Joss Rockwell has been a waitress at the Day and Night Diner for fifteen years, and while she loves her job, she’s about to find out that there are some things in life that are more important than work. When an old friend is found murdered, Joss realizes just how fragile life is and how dear her friends are. Determined to get to the bottom of the tragedy, she jumps into investigating the crime. Her boss is a task-master, and it seems that everyone in her life depends on her for something, but she’s determined to move forward with the case, no matter what. This determined, and a little bit snarky, amateur sleuth will use her wit and wisdom to find out the truth, even if it puts her own safety in danger.

    Now she’s drawn into a madcap investigation at the casino where she's managed to snag a job. She must navigate learning her new mage abilities, a topless burlesque show, a jealous girlfriend, gamblers of all varieties, and magical chocolate cake, all while not setting herself or others on fire before the murderer makes her the next victim. A humorous adventure! "Ella's new job turns out to be more than she bargained for when she finds herself immersed in a world of mages, spells, and murder. This imaginative and addictive read is sure to please fans of mystery and magic!" Kristina B., Proofreader, Red Adept Editing

    Think innkeeper Dick Loudon and mystery writer Jessica Fletcher. Put 'em together, flip 'em around and what do you get? Kelly Green and Harry Leland. One is the new owner of the Beach Lovers Inn in Myrtle Beach, SC. The other is a mystery writer staying at the inn who sees mysteries and murders everywhere.When Kelly’s aunt decides to retire, she jumps at the opportunity to run the inn. But soon after, a guest is murdered and Kelly and Harry are determined to find the killer before any more guests check out for good.First in a new cozy series by critically-acclaimed, bestselling author J.R. Ripley.

    But that's just the beginning. She has the Magical Oversight Committee on her back because she can't keep her unruly little sister in line and the hunky new city-slicker sheriff would like to take her to dinner, except he suspects her of murder. To top it off, her possessed miniature donkey is being particularly calamitous and the old hens at the local beauty parlor are laying bets on her love life. A skydiving best friend and a bossy, living-impaired aunt become the least of her worries when the killer decides to bump up the plan by bumping her off. Can she figure it out in time to save all that she holds dear, or will Noelle be next on the list of folks who've turned up dead?

     Tragic accident? Or Murder? The following morning, Marylou is found dead at the bottom of her staircase. What first appears to be a drunken tumble becomes far more complicated as Sadie discovers Marylou wasn’t as sweet and timid as everyone thought. Turns out Marylou spent her spare time digging up dirt on her neighbors and left behind a list of their secrets. Much to her horror, Sadie’s name is right on top. Eager to keep her past buried, Sadie, with the help of her best friend Rob and Dan Bartlett, the town’s sexy new chief of detectives, sets out to who on the list was desperate enough to kill. Will she discover the answer before the truth gets out? Or will the killer find Sadie first?

    Funny thing is, you’d be right.Camille Stenson, the grumpiest woman in Saltwater Cove is set on making this year’s Halloween celebrations difficult for everyone, but when she turns up dead and my best friend is on the suspect list, I have no choice but to find out whodunit and clear her name.Amongst the pumpkin carving, abandoned houses, and apple bobbing, it soon becomes apparent dark magic is at play and I must use all my newfound witches’ abilities to find the killer before another spell is cast.Step into Evelyn Grayson’s magical world in the first book of the Melting Pot Café series, a fun and flirty romantic paranormal cozy mystery where the spells are flowing, and the adventure is just beginning.If you like witty witches, cheeky talking cats, and magical murder mysteries, then you’ll love Polly Holmes’ light-hearted Melting Pot Café series.

    When Mrs. Livingston asked us to sort through the contents of her attic, however, we thought our toilet-scrubbing days were over. That is...until we found her corpse.As if finding our client's body stuffed in a steamer trunk wasn't enough of an upset, someone needed to save her cat from being sent to a local high-kill animal shelter. That person, as it turned out, was me. I had no sooner set up the critter's litter box in my guest bathroom when he revealed another side. A six-foot-four, hunky, Irish side that only I can see.Before I could come to grips with my new feline friend's secret, Mrs. Livingston's relatives, eager to claim their inheritance, asked Hazel and me to solve the murder. And the amount of the reward was many times over what their aunt owed for the job she hired us to do. Soon we had a plan that included Rune, my new housepet-turned-houseguest.The more I got to know Rune, the more I wanted to confide in Hazel. But was I risking our lives by keeping my cat's secret as we went through with our crazy plan to catch a killer? Unfortunately, I didn't have a choice.

    With a contest prize of ten thousand dollars on the line, the town is full of summer vacationers on the hunt for the rare 1913 Liberty Head nickel that was lost to Bohemian Lake over fifty years ago. With the help of spitfire local, Eve Berns and Cody Lumos, the town's handsome new detective, amateur sleuth Lucky Penny takes the bait and goes diving for the story behind the legend of the million dollar coin. Unfortunately, her dive turns up more bodies than missing treasure. The deeper she digs, the more secrets she finds hidden in the sand, but will she be buried along with them?

    A few days later, the husband is found dead, his head bashed in. Fearing she’ll be considered the most likely suspect, the widow prevails upon Sydney and her three friends—Marianne, Kat and Micki—to find out who really killed him. Though none of these four fun-loving, take-charge retirees has any training as detectives, the women agree to launch a secret investigation. As they dig under the happy veneer of their community’s social life, they find more than enough suspects, from shady ladies to resentful golf buddies, to keep them looking over their shoulders. Could the murderer be lurking among the talent in a chaotic production put on by Sydney’s husband, who will do anything to keep busy in retirement? Could the sheriff, who may have more than a professional interest in chanteuse Kat, end up pinning the crime on the women instead? Each discovery during their investigations and their weekly mah jongg game keeps them running as they close in on the killer—but the killer may also be closing in on them. This cozy mystery, the first in the Mah Jongg Mystery series, features four retired amateur sleuths who live in the small Florida town of Serendipity Springs, all female and all friends who play the game of mah jongg together. Though they don't set out to investigate murder, after their first experience in this story, others start looking to them to help investigate subsequent homicides and questionable accidents. In this first book, Sydney Bonner takes the lead, although she turns to her three friends for help. Though this series features four protagonists, the others will take the lead in subsequent stories. Two are married, one is divorced and the fourth, who has been single all her life while she tended to her ailing mother, now finds herself the object of the sheriff's attention in this series. The four don't seek out murder; somehow the circumstances and those affected drag them in. Meanwhile, as they attempt to gather information, life goes on in their community in such activities as a women's club, a social group for those over 50, real estate transactions, numerous stops at the local coffeehouse, and even a shopping trip to Naples. Sydney's husband, Trip, and her friend Marianne Putnam's husband, Beau, are golf buddies who spend many a day on the course. When not there, Trip is busy seeking to build a new post retirement life, and Beau is often prevailed upon to join in Trip's latest activity, which in this first book is a town follies. Kat Faulkner has lived a frugal life until winning big in a lottery shortly after her mother's death; suddenly, Kat has money and doesn't know how to spend it. But her divorced friend and freelance writer, Micki Demetrius, does, even if it's to guide Kat through a makeover and wardrobe change for her lounge act. This cozy mystery is the first book in the Mah Jongg Mystery series. Barbara Barrett is already published in contemporary romance. She is a member of the Mystery/Romantic Suspense chapter of Romance Writers of America. Like her protagonists, she is retired and is a resident of Florida, although she spends her summers in her home state of Iowa. She spent over three decades as a human resource management analyst with Iowa state government. She can be contacted at barbarabarrett747@gmail.com. Check her website at barbarabarrettbooks.com.

    ‘Holy water doesn’t harm vampires. Which is just as well, as it would make it impossible to baptise them.’ When I was asked by a dragon to give him the last rites, I never dreamed it would lead to negotiating with his cannibalistic family or running from snail sharks. Life as the priest of a small English village is quite tame in comparision. At least I have Morey, a gryphon with sarcasm management issues, to help me. And if all else fails, there’s always red wine and single malt whisky. As if my life weren’t complicated enough, a darkly beautiful dragon named Raven keeps appearing where I least expect him, I’ve met a handsome police inspector who loves science fiction as much as I do, and my younger brother is getting into trouble for trying to pick up vampires. That’s what happens when you’re dealing with an incredible and dangerous parallel world full of mythical creatures. And I have to learn to navigate it all without losing myself, or my brother…

     A dangerous past life. A new mysterious boss. An old chateau with some very suspicious characters. Jennifer was happy working as a baker at the Ravenwood Inn, but when fate comes calling in the form of Gable Landon, she’s ready to jump at the new career he offers. Soon she’s globetrotting from Oregon to Bruges, then on to Provence to assess a rundown property her boss might want to buy. The charm of southern France and its food and landscape is almost intoxicating, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s made a new friend, a French bulldog named Orly. What Jennifer hadn’t expected, though, was stone cold murder. Clean language, and only rated PG because hey, there’s a murderer running around in this book.

    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!