classified documents that pass through their hands every day and use them to get rich. They create a joint account to deposit the spoils. An account with a safeguard-each one only knows one section of the access code.Which means that for all five conspirators, there’s no way out. But as too much money piles up to go unnoticed, the Printers will discover there’s one thing even worse than being an outsider: being in too deep.“FIFTEEN DIGITS is a taut, gripping thrill-ride that appeals to the white collar criminal in all of us. I couldn’t put it down.”–Terence Winter, Creator and Executive Producer of Boardwalk Empire, Executive Producer and Writer of The Sopranos“FIFTEEN DIGITS reads like John Grisham and Martin Scorsese’s nasty love child. Brimming with unique, indelible characters, it’s a cautionary tale of greed, jealousy and vice.”–Shawn Ryan, Creator and Executive Producer of The Shield
Candy Coated Murder
Kate Bell - 2017
But when the most hated woman in town is murdered, the police start looking in my direction and I have to wonder if moving home was a good idea.
In Pumpkin Hollow, Halloween is celebrated all year long. Mia Jordan has just moved home after being gone ten years, and when she discovers a neighbor has been murdered, it casts a shadow on the town's year-round Halloween theme. Can Mia find the killer and save the town's Halloween celebration before it's too late?
Maid of Murder
Amanda Flower - 2010
2010 Agatha Award Nominee for Best First NovelIn MAID OF MURDER, India Hayes, a college librarian and reluctant bridesmaid, is thrown into the role of amateur sleuth as she hunts down the person who murdered her childhood friend and framed her brother for the crime.When bride-to-be Olivia turns up dead in the Martin College fountain and the evidence points to India's brother Mark, India must unmask the real culprit while juggling a furious Mother of the Bride, an annoying Maid of Honor, a set of hippie-generation parents, a police detective who is showing a marked liking for her, and a provost itching to fire someone, anyone--maybe even a smart-mouthed librarian.
Kiss the Witch Goodbye: A Nick Gibson Novel
Lisa Olsen - 2014
Nick Gibson and his pretty witch, Annaliese, as he tries to balance police work with premonition. Kiss the Witch Goodbye draws us into the gritty world of rock with a local band that's hit it big. But with fame comes misfortune, as someone is killing their fans and the evidence points to lead singer, Jax May. Ready to defend her old boyfriend with her last breath, Annaliese champions Jax's innocence - despite the fact that he's experiencing frightening blackouts and missing time. FBI Agent Natalie Fox is closer to the case than she'd like to let on, and does her best to convince Nick of the singer's guilt.Is Jax simply a local boy made good or a vicious killer? Will Nick choose cold hard facts or rely on his instincts to guide him to the truth? Will Annaliese be able to use her special talents to prove Jax innocent and find the real killer before it's too late? As more victims surface, the truth might be darker than either of them believe possible.Editorial ReviewAll our old favorites are back, Sergeant Nick Gibson and his team, Annaliese Cross and her witchy friends, and I especially enjoyed reading about how their relationships have deepened over the year since the first book took place. Nick's daughter Veronica stole every scene she was in, and it was great to see her getting involved in the case. We've also got some new characters, Special Agent Natalie Fox (or Special Agent Foxy as Nick likes to think of her) is there to cause a little trouble between Nick and Annaliese, barging her way into the investigation and his personal life with equal bluntness. As if that wasn't enough friction, Nick's also got to contend with Anna's ex - rock star Jax May who is "dark and dangerous, and very, very sexy", and just possibly a serial killer. With Agent Fox bending Nick's ear and Annaliese's devotion to her old friend, they find themselves on opposite sides of the investigation. Love them or hate them, they certainly muddy the waters of this murder mystery and kept me on my toes whenever I thought I had this one figured out. No one is what they appear to be, and there is a darker explanation for the murders than at first glance. As usual, Ms. Olsen delivers a taut crime procedural peppered with the supernatural, offering as much character development as she does drama. She's light handed with the magical touches, keeping it on the believable side rather than going for a lot of flash. This is another stand alone mystery, enough of the loose ends wrapped up to be satisfying, while leaving the door open for another in the series. You don't have to have read Pretty Witches All in a Row before you pick this one up, but there were definite spoilers to the first book in this one, so if you're going to read them both, best to start with that one first.
Vanilla Bean Vengeance
Agatha Frost - 2020
She has always dreamed of one day opening a quaint candle shop in her home village of Northash, but at thirty-five, she still can't afford to take the risk. Stuck in a dead-end job at the local candle factory, and back living with her parents, Claire knows her life needs a shakeup.The last place she expected change to come from was the factory itself, but when the owner is shockingly pushed to her death, Claire's life is flipped upside down. She isn't the only person in the village depending on the factory, so when the murder plunges the business's future into uncertainty, Claire feels compelled to solve the crime.With the help of her retired-detective father and closest friends, Claire uncovers a tangled web of conspiracies, cover-ups, secrets, and lies, but can she uncover the truth before her candle shop dream slips through her fingers forever?Book 1 in the Claire's Candles Cozy Mystery series! Can be read as a standalone. A light, cozy mystery with a candle-loving British amateur female sleuth, in a small village setting with quirky characters. Written in British English. No cliffhanger, swearing, gore or graphic scenes! Contains mild peril.
Innocence
Dean Koontz - 2013
She dwells in seclusion, a fugitive from enemies who will do her harm if she is ever found. But the bond between them runs deeper than the tragedies that have scarred their lives. Something more than chance—and nothing less than destiny—has brought them together in a world whose hour of reckoning is fast approaching.
The Impossible Julian Strande: Complete Box Set
Kathryn Ann Kingsley - 2020
and he won't take no for an answer. Read the whole series with all the deleted content included!As eager as Alice was to start her new job, she got far more than she bargained for when entering employment at Strande Estate. Inexplicable noises. Haunting legends. A sexy-as-they-come amateur magician. And…an enticingly wicked ghost.Alice didn’t believe in anything paranormal when she arrived, but each day that passes leaves her questioning things she never thought she would—like whether or not her gorgeous boss was as magically gifted in the bedroom as he was at illusions.But deep within the walls of the Strande manor, a malevolent spirit has taken a keen interest in the new caretaker. Thrilled to have a new plaything at his disposal, he has devilish games planned for the unsuspecting Alice.Will she make it out of the Strande Estate alive? Or be lured into the seductive darkness?