Book picks similar to
The Calling by Amber Foxx
cozy-mystery
mystery
paranormal
fiction
A Murder in Hope's Crossing
Brooke Shelby - 2019
Relocating to the idyllic New England town of Hope’s Crossing, where her family has settled since its founding, should be a welcome refresh. Aunt Clara is eager to retire and hand Maggie the keys to her store. And her new home might even help Maggie awaken her family’s rumored witchy powers. Maggie’s plans have all the makings of a spell for success—until the sorcery turns sour. Not long after the move, Aunt Clara is murdered in retaliation for an act of charity. Since Maggie inherits Clara’s small fortune, shop, and home, all eyes turn to her. With no witnesses and no suspects with an obvious motive, Maggie is framed as the perfect killer. Proving her own innocence is an uphill battle, especially when other descendants of Salem Witch Trial survivors like her are under constant threat and persecution in the pious town. To clear her name, Maggie will have to draw on the kindness of a few quirky residents, her aunt’s crafty cat, and her own blossoming supernatural powers. With a deadly criminal on the loose, the newest witch in town might be the best chance Hope’s Crossing has to defeat murder with magic…
The Curse: A Cozy Mystery From the 1920s
Alice Simpson - 2018
Jane grapples with a vandalized shop, a kidnapping, a creepy doll with seemingly supernatural powers, and a stolen diamond necklace. What do all these have in common? It's up to Jane to find out. About the Jane Carter Historical Cozy Mystery Series: This quirky historical cozy mystery series is set in the fictional American city of Greenville during the 1920s, and features Jane Carter, a young widow who returns home to live with her father after the tragic death of her journalist husband. Jane’s father owns a local newspaper, and wants Jane to take it over someday, but Jane is adamant that she has no desire to be a reporter. Instead, she turns her talent for writing to concocting melodramatic romances for fly-by-night rags who almost never pay on time. This work pays so poorly that Jane supplements her income by becoming an agony aunt, soliciting letters from the lovelorn through advertisements in the back of women’s weekly magazines. Jane dispenses advice to all and sundry, but her personal life is in shambles. Jane claims that she's holding out for a millionaire before she marries again, but the only man who makes her heart beat faster is Jack, a reporter on her father's staff. Not only has Jane vowed she will never be a newspaper man herself, she's doubly insistent on never again marrying one. While trying to turn out enough column inches of overwrought romantic bilge to keep her old car on the road, and herself in shoes, Jane runs into the most extraordinary circumstances. In Jane's madcap world, it's a constant round of kidnappings, curses, stolen jewels, counterfeit paintings, and hidden stashes of gold. There's plenty of crime to go around, but nary a murder. Accompanying Jane on her adventures is her best friend, Florence. Jane and Flo may get into one perilous situation after another, but they are never damsels in distress, because, as Jane puts it, "A real lady always carries her own pocket knife." Neither Jane nor Flo think it beneath them to slip a cosh into their handbag, either, should the situation call for it. All this getting into harm's way alarms the Carter's housekeeper, Mrs. Timms. Mrs. Timms believes it's her mission in life to turn motherless Jane into a proper lady, but seeing as Jane has just turned twenty-four, Mrs. Timms considerable efforts appear to have been in vain. However, the housekeeper won't give up trying, just as Jane won't give up on seeing Mrs. Timms and her father center-aisling it to the alter and saying, "I do." If you like light-hearted historical mysteries with quirky characters and a bit of zany humor, this may be the series for you! These are murderless mysteries. Despite a constant crime wave, there seem to be no murders in the city of Greenville. There may be plenty of peril in the form of kidnappings, heists, and the occasional assault, but nobody ever dies, and justice is always served. There’s plenty of romance, but sex is strictly behind closed doors. Suitable for readers looking for a "clean" mystery novel. This series may be of interest to fans of: Lee Strauss (Ginger Gold Mysteries), Jaqueline Winspear (Masie Dobbs Mysteries), Patricia Wentworth (Miss Silver Mysteries), Jessica Ellicot (Berl and Edwina Mysteries Series), Clara Benson, L. B. Hathaway (Posie Parker Mysteries), Leighann Dobbs (Hazel Martin Mysteries), T. E. Kinsey (Lady Hardcastle Mysteries), Margarete Addison (Rose Simpson Mysteries), Emily Organ (Penny Green Mysteries), and the Phryne Fisher Mystery Series.
Cupcakes and Crime
April Browne - 2020
Sophia Bell, owner of Mama Ginger's Bakery and a not very skilled kitchen witch, is hired to cater the highly anticipated event.But the job is no icing on the cake, especially when she winds up as the prime suspect in the murder investigation. Her mother's legacy on the line, Sophia launches her own investigation. With the help of her southern assistant, some honesty magic, and two fluffy dogs, Sophia uncovers a secret she never thought possible.A murderer is living in Gold Valley, and Sophia is next on the list.
Forever Road
Catie Rhodes - 2013
A reluctant psychic medium. Destiny only knocks once—then it kicks down the door.
Peri Jean Mace thinks seeing ghosts is a curse, but her murdered trailer trash cousin doesn’t care. She wants Peri Jean to expose her killer.Peri Jean figures out everyone in her one-stoplight East Texas town has something to hide. And one of them will kill to hide the truth. In over her head, Peri Jean has to face her curse or end up the next victim.Forever Road is the first book in the Peri Jean Mace Ghost Thriller series. If you like your urban fantasy served up with a heavy dose of goose bumps, a side of gut-busting laughs, and a fist-swinging heroine who will steal your heart, you’ll love Forever Road.
Planting Pearls
Virginia King - 2021
Are there dark forces at work and is a child in danger? Or is something else going on?As Selkie gets caught up in something that’s way beyond her skillset, the disturbing events not only hint at secrets buried in her own past, but she unwittingly makes herself a target for the man she’s fleeing from.
Bones & Boxes
Anna Drake - 2015
Recently widowed and new to to town, she also must find her place among a village of strangers. That effort is how she discovers her first dead body. It also launches her into her first murder investigation. But her effort to track a killer gets muddled as ghost and cat compete for her attention. Then there’s her daughter, Megan. How is Hetty to track a killer without tipping her off? Finally, mix in a clever killer, and Hetty finds herself truly challenged in this lighthearted, mystery novella
The Witch Who Settled the Account
Emma Belmont - 2020
Murder has met its match.As the new owner of the Pixie Point Bay Lighthouse and B&B, Maris Seaver is finally ready to organize her finances. But while she’s at the town’s credit union, the manager mysteriously dies.Although suspects abound, the murderer has been clever. No one even knows how the man was killed.
Red Picket Fences
Daphne McLean - 2019
As a stay-at-home mom, the only danger she comes across is in the true-crime novels she devours at night.But when a house fire results in the death of her two neighbors, Jennifer discovers that things are not always what they seem.By poking her nose in where it doesn’t belong, she puts herself up against a local police chief eager to close the case, a husband desperate to keep her safe, and a killer who wants her out of the way.This cozy mystery begs the question, “How well do you know your neighbors?”Get your copy today!Book One: Red Picket FencesBook Two: Body in the BegoniasBook Three: Death at a Dinner PartyBook Four: Death on Rugosa Bay
Miss Spelled
Morgana Best - 2015
Her boyfriend dumps her when she inadvertently gives him food poisoning. Her workplace, a telecommunications center, fires all their staff as they are outsourcing offshore, and she is evicted due to smoke damage resulting from her failed attempts at baking. Amelia thinks her luck has changed when she inherits her estranged aunt’s store, two mysterious cats, and beautiful Victorian house.Yet has Amelia jumped out of the frying pan into the fire? To Amelia's dismay, the store is a cake store, and she discovers that her aunt was a witch. To add to the mix, the house has secrets of its own. When a man is murdered in the cake store, will Amelia be able to cook up a way to solve the crime? Or will her spells prove as bad as her baking? All Morgana Best books are clean cozy mysteries.
From Mangia to Murder
Caroline Mickelson - 2012
But before Sophia’s chilled spoon hit the spumoni, someone plunged a knife into Vincenzo’s back and the word on everyone’s lips went from mangia to murder. Sophia soon finds herself trailing crime boss Frankie Vidoni, chatting with his mouthy mistress Maria, and dodging henchman Mooch DiMuccio. She’s suspicious of Vincenzo’s widow, Stella, and his assistant chef, Eugene, because they don’t appear the least bit dismayed by Vincenzo’s passing. There is no conversation Sophia won’t eavesdrop on, no question she won’t ask, and no danger she won’t face to find the killer.
The Silent Second
Adam Walker Phillips - 2015
Only when he sets out to find a missing employee from his L.A. firm does he feel alive again. Applying his HR skills and wit to his moonlight detective work, Chuck unravels a web of crooked real estate deals and three murders, while staving off a fourth: his own.Adam Walker Phillips is an executive at a global financial services company who used his corporate experience to inspire this debut mystery. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son.
A Body in the Bargain
Charlotte Moore - 2016
She writes, paints watercolor landscapes and reads Jane Austen over and over. Kylie’s been married since she was 19, has twin boys and loves hunting for bargains and selling her crafts on-line. Kate and Kylie have been best friends since third grade at River Valley Elementary School. When Kate inherits her grandmother’s old house and decides to move back to peaceful River Valley, she finds there’s anything but peace in the Valley. First, she arrives to find that all her late grandmother’s old furniture has been stolen. Kylie comes to the rescue, and just a few days later the two of them are right in the middle of a murder investigation. Through it all, with Kylie’s help, Kate’s turning the old house into her own home with yard sale and thrift shop bargains and getting to know two very different men. From the author of the Hunter Jones mystery series, A Body in the Bargain is about people you might know and one or two you might just want to avoid.
Small Town Shock
Issy Brooke - 2015
Except for Penny May. She’s tired of the stress of her job in London, and it’s time for an early retirement. In an effort to reclaim the exuberance of youth that she once had, she gets a funky hair style, a classic motorcycle - and a dog with “issues”. Dog ownership is harder than she expected, but she won’t give up. To avoid postmen, people in hats, people with bags and all the other dogs in the world, she has to walk in lonely places at lonely times … it’s almost inevitable that she stumbles across a dead body, really. It might not be the most conventional way of settling into a new community, but the locals open up to her, and soon she’s involved in the investigation. But her need for justice brings her into conflict with Drew, the local blacksmith who’s been helping her with dog training, and Cath Pritchard, the detective constable. Is her need for friendship stronger than her need to find the killer? And will she ever be able to walk her dog in daylight? This is a clean read suitable for all; it’s a standalone novel with no cliffhanger, and the mystery is fair-play and solved. “Some Very English Murders” can be enjoyed in any order but you may prefer to follow them chronologically.
A Touch of Ice
L.J. Charles - 2011
j. Charles:
Everly Gray's fingers are a magnet for trouble. When she touches photographer Mitchell Hunt and sees the image of a dead body, she dives into the murder fingertips first. Life takes a turn for the dangerous when she discovers the body is related to a small-time crime family that accidentally stepped on the toes of notorious criminal, Delano West. Caught in a web of intrigue where nothing is as it seems, El discovers an aptitude for breaking and entering, the pain of an up close and personal meeting with a bullet, and the terror of facing a cold blooded killer. What she doesn't learn--to keep her fingers to herself. What they're saying...A TOUCH OF ICE is a suspense-filled romance that will keep you up late turning the pages. Everly and Violet make perfect partners in their sleuthing, complementing one another perfectly. The romance between Mitch and Everly is sweet and blossoms into something spicy and wonderful. The mystery twists and turns, keeping this reader thoroughly entertained, trying to figure out the clues. Romantic suspense readers won't want to miss this one! ~Romance Junkies "A fun adventure with characters who sizzle." ~ Adrienne Girodano, author of the Private Protector series
Dead Man Talking
T.M. Simmons - 2004
When her cousin Katy calls looking for help with the resident ghost at Espirt d'Chene, the family mansion near Jefferson, Alice agrees to come to the rescue.Sir Gary Gavin, dead now over two hundred years, insists Alice is the only one who can expose his undeliberate murder to allow him to leave his tortured existence; and he's not above wreaking havoc at Espirt d'Chene until Alice concedes to his demands. Before Alice can even pack, though, Katy discovers a new murder — a headless corpse floating in her swimming pool. This new ghost — Bucky, the black-sheep son of a Texas senator — is dangerous in his newly-dead, confused state as he searches the plantation for his head.Alice must somehow uncover the identity of Bucky's murderer, or else it looks like Katy will be charged with the crime, despite several other suspects who have motives for wanting Bucky dead. To make matters worse, the homicide detective in charge, Alice's ex-husband Jack, doesn't believe in ghosts. That leaves Alice no choice but to depend on her ghost hunting mentor, Twila, and her elderly neighbor, Granny, to assist in the investigation.Katy is arrested, and there's no help for it: Sir Gary's going to have to join the investigation. Much to Jack's dismay — and the delight of the women — he is finally forced to admit that Sir Gary is real. A real ghost, anyway. Together, the unlikely team of sleuths join forces to help send Sir Gary to his deserved reward, track down the real killer, and set Katy free.